Laborer's for the Harvest- Mission Info Central

Brazil 2008 Day 8 Parting is such sweet sorrow

2008-07-24T16:05:00.047-04:00

Our last day, work, churrascaria, favela visit and a wonderful goodbye...
Ask Pastor Tom to sing this one to you... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=714-Ioa4XQw

Check out our uncut performance of the 10 Lepers with Michael Ford as Jesus... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDE0ERW3ASI

What an incredible trip, we all felt the Holy Spirit in a major way working at Ebenezer and their various mission churches. This place does good work for many people.

Here's Wagner, former electrician, getting 220v bbbbzzzzzzzz (not really, but a good impression).

Check out the newly whitewashed wall around the church (yellow wash really).

Yve painting the railing... you go girl!

The new sidewalk and freshly painted Pastor Nimbu pad.

Here's the garden, tiled access ramp and freshly painted railing. cool!

Check out the white wash, extra clean baby!

Daniel doing some wiring, at least he doesn't get zapped like Wagner... His uncle came later and did the final wiring for us. The theater is lit in a big way (floor lights, spotlights for the stage and house lights).

Pastor Tom getting into the Spider Pig hose rolling technique.

We met with Miraney and Irma to discuss ways that we can continue to support some favela families that are open to improving their situation. She knew all of the families and their situations, she had a great perspective on what could be done to help. We may engage in helping one family get on their feet, the plan is in motion. We also are funding some computer classes for some of the kids who will take full advantage of them. Mission team members are supporting these efforts, if you're interested let us know.

Pastor Heber and Pastor Nimbu made a killer churrascaria for everyone. Here's Pastor Heber sampling the meal... it was awesome.

This grill rocks.

Lori, Cayla and Tanya visitied the Favela one last time. Here's the family that we may work to get on their feet.

Here's Cayla with Ricardo and David from our potential target family.

Some church folks who do hairstyling come to the favela once a month and do free haircuts, cool... They did over 70 today!

Here's Cayla with Bruna and Ricardo.... all smiles

Here's an end of night group photo that proves, what goes up...

Must come down...

Here's Irma and Helga, two ladies that have God in their hearts.

Helga and hard working Bruno...

Izabel, Pastor Heber and Pastor Tom. Studs and Studettes for Jesus!

Group photo, all smiles again!

The group sang an awesome song for us at the end of the night about friends. Bruno on guitar is a future Eric Clapton.

Pastor Heber gave a great presentation about friendship at the end of the night.

End of the night, hanging out listening to the action.

More listening with good friends.

Ynge with Cayla, Go Orioles! O's O's O's

Cayla got into photos with everyone, here with Evelyn who is a great worker for God!

More group photos, watch your hands Dylan.

Smiles, Smiles, Smiles :)

Bruno's the man, singing a little Bob Marley together...

Alex hugging some good friends from last year.

Wagner and Cayla saying goodbye at the airport on Day 8. Feel the love.

Alex and Cayla getting ready to miss our family in Brazil...

Our last photo of the night, what a great family photo. Muito Obrigado! We are hoping to see you same time next year...

Brazil 2008 Day 7

2008-07-22T21:56:00.048-04:00

Day 7 was amazing...
We spent the morning in Pirucuama conducting VBS. Pastor Heber cautioned us that since many kids would be in school we may not have a large group, it turns out after rounding kids up on an extended street walk we had 40+ kids in attendance. It was awesome!

Here's Michael and Yve at the community center where we held the VBS. The folks from Ebenezer are filled with the Holy Spirit and really connected with these kids.

Here's our group right before we started.

We had a wide range of ages.

Here's our street walk, it was great to get out an meet the people. It was awesome to see how much the kids enjoyed coming to the VBS.

Here's the team, does it look like we were having fun?

Here's the team setting up take home bags of snacks for the kids.

From a previous craft many of the kids had cross necklaces, this little boy didn't get one but Pastor Tom took care of that. He gave him a big hug and the cross he was wearning. I'm guessing that we'll see him with it next year.

Here's Pastor Nimbu with Natalia, he's amazing with a heart for God.

Here's Paloma, she was with us last year.

Mathias watching over our supplies.

Making faces, see the woven cross in my hand... this was our craft from last year and Gustavo had saved it and given it to me as a gift. He had kept a paper woven cross all year long and then given it as a gift. These kids are incredible.

Here's Lori giving some love to Peter.

We installed lighting for the theater, pressure washed some more, painted more of Nimbu's house, tiled the access ramp in the afternoon.

Here's some pretty happy lepers after the skit.

Here's Alex with a group of happy kids.

Helga was on her game today...

More Helga on a roll.

Gathering kids in the Favela.

Alex and Flavia hamming it up.

Favela shots from our walk, no way to describe it adequately.

Another favela shot.

The view from the community center where VBS took place.
Evelyn was on her game for this VBS.

David and Peter. He's a natural.

The coolest crafts on earth, the kids loved them.

Happy times, Bruna, Gustavo and Cayla.

Bruno was a huge help today!

Pastor Nimbu, Bruna and Evelyn.

Dancing on the way home, do the kids look amused?

Hamasoraus Rex

Pastor Nimbu's daughter, Ynje, working the garden...

Tanya and Sabrina on Sabrina's last day before leaving for Rio on business. She will be missed!

Pastor Tom scraping off excess paint on Pastor Nimbu's house.

Pastor Tom with Gustavo and Jao Pedro. Good times:)

The ladies (+Bruno) working on beautiful necklaces and braceletes. They were a hit!

A great shot of great workers in the kitchen. These ladies made the best food, we couldn't have survived without them.

Another group shot at the end of VBS.

Dylan with Ricardo. This kid was always content, especially when being held. Go Dylan!

The church when we finished yesterday, wow! No, actually the sanctuary at Wagner's school... WOW!

David is painting the town yellow.

Brazil 2008 Day 6

2008-07-21T21:08:00.019-04:00

Day 6 of hard labor...
Today we worked at church all day... Errands to the hardware store three times for a pressure washer, hammer drill and screws. Finishing the garden, filling in the theater stage, concreting over the stage, starting to install the theater lights, pressure washing the church wall at the entrance and whitewashing. A lot of sore folks tonight, but the Lord's energy was everywhere throughout the day. Speaking of energy we started the day with Michael and Alex doing their version of the latex man group show soon to open at Universal Studios Sao Paulo.

The most back breaking job of the day was filling the theater stage with construction debris from in front of the church. However, many hands make for little work. Here's the team emptying wheelbarrows of material into the stage. Go Cayla!

Here's Bruno, Paulo, Pastor Tom and Scott shoveling the debris. Can you say Ben Gay?

Cayla again making the run...

The team mixing concrete to fill in the top of the stage.

More dumping, go Michael and Pastor Heber.

We had special visitors from the favela today, Bruna, Natalia, Gustavo, Matheus and Joao Pedro. Izabel and Cayla helped with a mini VBS and the kids had a great time. What wonderful young folks.

Here's Matheus and Gastavo with their versions of Noah's Ark. Cool!

