Paul's Sweet-Awesome Updates

Baptism, Change, Growth

Paul Hrubik — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:11:07 +0000

We’re on the move!

After lots of interesting situations, prayer and fasting, we are moving the location of the Fuse from Machida to Noborito! It’s going to be awesome with more space, no more need to set up and tear down, and so many more benefits! And I believe this will strengthen all the Christians in our church, getting us better prepared for the large harvest here in Japan! Please keep us in your prayers during this transition. We will be moving officially June 30th!

We had 2 short-term American teams come by and had a blast with them, making lots of new contacts. Please pray that we will see permanent fruit from their time here.

Yu-kun got baptized!! Joe and I are discipling him “one-on-one” (Joe being the translator, but also learning to disciple in our church model) Believe with us for Yu’s strengthening in the Lord every day!

P.S. If you want to subscribe to my e-mail updates, please click here. (Each e-mail has an unsubscribe option as well, if you ever get too many e-mails :)

Growing in strength and numbers!

Paul Hrubik — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 02:20:41 +0000

Fuse Zoo trip!

Wow, almost 6 months now in Japan and it’s still awesome to see how God moves in powerful ways! Since the last time I blogged, we had a Brazil team come here and help us put on a powerful Encounter with God weekend! Whenever someone has a face-to-face encounter with God, they are never the same, and we are still seeing the fruit of that in the lives of so many Japanese people! Check out these links to see more about how that weekend went: www.projectamazon.org.

Just last week we had a strong multiplication of one of our cell groups! The first of many this year! We are really focusing on discipleship and training up new disciplers so that as God continues to bring new people to our cell groups and church service, we will have new disciplers to take care of each and every one. Soon we will see all of Tokyo full of homes where people gather to worship the Lord and have Godly fellowship happening throughout the week! Please continue to pray for strong growth in the discipleships and cell groups.

Andy & Rosie

This month Andy and Rosie will be leaving for several months, and they have really been some of my “right hands” here, so we are really going to feel their absence. We have been sharing a house as well, so after they leave I have 4 guys planning on coming to live with me, so there will be a lot of changes =) I believe God is in control and everything will go well, but I appreciate prayers for this transition as well.

I probably have grown more in these last 6 months than ever before, and I know I’m not near finished being stretched. I don’t even know how to put it in words most of the time, but constantly being faced with challenges and situations that I’ve never experienced before is a big part of it :) I love it! Never a dull moment with God, and we constantly get to see how He is awesome and works miraculously over and over! Thank you so much for being a part, there are no words to express my thanks for your prayers and generous giving and investment in this ministry!

Much love to you all!
Paul

A Powerful New Year!

Paul Hrubik — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:43:29 +0000

our house is quickly becoming a Fuse hangout place :) Love it!

Going into the new year in Japan is very different from Brazil, but still kinda the same, because again I was able to spend it with brothers and sisters in Christ, encouraging each other to higher standards and higher goals in the Lord! And as I prayed and fasted for goals for the year of 2013, the Lord put on my heart some big goals for our church, and I believe through prayer and hard work, we’ll be able to reach them! So the big numbers are, by the end of 2013, to have 12 strong cell groups and 120 people in attendance at our church. By ourselves with all that we know how to do, I know this is impossible, but with God, I have no doubt we will see those numbers become a reality in the physical realm, as I already see them a reality in the spiritual.

Baptism celebration!

My level of faith has grown through the years in Brazil, and I’ve invited those who think it’s impossible to go ahead and piggyback on my faith and let’s see this become a physical reality!

January already started off exciting with 2 new Christians being baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit! Like I said in the last post, the excitement just keeps growing, and people who maybe were away from the church are coming back and new people are being won! We believe in not losing a single one, and we are committed to taking care of every single person God puts in our care, so that after we are faithful with the few, He will be able to trust us with many more, and all the more we win, the more the devil loses! I continue to feel powerfully your prayers and support, and I constantly thank God for each of you who are involved in this ministry…really really!!

