Good news
FROM THE Epps Family
Rio Branco, Acre, BraSil
July 27, 2006
Volume 3, Number 4

“We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
Colossians 1:9-10


God Answers Prayer
Praise the Lord for all that He did through our work with the mission team from Crestview, FL. They had safe trip to and from Brazil, as well as surviving the treacherous muddy roads into the interior, saw many people pray to receive Christ, encouraged believers, and trained them in a “Life Group” model of simple church.
Worship services have begun in a school in the neighborhood of Taquari.
We experienced a very refreshing vacation just before joining our fellow missionaries for an encouraging time at our annual mission meeting. Afterward we received helpful training in the area of strategy coordinating.
Please Pray
Pray as we begin to make a Master Plan and Critical Path for reaching the Rural Peoples of the Western Amazon.
For the leading of the Holy Spirit as we seek out Brazilians to serve as strategy coordinators and church planters in the efforts to reach the Rural Peoples of the Western Amazon, Acre and Rondonia.
Please pray that God would send out more harvesters into these harvest fields of Acre and Rondonia.
Please pray as we are more aware of our isolation and the need for our family to find truly close Brazilian friends here in Rio Branco and be able to connect in some way with American friends/ missionaries with whom we can share issues of the heart.
Please pray as we are in need of a stateside prayer advocate.

Life & Ministry in Rio Branco
MISSION TRIP
to RIO BRANCO and THE INTERIOR
The team arrived on the morning of the 15th and was able to rest and attend Ethan’s 1st birthday party. We were planning on leaving out the next day to the interior; but due to some heavy rain, the only road into the interior west became nearly impassable. So, we decided to wait a few days to let it dry out as much as possible and shuffled around the team’s schedule. During these few days, we were able to work with a new church start in Rio Branco by serving soup and giving a gospel presentation, do some witnessing and teach simple church by modeling “life groups” in a home, and taught a children’s bible class in the same neighborhood. Then, Monday morning at 4:30 am we set out for Tarauacá. After much winching, sweating, bug bites, waiting for stuck vehicles to be unstuck, towing by 4x4 tractors, and praying, we finally made it around 3 am the next morning. (For those mud enthusiasts, talk with Bruce, Andy, Joe, Theresa or Aaron for some great stories, and maybe they will email you some pictures!!!) After finally making it, God did bless. We were able to share Jesus in the schools, homes, and park areas using kites and beach balls as drawing cards for children, youth, and even some adults. At night, we were able to show the Jesus film during the Wednesday night service, did a “life group” training with the church leader, and modeled it for two nights in two different neighborhoods. During the day, we prayer walked in town, shared the gospel, and bought & delivered food to a needy family with 12 kids. We believe the seeds that were planted and the life groups that were modeled will bring forth kingdom fruit not only in Tarauacá or its region but in Acre, Brazil, and the whole world. Soon, we believe that we will see churches multiplying out from Tarauacá up and down the Tarauacá River. The other 4 team members stayed at our home here in Rio Branco helping Tiffany with the children, sharing the gospel in English language schools where they saw many pray to receive Christ, playing with special needs children, playing soccer with neighborhood kids then leading them in a Bible study, and doing some clean up around the Epps house.


JULY TRAVELS
We enjoyed a much needed vacation at the Beach where the Weaver family (missionaries) joined us for part of the time. We were truly refreshed! We then joined all of our fellow missionaries from Brazil for the Annual General Meeting. We were encouraged as we spent time worshiping, hearing God’s word preached - in English J, and fellowshipping with our missionary friends. Time with our mission family was very welcomed as we are one of the more isolated families in Brazil. The 3rd and final week of our travels was spent in Strategy Coordinators Training. Once again we enjoyed worship with our fellow missionaries as we practiced the techniques of Storying and Simple Church. We were also encouraged in our ministry as we learned more about having a Master Plan and the Critical Path to getting us there. By the end of this week we were worn out and battling illness, we were ready for home again!