Natalia made a cool sign. It's great to see such community at the church happening at the community center we renovated last year. The Holy Spirit is in this place in a big way.

Here's the garden team. From cracked concrete to grass and a bamboo wall. Beautiful!

Here are the church kids playing a rousing game of Uno in the community center.

Pastor Heber has a cool tea drink that you drink out of a special glass. He took Alex and Cayla to the mall to hook up on this stuff...

After a pizza party at the church saying goodbye to Wagner's wife Sabrina as she travels for business for the remainder of the week. We didn't want to leave, here's Pastor Tom hamming it up with Flavia. This place feels like home even though it's a hemisphere away!

Brazil 2008 Days 4 & 5

2008-07-20T18:47:00.055-04:00

Day 4 & 5 are combined for your blogging pleasure...
Here's my personal favorite story from the trip. Last year Jessica and I met a special girl in our first VBS group. We've stayed in touch throughout the year through Ebenezer and kept her in our prayers. She's now baptized, confirmed and a regular singer at church! She's a great little girl that has tremendous potential. With God's help we can capture some of this tremendous human capital that is placed in the toughest of circumstances. Bruna will be a favela success story, Jessica and I are very proud of her. Here she is conducting a group of kids from the favela mission church at the Sunday service.

The reason there was no post last night is that we closed down the Brazilian Home Depot buying lighting and electrical materials to light up the stage in the church's new theater area for the kids. Here we are at the store checking out the latest in Southern Hemisphere electrical supplies. Can you imagine 56 meters of 3/4" electrical conduit in a Renault clio (think Toyota Yaris)... it can be done!

Tanya and Lori did a great job organizing the VBS supplies for us and packing for our mission on day 4 of conducting two VBS sessions. Also, thanks to Jessica, Lori, Tanya and Helga for purchasing and organizing all of the crafts, school supplies and Portuguese bibles so well. Really cool and made for easy work of it all (well sort of).

Pastor Tom spreading Jesus love to a few fine folks... This is at Jardim Evana, the poorest of the Ebenezer mission churches. It is amazing what this congregation does, the Holy Spirit is everywhere here in challenging circumstances. Amen brothers and sisters!

A packed house, we had the privilege of walking the favela (slum) streets and collecting these kids for VBS. We had around 75 participants and although it was a packed house, it was a great place to be! These kids are awesome, smart, well behaved, good hearted God's children that crave opportunities to grow. I'm hopeful that we provided some...

Mathias makes friends easily, especially since he is fluent in Portuguese. Here you can see he's a chick magnet!

Lori had a new friend that didn't want to get out of her arms. A little love on a beautiful Saturday morning.

Almost all smiles, I believe the kids had a great time.

Here are the local kids doing a presentation for us, it was awesome! Pastor Heber and Izabel do great work here in a very difficult environment. The local drug dealer was across the street of this mission church and apparently controls the streets.

Here's Jesus (aka Michael Ford) with the grateful leper at his feet. The kids dug this performance of Luke and Pastor Tom's 10 lepers performance.

Here's Pastor Heber and Izabel in front of the soccer field that they dream of a larger satellite church with school and medical center for the kids. If anybody can bring Jesus love to this area, it's these two with the help of Ebenezer and a little help from St Paul. Thanks everyone for making a difference!

The Ford family...

Here's a panoramic favela view.

On the favela walk picking up the kids. The boy on the right is David who was with us last year. He has new glasses and a new bed courtesy of Ebenezer Lutheran Church. Helga, Dylan and Alex are naturals...

A view of the favela, most of these power lines are home grown. Try doing this with FPL...

Here's some of the kids in their home.

Another favela view.

Here's the entrance to David's house. There's a mother and 12 kids that live in these two rooms.

This boy was hit by a car over a year ago and was in a coma for 15 days (the favela traffic can be harrowing) he's back stronger than ever and a permanent attendee at the mission church. Go pastor Tom and Nimbu!

Buddies! Flavia in the red shirt is the sweetheart of the Ebenezer congregation, you won't see her without a smile.

Here's Cayla with her new friend in the favela, he was feeling the love this Saturday morning.

All I can say is that the Boca Raton Christian Blazers are EVERYWHERE! She's a church member that helped us with VBS...

Sabrina snagged Alex and hooked him up with some liturgical dance makeup, he's a sport...

Sabrina and Mathias hamming it up at lunch between VBS's.

Dylan, Michael, Cayla and Alex rocked with the Ebernezer contemporary band. Does anybody remember Deep Purple? These boys do! How about a little Skynrd, yup...

The kitchen crew makes each of us gordo (large in Portuguese)... These ladies ROCK!

Here's some of our team lending a hand...

Ching ching... a toast at lunch.

Claudio is a congregant that works non-stop. Here he is while we're doing VBS.

In the afternoon we move to Juquitiba, a ranch in the Sao Paulo countryside that a church member converted to a country retreat for local kids and the city kids. Soccer court, fruit trees, fishing pond, swimming pool, church structure, it's all there... Here's some liturgical dance for the Saturday night worship service, it was awesome!

Here's the evening look at Juquitiba, it was a beautiful evening.

We added a team member, the St Paul sock puppet sheep. He was excellent at working with the kids although his Portuguese is limited.

Here's some of the local kids building Noah's ark.

More ark construction, complete with animals, Noah and a rainbow!

Everyone got into the action.

Sunday morning worship back at Ebenezer. The liturgical team checking things out from the nursery.

Here they are in action, great job Izabel getting this team to Rock!

Here's a Sabrina dance that was incredible in any language.

Pastor Tom, Pastor Nimbu and Evelyn... it was an awesome service!

Mateus had his whole family at the service and it was his birthday! We sung for him and gave him a soccer ball that was ultimately autographed by almost everyone.

In the afternoon we had an opportunity to cruise Sao Paulo and see the sights. here are the boys in downtown, it was cool.

Here's Wagner's (congregation president that organized our trip) church school that he teaches music in.

Here's his classroom, it was beautiful...

Brazil 2008 Day 3

2008-07-18T17:27:00.035-04:00

Welcome to day 3... thanks for your posts, we love reading them in the evening!

Here's the blog team at work last night...
We did a Bible/Pastor Tom written skit of the 10 Lepers (Luke 17:11-19 ), it was academy award winning and the church children liked it. Here's handsome David with a bad case of leprosy.

Here's Michael playing his lead role as Jesus. He was an incredible healer.

Here's Tanya and Lori making it happen with the whitewash in our future theater for the kids... cool.

The kids at church VBS singing along.

Here are a few VBS kids enjoying an incredible lunch.

Lori and Alex working in the former storage area soon to be theater.

Wow! Look at the after of Pastor Nimbu's house... awesome!

Here's the concrete mixing team. Right in the street, try doing that in Boca Raton.

Check out all of this construction debris, the pile is large...

Here you go Mike, you asked for a photo... Yes, that's a nose hair.

