The Tsukayama Corner

November/December 2011

2011-12-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

December 2011

September/October 2011

2011-11-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

September/October 2011

Oh, the Glorious Sun

2011-09-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

Oh, the Glorious Sun

James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (emphasis mine)

Have I ever mentioned that it rains a lot here? It does. I have estimated that it rains about seven days out of every ten, year around. I might be exaggerating a little bit some of the time, but at other times, there is no exaggeration whatsoever. There is no dry season. This can cause problems.

Two week ago, it rained every day. That is not unusual. However, it was frustrating because I depend on the sun to be able to do laundry, and we were going out of town for the weekend and I had really hoped to do laundry before we had to go. I was not able to.

Some folks up there have suggested that I hang the clothes inside or somewhere out of the rain. Believe me, I have tried. It is not worth it. They have hung inside for six days before, and STILL not gotten dry, but instead soured, and had to be washed all over again. It is not worth it.

So, Thursday two weeks ago, we had to travel without clean laundry. I did the best I could at packing. Just as we were about to walk out the door, two different neighbors called us and told us the area was about to flood! This area has a history of major flooding; the last time was in November of 2008, when most people lost everything. The constant rains and our proximity to the river contribute to this constant danger. So, instead of walking out the door, we began to pack. We packed everything we could from the downstairs and began to haul it upstairs: books and more books, computer, toys, shoes, coats, everything. I was not feeling well (morning sickness), so I mostly directed traffic as the kids took load after load upstairs. We put the couch up on the kitchen counter, rolled up the area rug and put it up, and prayed before leaving our home. We checked the river on the way out, and sure enough it was nearly up to the road, whereas normally it is about a block away.

So, we went to the conference as planned, and had a wonderful time. Thankfully (and surprisingly), our area did not flood! However, two of the towns close-by did, and one family that was at the conference with us were not able to go home afterwards. The whole town was underwater, and their 13 year old son was trapped with his grandfather in the second floor of their home. (They are fine now.)

Saturday night we went home to a BIG mess, but very grateful that our home was dry. We couldn't put things back in place without cleaning, so we set to it. We were also VERY thankful that the sun had come out that day! How wonderful it is when we haven't seen it for a while!! We set about cleaning the house, and while I was sad to have missed out on a great day to hang out laundry, I did put a load in so I could hang it out first thing Sunday morning. Laundry accumulates a LOT in a family of six, so I was very anxious to get a head start.

Sunday morning I woke up eager to dig into more laundry piles. I opened up the washing machine... only to find out it had NOT washed the clothes, and even though it was turned off, it was making a funny noise. Ugh. Long story short, it was broken, and it wasn't something Fabio could fix (as he had done twice before!).

So, Monday morning, Fabio took it to the shop, and they said it would be ready on Tuesday. I hoped we could hold out by then! A friend stopped by that night, and graciously offered to take some things home to wash for me, actually, she insisted, so I separated out the most necessary things and she took a load home with her.

Good thing, because it was only the following Monday evening when we got the machine back! Most of the week that the machine was in the shop, it was lovely and sunny out, and I nearly cried at not being able to do my wash. (I was also so sick with the pregnancy that week that I couldn't even consider washing the clothes by hand. I could barely get out of bed most days.)

Somehow, we made it by on the load done by my friend, but oh, how the piles accumulated! Monday when I got my machine back, I immediately threw a load in, and Tuesday morning, I woke up anxious to hang it out and do more.

Tuesday was overcast when I awoke. I was so disappointed, and wondered if I should dare hang the things out or not. I waited. The sun did break through the clouds after lunch, though, so I hung them out, did a second load, and hung it out. I thought if the clouds were clearing, then Wednesday should be nice. The laundry was not out in time to dry, so I left it overnight, just sure it would be sunny the next day.

Just after dark, imagine my dismay when I began to hear raindrops falling on our roof! It was no use to bring the clothes in, because it immediately began to pour, and they were still wet anyway! ARG! I didn't think I could stand it anymore!! Besides the stress of accumulated laundry, there was the stress of barely having anything else left to wear. But there was something much worse than that. Because of the extreme dampness, many of the things that had been sitting there for a couple of weeks were full of mildew – especially my kitchen and bathroom towels that were damp already anyway! I thought that if this started another solid week of rain, I might pack my bags and get out of this place for good! (haha.)

So, today, Wednesday. I wasn't sure what to expect. It wasn't raining when I awoke, but it was overcast. It could go either way.

I have NO WORDS to describe my sheer JOY when, still early in the morning, the clouds cleared and the sun began to shine bright and clear!!! I felt the sunshine went all the way down to my very soul!

I washed and washed and washed and hung and hung all day long and now everything is washed. I don't have enough clothesline and clothespins to hang up that much volume all at once, so all day long I was checking what was dry, switching things around, making space for more. Still, there are some things that won't dry before the sun goes down, but I have loads and loads and loads that are now washed AND dried AND folded, and you cannot imagine my relief!

The emotions of this experience were intense enough for me to want to blog about it. :)

And, no, they don't have laundromats here.

July/August Newsletter

2011-08-30T20:39:00.001-07:00

July/August 2011

Exciting New Discipleship Opportunity

2011-07-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

Exciting New Discipleship Opportunity

We just found out about a new discipleship opportunity that we believe God wants us to be involved in!

We think it really is the most effective method of discipleship, because the "disciple" actually has to live with us, so we can talk about the things of the Lord, "when we sit in our house, and when we walk by the way, and when we lie down, and when we rise"* - over a period of about twenty years! What could be more effective than that??

Our new disciple is due to arrive around April 5th, 2012. :-)

*text from Deut 6

Uma Nova Oportunidade de Discipulado MUITO Legal

Acabamos de descobrir uma nova oportunidade de discipulado, e cremos que seja a vontade de Deus que nós nos involvemos.

Achamos que realmente é o método mais efectivo de discipulado, porque o "discípulo" precisa morar em nossa casa, para que possamos falar sobre as coisas do Senhor "sentado em nossa casa e andando pelo caminho, ao deitar-se e ao levantar-se"* - durante um período de mais ou menos vinte anos! O que poderia ser mais efectivo do que isso??

O nosso novo discípulo está para chegar mais ou menos no 5 de Abril, 2012. :-)

*texto de Deut 6

May/June Newsletter

2011-06-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

May/June 2011

Opportunities Abound...

2011-05-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Our Identity in Christ

One thing that Fabio and I are constantly reminded of is that our calling as missionaries is not a "job". It is not "what we do"... it is who we are. And we believe this should be true of all those who have called Jesus their Lord! Opportunities abound; the harvest fields are white. May we all have open ears and eyes to see those who are hurting and in need all around us, to share God's love and His Word with them.

"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season..." 2 Timothy 4:2

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4;5-6

Recent Recap

Well since our last post about the coming of the team, we have had quite a few challenges. Sicknesses of various kinds, our car in the shop three different times, a week with no fridge (our BRAND new refrigerator broke!), and other busyness, including a trip to Santos. We also had the privilege of hosting Matt Barker at our home for six weeks!

Our Second Honeymoon

In the midst of all of this, our dear friends the Pals offered to bless us with an overnight trip to celebrate our 10th anniversary! We were so excited! Fabio found an amazing place not too far from here - a hidden place in the middle of the jungle, on the side of a mountain overlooking the ocean! It was breathtaking! It was the first time we had ever been away overnight together without the children (we left them at home with Matt!), and we were excited to get some rest and spend some time together.

While we did do that a little bit, the Lord had some other plans in mind for us!

The afternoon we arrived, we began talking to the lady working there - Maria. Turns out, she was a spiritist. Spiritism is very common in Brazil, and the creepy thing is they use the very same Bible we do, but to do witchcraft! However, they also greatly emphasize good works, caring for the poor and needy, speaking good and not evil, etc. The main reason is that they teach reincarnation, so their motivation in "being good" is to hopefully come back better next time around.

Fabio and I with Maria:

Well, she began to speak to us about how much she really loved God and read her Bible every day and wanted to know truth, and tried so hard to be a good person. However, she also expressed her frustration with herself, because no matter how hard she tried, she realized that she still fell short of all she knew she should be, in word, in action and in thought.

Fabio began to empathize with her on this point, saying how the Bible says that we ALL fall short, and that even our righteousness is like filthy rags in the sight of a holy God! That there is none holy, and no matter how hard we try, we just never can be perfect. Maria started to look really depressed as she listened intently.

He went on to describe a courtroom scene, where there is a just judge. This just judge has a condemned felon standing before him, and being a good and fair and just judge, he must see that justice is served. He must condemn the felon. He cannot, as a good and fair judge, let the felon go just because he may cry or beg or say how sorry he is for what he did. If the judge just let him go, he would cease to be a good judge. And so it is with God! He is just, and He, as a holy and righteous Judge, must condemn us for our sins. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, an eternal death in hell, separated from God. Now Maria began to get teary-eyed and desperate! "What can I do then??" she asked. I told her to wait for the good news!!

Fabio went on to say that, while God is just and holy as a Judge, He is also good and kind and loves us! It is not his desire that any of us should have to spend eternity separate from Him, so He provided a way, by sending His Son to take the punishment that we deserved. It was as if, in that courtroom scene, before the Judge could bang the gavel, Jesus stood up in front of Maria {Fabio got up and stood in front of Maria} and said, "I know that Maria is guilty of sin, and the wages of sin is death. But I want to take the punishment that was due her. Please lay her punishment on me instead." THAT is what Jesus did for each and every one of us at the cross!

