Thanks so much for praying for my mission trip to Brazil. We arrived back in Orlando about 10:45 last night. It was a long trip but God still had a little excitment in store for us. Chuck was able to lead a lady, Justine, to the Lord on the trip from Sao Paulo to Miami. The rest of the team met her and her husband in Miami.
This was the icing on the cake for us. God is so good. It was great to sleep in our own beds, have American food in Miami, and have a night's sleep with more than 6 hours sleep.
Although we have left Brazil, the memories that we have made, the brothers and sisters who have been added to the Kingdom and the new friends that we have made are priceless.
I am planning on putting a summary of the trip on my blog donsbraziltrip.blogspot.com and some pictures.
Thank you again from your prayers and financial support.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Final day in Porto Alegre
Today was our last day of minsistry in Porto Alegre. It was a great send off for us. There were a total of 12 decisions for salvation today. I had a different translator today because the area that we were in was a very poor area and we did not want two women out alone. My translator today was Lise. A rewarding day even with the nervousness of working with a new translator. I had become very comfortable with Pedro. We have been working together this week. God did a miraculous thing today when we were visiting our second family. We had almost completed the tract and the husband and wife had indicated that they wanted to pray and recieve Christ when their daughter and son in law showed up. We thought the visit might be over buy God caused the daughter and son-in-law to leave and the man and woman came back to talk and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. Satan is powerful but God is more powerful. Thank you for praying.
The church we were working with in Belem Velho was very appreciative of the many decisions that we had and the potential for future church growth. The church is busy renovating the new building that they were able to rent.
Tonight we went to the seminary where Jeff teaches. Our team shared testimonies with Jeff's evagelism class and his church planting class. The translators also gave testimonies. We also got to see Andre again ( from General Cameron).
Today was especially hard because we had to say good-bye to our translators. It is pretty amazing that we could become so close in such a short time. Pedro has been like a son to me. I encouraged him to go to seminary. He gave a testimory during the first class and he did a great job.
We also had a special time with Robson, our bus driver. We gave him a small token of our appreciation and he got key chains for everyone. He also told us how great it was to have us with him because we were like family and we made him laugh.
Obviously we aren't going to get much sleep tonight. We have to leave the hotel at 3:40 and it is 1:35 now. Have packing and a shower to take yet. There may be a quick hour in there for some sleep.
Praises:
Decisions that were made today and all week long
Art is doing better
Jeff is doing some better
Prayers:
Pray for those who heard but did not make decisions
Pray for our safe return trip
Pray for sleep on the plane.
Today was also a special day because we got to spend time with Katie, Paul's 14 year old daughter. Our churches need a lot more girls like Katie who love the Lord and loves her family. She laughed a lot and made us all laugh with her.
The church we were working with in Belem Velho was very appreciative of the many decisions that we had and the potential for future church growth. The church is busy renovating the new building that they were able to rent.
Tonight we went to the seminary where Jeff teaches. Our team shared testimonies with Jeff's evagelism class and his church planting class. The translators also gave testimonies. We also got to see Andre again ( from General Cameron).
Today was especially hard because we had to say good-bye to our translators. It is pretty amazing that we could become so close in such a short time. Pedro has been like a son to me. I encouraged him to go to seminary. He gave a testimory during the first class and he did a great job.
We also had a special time with Robson, our bus driver. We gave him a small token of our appreciation and he got key chains for everyone. He also told us how great it was to have us with him because we were like family and we made him laugh.
Obviously we aren't going to get much sleep tonight. We have to leave the hotel at 3:40 and it is 1:35 now. Have packing and a shower to take yet. There may be a quick hour in there for some sleep.
Praises:
Decisions that were made today and all week long
Art is doing better
Jeff is doing some better
Prayers:
Pray for those who heard but did not make decisions
Pray for our safe return trip
Pray for sleep on the plane.
Today was also a special day because we got to spend time with Katie, Paul's 14 year old daughter. Our churches need a lot more girls like Katie who love the Lord and loves her family. She laughed a lot and made us all laugh with her.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Awesome day in Gravatai
Today was an awesome day!!!! After a late night last night, we left around 9:00 this morning for Gravatai. We were working with an ABWE missionary, Shane Latham in Gravatai. We didn't know what to expect but we knew that we needed to be flexible.
