VISAS

HUGE answer to prayer - the visas have arrived, and we're not even in the month of travel!:) For those of you new to this journey, in 2006, there was some craziness going on with the consulate in San Francisco, and we literally received the visas the day before everyone boarded the plane! Praise God for His faithfulness in this area of the trip. We will be meeting one last time as a team on July 5th to hand everything out and hammer out who will be working where during the trip. We're getting closer and closer!

New Update! June 18th

Sorry it has been a little while since my last post, but I have been a little busy (well kind of). I spent a week in Texas with Michelle's parents, sister and brother-in-law, after the Brazil Pre-trip. While in Texas, I was able to relax a little, share about the Brazil Project with Roger and Carol's (Michelle's parents) life group from their church, enjoy the sights in Dallas and Fort Worth, celebrate my 20th wedding anniversary with Michelle, sweat (it was warm), and spend a few hours in the emergency room of Cook's Children's Hospital in Fort Worth the night before we flew home. Yes, you heard right. Nathanael broke his wrist the night before we flew home to California. Nathanael was playing with his cousins and was crawling up a few stairs (four to be exact) and hit wrong on the wrist and broke it (fracture). So, his wrist was casted in Fort Worth (in Dallas Cowboy blue, YEAH!) and he is here with me at our annual children's camp. Yes, I got home from Texas on Saturday night, went to church Sunday and ran around crazy finalizing camp stuff, had a fun afternoon for Father's Day and left Monday at 7:15am for camp. I will be here until Friday and then we begin VBS on Sunday at our church. Yippie! I actually get to sleep in my own bed for about a week and a half before the Brazil Project. Well enough about that.

Here are a few updates on Brazil: Michelle spent much of Monday (her day off) sending off the passports to get the visas, picked up the carry on bags, and ordering the bi-lingual Bibles. Michelle is awesome! I couldn't pull this off without her help. Oh yeah, she spent most of Saturday night doing Nathanael's and my laundry so we could come to camp and get it all dirty again. I believe sainthood is in order!

I am putting together the stuff for the final meeting, which is set for July 5th unless that date doesn't work for everyone. Please let me know ASAP if it doesn't.

At the meeting, we will hand out tickets, passports (if they are back), master schedule and many other things. Please make every effort to be at this one!

Please continue to pray for each one going, for the churches in Brazil as they prepare for us, those that we will have an opportunity to share with and for me and my family (this summer has been and will be a strain, but God is good!).

Last Day in Brazil!

Today was a fun and relaxing day in Brazil, the only one since I have been here (and I leave tonight at 6:45PM). Marcos and I went to one of the Rio beaches and walked 5 kilometers...roughly 3 miles. It was good to get some exercise after being in meetings all week long. It was a beautiful day to walk the beach, not many in the water (it is their winter) but a lot sunning themselves, running, walking or riding their bikes.

After the beach we stopped at a grocery store and I picked up some guarana mix and soda for the family. I am such a good husband and father. Hopefully it all makes it through the security check points and customs, but I doubt it will be a problem.

At 5:00pm Diego will take me to the airport. I am ready to head back to the USA, but if my family was here, I could stay indefinitely. Much of the work is done, now we just need to finish preparations to go. Be praying about the visas. Michelle found out we now need Driver's Licenses for each on going and we have to pay extra because they need to go to Washington DC. Part of that was us waiting a little too long (not getting everyone's pictures and apps in when we needed, us not keeping on everyone), but we need them stamped regionally and with Rachel out of California now, it would be to crazy. So be praying for the visas, I do not believe it will be a case of them not getting here on time, just the added expense of Washington DC and stuff.

Be in prayer for each missionary going. The days will be long, everyone will be needed to speak at some point (and I know that is out of the comfort zone for some), health, and safety.

My next post will be from in the USA. If anyone needs me while I am in Texas, I can be reached by my cell phone and you all should have that that needs it.

Serving Together,

Bob

Today I completed the last of the meeting for my time here in Brazil. I met with the planning team from Primera Igreja Batista em Vila Rosali. This is the church I have been coming to since the 2005 project. They are my main contacts here in Brazil. We have now combined all four church schedules into one master plan (and it is a busy one). 

Tomorrow night I fly towards home with a stop in Dallas for a week with Michelle's parents. Michelle and the boys will fly in to Dallas tomorrow and I arrive Saturday morning. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to seeing them! This has been a great time and we have accomplished a lot, but i am ready to come home, only to leave the monday after I get back from Texas for Centri-Kid camp for a week (never ends).

Tomorrow before I leave, Marcos and his family are taking me to the beach for a couple hours, then a little drive around Rio. Diego, Marcos' son is going to drive me to the airport around 5:00pm. I am going to try and get an upgrade for the Rio to Miami flight like I did coming down.

