Brasil in our hearts

Stan went on his first international mission trip in early June of this year. We have been on a mission trip to Cherokee, NC and we spend a lot of time doing mission work in Immokolee, FL, which is a mostly migrant town about 30 miles from our house. Yet, none of this even began to prepare Stan for what he saw in Rio de Janiero, Brasil when he showed up, with four other guys and two ladies from our church at the New Hope in Christ mission center, which is part of Summit Church Rio. Pastor Edson and his wife Claudia and their beautiful little girl Rebecca met the group and spent the next week showing them around the area and introducing them to the men, women, and children of the favella. After a week in the slums, Stan came home a different person. Part of his heart still lives in Rio and he has a burning desire to make a difference in the lives of those precious people who are so near to the heart of God.

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:27

We have no doubt that God planted Brasil in our hearts a decade ago when we decided to host an exchange student for the school year. We had no preference for country and seemingly "out of the blue", we "randomly" picked Mariana Guimaeres. She came to us as a sixteen year old from Fortuleza, Brasil and lived with us during her junior year of high school. Since then, we have kept in touch with her, fallen in love with her two beautiful children and consider her 100% part of our family.

Yes, Brasil has been in our hearts for a long time and now God has once again brought us the opportunity to be a part of what He is doing there. This time we recognize His sovereign hand guiding us, and we do not intend to take a step without His direction. So, we ask for your prayers as our family makes some really big decisions.

We are still working on the sale of our home. Yes, I have managed to declutter, in case anyone has been praying for me -- and the house looks great. We have a POD being delivered on Monday to put the last of the "clutter" that we just can't part with - and we will be totally cleaned out! Wow - I should live like this all the time. Clean up is pretty easy when you don't have junk! I know for those of you who are naturally organized that is a novel idea, but for me, the light bulb just came on!

Anyway, I am digressing from my topic. Back to Brasil.....this month our Brasilian pastor Edson and his family are in Naples for some much needed R & R. We had the great privilege of having them over for dinner this week and spending some time talking with them about their needs. They are making great strides in the favellas of Rio and they are seeing people come to know Christ. Praise the Lord for that. But, as you can imagine the needs are immense and the poverty of the people is heart breaking. To see babies and children running through raw sewage and garbage dumps with hardly any clothes and no shoes and to know that if they have eaten one meal that day, that will likely be all they have, absolutely wrenches your heart. Especially knowing that here in America where we are blessed beyond the comprehension of most of the world, our children think that food just appears in the refrigerator and is there for the taking. Humbling is too small of a word. Actually, there are no words to describe the sights, the sounds, and most vivid - the smells that abound in the place where Edson and Claudia are pouring their lives out to serve.

Stan and I have a desire to help them and we don't know where it is leading. God has not chosen yet to reveal His full plan to us, therefore, we don't even know what to ask you to pray for. We humbly ask you to lift our family up to the Lord as we make these decisions and if your heart feels pulled toward Brasil, or Africa, or China, or right out your own back door to your neighbor, please contact us so that we can pray for you. God Bless.