I certainly didn't expect God to do such a miraculous work in the lives of the people that we visited. We limit God sometimes by our expectations. Our teams were able to lead 42 people to the Lord!!! There aren't enough exclamation points to express how excited the whole team was. Not only was our team excited, Shane was excited.
One story that I cannot tell is about the last family that I visited. Shane had asked for anyone that was a mechanic to visit this family. So I volunteered. This family lived in the same block as Shane lived on and Shane and his family have invested in this family for the last 12 years. Shane and his wife have sown the seed, watered it through their investment of their time and God allowed our team to lead this man and his family to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
This is only one story about how Shane and his wife have invested their lives in people in Gravatai and this investment has been rewarded. It is definitely not our ability but it was God's power. It was just awesome to be used by God.
An added blessing was that I was able to talk to Willard Stull who is an ABWE missionary from West Endicott Baptist Church (New York) where we were members for 20 years. I'm not sure he remembers me but I am going to follow up with an email.
Prayer requests:
Art's tailbone - I think it is getting better or else he was so excited about the decisions that he was a part of today that God made him partially forget about the pain.
Jeff's shingles - This may be a long process of healing. Jeff left after lunch today to go home.
Tomorrow visits in Belem Velho - this is the same place that we attended church services on Sunday night.
Praises:
Many decisions today
All our translators
Shane Latham's work in Gravatai
An early night tonight so that we can get some rest.
I certainly didn't expect God to do such a miraculous work in the lives of the people that we visited. We limit God sometimes by our expectations. Our teams were able to lead 42 people to the Lord!!! There aren't enough exclamation points to express how excited the whole team was. Not only was our team excited, Shane was excited.
One story that I cannot tell is about the last family that I visited. Shane had asked for anyone that was a mechanic to visit this family. So I volunteered. This family lived in the same block as Shane lived on and Shane and his family have invested in this family for the last 12 years. Shane and his wife have sown the seed, watered it through their investment of their time and God allowed our team to lead this man and his family to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
This is only one story about how Shane and his wife have invested their lives in people in Gravatai and this investment has been rewarded. It is definitely not our ability but it was God's power. It was just awesome to be used by God.
An added blessing was that I was able to talk to Willard Stull who is an ABWE missionary from West Endicott Baptist Church (New York) where we were members for 20 years. I'm not sure he remembers me but I am going to follow up with an email.
Prayer requests:
Art's tailbone - I think it is getting better or else he was so excited about the decisions that he was a part of today that God made him partially forget about the pain.
Jeff's shingles - This may be a long process of healing. Jeff left after lunch today to go home.
Tomorrow visits in Belem Velho - this is the same place that we attended church services on Sunday night.
Praises:
Many decisions today
All our translators
Shane Latham's work in Gravatai
An early night tonight so that we can get some rest.
First Day's results - out of order
Sorry this post is out of order but I did not have time on Monday night to add this post to the page.
We went to General Cameron on Monday and worked with Andre. You may remember him from the DVD that we watched in SS class. He is a general in the Army and working as a church planter in General Cameron and going to seminary and being a father and husband. He is a busy man that loves the Lord. We had 23 people pray to receive Christ yesterday. It was an awsome day for the whole team!
Praises:
The salvations that God used us to be a part of
The work that Andre and his wife are doing
I was able to share with a small group of believers last night. 10 people or so.
People are very loving and warm
Prayer requests:
URGENT - Jeff has some kind of insect bite. He was going to emergency room last night.
Rest
People we will meet in Alto Caraa today
Many will come to know Christ today.
We went to General Cameron on Monday and worked with Andre. You may remember him from the DVD that we watched in SS class. He is a general in the Army and working as a church planter in General Cameron and going to seminary and being a father and husband. He is a busy man that loves the Lord. We had 23 people pray to receive Christ yesterday. It was an awsome day for the whole team!
Praises:
The salvations that God used us to be a part of
The work that Andre and his wife are doing
I was able to share with a small group of believers last night. 10 people or so.
People are very loving and warm
Prayer requests:
URGENT - Jeff has some kind of insect bite. He was going to emergency room last night.
