(This page will change as things happen. The date below the "Latest News and happenings", should reflect the last time it was updated)

Latest News and Happenings on:

Monday July 24, 2006 05:33:59 PM

July 24th, 2006

I know. I am a great sinner. I haven't put pics and info on our blog since March. I confess. Too busy is no excuse. Guilty as charged. I hope and trust I can change this in the next weeks. Just to reward those few faithful that still check every once in a while, here are some new, very new :  pics   video  Also, a valuable link to Arlen and Cynthia's blogsite:  www.theisaaks.blogspot.com

March 17th, 2006

My goodness, how long it's been! Here's some pics and video on some of our latest doings:  pics   video  More info later...I hope...

January 19th, 2006

Here's a couple of pics of Arlen and Cynthia's car after he was rear-ended in Arizona. Thank you Lord, for protecting him!

Note where his head stopped (driver's seat in inside shot of the car).

January 06, 2006

BIG NEWS! Please study carefully the following 2 photos:

Pray for Arlen, Cynthia and ? as the three fly down to meet us in São Paulo on January 24, 2006

 Oh yeah!   We're going to be grandparents!   Oh yeah!    Glory hallelujah!   Yes! 

December 12th

I'm getting kind of inconsistent here! We've been busy...(I know I didn't need to tell you that!) so it's been hard to keep this blog up...as you noticed.

Here's some pics of Saudades all dressed up for Christmas:

Umbro factory Saturday night - Saudades

Saudades main entrance - Saturday night

Special skate show put on by the schools in Saudades and surrounding region - roughly 90 kids took part in it including several from our youth group.

 Closeup of the main entrance to Saudades

• Don't stop praying for the new believers in Saudades and for the kids and adults studying the Bible for the first time with us.

November 26th

• Great Thanksgiving! We had our Thanksgiving on Saturday (today), as it is not a holiday here and not celebrated. We had a total of 23 here, which was a little less as many were traveling or couldn't come. Here's some pics of the GIANT 31 lb turkey we were given by friends in Saudades, and of some of the fellow believers that came to our home:

November 23rd

• Great weekend! Please check out our "TEEN CAMP 2005" page for details. Also, keep praying for the days to come. Much is lining up for 2006 and we need real wisdom.

November 9th

• Some exciting news! After a great deal of prayer and seeking the Lord for their future, Nathan and Jennifer Glemboski have decided to spend some time with us here in Chapecó, Santa Catarina, Brazil, as the Lord permits. This is a real step of faith, especially for Nathan...as he doesn't know Brazil and really doesn't know us too well either! Now, as for Jen, she has no excuse...she came down with "Light in Action 2004" and also lived with us for several months earlier this year. Now, if they still want to work with us and live here, we couldn't be too bad, could we? Nathan and Jen both have a variety of skills, but their greatest asset is their love for the Lord and His Kingdom. Nathan has lived in Mongolia, so will see a very different country when he comes here. We covet your prayers for this couple, as they trust the Lord to come some time early next year. Lord willing, they can help with the children's video project and will have many other opportunities as well. (pics of them to follow later) Here are some of the of miracles needed for getting them all the way to Chapecó:

  Miracles needed for Nathan and Jen:

  • Flights from Portland, Oregon to Chapecó, Brazil
  • Visas to Brazil (this is a biggie!)
  • Some means of support
  • housing (we can look after they come, as we have several extra rooms)
  • transportation while here (this one is pretty flexible)
     