Photo of Pastor Heber (left) and Mathias... Please read the story below;

Pastor Heber and his wife Izabel... meet heroes of the faith

We would like to share a story of heroes for the faith from Sao Paulo, Pastor Heber and his wife Izabel. They've been working in the Lutheran church for 8 months ministering to several needy communities;

Jardim Evana: a favela (slum) where kids are very poor and left by themselves since parents work all day. Their living conditions are very challenging as you'll see in the photos tomorrow (amanha).
Piracoama: families of low income gather in a community center to hear Gos word.
Valo Velho: one family makes their house available for worship and Bible study for neighbors, friends and family members.
Juquitiba: a ranch provided by one christian man complete with chapel, a swimming pool, sports area where local people come to worship and have fellowship. This is a very poor area.
Taboao da Serra is a new area of ministry that Pastor Heber wishes to bring God's word, we should pray for open doors.

Pastor Heber works at the main Ebenezer facility as youth pastor, preaches every other Sunday, teaches new member class, marriage preparation class and confirmation class. In addition he spends three days a week traveling into each favela doing home visits, conducting worship, Bible study, vacation Bible school and generally ministering to many needy folks. He even spent one morning this week taking a boy from the favela to the hospital to determine surgical options for his eyes. Pastor Heber also teaches teenagers to minister throughout the community. Talk about doing what God asks us to do, in the dictionary is Pastor Heber's picture under the definition for the Great Commission.

When Pastor Heber and Izabel were asked what could be done to really make an impact in the favela, he responded that education is a lasting gift for these children. He cited that many children haven't been taught to brush their teeth at age 12. He and Izabel believe that knowledge provides the power for these kids to have opportunity to get out of the favela; "knowledge cannot be taken away from you, material things can". Without reading, these children cannot even experience the word of God.

Izabel felt Pastor Heber's greatest victory is a Bible study that he started in the favela with two attendees that has grown to standing room only. With tears in his eyes Pastor Heber said that what they do is nothing compared to what is needed for the people they minister to.

Brazil 2008 Day 2

2008-07-17T20:59:00.013-04:00

Good morning day 2, here's the Formula 1 hotel breakfast area and Helga's two uncles who live in Sao Paulo. They've been helping us on the job site in a big way and Helga and Matthias have been invaluable as our interpreters.

Pastor Tom and Helga rejoicing over our completed demolition job.

Lori, Michael and David Ford arrive just in time for lunch. Nothing like an all night flight capped off with carne, arros, beans and papaya. They were a huge help all afternoon and Michael enjoyed seeing his friends from last year and introducing his mother and brother to everyone at Ebenezer. Lori brought enough school supplies and vbs supplies to cause customs to check every single bag when they arrived. Our first vbs is tomorrow morning at the church, Michael will play the role of Jesus and is worried about the shoes he has to fill.

Holy moly, what a difference. A ton of pressure washing, scraping, mortar and crack filler later this house looks brand new. A home fit for a pastor!

The boys taking a break after hauling all of the demolition debris to the street. Bruno, are you really sleeping?

Flavia is doing great and Cayla taught her how to do every step on Pastor Nimbu's house. Flavia even went on a photo spree with Cayla's camera.

There must be something in the water. The Golden Hamster looks sexy, right?

We took two bathtubs out in the demolition. They look comfortable...

Dylan is the man on the soccer field. Look at that passion!

The soccer group after the game. I think Brazil is still champion of the second annual St Paul Ebenezer challenge.

Sao Paulo is quite the city, larger than any city in the United States. Here's the view from our room, the large building across the street is Morumbi mall where we dine in the food court every night. Michael and Alex were jonesing for some Burger King last night and got it... small world.

On the way back from dinner David, Michael, Alex and Cayla were dancing in the streets.

Brazil 2008 Day 1

2008-07-17T06:30:00.018-04:00

Thanks St Paul for helping Ebenezer Lutheran Church spread God's word in a place that really needs it. Here's our friendly Avianca team...
Alex made a Bogota pilot friend on the flight.

Pastor Tom met Cairo and told him about our mission.

The group at MIA

Our group meeting on day one to plan our activities. We have a number of renovations to do at church and we'll be conducting 4 vacation bible school sessions for the favela and church children.

Pastor Nimbu and Fach with some of the church youth who've been helping us immensely.

Here's part of the church renovation, an access ramp for the sanctuary.

There's an outdoor storage area that we'll be converting to a place for the kids to play and perform for the church. The roof needs help...

Here's the other side of the ramp, we'll be painting pastor's house on the left and pouring a sidewalk between the ramp and house.

Here's Pastor Nimbu's house after we pressure washed it, it will look great when it's painted.

This storage room is toast... these walls will wish they were never born.

Here's another storage room on it's way to the history books. Look at that kick through brick and plaster... wow!

Demolition is our specialty, it's amazing what you can do with a sledgehammer!

Breaking down the walls wasn't so bad, but hauling away all of the bricks and rubble was a big job.

A game of soccer after breaking down the walls... The field looks great from last year's project.

Flavia remembers how to thumb wrestle.

The group at the end of the night... energized after an all night flight, fellowship and accomplishment.

St Paul Mission Brazil 2008!

2008-07-09T12:27:00.001-04:00

Thanks to the many blessings you've provided, St Paul is helping the people of Sao Paulo Brazil once again in 2008. We'll be there from July 15th through the 24th so check back here for postings on how you've helped carry out God's great commission.

Habitat for Humanity with Thrivent

2008-05-09T07:07:00.007-04:00

With the help of Thrivent financial for Lutherans and other Palm Beach Lutheran Churches, we are building an awesome two story Habitat for Humanity house just a couple of blocks from 2nd street in beautiful Delray Beach, Florida! Here's everyone at the groundbreaking ceremony... (check out http://habitatpbc.org/ for more information)
Here's the team finishing the roof decking, two stories seem awfully high from this vantage point.

Here's Pastor Tom and Adam making it happen 20+' up in the Florida sunshine!

Here's Vicar Kevin and Scott preparing to assemble and install gable braces... bring on the high winds!

Biloxi Mission Team Day 4 & Travel Home

2008-01-21T21:27:00.001-05:00

Our 4th and final work day, here's an example of the accommodations at Camp Biloxi. Again, an amazing blessing for this challenged community. It's amazing how much work remains and there is a general sense here that the rest of the nation is forgetting about Katrina. We must continue to come here in a strong way from St Paul.
Here's Darryl, one of the superintendents at Forest Heights (I was wrong earlier on Forest Park). Darryl and Matt were awesome and really are making it happen in this neighborhood.

Here we are checking out our tools and materials in the morning. More window installations and we're removing an a/c unit so a new one can be installed.

This unit and associated duct work are a thing of the past, gone to make way for a new unit. A large part of this was underwater.

Apparently the people that lived in the a/c house cannot take their dog to their temporary house so he's still living in the backyard. He looks like one of Michael Vick's fighting dogs, but he was super friendly and loved the attention.

Josephine was missing Mike this morning, here he is on the phone with her daydreaming about their reunion tonight.

Here's Lisa, goodwill ambassador to all. This gentleman is the owner of the house we replaced the windows on today. He can't wait to get out of this trailer on his front yard and back home.

Here's the vision of the team departing for South Florida through one of our newly installed windows. They were perfect installations if I do say so myself.

