God's Timing is Always the Best!

At the end of August we received our last short-term team for this year.

Keith and John were a great encouragement to us! They knew they were the last of 5 teams and that we were a bit tired, so they went to great lengths to be an encouragement to Jeff and I. They blessed us so beautifully!

We enjoyed what we call here on our ReachGlobal team, a "PRD", a Personal Retreat Day. We each have one 1 day each month. But while Keith and John were here, we enjoyed it together! We worshiped together, studied the Word together (thanks Pastor Keith for the awesome "gate" study from chapter 3 of the book of Nehemiah), spent time alone with the Lord and then came back together and shared deeply with one another of how God was speaking to us.

In addition to this, we had been wanting to visit Rio's newly constructed transit solution: A gondola line running above a collection of favelas known as the Complexo do Alemão (German Complex). It runs along a 2.1-mile route over the neighborhood, transforming the hour-and-a-half trudge to a nearby commuter rail station into a 16-minute sky ride. We didn't know it then, but what good timing God had!

While up at the very top of the line, God blessed us with a divine appointment to share Christ with 3 young men and then meet our brother-in-Christ, Jonathan. Jonathan shared that he is feeling lead to become a missionary, but has struggled with sharing Christ in his own neighborhood. We had unknowingly encouraged him greatly to begin to share more often. He then invited these three youth to his nearby bible-teaching church!

Since John and Keith have left us, the Complexo do Alemão has had several clashes between civilians and police officers. These shootouts are the largest between police and civilians since the community was invaded by peacekeeping forces in November of 2010.

We celebrate God's plan and timing for that day! Three men heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, Jonathan was encouraged to share starting in his own country, and it was a peaceful day for us in this beautiful and far-away land!

In His grip,

Diane