• Arlen and Cynthia Isaak plan to also come down early in 2006 to help for a while. We are thrilled to have our new son-in-law and Cynthia coming here and look forward much to their arrival as well. Should start getting noisier around here around the middle/end of January! Pray for them for all the above miracles, and for the Lord to give us all wisdom as we seem to serve Him. There are many, many things for them here, not the least a growing and very needy bunch of youth in Saudades! Arlen will be applying for a permanent visa as well, since his wife is a Brazilian citizen and he can get it easily.
• The mother of one of the believers in Saudades had been very against her grown daughter's "abandoning her religion". She had been quite aggressive in this, but God has a way of loving and reaching out to people through His children. Her daughter has suffered much with this, but continued to love her mother through it all. Recently, her mother grew very ill and her family feared death. We went to see her in the hospital and she was very depressed, despondent and had lost much weight. We prayed for her and after visiting several times, she is now growing stronger and shocked us when she kissed Sonia's hand when we went to visit on Sunday! Her whole demeanor has changed and even her other children seemed to be suddenly friendly! Pray for this woman to open her heart to God's Word and for us to have a chance to give it to her.
• We decided to offset print the covers for the Bbile study DVDs and "3rd party" the duplication part. It just didn't seem right to spend some much time and energy to printing and copying them. We'd like to have enough quantity done to allow Vladi to travel and show them to churches in the southern part of Brazil. Pray for this need and for Vladi as he looks to God for wisdom in doing this badly needed ministry.
• Our little VW wagon was already showing signs of unusual wear and tear (I don't know why....), so with funds the Lord graciously supplied, we traded it in on a 7-passenger Chevy minivan much better suited to our needs both now and in the future. It is certain to see some interesting roads in the next months! (pics to follow when i get time)
• Sonia is halfway through a Revelation Bible study (at their request) with the kids in Saudades that had finished the evangelistic teaching last May. Most of these kids are already believing and trusting in Christ as their Savior. See picture below:
  
   
• I am almost finished with teaching the older believers the Book of Acts. We plan to join the teens and adults for our next Bible study in Romans. Pray for wisdom in how to take this necessary step. We will have an instant group of at least 25 (or more), so will continue to trust the Lord to lead as He desires.
• Pray for our 1st "teen retreat" the 19th-20th. Vladi will be heading it up with the new believers helping.

October 29th

My goodness! I certainly have been amiss in updating this BLOG! Sorry. Lot's happening these days...

• The Lord presented us with a wonderful opportunity to point people at Himself this last week. The father of one of the couples that have been studying the Word with us for quite a while, passed away while we were teaching last Monday. Immediately after the study, Sonia and I went to "sit with the body" that already had been placed in a open casket in the chapel of the local Catholic Church. This is a Brazilian custom, to show solidarity and sympathy with the family, friends and widow. The widow was a friend and had come to a few Bible studies, but is not yet a believer. In this little section of the world, the Roman Catholics also sometimes have the custom of having three nights of "praying for the dead", which seems to be somewhat similar to the normal Catholic practice of having a mass for the dead person on the 7th day and of "praying for their soul" (apparently to get out of "Purgatory"). The widow decided however, to invite her believing daughter-in-law and Sonia and I to come and "do whatever you want" on those nights. So, we happily drove back and forth to Saudades (150 km trip) on Wed, Thurs. and Friday this week, and took the time to sing and speak to the 25 or so people that came every night. Some of the new believers came to help sing and speak. The Lord gave us a wonderful opportunity to point these people at Himself, and a number of people expressed their appreciation for our coming and said how much they enjoyed it. Our Lord is quite creative, and most of all, He loves these people. Pray this will open even more doors to go back and lay a solid foundation with some of these people in the Word.

• New teen Bible study is going well. Keep praying for these kids! Picture above was taken Oct 17th. Some of the kids in this picture are already believers from the previous study.

• I redid all the DVD covers finally, using pictures from the Bible study videos. Now, each DVD box shows a picture relating to it's contents. I also redid the website to show the new covers. You can see them by going here:  www.abeprod.com.br
• The streaming videos of the AVD Bible series have been getting more and more use. I am monitoring the accesses and amount of data actually being watched and it has more than doubled from September to October. Pray these videos will be used to reach out to people wherever they are located and for God to guide them to the website. With so many millions of other websites clamoring for their attention, it's a miracle to see anyone actually find our videos!
• Some of the kids at the NTBI (New Tribes Bible Institute) in Waukesha, WI are wanting us to host another "Light in Action" team in 2006. Some of the young guys have a band and would like to bring all their equipment down to use it for reaching out with the Gospel. If it all comes together, LIA 2006 would have to happen sometime between May and July. No details yet, but I did register the domain "lightinaction.org" so we could use it if that happens. 

