What a great joy to get to do Mission work with your husband, but what a greater joy to get to see your son join you in sharing God's Word. This year Bruce and I got to experience Brazil with Ben. He has told us since he was 9 years old that he wanted to go to a foreign country to be a missionary, well this summer he experienced his calling to that country. Almost as soon as Bruce and I committed last year to going to Brazil, Ben starting asking to go with us. It was amazing to see him working and playing soccer with other students and sharing Jesus with them. He was also a great help to at Aaron and Tiffany's house, playing with Emma and Ethan. One day as Tiffany and I walked down to where Ben was playing soccer with boys and men from the neighborhood, Tiffany commented that he had crossed the cultural barrier and was playing as a Brazilian, barefoot in the sand lot. This was huge to me because Ben doesn't like to be barefooted and he sure hasn't ever played soccer that way. I thanked God that he felt comfortable enought to shed those shoes. Please pray for Ben as he continues praying about where God will lead him.



Last year God placed Alcinea and Abud in my life and everyday since I met them I have thanked God for them and their ministry in Rio Branco. They are Home Missionaries from Brazil. They have the most incrediable servants heart. Alcinea found out shortly after we were in Brazil last year that she has Fibromyalgia. She hurts most of the time but this does not stop her from doing ministry. She and Abud go every week to Maram Serigo (a neighborhood that we lead Backyard Bible Club in last year and Alcinea and Abud were introduced too) and do home Bible studies and work with the children in that neighborhood. As we entered the neighborhood this year and the children heard Abud honk the horn on his Volkswagon Van that provided as our transportation while there, they all came running. You see the children know that when they hear that horn every week that he and Alcinea are there to invest in their lives and share more about Jesus with them and also with their parents and grandparents. They have been doing ministry in a lumber yard next to a hardware store because it has a cover to provide shade. They each week carry chairs for the kids and also a snack. This year they are going to be renting a building to have church. This a such a blessing and Emmanuel you help start this church in Rio Branco, Brazil.

Ben, Justin, Emily and I stayed in Rio Branco with Tiffany while the rest of the team were in the interior. This was to be a week of doing somethings for Tiffany and Aaron that they needed done around their house and also in going to the English speaking schools and sharing Jesus. We went to a school called the Wizard School. At the school the first class that I shared with the teacher told me that no one had ever told her about Jesus. On the last day that I was at the school I had the oppportunity to share with her and she prayed to receive Christ and went home and shared the tract with her husband and he also prayed to receive Christ. This was a highlight of my week. Her name is Lucy and her husband is Eric. On the day I carried her a Bible, Alcinea went with me and she set up a time to do Bible Study with her. It was so amazing to see the difference in Lucy. She even said "I feel so different." God was so good to us at the Wizard School and many seeds were planted and now there are teachers there that can not only teach the students English but also God's Word. Please pray for this school, the students and the teachers as they grow in Christ.

We spent another day cleaning and working around Tiffany and Aaron's house. It was hot and it took us all day to do the job but when we were finished it was so rewarding to see how happy Tiffany was that the job was complete. Aaron and Tiffany are so precious and we have developed a special relationship with them over the past year and a half. This trip I really realized how much they need our prayers and our support through emails and phone calls. It is very hard living away from family and friends and things that you are use too. They do an excellent job of balancing things but they are working so hard to grow Christians in their area. Pick a day out of the week and devote it to praying for Aaron, Tiffany, Emma and Ethan all day that day.

I really can't list final thoughts about our trip because my thoughts of Brazil are never final. I long for the smells, the food, but most of all its Brazilian people that I love. Everyday I wake up with a prayer on my heart for the unreached people of Acre and for the many servants of Christ that are everyday pouring out for these people. God has not yet given me the knowledge of the language and most of the time I really mess up the words that I do know but God speaks in every language and He is speaking through the people that do know the language and I can pray for them and support them in their ministry, it's partnership.

Coming home is a hard time to reconnect with our lives, mine has never reconnected from last years trip and this year only made the attachment greater. Thank you for encouraging words, prayer and support financially to make this trip. Also, thank you to those of you that called to check on Betsy and my Momma while we were gone.

We will be using this blog to keep you informed of our upcoming trip in August 2007. We will also use it for prayer request from Aaron and Tiffany. Check back from time to time to see what is happening in our (Emmanuel) partnership with Acre, Brazil.