Rich was sure to keep everyone moving on schedule. He and Mike were excellent trip leaders.

Here's Alex putting the finishing touches loading Great Stuff foam in the gaps. We installed nearly 20 windows, caulked them and insulated them. What a difference for these houses. They should be inspected tomorrow, some final electrical and a/c work and then comes the drywall. The Camp depends on volunteer hours to get this done. Matt said that if they have the volunteer hours, this house will be ready to occupy in three weeks. Unfortunately, the rest of this week is a little light on manpower. Mark your calendars for the next trip!

There is still much work to be done for the folks of the Gulf Coast, check out the latest status below. Let's do our best not to forget that they still need help. http://www.hurricane-katrina.org/

Biloxi Mission Team Day 3

2008-01-20T18:55:00.000-05:00

Our day started with Bible study (Philippians, just as Pastor Tom had prepared for us) and then an excellent service by Pastor Eric. Pastor Eric had just returned from a conference with Pastor Tom in Colorado, he said he thought Pastor Tom was very handsome but he had trouble pronouncing his last name. Here's some information on this amazing church that has opened up their facility and land for Camp Biloxi to happen, you go Pastor Eric and congregation! You Rock your Rock!
http://www.lutheransonline.com/servlet/lo_ProcServ/dbpage=page&mode=display&gid=00009000001056081997161896

We were working again at Mike and Beverly's house, Rich was running all of the phone and television cable for the house... All of the outlets are in the perfect location!
Alex taught Mike how to mosh at breakfast this morning, it was a great way to warm up from 28 degree weather. Mike's a natural...

Here's Bob, he essentially runs to volunteer operation and is extremely dedicated. He was waiting here for us to arrive at the house after he delivered a trailer full of plywood and studs (no not us silly, 2X4's)...

Here's Mike, he stayed in this house throughout Hurricane Katrina. He started with 9 people in the house and after pulling numerous folks out of their houses as they floated by he finished with 29. They had to stay upstairs because where he stands now was completely submerged. He loves his big oak tree out front because it saved his house from being demolished by some of the floating houses (he nursed it back to health). His mom Beverly lives next door and that's the house we worked on most. There were people clinging to trees in the neighborhood which firefighters had to rescue after the storm. An amazing story...

Today we floored the attic for Mike's mom, here's Mike intently surveying the project. The mask works better when it's over your nose and mouth, ask any stewardess.

Here's Mike and Scott near the end of the flooring project. Interestingly enough a house build at the turn of the last century doesn't have even joists. We had to done some engineering to make this work.

Here's Lisa and Alex as they screw together the flooring and our framing underneath.

Here's the FEMA trailer park next to Beverly's house. Half of the trailers are gone, these are still occupied 2 1/2 years later...

Here's the sunset on the way home tonight, a day of accomplishment. Thanks St Paul for your support in making this happen. We should be coming here more often with larger groups.

Biloxi Mission Team Day 2

2008-01-19T22:10:00.000-05:00

Day two started out extra early because we forgot about the time change or because we just wanted to get up early. It was raining this morning and 37 degrees, the low today was 28 and the high 45. Is this really Mississippi?

Here's Mike and Alex doing the morning dance in the dining tent making their bag lunch, is this to stay warm?

Here's Marley, she's a crisis dog that's brought in to cheer people up. She's down here now and has been all over the place including the most incredible institution of higher education in the world- Virginia Tech!

The church had a special breakfast class this morning with James Dobson from focus on the family. Here's Chris, Mike and Scott happy from learning and an excellent breakfast (Marley helped too):

Here's a poster of Martin Luther reminding us to attend Sunday school. He looks like he means business!

We worked on a new house today in the Point in Biloxi. We pulled wires for air conditioning, cable tv and phone. The house was really neat and really old (they don't make floors and joists like that any more)! In this neighborhood there were 500 historic homes and we worked on the two that remain standing. The house next to this one had 29 people huddled on the second floor during the storm and they were saved, what a blessing. Unfortunately, now they have built casinos along the shore of this historic neighborhood.

Mike running wires, excellent pull!

Lisa running wire, nice expression...

Alex and Scott running wire and conduit for the washer and dryer.

Here's the house next door where 29 people were saved, see the sign at the roofline? That's where the waterline came to during the storm. It's about 30' above sea level.

A closeup of the waterline sign, what a neat house that's truly built to take it.

At night we went to the Shed for dinner, if you're ever at exit 57 on I-10 ou've gotta stop. They had awesome bbq and a blues band playing, a great place to unwind.

Biloxi Mission Team Day 1

2008-01-18T20:21:00.000-05:00

Day one and we worked in a neighborhood named Forest Park. Lutheran Disaster Services is working to restore 172 homes in the neighborhood and have a goal of completing 40 by April. It's hard to believe but 2 1/2 years after the storm Camp Biloxi has 8,000 requests for help and are unable to take any more requests based on current volunteer availability. Many estimate that there will be work like this going on for 10 more years, there is so much opportunity to help and spread God's love to people who truly need it.

Here's Mike in one of the storage units filled with tools and materials for the 40 neighborhood houses in various levels of restoration. We worked on three different houses today.
Here's L.V. Louis, we spent the most time in his house fixing insulation, filling the holes with fire caulk, adding reinforcements to the studs and installing new windows. Louis is 80 years old and has been married for over 40 years, he has 9 children and five grandchildren. He's a wonderful man and very thankful for our help.

Here's Lisa hanging with L.V. Louis.

Here's an example of one of the houses that still needs restoration. The water here (7-10 miles inland) was up to your chest. L.V's house had the roof blown off, it is unbelievable until you experience it.

Here's LV's house, he moved all of his usable belongings into the PODS unit out front. When it's done he'll have a great home!

While replacing windows we got to do a little demolition, this was the high point of Alex's day. This is an all new window now looking good.

You've gotta love this! Da Mann in Harrison County Mississippi.

Here's Rich reinforcing the studs with metal brackets so they pass inspection on Monday.

Here's Lisa preparing for a little heavy demolition...

We're in Biloxi- awaiting our first assignment!

2008-01-18T07:39:00.000-05:00

It's amazing here, over 2 years since Katrina there are people from all over the United States that travel to Camp Biloxi to help. I think today we'll see why... Here's part of the team showing off the pushpin for St Pauls Boca;
A group from Wisconsin presented our host Jan with some cheese, wow!

Lisa's enjoying a gourmet meal of biscuits and gravy;

Breakfast in the dining tent... the people here really show southern hospitality.

The Biloxi Mission Team is on it's way today (click here for details)

2008-01-17T07:59:00.000-05:00

Laborer's for the Harvest is at it again, on the way to Camp Biloxi for the first Mission Trip of 2008!

Please pray for the Mission Team that we can spread God's joy to the people of the Gulf Coast. Rich, Mike, Lisa, Alex and Scott. Thanks to the St. Paul Church family for supporting our church missions! Come back for updates on each Mission Trip...

Mission Trip Update Meeting- Extreme Home Makeover Sao Paulo Edition

2007-08-05T16:29:00.000-04:00

Mark you calendars for the August 19th Mission Trip Update Meeting in the St Paul Lutheran Church sanctuary at 9:20am.

