Working hard!

Today we don't have much to post but that is only because we worked so hard! David helped set the scene for pouring concrete this morning while Rebecca went on a hunt for some souvenirs. Some of the people have been here for over 2 weeks and they were making a one-stop tour of a particular store I wanted some things from. So, I went. However Rebecca not working this morning was well made-up for this afternoon - and she has sore muscles and blisters to prove it! :) On the way back from shopping, I asked the person in charge if there was a possibility of getting a concrete mixer. He said no, that the mixer was in Recife being used. I continued to pray about it and as we rolled into Alcanse, a truck was pulling out. It had delivered our sand AND A CONCRETE MIXER! God is so good!! Even the leader thought there was no way to get a mixer. Praise the Lord!

Well, while the guys got the mixer hooked up to water and electricity, I worked with another lady, Sally, and we finished putting the shelves back together and reshelving the books in the library. Then it was time for lunch. After lunch, the back-breaking work began! I volunteered to help out with the cement mixing, gravel hauling, sand lugging, shoveling, smoothing extravaganza. Whew! It is back breaking work. However, the mixer made it all worth it! We were able to pour 4 of the 9 holes for the putt-putt course! Praise the Lord! We are hoping to get the rest poured tomorrow morning so that the children coming for the English camp on Wednesday won't damage them.

The other praise for today was that it was overcast. You wouldn't think this would be a praise but it was already really hot and humid. Sun just would have added difficulty to an already hard job. So, we are thankful for those things.

Some other things we are thankful for are that another member of the team, Bill's, daughter had healthy twins back in Kansas today. I know this weighed heavily on his heart. So, this was a great encouragement to him to announce the births of these precious ones! We also can praise that the English camp plan seems to be going nicely. We are excited to expect around 40 - 50 children Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all day. Please pray for the hearts of these little ones to be open to the gospel as well as English. Also pray for us, as workers, to be able to prepare all we need to prepare. I know I have a large part to prepare for and little time in which to do it.

So many of you have written encouraging notes or even just sent messages that you are praying. Thank you! Also, thank you to those who are praying but haven't even said anything. We can feel your prayers. God bless you all and keep praying! :)

Worship day

Picture 1: feijoada

Picture 2: Dave and I at the Tracunhaem church meal

Picture 3: Some of the kids in the ministry group. The only English they knew was hello, my name is ---. What is your name? Nice to meet you. It was so cute!

Wow...that's the word I can use to describe today. We had a busy day but it was wonderful and challenging! First, after breakfast, we had church at Alcanse (that's the name of the compound...I finally figured out how to spell it!). It was a small but vibrant congregation. There was a large number of children in uniforms best compared to a Girl Scout or a Boy Scout uniform. However, the words were different. We learned during the church service that a couple in the Alcanse church has taken on a task of ministering to the poor in another city. They couldn't afford to join Boy Scouts so they made something similar but tied Biblical truths into it. They also tied military discipline and English language instruction into this ministry. It was a neat ministry to see and I was particularly touched because they went into a poorer area and ministered to kids from broken homes. This, obviously, is similar to my heart so I will be keeping these kiddos in my prayers. :)

After church, we hopped into a van and drove to Tracunhaem. This is the area the children were from that presented at church that morning. I was excited to see the church because last year our home church of Brookville Road raised money to help build the building the church was meeting in. At this church they served a celebration dinner called feijoada (fey shwada). This meal originated from the slaves making food from the master's table scraps. The pastor, Tele, was concerned for our American stomachs so they prepared something different for the Americans. However, I tried one bite and Dave ate the beans and rice. It was....different. :) I found out that the dinner we attended was actually a fundraiser and a lot of the other community churches, including the Alcanse church, came to help raise money so they could finish building their building. I was so blessed to hear how the churches all work together. The goal of the pastors here is to plant 200 churches. Pastor Tele was telling us there is a state in Brazil that has 100 cities with NO churches. He also said that inward from the coast a lot of poor were neglected in the telling of the gospel. This seems like such an amazing ministry. I am excited as I learn more.

We were able to rest for a short time after the meal. Then, we met Pastor Tele and Pastor Andy (from our church) and drove to Timbauba. This is Pastor Tele's hometown. We left a lot earlier than the other groups and I thought it was just because it was about a 45 minute drive. However, we were pleasantly surprised to meet Pastor Tele's parents. His father is suffering from Parkinson's disease but we were all amazed at his silent strength and determination. We were also amused that although we couldn't understand what he was saying, he had a great sense of humor and caused Pastor Tele a lot of joy with some of his "ornery" comments.

