Time moves quickly doesn’t it? Have you ever looked toward an event for so long that when the day actually arrives, it’s a bit of a shock. You prepare for the preparations. Then you actually put the preparations in place. But you don’t prepare to stop and experience it.

We look back on our May Basketball Clinic and can say with confidence that we gave it our all and even though things didn’t turn out like we imagined in our minds, they turned out just like we think they should have. I can remember Jon and I talking about numbers and how we were nervous that we’d have too many kids, but scared at the same time we’d have none! As it turns out, we had 17 kids participate. While this was far less than we’d hoped for, it was a perfect number for getting to know the kids on a more personal level. All of our Brasilian friends have told us that that was a huge success for the first time having something like this.

The school where we advertised tried to get us to go there and have the clinic during school hours. We really felt like we should have the clinic in the gym where we live. We felt strongly about this and stuck to our guns about it. We felt like the kids would respect us more on our turf and that we could narrow the participation to those kids who were really interested. Since this was our first experience with a clinic in Brazil, we didn’t want to bite off more than we could chew. It turned out really well. Sometimes it’s not about numbers, but the impact you make on those who need it at that time.

We invited the parents of the kids to come have breakfast with us this last morning in the gym and let the kids demonstrate some of the drills we’ve been doing with them. I (Jennifer) talked with the parents about how we wanted to have a sports clinic to build self-esteem and teach the kids life skills like leadership and teamwork. We talked about Proverbs 22:6, ‘Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it”. We explained that together with the parents we could give the children the skills and confidence to face things like drugs and violence without getting caught up in it. We prayed for their families and had a really nice time together.

Before the kids left we gave them their last stars. Each one received an extra gold star to show completion of the clinic. We told them that gold is precious and has a lot of value to man. To us, however, they are more valuable than gold and that no matter what they would always be valuable to God.

As usual, we try to be a blessing to others and they end up blessing us. I think I already miss them. We’re planning our next clinic and throwing around some other ideas as well to continue with the Saturday time with the kids.

Enjoy the photos. Did you know you can click on a photo and see it larger? Alex is working on a video that we’ll post soon.

Week 2

I included a picture of Josiah in case you're wondering how fast he's growing. Everyone here talks about how big he is. They all say it's because he's American. It's hard to believe he's 6 1/2 months old already.

Last week our first kid to arrive came on the back of his dad’s motorcycle (Motos are popular here, better on gas!). We all waited outside the gate of the base so we could walk to the gym together. He sat on the curb a while and I introduced him to a couple of our helpers. We decided we should wait until 9:30am in case anyone was late. He had arrived early, a few minutes before 9am. I was a little worried that he wasn’t talking to anyone, but became involved in registering some other kids. I noticed him get up and start walking down the road. As he walked up the hill I looked at Jon and asked him, ‘Do you think he’s going home?’. Jon just shrugged and said he hoped not. I felt a little defeated, but couldn’t focus on it too much. Next thing I knew, he was walking faster and faster and eventually started running. I told Jon he must have been scared to death!!

I decided to take the kids to the gym and Jon stayed back for any other late kids. The boy did come back, and brought with him a friend! I guess he was running because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get in if we left without him. And he came back this week, too.

We had our second Upward Clinic this past weekend. We had plans to return to the school Friday and remind the kids about it, but our English Seminar graduation was changed to Friday and it was my responsibility this semester. I was preparing all morning and ran out of time.

We split them up again in the age groups. We had one girl who was older and she did fine with the guys. We had many kids return, but a few didn’t. We had 2 new kids, though. At first I was disappointing and frustrated that I ran out of time to go to the school and remind them. However, once the clinic started we found ourselves not worrying about the kids who weren’t there, but really enjoying those that were!

Walei lives near us. He’s 11 and I see him riding his bike all the time on our street. You have to be somewhat tough around here. The kids have more responsibility than kids in the States. I’ve seen kids about 7 or 8 riding the bus by themselves. When I look at Walei I see a kid who can take care of himself. It’s not so much his stature, because he’s pretty small. It’s more the look on his face.

This Saturday we saw Walei smiling from ear to ear and having such a good time playing basketball. He’s pretty good! How cool to see him being a kid and high-fiving our son, Alex when they made a great play! We included a picture of him above.