Kenneth is fully in love with God and it’s a pleasure to disciple him

These next couple of weeks we will have a Brazil team of 20 people here to help us with our 1st Encounter with God Retreat, so please be praying for all that involves. In this Brazil team are some couples who are prayerfully considering becoming full-time missionaries in Japan as well. It’s going to be a special time! And the weeks after the Brazil team leaves, we will be doing a series on relationships at the Fuse :) Those are always fun, but this time I’m a lot more nervous being my first time in a new culture to share about it…I need wisdom!

You are awesome and thanks again for everything!!
Paul ポール

Cell groups, discipleships, and so much more!

Paul Hrubik — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 13:22:06 +0000

Karioke Christmas Afterparty

So we’re coming to the end of the year, but this is just the beginning of a lot of what God is doing here. We’ve started our first cell groups and have most of the church in one-on-one discipleship, that already has made such a difference in the lives of so many people. The excitement level keeps rising as new people continue to come and get integrated in the life of the church, and as the new believers get ready to be baptized and are excited about sharing their new faith with their friends. Of course, since we work with a lot of college students, with the end of the year break, a lot of them will go to their hometowns and we won’t be doing so many church events…a great time to relax in the Lord and do some planning for next year.

Christmas party on Christmas day @ U. Tim’s house

But just to let you know of a couple amazing things that have happened so far. We had several Christmas parties that were so much fun and packed with people! We had non-Christian parents, sisters, and friends come for the “special” occasions, and since then they’ve been in contact with us for the next events :) And while a couple of us guys were hanging out, we asked a Yu-kun what was the best thing that happened to him in 2012. His answer, “I found Jesus.” Needless to say, we couldn’t beat that one, and an overwhelming joy filled my heart to know that he himself realized that. Another Chinese exchange student kept commenting excitedly how it was her first time to celebrate Christmas as a Christian and how it was so special for her!

A huge answer to prayer is that we were able to rent that big house nearby for the “low” price we asked!!! So I’ll be moving Jan 7th Lord willing. I don’t have many pictures yet of our cell groups or our new house, but I’ll try to post them when I do.

I love parties!

And again a huge thanks for all the prayers and support. It’s definitely felt and I’m constantly encouraged by the generosity and sacrifice everyone is making to be a part of the revival that is starting in Japan! And this is just the beginning!!!

Much love!
Paul
New cell number: +81 80 9456 1237

1st time making beans

Paul Hrubik — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 06:22:55 +0000

So a couple days ago marked 1 month being in Japan, this time actually doing Japanese classes, making my own food, and doing the job of a pastor. But God continues to surprise me! As I have really gotten to know the team I am working with, I am so humbled and thankful! The team is amazing, with so many strengths in so many areas that I have to grow in. So it’s not only how to cook for myself and Japanese classes that are new, but organizational and communication skills, etiquette and time management are a few of so many things I’m learning so much more.

Since I’ve arrived, I’ve been sharing a lot of vision and direction for the transition of the FUSE as we move to the cell groups and 1-on-1 discipleship model of church planting. I’ve started discipleship with a couple guys and have done mock discipleship and cell group meetings in our leadership training meeting (LTM) that we have every Tuesday. For now we still meet near an ideal train station (Sagamiono) but not in an ideal place (McDonalds). But it is fun have a big group of people at McDonalds for an hour and a half :)

I have just been asked to start helping out the Brazilian Paz church as well, and for 2 months actually lead their LTM and cell group. That will be interesting with the majority of the members being married and with kids, but I’m excited to be able to help, and the language won’t be such a barrier, maybe just a tiny bit with the 2 families that speak Spanish :) With all these new responsibilities that I’ve never really had before, it has really pushed me to seek God more and learn more and more to throw my worries upon Him, and He has been faithful in answering and giving direction. And can I just say that I can truly feel your prayers and support! I’ve seen God working here in my life like never before, and I still believe this is just the very tiny beginning for what He is going to do here!

