Short-Term Mission Trip? YES or NO?!!!

Don and Birdie Harms Minister in Rio de Janeiro - 2011

Have you ever felt that tug at your heart when hearing about an up-coming short-term mission trip? Or maybe, for you, it was that little voice inside your head that said, "what's THAT all about"? Or maybe it's that trip you "coincidentally" keep hearing about that, if you really were being honest with yourself....intrigues you?

Over and over again in God's Word, we see normal, ordinary people...sometimes lacking in certain areas, but nonetheless, being sent by God to bring the good news of his son, Jesus Christ! Our God is a "sending God". And everyone is called!

The above picture is of our dear brother- and sister-in-Christ, Don and Birdie, saved from out of a cult, who came to serve with us last August here in Rio.

CLICK HERE to read their amazing testimony, written by Birdie, of how this short-term trip has changed their lives! You won't be disappointed as you read how God called them to Rio and how He is calling them now...possibly into full-time missions!

Serving an Extraordinary God in ordinary ways,

Diane and Jeff

Gently and Boldly Proclaiming Christ at Carnival!

Using an Evange Cube
CLICK HERE to see the Church Jumping for Jesus!!!

Yesterday we spent 5 hours in worship, prayer and preparation to hit the streets in downtown Rio during Carnival with the church from Caju. A group of 120 of us then took buses downtown to use every opportunity to share the love of Christ.

CLICK HERE to see a short video clip showing some of the chaos of Carnival.

I'm amazed that people spend money just to come to Brazil during Carnival! Brazil has so much natural beauty that God has created and wonderful places to see. Carnival is not one of these. It was extremely noisy, crowded and the smells were horrific! The thought came to my mind that this would be what hell is like.

Many times as we shared with individuals of the hope that they could have as followers of Jesus Christ, they were moved to tears. It was beautiful to see the presence of the Church in the midst of the darkness! Caju Church shone for Christ!

Battling together,

Diane

Into the Darkness....Shining His Light!

As I write this, I can hear strange screaming and laughing coming from the other side of the wall that surrounds our home here in Rio. And so....the noise and confusion begins and will continue for the better part of a week here in Rio. Today began Carnival, a world famous festival held before Lent every year and considered the biggest Carnival in the world with two million people per day on the streets. The first festivals of Rio date back to 1723.

This is the first time in our 6+ years here that we will actually go downtown to Carnival. The majority of churches here in Rio leave the city at this time of year for retreats to escape the partying, drinking, sex in the streets and all the chaos that Carnival brings with it. We have decided, this year, to walk alongside one of our Brazilian churches and take the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the streets.

Our Rio City Team spent time yesterday and today discussing, preparing and praying about the next few upcoming days. Our Brazilian brothers- and sisters-in-Christ who have experienced Carnival in the city each year are excited and have butterflies in their stomachs! They have seen the enemy manifested in ugly ways in the past, but, better yet, have seen the enemy flee from the power of our mighty God!

Please pray for our safety. Pray for boldness. Pray we are not afraid. Most importantly, pray for clear gospel presentations and for souls won for Christ!

Juggling Together for the Kingdom of Christ!

Recently, while driving in the city we came upon this young man in the videos below. There are days that I wish I could juggle like this! Oh how I'd love to be able to keep so many balls in the air at one time!

Click on the links below to see some amazing juggling!

Rio Juggler (Part 1)
Rio Juggler (Part 2)

I must admit....at times I get a bit overwhelmed living here in Brazil! Living in a second language and culture in a congested city of 14 million people while endeavoring to make an impact for the Kingdom of God, can be exhausting! Extremely satisfying----but exhausting!

At times I measure my worth by the amount of things I can get done in a day or I focus on knowing more and more---about culture, about the city, about missions, about Portuguese and the million verb conjugations!

We all have times that we get so busy and we start trusting in ourselves instead of Him, don't we?


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God recently brought me to the verses in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

¹ And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

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How wonderful it was to be reminded (once again) that I cannot rest in my wisdom, but in God's power alone!

Juggling together,

Diane