Year-end

Because I'm already traveling again I didn't have time to uploaded the pictures from our soccer tournament and the Christmas service. I hope to do that asap.

But I want to wish you a Marry Christmas, blessed time with family and a good start into the new year. I want to thank you for all your support during this last year and pray that our LORD will grant you many blessings.

See you next year

Back in Barão

Well I'm back in Barão again for a short time. The time in Belem was all in all good. The time started not to good at first but with the time stuff got better and I found my place again. Again I want to thank you very much for your prayer during that time. The course that we (Tashona and I) had was not to bad. It was hard for us keep up with this class because of Skype. It became hard for us to sit a half a day on the computer and listen to those back in Canada. And beside that the Internet wasn't working that well all the time which made it hard for us to pay attention. The course it self was interesting and important for our internship.
After the time in Belem my mother, Tashona and I drove back to Piaui. I had the chance to stay for a few days at my parents house and just relax a bit. Now I'm back in Barão and their is a lot waiting for me. On Saturday have out soccer tournament and on Sunday we will have our Christmas service at church. Beside this two events we still have the events that are going on during week. On the 24th I'll be driving back to my parents place to celebrate Christmas with them. After Christmas we will be driving down south to a town called Colonia, it is the town where I grew up and lived the most time of my live. Their we will celebrate New Years with some old friends. So their is a l to coming up and I'm looking forward to all of that.
I want to thank you one more time for your support in prayer.


Ps. If you want to help out the ministry here in Barão you could help us buying some soccer balls for our soccer ministry. If you're interested in helping us, so please contact me.

quick update

Thank you so much for the prayers that I needed so much in the last few days. I'm doing way better again and coming back to normal life.
Again, there is nothing more important to me than to have your support in prayer and that's way I'm so thankful for all you have done for me.

I pray that God may grant all you need and a lot of blessing in return.

News from Belem

How I already announced it I'm writing this post from Belem. I arrived well in Belem and we already had our first day of class. But before I start talking about Belem and how I'm doing, I want to talk a bit more about the week before I left for Belem. We had the missionary Martin and his wife Susanne over in Barão and with them also a friend from Switzerland that is doing some volunteer work in a project up here in Belem. How ever Martin came to start of with us the agriculture project in the interior of Barão. I had the chance to go along and to help out. For some pictures, click here.
Now to what is going on today and this week. It will be an interesting week, we are having class with CLBI this week via skype. We (Tashona and I) came this last Saturday in the morning here in Belem. Saturday evening we already where at a graduation of a Bible School called "Word of Life". A student that our family knew from the time when we lived up here graduated and is planning to work in the future with my parents down in the Piaui.
Saturday also began something in my live that I could declare as one of the most difficult time in my life. Sunday it got so bad that I had to talk to some good friends and I'm thankful for the technology that we have today because through that I had a good friend that could help me and a lot of others that helped me through their prayers. Monday I had the chance to talk to someone that is also close to me and stuff are getting better now. But still I ask for your prayer because the problem still exists in my life and with God's help I can win this battle.

Well I think with all this you're again updated with what is going on. Thanks so much for your help and especially for your prayer.

The message

Just quick a update on how it went with my message last week.
I'm not a person who can plan and get ready for a message and then apply it the way I prepared it. This was also the way it went last Wednesday. I had my message planned out but when I had to share it, it didn't went the way I planned it. How ever I don't think the message was bad because of this but I wouldn't say she was the best either. But still I think that my message brought some people to think about certain things in their lives.
Here is this weeks schedule, tomorrow evening their is a other missionary and his wife coming for a few days and they are bringing a other intern from Switzerland a long, on Wednesday the Reifler Family will have some visit from Switzerland and on Friday I'm of to Belem to take my CLBI Internship class. I'll post the next message from Belem and I'll keep you update about how things are going up there.

Thanks a lot for your support (in prayer / financial)

a short update

The rain is finally here and the temperature is dropping and that makes me really happy.
I'm now already back here in Barão for a while since the last post. Last weel Pastor Valter and I had a meeting, planning a soccer tournament. The tournament will be on the 22nd of December. We hope that we can get around 8 teams and that the city will support us financially. We chose "drugs I'm out of here" as our theme for the tournament. In this part of the city where I live the drugs are a huge problem and we want to make the kids aware of the consequences of consuming drugs. We hope that a local church that works with drugs addicts will send one of their staff members to have a short talk about drugs to the kids. I'm exited to see what this event will do and what God will be doing in those kids lives.
I'm in the middle of preparing my first bible study for tomorrow evening. The theme is about the consequences of sin and the salvation plan of God. Because it is my first one here and it's in Portuguese I'm also very nervous about it. I hope the message will be clear and that everything will go well.
Last Thursday I had the privilege to be live on screen in my home church in Switzerland. They asked me if I would like to be skyped in for mission evening at the church. I would like to say thanks again to my church for giving me that opportunity.

Well, beside that not a lot had happened since my last post. We had last Sunday a service here at our house. It wasn't well attended but we know that God is working in them.
Everything is going well from my side and the work is going on, slowly but it is going.