I have spent some of my "little" free time watching TV with Marcos' kids, Diego and Rafaela. I can't tell you how much more fun and interesting "American Chopper" and "Mythbusters" are in Portuguese. I know the Tuttels argue, but the extra emotion that they have when it comes out in Portuguese is amazing. Not to mention the voice that comes out for Mikey is pretty funny.

See you all in the USA. By the way, I read that Obama won the nomination....ummmm, yea I guess????

Bob

Wednesday Morning

Had another great nights sleep, which is helpful when we go all day. Yesterday I met with the newest addition to the churches we are working with " PIB Agostinho Porto." This meeting went longer mainly for the fact they have not participated in any of the evangelistic projects with us or International Commission. So we needed to take time and explain how the process works. Everyone here is excited about us coming to help with the project.

I am doing my best to eat moderately at each meal. They feed you very well here in Brazil and encourage you to eat more! Yesterday my meals consisted of: Breakfast-fruit, bread, cheese, biscuit, jelly, juice & coffee; Lunch - Chicken Stroganoff, french fries, rice, black beans, salad, juice, soda, ice cream and jello; evening snack #1-bread, cheese, ham, soda & coffee; evening snack #2 at PIBAP-bread, sausage, biscuit, cheese, cookies, cake, coffee, juice, & hot chocolate; Dinner at 11:30pm (yes that is 11:30pm, they eat late here)-sorry but I declined...hard to sleep on a full stomach, but it was bread, beans and rice and left over stroganoff, oh and ice cream!

Each night I have been here, I have been invited to join Marcos and his family for their evening devotion time. It has been a blessing to be included in this and makes me feel very much a part of the family.

One of the great things I have seen was at IB Jose Bonifacio. Their entire project planning team was made up of youth from the church. Pastor Adonias is fairly young himself, but believes that in order to head into the future, you need some younger people on the "important" decisions for the church. Kinda makes you go..."Hmmmmmm." 

Today I will drive around and take pictures of each church and the pastors to bring back to our meetings so each missionary can get an idea of where they will work. Then in the evening I will meet with IB Vilar Formosa and Pastor Marcos Lopes.

It has been great back here in Brazil, but I am also ready to see my family. I think this year was harder because I came alone. But that doesn't change the fact that I am having a lot of fun and God is working.

More later,

Bob

Full Schedule Getting More Full

I took a break from planning to get everyone updated on what is going on. We are currently putting together a master schedule of all four churches. So far we have two churches basically mapped out for every day we are here. I will be meeting with another church today, then another on Wednesday. Thursday I will finalize all the schedules and make any changes needed. 

This year is going to be different in that the missionaries will rotate around church to church as we are needed. So if a church has 2 missionaries staying with them, but they need 3 to accomplish the work that day, one of us will be taken there and then brought back when the job is done. It will be a lot of work, but I also like the fact that we will be getting to know more of the people in the other churches.

Everyone needs to be ready to speak as needed. That means more than a testimony, if you are not comfortable preaching, you need to at least have a passage to read and then summarize it and share what it means to you personally (about 15 minutes). The churches were hoping for more preachers, but they are willing to make due with who we are bringing, we just need to be willing to serve as needed. Remember, we are the missionaries and called to share and serve.

I am enjoying the food (as usual) and still love to Guarana! The driving here is different, and I was used to that, but the driving in the rain...yeeeeee haaaaaa! Buckle Up!

I will post more later.

Serving Together,

Bob

Brazil Project Update from the field

Well as you are aware I made it to Brazil and so did my luggage (to be thankful for the little things).

My schedule has been very full since I arrived. I was busy all day Saturday with a BBQ at the home of my friend Marcos to celebrate his son Diego's birthday (21). Then we headed to Vila Rosali for services. I didn't get back to the house until 11:00pm.

Sunday I spoke in all four of the churches that we will be working with. I was in two churches in the morning (Jose Bonaficio & Agostino Porto), then met with the churches for some planning all afternoon, then I was back in the remaining two churches (Vilar Formosa & Vila Rosali). I was back home around 11:00pm again.

Each day (monday - thursday) I will meet with each church to finalize a specific schedule for them. This year the group will be traveling around to each church helping as needed. It will be a little different, but fun to get to know the other churches better.

At this point, our days will consist of: evangelistic visits in homes, evangelism services at night, vbs in the churches for 3 days, visiting public schools to share with students, parades in the streets to name a few.

We will begin the week with a service including all four churches at their associational office and end the week with a celebration service at City Hall outside if the weather is good, otherwise the associational office.

I will try and keep updating more throughout the week.

That is it for now.

Bob