Enjoy a review of mission results and some personal makeover stories, also enjoy some Brazillian munchies and drinks. Be there or be square!

Flavio worship services video

2007-07-30T12:30:00.000-04:00

Check out Flavio's latest video, worship services;
http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=LJWl77zzlds

Check out Flavio's new video- Completing the job!

2007-07-27T17:49:00.000-04:00

Check out Flavio's new video- completing the job!
http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=d2kdnAvhujo

We're Back! Come to the Mission Presentation on Sunday 8/19!

2007-07-26T17:13:00.000-04:00

We're back! One of our last posts until the

Sunday August 19th cross training

(9:20am at the St. Paul Sanctuary)

Where we'll review the mission results, share some personal stories and review an awesome slide show of what we all accomplished together. We also may have some Brazilian special morning food.

Be there or be square!

Here's Stephanie, Pastor Tom, Terri and Megan welcoming everyone home at the Deerfield Tri Rail station.

Here's Virginia welcoming Carl home with some well deserved, snacks, water and coffee.

Here's Drew welcoming Leslie home.

Here's Pastor Glick who hasn't had this long of a period not speaking with Sally for 45 years!

Our TAM airbus parked safely at MIA.

Here's Alex loading the bus, he's an animal!

Here's Carl the cribbage shark beating up on some innocent non-cribbage players at the Sao Paulo airport (including me).

10:45pm to Miami... red eye to the max!

Here's Sabrina giving Alex a grandmother style goodbye kiss complete with pinching his cheeks.

Our prayers go out to the families that are effected by the plane crash earlier at the Sao Paulo airport. Here we drove by the crash site on the way out.

We stopped at a gem store on the way to the airport, blue light special for the Christians on aisle 3... this is where the crosses were.

A view of the Sao Paulo skyline, the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the world and largest in South America with 17.7M people. WOW!

Day 8- Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

2007-07-24T21:50:00.001-04:00

Thanks for your continued prayers and posts, it means a lot to the team to have the entire congregation ++ on the trip with us!

Today we spent the morning in the favela (slum). It is an experience that we likely will never forget. To start our vacation Bible school session, we walked through the favela to encourage more children to attend. On this walk, Pastor Nimbu walked up these steps to this three room home that housed a single mother and 9 children. As you can see, this is a challenging environment. We managed to get 5 of the children to the class. It was heartbreaking.
Here's Pastor Nimbu, Jen, Stefan and Alex returning from this home convincing the kids to attend our VBS.

Here's Alex singing with the favela boys, they all know English lyrics.

At the VBS, Leslie set up a bracelet craft for the kids. It told the gospel story and was great for the kids.

Here's Jen with one of the children that came from the house shown above. Her name was Maria and she wouldn't leave Jen's side, she didn't want to go home.

Here's the group walking the children back home through the favela.

More favela views. This is an environment that you cannot imagine unless you can go there.

This boy was another one of the children from the house shown above. He had vision challenges and some thick glasses. His glasses were held on with a wire. It came off during the VBS and Pastor Nimbu helped him get it back on.

Another favela view.

Here's the team at the community center we used for VBS today. Ebenezer Lutheran church has a goal of renting this facility to do additional community service for the children and teenagers. If I was betting, they are going to do it.

Here's the team walking kids home in the favela.

Meet Iris, she came to both VBS sessions and had a great time, can't you tell?

Here's Jaoa, he had a great time too.

Here are all the children arriving at VBS.

Here's another walking home shot.

Here's Mike with his group, looks like fun! These kids all live in the favela shown above. Out of that environment they could all be residents of Palm Beach County, Florida. To quote Sally, "kids are kids wherever they are."

Here's Johnny Bravo with one of the twins. This all started with the girls asking Phil how tall he was, we tried to explain in feet and inches and weren't very effective.

Here's another girl from the house shown above. These kids have a tough environment, hopefully the message of salvation made a difference for them.

Here's the Schief with Guillermhe, he came both days as well and was a very smart little guy. Carl's a natural!

Here's Maria Louise and Clarice hanging with the shepherd from our puppet show. The shepherd gave them and autograph after the show.

Here's a great one. The Filman's from Colorado, former St. Paul congregants for a number of years and great friends of both Sally and Carl. They had been watching this project through the blog. Thanks for visiting, what a pleasant surprise!

Here's Kate with Larrissa, having a great time.

Here's Wagner, congregation President. He took the entire week off to be with us and has some very powerful dreams for Ebenezer. We cannot believe how strong of a ministry that this church has with such limited resources. They are truly touching people that have the greatest need.

Here's a photo from the Lutheran seminary down the street from Ebenezer. It is currently closed and rented by a school due to lack of funding. The current renter hasn't paid rent in over a year and the church doesn't have recourse. God gives us an opportunity here to help.

The seminary building. This served as the performing arts center and a church. If the seminary were operational again, it would act as an engine for additional clergy, provide volunteers for the favela and help spread the word of God throughout South America.

Michael as 007, shaken not stirred.

After, the kitchen. Almost done... What a difference!

After, the hallway...

After, the computer room. New desks are on order and will be here within a couple of weeks. The five laptops we donated will go here! What a great way to teach the community skills that will last a lifetime.

After, the main hall of the community center. WOW!

Here's a group shot of the mission team and everyone at the church. We are all family!

Cheronoba with hand paint on the face. We should have known that the paint intended for the soccer field wall would end up on someone. He plays in the band, Pirates of the Caribbean!

Here's the soccer field wall with the entire Brazil team hand (and foot) prints.

Day 7- More work & Dedication Celebration

2007-07-23T21:29:00.001-04:00

Check out the latest Flavio video on the left hand side, it's awesome!
Meet Leslie: I am amazed at how fast relationships have formed, and yet it didn't hit me until church on Saturday night. Worshiping together was awesome! It was amazing during communion when Pastor Tom and Pastor Nimbu were serving that no interpretation was needed. The LWML ladies were awesome, we are so connected and more alike than we are different. When I saw Pastor Nimbu's notes in his Bible, it felt like home. It is amazing how many common elements there were in the Lutheran services.
Mike: With Claudio, the masters of construction. What was unexpected was the amount of work. I never thought that people would be as motivated and team oriented to get the job done. What was most touching was in the Favela when one child didn't get a snack. As we were leaving I shook my head no, that there weren't any left and felt terrible. But she walked out, smiled and touched my back. Later, a friend realized she was without a snack and shared her own. What a memorable day.

Salleeeee: On her broom... One of the things that hit me the most was that kids are kids no matter where you are. Seeing all of the kites and kids playing hopscotch. We need to get the message to them, so regardless of where or how you live they will know about Jesus. It was interesting that no matter what language we all have, in a church service we have oneness in Christ. It has been a better experience than I ever thought it would be. I had concerns, but God took all the fear away and said, "you need to go."

Morning devotions with Pastor Tom. Matthew 20 about the workers in the vineyard and the last will be first and the first will be last.

Nice... Rock on Alex and Kate on the bus to Ebenezer.

Michael and Nick try to outdo them!