From Pastor Tele's childhood home, we went to the Timbauba church. This building was BEAUTIFUL but the church family was even more precious. The Holy Spirit was obviously present in the people of this church and their worship was such a blessing. Then, Pastor Andy preached and challenged us to pray more consistently and to follow the ACTS model (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication). Then, Dave and I both took the prayer challenge to pray for something everyday for 6 months. If you'd like to know what we committed to pray for, please ask. I am willing to share and have you pray with me. I haven't had a chance to ask Dave yet so I am not sure if he is willing to share but know we are praying faitfully, waiting on the Lord to show himself so He might glorify himself.

On the way back to Carpina (where we are staying) from Timbauba, we were priviledged to hear Pastor Tele's testimony of how he and his whole family was saved in 5 months in 1978. It was so encouraging. As I was listening to his story, we were driving through the Brazilian countryside, surrounded by sugar cane fields and I gazed up into the Southern Hemisphere's sky. What a mighty God we serve. He cares for our souls knows them better than the beautiful and numerous stars in the sky.

Then, we ate at this amazing restaurant in Carpina that I knew my dad would LOVE. It was smoked ribs, rice, beans, potato salad, and fresh veggies. Wow! Then, we had dessert and Dave declared that Brazil made the best flan. :) All the while, we were able to hear more of the heart of Pastor Tele and learn about Brazilian culture. It was truly a delight!

Tomorrow it is back to work. We found out there is a possibilty of a cement mixer somewhere. Please pray we can get our hands on it. This would make a seemingly impossible job possible. This would also encourage Dave as he has taken so much responsibility for trying to get this project done. I will be either painting or working with Dave on the putt-putt course. If we can't get a cement mixer, I am going to volunteer to help as they will have to mix the cement by hand. Yikes!

Please pray for traveling mercies as Pastor Andy is returning home tomorrow. Please pray for quick and efficient work as we try to finish the many projects that have been started. Please continue to pray for my headaches as they are continuing today. I was able to press through, Praise the Lord, but it is not comfortable.

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement. We really feel like God is doing big things in Brazil and we are excited to be here and a part of it. Please continue to partner with us. Continue to pray and, if you feel led, drop a line to us to let us know how God is working in your life. God bless and, until tomorrow, boa noite (good night).

Busy times!

First picture: Me painting some bookshelves in the library.

Second picture: Dave, Steve, and Bill planning the putt-putt course plan of action.

Today was a very busy day! We had so much going on it's hard to process it all. The activities started bright and early this morning with a 7 am soccer (football) game. For those of you who don't know the time difference, this is 6 am Indiana time. For the Americans playing, this was very early! What it meant for Dave and I was that we heard lots of activity because our room and balcony overlooks the soccer field. I was impressed, as I knew I would be, with the skills of the men playing soccer. Most of the players were pastors and their sons from churches around the area.

Then, we had breakfast. Let me just stop and say that the food here is FANTASTIC! Everything is flavorful. We have fruits and veggies with every meal (Yes, mom, I'm having my no-thank-you helpings of everything...haha). I have yet to be disappointed. Things are so colorful and the flavors are so rich! Yum... Anyway...back to breakfast. :) Pastors from all around the area and their families came and ate with us. It was a neat time of fellowshipping, even though I didn't understand most of it.

After breakfast, it was time to work. Dave and a carpenter named Bill started work on the putt-putt course they are building. Tele, the pastor, hopes to use it as a ministering tool for young people in the area. Come play putt-putt, hear the word. It's neat, really. Anyway, they started laying out the forms. Then, they filled gravel in the parts where the forms, though they were level, had gaps because of the uneven ground. They really would appreciate prayers as they have nine holes to make forms for, pour concrete that is mixed by hand, and have the hazards all by Friday! This is going to take a miracle for sure! But, we know God is all-powerful and able to do amazing things!

I (Rebecca) began gathering up things for painting. Last year, the carpenters came and built nice, sturdy shelves for the library as well as rolling bookcases for many of the classrooms. The paint they used last year didn't fit with the humidity and atmosphere. So, that means they all needed to be repainted. So, many of us cleaned, moved books, climbed through windows because doors were locked and the key couldn't be found, and eventually PAINTED! LOL....doing things at a slower pace is sometimes challenging but things can be learned along the way. About lunch time, I started to have an awful headache. I actually woke up with it but since I frequently get headaches, I just took tylenol, forced the liquids and moved on. However, this one was not so easily placated. I ended up having to lie down for a while. I didn't bring any of my migraine medicine because I haven't been taking it for personal reasons. Now, I'm wishing I did. However, I was able to get the headache to a dull roar, eat lunch, rest for a bit longer, and then finish out the work day. Then, I went for a quick swim in the pool, which helped cool me down.