Rest
People we will meet in Alto Caraa today
Many will come to know Christ today.
Pray for Art
Art Labrack fell yesterday and landed on his tailbone. Please pray for him because he is in pain. Pray that he will be able to ride and get sleep.
Update
Yesterday was a long day. We left the hotel at 8:00 and got back about 1:30 this morning. God was good in so many ways yesterday.
We went to very remote area about 3 hours drive from Porto Alegre. This area is an area where there is one family of believers. Two men, Luca and Jefferson, are working with this family. Lucas and Jefferson live about 1-2 hours away but got there frequently to minister to the area.
I was raining most of the day yesterday so we did not get as many visits in as we did on Monday. We had a great time of fellowship with the family. Andreasas and Luis are two children of the family that we really enjoyed.
We visited a local elementary school and were able to introduce ourselves, sing some songs and talk to principle and asst. principle who have been open to allowing Lucas and Jefferson access to the school childeren.
We visited 3 families and also Art was able to witness to an Indian family. There were 6 decisions for salvation yesterday. Praise His power and the power of the message. This area is a very strong Catholic area.
Pray for Natal and others in his extended family. I visited this family. Very strong catholic influence. They did not make a decision for Christ.
Praise:
Jeff's bites turned out to be shingles. He got medicine but it may take a while to cure this.
Salvation decisions
Safety
Fellowship
Prayer:
Going to Gravatai
Today we are a little light on translators
We went to very remote area about 3 hours drive from Porto Alegre. This area is an area where there is one family of believers. Two men, Luca and Jefferson, are working with this family. Lucas and Jefferson live about 1-2 hours away but got there frequently to minister to the area.
I was raining most of the day yesterday so we did not get as many visits in as we did on Monday. We had a great time of fellowship with the family. Andreasas and Luis are two children of the family that we really enjoyed.
We visited a local elementary school and were able to introduce ourselves, sing some songs and talk to principle and asst. principle who have been open to allowing Lucas and Jefferson access to the school childeren.
We visited 3 families and also Art was able to witness to an Indian family. There were 6 decisions for salvation yesterday. Praise His power and the power of the message. This area is a very strong Catholic area.
Pray for Natal and others in his extended family. I visited this family. Very strong catholic influence. They did not make a decision for Christ.
Praise:
Jeff's bites turned out to be shingles. He got medicine but it may take a while to cure this.
Salvation decisions
Safety
Fellowship
Prayer:
Going to Gravatai
Today we are a little light on translators
Sunday, October 12, 2008
First Day Training
Today was a learning experience.
This morning I did the devotional for our Oviedo Team before we left the hotel. The devotional was on trust. Trusting God beyond salvation. Trusting Him for assurance of Salvation, Finances, and words to share. My first praise of the day was a good night's rest. We got to bed after midnight and up by 6:30 but that was a great night's rest! As brother Herb says, I got at least two hours rest for every hour of sleep.
Today we met four of our translators: Pedro, Ernesto, Ligia, and Marisco. Tomorrow we are going to meet the other two: Lise and Eduardo. We reviewed the tract that we will be using: Steps to Peace with God. What a powerful tool that God is going to use in the life of the Brazilian people.
We also went to a church service in Belem Velho tonight. Chuck gave his testimony and Debbie led a Bible study for children. Debbie's lesson was totally unplanned and expected but God used this to stretch her and bless her. We each prayed with several people after the service through an interpretor.
We ate at an exoctic restaurant after church: McDonald's. Tasted pretty much USA.
Prayer requestsÇ
Tomorrow is first day to make visits - going to General Camera. Other teams have visited this town before and Satan has attacked each team in a different way but God has blessed each team in a special way that has gone.
Each team member will be making approximately 5 vists / day. That is a total of 25 potential salvation decisions per day. Please pray for each visit, each translator, and each one of the Oviedo team. Pray that the message will be clear, the hearts will be tender and that Satan will be bound so that all distractions will be removed.
Pray for rest each day. Days are long but rewarding. Restful sleep needed so that we have clear minds.
Pray for Debbie's knee. Pray that medicine will relieve pain.
Praise for bonding time with translators and ability to share personal needs of all.
