July is vacation month in Brazil. Not only is it the Brazilian winter, but schools and even some businesses have the entire month off. While the bigger church camp season is in February or March, centered around Carnaval, we had the opportunity to participate in a winter camp weekend, July 9-11. The church hosting the group was Bible Baptist Church of Jardim Aeroporto, the same church that invited us to our first camp in the Campinas area.

It was a blessing to be back with our friends from Campinas after a few months of settling into our new city of Jacareí. The fifty or so campers were a good turnout for a winter camp, especially since they were all from one church. I spoke three times during the camp from Psalm 34 about a life of praise. During this age where so many people mistakenly associate praise and worship with music, it was a privilege to teach how not just our voices, but our very lives ought to be an expression of our worship to the almighty God for all He has done.

One particular part of the camp that I had not planned for turned out to be good experience. On Saturday night they had me come forward after the activities and opened it up for people to ask me questions. I wasn't sure at first what kind of questions I would get, but soon I was answering the key questions that affect teenagers everywhere: What is God's will for my life? Can music and movies really affect my walk with Christ? What does it mean as a teenager to obey my parents? and so on. It was a really good time, and would have gone on well into the night if the leaders not cut it short. Pray for the youth of Brazil--they are facing all kinds of challenges in their schools and families. God can really use these kids, but they really need our prayers to overcome the pressures against serving God.

One of the highlights of 2009 was being able to help missionaries Russ and Diane Dean host US groups. Our goal was not only to help them with translation and overseeing, but to learn practical elements for hosting our own groups. Little did we know what huge blessings God had in store for us through this experience.

We were surprised to find out that the first group was from Lexington, KY. Lexington was Ann Janel's mother's hometown, a city we have visited at least once a year (when we were in the US) since we were married. We were impressed with their level of preparation. Members of the team were required to not only memorize and be able to use the plan of salvation in English, but also memorized key phrases to share the Gospel in Portuguese. They were a close-knit, hard-working group, so it surprised us yet again to learn that many of them were still getting to know one another on the trip. Some were new converts, but showed a level of spiritual maturity and biblical knowledge that is missing from many longer-term converts.

When we helped with this group last year, we had no idea that a year later we would be living in Jacareí, just a few minutes from Russ and Diane and their children's ministry. So it was a huge treat to help host this group again this year. Several of the members had been here last year, and it was great to meet new folks that were part of the team this year.

The group, led by their pastor Tim Parsons and college pastor Todd Thomas, spends only a few days in Brazil, but they pack a lot in that short time. Their main ministry is to Haven of Hope, a non-profit children's ministry located on a farm outside of Jacareí. They spend time with the thirty or so children that are helped during the school year, as well as hosting nearly one hundred children from a underprivileged neighborhood of the city. This neighborhood was also target of a visit by the group, where they distributed donated clothes, toys, and food. In addition to just playing with the kids and putting on evangelistic skits, the group members visited homes and shared the gospel, leading several to Christ. Another part of their time at Haven of Hope was spent helping re-roof one of the buildings. In Brazil, this means tearing off hundreds of colonial roofing tiles, and then tossing up hundreds of new ones to replace them. It is hard work, but everyone pitched in.

As if this weren't a lot to pack into less than a week, they also somehow managed to visit two of our churches in the city, minister to the kids at a Christian school, and openly present the gospel in English at one of the English schools in town. It is very uplifting to see and be a part of all that they do while they are here. Their visit this year will no doubt stick out as a highlight of 2010.

The move to Jacareí has changed a lot of different things in our lives. In addition to the ministry changes that have come about by my being on the pastoral staff of one specific church, Ann Janel has become involved in a number of ministries herself. She is in high demand by young mothers and women in the church as biblical counselor, particularly in the areas of being a godly wife and mother. Many people have also quickly picked up on the fact that Ann Janel is a great resource for those learning English. Not only can she teach the subject, but she is a native speaker they can practice their English on. 

Missionary friends Russ and Diane Dean run a non-profit ministry for underprivileged children just outside of Jacareí called AME, Associação Morada da Esperança (Haven of Hope). Three times a week, about 30 children are bussed out to a farm and receive breakfast, participate in activities and teaching geared toward improving their vocational skills, and then are served lunch before heading to school in the afternoon. With Ann Janel's arrival, they were able to add English to the curriculum this year. Along with missionary Donna Faircloth, these children receive English training from native speaking Americans for free.

Below is a video of the kids singing a song that Ann Janel and Donna taught them so they could sing to the American groups that arrive to minister to them. Ann Janel looked for a song that would not only incorporate Bible, but the colors they have been learning in English. Pray for these kids. They come from hard backgrounds, several with parents in prison, and very few with good prospects in life. Pray that through this ministry they will come to know Christ.

The past month and half has been somewhat unusual. We officially concluded Ann Janel's language studies and left Campinas at the end of February, moving our things to our new home in Jacareí (see this article for a few details and a map). We did not stay long in our new home, however, because we had already made a previous commitment to be in Brasília to fill in for my parents while they headed to the US for a month. Why we decided to move and fill in at nearly the same time is a long story, but I can sum up with: 3 days after arriving in our new place, with boxes and things only partially unpacked, we found ourselves on the familiar twelve-hour drive up north to the country's capital. Oh wait, make that thirteen and half hours--we moved farther away.

