Updates

Mon Aug 23, 2004

Dear friends,

Time flies, and we are about to finish packing our bags and go home. Our flight is this evening at 9:00 pm (Brazil time). Please pray that we can arrive to the airport on time to catch the flight. Traffic jam is very bad over here and we are leaving the hotel right at their rush hour. Pastor cannot drive his car today since Sao Paulo has a rule as to cars with certain license plates cannot be in the road at rush hours. So, Pastor has to borrow a different vehicle from a friend.

Saturday evening Pah spoke to the group (age 18 to 25) on the topic of choosing your spouse. He spent one part of the session on homosexuality. The believers probably had never thought about this issue before. One did raise a good question as to how a believer should do when he or she comes across them. The session was a little longer than they are used to, but they were motivated and started to answer questions more readily and asked questions.

Sunday, we began the day with a sight seeing trip to the highest hill in Sao Paulo. In a clear day, we should be able to see Sao Paulo and some surrounding towns. But the smog was too thick and blocked our view. Afterwards, we played the role of a tourist and went to a local "huge" Sunday market to get our souvenirs. We were only given 45 minutes to finish the shopping, and we were making decisions very fast. Later, we were too late for the fellowship at the school, and Pastor told us to go and get some lunch instead. We waited for one whole hour before food was served. Pah was about to fall asleep.

By the time we finished our lunch at 3:00 pm, Pastor called and asked Mei to meet two of her friends (from the shop) at the church. One was the girl Mei had talked to on Saturday. She insisted to go home because she felt very ill at ease at church. The friend who brought her to church is a shop owner next to her shop at 25th Street. This friend, Hai Rong, is a believer but he has not come to church for long time. The only reason he came to fellowship on Saturday is to tell Pastor of what had happened to the girl. Pray for Hai Rong that he will start to go to church again, and he will one day understand and find joy and peace in seeking the Lord. Right now, he is not going to church.

Mei got a chance to talk to the girl and shared the gospel. They read many passages in the Bible, and the girl decided to accept Christ as her savior. Please pray for the girl, not sure how to use pin yan for her name. She is a baby believer and will need much follow up. Yet, she is very shy and not very willing to meet new friends. Please pray that she will come out from her hiding and go to church every week.

Pah shared his message on Genesis 1. He shared his understanding on creation put forward by the Bible and the scientists. Pray that his message will touch the believers' hearts. There was dinner, sharing, and prayer time after the message. Linda was chased after by Li Li to make more crafts.

Linda stayed over till 2:00 am to pack her bags.

Monday we got to tour a palace in Sao Paulo. It was so great to see some trees and space and enjoyed some quiet time. Pah found a very pretty kind of orchids. He named it the trinity. Pastor took us to a rock and stone market and we did some more shopping.

The owner of the hotel took us out to lunch. He shared his testimony and his vision after retirement. He wants to sell his property and drives a van to evangelize. Pray that God will continue to guide him. We thank him for his kindness and generosity during our stay in Sao Paulo.

Now is crunch time to pack our bags and get ready. Mei and Linda still want to get some coffee. Hope there is time. We will go to the airport tonight and arrive at Portland on Tuesday morning.

See you all soon.

Brasil team

 

Sat Aug 21, 2004

Dear friends,

Last time we stopped at Thursday BBQ. The food was just overwhelming. I think Pastor Ki, Wallace, Eliza, Ben and Siao Mei can relate. The servers just brought the meat to us back and forth and we felt we did not have time to eat. Anyway, we managed to be filled with good food including salad, sushi, sashimi, and a variety of beef and fruit drinks.

Afterwards, we went to visit a believer's new home, and listened to Pastor Sze and the believers talked about their church and the family camp. After Pastor dropped us off at the hotel, we felt a great need to circle the block to ease our full stomachs.

Friday we went to the language school in the morning. By now, we commute on our own by subway. We did some games and Pah delivered his message on Daniels' story. We found out children and teenagers here love games that require much thinking. After that, Pah went on his own to return to hotel to prepare for the evening fellowship message. He managed to witness how the police confiscated the merchandise of local vendors. He turned from stm to reporter and took some pictures.

Linda and Mei joined the other students at the language school and went to lunch at a lanchonete by Pastor's home. After that, they visited Pastor home and chatted with the students. By the time they got him, they had to prepare for a Chinese jeopardy on the Bible for the Jordan River Fellowship group. They had a blast and then they sat down and listened to Pah's message on setting goals for their future, goals that would please our Heavenly Father.

We hung out with some of the teenagers till ten and then all returned home. Some of them were disappointed since Linda did not bring some crafts to do with them. After that, the team felt hungry and went out to look for some late night snack. We ended up with some dumplings and wonton. Many Brazilians were out in the street, and we felt very safe.

