It’s Uncle Paul (2x)

the lighting burnt through the diffuser cloth...which during the entire filming was heating the back of my head

Yeay! ptL my 2 nieces are safe and sound out of their comfort zone :) You can read for yourself about them at their parents’ blog: http://www.reutterfamily.com/ I can’t wait to see them in person at Christmas! Nate & Ruth are still asking for prayers for Becca & Anna to gain weight quickly and for Ruth’s quick recovery from the surgery.

This week is crazy for me! Our pastor is going to be traveling this weekend so I need to help prep a bunch of media stuff for him, this weekend is our Encounter with God retreat where I’ll be serving as an intercessor, part of the skits, and ministering “Prayer as a Lifestyle” on Sunday, and this Saturday is the first Saturday our cell group network is in charge of an all-new adolescent service!

faces blurred for their protection

Yesterday (Monday) I went to the women’s prison to film the work our church is doing there. There are 10 PAZ cell groups in the prison, and we are supplying materials for all the new believers to start one-on-one discipleship, with a focus on training them into being cell leaders so when they leave the prison they will be strong believers ready to start cell groups in their homes. Oh, and at the service where there were about 120-130 women, almost all of them went forward to give their lives to Christ! I think the ones that didn’t were ones who were already mature Christians who were going to be discipling the new converts.

So again, I need your prayers! Filming is the easy part, it’s the editing that takes super long! And I’ve never ministered at an Encounter weekend retreat before, so it’s going to be a great, new stretching experience for me :) Thanks you all for your love and support!
Uncle Paul

Lots of prayer, and lots of answers!

'06 Corsa Classic

Praise the Lord, I finally bought a car! A simple used Chevrolet that will be a real blessing and time saver for me here in Fortaleza. My parents and my pastors here had been putting some pressure on me to get one in part because of the dangers of robberies, especially since I’m constantly carrying my laptop and the video equipment to and from church until we build the studio at church. Speaking of, we are about to make some purchases of video and editing equipment for the church, and I’m a big part of all the research and decision making, so I really need your prayers for that.

I taught my friends here to play spoons :)

Our church here in Fortaleza is doing a 21-day fast, seeking more of the presence of God, and interceding to reach the goals of the church until the end of the year. During this fast, I was invited to go with the pastors on a 3-day retreat where we had a very intense time of teaching from our head pastor (my Uncle Abe Huber) and lots and lots of prayer. It was so awesome! I’ve learned so much in the last several days about prayer and intercession, and praise the Lord I’ve seen so many answers to prayer. My car being one of those answers, and now I am discipling 3 guys, leading a strong cell group, and very involved in different ministries in the church. I love it!

Thanks so much for your prayers and support, they are making a huge difference! I still haven’t reached my goal of $2,000/month so if you know of any friends who are wanting to invest in a ministry and be a part of the work God is going here in Brazil, I would appreciate you telling them about me! :) The Lord has brought some friends along side me who have made short term commitments which has really, really given me a boost financially, so thank you and thank You Jesus. And again thanks for your continued prayers, I’m excited to see what God is going to do in the next couple months after this fast and as the church focuses more on prayer…it’s gonna be incredible!!!

For His Kingdom,
Paulinho (my nickname in Portuguese, means “little Paul”)

P.S. New address & phones:
Paulinho Hrubik
Rua Elizeu Oriá, 891
Bairro: Água Fria
CEP: 60830-740
Fortaleza, CE, Brasil

+55 (85) 9949-2325

Fortaleza, more dangerous than I thought…

Mom helping me set up my room :)

I’m finally here, safe and sound!  It was great having Mom come with me for a couple days to help me set up the house…she’s the best!  It’s the first time I experienced buying a fridge, stove, microwave, etc for myself.  I’m more used to computer parts, so needless to say I learned a whole new vocabulary and sets of brand names I never knew existed.  And the house I’m staying in is beautiful, but I am only renting a part of it.  The house is going to be used for the church’s social assistance, and I’m sure I’ll write more about that later.

what do I do with these??

But when I first arrived, everyone cautioned us about the dangers of assaults in Fortaleza, giving me hints of the do’s and don’t’s.  But I used to give the North Americans those types of hints in Santarém, so I wasn’t too worried…but within one week, 3 of my friends were assaulted, the latest one was Tuesday night after church.  Abraham was driving his mom and a friend home when he was held up at gunpoint in front of his friend’s apartment complex.  They took his car and all their wallets with their documents.  I know I’ve learned to pray a lot more than usual and I appreciate your prayers as well!  I also don’t walk around with my wallet anymore, just a little cash and my ID.

what you can't see is the 8,000V electric fence on all the walls!

