June Newsletter

This is the plaza where Heliene, Cintia, and I meet for Bible study
during their lunch break (I love it here)

Cintia

Heliene has been attending our church for about a year and a half now. During that time, she's gone through some big life changes. A few months ago, we planned to get lunch together to catch up and she asked if she could invite her new coworker, Cintia. She said that Cintia was a Christian who occasionally attended church, but that she was in a really bad spot emotionally and spiritually. When we met, Cintia said she felt completely dried up. Her faith was like a plant that had never been watered, alive but only just. We continued to meet to read the Bible and pray together. Every week my heart broke for her more and more. After converting from spiritism, this other church had consistently blamed Cintia for the difficulties in her life. Even deeply tragic personal losses were blamed on Cintia's sin of wearing pants instead of skirts. Cintia had develop a sort of karmic understanding of God where if you are in His good graces good things will come to you even in bad situations, and vice versa. I began to see that while she believed God existed, she didn't fully trust Him. She didn't fully trust me either.

I so badly wanted the right words to convince her to understand God differently, or at least be open to knowing Him better. As I prayed for her, and for my own wisdom, God reminded me that relationships don't always work like that. You can't just convince someone with words to drop their barriers and look past their hurt. The transformation we want to see doesn't always come in a ten week Bible study. I'm grateful that relationship and communication are the guiding principles of our ministry rather than goals and timelines, and joyful that this is what we are instilling in leaders like Heliene. Many people, including Cintia, assume that since my job is "missionary" that my goal in every interaction is to grow my church. In these meetings, we reassured Cintia over and over that we were there for her, not to complete certain curriculum or force her to join our church. We were there to love her, encourage her wellbeing, and support her growth in God.

Over time, we've seen changes in Cintia's demeanor and attitude. She expresses her thoughts and feelings more freely and is open to considering other perspectives, to reading the Bible and seeing how God is presented in scripture, allowing it to change some of her assumptions and even some things she'd been taught. She is happier, more hopeful and curious.

But life can be tough. There's been some discouraging circumstances in her family in the last few weeks and it's been enough for her to feel like it's not the right timing for her to make big changes in her life (like fully surrendering herself to God or attending a new church). I invite you to pray with us for her and her husband, that they would know that God is greater and more loving and gracious than they can understand and completely worthy of their trust. Pray for us too as we continue to walk with them and encourage them.

Me, Heliene, Cintia

Isabela

One of my goals for this year is to not do anything in ministry by myself. Even when it's faster, easier, or more convenient to just do things, God has been reminding me to wait, to bring others along and disciple others to do what I do. One unexpected way I have been able to practice this is teaching Isabela to play the keyboard. Isabela is 13 years old, has stage fright and an incredible ear for chords and rhythms. She memorizes notes and fingerings like a pro. It's so fun to spend more time with her and see her be so good at something, even though it's really scary for her.

Prayer Requests

Pray for Cintia and her husband Cleber, that they would decide together to fully commit their lives to God and walk with Him.

Pray for Heliene as she continues to grow in confidence in sharing her faith and relationship with God with others.

Pray for our worship team and other departments, that people like Isabela would be excited to develop and use their talents to worship God and serve others.

Praise God I was able to renew both my visa and my passport here in Brazil without any problems or delays.

Brazilian Culture - Birthdays

Alice and I celebrated our birthdays in May and June, so I wanted to take this opportunity to give you some tips on how to throw a Brazilian birthday party. This is based on my own experience, so if you are Brazilian and have other opinions, feel free to share in the comments. First, the cake is essential. You don't even need ice cream because the cake is so moist and layered with creamy fillings. After being baked, but before being assembled, the cake itself is soaked in milk, juice, or even soda so it doesn't dry out. The filling can be any flavor from fruity to chocolate, caramel, or coconut. Covered in whipped frosting and highly decorated is the best way to go. It helps if you have the amazing cake duo of Marcos and Ericléia (our pastors). Ericléia makes the most amazing cake (and just like food in general) and Marcos handles all the whipped frosting piping.

The party should have a theme, or at least a color scheme, with balloons or colored lights. The birthday person needs to get a picture with each guest. Gifts are optional, but always welcome. Clothing is always a great present, who doesn't love a new shirt or pair of shoes?

Party food can vary widely depending on the size of the party and the time of day. The traditional snack party foods are homemade chocolates (seen decorating the tables in the cake pictures) and a variety of small fried and baked pockets of meat and cheese wrapped in bread.