This week we introduced the star system and gave each of them a player card with their picture and name on it. Each week they get a sticker for attendance and a star for something they exhibit excellence in: effort, defense, offense, Christ-like behavior. As I was walking the kids back down to the gate I heard them asking each other which star they received. We were ecstatic to hear them excited about earning the star. I think next week we’ll see them encouraging each other even more.

Thanks so much for your support and prayers. We are living our call to serve God’s children in Brazil and we could not continue without it. It’s been the biggest challenge of our lives and there are times we relate to II Corinthians 4:8-18 more than I ever imagined. But, it is in the very moment we see the smile on a child’s face and have the opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ Jesus that we are renewed.

Basketball Clinic started today!

Our first basketball clinic was today and we had a great time! Can you picture us wiping our brows as the kids walk away?

I had said that I might be disappointed if we have less than 20. We ended up with 16 today. 11 boys and 5 girls. It actually turned out really well because the group was small enough to really get to know the kids some. Interestingly, only one of the kids who turned in their registration Wednesday showed up. The rest were children that hadn’t turned theirs in, but brought it with them.

We later found out when we tried to go to a store to fix our shower’s hot water heater that today is a holiday. Some of our friends here told us it is probably why more kids didn’t show up. We’re going to return to the school this week just to remind the kids about the clinic and assure them they can still come next Saturday.

We started out with a group dynamic where we asked the kids their names, age and what they’d like to do when they grow up. Often the kids living in poverty here don’t have a lot of ‘future thoughts’ because of their environment. Everyone had an answer, which is always good.

After the dynamic we split up into boys and girls and taught basic skills like dribbling, passing and shooting. We taught some defense as well. We then took a rest, had some water and cookies and talked to them a little about the Bible and what it is for us as Christians. Then, we played some more basketball!

We felt really good about how smoothly it went. We had a lot of help, and really felt blessed to have just the right people helping us today. One of the guys who worked with the girls is named Adam. Adam was so gentle and encouraging. He was the perfect person to work with the group of girls. Adam has a talent of working with leather. I’m excited to have him make a Bible cover for me.

Another guy is named Filipe. He actually played on a basketball team for 7 years in Sao Paulo. He has good knowledge of the game and is also really great with kids. Also, this morning, while we were waiting at the gate for the children, my friend Luciana looked out of her apartment window and yelled to me that she was coming to help. She held Josiah almost the entire morning. It was so great to be free to work with the girls.

I included some pictures for you to see. We’re making player cards for them to earn ‘star stickers’ each week. That is why we have them holding a number.

Thanks for your prayers! Please continue to remember us. We really hope to have our help continue to work with us and we hope that everyone who played with us today returns and even more come next week.

Basketball

We are on the cusp of our inaugural Basketball Clinic in Brazil. Pictured is the banner we had printed. The slogan is 'teaching life values through sport'.

We had a meeting with some of the people who will be helping us out. We are relieved that there as anyone willing to help us, since basketball isn’t so popular here. It is becoming popular, though, and the guys helping us seem to really enjoy it and play very well! At the meeting, we talked a little about the values of Upward Sports and the idea of evangelizing and discipling children. Then, the guys played a game.

Today, we went into a school at the top of the hill in the neighborhood we live in. I was a little nervous because they tend to laugh at you here when you’re different. It’s not meant to be rude or mean, it’s more of a cultural thing. They were fantastic, though! It made us so excited because this has been a dream for us for so long and it seems that it is finally happening. God is good!

We explained to them that we would be having the clinic every Saturday in May (5 Saturdays). We decided to charge $5 Reis so that the children would have some value invested in the program. We didn’t want to charge so much that someone wouldn’t be able to participate. We’ll use that to purchase water and cookies for snack/break time. We’re really hoping to have a hotdog lunch the final Saturday for the kids and their parents.

If you’re interested in supporting something like this, you can send it to Global Outreach, Lewis/Brazil earmarked basketball program. We’d welcome any help. (www.globaloutreach.org)

We have limited space available for kids, so please pray that we choose the right children if we have more applications than space. Also, pray that our help is committed to see the program through to the end. Pray that the children feel the love of Jesus through our lives and that we are an encouragement to them. And finally remember our family in your prayers as we face constant challenges as we live and work in Brazil.