-Rhonda

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1 3-6

Joe's Final Thots

Over the past few years, Theresa and I have been making lifestyle changes which serve to posture us for ministry during our retirement years. Our journey to Brazil was an opportunity for us to personally experience foreign missions. We made this journey fully expecting God to provide life-defining moments and for it to serve as a spiritual marker for what God has planned for us. Additionally, I had several prayer requests that were related to the “success” of the trip from my perspective. First, I wanted to see God at work in Acre, Brazil, and I wanted opportunities to join Him at work. Secondly and related to our small group/home church strategy, I anticipated the need for a network of people who would be critical to fostering this strategy in partnership with the Epps and EBC. So I found myself asking God for clarity about our strategy and recognition of those persons who would serve critical roles in what He wanted to do through us in Acre.

God was fully faithful! My earlier blog entries (www.ebcbrazil.blogspot.com) provide insight into what we encountered and the take-aways from those experiences. Overall, this trip was a rich time for me spiritually as we planned, executed, responded to circumstances, and experienced God at work in us and others. The significance of this journey continues to unfold in my daily life but I wanted to share one personal experience as an example.

My return home was quickly greeted with the normal challenges of life and from all appearances me and my life look very much like we did before this trip. But in my soul things are different. This became very apparent as I was trying to return initial greetings from friends and co-workers. My response to the normal “good to see you home” or “glad you are back” came with a hesitancy that surprised me and may have even been apparent to my greeter. I found that, in all honesty, I couldn’t casually say that it was “good to be back” because I was being strongly influenced by what I had left behind in Acre. As I pondered my feelings I realized that I had not spent my time in Brazil in anticipation of returning home but rather I had a “time flies” experience through personal relationships and activities that were tremendously meaningful. The difference is black and white for me…thriving versus surviving. You see, I didn’t survive the trip to Brazil, God had placed me in an environment where I thrived…and the difference is awesome! It is what God desires for us on a daily basis as we make ourselves available to Him and surrender all situations to Him.

In closing, I want to express a heartfelt thanks to all who partnered in this endeavor. Only through your financial support, encouragement, and prayer support was this work possible. I believe we were a part of an immeasurable work that will have an impact across eternity in the lives of many peoples. I remain in awe that God would choose to use me on another continent, in another culture, through the efforts of various enablers, to have a role in changing the eternal destiny of others. I remain indebted to Him for His goodness.

Theresa's Takeaways from Brazil

Last year when Bruce and Rhonda came back from Brazil, I heard all the stories, saw the pictures, listened to how God answered prayers, and tallied up the number of people that got saved. I even got the flip-flops with the Brazil flag on them. But it was still their mission trip with their ties to the people and the country. It was not until I watched the video clip that Aaron and Tiffany Epps (the missionaries we have partnered with in Brazil) had made over Christmas that I began to have a tug at my heart that maybe, just maybe, this was the mission trip that I needed to partner with.

Joe and I worked nonstop for several weeks/months before we left to make sure that our “affairs” were in order before we departed the country. By the way, what do you do when one of your emergency contact persons is also one of the ones going with you on the plane? Answer: You Trust God.

When we landed in country, we were given a copy of “The Daily”, a devotion guide that was compiled specifically for the EBC Acre, Brazil team by people from EBC and by folks that had a special connection to the different ones on the team. For example, our son and daughter-Michael and Audra wrote one of the devotionals.

Let me tell you about a God who majors in perfect timing. The last morning that we were in Tarauaca, the devotion was written by Kim Harris and Sherri McNeil--Emily Petoskey’s fuel cell leaders. It came from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8—agape love. That same night while we were modeling the life group concept, the young man who had agreed to be the prayer champion got up and spoke about how as a group they needed to be showing their love for each other. He then asked for the group to show that love by praying for the person on their right and their left. To top it all off, that night’s lesson was on “Love God-Love People”. God moved across two continents--took lesson material that had been written months earlier in the United States, a devotion that had been penned weeks previously at home, and a prayer request time in Brazil that was spontaneous and put it together as only He can do.

Last year’s team had done backyard Bible clubs and a lot of door-to-door witnessing in one area. I will always have a picture in my mind’s eye of the afternoon that this year’s team went back to that site. The surprise and joy on those kids and adults’ faces when they recognized Rhonda, Bruce, and Andy was unbelievable. And then the rest of us got to reap the benefit of their work from last year and the work that had been continued on by Alcinea and Abud (a Brazilian couple that also served as one of our means of transportation – talk about servants!). We got to be in on the harvesting—kids and adults alike were saved that afternoon!

