Monthly Archives: December 2013

Haitian Outreach by Brazilians on Bolivian Border

It is amazing what we see when we just stop and think about what God is doing! God works in ways we cannot possibly comprehend. Not only is He working in the lives of each person alive in this world, but He also orchestrates political events, national tragedies, economic situations, natural disasters, spread of disease, and every other aspect of this world in which we live. In all of this, He never loses focus of one individual.

What amazes me the most is when I realize that God orchestrates thousands of events over many years, then uses those events to bring one specific individual to faith in Jesus Christ. The immediate events surrounding this individual’s salvation may be a “coincidence” to us. We may think it happened by chance, but God is never surprised, awed, or amazed. He knows all things and is working to make sure they happen.

Last year 2 Haitians entered into a small Baptist church in a city of about 7,000 people. They had traveled well over 4,000 miles from their home to get to that point. It was at this same time that the Lord placed us in this church. We were in the church for about four months. An acquaintance was made, then a few days later, they came looking for help. Little did they know that their greatest need would be met that evening. Both men trusted Christ as their Savior!!!

Pictures around Brasiléia

The Lord used that event to help us open our eyes to a great opportunity here in Brazil. On our most recent trip to Brasiléia on the Bolivian border, we surveyed the possibility of reaching these Haitians with the Gospel. Here is what we found.

  • About 50 Haitians cross the border from Bolivia into Brasiléia every day.
  • They stay in Brasiléia until they get permission to be in the country and permission to work.
  • The average stay is from 2-4 weeks.
  • The Brazilian government provides the Haitians with food and a place to stay. This “place to stay” is nothing more than a covered over area or large tents where there is no sanitation, no privacy, and no comfort.
  • The Haitians must come up with about $3.00 for documents and money for the bus fare to where they are going. Some even struggle to come up with the $3.00.
  • For the most part, they are not well educated. More than 50% of them only speak Haitian Creole. French is also spoken by those who are educated.
  • They are all looking for new hope in this world. Many come with nothing  but the clothes on their backs and are looking for a job where they can make money and send it back to their relatives. Some are looking to get away from their past and wish to move on to a new life.
  • Though there are some women, most Haitians coming across the border are men. Even a few children have been seen from time to time.

AC Notícias.com

Pictures around Brasiléia

Can we offer them hope? YES! There is hope in Jesus Christ and we want to get them the Gospel as they pass through the “doorstep” of the church in Brasiléia.

Will you pray for this outreach? Will you pray for Haiti? Will you pray for the church in Brasiléia that has an opportunity to reach out to these Haitians?

–Jeremy

Pictures around Brasiléia

Family Trip to Rio Branco

Just a few weeks ago we had an opportunity to travel as a family. It was the longest trip we have ever taken in Brazil. We traveled over 1500 miles round trip. Taking into consideration the road conditions, this was quite a long trip. We found that the worse stretch of road on the whole trip was the first 25 miles from our house.

We have much to praise the Lord for! This trip would have been much more difficult had it not been for our new vehicle. Though we did not need the 4 wheel drive on this trip, we did need the larger tires and higher vehicle. I am not sure our previous car would have made the entire trip without incident, but we must praise the Lord that this one did. The only damage to the car was all the bugs on the front. Some just do not want to come off!

The road conditions to Rio Branco were much better than we expected. Amanda volunteered to drive! Now that is saying something! She hates these roads. We even had to cross the river on a ferry, which was a first for our boys.

Ferry Crossing
Our whole family spent about 31 hours together in the car on this trip. That gave us plenty of time together. This car has a CD player in it! We listened to quite a few Patch the Pirate and Adventures in Odyssey episodes. The boys were looking forward to listening to some new things.

Once we arrived in Rio Branco, we were able to spend a few days with the Doolittles. Our boys enjoyed meeting their two younger boys (Joshua and Benjamin) and the five of them had a great time together. The Doolittles were also a great encouragement to Amanda and me.

Friends - Rio Branco

Friends - Rio Branco


We were able to see the new location they have been meeting in. It is on the edge of town. Though a few people were not all that excited about the change in the beginning, it seems as though things have picked up and people are enjoying it now. The Lord is using the church to reach many people in the area.
Church - Rio Branco
Amanda and I also sat in on one of the Bible Institute classes. They have four students and the courses are all done through videos.

One of the days we were with them, we enjoyed an afternoon playing ball with some of the young people in the church. We also had a good time eating pizza afterwards.

Friends - Rio Branco
It is always refreshing to spend time with other missionaries. There are many things we share in common that other people do not understand. It is also exciting to see how God works in the lives of other missionaries.

–Jeremy

Thanksgiving in Brazil

This Thanksgiving was not unlike other Thanksgivings we have had here in Brazil. The Brazilians do not celebrate Thanksgiving, so we usually get together with other missionary families and make a fun day out of it. This Thanksgiving we were able to be with the Brewers, Kokenzies and the Rogers.
Thanksgiving

Tom and Cindy Brewer opened up their home to all of us. We had 21 people there all together. It was quite an event since we all stayed in the same house. How did we do it? Well, below is a picture of a very Brazilian way of solving the problem. We thought Bro. Brewer might have been a little overzealous in planning all of this, but in the end it worked out quite well (not sure how much sleeping took place though)!

Thanksgiving

We are very thankful that God has chosen us to be missionaries. Yet, sometimes in the ministry we have to give up a few things. Thanksgiving and Christmas are times when we would like to be with our family. We miss the fun times with family, but try to still make these times special for our own children.

This Thanksgiving was very exciting for our boys. They talked about it and waited anxiously for weeks before hand. Having so many different children around, made things very interesting. It would not be correct to say it all went down without any incidents, but we are still thankful that it all worked out. The boys had a great time. We even played some real baseball in a yard big enough to hit the ball without it going over the wall.

–Jeremy