**In other news**

We traveled to Delta and Uberaba the week after Easter and had meetings with Pastors Roberto and Marcos about the team coming from First Baptist Morehead City to have a basketball camp. It was a great weekend where we nailed some important details down. They are really excited! Also, it’s the first time we’ve traveled without car problems! Praise the Lord!

Pictured above is the gym in Delta where we'll be having the camp. Also pictured is Jennifer teaching English to Brasilians who want to go to the nations. She teaches every day in the mornings in March and April. Also pictured is Jon playing basketball with one of the new goals we purchased for the clinic.

Christmas '09

Before Christmas we traveled to visit Uberaba and Delta. That was a great trip. We stayed with a family in Delta we knew from our previous visits. I think I learned more Portuguese in one weekend, being in such close proximity with a family than I’ve learned in a month. It was a little stressful because Josiah was fussy that weekend, but a real treat to visit Pastor Marcos and FBC Delta.

The building that was the orphanage is a day care center now. We met with the Mayor of Delta and the Directors and Culture and Education. We expressed our commitment to help them shape the children of Delta and try to work together to affect a generation of citizens there. The mayor is a Christian and really supports Pastor Marcos and his efforts. We had some great pictures for you, but our camera was stolen at the mechanic shop where our radiator was fixed. Thankfully we have a backup camera, which we used at the Christmas outreach.

Our Christmas was definitely different this year! We traveled 5 hours to Pouso Alegre to help out with a children’s outreach. Silvana is a Brasilian woman who is a TRUE missionary, bringing Christ’s hope to hundreds of children in the city who live in poor areas and are easily caught up in the hardships of life here, including drugs and violence. She asked a school in the city, which is known for its high violence, to give her the names of the poorest children attending there. She sent them all invitations to come to the school on Christmas morning where we broke them up into groups according to their ages and told them about Christ.

It was our plan to tag on to another missionary who speaks fluent Portuguese or to join with a Brasilian, but Silvana, who speaks English grabbed me (Jennifer) to take the 10 and 11 year old girls and tell them about Jesus by myself. She said it would build my confidence with the language and that they would be very quiet when I spoke because I’m a foreigner! So I did it. Thankfully we had material to work with and the girls didn’t mind reading aloud some. I did call Floyd over, another IMB missionary to help me with some translation because I didn’t want the importance of what Jesus did for us to get lost in my simple Portuguese.

After the story, the children were given a good Brazilian lunch of beans and rice and chicken. They even were given a piece of cake, which was a real treat! In one of the photos you can see Nathan helping the ladies serve the food. He was such a big helper! There was a gift for each child and some bigger gifts were given to some of the children in a drawing. One way we saw how God works even in the tiny details, was when a young girl’s name was drawn and she got a beautiful pair of purple shoes. The shirt she was wearing that day happened to be purple and they matched perfectly. You could see how pleased she was with the special gift. I included the picture.

Christmas night we had an American meal at Monty and Janis Thompson’s house, where we stayed while in Pouso Alegre. Floyd and Sylvia Wingo and their two girls, other IMB missionaries working in Pouso Alegre joined us, along with Sylvana and her husband, who is a pastor, Joao (John). The food was AMAZING and it was a huge treat to want to eat until we were stuffed!! Janis even made yeast rolls. This made Jon very happy. He IS from Down East, you know. All in all it was a really meaningful way to spend Christmas.

We have had some real challenges with our car. We’ve had many things break and just when we think not another thing could go wrong, it does. We are thankful to have managed to stay safe through them all. We have one more big trip coming up in the next month, when we have to travel to either Rio or Sao Paulo to get Josiah’s American birth certificate and passport. Please remember us in your prayers. I can’t tell you how important that is when we are traveling!

Jon is joining the Intercession team here on the base and we have another English seminar coming up. Carnival is in February and the base will be doing their annual ‘Impacto’, where they pray for people and evangelize during the activities. If you don’t know about Carnival in Brasil- google it. It’s quite an event. We’re also praying about how we can use basketball to reach kids and adults here in our own neighborhood.

We’re looking forward to an Upward camp in July in Uberaba and Delta. They are really excited about the camp and think it will be an exciting new idea for reaching Brasilians for Christ. We have a possible 3 locations we could hold camps if we have the numbers, but will scale down to 2 if not. Let’s have the biggest impact we can. Please be open to coming if you feel like God is leading you. You will never be the same. It’s a fantastic way to get out of your comfort zone and seek God in a whole new way.