I want to just finish leaving some prayer requests:
1. My American bank card hasn’t arrived yet, and my Brazilian bank card hasn’t worked, and with the time zones, it’s been really hard to get help. Please pray for my American bank card to come through soon.
2. We are praying that the Lord would open up a specific house for us to rent for me and a couple to share. It’s the old building where the church used to meet and it would be ideal for it’s location and size for us. Please pray that the owner will rent it to us and for the price we are offering.
3. I feel like Solomon, asking for wisdom to lead the people God has placed in my spiritual responsibility. Sometimes I feel way over my head and not sure what direction to take, so I really need sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and wisdom with decisions and how to work with each person.

Thanks again! All my love!
Paul

The details of the Japan calling

Paul Hrubik — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 16:29:57 +0000

Here’s the link I said I would add about the details if you’re interested :) There are a couple pictures too for those like me who are very visual kind of people…

Calling to Japan

A Huge Change of Plans…or is it?

Paul Hrubik — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 21:08:39 +0000

Dear Friends and Family,

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’ve had lots of things to pray about. Thanks so much for praying with me – I appreciate the company!

Our trip this summer to “spy out the land” in Japan has had many awesome results, both in Japan and here in Brazil. Everyone on the team came back challenged, each in their own way. And I’m no exception.

As I continue to seek God’s direction for my life and ministry, I believe the Lord has spoken to me and confirmed through my leadership that I am supposed to go help the ministry in Japan for about 2 years. There’s quite a long story behind how it all happened and I plan on writing a page on my blog with the details.

So, in just a couple weeks, I’ll be heading back to Japan. I’m going to have the privilege of working with Fuse, the ministry in Japan aimed at young adult Japanese, and I’ll also be teaching and modeling our cell groups and disciple multiplication plan, MDA, so that it can be passed on throughout the Japanese churches. I’m excited to work with my Uncle Tim and Aunt Christine Huber and am really praying for awesome things to happen.

But as committed as I am to this new calling and as eager as I am to get busy, I really want to ask for your prayers. It’s a BIG change and I’ve been busy and happy in Fortaleza, so grateful for all these incredible experiences. I’m hoping you’ll be praying for me as I move into this new arena. I really need that!

And because you’ve been with me through lots of adventures, I’m going to be bold and invite you to jump in with some financial support for the next 2 years or so, if that’s a possibility for you right now. If you’re already giving, thank-you so much for your faithfulness and generosity that has made this ministry possible so far!

I’ve been living pretty frugally in Fortaleza on about $1000 a month (plus other random one-time donations), and a chunk of that’s gone into my ministry activities every month. But it’s going to be really different in Japan. I’ll be spending about $1000 a month just on rent! And I really want to have some funds to spend in developing my ministry. Uncle Tim and Aunt Christine estimate that I’m going to need at least $3000 a month – big challenge for me, but I know God’s going to make this all come together.

Every bit of support is going to mean so much and, like always, your prayers are what are really going to make a huge impact on our new mission field.

If you’ve got any questions for me about this new direction, just shoot me an email. I’m so thankful for the opportunity and I’d love to share more about it with you. And if you want to partner with me by giving support, you can do that online at http://www.projectamazon.org/footer/donate/?recipient=Paul%20Hrubik .

Grateful for each of you,
All my love,
Paul

What’s happening…

Paul Hrubik — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:06:28 +0000

hanging out with Japanese youth with Brazil team

It’s interesting how even though we see records being broken all the time, we still don’t get “used” to it and God surprises us over and over again! Since the last update (a long time ago) we have had several amazing events, including a 40-day church-wide fast, the largest “March of Love” of donations of dried foods for the church’s social assistance ministry, another huge baptism, largest Northeastern MDA Conference yet (over 1,200 pastors) ending with a huge cell group celebration on the new church property, and much more.