I wish you could have been there to see her eyes as she realized exactly what this meant for her! There was a way that she could be free from her struggle with sin and self! That was the day of salvation for her, as we prayed together and she received the free gift of salvation from the Lord!

As soon as we were done praying, she asked us to try to talk to the chef, who was going through a very hard time. We tried several times that evening, but were unable to. Finally, at 10:30pm, we decided to try one last time. We walked out from our room, but everything was closed and dark. Then we noticed a solitary figure sitting by the pool. It was the chef!

We sat down and asked how he was doing. I was wondering how we were going to lead into a meaningful conversation without it getting too much later, so I was extremely surprised when he said, "Well, actually, I am going through a really hard time right now, and I really need to talk to somebody, so since I don't really know you guys, I think I will just open up with you now."

My mouth dropped open as he started pouring out his heart, how his wife of 12 years had just left him and how he was saved about six months ago, but did not know of a good church in the area and just didn't know what to do. We had a wide open door to minister to his hurting heart.

The following morning at breakfast, the waiter decided to pour his heart out to us! His girlfriend had just found out she was pregnant and he was scared to death.

We were reminded of Jesus, speaking to the woman at the well in John 4. He used every opportunity to steer the conversation to eternal things. May we be so wise!

Public School Ministry

We were so pleased with how the public school ministry was opened up while the teams were here. Our ardent desire was that it would be just the beginning -and praise the Lord! - that is just what is happening!

We have had several opportunities to go back into the schools since the teams were here. They asked us to do a presentation for Easter which Pastor Michely led, then for Mother's Day Pastor Cristian and his wife went to encourage and pray for the mothers of the students. And this past week, they went in to show a movie To Save a Life led by Pastor Rich, which proved to be very impactful for the students. We see a special grace that God has given him to deal with teenagers and we saw him flowing with all of God's favor in each class he went into. Several came up to them after the movie was over to share struggles, even one girl who had been contemplating suicide and was really touched by the message of the movie!

One other thing that is really exciting to us about this school ministry too, is that it is not depending on US to do it all! We are excited to see the entire church, and even the community of churches, getting involved and excited about the vision of reaching into the community and touching society with the power of the Gospel! We want this ministry to continue after we move on from this place, so it was essential to us to mobilize the church and not just do it all ourselves. We are highly encouraged to see this happening. We also recognize that this is NOT our vision but God's vision, that He had been stirring in the hearts of many in Camboriu, then after the work we did with the American teams at the schools we started finding out that there were many people that shared the vision of impacting society in this manner!

On the right, Pastor Rich from MANG, and on the left, two other youth pastors from the area:

Now the City Council has asked the church to put together material to be used in the schools in a more formal way, with the vision and its details. So Fabio has been spending a lot of time preparing a year's worth of material, explaining the vision, to be approved by the Council. If this goes through, we would have the opportunity to go into every public school in the city once a month to teach Biblical principles and values to the students! So, Fabio is working on the material now. Please pray about this with us!

Santos

We were able to spend a week in Santos the beginning of May, and it was a good time as usual. Matt was able to see (after a squished eight hour ride there!) another part of Brazil and another aspect of Brazilian culture - a Japanese family in Brazil!! We are SO excited to see the Lord continuing to work in Fabio's family, and even more excited to get to be a part of that! We also see the importance, for as long as we are in Brazil, to prioritize family and not have any regrets about that when we move on.

Matt and Johann sleeping on the squished ride there: Fabio praying for his cousin Douglass on his birthday:

The other reason we wanted to make the trip at this time was to film the Undokai (a kind of Japanese field day) and talk to the coordinators, with the hopes of doing something similar in the future here in Camboriú.

Couple pics from the Undokai - Dominique is second from the right:

This (below) was not one of the events, but it was the highlight of the day for Israel, Johann and cousin Leonardo - jumping in the mud!! It is not every day Mommy lets them do this, and best yet, Mommy got in on the fun too!
The Lord continued to open doors. EVERY time I go to Santos, I "just happen" to run into this lady who is a Jehovah's Witness. I just know Jesus is after her! It was a privilege to (unexpectedly) spend time with her again this time. Fabio also was invited to preach at one church, and the same church invited us to come back in July and do a seminar on parenting. We are excited about that and preparing the material now.

Matt
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, we had the privilege of hosting Matt Barker here for about six weeks. It was a very good time and I think his worldview was expanded considerably. :) He got along great with all the children on the street - they were a sort of fan club of his! We celebrated his 16th birthday and it was a good chance for us to get to know some of the young people from church better. And he was a great help with our children - they just loved him!
We miss you, Matt!

Translating for Pamela White

Fabio had been asked a couple months back to translate for a guest from America during the entire second week of May. Well, since he got sick, the job fell to me. It was physically tiring, but spiritually refreshing as her main focus is prayer ministry, worship and prophetic intercession.

Midwifery Missions
So, after all of that two-month long whirlwind, I was really looking forward to staying home this past week to regroup and reorganize and spend time with my family. However, I got a phone call on Tuesday morning. You see, a couple of months ago I had spoken with a young couple in our church that was expecting a baby. The girl was scared, and I offered to accompany them to the hospital to offer some moral support during the birth. They seemed interested and took my number, but as I had not seen them since then, I really didn't think they would call. But.... they did! So, I went over to the house and helped out as I could, made her some tea and gave some suggestions to keep her comfortable, etc. Well... long story short, the labor progressed rather quickly and the baby was born into my hands about an hour later! It was incredible!!

We got mama and baby taken care of and settled in, got mom some food and made sure baby was nursing well and then the daddy went to the hospital to see what they should do, and if they would have any trouble getting a birth certificate. Surprisingly, the hospital was extremely nonchalant about it and said they didn't have to come in if they didn't want to! So, they didn't. I went back to check on them later that day, and every day since to make sure all was going well, and it is! Here we are about two hours after the birth:
Baby Raika weighed in at just under 7 pounds the next day when they went to the hospital to get a birth certificate. Here is a picture I took of her yesterday, at four days old: So, you never know what you might be called on to do as a missionary!!

Summary
There are times that we STILL wonder what we are doing here! Haha! It is not every day that it seems like "things" are happening. But then, we look back, and we can see it. Even if only for one soul, it is worth it. Even if only for those three I mentioned on our "second honeymoon", it is worth every thing we have had to go through just to be here. I have often been reminded of this wonderful old hymn:

It will be worth it all
When we see Jesus
Life's trials will seem so small
When we see Him
One glimpse of His dear face
All sorrows will erase
So gladly run the race
Til we see Christ

The Mission Trip Video

2011-04-26T13:59:00.001-07:00

The Missions visit - Surprised by God

2011-04-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

The Missions Visit - Surprised by God

Right after the teams left we got very sick, but praise the Lord we are all well now.
Indeed we saw the hand of the Lord in all that happened during the two weeks the teams were here. Your partnership and prayer was definitely vital for the success of the trip!

In the last post we talked about the doors God was opening and the confirmations that were needed...

Well, as the team arrived everything started falling into place, although there were still many things "trying to fall apart" by way of cancellations and changes of schedule. But God showed us He was in it by making it all work out and putting down the obstacles that were appearing so that we would be able to do the work -- and with results that were above and beyond our expectations!

If we were to write down details of everything that happened this would be a very long post, but we do want to give an idea of what happened during that time.

When the first team arrived after a very long travel time, we still had to face a 6-hour journey to get to the church (where they were lodging). The travel time from the airport to the church usually takes about 2.5 hours, but because of the constant rain we had before they came, a lot of dirt and trees had slidden down from the mountain into the express way.

We prayed and prayed for the weather to be good as we had rain every single day before the teams came. That was a major concern. Praise the Lord! For the two weeks they were here we only had rain a few times - and then only at night! Thank you Lord!

Courtney and Alyssa chillin' on the beach...

In between breakfast, quiet time, lunch, dinner and fellowship, the days sort of looked like this (but not necessarily in this order):

- Saturday(the day they arrived): Meal and getting to know church people. Organizing and settling in. Youth group meeting at church where the team did some skits and gave testimonies. Late night. Long day!

- Sunday morning: Meeting and introduction to Camboriu/ orientation meeting. Prayer walk. Drama and puppets practice. Church clean up. Service (7:00 pm) with testimonies from the team, drama, message, and prayer for people.

Then during the week the first team got busy with all types of things like: visiting an orphanage, a drug rehab center, the PETI school (after school program for underprivileged, neglected, and abused children), Kids' Club on our street, ladies outreach meeting, construction work on the church building - fixing the sanctuary floor that was sagging and damaged by termites and replacing all the carpet, as well as some painting work, prayer and worship night at the beach -- a few bold ones took a swim in the cold water!, handing out fliers for a Sunday event on a busy intersection, Anita Public School outreach day, free day -- riding cable cars (at Parque Unipraias) up a mountain and going down to the beach on the other side, some shopping, and of course, dinner at a real Brazilian steak house: A Gaúcha.

Steak House Shots:

Getting places was always an adventure! We always had the back hatch of our car full of people as well! Here is Jasmine with our kiddos:

Worship Night on the Beach - Ken and Connie get their feet wet:

The second week with Trip B. We took Trip A to the airport and picked up the second team which had to also face a real long journey to church. Sunday a group of guys (David, Mark, Blake, Matt) went to do some drills with the newly started American football team where they played, gave out some gifts and shared an impactful testimony, Kids Club again, ladies outreach meeting, Clotilde Public School and a basketball game with Camboriu's local basketball team, PETI school meeting for the mothers of students there, two orphanages, a nursing home, Ivone Public School, ministering at Betesda drug rehab (again).