October 10th

• We can really tell when people are praying! The new adult study was back up this week...but the teen study was down. Such is warfare: We press forward quickly...we hunker down and wait. Great flashes of Light suddenly illuminate the battlefield...sometimes we see only Darkness. We join in the songs of victory...we cringe at the groans of the dying. We battle with great energy and might...we only wish to give up and lay down. We see our Fellow Soldiers aiming at the Enemy...we see the same ones aiming at us. We clearly hear our Leader's trumpet commands...we are deafened by the Battle's roar.

October 3rd

• Another miracle night! 42 teens showed up for the new teen Bible study on Monday afternoon/evening! Here's some new video to watch:
          mms://m7.mediaserve.com/abeprod/PrayerWarrior/teens_Saudades_Oct3_2K5.wmv
• Please keep praying for these Bible studies. This is spiritual warfare for the souls of these teens and adults. We can really tell when people are praying! The new adult study had only half as many this week...so PLEASE, PLEASE don't forget to pray! These people need to know our Savior, and to understand what the Word of God says about Him.

September 28th

• 34 teens showed up for the new teen Bible study on Monday afternoon. There were several new ones, but a number from last week couldn't make it (and had told us that before hand). That brings  the total of different teens that have come to 45! This week, we began the AVD video series with them, using a video projector with a large screen. I'll try to post new pics after next Monday's meetings.
• Another important event happened this last Sunday! Eight new adults showed up for a new Bible study with us, at one of the believers houses. One of the ladies would like to invite more of the husbands to attend, so suggested using a larger place. Since this meeting/rec place belongs to the largest factory in town, we mentioned that we would have to contact the owners to get permission. She then told us she was one of the co-owners! She also suggested moving it to Monday evening, which was much better for us. Now, the teen and adult evangelistic studies are on the same day, and Sundays are reserved for meeting/fellowshipping with and teaching the 18-20 new believers.
• Pressure is building for beginning another new Bible study in Chapecó (180,000 pop.) Seems like when we can't stretch any more, God figures a way out to do it! What a privilege to be co-laborers with Him in reaching out to this world.
• Our house is still a HUGE MESS, with dust from cutting the tiles and opening walls everywhere. We decided that since everything was such a mess, we'd do what we should have done a long time ago and put in the permanent doors that were lacking. We have been living with cheap, junky doors ever since moving here 4 years ago! They were so cheap that there were holes in them from pushing them open! Though it will take 35-40 days for them to be made, it will be worth it (no large, quick building supply places here!). We also had to rebuild the kitchen cabinets where the sink was installed, as a leak had rotted it badly, which we discovered when we took them out to lay the new tile down.

September 23rd

• Today, I finished uploading all 24 of lessons (19 hours of video/audio) of.the new compressed versions of the "Alem do Veu" (Portuguese language) panoramic Bible studies, to a "streaming" video webpage. You can see them here:  http://www.abeprod.com.br/AVD_ONLINE.htm
• It appears that the bridge on the way to Saudades (75km), is fixed enough for small cars to travel across, single file. We plan to go there again this weekend, but should not have to take an extra hour and 30 km of dirt road to get there! Pray for the new adults Bible study we are starting this Sunday afternoon, we have no idea how many will show up. Pray also, for the believers we will be meeting with later in the evening. I (Steve) am teaching through Acts now, and Sonia is teaching the children.
• Our kitchen and dining room are a mess now, but will soon look nicer with the new tile we are laying on top of the old, poor quality tile from the former owner. Since it was really "wall tile", it was full of holes and hard to clean, and certainly did not look very nice. This is in preparation for the possible crowded house and much heavier traffic the first of the year, when we plan to start the new children's video series. Now really was the only good time to make a mess without making the house unlivable! Now, if we could just clean out those storage places... :)

September 21st

• Monday night, at the new teen evangelistic meeting in Saudades, there were 39 kids present!   Hey, did you read that?  39! (yes, thirty nine!!)  Of these, roughly half were new to the Bible studies! That may not seem a big deal to most "Christian" Americans, used to big evangelical churches, but in a very strongly idolatrous, "religious" German community in Brazil, with very little Gospel witness, this is a great miracle of God's love, grace and mercy.  Keep praying, our Lord's Spirit is strongly at work! Below is a pic of one of the teens (Fernando) that came (from a special event) in "Southern Brazilian traditional dress":