As many of you know, our plans for going into the interior continued to shift and change even after we got to Brazil because of the condition of the roads. The Sunday afternoon before we were to leave for Tarauaca, I was still undecided about whether I needed to be going. You see, I kept looking at the physical aspects of the trip—imagine traveling in country for 22 hours (at the time we had no idea it would take that long), with seven men in a 5-passenger Toyota truck, with my week’s worth of clothes in a backpack (by the way, I did take my blow dryer-it was my comfort food), no restrooms to speak of, and the food and water for the day was what we were taking with us (in other words, granola bars, beef jerky, and crackers). To be honest, I was concerned about my back staying in alignment, my sensitive stomach, and having some space from all those guys.

When we crossed the ferry leaving Tarauaca later that week, I had one of those “moments” while thinking about what I almost missed. You see, I got to join God where He had already been at work, saw and experienced God answer prayers (some that I prayed and some that were made on our behalf from the folks in Brazil and here at home), met and bonded with some precious believers in the congregation at 1 Igreja Batista de Tarauaca who were reaching out to their families and friends in the community, and saw countless possibilities for future work in the interior. I am so thankful that I did not miss out on the road to Tarauaca.

Aaron and Tiffany Epps are just like any other typical American couple. They are young, in the early years of their marriage, have two small children-Emma and Ethan, with all the joys and struggles that being a young married couple with children entails. They are extremely devoted to passing on their love of Christ and His forgiveness and restoration not only to their children but also to the people of Brazil. The only difference is that they are in a country/culture that is not their own, far from family and life-long friends.

I had another “moment” the last Sunday we were in Brazil. We had been invited to Alcinea and Abud’s home for lunch. Sometime after we ate, Alcinea put on a Portuguese CD of Christian children’s songs. Emma danced to the music. Alcinea stood there and held Ethan–swaying and rocking him to the music. Of course, my thoughts went to my own children and grandchildren. I am most fortunate to have my family within close traveling time. That “moment” was a reassurance to me that the God who gives us our family and friends here in the United States is the same God who gives family and friends to us wherever we are. God is our provider.

Many of you partnered with us through financial support, writing encouraging notes, keeping track of our children, shouldering some of our responsibilities while we were gone, and holding the ropes for us in prayer. And for that, I am deeply grateful.

I want to close with this scripture that was on a card from my prayer partner, “Your request has been heard in heaven and was answered the very first day you began to…pray…”
Daniel 10:12.

Theresa


Details of my pictures:
1. Joe sharing the evangecube w/a group of boys @ last year's site.
2. The road to Tarauaca.
3. Ferry landing @ Tarauaca.
4. Team leaving for Tarauaca.
5. Worship service @ 1 Igreja Batista de Tarauaca.
6. Tarauaca team w/Pastor Edinaldo's family.
7. Alcinea & Ethan
8. Sunrise on our departure from Tarauaca.

Joe's Overview of Tarauaca

The following is Joe’s overview of his time in Tarauaca and is a continuation to Joe’s 6/26 email from Rio Branco.

Day 1/Tuesday, 20 June
Since we arrived in Tarauaca in the early morning hours on Tuesday, we started our day with a lunch at Goi’s. Previous arrangements had been made for our food and utensils to receive special attention to protect our systems from the dreaded “bug” and for us to enjoy this special service for both the lunch and dinner meals for the rest of the week. This was just one of numerous details that had to be considered for our welfare.

Beginning on Tuesday, we followed the local custom of taking a short break after the mid-day meal. I am sure the main reason was to ensure we were sensitive to the local culture but it soon became a practice that was much appreciated by all as the week progressed.

Tuesday afternoon provided our first opportunity to meet Pastor Edinaldo’s family, walk the streets of Tarauaca, and begin to learn about the man and the city God had led us to. Conversation required translation, first the statement/question and then the response…this made listening to others all the more important. This time together only served to deepen my interest in what God was doing and how we could join Him.

We conducted our first small group teaching session Tuesday evening. The session opened with their praise band leading us through several worship songs (sound familiar?). With a good crowd of folks in attendance, Andy was in his element as he shared about small groups and fielded the many questions that followed. I was most impressed with their level of inquiry. It was exciting to hear their questions and realize that they were processing what had been shared and were trying to apply it to their situation. I left this session affirmed that God was at work in the hearts of these people.