This was taken at the Tuesday night Bible study that I have been having weekly for some ladies in our neighborhood. Both weeks, I took a small group of ladies from the team to share God's love and God's Word, and both weeks we had a powerful time of sharing and prayer.

RECAP AND RESULTS:

Energy to jump over every obstacle! Alyssa (above) and David (below)
having a little fun at the church.

Church people, especially those who were more involved with the activities were amazed at the team's motivation to come, the sacrifice they paid to be here (which was used by the pastor to exhort and encourage the church to be more purposeful in serving the Lord), their hard working posture and beautiful attitude toward everything, although it was a full and tiring week.

Construction.
A guy from church came in awe and confusion to say, "You have to see what they are doing upstairs! They all have a little tiny putty knife in the hands and are scraping the glue off the floor! That's a lot of work!!! What is this? They came here from so far away and spent their own money to scrape our floor? Dude! Who is paying for this carpet? They are?!? Why would they do all this?" By this time he had his hands on his head trying to understand what was going on and what "these people" were about. Then finally he said, "This is like a slap on my face to wake up! I can't believe this people!"
Then at the end of the week others commented, "Really, my hat is off for that "old guy"... He really worked...I mean, the other guys helped and some of us too, but man, that guy really worked hard..."
People were impressed at the quality of the work performed by Ken, Eric, Clint and the whole crew that helped in a way or another by ripping the carpet, scraping the glue off and pulling out staples, fixing the floors, installing new carpet, painting the walls.... Your hard work, your joy in serving and good attitude about serving really spoke louder than any words could ever do! And the church building looks SO much nicer as well. What a blessing!

Food.
Most of the meals were deliciously abundant throughout out the week, although there were times when we had to quick grab a bite and run. Well, one evening some of us came back to church after dinner was over, sat at the table in the kitchen and ate whatever was left, which was french bread which they stuffed with cold rice and beans. So some of the church guys said, "Man, they are eating bread with cold rice and beans! We can't let them do that! We gotta do something about it!" So we went to the bread shop and they bought all kinds of breads, various cookies, donuts, sweet breads with coconut toppings, etc. to bless the group of "bold" guys who were eating whatever was available to them.

Good to the last bite! Mark was cleaning out the serving dishes
with help from his mother-in-law, Tina Pals.

Anita Public School
At the first school we went to, we ministered to a total of 1300 + kids from ages 6 to 15. We spent all day there presenting the gospel in a very clear way through drama, puppet shows and testimonies. The topic at target, as requested by the principal, was bullying and respecting each another, teachers and parents. So that was our focus, presented from a biblical perspective and in light of what Jesus has done for us and how He has made us fearfully and wonderfully. Pastor Carol (Pr. Facundo's wife) also came to participate in the presentation as a clown as well. We did our presentations in a room with capacity for about 250 people, which is why we had to be there all day in order to do the presentation for all of the students. There were kids that were playing around in the beginning of the presentations, but many left the place in tears as they were touched by what the teams had ministered. The local newspaper and a politician (from the City Council) showed up to see what was going on, then she (the politician) set up for David Hamstra (Cross Point Church) to be on the local radio to talk about the work they came to do.

At the school

That night they asked us to speak to the mothers of the students as well. So, Megan Beard (left in the photo below) and I spoke - I on basic family matters of love and discipline, all from a clearly biblical perspective and Megan on nutrition and the importance of parental involvement. Courtney and Roshini went as body guards. :)

Local Radio
Menina FM is known as the number one radio in the region. They also broadcast the program on their online TV. There Pastor David Hamstra (Cross Point Church - Crown Point, IN), Jane (the politician) and Fabio were able to talk about the needs in the community and the work we do as a church with the partnership of the churches from Chicago area. After this, we went out to some other schools and orphanages to see if they would be interested in us coming in the case that we had an opening in our schedule, and they were like, "Sure! We know you all. We heard about you on the radio!"

At Betesda Drug Rehab Center
Ken and Clint shared their testimonies, showing the power of Jesus Christ in their lives. Then David preached on Jesus being the author and perfector of our faith. He is the One writing our story and our story is not over yet. All were very touched by it, some shouted, others cried, while some would just raise their hands in thanks to God. They all know this is a difficult time in their lives as they are trying to get rid of drugs and alcohol but they were assured that God wasn't done with them yet and there was still hope for each one of them, as He who started the work in their lives will bring it to completion! Then the group (David and Beth, Mark, Ken, Matt, Clint, Bruno, Fabio) went to each one of them to pray and it was evident that God used them all to minister in that place.

At PETI school
Many of you blog readers may remember the PETI school where Elizabeth taught English classes weekly for most of last year. Well, we had another opportunity to reach out there, not just with English, but with the love of Jesus and the message of the Gospel. Because the PETI school is smaller than the other large public schools we went to, we were able to give it all a more personal feel, have lunch together, and spend some time just playing after the presentation. The team brought a parachute to play with, as well as Follow-the-Leader and other games.

Something else that was really neat, is that the principal of this school was recently saved! She is so on fire now, and really wants to reach the families of the PETI students. She invited us to come back during Week 2 to speak to the mothers of the students. Ellen Barker and Tina Pals shared from their hearts about building relationships with your children, what a blessing family can be and God's heart for family life. Many of the moms were very touched, and five afterward came to the front to leave their names and contact information, asking for a visit in their homes in the future because they want to hear more! Praise the Lord!

At the Football Outreach
David, Mark, Blake, Matt were able to teach some techniques and things at the American football practice with the newly formed team Lobos do Mar (Sea Wolves). After the practice, they gave out gifts of some footballs, gear, and shirts/shorts with the team's logo they had had made in the States and brought along. Mark shared his testimony and it really caught their attention. They were really impacted by their generosity and the message they brought. Then we invited them all to come to MANG church for a movie night to watch Facing the Giants. You can see a pic and read their post on their blog: http://bclobosdomar.blogspot.com/2011/04/evento-sexta-e-treino-domingo.html (you might need to use Google translator).

At the OrphanagesPuppet Shows really caught the children's attention, which made it easier to talk to them about the point of the shows afterward (the point being JESUS!).

We just spent some time loving on these needy children too. They are so hungry for attention and affection that they just jumped in the arms of anyone who would hold them and eat up all the lovin'. Jessica brought these bubbles, and they were a big hit!

We were able to visit two different orphanages, and one of them we went to twice, with Team A and Team B. They both really enjoyed our visit and the leaders begged us to come back. It was impressive to see how much they were touched by the presentations! The Gospel was clear, and God's love for them, which is unchanging and unconditional. What a privilege to get to be His hands and feet in demonstrating that love in a tangible way!Drama at the Orphanage

At the Nursing Home
I get tears in my eyes just thinking about how precious our time at the nursing home was - far beyond my expectations! The Lord accompanied us there with the sweet manifestation of His Presence, and many people were deeply touched. They presented the puppet shows, and then we had some time to pray for them individually. During this prayer time, the Lord moved Ellen Barker to share with them from the parable of the generous master of a vineyard in Matthew 20. Moved with much compassion, Ellen shared with them that it is never too late - that no matter if they come to the Lord on the last day of their lives, or if they have served Him since childhood, that He loves us the same and offers the same salvation for all. It was a moving time.

Kids' Club
Once each week, we took a group of the team members out to our road to do a Kids' Club there.
The only open slot we had in our schedule was in the afternoon, both times. This was both good and bad. You see, the way school is set up here, the kids go either in the morning or in the afternoon. Most of "our" kids from Kids' Club go in the afternoon, so they weren't around for this special Kids' Club. The good part of this equation, however, is that we went a few streets further to invite kids to come, and thus extended our outreach that way, where we otherwise might not have.
We were able to give the kids these stuffed animals and the painted bags that were sent here for them from America! They were just tickled pink! THANK YOU all who participated in sending these special gifts for them!! Also a very special THANK YOU to Vicki Hillis who was the one who coordinated the bag-painting "Brazil party". We so appreciate your thoughtfulness!

As we were finishing up kids' club, "our" kids who usually come were coming back from school and we chatted a bit. One noticed the soccer ball on Courtney's shirt and wondered what the words said? "Coach". When he found out she was a SOCCER COACH!!!, he challenged her to a game in the sandpit nearby that they use as a soccer field. We were able to get in a little ball before we had to head out. :-)

At Clotilde Public School
We met at the gym for a basketball game with the local Camboriu basketball team. Lots of excited children, loud music, hip hop dance during break time and a lot of noise! We spent one whole afternoon there, and then the morning of the next day as well, in order to minister to all 1200 + kids. Again (after the basketball game), the children were presented with the talks about bullying, respect and most importantly JESUS, through drama. There were games and testimonies with a clear presentation of the gospel. The local TV broadcast came and interviewed David and Pastor Cristian (from MANG), and that footage was aired on TV next day. Before we left Fabio talked to the principal who was very touched by the testimonies of lives changed by Jesus.

At Ivone Public School
Going to Ivone Public School was fun, because it is right here in our neighborhood, so all the children we have been reaching out to for all these months through kids' club go to this school. We knew a lot of the kids there! We split the team into two groups in order to minister to all the kids - one group downstairs did drama for the older grades, and one group upstairs did puppets for the younger grades. It still took us a good, full day to be able to reach all of the students.
Chuck Olthoff in particular was touched at this school by the openness of the students, and their willingness to believe - faith like a child.