Saturday began with another session at the language school. Then, Pah and Linda returned to hotel, and Mei went to visit her friends at the shop. Pah and Linda witnessed another raid at the Page (the mall) and took some more pictures. According to Linda, it was very adventurous and eye opening. Mei got to talk to a girl from China. She was cheated by another Chinese friend and may have to lose some money. Please pray for her. Pray that her problem will be resolved and she would really come to know our God is mighty and can help her. She is not a believer yet. Mei told her she would pray for her.

Tonight we will take part in the Emannuel Fellowship group. We prayt that we would get to talk to the believers and encourage them to come to fellowship. A lot of them are new and not regular.

Thanks and more thanks for your support. Each day we come to pray and seek our Lord to strengthen us and help us. May the Lord strengthen you too.

Brasil team

 

Thur Aug 19, 2004

Dear friends,

After a long bus ride back from Jaboticabal, Linda and Mei felt good to have their feet on the ground and the stomach no longer feeling funny.

On Wednesday morning, we made it to the bus station with 2 minutes left to buy the tickets. And then Linda forgot her ID. But Linda did not forget she could seek the Lord for help. We all managed to get on bus on time. We after 3 hours of toss back and forth, we ate lunch at a nice eatery and then slept our way to the town.

We met the Chen family, husband, wife, a 14-year old son, a toddler and one newborn. We were very touched with their eagerness to learn more about the Bible. The whole family turned to Christ in May. Since they live in a small town, they cannot go to church and they feel very lonely and miss the fellowship. We sang songs together, and Pastor did a follow up chapter one with them. They tried to soak up every word they heard. While pastor was talking to the family, we had a chance to talk to their helper, Mr. Chen. He said he was ready to accept the gospel, but first he had to take care of two things.

At twelve, we finally had to say goodnight and moved on to our hotel. Since Mei is a wimp, she requested Linda to share a room with her. With the old fashion Portuguese style architecture and furniture, we thought we went back in time. By far, this is the hotel room with the highest noise level. We could hear the buses and trucks passing by through the night till the morning. On top of that, we could smell the fume. Ogh.

The next morning, we went back to Chen's fast food place to hang out with them. Pastor talked to the helper one more time and Linda, Mei, and the owner's wife prayed together. We were so happy to find out he finally accepted Christ as his savior. But by then, we had to rush to the hotel, pick up the bags, and run for taxi, then run for bus ticket again. It is worthwhile to be delayed for a person's soul. Please continue to pray for Mr. Chen's faith in the Lord. Please also pray that our dear Father will help him to sort out his two personal issues. One more thing. Please pray for the Chen family, for their growth in the Lord and a chance to fellowship with other believers. Also pray that the Spirit will guide them to share their testimony and the good news with their friends.

By the way, Linda and Mei practiced their Portuguese at the hotel and a pharmacy with much amusement. After we bought the baby diapers, we found out the lady knew English!

While Linda and Mei were gone, Pah stayed in Sao Paulo to hold the fort all by himself. Ten adults came to the bible study, and they had a wonderful time sharing and learning from the word about family relation. Each day, he also spoke to the children in the Portuguese school. This morning, he had a rough time speaking to a group of wild kids but he managed well. Without the two girls keep troubling him, he made his way back much at ease.

Tonight, we will have BBQ with pastor, Ms. Lin and maybe Wynnie (the hk short-termer). I think Pastor, Wallace, Ben, Eliza and Siao Mei still remember. Yum. We'll give you the details tomorrow.

Chao!

Brasil team

 

Wed Aug 18, 2004

Dear friends:

Yesterday, we went to the Portuguese school in the morning. This is a group with very few believers. Pah delivered a simple message for 5 minutes, and Linda and Mei tried to make friend with some of them.

In the afternoon, Mei went with her new friend, Maggie, to have lunch and walk around. Maggie is a new believer but she has not come to church recently. While Mei was gone, Pah and Linda wandered around to look for a good place for lunch. They did it all by themselves and got some pastel and suco at a Brazilian lanchonete. They said the people there were very helpful though they could only speak English and some Spanish.

We went back to the fast food place for dinner. Mei and Linda got to share the gospel with the owner, his wife and their friend. The friend asked a lot of questions and we stayed at the fast food place for half an hour to go over his questions. Please pray for them that they would start seeking for the one true God. Also pray that the local church will spend time with them. Since they work 11:00 am to 11:30 pm each day, they will not be able to go to church.

In the evening, we joined three different Bible study group with the teenagers. Pah even taught them to sing Thy Word in English. They like to sing no matter what language it is. Mei's group was very vocal, and they shared a lot about their difficulities in keeping up with devotion time. They also brought up a lot of good questions on their daily Bible reading.