I’m starting to be given minor responsibilities, getting to know LOTS of people, and still looking for a washing machine :)  I’ve almost reached my goal for my support as the Lord has been touching different people to give, but I’m not sure exactly where I’m at because the last monthly report didn’t show all those who have committed to give.  God is so good and I’ve seen His provision for me time and again, provision of health, finances, protection, etc.  I’ve decided that I’m not going to live in fear but will continue to trust in Him and learn to be more and more sensitive to His direction for every area of my life, even if it means taking a different route to church one day or doing something unusual another day.

In Him,
Paul

Lots of new beginnings

ice-breaker @ cell (w/ toiletpaper)

Our cell group multiplied on June 24th with a fun celebration, great fellowship, and the consecration of the new cell leaders. It also marked my stepping out of the cell leadership before I head to Fortaleza. Then we had our huge evangelistic rally at the soccer stadium where we had over 790 people start a new life with Christ! (and during which I helped out the TV station as a camera guy)

Filming for the TV station at the Congresso

Immediately following was a 4-day construction/medical/filter trip to Piracaoera and Aritapera river communities with a Samaritan’s Purse team led by a good friend of mine from Canada. And the next day after arriving from the river communities, as a “good-bye” party for myself, I planned a camping trip on top of our little “mountain” which was a tiring, fun, unforgettable, new experience for everyone that participated!

after pouring the concrete for the floor at camp w Canadian team

Now that the filter project is handed over and the cell group multiplied, I’m finishing up the internship at the TV station where I’ve been getting a lot of practice in filming, editing, lighting, producing, etc. And all but 2 of the guys I’ve been discipling I’ve handed over to other capable men to be mentoring, and those last 2 already know who are going to be their disciplers as soon as I leave. The plane tickets are bought for August 4th when I’ll be moving to Fortaleza for a new start in my ministry, living, transportation, communication, etc. It’s gonna be a stretch but I’m excited to see what the Lord is going to do!

It sounds like they’ve figured out a place for me to stay in Fortaleza…it’s the “maid’s quarters” of a place the church is renting, so I’ll be paying a small amount of rent to the church :) I’m going to have to look for a vehicle when I get there and figure out the rest of my monthly expenses, but the goal I was given was to raise $2000/month to not only cover the bare minimum but also to be able to be a blessing to the ministry I’m involved in.  Thanks to all you who are current supporters, I’m at $650/month!  You guys are such a blessing and, whether you realize it or not, you are a main part in this ministry as well… :)

Well, I’ll try not to take so long to update next time…until then!

Paul

Back in Brazil and with Exciting News!

Groomsmen on wedding day!

The graduation was nice and it was great to see all the great improvements to ORU.  But the best part of the trip to Tulsa was seeing you!  The weekend Encounter with God retreat was a huge success, praise the Lord, and again while in IL we got to see lots of you.  And finally the wedding in California was fun and beautiful!  Got to see lots of my Huber family, and even some of my Hrubik family who I had only met for the first time when I was at ORU several years ago!  So congratulations to Isaiah and Erin, and to everyone I got to see it was so much fun and thanks so much for everything!

Isaiah & Erin Huber

And now some interesting/exciting news: I’m going to be moving to Fortaleza in the beginning of August!  My uncle Abe (my mom’s youngest brother) who started our largest church here, moved to Fortaleza with his top leaders and started a new church in Fortaleza several years ago.  In about 3 years the church has grown to 1800 members and their goal is to have 5,000 members by the end of 5 years.  Recently, they have been feeling the Lord telling them to really develop their media department and they also felt like I was supposed to be the one to help with that.  So they called up my parents, and almost immediately my parents felt the same thing!  After a couple months of praying and talking about it, the decision became final.  I’m training up two leaders in the cell group to take over, one for when we multiply and one for the one I’m currently leading.  I’m going to be handing over the water filter project to Ken & Isaura Orr, who already have been in training for this before we knew this was going to happen.  I hope to see the English school started before I leave and the No Appologies project running.

So what does this mean?  I’m going to be super busy getting all these details sorted out before I leave.  I still don’t know where I’m going to stay in Fortaleza, being that I’ve never been there before, but I imagine I’ll split the rent with some other guys in an apartment.  I’ll be needing to buy a vehicle for transportation, buying my own food, paying electric and water bills, etc, so now is when I’m going to really be needing support.  I would like to ask you to pray about being a part of this ministry and supporting me financially as I start this new challenge! There are several ways to give (all tax-deductible) and all are listed in one convenient location…the PAZ website (this link will take you directly to the donation page).  My goal (with advice from my leadership) is to raise US$2,000 per month.  I’m currently at US$500/month and I’ll keep you updated.  Thanks so much to you all!  You are a a huge part of the revival happening in Brazil, and I can’t wait for a chance for you to come down and see what all you are doing!

More later!
Paul

Map of some PAZ bases