Category Archives: Old Blog

Tracts in Hand!!!

Back in December we decided to print some tracts. We began praying that the Lord would supply the necessary funds. We also prayed about where to have the tracts printed. While John started working on the design work, I pressed toward finding a printer.

A friend of ours was planning on coming to Brazil soon and offered to bring in some tracts when he came. After checking into several places we quickly decided that it would be very expensive to have him bring them in from the US. We then turned to looking for printers here in Brazil.

A printer here in Brazil is not an easy thing to find. We looked for weeks at finding printers and getting prices. After comparing them to US prices, we found it possible to print them at just one or two cents more than if we printed them in the US. So we made our first attempt.


New Tracts

We found dozens of printers and went to talk to them. 90% of them either did not work with this kind of printing or they were shut down. So I kept searching online and wrote e-mails out to every company I thought would do the job we wanted. One particular sales representative responded and wanted our business. They sent us a good quote and we went after it.Now it is about the beginning of January and we are buckling down to get this job done. I sent them the files and they said they would look them over and give me a response. The response I received was, “These files will not work. Your black is not the right color. We cannot print them the way they have been designed. Please contact your design artist and tell them that the black color needs to be 100% Black and 40% Cyan.” What on earth does that mean? I started searching out what we could do to change the color. We tried everything we could. For days I went back and forth with them to try and solve the problem.

I downloaded a 30 day trial period for two recommended software programs, Photoshop and InDesign, to try and work out the problem. I knew that we were now dealing with professional printers and not quick digital printing jobs. These programs dealt with CMYK inks and not RGB which is the typical format used in photo manipulation programs.

I had a very limited understanding of what was going on. So I asked many questions. When I thought I had figured out the problem, I sent the file in again and again. The files were returned every time. We even set up a day to go to the printer for them to solve the problem for us. However, they were unable to solve the problem and would not listen to our advice in the matter. We wanted a specific design and they wanted to print something different. In my book, that means we are not going to come to a conclusion.

The next step was to look for another printer. We had already spent weeks on this project and I felt like I was at the end of my wits. Prayer was the only thing that kept me going. Actually, I told my wife I had quit several times, but something pressed me on. We had already asked advice from people in this business for over 10 years and they did not understand the issues. So prayer was our only solution.

After finding a new printer, we sent them the files. The expected answer was given. Your black is not the right color. I did a little more research to find out why things were not matching. I had solved the problem on our end, but when it reached the printer it was different. Once again I told my wife that I had no options left. I suggested we send in the same file again, however we just pray that the Lord would work out the issue!

This time we received a favorable response. The files were accepted! Within three working days I was sent a proof to authorize for printing!!! Hallelujah! Our God sure is a wonderful God. All of this went through on one of the last days of the trial period for Photoshop.

The problem seems to have been in the way one was opening the file. I was able to open the file in the correct way, but the printers were not opening it in that manner. Of course, they don’t want you to tell them how to do things, so God had to work that out on their part.

We received 20,000 tracts from the printer last week! We will keep about 5,000 of these. The remainder will go to people who wanted to purchase some of them from us to use in their churches or ministries.

Many of you prayed for us while this was going on. Thank you very much for your prayers.

–Jeremy

 

Update on Recent Events

It has been a good while since I updated the blog with any real news. So, here is what has been happening lately on the Tyler side of the ministry…

 