Today Linda and Mei will go to a small town called Jaboticabal to visit a couple. There are 2 new believers, and they feel very lonely with no church in their town. They also told Pastor Sze they would invite some friends to the house to hear the gospel. Please pray for courage and ability to tell them the good news. Also pray for travel mercy since it takes 6 hours bus ride to get there.

Pah will stay in Sao Paulo and continue with visitation and lead the adult bible study in the evening. Ms. Lin explained that there are many parents who are against their children going to church. However, they love people with status. In a sense, they will love to talk to Pah since he is a professor. Very sad they think that way.

Gotta go. Have a good day.

Brasil team

 

Tue Aug 17, 2004

Dear friends,

Bom dia. This is about the only Portuguese I can say fluently other than obrigada and quanto.

How are you? Yesterday we had an evaluation and discussion with Pastor Sze and his team. They gave us some feedback and suggestions. Also they explained briefly about the culture here and why things were done a little differently than in US. We found the discussion very helpful and uplifting. As Pah shared this morning, we are learning to be humble and with a serving heart. Our goal is to assist the pastor and his workers.

We had our not sure how many times sushi meal for lunch. It is good and the difference is we need to weigh what we put on the plate. All you can eat is an American concept, I guess. After that, we had gone to visit the stores around 25th Street. Linda visited Biao Mei (cousin) and bought something at her store too. We visited a few stores (all Cantonese speaking) and one of them bought us coffee.

The rest of the day was rest, preparation, and exploration of the neighborhood. We found a very good Chinese restaurant. We had sampled the food and approved it. If we ever send another team back, this restaurant is highly recommended. After that, we went star searching since Pah said constellation in southern hemisphere was different from the north. But the street lights prevented us from spotting too many stars.

We saw a few people pulling trash in a cart. That is their garbage disposal service. Everyone leaves their trash on the sidewalk and the people with carts will come and pick them up. Very difficult job. Felt sorry for them, but Pah said at least they worked for their livelihood instead of begging and sleeping on the street.

On our way back, we met a couple who opened a fast food place. THey worked long hours and must feel lonely. Though they have idols set up in their restaurant, they were more than willing to talk to us. Please pray that before we leave we can share the gospel with them.

Today we will go back to the Portuguese school with games and message. We may go visit the shops again. This evening Pah will lead a bible study group and Mei and Linda will participate in other two. The material is on discipleship.

Tomorrow Linda and Mei will go with Pastor Sze to a different town (name unknown) by bus for 6 hours one way. We will visit a couple who are new believers. Also we may meet their friends and see if there is a chance to share the gospel with them. Please pray for safety and travel mercy. Pray for Linda' s toi shan hua. Pray for boldness and discernment.

While we are gone, Pah will go with Ms. Lin and Wynnie to visit shops in the morning, give message at the school, and lead an adult bible study in the evening. Please keep him in your prayers.

Almost time to go. Chao!

Brasil team.

 

Mon Aug 16, 2004

Good morning everyone,

It is warming up at Sao Paulo and we are here for almost a week. It is about 14-27 degree Centigrade). On Sunday we went to a gathering at the Portuguese school and later had Sunday worship at 5:00 pm. In the morning we got a chance to wander around the neighborhood on our own. We made such a big loop and didn't make it back till after 2 hours of strolling. We also got to squeeze into a flea market and enjoyed some Japanese good and had a can of Guarana.

Quite a few teenagers from the Jordan River Fellowship and Emmanuel Fellowship came to the Portuguese school to help out. They sat next to the non-believers and chatted with them. About 3 of the newcomers joined us and got in Pastor's van and went to church. Over here in Sao Paulo, commute is a problem. Not everyone has a car, and traffic is bad. So Pastor and two of his helpers drive the vans and give rides to most of the teenagers and some of the adults. It takes them at least two and a half hours to finish the rounds (one way).

At the church, some teenagers helped to chop up the vegetables and prepare other food. They are muito bem to cook a big dinner for some sixty or seventy people all on their own in the little kitchen. Some other teenagers prepared worship songs and some just played games or ping pong. We joined the prayer time right before the Sunday worship. Two of the worship leaders shared their experiences of God's grace and one cried a little as she shared. Pah delivered his message on life on earth is like taking a trip. He challenged if we knew where we are going to and how we are getting there. We learned a new thing about Pah. We didn't know that he had lived in Saudi Arabia before!

After service, we were divided into groups and had dinner together. We shared prayer requests and chatted during dinner. Then, we prayed together. This is another way to encourage fellowship time, sharing, caring, and prayer. Linda and Mei were in the Cantonese/Toi Shan group and Pah with a Mandarin group.

