One of the unexpected benefits of our house-hunting was getting in touch with Lúcia, a lawyer from one of our BBF churches in São Paulo state. I was looking for a little legal help, but ended up stumbling upon a very refreshing time with pastors and missionaries by attending a seminar.

I had heard about Lúcia, because she and her husband's law firm has helped a number of our pastors and missionaries over the years. They head up an organization that not only helps churches with legal consultation, but also with financial aid through a rotating fund. When I called her about a document I was needing for a rental, she happened to mention that their organization's fifth annual seminar was coming up: would I be interested in attending?

At first I didn't think it would be possible, it was so last minute. Ann Janel was all for it, even though it meant I would be traveling without her and kids. Everything fell into place, and next thing I knew I was on a plane to São Paulo to attend the seminar.

I really had no idea what to expect of the seminar--I hadn't even attended one of these when I was growing up here. It turned out to be a very profitable conference, with devotional lectures from Pr. Mike Frazier (Canton, OH), along with leadership lectures by Ebenezer Bittencourt (a biblical leadership business consultant).

Unexpectedly, I was able to meet some of the men who now pastor the Recife churches that I attended as a child--even the pastor of the church where I was saved. There were also several of the BBF missionaries, some I only knew by name, and others, like Jeffrey Barker (my roommate for the week), whom I knew quite well from my time at BBC. Naturally, there were many others there I didn't know, and it was very encouraging to see the caliber of men and women who are doing the work of the ministry around the country.