Movie Outreach Night
The grand finale of the second week was on Friday night - an outreach at the church using the movie Facing the Giants. Our church building used to be a theatre, so it has the perfect set-up! We gave out bags of popcorn to complete the effect. :) The movie itself gives a clear gospel message, but was also followed up by a mini-message by Pastor Facundo. Then, we had a HUGE give-away of footballs, jerseys, hats and other misc. stuff. It was a lot of fun! And, the ENTIRE football team turned out for the event! One of them is already coming now to MANG church faithfully the last few weeks, and says that MANG is his church now.

A guy winning a football!

The entire football team at the front of the church after the movie was over:

A few misc. pics, just for fun:

Our kids got so loved on during the trip!
Thank you all for making it a special time for them, too!
Mark with sleeping Johann:

I was impressed with how much fun Calvin thinks it is to have water dumped in his face during bath time! My kids hate it! What a cutie!Crammed in our car! You can see behind us in the back seat, a few in the back hatch. :) Beth and I were both impressed with how much we look alike in this picture! A lot of people asked if we were sisters. :)

The men crammed in the back hatch:

And in the front seat was Ken, with a large rug on his lap! We had a total of ELEVEN passengers, plus a carpet roll, in our five passenger car. :)

Clint making me dizzy by spinning our kids! They loved it, though!

Alyssa made a fantastic clown!A Brazilian guy from our church that does NOT speak English. Here is a very good reason why you should not wear clothing with words in another language that you don't know what they mean! He had no idea what his shirt said!

MORE FOOD!

Courtney and Israel:

Bridget, Ellen and Israel:

Chuck on our hike:

This was our afternoon hike in the jungle to a beautiful waterfall!

Hiking in the jungle:

One of the puppets:

THANK YOU, all of you who came, who gave so much and worked so hard and encouraged our hearts and blessed the town of Camboriú so abundantly! Eternity alone will tell the impact of your sacrifice!

THANK YOU, every one of you who prayed, who gave to those who were coming to make it possible for them to come, who gave toward the construction projects at the church, and who sent love gifts for us. We cannot adequately express our appreciation for your love and care. None of this would have been possible without you! And the victories we saw during this time were victories won in the heavenlies through the prayers of God's people! Thank you for being our Aarons and Hurs!

We feel that this is only the beginning of the impact that can be had on this society and community! Already we are seeing the continuation ... yesterday Ivone Public School invited us to come back to do a presentation for Easter. Today we were able to go into a new school to invite the students to come for a special play at our church on Sunday. Fabio has been working on a plan of action for a year's worth of material in the schools to teach biblical principles, and we already have a foot in the door! We have a great sense of excitement and anticipation as we look toward the future. Thank you for helping us open doors during this time!

Exciting Plans for the Coming Mission Team!!!

2011-03-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hi family!

Exciting things are to come!

We definitely see God’s hand and favor going before us! When we first came to Camboriu we had a vision of impacting society although we didn’t know how that was going to come to pass. Well, things started to happen quick and here we are.

We are seeing such a mighty move of God opening important doors for us. After much prayer, we’ve gone to talk to local schools principals, Chief of Sports of the city, etc. and have found a lot of favor from God with them. Everytime we went and sat down at someone’s office, there was no need to try to convince them of the work we’d like to do, but rather they offered the schools for us to use as we wish, even on the weekends! One principal that I went to talk to even offered her home for lodging people!

As for now, we are almost finished with all the confirmations we need to get so we can go with the teams from America to impact three public schools, do a basketball game with the local team which is number six in the State (hoping to gather some audience), American football games and workshops, work at a drug rehab center, and various other things.

A lot of these things have to go through approval from a bunch of different people but so far everything is looking real good. By the beginning of this week we’ll have all the final confirmations.

And we believe this is not our vision, but God’s vision that was being imparted to each one of us, including each one of you as He placed in your hearts the burden to support this ministry in various ways -- even coming down here to be part of it all in pioneering what may become a huge landmark of the effectiveness of churches in transforming society.

Please pray for His continuous favor as the teams come and that He would bless each step of the way as we all work together to make Him known. Also that the churches would be able to catch the vision to work together to continue to impact society, invading the schools with the message of hope, before those doors shut (as we all have seen happen in the US).

Thank you for all your love, support and encouragement toward our family. We love you all!

January/February Newsletter

2011-03-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

February 2011

All My Systems Out of Whack

2011-02-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

All My Systems Out of Whack

I realized a couple of months ago why our first year in Brazil was so taxing in so many ways when I re-read a couple of articles I had written a year or so before we left America about organizing your life. (You can read them here and here.) In my articles, I was advocating having a system for everything, so that it doesn't take so much time or mental energy to get stuff done. When you have a system for your daily duties, it becomes automatic and far less stressful. You become more productive, using less time, and have more brain energy left over for doing other things you enjoy, like spending time with your husband and children. My motto was “A system for everything, and everything in its system” - for cooking, doing laudry, cleaning, putting things away, homeschooling, shopping, etc.

Well, all of my systems got whacked out by moving here! That is somewhat true for every move, even within the same town, but was especially true for us.

Shopping system? I had no idea where to get stuff, or what it would look like when I found it, much less what it would cost! And without a car for most of that first year, it became hard to find out where the best place to buy groceries and things was, and even harder to get there.

Laundry system? Now that I had no dryer, that system no longer worked either! (Not to mention no laundry baskets, and a more limited quantity of clothes – and for the first almost four months, I had no washing machine either.) Not having a dryer didn't just mean it took more time to hang up clothes, but also meant having to plan laundry around the weather, having to be attentive when it started sprinkling, not doing laundry when we were leaving the house most of the time (because of the possibility of rain), and making sure the clothes were washed bright and early, because it rains almost every afternoon.

Cooking system? While I had always prided myself in cooking from scratch, coming here made me realize how much I still “cheated”! Now, if we wanted mexican food, I had to make the tortillas from scratch? Salsa with those tortillas? Make that yourself too! Want applesauce? Hope you can find apples on sale! You like BBQ sauce? Hope you have a good recipe! Grated cheese necessary for pizza or casseroles? Grate it yourself! Forget about frozen pie crusts or canned pumpkin or peanut butter too! Frozen vegetables are also not readily available, and rather expensive, so fresh is the name of the game. I'm sure this is really a very good thing, but it does require more time of chopping and peeling, and also requires far more frequent shopping. I also depended heavily on freezer cooking to simplify my cooking system, but until last month we didn't have a reliable freezer, so that was out. And even now, it is relatively small, unlike my huge deep freeze I used to have. And all of my gadgets – my Bosch bread maker, my crock pot, my rice cooker, my baking stones, my misc. Casserole dishes and bread pans and muffin pans I had collected over the years at garage sales, etc. Many of our family's favorite recipes contained ingredients that are not easy to find, so MANY adjustments have had to be made.

As for having a PLACE for everything, that was hard when we began with barely any furniture. In America when you move, you at least have the built-in advantage of moving into a house with kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, and bedroom closets. Brazilian houses come with none of the above.

Homeschooling? We depended heavily on our local library, as well as our own home library for many resources. In lieu of that, I am SO thankful for the internet that we can use for many things instead. And besides books, we had more "other" educational resources available in our home and everywhere we turned. Not to mention support of fellow homeschoolers!

Beyond homeschooling, I had other systems for dealing with the children that needed to undergo major adjustments. Johann was 15 months when we first came, and part of my systems for him included the use of a pack-n-play, and a high chair. Those items sure are handy for toddler restraint! And I hadn't even realized that I actually had some "escape mechanisms" -- which I didn't use frequently, but were there if I needed them -- like putting a good-quality video on for the kids, or letting them play in the basement or outside for a while. Now, we got to be *together* all the time!

And perhaps the greatest change of all has been the lifestyle change of Fabio being in fulltime ministry, rather than working all day long every day. This has been a VERY welcome change, but nonetheless, a big change – not only for him, but for all of us! The fantastic thing is that we can all be more involved in what he is doing, and he can be more involved with the children and all of us can be together so much more on a day-to-day basis. The dual name of my game has had to become “available” and “flexible”.

Why am I writing all of this? Well, one thing is that I am now realizing, in hinds sight, that I think I have adjusted! I realized that life is just not quite so taxing anymore, and that I have been able, for the most part, to develop new systems. Gradually. And, I also realized how GOOD it has been for me to have my nice little comfort zone shaken up a bit. I mean, a bunch! I have learned new skills, and most importantly, these are the things in life that challenge our character and make us grow. I am so thankful for the opportunity for growth. As I reflected on this topic, I realized that these areas in my life have been the most challenged: diligence, ingenuity, creativity, being able to roll with the punches, not being quick to anger when things go wrong -- that is, patience, and thankfulness, to name a few. And beyond any personal growth, it has been SO good for our family. Through it all, we have grown closer together than ever before. It is a beautiful thing, that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world!

May we never be afraid of change, when it is God-orchestrated!