It’s hard to believe that 2009 has reached its end. What a truly trying year for our family. Many extreme highs and extreme lows. I can see God’s miracles in each one.

*Nathan’s mysterious illness and 2 surgeries ended in a cure! Praise God!

*Mom (Alexis) told she had esophageal cancer, surgery proved it benign! Praise God!

*Arrival in Brasil, finally! Praise God!

*The birth of our son, Josiah Davis! Praise God!

*The death of my grandfather, John Brighton Schuyler- a big loss for our family. But he’s at home with Jesus, so we can still Praise God!

We celebrated Nathan’s 10^th birthday on January 1^st. We were hoping to take him to a local water park, but the rainy season is making it difficult. He was a little down and really misses his friends and family. I think the birthday made that more prominent. Please remember Alex and Nathan in your prayers.

We really want to be able to put the boys into a Christian School starting in February. This will cost us an added $400 per month. We are praying about how we can work this budget out. We feel that it will help them socially, and also improve their Portuguese. Also, it should help with them getting involved with a soccer team here. Two of the boys from our base go to the school and Nathan even visited on ‘friend’ day and really loved it.

We hope you all had a ‘Feliz Ano Novo’ (Happy New Year) and pray that you seek His kingdom first in 2010 and for all your years to come!

Blue Christmas

Elvis wrote this song about having Christmas without a loved one. I suppose this is a bit how we will feel this year, celebrating Christmas without our friends and family.

Also, because the rainy season has begun in our area of Brasil, each day has a blue overtone, as the clouds keep the sun at bay. We had been dreading the constant rain and fight against mold. Actually, it has been really nice to have the air cool off; a welcome reprieve from the stifling heat.

We still aren’t feeling the ‘warm and fuzzy’ feeling you feel back home, with the Christmas music serenading your every move. The smells of holiday treats and anticipation of parties are things we are missing this year. We made an attempt at forcing the feeling by purchasing a tiny tabletop tree and a string of lights. Jon bought a little star ornament and fashioned a treetop for us. We used the ribbon that decorated the 2 boxes of tiny red and gold balls we purchased at Walmart as garland. It looks really nice, and when I play Christmas music and hold open the freezer, it almost feels like Christmas. Ha!

But really. Christmas isn’t about warm and fuzzies, while they are nice. Christmas, at least to Christians, is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s a time of year where we reflect on how God came to earth as man in the form of a tiny baby. The ultimate paradox- typical of how God works. A great Savior arrives in the most dependent form. I’ve thought about this a lot, since Josiah was born. I often think about how he depends absolutely on us to keep him clean, fed, and clothed. We are dependent on Jesus for our Salvation at heaven’s door. Aren’t we so very thankful for Him standing in our defense on that day!

So- we are going to experience a different Christmas this year. We are staying with IMB missionaries, Monty and Janis Thompson. We’re blessed to be working with a church from Pouso Alegre who is hosting a children’s outreach on Christmas Day. We’ll be feeding them, playing games and crafts and most importantly telling them about Jesus Christ, who lived on earth and was once their very age. I think this is an exciting way to spend Christmas Day! Remember what Jesus said about the children, in one of the few times he actually spoke harshly? Mark writes he spoke with indignance when the disciples tried to run the children away, “Let the children come to me. Do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14

Before all of this, we will be driving to Uberaba and Delta to meet with Pastors Luiz Roberto and Marcos about the possibility of a team coming from the United States to have an Upward Basketball camp and Home Bible Studies. We know they will be extremely excited about this and we are really glad to visit them! It has been 2 years since we’ve been to the area. After that, we will go to a YWAM assembly in Caldas Novas, and then on to the capital, Brasilia, where we will apply for Josiah’s American Birth Certificate and passport.

It’s been a good few weeks, with the arrival of our new family member, English Seminar graduation, Elementary School graduation and the Prostitute Ministry Outreach. I was able to help prepare food and Jon actually attended the outreach. I thought the idea was fantastic, where the men served the special lunch to the ladies and the women from our group sat and visited with them. These women are not used to being served by men. It is the goal of the ministry for them to feel special and loved. They were given a message to understand the love God has for them, giving them a hope they have been living without.

We feel blessed every day to live our lives this way. Thank you for making it possible.