Be blessed and thanks for your interest.

For a change

Just quick some last words to the video clips about the elections here in Brazil.
As you probably noticed, the elections here were very loud. There were lot of parades, which were payed by the candidates. After most parades the candidates organized a party where all their followers could have free drinks and party. So nearly all the people of the town where on those events and our ministry had nearly anybody. But how I already wrote in an other post, the people are coming back now and it has been fun to organize and plan stuff for the youth here.
Last Saturday I had the chance to drive to my parents place. It was a great time that I had with them. I had the chance to visit the new PróSertão office downtown Teresina. But there wasn't a lot of time that I could spend with my parents. On Tuesday the PróSertão team meeting started and I was invited to be part of it, were I also could give my insights too. It was a very interesting time, I could learn a lot about the goals and the motives of the project. The meeting went on till Thursday noon. Thursday afternoon I traveld with one of the mission's leader back to Barão.
I'm not going to be back for to long. Beginning of December I'll be traveling up to Belem. There I'll be having a weekly course via skype with CLBI.

I'm learning a lot here in Brazil and because Simon Reifler knows a lot about Computer I also have the opportunity to learn a lot in that areal. I love to work in this area (website editing).

Thank you so much for your support, may our LORD bless you richly.

Some impressions of the election

Some video clips and fotos from the elections here in Brazil

First Fruits

There was a lot going on last week. We had as usual our small groups on Wednesday and Friday and on Thursday we went to visit a new village in the interior. We had the opportunity to meet new people and make new friendships. On Saturday we had again our soccer school in the morning and in the afternoon we had kid's time. After the lesson Rozi, Pastor Valter's wife had, she gave the opportunity to the kids accept Jesus as their saviour. So 9 kids accepted Jesus as their saviour that day. May the Holy Spirit keep working with that seed that was planted in their lives. Saturday evening we had again youth group and this time we had even more youth coming than last time. It really looks like that the elections affected our ministry. Sunday we had again church service, I was asked to lead the service. Again it was something I never did before and something that I could learn something.

The 9 kids that accepted Jesus into their lives

 How the feedback is on how I did, I don't know yet, but I think it went well for the first time. This Sunday was the last Sunday that we dedicated towards the missionaries of the denomination. We were collecting money for all the missionaries. My supervisor, Pastor Simon preached two weeks ago on the parable of the talents. How the master gave talents to his servants and how the first and the second servent multiplied the talents that the third didn't do anything with it. After preaching this message he challenged those who wanted to accept some money from him and multipli it in what every way and then to bring everything back again. The money would them be collected and be given to the denomination who would give the money to their missionaries. The goal that our church had was 220 Reais. Just on this last Sunday we collected through this challenge around 170 Reais. This people really understood what the message was all about. On day after this last Sunday a lady came and gave me 15 Reais telling me that this was what she won out of the money Pastor Simon gave her, and she also told me that she would keep another 10 Reais to use that to multipli it again. It is very nice to see how this people understand and are trustworthy with what we ask of them.

Well I think that's all what happened last week. Pastor Simon and his family are back from their holidays and so the normal life turned back too.

Thank you for your interest and your suport. There are new prayer request under the link "Support"
Be blessed

More Pictures

Here are some more pictures from the children's day, enjoy it

Brazil Adventure Part 2

And here is part 2, keep enjoying it.

Brazil Adventure Part 1

So here is the first part of the survival trek video that we did in September. Enjoy it

Leadership

A few days already have past since the children's day and my last post. I had the chance to experience and do a lot. So last Thursday we went to a village in the interior of Barão. I was scheduled to lead that evening. A usual thing to do here is to start the evening with an icebreaker. So I thought about a game that I could do with them that had to do with the theme of the night. The evening went well, actually in my opinion it went very well. The people interrupted quite often Pastor Simon who was bringing the message for that night to ask him questions. Some already knew a lot about the Bible other not that much but the most important thing was that they asked and they didn't just asked easy questions, no they had some good theological questions too.
Friday I was asked to lead the youth group on Saturday night. I was suppose to lead the next youth group but because the one responsible for this Saturday had a night shift at the hospital, she wasn't able to do it. So I did it. But what would I do?? I had not experience yet a youth group, because the once before where barely or not at all attended. And now this would be the first after the election time. So I thought that I should call my mother to ask her for ideas. The theme was "athletes for Christ", so I thought to do some games with them and afterwards to talk to them about it. For that evening the specific theme was about our motivation. What kind of motivation we have in our life and for the kingdom of God. So I had to plan so games in which it didn't matter how many people would come. When the time came, we had six youth. By the end of the night we had eight but just six that where there for the whole event. At the end of the night I didn't know if what I planned was good or not, but the Pastor told me that it was a good evening and that it was the first time that they had that many youth again. So I guess I can look back to a small success. I hope though that more youth will show up during my time here in Barão.
Next Sunday I will be leading worship in church. We'll see how I'm going to end up doing that. I think that was all for now. Right now I'm by my self because the Reifler family is on holidays, and that causes me not to have that much work but gives me time to write my blog.

Ok I wish you all good and thank you for your support.
be blessed