Praise God

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Praise God to whom all blessings flow....

God is SO GOOD!!! We are down to the last couple days of our mission trip and we are blown away by the blessings given & received here in Brazil. We have been a blessing to the people here but at the same time, many of our lives have been forever changed by the blessings we received from them. It is so hard to put into words our feelings right now. Our hearts are singing for the Lord!!
Last night we attended another satellite church to share with their praise & worship time. God rocked that church!!! It was a younger crowd that attended there– the majority 20–40 year olds. It was awesome to see how they worship. NONE of them hold back, which is something that we definitely tend to do in America. Mike VanMeter described it best - ``Intense``!!!

Natasha Hollis shared her testimony of hope. She grew up in a Christian home and lived a Christian life through high school. She shared of her struggles through her college years and how God never left her side.

Misty Nieman shared her testimony about no matter how bad things get in our lives, God is always there to be our light. He will lead our way. She grew up in a dysfunctional family and dealt with low self-esteem which caused her to make bad decisions in the past. Her faith was tested many times, including being diagnosed with cancer, but she reminded us of her life Bible verse—Philippians 4:13 ``I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.``

There was an all-night praise & worship at the church last night. Only one of our team members made it until the end—way to go, Laura!!! A few others made it until the middle of the night but everyone else decided that sleep would be a better option to get prepared for today. It was a busy Christ-filled day yesterday and we were all tired!

This morning (Sunday) we attended a Chinese church in Manaus. Mimi Bottrell is on our team and she attends Westpoint. She served as a Chinese Linguist and is fluent in the Chinese language. She gave the sermon today, including her testimony. She spoke it directly to them in Chinese and then translated it to us in English. She shared with us about the Chinese culture and how strong & important family is to them. She has a twin-brother who is also in the military but at a different location. When things get tough, they lean on each other to remind one another why they are doing what they are doing.

We are preparing for 2 services here at the Missionary Alliance Church this evening. We will be singing and can´t wait to end our journey on a high note with the members of their congregation.

We will be going on an Amazon boat trip tomorrow and packing up to get ready for our midnight departure on Tuesday morning. We will probably not be able to blog again while in Brazil. Please pray for a safe trip home for our team on Tuesday. We have appreciated your faithfulness in praying for us during this journey. We take great joy in knowing that we have a strong prayer support back home. God bless you all.