Huber Family Reunion 2012

On a more personal note, I also participated in Debbie’s wedding, a Huber family reunion, and another missions trip to Japan with another team with another purpose. This Japan trip, about 2 weeks ago, was with the purpose of taking a team of PAZ Brazilian English-speaking young adults who have been very successful in cell groups and discipleship, to “spy out the land” as a possibility of recruiting some long-term missionaries to Japan. We took several of their head pastors as well to get the vision and see the need in Japan. It was an amazing trip, even with a few hick-ups b/c of visas for our Brazilian pastors :) I just returned more challenged than ever, with more revelation of God’s Word and will, and a deep desire to really invest deeply in the lives of the people the Lord has put in my hands, more than I have until now.

Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to write about…do I write about the bright green snake in front of our house, the cell group multiplication that happened Thursday and the next one happening on the 11th? Or about the healings and answers to prayers happening in the cell groups, the success of the discipleship in the healing of the soul and amazing testimonies of spiritual growth in the lives of the cell members through deep discipleship? Do I share about the challenges we face of some people back-sliding and the time and effort we take to never give up on them and a few success stories, and a few ongoing situations? All that

Praying over new cell leader & members

I’m learning, so many amazing, powerful words being shared by my pastors and supervisors, do we post that online? Well, if you do have interest in some of those subjects, shoot me an e-mail. I’m not a writer and I don’t have a secretary, so it makes it more difficult yet, but I’ll keep you updated with the things the Lord puts on my heart, starting with a couple prayer requests:
1. Some big decisions need to be made about Japan, and we only want the Lord’s most perfect will.
2. Strengthening of the cell groups and new strong disciplers.

I know what we do is not because of us but in spite of us, Christ is the one who makes it all happen. And we know that…this is just the beginning!
All my love,
Paul

Lots of “news”

Paul Hrubik — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:07:02 +0000

Me teaching Biblical principles on relationships at the 1st ADM Conference for Young Adults

In this new year there have been a lot of “new” things happening. Some of my goals for this year include: professionalizing the media dept so that I don’t have to be as much hands on and more supervising, be more faithful in communicating with my supporters, and to see several key people from my cell groups as leaders. Thankfully, I have been able to pull back some from the media department, allowing me much more time to focus on the cell groups and discipleships, and already several of my goals for my cells have been reached in the sense of seeing specific people becoming leaders and others discipling. But I still have a lot to go, as I’m still at 8 cell groups and my goal by the end of this year is to see each cell group multiply once, ending with at least 16 cells. And unfortunately, where I’ve been failing the most is in keeping up communication with my friends, family and supporters. I’m really sorry, and hopefully this update will mark the beginning of my success in reaching that goal too :)

The ADM conference had only about 400-500 pple, but the services at night had more like 1500 pple

This year has started with lots of big events. In January we had a Praise & Worship Conference, February our biannual missionary conference and our once a year Young Adults Camp during Carnival. In March, several more events at our church, my parents participating in one of those events, which was really special to have them here with me. The first weekend of April I was invited to be the main speaker for the first Apostolic Discipleship Method (ADM) Conference for Young Adults in Curitiba, PR, Brazil. And that Sunday I was asked to preach at the 2 main services of the church hosting the event…all new experiences, all very challenging, all of which I know there are much more qualified and better speakers then myself, but the Lord gave me the grace and the 4 different words to speak in a short period of time. I was able to take one of my disciples, Lucas, with me which was a lot of fun! Life with Jesus is always amazing!

I got to go to a disciple's house in Salvador for 2 days...it's discipleship right?

Did I mention that I moved addresses again? Yeah, that’s the 4th time in 2 and 1/2 years. Not what I enjoy the most, but I believe I’m right where God wants me every time as I see His hand moving in our favor. I currently live with Marco, a friend from Santarém, and in the same house where the church’s online bookstore operates. Our church finally closed a deal on a 21,000 square meter land where we hope to build our new sanctuary as our 7 services in our 3 current building are getting packed out. Just a couple weeks ago we past for the first time the 5,000 mark of members in our cell groups! And we believe this is just the beginning!