Smattering of January in Pictures

2011-02-14T17:33:00.000-08:00

I haven't been taking my camera out and about with us much, so this post is mostly just from around the house. :)

I am ever trying to get the kids in contact with nature, to learn about God's great big world and observe all we can, as up close as possible. :) Joshua was able to catch a pretty big bullfrog the other day. We had never seen one before, around here, but we hear them loud and clear all night long. I like it! :)A car ride. :)

Morning Bible time with Daddy after breakfast:
There was a little baby wren hopping around our backyard last week! I have no idea how it got in, because we have nine foot high brick walls all around the backyard, and no trees or other places for a bird nest, so I like to think it was a special gift from God! Since this little birdie couldn't fly, we were able to usher it into the house and then Joshua tried to tame the sweet little thing. We eventually let it go, though. We didn't have a cage to put it in!
Another little nature observation - I have yet to do some real research on this, but I think this is the egg case of a termite. We have been finding them ALL over our house! They are about as big as my pinky fingernail, and the little wormie comes poking out the top - can you see him in the picture? Funny thing is, he pokes in and out, in and out, for a good while and I guess finally decides to come out all the way. Yuck.
Fabio celebrated another year in January too! He wanted ice cream instead of cake, and Johann was more than happy to help him with the candles. :) He is now a ripe 32 years old....
We took the ice cream and candles to some friends' house and celebrated with them:
And these last two pics are back from Santos, at the beginning of January. They were just too cute to not include. In this first one, Johann had just learned how to give a "thumbs up". He had to try so hard to do it, that it almost looks painful! The other boys in the pictures are our kid's second cousins, Denis and Mateus:
Leo and Israel, cousins just five months apart. Aren't they cute? :-)

The Refridgerator Saga

2011-02-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

When we first moved into our own home last July, there were many things we needed - basic household goods, appliances and furniture. Things like a refridgerator. We couldn't possibly go out and buy it all at once. The church loaned us this refridgerator, a spare used only for events, until further notice: While it was a classy model, it lacked a freezer and also sounded like an old Ford truck driving through the kitchen when it was running, which was most of the time. And in spite of the fact that it had no freezer, it did fill up with ice rather quickly. I didn't know what to do about this "problem", but I learned! It wasn't ours to keep anyway, and we were thankful to have it anyway, until something else turned up.

A few weeks later, something else turned up! We were thrilled! But we put it outside the back door to test it before returning the church's. The freezer worked great, but the refridgerator part didn't. :( But since the kitchen's model did not have a freezer, we left them both plugged in so we could have both a freezer AND a fridge.
Then, Fabio called a repair man to see if it could be fixed. He refilled it with gas, and BAM! It got nice and COLD! We were thrilled again! Fabio then unplugged it and began to refinish it. It took him nearly two weeks of sanding and painting, but it turned out FABULOUSLY! We put it in the kitchen, put the church's refridgerator in the carport, and Fabio began refinishing it too before returning it to the church.
The following week, we noticed that the fridge was not really COLD anymore. Things started to spoil... :( Fabio called the repair man again, who told us the first one had put the wrong kind of gas in. We paid again for him to put the "right" kind in, and it started working again! For almost two whole weeks!!! Then... it stopped being cold again. Still, the freezer worked, just not the fridge. It also filled up rapidly with ice, but now I knew how to defrost them! A new skill learned!! :-) So, we plugged the church's fridge back in, in the carport, which we hadn't returned yet, and began using them both again. It wasn't the handiest to run back and forth from the carport for everything, but that was what we did.

Then we went to Santos for the holidays. When we got home, the kitchen model had gone kaplooey for good. No fridge, no freezer. Nothing. Dead as a doornail. We dragged it out to the carport, and brought the still unreturned church's model into the kitchen again. At least it was nicely refinished now!

However, we quickly discovered that now in the peak of summer, the little fridge was not able to combat the high outdoor temperatures. That is, it could not stay cold enough. :( So... food started to go bad again. This put a serious cramp in my style, as I had to run out to the store every day to buy just what I could cook and we could eat THAT day, to avoid spoilage. I LOVE buying and cooking in bulk, and freezing extras for another day, so this meant spending a lot more time in the kitchen.

Then.... oh, blessed day! The Lord provided for us to get a NEW refridgerator!!! It took nearly two weeks to arrive, during which we threw away too much spoiled food, and longed for ICE CUBES for our water.... but no more! And this one is FROST FREE!!!!!!!! Yippee!!!!!!!!

Not only does it boast of a *freezer*, but even had a water dispenser, which model Dominique is demonstrating below! It only holds 3 liters, so we are refilling it constantly, but it is nice that the kids can get water for themselves and don't have to be opening the door a million times a day. :)

PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!

Living Life on Purpose

2011-02-10T10:07:00.001-08:00

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about living life on purpose. It has been 14 months since Fabio and I left the States, and nearly a year since we first arrived in Camboriú, here in southern Brazil.

We know we won't be here for long. This is a season in our lives. For another year? Or two? Or five? We aren't sure. However, it is SO good that the Lord has told us that it is not a permanent arrangement.

Why? Because we want to leave, when that day comes, with no regrets. If our time here is short, we want to make it worthwhile to have been here. We want to fulfill all of the purposes for which the Lord brought us here. We want to touch as many people as we can with God's love and the message of Jesus!

Since this is the case, we have this always in the forefront of our minds. Every trip to the bread shop is an opportunity to meet someone. When we go to the grocery store, we try to be purposeful. If we had a nice conversation with a cashier once, we go back to her aisle on purpose, even if the line is longer, to follow up. We want to make sure ALL of our neighbors have heard, know we are here, and where they can go if they need to talk, need prayer, or want to find out more about our Jesus. When we "just happen" to run into someone we talked to once before, we make sure to make the most of that opportunity. We try to turn every conversation to eternal matters. We are here with a purpose!

However, are we not ALL in that same category? Maybe you still live in the same town you were born in, and maybe you will die there in that same place. But even still, we all have very little time on this earth, and we ALL have a purpose to fulfill in this short time that the Lord has granted us here. So, wherever we happen to find ourselves, let's live our lives on purpose... for the glory of God and the expansion of His Kingdom!!

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.... Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:1,15-16

A Day in the Life

2011-01-31T16:02:00.000-08:00

I thought I would write up a quick post about TODAY. Our main work here is simply "people work". It is not always regular. It is not always miraculous. It is not always something exciting we can take pictures of to post about with a fantastic testimony attached. But I thought it might be helpful for you to catch a glimpse of "just a normal day" for the Tsukayama Family...

Well... I guess I will actually start with the tail end of last night. We went to church. Sunday church here is at night rather than in the morning. The services are ... not as concise as typical American church, and end around 11pm. About a month ago, Fabio commissioned our children for a new ministry: welcoming new people that visit the church, or those that have come back after a long absence. To do this, the children draw pictures, write "Jesus Loves You" on them, and pay attention to who is new. Then, when church is over, they go to give them out and say "Welcome". This has been SO good on so many levels! So many people have told us how they were touched by this small act of kindness, and it has also opened up more conversations for us. And it has been SO good for our children! Instead of thinking about going to church to have fun or see friends or whatever else, they go with a mission in mind! They are not thinking of themselves through the whole service, but being attentive to the new people around them and thinking of how to bless them!

Last night before church, we also put together small baggies of candies to give out, along with their pictures. The children put these baggies together, carried them to church themselves, and held them through the three hour service, excited about giving them out afterward! And they did give them out, joyfully! They never complained about not getting any for themselves, nor did they even ask if they could have some! We are so thankful to see their character developing as they grow.

So, we got home from church about 11:45 and still had not had supper. I lit the stove with a match, and warmed up some leftovers while everyone got ready for bed. By just after midnight, they were in bed.

My day started this morning at 6:30. I do some stretching and a quick shower, and then try to get in some time with the Lord in the quiet of the morning before the children awake. I am reading in Acts currently and how inspiring! I also began this morning to read So Send I You by Oswald Chambers. Then I threw in the first load of laundry, and put the beans on the stove to cook which I had been soaking overnight. I put the brown rice on to soak to cook up later, and pulled the meat out of the freezer to thaw.

Between 7:30-8:00, the children began trickling downstairs, and a bit after 8:00, we had breakfast of eggs, hallah bread left over from our Shabbat dinner, and watermelon. Then Fabio began our family devotions. He has been working on having the family memorize the Sermon on the Mount, and he also read a Proverb today. We discussed some of the things we read, and prayed. Fabio has also been using this time to teach the children about intercessory prayer. He just simply asks them to ask the Lord who we should pray for, and they immediately think of people! Sometimes people from the States, sometimes people here we are ministering to, etc.

Then, I finish cleaning up the kitchen while the kids did morning chores, and a little after 9am, we were ready to begin school. Actually I think it was nearly 9:30 (9am is the goal!). We rushed a little today because Fabio wanted to leave around 11am to visit some people. Joshua didn't quite finish, so we left some for later, and off we went.

First we drove into the country outside Camboriú. AH! Breathing the fresh air and seeing the mountainous countryside just lights a fire in me! We visited first with one lady for the first time, and then were on our way to visit another couple we had met a few weeks ago. On the way, however, we "ran into" another couple who "just happened" to have taken a drive out there and ended up on the same corner as us. We had a really great conversation with them - a definite divine appointment. The wife was a backslidden Christian. She was also heartbroken for her three nephews who were lost in the world of drugs - Crack. Two were in jail, and the third was wanted by the police. The two in jail were among the "lucky" ones, as many police here prefer to kill than to arrest. We prayed with them right there, and they asked us if they could come visit our church? Of course!