• Vladi traveled to a number of churches (3 different denominations) last weekend, presenting the "Além do Véu - Deus Revelado" video Bible studies to pastors and leadership. One Baptist pastor said he had been looking for it ever since borrowing a set from a friend, and that "it was the best teaching series he has seen in 20+ years of ministry!" Wow, what a recommendation!
• The new adult Bible study starts this weekend in Saudades. Keep praying, as there are some influential people wanting to attend. This was due to the impact of their children now believing and the strong witness and changed lives of those teens.
• The bridge below was out and to make it to Saudades, I (Steve) had to take Sonia and Vladi to one side, where they walked over and met one of the believers and drove on to Saudades. I then drove back that evening and picked them up. You can see the buses waiting for passengers on the other side. This bridge was in poor shape, so this badly needed construction will keep it from falling down!

 

These pics are a reward for whoever reads this blog...

September 14th

• As of yesterday, we began uploading the new compressed versions of the "Alem do Veu" Portuguese language panoramic Bible studies to a "streaming" video webpage. We plan to compress and upload all 24 of lessons (19 hours of video/audio). You can see them here:  http://www.abeprod.com.br/AVD_ONLINE.htm
• It was very exciting to see the question forms that Sonia brought back from Saudades on Tuesday. We had made up these forms to see what people REALLY were trusting in for their acceptance by God and their salvation. These were given to all the teens that heard the Gospel the day before we left for the USA in May. I plan to put some of the responses on here for you folks to see, as it is very encouraging and exciting to see them. Pray for these kids! Out of 15-16 teens, at least 10 are already believing and trusting in Christ as their Savior, and very excited about it!
• Vladi and I plan to change the covers of the AVD DVD's, as they need to reflect what is the content for each DVD. I need some software updates from the USA to do this, so if anyone knows of someone coming down that could bring them (and send from anywhere in Brazil), please let us know.
• Vladi is going after his "Italian" passport and citizenship (he has that right through his paternal grandfather). He only has until the end of the year to do it, so pray that if God wants him to get it by then, that He will smooth the road ahead for him and provide for it. It could make it much easier for Vladi to travel abroad, using the Italian, rather than his Brazilian passport.
• As of yesterday, Sonia started teaching a desperate nurse named Maura. Please pray for this very needy woman as Sonia teaches her from God's Word and reaches out to her in love.

September 12th

• The meeting up north with Arlen and Cynthia (Armour) Isaak went very well. We laid the groundwork plans for a children's video series in Portuguese, to start sometime early in 2006. More details later as things develop. Please pray! Quick areas for prayer:  technical help, good studio, necessary equipment, kids, wisdom.
• We had given the gospel to a group of teens in Saudades (Homesick) in May before leaving for the USA for three months (for the weddings). We returned to find a number of these teens believing in Christ and a new "youth group" being formed! They are all very excited and are already reaching out to other teens and to their parents. YES!
• I (Steve) am converting and putting on a website all the video Bible teaching series "Além do Véu - Deus Revelado" (Beyond the Veil - God Revealed). These are true "streaming videos" so they can be called up almost instantly and the viewer can jump to any place in the teaching. I plan to do the whole series (19 hours of video) this way (in the near future).
• Two new Bible studies will soon be starting in Saudades, one for teens and the other for adults. Pray for the adults as they hear God's Word. Most wanted to study because of the tremendous impact their (now) believing children had on them.
• We plan to make the 150km trip to Saudades 3 times a week starting tomorrow (Sunday). This is to allow for further evangelistic teaching, and for better grounding in God's Word for the new believers. Pray for safety on these dangerous roads during these many miles of travel per week.
• Pray for us as there are many requests for new Bible studies and we need God's wisdom to know which to undertake.
• All three of our kids are doing great! Pray especially for Richie during his last year at the NTBI in Waukesha, WI

Please do not stop praying! We need your prayers badly and God is undertaking and answering!