  1. Gospel Tracts – In December we saw the opportunity to print a few tracts to use. We have just about been out of tracts for the last five months or so. Because of this we wanted to print some very nice looking, attractive tracts that we could give out with the Gospel website name on them. We did not realize it would be so hard to print them. Yet, the Lord has still kept our hopes up. Printing here in Brazil is a bit different than the US with less technology. Though, the system they use is pretty modern, the programming used is different. The printers have also asked us to meet certain qualifications with colors that we have never had to do before. Because of this, I have spent days trying to fix things for the printers. We are still waiting, but are praying they will get printed this week.
  2. Music Lessons – I am now giving lessons to about 10 young people and children. This is an opportunity to help churches here in Brazil develop their music programs. It has been exciting to see them improve. Yet, we know our time here in São Paulo is short, so we must do what we can to move these students along quickly.
  3. Lightning Strikes – This is not normal in the US, but here it has become quite a trying circumstance. It has rained almost every day in the past two months. About 4-5 in the afternoon, the clouds roll in and we get not only rain, but lots of thunder and lighting. In the middle of January, we heard a very large crash on a Sunday evening. We had not unplugged everything that evening. So, we got struck by lightning. No, not personally, but our internet and everything connected to it got hit. So we are still working on getting everything back to normal. After weeks without internet (at home) and much time trying to figure out how to set everything up again, we are back online. We are praying we will be able to get things back to normal in the next few weeks to keep up with our correspondence as we should.
  4. Future Plans – Please pray with us about what this year holds for us. We would like to move to Porto Velho by the end of the year. Though nothing is set in stone, we are beginning to plan toward this goal. We are also praying about taking a short trip to the US to visit a few churches and see family and friends. Our goal is to take this trip so that we do not need to worry about returning to the US for several years after our move.
  5. Publication – We are designing and planning an online bi-monthly publication. The idea behind this publication is to promote good doctrine, unity, a high view of God, holiness, salvation and many other such things that are lacking in this country today. In the beginning of this year, we started sending out a monthly publication created by a fellow missionary, Jim King. This has been rewarding and a new source of encouragement for many people and pastors in our Baptist churches here in Brazil.

–Jeremy

Reaching the Uttermost From Brazil

For years we prayed that the Lord would help us get to Brazil. One of our biggest goals in Brazil is to mobilize the Brazilians to reach the world. Oh, what joy is in our hearts when already we see the Lord using us to see this accomplished.

In August I took a trip which put in my heart a desire to help a young Brazilian missionary. Through weeks and even months of prayer about what could be done to help him, the Lord has opened doors. Please continue reading his story…

Isaiah, has always been an enthusiastic young man. Everyone expects something out of the ordinary to happen when he is around. He was raised in a missionary family until problems arose which brought them off the field. He gave his life to the Lord and soon the Lord called him to be a missionary to people which had never before heard the Gospel.

He began to raise his support as a missionary to the people of the Amazon. Still seeking God’s perfect will for his life, he sought to learn about the people and opportunities to reach the indigenous people of Brazil. With around 35% of his support raised, the Lord opened up an opportunity for him to enter into one of the remote people groups in the Amazon. Jumping at the opportunity, he left for the field completely trusting in the promises of God.

His faith was tested when the door was closed and he was left in the Amazon without any means to return home. His wife was also with him in this endeavor supporting his decisions. They were told by different governing agencies that they could still get in, but the trip had been delayed for a month. When he went to inquire the second time, his hopes were crushed as they told him they canceled the trip and the door was completely closed.

Time after time he tried to work on different avenues of entrance into this remote people group. Finally, he gave up. He did not give up hope, but he gave up seeking an entrance. Deciding to wait on the Lord and use his time wisely he began to take some college courses. It was only then, that the Lord opened the door.

One of his teachers is a representative of all the isolated people groups in the Amazon. After sharing his heart with her, she was moved by his compassion for the people and appointed him as a representative to a certain people group giving him access into their land. Hallelujah! How our wonderful Lord works in mysterious ways.

As he made his first attempt to enter, the devil was also working. He arrived at the gateway into the region making a stop to prove his authorization to enter the region. He was granted the permission, but another man was denied the privilege. This man then turned around and said some things despitefully, trying his best to destroy the whole endeavor.

After a long discussion, he was not denied entrance, but was denied transportation. However, he was told that should he have his own transportation, he could proceed. The Lord is putting him through trials, but yet his heart is hopeful and he remains excited about the possibilities the Lord has given him.

We have been encouraging this man and his wife. He is doing the Lord’s work in a very difficult place in this world. He has remained faithful to the Lord even through many disappointments and trials. He is living by faith on the cutting edge of missions.

Now, you may ask what we have to do with him. We have been encouraging him, providing some resources for him, praying, and encouraging churches to stand behind him. He has been granted full access to a people group who have never heard the name of Jesus. This is an opportunity that not many people have. Yet, he is lacking his own means of transportation to get there. This means of transportation is a boat.

Several Brazilian churches have taken up special offerings to help with this need. Brazilians in the US are getting a burden for their own people and getting involved.