Then we walked down to the other house. We had another fantastic talk there. They had a young man die in their barn just a couple weeks ago of a drug overdose, just 15 days after being released from a rehab center! What a tragedy! This however, opened the door for us to be able to share on a deeper lever. When we left, the lady said, "There are so many people who come around and just complain about life, or talk bad about people. It is so refreshing to talk to people who have something good to say! I am so glad you came, and I feel so much peace now!" Turns out, she is a backslidden believer as well, and says she can't believe how far she has fallen... While we talked, the children walked around the farm, petting the horses, the cats, the dogs, observing the new foal, and even collecting eggs from the chickens and quails. They had a blast!

Then we drove back to town. It was nearly 2pm and we hadn't had lunch. Joshua offered to buy, so we stopped and got hotdog buns and bologna and had a little "picnic" in the car. (He is practicing for being the provider for his own family one day!) We "ran into" two girls from our church, one of whom has not come to church in a long time, and at least had the chance to show them some Jesus love with a hug and a smile.

We drove a bit more, stopped again at the "Association of the Santa Regina Dwellers", but they were still not in the office. (More about that later.)

Then we went home. It was about 3pm and I was exhausted, as well as the younger two. We laid down for our naps immediately! I got up about 4pm.

At about 4:30, Fabio left for the church to teach someone else how to use the website he built for the church. He was planning afterward to go to a drug rehab center he has been helping at.

By 5pm the little guys were awake, and we took the stroller and walked to the Group Home for Adolescents, where Andressa lives. I think it is about a mile. As we walked, I told the children about Gladys Aylward who hiked over mountains with 100 children, with no food and no time to rest, as she ushered them to safety.

We spent about two hours at the home, talking to the teens, spending some time with the lady in charge, called the "Coordinator", and discussing how we can best help out there. We also discussed many other issues, including the training of the character of children. Our children open up so many doors for us here! There are times that Fabio goes out to minister on his own, but we feel a special grace on us when we go out as a family. The children really are SUCH a blessing!

On the way home, we "ran into" one of our distant neighbors that we have been ministering to for several months. You may remember from back around September. This young man nearly died last year of cancer, after abusing his body for years with drugs and alcohol. He had more than 70% of his colon removed, and the doctors were sure he would not make it. Well, today when I met him on the road with his cousin, he was grinning from ear to ear! They had just come back from the hospital, and the doctor said that he was FINE! He said, "I'm healed! It's a miracle! The doc even said I could drink again if I wanted to!" He said he couldn't wait until we visited again, and he was now considering what to do with the rest of his life. He left skipping, literally!

When we got home it was nearly 8pm and getting dark. All the neighbor children were in the street, so we talked to them for a few minutes, and then came in to make dinner. One of the neighbor boys came to see if he could borrow our bike. Then I set to work on rice, beans, meat, and salad (Dominique picked the lettuce from our garden a few minutes before dinner.) Joshua worked on his leftover schoolwork while I cooked. To our surprise (and delight!), Fabio came home just as we were ready to eat. He had been at the church all that time, talking with and praying with people, and it had gotten too late to go to the rehab center today.

We did dinner together, cleaned up and then watched Dr. Dobson's Essentials of Discipline video, segment five, at the children's request. They love watching these videos! Tonight's segment was "To spank or not to spank" -- and Dr. Dobson's decided conclusion was that yes, we should spank our children, in love and not in anger. Funny how our children love watching these videos!

Now it was quarter to ten. We gave the kids quick showers, because they are itchy with heat rash - especially Israel who tends to sweat more than the others, and then got everyone ready for bed. After praying together, the kids were out rather quickly! It has been a busy day.

Here I am, at nearly 11pm, writing this blog post and getting ready to check my email!

Not every day is this busy. Some days we are home for the most part. The children would not be able to handle being gone this much every single day. Sometimes it doesn't seem like we are accomplishing very much. Sometimes we even wonder why we are really here! But today was encouraging - to see how many people we know around here, to see that we are slowing being able to "infiltrate" the society here, to make a difference in people's lives!

I have been reflecting lately on "the call". Really, Fabio and I firmly believe that serving the Lord and showing His love to people is (or should be!) who we are, and not just "what we do". It is not a job, although we are "full-time" for the first time now. But really, what we are doing now is not essentially different from what we did in Japan with the Peruvian community, or in America with the Mexicans, except that now Fabio is not working another job in addition, so we can do more of it! But, should this not be the normal result of walking with Jesus, being filled with His Spirit, feeding daily on His Word, loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength? Are we not ALL, as Christians, called to reach out to those around us, be attentive to their needs, see where we can serve society with the love of Jesus? The Lord will orchestrate the location you do this - as he has orchestrated Brazil for us currently - but the location really doesn't matter. THE CALL is not to a location! THE CALL is to live in relationship with Jesus, to love Him above all else, to die to our own desire and ambition, to hear His voice, and out of love for Him, serve Him by reaching out and sharing His love with all those that are around us.

A verse that has impacted us lately: "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." Acts 20:24 May this be the cry of our heart as well!!

Many Blessings!!!

P.S. I never got time today to hang the clothes out on the line, so I will have to re-wash them tomorrow. Just to throw a little non-glamorous reality into the picture! :-)

Neighbor city: Balneário Camboriú

2011-01-17T03:36:00.000-08:00

More pics of 2010

2011-01-17T03:22:00.000-08:00

Our four little munchkins: L-R: Johann, Joshua, Dominique and Israel

While we were living on the 3rd floor of the church building - what a treat! A beautiful rainbow!!

"Say NO to crack!" --Johann on the beach. :-)

With two of the girls from church: Kimberly and Adriely

A taste of Japan, while in Brazil!

The entrance of Camboriú, visible from the 3rd floor veranda of the church building where we lived for 3 months:

Three of the children, with Fabio's mom, Vovó Tomiko:

Johann, in about May? Hard to believe how much he has grown and changed since then! He isn't a baby anymore!! Waaaahhh!

Joshua and a little boy in Santos, whose family we were reaching out to:

Cable cars, in Santos. We have that here in Balneário Camboriú too! (We have not ridden either one, though. Yet.)
Dominique in Santos, about April 2010. She has grown a lot too, since then!

This was just a couple weeks ago, in Santos. Our children with their cousin Leonardo:

Johann. :)

December 2010. Fabio preaching at one of the churches in Santos:

A rare event: a picture of all six of us!! This was Israel's birthday (Dec 17). He wanted to have chocolate-filled churros instead of a cake, so we took a birthday candle to the beach, got us all churros, and put the candle in the top of it and sang to him there! Why be traditional? :) Maybe you can see the candle at the top of his churro in the picture?

Israel on his birthday, December 17. Can you believe he is FOUR years old now???

This was before the beach, the morning of Israel's birthday. I always decorate a "throne" for the birthday king/queen after they go to bed the night before, so they wake up to something special in the morning. And the breakfast of their choice. (He chose bread with peanut butter, a special treat anymore, that we happened to have on hand thanks to our pastor's visit in November!)

For Christmas, I got Andressa some paints and a canvas. I like productive activities for young people. At the group home, they basically watch TV all day every day....

This is the group of people that delivered the gifts to the children in the favela (slum) on Children's Day:

Take Two:

At one of the schools in the favela, where we gave out gifts on Children's Day:

We also gave out cheese bread:

And hugs:

And smiles:

Our sweethearts at the praça (plaza?) in Camboriu, in an ancient fig tree. The center here in Camboriú has many such fig trees that are fantastic for climbing.

Outreach in the favela:

Fabio's brother Fernando, wife Carol, and children Leonardo (Léo) and Ana Beatriz (Bia). We so enjoyed our time with them! After just a couple of years of knowing the Lord, they are so firm in their walk with them, and are actively ministering to others as well! What joy to have seen this transformation!

Fabio refinishing our refridgerator. He did such an awesome job! It just looked BEAUTIFUL when he was done. Unfortunately, it quit working right after he finished! We had it fixed a second time, and it held out a bit longer, but bit the dust for good a few weeks ago. :-( We have ordered a new one, and are holding out on an old borrowed one (with no freezer) until then. It does not work well, especially in this heat. Things go bad on the second day, at the latest. Pray that the new one would be delivered SOON!!!!!

Fabio and some guys at church repaired the roof of a widow in the church:

Johann getting his summer haircut:

Our neighborhood at night:

And in the daytime:

The prevalence of prostitution can be easily seen everywhere:

Remember Guilherme from posts back in April? His family moved to another state, but we pray that the seed we had the privilege of planting will bloom and grow.

Our children have learned to be very flexible about sleeping arrangements and such! Here Joshua is reading them the Bible before bed:

Diego and Dodo, two brothers. Diego (left) is back and forth from the Lord and needs much prayer to continue standing firm. Dodo is just "forth" and has not come "back" for some time now. He needs much prayer as well. These young boys have been involved in so much and it is not an easy hole to dig out of, but the POWER of the Lord is able!!

Brotherly love:

Lunch at a pastor's house

2011-01-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

Dave for lunch from Fabio T on Vimeo.

The Best of 2010 in Pictures!!

2011-01-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

These are random, and not in order, so bear with us! Just a smattering of some highlights of 2010. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? I will just add a few short captions so you can follow along.

Our Big Move with eleven seventy pound suitcases:
Fabio's sister Luciana's visit in September:

Dancing in church:

Fabio translating for Roosevelt Muriel at a conference in September:

Fabio and Luciana at the Conference. This is the door of our church here, MANG:

In our home with Luciana, Bob Moffit, his translator here, and veteran missionary Cleiton Oliveira. What encouraging times! We learned so much from them!