The work continues, Alex about to throw water on Mike and Mike Ford about to kick Alex (see the leg on the right?)

Recognize the shirt? Lisa and Wagner showing off their grout hands.

The soccer field got some needed rain today, the boys are so excited to use it but it will take 2 months before it can be used again.

Wow! Very sexy grout application Phil and Jessica...

Tom, Mike and Carl preparing for grout in the hallway.

Jessica sipping tea at Simone's house, check out the grout legs... sweet!

Flavia, her smiles have kept us going for the week!

Churos, a celebration today with great carne!

VBS, Sabrina as a penguin. Old lady, now penguin, talk about talent!

VBS groups, nearly 60 children attended that are not regular church members. Music, crafts and learning the Gospel... way cool!

The dedication service, these ladies represent the location community organization that helps arrange work and hygiene training at the community center. This church is powerful.

Pastor Nimbu and Simone, dedicating the community center.

Pastor Tom raising the roof!

A new experience, after the dedication the teenagers circled around Pastor Nimbu and chanted. It was really cool, kind of like a World Cup soccer game!

Same for Pastor Tom

Same for Simone

The girls gave Kate and Alex cards and artwork, a neat relationship that bridges the culture gap.

This boy and girl were getting a hard time from Alex saying they are boyfriend and girlfriend. They denied it, but all the other teens said Alex was right on! During the day, the praise band was playing smoke on the water and singing in English... Rock On!

Simone's father Hannah (John in English) gave Pastor Tom Masbaha beads that are used to relax. Pastor didn't set them down, he was using them on board the bus from the house.

Imagine this, today we gave all of the clothes donations to the church. When Leslie was going through the bags of clothes she found these beauties. They came out of Pastor Glick's donation, Sally told the story, but you'll have to ask her when you see her next.

Everyone at Simone's house, the hospitality, Love and caring was overwhelming.

I grabbed this photo from the wall in Simone's house, isn't she Bonita!

Simone with mom and dad! They live in South Sao Paulo.

Day 6- The Sabbath

2007-07-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

Thanks to all who have been involved in our trip through prayers and posts! You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear from all of you. Obrigato!

Carl: The Schief! Well, first a funny story... Mr. Schiefer and his, "key problem." Here, wrapped in towel, Carl comes to the lobby looking for his roommate's key after losing his, again! Now onto some stories. Carl has had "a simply marvelous time." Some of his most special moments were Saturday night church at Ebenezer Lutheran and Sunday am at church in St. Vincent, a local city near Santos. He felt that this was a very special time to worship with the Brazilians. We sang Brazilian words to traditional Lutheran hymns, "Rock of Ages" and "What a Friend we Have in Jesus," for example. It really didn't matter that we were singing in a foreign language, or we didn't understand what we saying exactly, we knew what the meaning of the song was. The Schief really didn't know what to expect from a group that ranges in age from 13 to 60 something. It has been a "very pleasant surprise!" We work well together, have fun together and play well together. All in all I give thanks to God for this wonderful opportunity to enjoy a truly incredible experience with some truly incredible people who love the Lord.

Alex Michael: One of Alex's most memorable moments was after the church service last night when an Ebenezer Lutheran family member approached him, and a couple of other team members, to express his thankfulness for everything that we have done. He explained that he takes care of six kids, some of which are not his own, but that he is responsible for them. Not all of them go to church, and that this hurts him. Also, that some have problems and he sometimes has a very hard time in life. He expressed that he was beginning to doubt God, and was wondering why all these things were happening, and was questioning how could life be so difficult. However, after seeing our work and participating in the worship service, his faith and belief in God has been greatly encouraged. Alex says that, "This made me feel that God was really working through me to have an impact."

Jenny Mcknight: "I expected to be doing a lot of painting, but this has been a much bigger job then anticipated." From going on several mission trips to Guatemala, and hearing the call to be a full time missionary, Jen expected the people of Brazil to be very friendly, and they have not disappointed! What has been a wonderful surprise is the food. We have been showered with blessings and unbelievable food from the ladies at the church. Not only have they worked hard to provide us with a full blown, home made lunch every day, we have received wonderful homemade sweets in the morning, at lunch for dessert, and in the afternoon. Their service has been incredible. One of the moments that will stay with her forever is when we sang, "shout to the Lord" on Saturday night during church. Claudio, an Ebenezer church member who was featured earlier in the blog, was crying at the end of the hymn, even though he couldn't understand the words. He had fallen off scaffolding the very first day and has never stopped working, serving with extreme humility, patience, and unending dedication. "This is something I will never forget!"

Alex and Phil overlooking the sights at Santos. A 2 hour drive from Sao Paulo. It's great to see Phil mentoring Alex, Phil's a wonderful Christian man who has sacrificed to be here with a most joyous heart.

Sally and Jen riding the ferry to the beach, it was a short 5 minute ride. They are both the ultimate worker bees!

We worshipped at a church near the coastal city of Santos. The congregation was wonderful and is working hard to grow and spread the Gospel.

The Schief with Carlos and his two sisters, congregants at the church this morning. Carlos spoke fluent English, his uncle plays the piano, his father is President of the congregation and his other uncle was pastor at Ebenezer Lutheran Church 15 years ago. Carlos recalled playing soccer on the field and cutting his knees up on the dirt and rocks. He was excited to hear about the new soccer field. A wonderful family with three generations attending this service. Carlos and one of his sisters are engineers and his other sister is a lawyer. Carlos wants to move to Canada upon graduation, brrrrrrr!

A view of the Brazilian flag from Santos.

Leslie, Jessica, Mike, Sally and Simone at the Beach in Santos. It was a relaxing Sabbath day. Tomorrow we have VBS at Ebenezer and continue the renovation in the afternoon. We'll also be going to Simone's parents home for dinner. Did you notice Leslie and Sally's necklaces? They were a gift of Lutheran Women's Mission League at Ebenezer last night. Make sure you check them out when you see them at St. Paul, how thoughtful!

Guess whose hair this is? And guess who wrote this about it: "Her hair holds the color of life. The gold of a meadow overflowing with daisies, the oranges of the turning leaves of fall. The auburn of the embers of winters warmest fires and the red of the passion that lives deep within her." WOW!

See you ate' amanha!

Day 5- Favela (Ministry to the Slums)

2007-07-21T22:11:00.001-04:00

Meet Beatriz: She's 10 years old and lives with her parents, grandmother and siblings. She's a 4th grader and lives close to the Favela mission church.

Meet Bruna: Wow, what a day! Somethings change your life, this was one of them. Never has something moved me as much today's visit with the children. One of these children that Scott and I met was Bruna. Bruna is 12 years old and is soooooo smart. You know in your heart that if the opportunity was there, she would make the most of it. When she gets older, she would like to study psychology. We are really looking forward to going back to the mission church on Tuesday and can't begin to adequately thank God for His grace, mercy and love. Today is a day we will cherish forever!