Would you please join us in praying for this young man? Pray the the Lord would keep the door open for him to get in. He has been appointed as an educational representative which would help develop the written language for these people. What an opportunity this is to reach these people and provide for them the first portion of God’s Word in their own language.

While most Christians are sitting around on their hands waiting for the second coming of Christ, these people have yet to hear that there is a Creator God who loves them and gave his son to die on the cross in their place giving them eternal redemption. Please join us in praying!

— Jeremy

Rio Branco – Acre

I have finally come to the point of blogging about the conference in Rio Branco. I was very surprised when I arrived in the city because it is so clean. At least compared to anything else I saw it was very clean. I really enjoyed the city. Things are quite modern for being so far out.

I spent a night in Rio Branco before leaving for Brasiléia. When I returned I spent another night, then went to Porto Velho. Finally after I returned from Porto Velho I was able to spend at least two more nights in Rio Branco. So, I guess I can say I have been to Rio Branco three times already.

Rio Branco
The Governor’s Palace – Unfortunately it was closed!

What a blessing it was to spend time with the Doolittles. Stephen and Kelly Doolittle are planting a church in Rio Branco which they hope to have completely in national hands within a few years. They have four children, Philip, Hannah, Joshua, and Benjamin. The time spent with them was quite a bit of fun.

Rio Branco
The Old Woman’s Shoe – I managed to fit in the shoe with Joshua and Benjamin.

Through the last few years, I have communicated with Stephen Doolittle by e-mail. If we had met each other in the past, it was very briefly when I was just a kid. However, the Lord saw fit to bring our paths to cross again when he invited me to this conference.

Rio Branco
Mission Conference – Preaching at the Conference

The Lord has put many things in our hearts and minds that would allow us to work together in some way to help further the work of the Lord in the northwest corner of Brazil. He is also interested in training laborers and in developing literature to be used for this. This is wonderful being there are not many fundamentalist missionaries and churches up near Porto Velho. Though Rio Branco is not right next door, it is one of the closest missionaries we know to that area.

The Lord has given the Doolittles a very nice facility to use training laborers. They have several class rooms and are working on developing the property for what they need. Here is a look at their property which was formerly some sort of daycare center run by some German women.

Rio Branco
Playground – This is the Doolittle’s front yard.
Rio Branco
Classrooms – There are about six classrooms in this little pavilion.

Stephen’s church was quite a blessing. The people were eager to hear the Word being preached. They listened very well. Please pray that the Lord would raise up laborers out of that church.

It was such a blessing to see the church people get involved in singing, preaching and teaching. The Lord has blessed the church with some wonderful people. They have given to the Lord and are committed to missions around the world.

Here are a few pictures of the conference and the people singing.

Rio Branco
Rio Branco
Rio Branco
Rio Branco
Rio Branco

One of the highlights of my trip was sitting down with Bro. Stephen and his wife Kelly before I left and talking about the need in Acre. There is such a great need. We talked about the colonies, river villages, and tribes. There are so many opportunities to reach out to people who have never heard the Gospel. May the Lord send laborers into his harvest.

— Jeremy

Friends in Brasiléia

For a long time I have wanted to visit Brasiléia. It is a city on the border of Brazil and Bolivia. A pastor who had quite a bit of influence on me in my teenage years has been pastoring a church up there for years. The trip was an eye opener for me. The need for laborers and reapers in the harvest overwhelmed me during my stay.

Here is an overview of the region with Bolivia in the far background.

I spent five days in the city. What a blessing it was to encourage the pastor and his family, meet the people in the church, and have fellowship with several young couples in their homes. I had the opportunity to preach on Sunday morning and evening. The children were very precious.
While in Brasiléia, I was taken across the border into Bolivia. For the most part we were just looking around, but the spiritual need there was great. A church has been established in Cobija, Bolivia which is right across the river from Brasiléia. A missionary from Peru is now pastoring the church. Oh, how wonderful it would be to send out many Brazilians like this into the foreign countries around us where access is very easy.

Between Brasiléia and Rio Branco, the capital of Acre, there are hundreds of farms. By farms, I mean everything from small homes out in the middle of nowhere to cattle ranches with thousands of heads of cattle. There is little to no Gospel representation in any of these areas. Some of these people are 50 to 100 kilometers from the nearest little town and much further from a Gospel preaching church.

