You Prayed....GOD ANSWERED!!!

Dear prayer warriors,

Thank you all for your prayers today!  The water truck just left after filling our cistern!

Since we returned to Rio on January 30th, we have been rationing the water at the Mission House as Rio is badly in need of some rain!  

There are companies here in Rio that sell water but only accept cash.  We recently discovered we have had fraud on our ATM cards and they've been cancelled and so we couldn't get cash to buy water (they don't accept credit cards).

We were able to scrape up enough cash today to buy roughly a weeks worth of water!  PTL!  We will continue rationing until our neighborhood finally gets water.

Please continue praying we'll soon get water.

We're rejoicing and singing praises after our "military" showers!

Praising Him from whom all blessings flow,

Diane and Jeff

The grass is brown from no rain for over a month

"For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."

We returned from Crackland in Sao Paulo on Sunday after receiving three interns to serve there for 3 months with Mission CENA and help them get settled and adjusted.

Our hearts are always heavy when we walk the streets in Crackland and see how the enemy is working.  But....then we see how the Lord is transforming lives and how wonderfully beautiful He works!!!

This morning in our time in the Word, God encouraged us in the book of Habakkuk, where it says, 

"How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?  Or cry out to you, 'Vilolence!' but you do not save?  Why do you make me look at injustice?  Why do you tolerate wrong?  Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.  Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails.  The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted."

The Lord's Answer

"Look at the nations and watch---and be utterly amazed.  For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."

Over and over again in the remaining verses in the book of Habakkuk, we read of God's strength and glory in the midst of the ways of the wicked.  Chapter 2:14 says, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."

Amazed by how He works,

Diane and Jeff

1 John 3:18, "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

Years ago, God placed on our hearts a desire to raise up a team of youth to come and serve at CENA in Sao Paulo.  We believe in CENA as a mission because over the years, as we have walked alongside CENA and gotten to know them well, we have seen God at work in Crackland in such a powerful way.  We have seen lives transformed by the gospel of Christ through CENA!  We believe in the leadership of Joao Carlos, Milani and Edileuza!

God has raised up our first team of youth that will be serving here for three months!  What a pleasure it was yesterday to visit the CENA farm with our three CENA interns, Cody, Jake and Leah, and listen to the story of a young man in the restoration program there that has come off the streets 6 months ago.

He told us that he knows ALL of the organizations in downtown Sao Paulo that give out food to the homeless.  He said, "They scoop food onto your plate, and turn their face away.  They don't look you in the eyes and don't ask you about your life or even seem to care."  But, when he went to CENA, he experienced something different.  And that difference was the love of Jesus Christ.

Leading a mission like CENA can be exhausting!  Think for a moment of some of the needs that are involved:

Covering everything in prayer
Organizing fasting
Reaching out to the drug addicted
Reaching out to transvestite prostitutes
Reaching out to the prostitutes
Reaching out to the children
Organizing Bible Studies
Organizing Soccer Camps
Organizing Transvestite Retreats
Running a daycare for the children of prostitutes and drug traffickers
Feeding between 150-200 people every Tuesday
Organizing the clothing to be given out
Organizing the showering process
Giving haircuts
Preaching the Word
Sharing the Gospel of Christ
Running a restoration farm
Running a family house
Counseling
Organizing medical testing for "students" that come off the streets
Caring for over 20 full-time missionaries
Organizing the volunteers
Counseling
Offering CENA missionaries training and classes
Helping find jobs
Helping train in life skills
Helping with the counseling of restoring families

...the list is endless!

So, to come alongside and bring in young and energetic youth teams to help out and be involved is a huge blessing!

PLEASE pray for CENA.  Pray for Joao Carlos, Edileuza and Milani.  Pray for their families.  Pray for continued fruitful ministry.

And please pray for our interns, Leah, Cody and Jake.  Pray for their safety.  Pray for energy.  Pray for their language.  They're learning Portuguese SO fast!  Pray for divine appointments for them to share the gospel of Christ!

Working together to reach the lost,

Diane and Jeff

Multiplying transformational communities of disciples in Brazil

Church Planting – Caju Style

We have shared often about the wonderful things that we see God doing in Caju.  So many lives transformed through the power of the gospel.  Many of those lives seemed beyond help.  Caju Church has big dreams, in the power of the Lord!  Let us share their vision for impacting the city of Rio and beyond...

Caju believes that it all starts with the transformation of one life.  This starts by sharing the gospel with those who God has put close to you.  Then helping them to live as Jesus lived, making them a disciple of Jesus.  Can you imagine what happens when a 17-year-old with a history of drug abuse, sex, alcohol and extreme disobedience suddenly changes and starts being loving, respectful and obedient to his parents?  We're witnessing whole families receiving Jesus!   

Step 2 is the transformation of each family member, as they learn to live as Jesus lived, becoming His disciples.  Amazing stories---what an amazing God we serve!

Next is the community.  When families begin to follow Jesus, the neighbors notice and this opens the doors to their hearts.  So they start Life Groups (small groups) where the neighbors can come and hear and see what is happening in their lives in a nice safe environment.  The process starts all over again in the lives of those families!  Multiplication!

THEN comes church attendance.  A Celebration with believers on Sundays!  The church is really a result of having several (3-4) Life Groups in the same area and the need for structure and training to teach them how to walk as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

God has given Caju some crazy dreams.  They want to plant a church in each of the 40-some boroughs of Rio.  They want to do it by bringing the gospel to one person, who in turns impacts his/her family and then their community---again, MULTIPLICATION!  Right now Caju has a Life Group in over 10 different boroughs in Rio using this method.  One of those locations has several Life Groups and now is ready to become a church.

God is working mightily through the Caju Church and we are thrilled to be a part of that! 

Please pray for continued multiplication in Caju.  Pray for continued healthy church planting and for fruit that remains!

Multiplying transformational communities of disciples in Brazil,

Jeff and Diane

John 4:24, "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in truth."

 Baby Dedication at Caju Life Church

We had an amazing first Sunday back in Rio!

In the morning, we worshipped at CELivre, our local Evangelical Free church here in Recreio.  God brought a powerful message about worshiping Him in spirit and in truth through our new Brazilian pastor, Dennis!  We look forward to working together with him and his wife, Michelle!

In the evening, we were wonderfully blessed to be in Caju and worship with this beautiful body-of-Christ!  It was awesome to be back and encourage and be encouraged by so many dear followers of Christ!

Reconnecting with many dear friends in Caju!

 
Working together to build God's kingdom,

Diane and Jeff