More later and God bless!
Paul

Current address and contact info:
R. Luis Girão, 255
Bairro Cambeba
CEP 60822-160
Fortaleza, CE – Brasil
cell: +55 85 9663 2425

A little report about Japan

Paul Hrubik — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:55:34 +0000

those "I'm in Japan" moments

Wow, just realized my last blog was from our first week in Japan! What an amazing trip, and I wanted to just share a little of what God did through your prayers and giving and our lives there in Japan.

First of all, our plans changed a lot from what we thought we would be doing. Instead of staying in Iwaki for 5 weeks straight, we ended up going back to Noborito every weekend to be with the PAZ churches, participating, learning, sharing, teaching, and encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ. Micah & I worked a lot with the FUSE, a church for young adults led by Pastors Mark & Yuiko. We participated in the street evangelisms, church services including set up and tear down, life groups, even a beach camp!

FUSE worship team

During that time I was given several opportunities to share at the church and lifegroup which was really cool…I think it was my first time to share with translation (usually I’m the translator :)

During our weeks in Iwaki, Fukushima, many times our Brazil group was split up, so I got to do several different jobs. First we worked with Mr Sato cleaning out his brother’s house next door. The name of the game was throw pretty much everything away but you’re in Japan, so you have to sort all the trash to burnables, glass, metal, etc. The sorting was one of the hardest and longest parts, not to mention taking the trash by small truck-loads to the appropriate places, about 45min drive each way.

Joaquim, Mr Sato, and me

Our second job was cleaning a hotel and helping the owners get it back into working condition. The work wasn’t so heavy, but there was a lot of it, washing dishes, cleaning tatami, putting paper on windows (a real art, we learned it but didn’t master it, had to undo a whole day’s work one time :)

the hotel where we worked

But that was a long on-going job that we would skip every once in a while to work on a short, heavy job, then go back to the hotel. The whole hotel job was an amazing experience as it was during that job that I think our team felt the most culture shock, but through that the Lord taught us so much about serving cheerfully, lovingly, and whole-heartedly, even if it isn’t the kind of job we expected or hoped to be doing. Through that job I think we really touched the life of Abe-san, our driver/volunteer leader. At the end of our trip, when he was in Tokyo, he and his wife visited our church and participated in one of our Brazilian lunches. We believe if he hasn’t already that he soon will make his decision to follow the Lord.

you can see where their house was b/f the tsunami...

My third job with some other guys from our team was to tear down part of a factory of a family who we found out over lunch with them that the owner’s wife and sister died in the tsunami. We also were asked to clean a public location one day which we did while praying the entire time. Our last different job in Iwaki was to load and unload water and rice…the first day was a decent size truck with only 5 tons of water not counting the rice, but the second day was a semi of water! But the good thing about working at unloading with Brazilians is that in assembly lines we toss things instead of hand them off which I think is much easier :)

Finally our last place of working with disaster relief was near Sendai, the worst hit part of Japan. There we saw destruction like I’ve never seen before. We worked with Samaritan’s Purse in tearing out the destroyed floors and walls of houses so that the Samaritan’s Purse carpenters could

the ocean is on the opposite side of the building...

come in and replace them…of course that was only for the houses that weren’t completely destroyed, because the government wasn’t even allowing any new buildings to go up. We also took donated blankets from a church in the US to the temporary housing for displaced families. There we experienced some cold in the mornings around 4 degrees Celcius (39 degrees Farenheit) which was very nice just before coming back to warm Brazil.

The whole experience was amazing and I would definitely do it again. But I realize that what they need

integrating new people into the life of the church through fellowship

the most there are more full-time missionaries, not just the 2-month boosts. The harvest there is so ripe and so large, being one of the least evanglized countries in the world. And truthfully, the part I enjoyed the most wasn’t the hard work (which I loved) or the experience of a new country (and driving on the left side of the road, I was the only one with an international license so I drove a lot :), but the times I was with the FUSE, reaching out to the youth of Japan and sharing the vision of discipleship. Who knows, maybe God is calling me to Japan…let’s pray and see…and until then, let’s continue to grow and reach out where God has placed us now!

All my love,
Paul