Another part of the group was in a pastor's conference with all the pastors that came. Some presented, others just listened and participated. It's always hard to determine how things went in an international setting, but the feeling seemed to be that everything went well.

After resting for a bit and showering (pee-yew!) we had a wonderful dinner and fellowship time of games. Then, as we are heading to bed, the day is cooling off with a wonderful light rain. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, visiting 3 churches. I am excited to experience more of the country and encourage the pastors in their home churches. Please pray for safe travel, wisdom and clarity for those preaching, and for my headache (which is till clinging on) to go away. Thanks for all the encouragement you've all sent my way! We really appreciate the support, more than you know! God bless you all and good night!

The trip here...

I am feeling much more rested, so I can share more about the trip, now. First, there were several opportunities where the Lord showed his hand on our trip. We were delayed by about 45 minutes in Indy. We don't know why. However, the pilot "hauled tail" to use a DJ phrase and got us to Atlanta at almost the same time we would have originally arrived. This was good because as soon as we got to our gate, they began boarding!

Second, DJ and I were able to get an emergency exit row which meant twice as much leg room. This was a blessing! The flight was really long for me. I only slept in spurts, even though I took a sleeping pill. I was so tired but I just couldn't stay asleep. I found myself envying those stretched across three seats snoring! :) But, the Lord provided a rest day today so it worked out fine.

Third, when we arrived, DJ discovered he had forgotten his phone on the plane! We knew we couldn't go back and everyone around us that could help spoke only Portuguese. I was really praying. Well, I got through the paperwork phase faster than the other two and our pilots were coming through at the same time. I went up to one and told him of our predicament. He and another pilot stayed with me until we found someone who could help. This lady was walking towards us with a bag and she heard what we were asking. She said, "What row were you sitting in?" I told her and she pulled it out of her bag! Praise the Lord! We were so thankful!

Lastly, we all made it fine through customs. The guy made me open my bag and show him the computer monitor I was carrying in my travel chest I was the only one stopped. We were really thankful because the lady in front of us had to unpack all her bags!

Upon arriving, we drove an hour through the countryside. I was amazed by the differences and the similarities. In the US, when we came upon houses and neighborhoods, they were all symmetrical...almost identical. Here, if there is one building, there's one hundred all stacked on top of each other, carving out the hillsides. We didn't get to take a picture of these yet but we will try before our time is up. We also saw sugarcane, fields and fields of produce, and lots of people.

Our compound is wonderful. There is a pool and an international school in the same building as our room. Our room is nice and private with a bathroom and one of the only balconies! It has something else we're really thankful for...an airconditioner! Wow! The Lord has really blessed us.

Today, after lunch, we went out to the trees at the front of the compound and found we have tiny monkeys living in the trees there! I didn't have my camera but promise to try and get a picture of them before we leave!

We are told our schedule is packed from tomorrow until Monday so we are thankful to be able to rest today. Pray for our health, that we don't get sick. Pray for our hands to be willing ministers. Pray for us to be used by the Lord. And pray for us to be witnesses for the Lord! Thank you for partnering with us!

We arrived!

Praise the Lord, we arrived safely. We had some near complications but the Lord showed his hand! I will post more details later this evening. I am pretty fuzzy still. Thankfully, they gave us today to rest and recouperate. Check later this evening for more details and pictures! :)

Our bags are packed...

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go! Yay! It seems like the time has flown and we leave tomorrow around 5. Please be in prayer for our traveling mercies but also for the team members that will be flying back the day we arrive.

We have some praises to report already. I (Rebecca) was talking to one of the wives of a team member already down in Brazil and their flights down went very smoothly and they breezed right through customs. This was a concern as they were taking over-the-counter medicines and weren't sure how customs would handle it. Also, the time they have spent down there has been blessed. They really feel the Lord's hand in everything and are just so excited to be a part of his work. I can't wait!

This will be our last post stateside...the next one will be in Brazil! Yay! Keep checking and look for pictures, too! :)

David and Rebecca

Thank you!

Thank you, for those of you who have let us know you will be praying. We are overwhelmed with the response and ask that you continue to pray for us as the Lord brings us to your minds.We fly out at 5 pm on Thursday and will arrive 6 something am on Friday morning. I (Rebecca) am more than a little nervous about an all-night flight. We will try to post nightly to our weblog to keep you updated.

If you haven't joined our facebook group "Pray for our Brazil Mission trip" but want to let us know you are praying, please drop me an e-mail or comment on this post. You don't need to tell us but it's always nice to know we are being lifted up. Thank you for partnering with us. We look forward to telling you amazing things!

In His Service,
David and Rebecca Johnson