Meet Lenice, Bruna's Mom:

Here we are walking the kids home from VBS. The Favela is an amazing place. People are squatters here, they don't have deed to their property. There are sewers overflowing in the streets, the kids guided us away from them. It is a place that cannot be described. The kids were amazing, even though they live in an intensively challenging environment. They were well behaved during VBS, smiling, friendly, loving, smart... This place provides true proof that people are not a function of where they grow up.

Thanks Southeast Toyota for donating 5 retired laptops, they will definitely be put to excellent use in the newly remodeled computer room doing vocational training for the community. These meant the world to Wagner (congregation President) when we presented them to him.

Simone was the best interpreter ever, the kids LOVED her.

As the sun set on Sao Paulo, the view was as beautiful as our day.

Simone helped translate for Pastor Nimbu and Pastor Tom at our church service this evening. She did a great job making the service work.

Wagner and his wife of four months Sabrina played a duet that was awesome. They are wonderful people that truly have the Holy Spirit in their hearts.

Ebenezer has a praise band just like St Paul. Drummer, Bass and 3 guitars. Simone and Nick played while we sang at the service, it was a real tear jerker.

At the Favela, the children of the mission church did a play for us. Here Jesus is in motion and seeing the world through the eyes of a child.

Pastor Tom and Pastor Nimbu bridged the cultural gap as true men of God.

In the afternoon we went back to the church to make progress on the renovation. Here, pastor Tom is losing it with our construction boss Mike.

Pastor Nimbu does wonderful work with his mission church in the Favela. It has been there for 10 years and truly reaches out to a place that needs Jesus.

Leslie with one of the VBS students.

Ironically, this mural was painted on the wall of the Favela (slum) and referenced the high rise condominiums that lie on the other side. The rift between the classes here is incredible.

When we finished walking the children home from VBS we gathered in front of the mission church. There were a number of kids who didn't want to leave.

While at the mission church we told the story of the Good Samaritan through a skit, the kids enjoyed it and Nick and Alex loved robbing and beating up their dad.

Mike made lots of friends in the Favela.

Jesus feeds the 5,000. These kids were wonderful.

Walking through the Favela.

David with his new friend, she didn't leave him until we dropped her off at home.

Alex has made a lot of friends.

Day 4- Community Center Nearing Completion

2007-07-21T06:19:00.000-04:00

Check out the "Day 2 Flavio Video" You Tube video link to the left, Flavio made a nice video of the day.

Meet Pastor Edson Vitorino Nimbu: He has a wife, Linaura and two daughters. He is a native Brazilian (ie. American Indian). His father lived in Northern Brazil and became a strong Christian. Upon returning to his home town, he converted 20 people to Christianity. Pastor does the radio talk show "5 Minutes with Jesus" that is produced by CPTN. He and his congregation have two mission churches in the Favela (slum), we'll be visiting one this morning. He has created a vibrant church that does tremendous outreach. Here he holds a live 220v wire, synonomous with the energy at his chuch.

Meet Maria da Gloria Moraes: Maria's older sister lived in Savador (North of Brazil) and took sewing lessons at a Lutheran church and became a Christian. Years later, both sisters moved to Sao Paulo and started to attend Concordia Seminary Church. Soon after they helped to form a sattelite church, which is Ebenezer Lutheran, under the leadership of Pastor Schneider and several other lay members. Maria is very eager to learn English and sat with Sally and Jessica for an hour reviewing an Avon catalog and learning the words from the photos. She has a ten year old grandaughter who has been with her daily at the church helping out.
The team whitewashed the walls and leveled the soccer field with many of the teenage congregants (Daniel, Bruno and team). Although it was hard work, they had a great time. Can't wait to see the finished field, this morning they are delivering sod for the field.

Here's Wagner, the President of the congregation.He has been wonderful to work with. He has generously provided for all of our needs with patience and humility. Here he is with Jen and Pastor Tom. His wife Sabrina is portraying an old lady in photos below. She uses this charachter to entertain people in local hospitals. She had everyone cracking up...

Stephan makes friends wherever he goes.

Sally and Leslie can now be called the queens of tile!

Here's Sabrina in her old lady costume having fun with some of the kids. Sabrina works two jobs, goes to school studying psychology and manages to volunteer all over the place. Every Friday night she and Wagner have dinner at their home with one of the congregants. She's a great "First Lady" of Ebenezer Lutheran and makes an awesome apple pie.

Mike has worked magic all week. Our Makita tile cutter failed, and here Mike manages to fix it with vegetable oil. He's like Magiver (spelling? the guy on TV that makes stuff with bubble gum, string and plastic explosives).

Alex is the tilemaster! He's laid more square footage than anyone...

Here's how the main activity room looked at the end of the night. WOW, what a difference! We have to finish tiling, start the kitchen, hang new light fixtures and do touch up. For the rest of the trip we'll spend most of our time working with the kids in the Favela and congregants, but we'll still have time to get it done (hopefully).

Day 3- Work Continues

2007-07-19T21:40:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all of your comments! We are reading them every night...
Meet Daniel, here he's helping level the football (soccer) field with the team. Daniel's a musician and a student. He's a member of the rock group Pirates of the Caribbean and plays the guitar. He plays with the praise brand at Ebenezer Lutheran and has been a member since birth. He remembers learning about the Bible at Sunday school as a little boy, Daniel is now 17 and enriches the community with his music. He's been a huge help on the project too.

Meet Claudio, he's been working overtime helping us make it happen. Claudio is a mason by trade. He's been a member at Ebenezer for 23 years and was born Catholic. Concordia Lutheran Seminary used to be just up the street from the church and in 1984 the seminarians invited Claudio's twins to a vacation Bible school at the seminary. The children asked their dad to take them and they all felt welcome there and the entire family converted to the Lutheran church. Today, one of the twins is now a pastor in Southern Brazil. What a neat family!

Meet, Bruno not only did he school us in soccer, here he's preparing the soccer field for new sod. Bruno is 18 years old and was confirmed 3 months ago. He was brought to the church by friends at school. Bruno plays the guitar and takes turns playing with the praise band at church. Bruno feels that Ebenezer Lutheran is more "centered".

Way to go Phil, excellent brush strokes!

Sally looks great with the local garb.

Pastor Tom went over the edge on the 4th coat of ceiling paint, doesn't he look crazy?

Lisa and Jen mixing the mud for our tile... they rock!

The boys from St Paul praise band and the Ebenezer praise band meet and discuss the universal language of music.

The congregation voted in Miss Congeniality and Miss Construction!

Everyone pitched in painting the community center.

Way to go Leslie!

Josephine working with the girls, they are wonderful!

Jen ribbing on Stephan...

A sample of the awesome meals that we've had for lunch at the church, Muito Bem!

Michael in commando gear.

Flavio from CPTN has been a huge help.

At the end of the night, look at the progress... Great job Mike, Stephan and Alex!

Amazing, one of the community center desks with some graffiti... Look at the bad names, sound familiar?

Carl has been assimilated into the Brazilian culture.

Just some of the rollers we used... clean up after completing 90% of the paint.

Day 2- Paint and Fun!

2007-07-18T18:23:00.001-04:00

Beginning with the end in mind, this is what Carl and his team's hard work yielded for the computer room. A vast difference from earlier photos huh? This will be one killer community center that touches many people!