Praise that we got to meet the wives and family of Jeff and Paul.
This morning I did the devotional for our Oviedo Team before we left the hotel. The devotional was on trust. Trusting God beyond salvation. Trusting Him for assurance of Salvation, Finances, and words to share. My first praise of the day was a good night's rest. We got to bed after midnight and up by 6:30 but that was a great night's rest! As brother Herb says, I got at least two hours rest for every hour of sleep.
Today we met four of our translators: Pedro, Ernesto, Ligia, and Marisco. Tomorrow we are going to meet the other two: Lise and Eduardo. We reviewed the tract that we will be using: Steps to Peace with God. What a powerful tool that God is going to use in the life of the Brazilian people.
We also went to a church service in Belem Velho tonight. Chuck gave his testimony and Debbie led a Bible study for children. Debbie's lesson was totally unplanned and expected but God used this to stretch her and bless her. We each prayed with several people after the service through an interpretor.
We ate at an exoctic restaurant after church: McDonald's. Tasted pretty much USA.
Prayer requestsÇ
Tomorrow is first day to make visits - going to General Camera. Other teams have visited this town before and Satan has attacked each team in a different way but God has blessed each team in a special way that has gone.
Each team member will be making approximately 5 vists / day. That is a total of 25 potential salvation decisions per day. Please pray for each visit, each translator, and each one of the Oviedo team. Pray that the message will be clear, the hearts will be tender and that Satan will be bound so that all distractions will be removed.
Pray for rest each day. Days are long but rewarding. Restful sleep needed so that we have clear minds.
Pray for Debbie's knee. Pray that medicine will relieve pain.
Praise for bonding time with translators and ability to share personal needs of all.
Praise that we got to meet the wives and family of Jeff and Paul.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Safe Arrrival and More
My email gave some of the details of our trip but I'll repeat it here.
We arrived on time at 9:30 am this morning (Sat.). Praise was our bags all arrived with us and we made all our connections. Our connections in Sao Paulo were close since our flight left Miami late and we arrived in Sao Paulo about the time we were supposed to be boarding. There was a big line to get through customs (actually two different times). When we made it through customs, we had to find the airline and praise to God. we asked a man where the flight to Porto Alegre was and he pointed us to a lady who took us to the front of the airline line and helped us go through security check point.
Today we had a shower when we arrived at our hotel. We went to eat at open air market for lunch. Great food! I've got to learn to take only one dessert (prayer request). I had my first taste of gura..... (don't know how to spell it).
Walked through the market and observed the many spiritist shops. Statues of Mary along side spiritist statues. Many other neat images in the market.
Rain today made touristy things hard to do. We did go on boat trip down the river.
We are getting ready to go to dinner tonight at 9:00 pm. Get used to late dinners, you are in South America.
Tomorrow we start to work with translators.
Pray that most of the translators will be able to be there. We have translators working different days so this may be a challenge for both translators and us. Praise God we have translators.
We are worshipping tomorrow night in Belem Velho. First time for some of us to preach and share our testimoinies through an interpreter.
Praises:
Safe arrival
Bags arrived
Translators
Prayer request:
Work with translators tomorrow
Good nights sleep - right now I am tired.
Most of translators show up tomorrow and we have a good session learning the tract and working with translators
Service tomorrow night.
We arrived on time at 9:30 am this morning (Sat.). Praise was our bags all arrived with us and we made all our connections. Our connections in Sao Paulo were close since our flight left Miami late and we arrived in Sao Paulo about the time we were supposed to be boarding. There was a big line to get through customs (actually two different times). When we made it through customs, we had to find the airline and praise to God. we asked a man where the flight to Porto Alegre was and he pointed us to a lady who took us to the front of the airline line and helped us go through security check point.
Today we had a shower when we arrived at our hotel. We went to eat at open air market for lunch. Great food! I've got to learn to take only one dessert (prayer request). I had my first taste of gura..... (don't know how to spell it).
Walked through the market and observed the many spiritist shops. Statues of Mary along side spiritist statues. Many other neat images in the market.
Rain today made touristy things hard to do. We did go on boat trip down the river.
We are getting ready to go to dinner tonight at 9:00 pm. Get used to late dinners, you are in South America.
