Thursday, June 26

This will probably be the final blog from Brazil. The Medical Team is back in Cuiaba and will be departing tomorrow afternoon. The clinic could not have been smoother. The team saw 2176 patients which is a record. The Lord allowed us to see 880 people pray to receive Christ which brought the total for the two weeks to 4600!!!. We look forward to returning if the Lord will allow. Thank you for praying for us. Please pray for my assistant Kay Crafton in the loss of her husband, Bill. This trip would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of Kay. The journey home begins.

Wednesday, June 25

Each day while updating this blog I try to think of ways to effectively convey the magnitude of what God is doing. Words cannot completely express how the Medical Clinic has changed an entire community. Over 600 people have prayed the prayer to receive Christ. If the Lord allows we will see over 800 professions of faith in just a few short days. In a community of 3000 +/- that is an impact that is unexplainable. Yesterday the team saw 540 patients bringing the weeks total thus far to 1669 patients. The professions of faith for the Evangelism week and Medical week has now reached a miracle level of 4400 sweet dear souls for Jesus Christ.



Today is the last day of clinic. The team of course has mixed emotions as their hearts are torn between leaving the Brazilians they have grown to love and returning to loved ones in the states. Each year this is a beautiful struggle. Its has been a great two weeks with many lives changed and people helped.



The work for the Brazilians has just begun as they strive to make sense of all the decisions and attached those individuals to churches, etc.



I mentioned to you yesterday about praying for the church building next door. We are researching it and trying to find the owner. My thoughts are that the Well Drilling team that will be here in October could journey over for a day and clean up the building, paint, etc. Just dreaming a little.



All the team is well, a little emotional today, but doing great!!

Tuesday, June 24

Yesterday was a day filled with many blessings. The clinic was a beehive of activity as the team saw 551 patients of which 207 prayed to receive Christ. The Medical Team has provided care to 1129 patients in two and half days. The community is very appreciative of the ministry the team is providing. As I shared in earlier blogs, there is a great need for an evangelical church in the community. Right next to the school is a vacant church building. It needs some repairs but I can´t get it off my mind. I have no idea who the owner is or what it would take to place a church family there but would you pray about this with me? I just can´t help but believe there could be a connection between our being here, needing to start a church here, and there being an empty church building right next door.



The total people who have prayed a prayer to receive Christ as Lord and Savior over the last two weeks is 4197!!!! There is no way to comprehend what that means. Just one soul getting saved would be worth all the time and effort but 4197, well that´s a miracle.



The team is all doing well. Pray for them!!

Monday, June 23

Today is the second full day of clinics here in Santa Elvira. Yesterday the team saw 413 patients of which 181 prayed to receive Christ!!! God is moving in the hearts of the people in this small town. Through the first day and a half of clinics the teams has served 578 patients and the Lord has added 270 to His Kingdom. If you have been keeping up with this blog you know that we have been here for two weeks. The first week our evengelism team worked very hard and saw many to come to Christ. When you add the Evangelism decisions for Christ to the ones we have seen through a couple of days here the total is 3990!! The 4000 number has already been surpassed today but we will wait until tomorrow to give that update. Have a great day!!

Sunday, June 22

Saturday´s half day clinic went great. The team was able to get their feet wet as they prepare for the next four days of 8:30 - 6:00 pm clinics. During the half day clinic the team saw 165 patients. Of those 165, 89 prayed a prayer to receive Christ as Lord and Savior!!!! The two week total of professions of faith is now at 3809!!! What an awesome God we serve. We are so blessed by the response of the people who up until now have not been very open to the message of Salvation. There is a Catholic church across the street from the clinic and they have asked for us to show the Jesus film tonight!!! Barry Lane will share his testimony and I am sure he will manage to work the Gospel into his time of sharing!!!! Pray for that meeting as we seek to build bridges with the community and share the hope that is found in a relationship Jesus Christ. All the team members are well and having a great time. The showers are cold but the fellowship is as warm as ever.

Saturday, June 21

Sorry for the delay in updating. Yesterday, Friday,June 20th, was a busy day as the Evangelism Team began their journey back to America and the Medical Team arrived in Brazil. The Medical Team was late in arriving, about five hours. The Evangelism Team was really looking forward to greeting the arriving team but their planes literally passed each other on the tarmac in Cuiaba as one arrived and the other departed. The Medical Team then began a three hours bus ride to the city of Santa Elvira. Santa Elvira is a heavily catholic community with little evangelistic influence. The Medical Team sorted medicines this morning and began seeing patients around 1:00 pm eastern time. As I am typing, they are seeing patients and will see about 300 patients this afternoon before their first full day tomorrow. As of this morning, including the Evangelism Week, the Lord has allowed us to see 3720 people profess Christ as Lord and Savior. The teams have been incredible, with a heart for Brazil and more importantly a heart for Jesus Christ. Pray for the MedicalTeam especially the evangelism portion of the Clinic as the `soil´ here, in Santa Elvira, is much harder than we are used to in Brazil. Hope to be able to update again soon. Ate Logo!!

Wednesday, June 18th

Seems that each day the Lord´s goodness continues. His mercy truly is new everyday! The weather was much warmer but still a nice breeze in the air. The Lord allowed us to see over 600 professions of faith today bringing the total to 2628 for the week!!!! That is hard to believe. The country of Brazil seems more open than ever to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow will be our last day in the schools, homes and churches. It will be a full day and usually ends with tears of joy for the journey and some sadness as we leave friends behind. The Medical team will arrive on Friday.