Pray for Pr. William and his family as they work to reach people in this area for Christ. He has an excellent ministry with children in the city. He and his wife both teach Bible in the public schools around the city. He also has a radio broadcast and is sending us the recordings for the broadcasts to be posted on our website.

All in all, the Lord was very good to me on this trip. The people were such a blessing and the fellowship with the pastor and his family was a great encouragement and help to me. Below are some pictures from the trip

–Jeremy

Brasiléia - AC 2010

A bridge crossed by church members who live in the colonies around the city. Almost impossible to cross if rain has been falling.


 

Brasiléia - AC 2010

A small home about ten foot by fourteen foot.


 

Brasiléia - AC 2010

The river that runs through Brasiléia separating it from Bolivia.

 


 

 

Brasiléia - AC 2010

The church in Brasiléia


 

Brasiléia - AC 2010

Our trip to Bolivia


 

Brasiléia - AC 2010

The bridge to Bolivia


Brasiléia - AC 2010

Crowded shops of Bolivia


Brasiléia - AC 2010

Teaching Sunday School


 

Brasiléia - AC 2010

Enjoying time with the children


Brasiléia - AC 2010

Maria Luiza a precious little girl whose parents are getting more and more involved in the church


 

Brasiléia - AC 2010

One of the couples that invited me to their home for dinner


 

Brasiléia - AC 2010

Pastor William, his wife Silvia and his two daughters Anne and Elle


 

Brasiléia - AC 2010

Preaching in the Sunday evening service


 

 

My First Impression of Porto Velho

My trip to Porto Velho was not long and I do not have many pictures to show for it. After the first few hours, my camera quit working. So all I have are a few pictures taken from the back seat of a motorcycle.

The trip in itself was very profitable. I learned much about the people, the situation of churches there, I checked on prices of vehicles, housing, and food expenses.

A pastor named Antônio Marques hosted me for the day and a half I was there. He and his wife live on very little. I believe he is over 70 years old and his wife is about the same age. She is an Indian by birth, but has no ties back in the tribes. They have a small house which is quite old. He was given a motorcycle from a church member which is his main mode of transportation.

Here are some pictures of the city for you to see…


The Basic Look

Porto Velho 2010

This gives you the view of what the typical neighborhood is like. There are houses lining the streets on both sides. The nicer houses our painted while most along the outskirts of the city are just bricks and mortar.


The Dirt Streets

Porto Velho 2010

Along the main roads you will find asphalt, but most of the side roads are still dirt.


Basic Housing Along the Outskirts of Town

Porto Velho 2010

This is a view of the housing along the outskirts of the city off of the main roads. Lots of dirt, chickens, and even sewer running through the streets. Porto Velho really is behind the times on development.


My View of Porto Velho

Porto Velho 2010

This is the view I had of all of Porto Velho. As I looked around, I saw a motorcycle helmet which obscured some of the view.


One of the Nicer Roads in Town

Porto Velho 2010

This was one of the nicer roads on the outskirts of town. It took you towards the center of town.


Main Roads – Much Construction

Porto Velho 2010

On this picture you can notice that there are not many markings on the roads. No painted lines, no lanes, no stop signs, etc. On the left you will notice a bridge or overpass being built. They are in the middle of building six major overpasses around town which will greatly improve travel from Porto Velho to other places. One of these bridges will replace the fairy which presently connects two sections of a major international highway.


Small Shops All Over Town

Porto Velho 2010

All over town you will find little stores. After driving around for about six hours I saw very few chain stores. Most were just little shops run by the locals.


Motorcycle Parking

Porto Velho 2010

As you can see, there are motorcycles everywhere. As a matter of fact, most taxis are motorcycles in Porto Velho and all of that region of Brazil.


Typical Means of Family Transportation

Porto Velho 2010

Another typical means of family transportation is the bicycle. Mothers ride with their very small babies in their arms and as you can see here, the bicycles are equipped with several seats.


Nicer House – Closed Condominiums

Porto Velho 2010

Of course, if you are willing to pay the price, you can get nicer housing with more security. These areas are very expensive to live in, yet they provide the security many people want in a city that is known for not being the safest place.

–Jeremy
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