The month in Brasília went great. While the men of the church are more than capable of preaching and teaching, and have done so in the past, they were quite happy to leave that to me. It is always great to reconnect with our friends from that church. I also had the opportunity to meet up with a high-school friend I had not seen since graduation nearly nineteen years (Yikes! That long ago, already?) ago. 

Ann Janel became even more immersed in Brazilian culture as Teresinha, one of the church members, taught her how to make pão de queijo (literally cheese bread, but not like anything you find in the US), a very Brazilian breakfast food or daytime snack. It was great to see her with Teresinha, chatting away in Portuguese, learning the recipe, that consisted of non-empirical measurements such as "a heaping plate of cheese," and a "half plate of oil." An interesting note about this recipe is that nearly all the housewives in Jacareí, when told that Ann Janel learned to make it from scratch, have said, "Oh, I buy the mix," or "They have those in the frozen food section." Brazilian cooking is changing, and not necessarily for the better.

The end of our time in Brasília was bittersweet. My kids had been very excited about the idea of spending time with Grandma (my Mom) when she got back from the States at the end of March. We were going to celebrate Joel's fourth birthday with my parents. Halfway into March, however, the doctors gave my Grandma (Mom's mom) about six months to live. Her battle with cancer had now moved into her lungs, and Mom would be staying on indefinitely to care for her. We got to spend a few days with my father once he returned, but time with my mom will have to wait till Christmas. We arrived back from Brasília on March 31. My grandmother passed away on April 1.

We have been in Jacareí about two weeks now, settling into a new house, new routine, new ministry. The city has a totally different feel than Campinas, just as Campinas was totally different than Brasília. It is a good different: we are within walking distance of a number of basic needs (little corner store for this and that, butcher shop, bread store, bike repair, etc.), as well as the feira (FAY-rah, with a rolled "r"). The feira is a very Brazilian small-town tradition. Every Saturday, an entire street in downtown Jacareí is converted into an open-air farmers' market that offers the best produce, the best pastéis (another traditional Brazilian food), the best chance to rub elbows with people from all walks of life.

We are looking forward to what God has for us in this new city, and in this new stage of our ministry.

Even before we left for Brazil in late 2006, we made it clear that the beginning of our ministry here would focus on Ann Janel's language studies. We began working with my parents in their church outside Brasília, the country's capital, while Ann Janel began taking classes with a private tutor. A series of factors worked towards changing our plans, and in early 2008, we moved to Campinas where Ann Janel enrolled in a language school that for years has trained missionaries in the Portuguese language and culture.

As we moved to Campinas, we again made it clear that our purpose in being there was to further Ann Janel's language acquisition. As such, I did not take on a primary role as a senior pastor of a church, or attempt to start a new work in the region. God used this decision to greatly expand our network of pastor and ministry contacts. While working in an auxiliary role with Pastor Claudio in Hortolandia, a city in the greater metro area of Campinas, we were able to accept many preaching engagements throughout the area, and in the state of São Paulo. Every year I preached at an area church youth camp during Carnaval, and was able to participate in pastors' retreats, fellowship meetings, and many other area meetings. Not accepting the role of lead pastor gave our family the flexibility to be involved in the ministries of nearly every BBF church in the region, while at the same time keeping our weekly schedule flexible for Ann Janel's language classes.

Since our arrival in Campinas, we have been praying about where God would have us direct our ministry once the language phase was over. God used the same event that brought us to Campinas to direct us to what our future ministry will be. At the 2007 pastors' seminar that put me in touch with Campinas-area pastors and missionaries, I also befriended a young pastor, Joel, who started a church about five years ago in the city of Jacareí ("jah-kah-reh-EE"). (I have mentioned him before, and have spoken of several times we have been in his church over the past two years.)

Joel and I have very similar dreams. We desire to see more and more Brazilians becoming disciples--followers of Jesus Christ--specifically through the planting of new churches, through doctrinally sound and relevant discipleship programs, and through practical life change brought about by biblical counseling. In the coming months I will describe in greater detail how our joint ministry will be incorporating all three of these areas. For now, it suffices to say that God has worked in us to partner in ministry, and I have joined the pastoral staff of IBABI ("ee-BAH-bee," a shortened form of Igreja Batista Bíblica, Bible Baptist Church). In the coming months and, Lord willing, years, we plan to expand the church ministry in these areas to see thriving churches being planted out of our church all over Brazil.

The actual move is a small one. We are moving only an hour and half southeast of Campinas. But in terms of ministry, this is a huge step. Ann Janel's formal in-class training is concluded. She and the kids are speaking and interacting more and more each day. I will be moving from a secondary, multi-church involvement to the lead role in several areas of one church's ministry. Ann Janel already has young mothers interested in forming ladies' Bible studies to address parenting and other family-related issues. We are excited to see what God has in our future with Pastor Joel and the folks at IBABI.

With around 200,000 people, Jacareí is not a large city by Brazilian standards. It is strategically located, however, along the highways leading between São Paulo (pop. 29 million--metro area) and Rio de Janeiro (pop. 11 million--metro area). It is also nearly joined with São José do Campos (pop. 600,000), as well as being situated in a valley with several other metropolitan areas. The map above shows its position in relation with Campinas and São Paulo city.