The Beauty of a Newborn Babe!

Camilla is only 3 days old!

Today Jeff and I made visits to families in need with one of our Brazilian partners in a neighborhood close to our home.  We delivered food (rice, beans, flour and sugar) and diapers to the mothers and children that participate in the Genesis program.  The church also provided a refrigerator and a bed to families in need.

We also had many opportunities to pray with these mothers and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The woman above is pregnant and on bed rest until her child is born.  We shared the gospel with her and she said she had heard about Jesus once when she was a child from her aunt.  

In February this local body-of-Christ will be starting a bi-weekly service and prayer time in this neighborhood and we desire to participate in this outreach.  Please pray for new disciples of Jesus Christ to be raised up in this neighborhood. 

1 John 3:17, "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?"

Reaching out to the needy in Rio,

Diane and Jeff

Preach, Pray or Die....

You’ve heard the old missionary adage…”Always be ready to preach, pray or die”.

Tonight we went to visit our Brazilian partners in the Terreirao for their Wednesday night service.  We were anxious to spend some time afterwards with this pastor and his wife, as they are passing through some challenges at this time and we wanted to pray with them and encourage them.

As the congregation was waiting for the pastor to arrive,  Jeff felt led to begin to teach from 1 Samuel 16:1-13, which we have been studying in our morning daily devotions.  Before we knew it, we had worshipped, studied the Word, spent time in discussion and prayer, and closed the service.  The pastor of the church never showed up!

Upon leaving after the service, Jeff checked his phone for messages and received one from this pastor asking Jeff to lead the service because he would be unavoidably detained and unable to make the service.

We’re getting good at always being ready to, “Preach, Pray, or Die”!

Loving Brazilians and their spontaneous culture,

Diane and Jeff

Intensely Brilliant Lives for Christ!

Occasionally,  we are asked why we do what we do here in Rio.  Sometimes we are even asked what we do here in Rio.  It’s very simple….Why?  We love to see transformed lives because of Christ!  OUR lives were forever changed because of Christ!  What?  We bring the Good News of Jesus Christ!  That’s where our hearts are…

Okay, there’s a lot more strategy behind it and if you want to send us an e-mail to ask a question,  or meet with us when we’re in the States, we’d love to share it with you!

We live an intense life here in Rio.  That’s no secret.  As Midwesterners, it’s intense!  We see things that we NEVER saw growing up in Minnesota.  Daily, we see hurting people.  We see guns, prostitution, drugs and attempts from the enemy to destroy lives.   And I’m glad we live intensely here!  Because one day, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! And we will have the chance to give account for our lives, how we responded to the gospel, and how we chose to use the gifts that the Lord gave us.

Revelation 3:15-18 says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked”.

We have NO business being here in the flesh in this strange land and many times we can feel that we are not wanted here.   However, we have EVERY business being here in the Spirit and in the authority of Jesus Christ!  And we will stay until our Commander-in-Chief calls us elsewhere.  We stand firm in the strong name of Jesus, and work hard at the work to which He has called us---to offer the hope that is found only in Jesus!

So, like I said, we see things here that we NEVER saw growing up in Minnesota!   We see God do the IMPOSSIBLE!  We see a beautiful people group that can shake a building with abandoned enthusiasm as they praise and worship Christ!  We see people come out of horrific circumstances and shine brilliantly for Christ!  He is the only one that is worth this!  We are privileged to see lives transformed from ugliness and despair into INTENSELY BRILLIANT adopted sons of Christ!

Please pray with us for lives to be plucked from death and into life as we work to spread the gospel here in this BEAUTIFULLY INTENSE city!

Feeling the warmth of His brilliant Sonshine today,

Diane and Jeff

Servants of the Most High

John 15: 4 "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itselt; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

We had an awesome time studying God’s Word today and worshipping with our brothers-in-Christ from Freguesia!  We studied from John 15:1-11.

We hadn’t seen this wonderful body-of-Christ since our son, Andrew’s wedding in May, so it was fun to study together, worship together, fellowship together and have fun together!  We didn’t arrive home until almost midnight!

This family has loved, blessed, and supported us through good and bad times here in Brazil!  They visited us in the hospital after our serious car accident 6 years ago.  We have street evangelized together, served together, received short-term mission teams together and attended our children’s weddings together!

Now, they have found us a sister-in-Christ and a lawyer within their body who is willing to help us with our “BIG FINE MESS” this week!

Pray that soon we have closure on this, one way or another, and that God’s name is honored through it all! 

Pray that we can put this behind us and focus on building His kingdom!

Celebrating the support of our dear Brazilian family and REMAINING IN HIM,

Jeff and Diane