After that, some stayed behind to sing praises and read Bible together. Some went to practice piano, some helped others with homework, some watched TV, some played games or ping pong, and some just talked. Linda and Mei invited two girls to their room to do some crafts. Mei also stayed behind to sing some more praises when a teenager was practicing her piano. One of the girls, Li Li, loves to do crafts. She is always after Linda. On Saturday night, we tried to weave a bracelet and halfway through she had to go home and get in the van. She came hopping down the street to the van with the 5 strings still tied to her pants and strung around her fingers. Quite fun.

We will have an overview of this week's schedule with Pastor at 10:30 am this morning. We'll let you know what is in store later.

Brasil team

 

Sat Aug 14, 2004

We had said goodbye to Pastor John Loh and his family. They went on to Sao Jose and Rio to disciple and interview the workers in those fields. They are from Go International and are in charge of South America. We had a good talk with them and learned about the needs of Chinese population in this continent.

Yesterday we went to Hua Ci (?) Chinese Foundation Portuguese School set up by Go International. We played games with them and taught them an English song. Pah gave his testimony and showed them his family photos. When the girls saw his boys' pictures, one of them said good. The girls are so cute. This group is a little older than the group we met the day before and they were more responsive.

Later, Pah and Linda went with Ms. Lin to speak to a student. She seems to have emotional and mental problem. LInda said it was hard to tell because the girl did not have medical examination. Linda was trying to use her expertise in special ed to assist the single mom to take care of the girl. Ms. Lin was also concerned about the girl and took Linda to see the girl and Pah to translate.

Mei went to the mall and tried out being a vendor with two Chinese girls, one Cantonese and one Mandarin speaking. One girl is a new believere but has stopped going to church. The other has come to church twice and lost interest. Mei just tried to befriend them and care for them. The new believer, Maggi, said she would bring the other girl to fellowship on Sat evening. She also bought Mei a good lunch and showed her around.

Evening we joined the Jordan River Fellowship (age 12-16). A group full of energy and laughter. They sang so loud and knew every song. We played two simple games that they laughed through. Then Pah gave them a message on why we have to depend on God. Then the girls made bookmarks with Linda and the boys went singing some more praises or played chess or ping pong.

Please pray for health as we eat a lot of food prepared by the local people. Also pray for Pah for the messages that will pierce the hearts of the non-believers and edify the new believers. Pray for a chance that we can do one-on-one to disciple someone. Pray for safety in travel since traffic is unruly over here. Pray for the empowerment of the spirit that what we do can meet the needs of the teenagers we minister to.

Tomorrow Pah will speak in Sunday service, and we will meet the adult group for the first time.

Please also pray for Winnie. She is a short-term (1 year) helper from Hong Kong. She is still adjusting to the culture and also working with short-term teams and various people.

We are doing well and last night we had a full 8 hours of sleep. Thanks to the Lord.

We are picking up some Portuguese by and by.

Take care.

P.S. Wilmer, we have two cell phones now. Still need to figure out how to use one of them though. We are safe and sound. Thanks for your help along the way.


mei for the team

 

Fri Aug 13, 2004

Yesterday we met with the new immigrant children that are learning Portuguese in the Gospel Center language school. We did a short game, sang deep and wide, and Pah told them a story. Everything is in Mandarin here except for the visitation. I met some speaking in Cantonese. Pray for Linda. She may feel inadequate but then she is a great asset for us with the crafts and burden to pray.

Today we will meet with some students one on one to do counseling (to use Pastor's Sze's word). Then we will do visitation at the 25th market place (we had been there last time) and at night we will host a fellowship group with the teenagers. A lot of us ministry is with young people (10-20s).

Yesterday we visited Sao Jose and their new Cantonese church. Very brief visit. The pastor is in Sao Paulo right now doing intensive seminary class.

 

Wed Aug 11, 2004

We have arrived safely to Sao Paulo this morning. Pastor Sze picked us up and took us to the hotel. We had our orientation at the Gospel Center. We had also met with a missionary couple from Canada (Mr. & Mrs. Law), a short-termer from Toronto, a one year short-termer from HK, and Ms. Lin from Taiwan. We ate at a sushi bar and then visited their Portuguese language school and met with some students. Took the subway and tried our first cup of coffee except for Pah (he'd rather be able to sleep later tonight).

I got some good rest on the plane, but Pah and Linda did not sleep that well. Pray that they will sleep well tonight.

Pastor Law from Canada will give us a brief description on South America missionary history and current events this evening. Tomorrow we will have a half hour gathering with a group of teenagers. They are pretty rowdy but fun. Pah will speak in both Sundays. He will also meet with two seminary students and share with them experiences in preparing messages. So far, we do not have our official schedule yet, but we are assigned with a high schooler fellowship group. We'll visit St Jose tomorrow. We will do visitation but not sure when. Once I find out more details, we'll let you know. The internet access is inside the hotel, so it is quite convenient. We live in the Japanese town, and we can reach many little shops and markets within walking distance.

To call our cell phone, dial 011-55-11-9550-0227.