We had an amazing time in Brazil with 2 churches in Brazil! Our first weekend was spent with our friends in Campo Grande at the home of Pr. Vanderlei and Elemar. What an amazing God loving couple they are. They had a young lady named Stefani living with them to help her out and Elemar was so loving to her. This little lady needs the love of Jesus so badly and Elemar was able to be the hands and feet of Jesus and minister to her. We are blessed to call this couple friends. We went to the newly formed men's and women's groups where Jackie gave a short message on Romans 12. What a great time of prayer and fellowship. They spent a good deal of the time in prayer over the child of one of the members that is struggling. This group was formed to help the women come together to support each other and to study the bible. They also had the most amazing food!
We spent a lot of time sitting around the kitchen table eating and talking. Elemar speaks a little English and Jackie speaks a little Portuguese and the guys both talk in hand signals but we seemed to communicate just fine! That was a huge concern for us but God broke down that barrier with translators and language skills. Bianca and Thiago were a huge help in translating for us. I don't know what we would have done without them!
Thiago
Bianca and Rob
Church is held in Vanderlei and Elemar's Home. Fabricio did a wonderful sermon and there was fellowship and snacks after the service. We sang songs we knew and some we didn't. It was so awesome to be in communion with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Campo Grande. They are very close to our hearts.
Dinner our last day in Campo Grande. Vanderlei, Myllena, Stefani, Rob and Elemar.
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Our next few days were spent on a renewal for Rob and I. Originally, we were going to be taking a missionary couple on a retreat during this time but due to unforeseen circumstances they had to leave Brazil before we got there. So this gave us time to renew our relationship with each other and with God. We enjoyed our Pousada (similar to a bed and breakfast), the ocean and the food! We met some local people and took a long walk around a golf course (yes I said golf course) just before dark and ended up not getting out of there until after dark. Some scary animal growled at us from the forest and we were later told it was probably a wild pig....and they are not happy campers when it comes to humans invading their territory!
Here are a few pictures of our time together in Angra dos Reis.
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From Angra we drove back up to the Rio area to Niteroi. Niteroi has a thriving church of about 150 people. Pr. Moises and Fabiane were our hosts for this weekend.
<- Pr. Moises and Fabiane We spent time touring Niteroi and a really awesome Fort built during the colonization of Brazil. Niteroi is a huge city right next to Rio De Janiero City. It's next to the bay and the points of land around the bay form a natural encampment for protection of the two cities from the enemies. The famous Sugar Loaf and the Christ Statue were both visible from the Fort. The tour was given by a member of the Brazilian Army as this is a working Fort where barracks are set up for the troups. Moises and Fabiane were great tour guides! Below are a few pictures from the Fort and dinner before.
Moises and Gabriel with a server and Chicken hearts on the right...Rob's Favorite!
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The church was putting a new ceiling in the facility while we were there and we helped to clean up for a Sunday evening service. Rob was able to give his testimony and share the message with the congregation for that service. During the service a young lady came up to rededicate her life to the Lord. Everyone prayer over her and you could feel the power of the Holy Spirit moving in the room. After church 2 women make a few Brazilian treats to sell to purchase kitchen equipment for the church. The items are awesome and really hit the spot after service.
<- Ceiling tile being "mudded". Father and son ->
work together washing chairs in the
church
Yes, That is a power washer they are washing the floor with and the pews. Everything was then squeegeed off of the floor and the pews were wiped down. This is in the upstairs of a building so the water went downstairs and they then power washed the stairs and the sidewalk out in front of the store below the church. So many people showed up to help out to get the church cleaned up for services that night. Was amazing to watch the body of Christ work together.
A trip to Niteroi just isn't the same without a Pr. Moises Churrasco (Brazilian Barbeque) and wonderful salad and dessert byFabiane!
Two Women that sell the snacks
Getting ready for Sunday evening service