Our hosts were wonderful in keeping us nourished and having fun cross cultural conversations, thanks Simone for being our #1 interpreter!

Nice photo...

One team put in a new concrete floor in the kitchen and surrounding room and hallway to prepare for the tile.

There was a friendly Brazil v. USA football game with the local kids, as you can imagine we got schooled!

Yellow card!

The boys after a muddy game.

Hardest job of the day, shoveling construction debris for removal.

Snacks with the ladies. Phil's looking right at home with the carrot cake.

David, making it happen with some ceiling paint.

Jessica detailing the light fixtures in the computer room, this room will get a new tile floor tomorrow and some new computers on Monday.

Sally getting some help cleaning the paint stuff. Feel the love!

The local girls were a big help painting the classroom and playing hide and seek with the team! They walked around with our kids and explained Portuguese and English to each other as they pointed at each item, what fun!

It's the GOLDEN HAMSTER, look out!

Some of the girls having fun with crafts.

Alex filling in the concrete in the kitchen floor, keep it up!

Leslie, you missed a spot.

Day 1- Orientation and seeing the project

2007-07-17T19:37:00.003-04:00

Upon leaving the airport we headed for the 2 hour drive to CPTN, the organization sponsoring this mission trip with Lutheran Hour Ministries. Thanks to the entire staff including Paulo, for such an awesome welcome and project overview. Your work is a blessing!
During the orientation here's a glimpse into how world problems are resolved. Look as Mike listens intently to Leslie's ideas. Phil is just left scratching his head at the enormity of it all.

The front view of Ebenezer Lutheran Church, it's flanked by favela's (slums) and provides some outstanding service to the community. Our revised community center will be incredible. Thanks Pastor Nimbu for what you do.

Our hosts at Ebenezer Lutheran provided us with some outstanding snacks and some really effective coffee. Thanks to the congregants that are making this project possible!

Stephan and Lisa are surveying all of the classroom materials that have been moved out for the project.

Nick and Michael look like their up to no good. A really outstanding grinch imitation though.

Shopping for additional supplies at the Sao Paulo version of Home Depot was a hoot. In Brazil spackle for the walls is called creme for future reference. Building supplies may be one of our hardest translations yet and not many people speak English. But in the end we got all we needed.

Mike coaching Jen on the chemical properties of grout. Amazing stuff really!

Our hosts Wagner (congregation president) and his team gave a wonderful overview of exactly what we need to accomplish and how Ebenezer works with the community.

Leslie models the new tile, isn't it beautiful! Wait until you see the after shots!

The entire team and some of our Sao Paulo friends pose in front of most of our building materials. This is going to turn out incredibly well. See Pastor Tom and Mike doing some deep analysis of the floor?

Jen couldn't wait to start working, quit talking about what to do and get'r done!

The view of the favela from the sanctuary steps.

Phil giving appropriate approval to Ebenezer Lutheran.

Devotions this evening focused on the church body and our spiritual gifts as outlined in Romans. We need to use our gifts to the max here in Sao Paulo.

Traveling to Sao Paulo- WOW!

2007-07-17T19:21:00.000-04:00

The trip to Sao Paulo Monday night was awesome, it was blessed by being uneventful and being winter in the Southern Hemisphere it's in the 50's-70's. You can tell that Mike and Stephan were very happy to be getting on the way...

Pastor Tom led us in prayer at St. Paul to get us started. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers, we know our efforts will be impactful.

Phil, David and Alex are ready to rock after loading the short bus named "nugget". Pastor Glick was an excellent driver!

Guilherme was our first Brazilado that we met, he was very helpful and accepting of our poor attempt at speaking Portuguese.

Josephine and Mike all nestled snugly on our TAM "redeye" flight.

Home again for Simone, she's been an awesome interpreter and cultural advisor... OK!

Pastor Tom and David poised appropriately under the Shine sign at Sao Paulo's busiest airport.

We made it to Sao Paulo and experienced first hand what we've been preparing for for months. Thanks for your support, your efforts WILL make a difference!

The Commissioning Service

2007-07-15T16:41:00.001-04:00

Thanks Pastor Glick and the entire St. Paul congregation for your prayers! We hope to touch many lives in Sao Paulo with the Love of Jesus!

Babysitting and Brazil Dinner from the silent auction

2007-07-14T10:38:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all of your support with our babysitting fundraiser! Also, check out some photos from the silent auction Brazil dinner...

2007-07-09T18:11:00.000-04:00

Mission Brazil Prayer Guide

We want to thank you for all your support in making this mission possible. We pray that it will be a transforming experience both for the people of Sao Paulo and St. Paul!

Please pray for us daily and stay updated on how things are going by visiting this blog. We will update the blog daily while on the mission trip!

Monday, July 16th:
- Safe travel as we leave Miami at 7:00 pm.
- For the people that we will be ministering to.
- For team members Alex and Nick Harrison.

Tuesday, July 17th:
- For energy after all night travel and for team unity.
- For our orientation at Ebenezer Church
- For team members Kate Schnake and Michael Ford.

Wednesday, July 18th:
- For safety and patience on the worksite.
- For opportunities to share Jesus with locals.
- For team members Stephan Caro and Lisa Booth.

Thursday, July 19th:
- For safety and patience on worksite.
- For good communication between team members.
- For team members Carl Schiefer and Sally Glick.

Friday, July 20th:
- For safety and patience on the work site.
- For health of team members to remain strong.
- For team members Mike and Josephine Dattolico.

Saturday, July 21st:
- For the children’s project taking place in slums.
- For continued unity on mission team.
- For team members Scott and Jessica Harrison.

Sunday, July 22nd:
- For our worship with Ebenezer congregation.
- For continued growth of relationships with locals.
- For Team members Mike Ford and Leslie Schnake.

Monday, July 23rd:
- For the opening of newly renovated center.
- For the children’s project at renovated center.
- For team members David and Alex Michael.

Tuesday, July 24th:
- For children’s project at renovated center.
- For team as we prepare to come home.
- For team members Jen McKnight and Pastor Tom.

Wednesday, July 25th:
- For safe travel and many sad goodbyes!
- For the people of Ebenezer Lutheran Church.
- For Team members Simone Haddad and Phil Kaiser.

Check out the Mission Itinerary!

2007-07-03T16:53:00.000-04:00

2007-06-11T23:25:00.000-04:00

Thanks for making Idol night a success! The St Paul Church Family will reach out to Sao Paulo in a major way!

2007-06-10T19:59:00.000-04:00

Some highlights from our Sao Paulo Mission Trip slide show. Thanks for all of your prayers and support, we are looking forward to a productive trip spreading God's Love courtesy of the Saint Paul Lutheran Church family!

Laborer's of the Harvest

2007-04-02T12:25:00.000-04:00

St. Paul’s continues to serve others, and spread the Good News of Jesus our savior to all nations.

This summer 2o St Paul’s congregation members will be traveling to Sao Paulo Brazil to help build a church and offer vacation bible studies. Please contact Pastor Tom (PastorTom@StPaulBoca.com) for more information.