Tomorrow we start to work with translators.
Pray that most of the translators will be able to be there. We have translators working different days so this may be a challenge for both translators and us. Praise God we have translators.
We are worshipping tomorrow night in Belem Velho. First time for some of us to preach and share our testimoinies through an interpreter.
Praises:
Safe arrival
Bags arrived
Translators
Prayer request:
Work with translators tomorrow
Good nights sleep - right now I am tired.
Most of translators show up tomorrow and we have a good session learning the tract and working with translators
Service tomorrow night.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
More prayer requests and updates
Translators are still needed. This is a very urgent prayer request. Jeff met with a group of 12 potential translators on Sept. 27. So far he has a commitment from one. We need 5.
A second prayer request is for me. During our trip, each night after we do our home visits throughout the day, we are going to meet for a church service. Each night, one of the men on the team will be preaching a sermon. This is way outside my comfort zone but I know that God is able to give me the power and words but I need lots of prayer for this. Pray as I prepare messages and then for me as I preach them. I've done teaching before but these messages are evangelistic messages.
A second prayer request is for me. During our trip, each night after we do our home visits throughout the day, we are going to meet for a church service. Each night, one of the men on the team will be preaching a sermon. This is way outside my comfort zone but I know that God is able to give me the power and words but I need lots of prayer for this. Pray as I prepare messages and then for me as I preach them. I've done teaching before but these messages are evangelistic messages.
Trip Schedule
We have a tentative schedule. As we were reminded when Jeff was here in September, we need to be flexible, so these plans are subject to change:
Friday (Oct. 10): Leave Orlando at 3:00 PM
Saturday: Arrive in Porto Alegre at 9:30 AM. Rest, eat
Sunday: Training, prayerwalking, worship in Belem Velho
Monday: Evangelism in General Camera (2 hours out from Porto Alegre)
Tuesday: Evangelism in Alta Caraá (rural area with spread out houses near (but not with) an Indian tribe.(currently has one Christian family)
Wednesday: Evangelism in Gravataí (Morada do Vale neighborhood)
Thursday: Evangelism in Belem Velho during the day, Seminary Evangelism Class at night
Friday (Oct. 17): Get up EARLY to head home. Leave Porto Alegre at 6:00 AM. Arrive in Orlando at 10:45 PM
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Prayer Request - Sept. 20
One of the thins that I had ask you to pray for in an earlier blog was interpreters. Chuck has received word from Jeff that all the interpreters that we had used in the past now have jobs. Although that is good for them, that means that we will need 5 translators. Jeff is having a meeting on Sept. 27 to meet with prospective translators.
A second request is for the Church service on Oct. 5. Our team will be presented to the church, prayed over and sent out.
Third thing to pray for is one of our team members, Debbie. Every year about this time, she gets allergies from Florida and gets sinus infections and bronchitis. Pray that this year she will not get this and she will not be sick for our trip.
Forth thing to pray for is me as I prepare 20 minute messages to teach/preach on while we are in Porto Alegre. Pray that God will direct my thoughts to the right passages that will speak to the people and point them to my Savior.
A second request is for the Church service on Oct. 5. Our team will be presented to the church, prayed over and sent out.
Third thing to pray for is one of our team members, Debbie. Every year about this time, she gets allergies from Florida and gets sinus infections and bronchitis. Pray that this year she will not get this and she will not be sick for our trip.
Forth thing to pray for is me as I prepare 20 minute messages to teach/preach on while we are in Porto Alegre. Pray that God will direct my thoughts to the right passages that will speak to the people and point them to my Savior.
Praise
God has used my Sunday School Class (BFG) to meet my financial need for the trip. I had asked fellow class members to consider contributing a tank or two of gas money toward my trip. The Lord answered this prayer in a big way. I received over $1100 from my BFG. Thank God for SUV's with big gas tanks and loving class members for allowing God to use them to meet my need.
Praise God!
Another praise is that our Visas have been approved and we have received them.
Praise God!
Another praise is that our Visas have been approved and we have received them.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Prayer Requests - Aug. 20
The following are things that you can pray for now. I will add more in the following weeks:
- Translators - we have five people going on the trip and we need a translator for each person in order to maximize the number of people who can be visited. Many of the translators that were used on previous trips now have jobs or they are in seminary and can't take a lot of time off.