A few Pictures

Jonathan Nason, Julie Locke and Allison Beane Sharing a photo moment with Church members. That Jonathan is one tall dude!!

Brazil Children having fun after an evening Worship Service

We love our translators. This is Luciana and Douglas!! They´ve been a real blessing!

Tuesday, June 17th

It was another incredible day in Brazil. All the team members are well and having a wonderful experience in their churches and in the schools. There were 956 people who prayed the prayer to receive Christ today. That is 1962 for the week!!!! Stop right now and say, `WOW´, say `AMEN´!!! We had one of the team members go into a home and share Christ. The family were all Catholic and not receptive to the Gospel. They declined to pray to receive Christ. Last night at the evening service we looked up and the entire family was on the back row. THEN during the invitation they came forward and received Christ as Lord and Savior!! God is good. That story is repeated many, many times each day as the Holy Spirit works on the hearts of the people here in Brazil. The team is pretty tired but still heavily motivated. Please pray for their physical strength as they strive to finish well. This afternoon before returning back for the evening service the team will tour the local Coke bottling plant. This will be during their normal rest time :). Pray that even in that visit the Lord will open doors to share the Gospel.

Tuesday, June 17th

Its the middle of the day on Tuesday. Already hundreds more have come to know Christ. I will give you a full update tomorrow morning but wanted to give you an address to view some videos of the trip. Just click on the address address to the right `club brasil videos´.

Monday, June 16th

The weather was incredible. Very cool!! Praise the Lord. The teams shared in schools, in home and street visits. The stories of God´s protection, direction and grace are evident everywhere. To hear of team members leading people to Christ for the first time never gets old. Today the Lord allowed us to witness 906 people who expressed their desire to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. This brings the total thus far to 1006. We had pizza tonight at the Ducas 7 restaurant and the fellowhip was full of laughter and anticipation of tomorrow´s activities. We are praying for the medical team that will be packing their items and heading in our direction in a few days.

Julie Locke, Allison Beane and Beth Spain meeting new Friends

I´m overwhelmed with hugs from beautiful Brazilian Children.
74 Children prayed to receive Christ at this school!!!!

Sunday, June 15th

Today was a great day. The Lord has allowed us to see 100 people come to Christ thus far and we praise the Lord for these new family members. The teams preached in churches this morning and tonight and shared the gospel in homes during afternoon. Tomorrow will be the first full day of school visits, preaching in the churches again and sharing the gospel in the streets. The team is doing great and have a wonderful Christ like servant spirit. The weather is changing to a `cooler´ temperature and for that we are grateful! Tomorrow is supposed be around 65 degrees. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Saturday, June 14th

This was a great day as the team visited the sites of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Through the adventures to several waterfalls, a walk to the very `center´ of South America and shopping, the team led several people to Christ. It was agreat day that drew the team together. We started the day with `Come Now is the time to Worship´led by Phil Inman. Pastor James Williams led us in our daily devotional time. We wrapped up the night in training for the week of street witnessing, revival services, and speaking in schools. The teams will start tomorrow morning in the churches. There are seven groups that will work in seven different churches all of which are supported by PLANT Worldwide. We will update again tomorrow. All the team is well, in good health and excited that the Lord has given them this moment in time to impact this part of the world with the gospel.

Friday, June 13th

The team arrived safely in Cuiaba around lunch time. We left the airport and went to Imperial Baptist for a prayer service and to meet some new Brazilian friends. The team can´t wait to get to the church fields and share the message of Jesus Christ. The team is all doing well. The flights could not have been better. All planes in the USA andBrazil were on time, all bags arrived on time. It was a blessing from our Heavenly Father and we are grateful.

Tomorrow will be a sightseeing day. We usually do this on the last day of the mission trips but this team will be serving in churches all the way up until their departure next Friday so tomorrow was the best time for this adventure. The team is bonding beautfully. God has put together a group of 22 people who are devoted to their Father and called for this time in their lives.

We look forward to sharing with you tomorrow. Oh, something cool happened at the Memphis airport prior to departure. Richard Johnson,one of our team members, led a BRAZILIAN to Christ at Memphis International Airport. God is always on time!!! till next time...

Wednesday, June 11th, 8:30 pm

We are ready to depart. The first group leaves at 6:00 am in the morning. Please pray for our safety and "cross your fingers" for on time arrival. The Evangelism team will be traveling out of Miami on Thursday, June 12th around 9:30 pm Eastern, onto Sao Paulo, Brazil then up to the city of Cuiaba, Brazil. The Evangelism Team is scheduled to arrive in Cuiaba, Brazil around noon on Friday, June 12th. We'll try to keep you updated!!

26 Hours to Departure

The anticipation is growing for another great trip to Brazil. This will be my 18th team to lead in Brazil. All have been unique in their own ways. This years Evangelism and Medical Teams are unique as well with many new people. God has put these people together and I know He has great things in store for them. We are praying for God to prepare the soil prior to our arrival. Knowing He doesn't need us to fulfill His purpose it is most humbling to know that He wants to use us. We are praying for safe travels and the peace of the group as we travel. The first group leaves on Thursday morning, June 12, the second on Thursday afternoon and the third on June 19th in the morning.