• Please pray for our protection during travel. Roads here are rough!
• Pray for continued monetary support; at the end of this month we fell short of budget in our ministry account- with our insurance still left to be paid. We only have a handful of regular supporters. A little scary, but we’re trusting God will bring more support. Afterall- He brought us here!
• Also, please pray that God guides us to the ministry opportunities He has planned for us.
• Pray that God will provide a team to come work with us in July. (pray if you are to be a part of that team!)

Please feel free to pass our blog along to those you think might be interested! Who knows who is out there that might like to work on the team!

Immersion

We are leaving Recife, Brazil to travel all night by bus to Forteleza, Brazil on the North coast.  We've had teams from First Baptist, Morehead work here.  We will have 2 more weeks of classroom training here and some outreach at night.  After these two weeks we will then travel another 12-14 hours by bus to Sao Luis which is even more West and North than Forteleza.  Here we will be for 6 weeks working with a Baptist Church.   We wont have a translator here. 

We thought our one room apartment was tough- in Sao Luis we will be living in a church for 6 weeks.  I'm not sure if we'll be sleeping on the floor or what.  But we have learned to be SO flexible.  

I always thought I was flexible before, but I've been having a little more difficulty dealing with Schedule changes, lack of communication of changes, etc.  I think it is because there is so much out of my control, that knowing what is going on is very important to my comfort here.  But, while it has taken me about 3 months, I have finally learned to love and let go!  When we have a surprise change in schedule I just grin and say, 'OK!  Why not?'.  It's amazing how long it took. 

 The Brazilians literally don't think much past the moment.  It isn't that they are unintelligent, quite the contrary, they are just so DIFFERENT, culturally.  In many ways it is better because they don't loose the 'now' thinking about the 'future'.  But the downside is that when you are used to planning,  changes in schedule mess everything up!  

You can't imagine the things that are different.  Like instead of knocking on the door when you visit, you clap outside the door.  Brazilians LOVE it when you come to visit unannounced.  They don't need an appointment.  They are happy to just fellowship.  Also, when it's your birthday, they crack an egg on your head.  And when you get a haircut, they slap the back of your head and say 'Lixo" which is 'trash'.  This may just be a child thing, though.  I haven't seen an adult do it.  They eat pizza with a knife and fork!?!  And they put ketchup and mayonnaise on their pizza.

So- there's a brief lesson on Brazilian culture.  Don't worry- there is much more!

  

This week we worked in the Hope House, which is the house for boys who passed the 2 week triage from the streets and now live on base in a special house.  It was amazing to see what a difference God has made in the lives of these boys.  They receive love, education, discipline and much more at this place.  Jon made pizza with the help of some of our fellow students Friday night.  It was a fun night and they seemed to really enjoy it.  

One of our fellow students is a past 'street boy' and came to know Jesus from a program like this.  He is one of our closest friends here on base.  You can't imagine what God has done in his life.  He has lost both of his parents and the rest of his family doesn't speak to him.  He literally has no one.  But at 21 years old he knows that he wants to minister to other children who are living on the street.  I would be honored to have him working beside me one day in a ministry here in Brazil.

We still pray for Delta.  We haven't heard anything about a judgement yet.  Pastor Marcos is still waiting to have the official 'OK' to re-open.  We don't know what he plans to do.  3 months have past and I know that his church has been doing '40 Days of Purpose' and he will be baptizing 10 people.  We look forward to getting word from him.  

I've rambled long enough.  We have a lot of packing to do.  We're downsizing more and more.  It's amazing how little a family of four can get by with.  Jon says that if it weren't for my shoes, we'd be a 'one bag family'.  No- really.  I'm taking the bare minimum.  All they where are flip flops, anyway.  Or stilettos.  I don't do stilettos, so that makes it easy.

We heard the Easter Service was AMAZING.  We're so excited about it!  We heard the unity and efficiency of each team that worked was awesome.  I want to see pictures of 50,000 eggs on that football field.

And the Intersection starts officially every Sunday.  We're SO excited about that.  Go brothers and sisters!!  We have such love and pride for that team since all are from our Sunday School family.  Take care- and God Bless!  Please pray for our safety as we travel by bus in Brazil.  Especially traveling at night.  This is so important- we need your prayers!  Thank you!

Jon, Jennifer, Alex and Nathan!