Gobble, Gobble.

Thanksgiving is upon us and we have a lot to be thankful for. Abbey and I have so many things to be thankful for and here is a list: We are very thankful for our church, Briarwood, and our Sunday school, but really, we are thankful for the relationships that make up the church and our community group. We are thankful that the Lord has provided us with jobs while we raise support, not just any jobs but places where He can use us while we are raising support. We are thankful for the people supporting us right now, at last count we have 37 people/families giving contiounsly and have over 25 people that have given one-time gifts. Most importantly we are thankful for what the Lord has done in our lives the past year. He has grown us closer together and continues to teach us how to live trustworthy lives when all we want to do is follow our own fleshly desires and feeble plans. 

brian

Be Encouraged

 We are currently at 23% of our monthly goal. We need $4,610.00  more a month to be at 100%. We have to be at 100% before we can leave for Brazil. $4,600.00 sounds like a lot to us, because it is. It is a lot of money to raise on our own. The thing is we are not on our own, we do not have to raise it all by our selves. The same God that parted the Red Sea is the same God that will raise our funds. The Lord has been working in me over the past 6-7 weeks in the area of trust. Trusting Him not just for today but for the future as well. I urge you to put your trust in Him, not just for today but for the future, not when the economy is going well but even now when the economy is not going well. Not when there are enough vaccines for the swine flu but even now when there is a shortage. I just want to urge you to be encouraged by the fact that God is not changing, He is the same as He was in the Garden. He is the same God that sent His son to die for us while we were apart from Him.  Romans 5:8 states: but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Be Encouraged.

It is Saturday

Today is Saturday October 24, 2009. If you are stumbling over this blog through an email update that is great. If you would like more information about Brazil or Why we are going to Brazil? or Where is Brazil? Scrool down and look at some of the earlier posts. They should answer a lot if not all of those questions.

I really have no idea what to write about today. Support is going well. The Lord has been teaching us how to trust him in new ways everyday. We have learned its not about Us or Our Plan, its about Him and His Plan, and also trusting God is not always easy. I constantly want to do things my way. The support process has been more about God working inside of us and preparing us to labor in Brazil way more than it is about money. With that said, please continue to pray that the Lord will give us opportunties to talk of what He is doing in Brazil.

Tchau
Bh

Check out this van. We passed this van coming back from St. Simons Island. I would have loved to been there when they were packing this thing.

October 12 2009

The past two weeks have been a little busy for us.  Lets start with the Global Impact Celebration.  From September 30 to October 4 we were in Peachtree City taking part in the Global Impact Celebration, the missions conference hosted by Abbey's home church, First Baptist Peachtree City.  We had a great time at the conference.  We were able to speak to four Sunday school classes, it was great to boast in the Lord and tell people what He is doing in Brazil.  We would like to thank everyone at the conference. Thanks to Cassi & Jorg for hosting us Friday night and we would also like to thank Walker, the missions pastor, for having us.

This past weekend, we were in St. Simons Island, GA. for a wedding.  It was a great wedding and we got to see a lot of friends. Abbey and I really enjoyed our time together on the island, it was nice to relax a litte.

-brian

Global Impact Celebration

Later this week, Abbey and I will be heading to Peachtree City, GA to take part in the Global Impact Celebration hosted by Abbey's home church First Baptist Peachtree City. The conference starts Wednesday and goes to Sunday. We are very excited about the opportunity to tell people about what the Lord is doing in Brazil. This is the first missions conference we have had the privilege to be in. If you could please pray that the Lord is glorified through the conference and that we may have opportunities to share our vision with new people.

-brian

September 22, 2009

Today is Monday, September 22, 2009. We are currently at 21% of our monthly budget. We have 1,270.00 committed.

If you are reading this and you support us, Thank you. We couldn't do it with out you. If you're reading this and not supporting us, Why not? I don't want to sound pushy or brash. Just ask yourself, Why not? There must be a reason..."Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)

Thank you for taking the time read this and have a great day or night.

-brian

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)

UFMG is one the largest universities in the state of Minas Gerais. It has close to 30,000 students. It is a hard school to get into because it is a state school and the students pay very little to nothing to attend. Campus Outreach Brazil started on UFMG in 1998 and is still there today. I worked with the staff of UFMG when I was on a Cross Cultural Project in 2006.

August 26 2009

As of today we need 4,965.00 in monthly support or 83% of our budget to go to Brazil. It seems like a lot but we have already been amazed at what God will do and is doing through people. As I write this our hearts are heavy to be in Brazil, to be learning Portuguese in Brazil, to be acclimating to the culture and learning a new city.
But, we are here. Abbey is doing an amazing job of caring for three small girls and I am growing in patience and understanding daily by working with elementary students with special needs. It is not a bad thing that we are here, it is where God has us and he has blessed us here. We are a part of a very special Sunday school class at the church we attend and we continue to grow in community with them.
I dont even know if anyone reads this. If anyone does, please pray for perseverance for Abbey and I as we continue to raise support.
Thank you

Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in South America by population (198 million) and square miles. It is the 5th largest by population in the world, and is slightly smaller than the United States when it comes to area. The three largest metro areas in Brazil order from biggest to smallest is Sao Paulo(19.6 million) Rio de Janiero(11.8 million) and then Belo Horizonte(5.3 million).

The economy of Brazil is growing, one of the big reasons is that it is independent of Middle Eastern oil, and they produce a sugar cane ethanol which cars can run on. When I wrote this the exchange rate was US $1.00= R$ 1.8. The currency in Brazil is called the Real pronounced (Hey-al).

In Portuguese, which is the national language of Brazil, R's are pronounced like you would pronounce an H in English. For example Rob=Hob or Ronaldo=Honaldu. But then again I am not the linguist of the family and as I write I feel Abbey would do a much better job explaining the language of Brazil.

Why Brazil?

We have both felt called to missions for many years, since high school for me and college for Brian. So, when I went to Brazil in 2005 and was asked to consider coming back as staff after college, I began praying about it. I felt confirmation that this was where I needed to go and began the assessment process for joining the Brazilian staff team. Brian was also asked to consider returning as staff when he went to Brazil in 2006. He went forward with assessment as well around the same time that God was bringing us together and growing our friendship into something more. We are very excited that we will now be moving to Brazil as a married couple instead of two single people. God has blessed us with each other and by doing that has also given us more confirmation in our plans for Brazil.

Getting To Know Us

Abbey was born in Waterloo, IA but was raised in Peachtree City, GA and graduated from McIntosh High School. She attended Samford University and graduated in 2007 with a B.A. in Latin American Studies. She currently works as a nanny for a family in Birmingham.

I was born in San Diego,CA but spent most of my life in a couple cities throughout Georgia. I claim Kennesaw as the hometown and I graduated from Harrison High School in 2001. I graduated from the esteemed University of West Georgia in December of 2005 with a B.A. in History. I am currently working at an Elementary school in Mtn. Brook as a Special Education Aide.

Abbey and I were involved with Campus Outreach throughout college and met during the summer of 2004. Abbey visited Brazil in the summer of 2005 and I followed in the summer of 2006. We began dating in 2007 and were married June 21 2008. We both felt called to missions at different stages of our life but received more clarity while in college and have both felt called to serve the Lord in Brazil.