Rest…an unfamiliar word :)

So I arrived back in Santarém about 3:30am on Friday, and before I could call up my disciple I get a phone call from him asking to speak to me urgently.  He is going through some marital problems, talking about and planning their divorce.  Sadly, it’s just lack of maturity, as he’s only 18 or 19, and she’s only 16.  I’m believing I’ll be able to talk them out of it and help them work out their differences, but I really appreciate your prayers.

On a happier note, our trip to Parintins was very successful!  We felt a LOT of spiritual warfare and took extra time off from work to really pray for the city, for the church, and for each other.  I believe there was a strong spiritual breakthrough during our time there and we continue to pray for that city as the “Festival of the Bull” will be held this next weekend.

We have the huge evangelistic Congresso coming up this next weekend as well where last year over 1,400 salvations in 3 nights!  Right now got lots of discipleships to catch up with, lots of pastors to train in the water filters, lots of planning for the next teams coming down and interns.  And thank you all for your continued e-mails, phone calls, financial support, letters, prayers, friendship, and on and on…it means the world to me!  So love you all and peace out…

1st picture of one of many sculptures/paintings in the wall of the stadium in Parintins where the Feast of the Bull is held.  Most of the sculptures are of historic events or myths and legends of people believe.  This one is a myth of a huge snake that still exists today that has been known to sink canoes and eat some unlucky fishermen.

2nd picture of me and Isaiah hanging off the back of one of our PAZ boats as on our way back from the river community of Miri where we were helping to build a church.

ORU team & lots to do!

So much is going on it’s crazy exciting!!! Isaiah & I were put in charge of taking the ORU team to Monte Alegre to help with the church construction there.  We got several opportunities to hang out a lot with the young adults from the church and I got to speak to them about purity in their relationships and the dating principles that our church teaches.  It was a lot of fun and exciting to see so many of them on fire for the Lord and living in purity in the midst of so much immorality especially here in Brazil.

As soon as we got back we painted a church in Belterra for 3 days then took off for 5 days to help build a church in the river community of Miri.  Now I’m in Parintins with the ORU team and 5 short term missionaries helping with different church needs here and doing lots of prayer walks against the “Feast of the Bull” which happens every year here. This entire city is pretty much wrapped around this demonic party which always involves lots of immorality, drunkenness, and violence.  Our team will be sharing at the church all three nights this weekend, and continue to encourage the church with teaching, prayer, and work (mostly painting, but we also got to put up an awesome rope swing :)

I don’t have much internet access, but when I get back I might get a tiny breather and be able to update a little more…until then!

Paulinho

 

1st - Team in Monte Alegre holding the head pastor there

2nd - The church in Belterra we had just finished painting

3rd - Taking a break from construction at a waterfall

A blog update - it’s sweet-awesome!

Green Region Pride

Last weekend was our central church’s cell group celebration. Because there are sooo many cells (over 2,000) just from our central church (our largest of our 22 churches in this city), they split each region up into colors. So we’re not trying to be the Hulk, it’s just cell pride :) Reasons for the celebration: 1. we had a mass multiplication of cell groups, 2. I think it’s another excuse for us to have a Christian party where we encourage each other and bring non-Christians. Even a non-Christian has a hard time turning down a party ;)

cell group multiplication…excuse the kid
with his shirt off :)

At cell group, now about half the size because of the multiplication, the guys instead of being discouraged are talking about all their friends they can invite and saying things like, “for next week, everyone needs to bring one new person”…that’s why multiplication works! Friday night was an 9pm-midnight prayer vigil for our green region, which usually mostly leaders and up show up too. But with all the excitement, 9 people from our cell groups showed up, and one guy even brought a non-Christian friend, Beto, with him! We hung out at my place afterwards ’till about 2am and when Beto left he was talking as if he couldn’t wait ’till Wednesday to go to the cell :)

It’s a blog, so you can leave a comment!
Paul

Church Party for cell groups, several thousand in attendance

8 color regions: green (ours), black, orange, blue, red, new wine, white, yellow

The Happenings

me & grandpa (almost 88)

So I just got back from a 2 week trip visiting and helping take care of my grandfather at another one of our PAZ bases in Parintíns. He is recovering from some radiation treatments and is very, very weak. Just a little bit about him, he and my grandmother were the first of our family to move to Brazil as missionaries where they raised my mom and her siblings. They must have done something right because all their kids are now missionaries, most here and one in Japan. Now, most of their grandkids are becoming missionaries! I am so thankful to have such an amazing spiritual inheritance.

soap soccer, played on a large air bed
with soapy water and a ball

While I was there, I didn’t have internet access so now I’m catching up on a ton of work. Our cell group is going to multiply this Wednesday (much needed since we have over 20 people showing up). The new PAZ website should be launched this week (which I’ve been helping translate into Portuguese). And sounds like we’re going to be able to get some plastic water filters soon to test and install (7 lbs vs 175 lb concrete filters)! God never quits working :)

Want to give a big shout-out to all the graduating seniors! Wohoo! For those done done, it’s sooo nice to not have in the back of your minds a test you could be studying more for, or homework that’s due in a week that could be done now. For those going on for masters or more, totally worth it! Just make sure you have a strong foundation in the Lord and keep priorities straight, b/c post-grad studies are stretching!

All for Christ,
Paul