Emma Grace & Ethan
They are both a little run down from the long trip and fighting colds, but still in the mood to play! Thank you for praying for Emma as she continues learning about salvation and shows a real sensitivity as I know the Holy Spirit is at work in her heart. Emma was hard to keep up with as she was reunited with her missionary friends. The first beach vacations were not so fun for Emma as she did not want any part of her body touching the sand, BUT she was running, playing, and digging in the sand this time. J Her brother on the other hand could not wait to get his hands into the sand for the first time. He wanted to walk straight into the ocean and eat the sand by the fistfuls. J He had a wonderful 1st birthday bash with several Brazilian and American friends. He took about 7 steps on his birthday and is moving a little faster each day. He is climbing anything where he can get two feet off the ground. A 7th and maybe 8th tooth is making its way in now.

Aaron, Tiffany, Emma and Ethan

Emily's Experience

I found this blog to be extremely difficult to write, hence the extreme tardiness for which I apologize. How do you sum up two whole weeks of life changing experiences? Everyone else seemed to find the task easy, so I suppose I ought to just give it my best shot. Here are a few of my recollections and impressions, just a brief glimpse of what I experienced.

It all started last year at Student Life camp. I had been questioning my role in the church, and I had wondered where God wanted me to serve. God told me I was to go. I didn't know when, where or how, but that didn't matter. I had somewhere to start. I announced my desire for missions in one of the last church group times at camp. Then I returned to the work/school routine until the Babers approached me about the Brazil trip. I am so grateful that God placed me on their minds and put in a position to go. I had never been out of the eastern US. I spoke hardly a word of Portuguese. (God revealed his sense of humor to me in this- I studied Spanish for two years for him to send me to one of the few South American countries where Spanish isn't the primary language). I was leaving my family behind for two weeks to travel alone as a minor. So many obstacles just melted away and didn't seem to matter.

The Daily, the devotional that Theresa mentioned, was a blessing and comfort to me. June 23 was written by my leaders at church, Mrs Harris and Mrs McNeil. By that time, tensions had built as we spent 24/7 with each other. As an introvert, I appreciate solitude, and I hadn't gotten enough and was starting to get somewhat unpleasant. Then I read "If God is calling you to love a very difficult person with Agape, rejoice that your obedience will never be in vain!." I needed to hear that. The people around me weren't necessarily difficult, but I was having difficulty dealing with them all the time. I was reminded to love them. and in loving everyone around me, I enjoyed the experience so much more.

A major moment on the trip for me was the night we went to Pastor Marcus' Church after the team had reunited. One of the songs that they sang was "Quero te ver," or as we would say, "I want to see you." As we sang in English and everyone else in Portuguese, I had to pause and consider what I was seeing and hearing. I realized this is a tiny glimpse of the future, when every tribe, tongue, nation and people will stand together and praise the Lord. We will see him! Even now, thinking of this fills my heart with joy. Their churches seemed so alive. Dancers in church were becoming more popular in the area. While people were singing, a group of girls stood at the front of the church dancing to the music, and while I was impressed by their grace, I enjoyed watching Justin and Ben attempt to dance even more!

Going into the schools for the third time was one of the best days, even though it didn't start so well. Mrs. Baber didn't want to go back at all because she saw no progress being made. But we agreed to a time of prayer so that we could prepare our hearts and find direction. When we met again later that morning, the unanimous decision of the teenagers was to go, despite her hesitancy. So we returned to Wizard with newfound purpose and focus, and what an amazing day. When the first class we were to go into was in the middle of test preparations, Mrs Baber wanted to leave on the spot, but with reassurances from Carlos we went to the next class, which was busy also. By this time we were doubting whether we had made the right decision. But God wanted us in the last class, where we found the encouragement we needed. When Ben shared, this time without focusing on the evangecube, which we had been dependent on, the response was powerful. The class of six and teacher accepted Christ! The next class was composed of younger students, whom I had shared with previously using the evangecube. I shared again using a tract with pictures while Carlos translated to ensure understanding. Though I recieved no response, Carlos assured me that they tended to be quieter and more shy, but also that in their culture children weren't expected to understand and wouldn't make any decisions without their parents. When Justin shared in the last class, even though the whole class stood up, I believe only a few were sincere. But that is still a few more for the kingdom of God!

I hope that someday I will be able to serve again, perhaps in Brazil, probably in another country. I am so grateful to everyone else who went on mission with us when they contributed their prayers and money for this trip. Thank you, Emily