Fabio playing soccer with the kids from our neighborhood:

Joshua and some of the neighborhood kids:

Dominique working on a school project (a lapbook of Colonial America):

Joshua working on same project at our homeschool:

Time of worship at church:

Cookies for the neighbors! (Israel at the table drooling over all the cookies!)

Fabio cradling the new arrival, a bunch of bananas from a local tree. ;-)

Finally in our own home! The first month with no couch to sit on:

Before we had our own house, our one-room palace on the third floor of the church building:

Reaching out. Much of our work here is people work - visiting in homes and sharing one-on-one with people the Lord puts in our path.

Johann and Dominique:

A local pizza place. I just love the way they bake the pizza in this huge stone oven! Yum. :)

Fabio translating for Pastor Jim Epley, who stayed with us for a week and a half in November. During that time, he preached every night in different churches, with Fabio translating, and praise the Lord, we saw many people healed of various infirmities and disabilities, and many also believed on the Lord for the first time!

Fabio and Pastor Jim:
Joshua and pet ducky. This picture was on the last day we had him. We then gave him away to a nearby orphanage. The kids sure enjoyed him! He loved them too, and cuddled up to their necks. He was pretty cute!Here I am with one of my classes at the PETI school. I taught English classes to these children in the favela, the Brazilian slum. It was a very good experience, and we feel it was also a strategic way for us to begin to reach into that needy area. We built many important bridges and relationships through this opportunity that we feel will still be fruitful in the future.
At the PETI school:
Another one of my classes at PETI:
This was our Thanksgiving outreach! Here, two of our guests are discovering pumpkin pie for the first time!
Thanksgiving also. Here I am with my arm around Andressa, the young girl from the group home that we took under our wing.
And one more picture of Thanksgiving:
This is the "favela" - the slum. The PETI school is in this neighborhood.
The PETI school from the outside:
Our pastors, Dave Prince and John Leitzel come to visit in November!! Here they are in the back of our car, with me and the kids! (We had another passenger in the front, besides Fabio driving!)
Time with Dave and John and many other pastors from both Brazil and Argentina. Their time here was really important to broaden our horizons and open up to us the BIG picture of our connections here and part of what God has us here for.
Three pastors from Argentina (one of which lives in Brazil), one wife, two pastors from America, and what would we call Fabio? Brazilian? American? Japanese? All of the above! hehe.
Worship at church.
Receiving a care package from America always brightens our day!!!
This picture should have come first, but anyway, this is the first day we got ducky. He was one day old. SO cute!
Here Joshua and Dominique are planting our garden in the rain! I will post recent pictures of it soon. It is thriving!
Kids Club, in our neighborhood, thrived from about September through December. Right now we are in a down time because the kids are on summer break and rarely stick around the neighborhood.
Israel and Johann with a little boy from our church:
Flavio, our friend from church, manning the Brazilian grill:
Enjoying some fellowship with friends from church, over Brazilian churrasco (grilled steak!):
Fabio and our friend Bill talking with a director of a local school. We are looking into how to help this school. Their playground is totally un-usable because it is badly in need of repair.
This was on Children's Day in October. We delivered toys to over 200 children in the favela (Brazilian slum).
Children's Day:
Children's Day:
Children's Day:
Back in our carport for Kid's Club. Fabio teaches the Bible and the kids pay close attention!
Our family Shabbat dinner. We try to make it a priority to enjoy this special family dinner once a week:
Dancing before our Shabbat Dinner! :)
Our friend Sônia enjoying chi marron, a hot herbal tea. It is very popular here in Southern Brazil. These "mugs" with the metal straws (complete with little filters to catch loose herbs) are passed around and shared. It is served VERY hot and is rather bitter, and neither Fabio nor I have gotten to be fans yet, but it is supposed to be really good for you!
Hard to believe how fast they are growing! Here they are, ages 2,4,6,8.
2010. A year full of adventure, a year full of hard work and challenges of every kind, a year of seeing God's powerful hand in so many ways. It was also a year of trying to find our place here, trying to figure out what we are doing here (lol), and trying to get used to a totally different world and lifestyle. We are not "there" yet, but we have made progress, and are excited to see all that God will do in 2011! We are sure it will be a full year and we pray that much will be done toward the advancement of His Kingdom here on earth! Please pray with us, and if any of you would like to come and join the fun, please let us know! We would LOVE to have you!!! We love and appreciate all of you who have prayed for us, encouraged us, and supported us in so many ways. We feel so well cared for and blessed by you! THANK YOU and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Year's End Recap Newsletter

2010-12-23T16:17:00.000-08:00

Dear family and friends,

It seems that each year I begin our newsletter saying how it has been an eventful year. But... I definitely believe that this year of 2010 has topped them all! Many of you have been following our journey via the blog or facebook, but here is a nutshell recap of the year's happenings.

Our latest adventure began in December of 2009. We left for Brazil on December 9^th, to spend six months “spying out the land”, praying about whether God wanted us to stay, and if so, where and in what capacity.

We started out in Santos, Fabio's hometown, planning to stay only through the holidays, and then begin to travel to several places where we had some contacts, while praying about what God would have us do over the longer term. However, due to some complications with my (Elizabeth's) documentation, we got “stuck” in Santos for three months! This was a bootcamp experience for us, and we were tested and tried to the max through various sicknesses, including “dengue”- breakbone fever in Fabio, as well as 120 degree heat with no air conditioning and various other circumstances that resulted from spending an extended period of time living in Fabio's parents' small apartment with no yard (with four small children) – oh, and no washing machine! The Lord graciously used that time in so many ways to test our character, and to teach us, and reveal to us what was in our hearts.

After the document issue was resolved, we made our “first trip” to Camboriú, in the southern part of Brazil. We arrived there the beginning of March. During this time, the six of us stayed in one room inside the church building. We immediately became involved in many different kinds of ministries – evangelism in the streets, ministry to prostitutes and transvestites, drug addicts and homeless people, teaching English in a small school (PETI) in the “favela” - Brazilian slum, and helping at the church with painting, cooking and whatever else needed to be done.

I would like to share one amazing thing (of many!) that happened during this time. Across the street from the church was a castle-looking building which was a prostitution house/transvestite theater. While walking wherever we needed to go (since we didn't have a car!), we would always pray that the Lord would shut that place down and that the abominations of that place would happen no longer! The children would join us in this prayer, and even one time Fabio took them right up to the door to lay their hands on it and pray that the doors would be SHUT forever for the evil practices that took place there. Just a few weeks later, the children were amazed to see that the front door was being closed with concrete! The business shut down, and now it is just an old decaying castle! Praise the Lord!

Anyway, when we had been in Camboriú only a couple of weeks, we felt sure that was where God was calling us to stay on a longer term basis. Therefore, we did not visit any of the other places that we had previously considered.

So, in June, we returned to America to wrap up the rest of our stuff there, get rid of things, restock some supplies and share with the churches our vision for being in Brazil for a season. They were so supportive and even excited to be a part of what God would do in Camboriú! We are so blessed by their encouragement and support! June was an extremely intense month of packing, spending time with family, speaking in the churches, and visiting with friends.

In July, we returned to Camboriú, to our little room in the church building, and then began to look for a place for our family to rent and begin to get established in regular life. It was not easy starting out, as we had only clothes and small items that would fit in a suitcase, and things in Brazil are very expensive. But the Lord provided for our needs one by one. I will never again take a kitchen sink for granted! :)

Once we got established a little bit and settled down as a household, we had one major problem: we had no car. This made it extremely difficult to be involved in the same kinds of ministries we had been involved in while living in the church building. But, as He is so faithful to do, the Lord used this circumstance as well in a creative way for our good. “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.” Romans 8:28 As we spent more time at home, we began to see a great need right in our own neighborhood: children. In our area, almost every single family consists of two working parents, and the children are largely left to themselves. These children are not under-nourished, but they are greatly under-nurtured. We began to pray about what we could do about it.

And so “Kids' Club” was born. We began a few months ago, simply inviting the kids of the neighborhood into our carport once a week. I (Elizabeth) give a short English conversation lesson, then Fabio teaches a Bible lesson. We got a roll of butcher paper that we unroll on the floor and Fabio uses that to draw cartoon figures to illustrate the Bible lesson. The children love it! Then we sing and play some games. Most weeks, we have between 10-15 children come, plus our own four. We have also spent much time visiting in their homes, getting to know their parents, relaying to them the Bible lessons we are teaching their children and praying with them. We have invited several over for dinner as well and we are actively planting seeds and believing for a harvest, not only in the children, but also in their entire families.

During this car-less time, we were also greatly impacted by a conference about the Truth that transforms cultures and societies. This led to an opportunity for Fabio to do a HUGE translation job for Harvest Foundation. He translated much material that is being, and will continue to be, taught in churches all over Brazil to enable them to affect the community and transform the society!

In his “spare time”, Fabio also used his website skills to build state-of-the-art websites for our church and another ministry.

Eventually, the Lord did miraculously provide a way for us to get a car. At this point, we began to go back to the PETI school in the favela (slum) to teach English and reach out to the teachers and families there. They have opened the doors wide for us – even to have praise and worship days there and to teach the Bible openly – at a PUBLIC school! Fabio is hoping to begin Bible lessons there in the new year similar to what he has been doing at kids' club. And the principle is excited about it!

In November, our pastors Dave Prince and John Leitzel came to visit! We had a fantastic time visiting with them, and the Lord also used their time here to unite us with the leaders of the churches in Argentina that are connected with some churches in Brazil, so we feel the Lord opened our vision and broadened our horizons as to why He has us here in a big-picture sense.

