Time flies when you are having fun!

We just got back from a trip from the state of Paraiba Brazil. We were there celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary and also visiting our friends (Tom and Luciana Stowe). We stayed three nights in a pousada (inn)which sits on a cliff overlooking a deserted beach. The view was amazing. Then we stayed two nights in Joao Pessoa. I had the opportunity to preach at Calvary in Joao Pessoa on Sunday. It was a really blessed time. For those of you who do not know, before we came to minister in Porto Alegre I was praying about two cities Porto Alegre and Joao Pessoa. So, it was such a neat time to see this other city that God had placed in my heart. And Carol and I are so happy to see Tom and his wife Luciana ministering there.

Calvary Porto Alegre Retreat 2009

Every so often we all need a time of refreshement. Well, just this month (May 1-3) we had our first retreat at Calvary Porto Alegre. It was an awesome time of being blessed by the Word, Fellowship, Worship, and Communion. There were 12 of us from Porto Alegre that attended as well as some guys from Rio de Janeiro, Sao Vicente, and Foz de Iguacu, and Florianopolis.

The retreat was located at a pousada (inn) located about a hour and a half away in a city called Nova Petropolis, located in the mountains. The weather and scenery were amazing, as well as the food. But nothing is better than time with Jesus!

Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre is the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. Rio Grande do Sul borders the state of Santa Catarina to the north, Uruguay to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Argentina to the west. The Gaucho's (people from Rio Grande) are known for their love for cooking barbecue. And here in Porto Alegre there are dozens of churrascaria's (restaurants where the waiters bring around the meat rotisserie style. Even Pizza Hut serves the pizza here rotisserie style! The sunset is is amazing as it hits the Rio Guaiba. If you have a chance to visit, please do!

Gaucho's are also famous for being more Gaucho than they are Brazilian. Their culture is a stark contrast to the rest of Brazil. It is to me: a different country of sorts. Unemployment is very low, there's more formality to everything and even the weather is different-yes we have all four seasons of the year here.

Most of all, what I see here is more like America though than the "rest of Brazil". People here live to work and whereas in northeastern Brazil people work to live. There is also a strong German influence here. I truly do not know why, but the as Christian church as gone dead in mos Europe it seems that way here, too. Whereas Christianity in Brazil as a whole is growing like never before.

The tree is definitely not ripe for the picking. But it is my belief that one day it will be. My family and I have come here to plant seeds of salt and light to a place that seems, at times, so dark. Porto Alegre has more Atheists, Spiritists, and African based religion (Candomble, Macumba) followers per capita than any other capital city in Brazil. This is a place that needs prayer for a spiritual awakening that that only Jesus can bring! Please join me in prayer for this city, Porto Alegre

My favorite evangelist

My daughter Lilly is always wanting to share Jesus. Last year we made some pamphlets about our church, which gives some info about our church services and also the message of the Gospel.
So, I usually stand outside of the door of the church (which is inside the garage of a local day care) to hand out these pamphlets to those who walk by. And Lilly says, are those the storybooks about Jesus? I say,..yes. Then, she takes some and starts giving them to those walking by. Oh, if I could of taken a picture of the man who just walked by and didn't take one from her hand, she was so sad.

The best part is when we got back to our apartament building all of our neighbors are on the bottom floor talking and drinking chimarrao and coffee and she goes and gives these tracts to all of our neighbors and tells them Jesus Te Ama (Jesus Loves You).

Next, Lilly and Lucas take swimming lessons at a nearby Miliary Club. Lilly likes to make neat envelopes with stickers on them and gives them to her friends, but with nothing inside. So, she makes one for her swimming teacher but asks Carol where the Gospel/church tracts are so she can put one inside the envelope for her teacher.

Why is Lilly my favorite evangelist? Because she has courage, yet she does not even know it. She just wants others to know Jesus as she does; the God that created her and loves her.

Sao Vicente

Last week we trip a trip to the city of Sao Vicente in the state of Sao Paulo. My wife Carol is from there and we went to attend a wedding of one of her cousins(above is a picture of Carol with her older brother, Junior). Brazilian weddings are always a fun time.
Also, we got a chance to visist Capela do Calvario Sao Vicente, the first Calvary in Brazil. Here's a picture of Wellington (originally from Sao Vicente) now a pastor in Recife and Celso pastor of Calvary in Sao Vicente. These guys are such loving men of God.

Enjoying the Porto Alegre Sunset

Happy New Year and welcome to the site! It is my hope that through these updates you will be introduced to my Family as well as the Ministry here in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil! I look forward to sharing throughtout the coming year all that God has, is, and will do in, through, and amongst us! Thanks for your prayers.