Day 2/Wednesday, 21 June
Breakfast at the hotel Wednesday morning was under Aaron’s direct supervision, again to protect our systems from the dreaded “bug”…so far so good. Later we met Pastor Edinaldo and made our way to the waterfront area of town. The streets became lanes and included a mixture of homes and storefront businesses selling a variety of items. These lanes soon became an elevated boardwalk as we moved to the neighborhoods of the people living “above” the river’s flood zone. It appeared that most of the time, the river was under these neighborhoods...there were few personal items on the ground. Homes along the boardwalks were constructed of wood with metal roofs and connected to the boardwalk via walkways. Basic utilities such as water and electricity varied, however, numerous TV satellite dishes were present. It was explained that this is at best a transition area for those that move from “the interior’s interior” to the city. It is doubtful that all make the transition to dry land.

Pastor Edinaldo took us to the end of the boardwalk and then between some homes to a small thatched roof shelter...numerous signs of poverty. This was the home of a family their fellowship had been ministering to but neither of the parents had accepted Christ. It was also the home of the family from whom Pastor Edinaldo and his wife, Carol, had adopted their youngest child. We found the mother at home, and with permission, Bruce shared the Good News of Jesus using the EvangeCube. The mother made a decision to believe in Jesus. It was thrilling to ponder that this woman’s eternal destiny was changed as a result of God using us and FBC Tarauaca in her life. Before leaving, we learned that someone had been helping them with food but at that time they were out. Later that afternoon we returned with bags of rice, beans, noodles and powdered milk that would feed them for several weeks.

Our morning also included several opportunities to share the Good News and as soon as we would start using the EvangeCube, folks would gather. We had one occurrence where Theresa was sharing the Good News through a translator and I was behind her showing the EvangeCube to a crowd of children that could hear but could not see what was going on.

We spent the afternoon visiting with the family of a man that Andy had met during the morning. He requested we come and pray with his family and witness to several members who were without Christ. Several family members arrived after we did and after all were assembled our host indicated who in the family were saved and who were lost. I shared the story of Jesus and had a “Joe-moment” where I had to pause to keep my emotions in check. One lady accepted Jesus and the others did not. It was a challenging time as I welcomed one into the family of God and shared about God’s love and His plan with the others. After we departed, Aaron spoke to me about the significance of male emotion in their culture and his perception that my “moment” had a powerful effect on the family as I shared. I found myself reminded of how God at times uses those things that we are ashamed of/embarrassed about to bring glory to Himself. Very sobering to realize how different our perspective is from God’s.

Late Wednesday afternoon we visited the park with kites and beach balls. However there was as much or more excitement over the slap game (hosted by Andy) and Red Light-Green Light (hosted by Theresa). Overall, our presence and some simple games was a big hit and our availability afforded us additional opportunities for personal contact with children and youth (and served to keep Anderson and Aaron busy between the numerous conversations).

We attended FBC Tarauaca Wednesday evening and hosted a showing of the Jesus Film. It was a special time as people from two very different cultures gathered to worship God. It provided me with another opportunity to see God at work in the hearts of these people.

Day 3/Thursday, 22 June
Note: On Thursday morning Theresa awoke with the “bug”. Prayers were made on her behalf all day as many inquired about her absence. Praise God that by Friday morning she was able to resume our planned activities.

With the approval of the Catholic school’s administration, Thursday morning provided us an opportunity to visit classrooms as Americans and to share the gospel. We shared a little about ourselves, America, and then moved to telling the students about Jesus. The classrooms I visited had almost all students and their teachers indicating that they wanted to accept Jesus and praying to receive Him. The classroom setting didn’t allow the exchanges necessary to clarify individual decisions. However we were able to record the names of all who wanted to accept Jesus and provided these to FBC Tarauca for follow-up. I ended that morning very conscious that what I had done would not be allowed in America and may not be allowed at a later date in that school. Regardless, God had favored us with an opportunity and as a result many had both heard the Truth and accepted Jesus.

Thursday afternoon started with Brazil playing in the World Cup. Most of our team gathered at the home of Pastor Edinaldo for a time of food and fellowship with our new friends. After the game we went back to the park to find a larger crowd interested in kites, beach balls and games. Our presence provided Bruce an opportunity to share about Jesus with a young man and his friends. As he was sharing, I was walking around the crowd praying for the Holy Spirit to draw these young people to God. One of the young men who accepted Jesus that day was also a local radio program host and invited Bruce to come and be interviewed in the next few minutes. Suspect Bruce will convey more about this but the timing meant I had to get back to the hotel on my own. Wilson finally arranged for a young man to take me to the hotel on the back of a bicycle. The rear tire being low on air and the stone roadway quickly reminded me of the truck tailgate and BR 364…my “bunda” was still tender!