- People to visit - Jeff will be working with the local churches to arrange and organize individual home visits for at least four full days
- Visa applications - we all need Brazilian visas in order to travel into Brazil. This should be fairly routine but when Satan is involved, nothing should be taken for granted.
- Team preparation - we have material to review and details to finalize.
- Team spiritual condition - pray that the team will be in the Bible on a daily basis and that we will have a daily cleansing of our sins and a close walk with the Lord.
- Burden for the lost - pray that each team member will pray for the people of Porto Alegre and that we each will have a burden for the unsaved people around us in Oviedo and in Porto Alegre.
- Pray especially for me to have complete thoughts so that I do not stop in the middle of sentences. The translator needs an entire sentence before they can acurrately translate into Portuguese.
- Pray for the Holy Spirit's leading and help me to be sensitive to that leading. I want to make sure that I am not relying on my power to do anything.
- Finances - for all team members.
Trip Finances
The total cost of the misssion trip to me is $1900. I already have $500 donated from ralatives and I am trying to raise an additional $500 through friends.
If you would like to donate towards this trip, donations can be made through First Baptist Church Oviedo.
The address is:
45 W. Broadway
Oviedo, Fl 32765
Money given towards my trip is tax deductible but you should not put my name on the memo field of the check to insure that you get the tax deduction. Instead of putting my name on the check, a note enclosed with the check stating that the check should be applied toward "Brazil Mission Trip for Don Paris".
John Jarrell, the teacher of our Sunday School class, has also agreed to collect money on my behaf and give it to the appropriate person to insure that everyone gets tax deduction credit if you pay by check.
Thanks for considering to support me in this trip. I realize that these are difficult financial times for everyone and more important to me is your prayer support.
If you would like to donate towards this trip, donations can be made through First Baptist Church Oviedo.
The address is:
45 W. Broadway
Oviedo, Fl 32765
Money given towards my trip is tax deductible but you should not put my name on the memo field of the check to insure that you get the tax deduction. Instead of putting my name on the check, a note enclosed with the check stating that the check should be applied toward "Brazil Mission Trip for Don Paris".
John Jarrell, the teacher of our Sunday School class, has also agreed to collect money on my behaf and give it to the appropriate person to insure that everyone gets tax deduction credit if you pay by check.
Thanks for considering to support me in this trip. I realize that these are difficult financial times for everyone and more important to me is your prayer support.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Where am I going.
This is my first post to my new blog about my upcoming mission trip to Porto Alegre, Brazil. I will be leaving Orlando, Fl on Oct. 10, 2008 and returning on Oct. 17. We have a team of five people going on the trip and we will be working with an IMB missionary, Jeff Dunson, while we are in Porto Alegre. The purpose of our mission trip is personal evangelism. Each of the team members will be sharing their Faith in Jesus Christ through an interpreter to individuals and families in communities where new churches are being formed.
This will be my third mission trip since I have been attending First Baptist Church in Oviedo (FBCO). The first trip was a construction mission trip to Israel to work with Bill and Phyllis Becton. My second trip was to Doaktown, NB Canada. This trip was also a construction trip to work with David and Lisa Storey.
I am excited to be asked to go on this trip since it will be my first opportunity to go on a pure evangelistic trip.
There will be 5 people on our team: Chuck Reilly, Art LaBrack, Kathy Millard, Debbie Laster, and me. Except for Chuck, I believe that this will be the first time that we have been to Brazil to do this kind of evangelistic work.
This will be my third mission trip since I have been attending First Baptist Church in Oviedo (FBCO). The first trip was a construction mission trip to Israel to work with Bill and Phyllis Becton. My second trip was to Doaktown, NB Canada. This trip was also a construction trip to work with David and Lisa Storey.
I am excited to be asked to go on this trip since it will be my first opportunity to go on a pure evangelistic trip.
There will be 5 people on our team: Chuck Reilly, Art LaBrack, Kathy Millard, Debbie Laster, and me. Except for Chuck, I believe that this will be the first time that we have been to Brazil to do this kind of evangelistic work.
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