Shortly after Dave's and John's visit, another pastor, Jim Epley, came from Florida and stayed with us for a week and a half. He had preaching engagements each night, and we (mostly Fabio) transported him and translated for him. We were so encouraged to see many people saved during his time here, and many people healed of physical conditions as well, including four men that were crippled, a little girl who had one leg shorter than the other (her short leg GREW!), and a man who was nearly blind and was restored to full sight!

Recently we have also gotten involved with a group home for teenagers that are either orphaned, or have been removed from abusive homes. One in particular, Andressa, has been spending a lot of time sharing life with our family. She has just turned 13 and we see that the Lord is doing a work in her hurting heart.

Now a little bit about our own children. It has been a good and yet challenging year for all of them. We are glad to see how their Portuguese has improved greatly! It is not evident anymore that the older two were not born here. (Israel still gets a little confused about verb tenses and the masculine/feminine nouns, etc.) They have gained much in cultural experience, although we have faced many challenges along the way. They have learned to be extremely flexible in all things – sleeping arrangements, eating schedules, food choices, traveling on foot or squishing all into the backseat of someone's car, being creative in play when toys were not available and relating to people of many different walks of life. We are thankful they have had these opportunities. They have been very much a part of the ministry aspect of what we are doing here as well. They have learned to pray with us for people. They were the main reason we had open doors to start Kids' Club. They made it a million times easier to start a conversation with prostitutes on the street. We were not nearly so intimidating when we showed up with four small children! We are so grateful for them.

Joshua turned 8 in July and is in 3^rd grade now in our homeschool. He still loves to read, although it is more challenging here to supply him with quality reading material. He is working on memorizing times tables and still loves to explore nature and disassemble electronics.

Dominique turned 6 in October and is our sweet princess. She is girly in every way, but can also hold her own among the boys! She is doing well in reading, but her forté is writing! She LOVES to write and fills up notebook after notebook with all the things she writes – letters to people, stories, lists of all sorts and other nonsensical compositions. :) She has taught herself cursive and her handwriting could be confused with mine at times! (The spelling gives her away, though.)

Israel just turned 4 last week. He continues to be a charmer and easily finds a way into people's affections. He has not lost his chubby cheeks nor chubby belly, and he may not either, the way he loves to eat, especially bread and sweets of every kind.... He LOVES doing his preschool work and begs to do school all the time. These year-end vacations are hard on him. :)

Johann turned 2 in September and personifies in every way the expression “all boy”. Wow. This kid is plugged in at 220V ALL the time! He sure has a lot of energy, and we are believing that with consistent training, all of that energy will be turned around and used for the Lord as he grows. And he is such a fun kid! Now that he is talking more, he keeps us in stitches often.

Fabio and I will be celebrating ten wonderful years of marriage in April. We are so thankful for what the Lord has done in us and how He has united us together. This year has brought us even closer as we “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel”. (Phil 1:27)

We are now looking ahead to 2011. Our vision is to affect the community with much more than evangelism, through discipleship and restoration. It seems that the majority of the people in Camboriú that are not currently part of a church, are “backsliders”. Please pray that we would have wisdom to know how to reach out to them and how to restore/ disciple them.

Please pray for the kids at risk, that are not under-nourished, but under-nurtured. Pray that we would be able to train others to do kids' clubs in other areas, and that this would be a platform to be able to effectively reach out to the parents of the children we minister to.

We also are praying that the church, as a body, would also be able to affect the structure of many facets of society. The public schools still have the doors wide open to “religion”, unlike in America, but especially with the new president Dilma, it is likely that this door will not stay open forever. We feel that now is the time to take advantage of this window of opportunity. The church can also do much to affect the infrastructure of the group home for teenagers and other institutions that really don't know what to do with the troubled kids once they are removed from their families! We have tried to develop relationships with the Secretary of Child Wellness and the Department of Child Services, in an effort to help them see the church as an Agent of Change and Hope, because they really are lacking in both, not knowing what to do to change the current situation, and lacking hope that anything will ever change for the better. Please pray with us for creative ideas and much wisdom in these situations.

Whew, I know that was long! Let me just close by saying that we very much value each and every one of you, our dear family and friends, and covet your prayers for us here. It is not easy to be far away from everything dear, familiar and all that signifies our “comfort zone”, especially during the holidays. Please send us your news as well! We love hearing from each and every one of you and staying as connected as possible over the distance. We also pray for you frequently and look forward to the day we will be able to visit face to face once again.

Much Love,

~Fabio and Elizabeth~ Joshua, Dominique, Israel and Johann

Email: tsukayama99@hotmail.com

Time with Dave and John!

2010-12-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

Our pastors, Dave Prince and John Leitzel came two weeks ago for a brief (short but sweet) visit! It was SO good to have them here! We had been looking forward to those three days all year! (I am not exaggerating!) And, we are so thankful that the Lord used it so strategically in so many ways - for our direction and encouragement, for our local and international connections with the body of Christ, etc.

Here they are upon arrival at our home. The kids were SO excited and had been anxiously awaiting all day! It was about 7pm when they got back to the house. John is behind the coloring book with the panda bear on it that someone is showing him!Getting to know our neighborhood the next morning. We spotted a pair of burrowing owls! That was an exciting find. :) You can also see here the cobblestone roads. We have discovered that these stones used to lay the roads are hand chiseled by men who live in the country with just a mallet and hand chisel! Fabio was deeply impressed when he saw them working - he thought it was just wrong!
This was a pastor's luncheon in Joinville, a bit north of here, that we went to. Here you see Fabio and Gustavo Lara, the leader from Argentina who also came during that week. The luncheon was in the home of a pastor that we had never met before, but his wife is a painter. She painted the frame behind them and many, many others all throughout the house. Lovely!
We were able to squeeze in a dinner on the beach as well! This was actually a first for us too! It was fantastic - and if you look closely, you can see the beach beyond us.
Here we are with Dave and John and also the pastor and his wife of our local church here - Facundo and Carol, also from Argentina.
We were SO blessed by our time with them and are so thankful for their ministry and friendship!
Thank you guys! God bless you and we love you!

A truly rare photo of Fabio and I alone. :)
Fabio and the kids. Loved this stone bench! The kids are not always willing subject matters for my photography experiments. hehe.
I still haven't figured out what these stone things were for, but again, I thought they would make a nice picture. :) Our growing olive shoots:

Dominique Turns Six and Kid's Club Update

2010-11-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

We have SO much to post lately that it seems an overwhelming task to even know where to begin, especially having to upload pictures one.at.a.time.... :-) So, I decided to just jump in and post something, and hopefully in the next few days I will post more so you can see what we have been up to lately.

On the family news front, Dominique celebrated her sixth birthday on October 29th (wow, already a month ago and I am JUST now posting this! How sad!) Anyway, we had a little celebration just with us and set up the automatic timer to take our first WHOLE family picture in a while. :)
Just the kids, and the cake. Dominique requested strawberries and kiwi on her cake. :) My little six year old princess is such a little blessing - it is a joy to see her grow! She is so helpful around the house and becoming more and more attentive to things that need to be done. How nice to come downstairs and find her having taken initiative to sweep the floor or do the dishes! She is learning well in school and enjoys mothering our pet duck. All she wants for her birthday and Christmas next year is a little sister, and she prays to this end daily. :-)
And a few more pictures from recent kid's clubs. We have continued to host a club for the neighborhood children weekly in our carport. We generally have 10-15 each week, besides our own four, and it is not always the same ones, so there are probably around 25 that have participated at some time. We continue to share God's love and His Word, and we are building relationships with the regulars. We have really seen them change in the way they relate to us over the past couple of months. They are opening up!
Above, Pastor Jim Epley who is staying with us right now sharing with the kids.
Fabio teaching the Bible and illustrating on butcher paper on the ground as he teaches. He is such a talented cartoonist- it really keeps the kids' attention!
Having a race afterward, in the middle of the road! One of the FEW asphalt roads in our town! Thank you, Jesus!
This was at the house of a friend from church - having a Brazilian BBQ. No hamburgers and hotdogs for Brazilians! It is sausage and steak. Strictly! :-) This was one of the very few social events we had been to this year. It was nice to be among friends.
Coming soon: pictures of our visit with our pastors, Dave and John, our Thanksgiving outreach, the Group Home for teenagers and more! Stay tuned! :-)

2010-10-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

God, grant us the...
Serenity to accept things we cannot change,
Courage to change the things we can, and the
Wisdom to know the difference
Patience for the things that take time
Appreciation for all that we have, and
Tolerance for those with different struggles
Freedom to live beyond the limitations of our past ways, the
Ability to feel your love for us and our love for each other and the
Strength to get up and try again even when we feel it is hopeless.

Being here, living here, serving here makes this old prayer come alive where each single word of it is so meaningful!

May the Lord bless you and even surprise you with his goodness and favor as you put your heart and faith into this ministry. We are very impacted and encouraged with every little bit of your demonstration of love, faith and care.

Thank you.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

2010-10-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

Has it really been two months since we posted the last printable newsletter? Whew! It has been eventful here! We have tried to summarize in this newsletter some of the things we are learning, and some of the things we are doing.
Feel free to print as many copies as you like to give to friends or at your church. We would love to know about it if you do! And don't forget, we love comments! :)

Tsukayama's Sept Videoletter from Fabio T on Vimeo.

September/October 2010