Thursday evening was our first opportunity to model small group. We walked from the church to a member’s home and met with a gathering of approximately 20 folks. Bruce and Aaron were outside with the children while Andy, Anderson, and myself facilitated the small group. Our format was similar to our local approach but at the suggestion of Pastor Edinaldo, put the fellowship time at the end. Seems “eating and fellowship” in Brazil is followed by going home. The only rough spot was trying to model a “prayer and praise” sharing time. We learned that they practiced prayer requests and then all prayed simultaneously along with a prayer leader. Acts 2:42-47 served as our scripture text and provided the opportunity to address several of the important aspects of small group. It was very exciting to see those in attendance enthusiastically respond to questions about their gifts and abilities. Our session ended with God’s presence among us as we worshiped in song and fellowshipped together. I left the home realizing that FBC Tarauaca could immediately start 3-4 small groups with the people I had just encountered and that God was allowing us to join Him already at work.

Day 4/Friday 23, June
Friday morning I arose early and spent time on the hotel balcony pondering all that God was doing while observing the people of Tarauaca beginning their day. I had done this most mornings and wanted to make the most of my last day. My time alone was eventually interrupted by a greeting from a young man and after a few minutes of broken conversation I learned that “Antonio” was a new doctor to Tarauaca and that he would be there for two years. It is hard to describe my inner excitement as I talked with him and pondered his “future” role as a key contact. You see, praying for key contacts had been my last journal entry that morning and I found myself considering Antonio an answer to that prayer. Our time together was short that morning and we never addressed spiritual matters but I still consider it a notable event that was just a glimpse into something epic.

Our team later had breakfast with Pastor Edinaldo and family and then divided. Bruce, Theresa, and Anderson went back to the school to visit several unvisited classrooms. The rest of us met with Pastor Edinaldo to further discuss small group strategy for his fellowship. It was a blessed time of sharing about what we all believe God wants to do through small groups at FBC Tarauaca.

Friday afternoon was spent in the home of a family who had requested we visit. We met Joshua and Cassaca (sp?) and learned that this young family was new to Tarauaca. She was a government employed dentist and he was a recently graduated lawyer (more key contacts!). I had the opportunity to share the gospel with the husband, share my testimony, and pray for this young family. I left convinced that God had used our visit to establish a closer relationship between this family and Pastor Edinaldo and FBC Tarauaca. This became even more evident when Joshua approached Aaron about riding back to Rio Branco with us so he could bring back more of their belongings. I suspected our ride back would serve to establish a long term relationship with this family and I think it did…hard to share a tailgate on Br364 and not become close.

Sometime late Friday I learned that our small group session would be in the home of a couple that had been previously living together and had been married that very day. I don’t fully understand all that is involved but learned that government taxation of married couples is a notable deterrent to marriage. Upon arriving at their home Friday evening we encountered a crowd of 30 or so and Aaron pulled me aside to convey our time together would be a combined “model small group+celebrate with the newlyweds” session. With the children outside and the adults spread across the living room+dining room+kitchen we began my first ever small group+marriage session. Many of those who were in the Thursday night session were in attendance and we had folks ready and willing to lead prayer, read scripture, and lead worship. It was a time where God’s presence was very evident. In addition to good food (selection supervised by Aaron), our fellowship time was filled with signing Bibles, taking photographs, and beginning our good byes to our numerous new friends.

After our session we stopped by Pastor Edinaldo’s home and shared a time of goodbyes that was a mixture of sadness and joy. Sad because we had reached the end of our time together for this trip; joyful because we knew we had experienced and joined God at work.

Saturday, 24 June
We started our day early on Saturday because of our uncertainty over the road conditions. We had similar seating and conducted a similar rotation of men between the back seat of the cab and the tailgate. At Feijo we stopped and gathered to pray about God’s work in that city, the contacts that would need to be identified, and for clarity about what God would want us to do there in 2007. We soon found BR364 with less mud but much more dust. We did encounter about an hour delay as a government worker w/bulldozer towed several trucks up a muddy hill and then made temporary repairs on the road. This delay allowed the chance(?) meeting between Aaron and the son of the ex-state governor. This young man was also the nephew of a missionary couple Aaron knew in Rio Branco. Seems his aunt had told him about our planned journey to Tarauaca and he approached Aaron to introduce himself and to inquire about our trip.

Overall it was a good travel day requiring approximately 16 hours and that included the 1-hour delay. The day ended with the team together in Rio Branco with all excited about what God had done through our separate adventures.