Galatians 6:10 'Let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers'

Jeff and Pastor Frido returned last night from Rio do Sul with some incredible stories!

The river rose over 25 feet and houses were 75 to 100% under water! They spent some of their time helping clean houses. They removed belongings and piled it all up in the streets. Houses have been filled with water (which includes sewer, gas, oil and mud) for more than 5 days! Everything they removed was "water logged" and very heavy and smelly!

They then used power washers to spray down every inch of the houses, inside and out, which unfortunately removed the paint, as well. The walls were caked with mud and sludge. They then had to hand wash the complete structure with a chemical to kill the mold....mold that is making it hard to breath inside the houses. The next step was power washing again to remove the chemicals. After the house dries, they will be able to repaint.

A difficult and long process, to say the least! Overwhelming....and yet encouraging to see the body-of-Christ come together! Brazilians, the government, and the churches are responding to the needs and a high percentage of people are getting help in one form or another. It's great to see the government helping with money and goods, as we saw in Rio's mud slides last year!

Jeff wrote the following perspective......

The flood through the eyes of new believers

Upon our arrival in Rio do Sul, Frido and I joined up with a team from the local church. They were about 4-5 days into cleaning homes and helping people where possible.

I soon discovered that 2 members of this team were fellow believers from a drug recovery center 300 (+/-) miles away. One I called “car” (his name was Edson, kind of like the old “edsel” car) and the other we called “fala muito” (talk a lot – as he sure did). They had been helping the entire time and were a great blessing!

We worked long hours alongside these two men and were blessed to hear their stories. The two of them had come out of a world of drugs, alcohol and crime (mostly robbing to pay for the drugs and alcohol). They both hit rock bottom and through the grace of God ended up in a Recovery Center where they gave their lives to the Lord. Now their lives are completely changed. The transformation in the two is incredible. You would never guess their backgrounds!

These 2 young men live as if they have the world by the tail, and yet from a worldly and material standpoint they have nothing...just the clothes on their backs and a few little things. So when they walked into a home that is a total disaster, they didn't see the impact of the disaster, they saw the hope that is possible through Jesus Christ alone---hope of a second chance! They shared this freely with the people who crossed our paths during those intense days of cleaning and sharing Christ!

Please continue to pray for our brothers- and sisters-in-Christ in the south of Brazil! Pray for transformed lives....and fruit that remains!

Jeff and Diane

Serving in Rio and beyond

www.touchglobal.org/brazil

When the Cat's Away....the Gamba will Play!

It's been an interesting few days here in Rio while Jeff is in the South and I'm here, home alone :)

Four visitors came to our Recreio church on Sunday whom we had recently met while street evangelizing with a short-term team! Pastor Frido is in the south of Brazil with Jeff and it was wonderful to see the body so easily come together and study the Word!

On Sunday, because of high winds, the phone line fell. I can see it laying in the street. I have no home phone and no internet! And so, I haven't been able to update you all on the happenings in the South!

Jeff reported back (via cell phone, PTL!) how sad it is to see so many homes ruined by the water....people are emptying their belongings into the streets into large piles for the garbage collectors to pick up! It's a horrible sight seeing all that garbage and meeting people that have lost everything!

On the positive side, the church has had so many opportunities to share of eternity with Christ, where things won't rust or come to ruin!

Please continue to pray for Brazilians in the south as they clean-up and rebuild after the flooding. Pray for many to come to know Christ through this crisis.

Also, we've acquired an uninvited guest, a Gamba (possum)....and our dog Moses is having a blast teasing it and keeping it up in the trees in our yard!

Serving together,
Di
www.touchglobal.org/brazil

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

Opportunities to share the Living Water....

In the year 2003, Jeff and I traveled on a short-term mission trip to Blumenau, Brazil. For us, it was the beginning of our call to serve full-time as missionaries here in Brazil. And so, it holds a very special place in our hearts.

We were saddened to learn of the recent intense rains that have once again caused floods in Blumenau and surrounding cities. Since September 8, floods, flash floods and landslides have hit 96 cities in the region and nearly 1 million people have been affected. The State of Santa Catarina went through a similar tragedy in 2008.

As I write this, Jeff is preparing to travel to the south of Brazil with our brother-in-Christ, Pastor Frido. They are taking a supply of rubber boots and gloves for the workers there....but most importantly, waterproof bibles and EvangeCubes!

Please pray for our brothers- and sisters-in-Christ in Santa Catarina. Pray for their energy, strength, perseverance, and many opportunities to share the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ!

In His service,
Diane

For further information from Reach Global on this situation use this link:

Brazil need