David Smith
President ABWE Canada

Pastor Marc Soto
Emmanuel Baptist Church, Chatham Ontario and ABWE Canada board member.

Pr. Silvio Luiz
Pastor of São Mateus Baptist Church

This missions trip to Brazil was an awesome experience for me.  From the first day that we arrived in Brazil, Pastor Tim told us that his goal for this trip is that God would reach US. Once God has reached our hearts, He can then use us to impact others. Prayer was a big part of our team’s ministry in Brazil. We would spend hours in prayer and worship to God - It was awesome. There is nothing better than to sit in the presence of God and talk to Him about the work He is doing. Too often, we get caught up in our busy schedules and forget to spend time with God or look for His hand at work. We begin to lose sight of its importance. God becomes small to us. Then, sadly, we begin to limit our prayers, trying to make it easy for.

God to answer them, giving Him a way out if He needs. On this trip I began to realize again how big God really is, He shows it to me again and again, and repeatedly I forget. God really focused on teaching me two things on this trip. The first is that He doesn’t need me, but he chooses to use me. Witnessing is simply worshiping God in front of unbelievers, and hiding behind the cross so that it is Him that they see. God doesn’t need us to do anything for Him, but He uses us anyway - if we let Him. God taught me that it doesn’t matter if they speak the same language, or are from the same country, if we are gathered together in God’s name, He is there in our midst. I really felt the presence of God when we were gathered with our Brazilian family. I could feel the bond that we had together in Christ. It brought us together as a group. We were there together, serving the same God, pressing toward the same goal, with the same fears, all doing what God enabled us to do, whether it was speaking, acting in a skit, playing sports with the kids, witnessing, praying, singing, or up on the roof washing the dishes - God used each of us, Brazilian and American, as we were able, to bring Him glory. Thanks be to God!

Johnathan Baker
Student - Bob Jones University

Despite the ethnic diversity, God brought both groups of Christians together and provided the tools for us to minister effectively in Brazil while working with the ministry Pepe. Each person, American or Brazilian, played a significant role in the ministry, even if he or she did not speak Portuguese. It was Romans 12 in action! Though the body is one, it has many members, which individually have important roles. Additionally, working with the nationals showed me what it is really like to leave one’s homeland and serve Christ abroad. Mission work is hard work – mentaly as well as physicaly. In addition to the physical rigors, ministering encompasses a broad spectrum of mental challenges, like determining to communicate despite mental fatigue. I drew encouragement from this fact: the Brazilians were always eager to help me learn and patient in talking with me and getting to know me. They exemplified Christ’s love; they loved me as, if not better than, they loved themselves. Serving with the nationals inspired me to show this love that they practice to my brothers and sisters in Christ, and to everyone else at my home in Virginia.

Maria
Student Tech

My reasons for coming to Brasil were completely different than the Lord’s reasons. Yet, through the Lord’s goodness, He quickly showed me why He had brought me there. This trip was unlike anything I have ever experienced. For starters, I was not involved in the way that I am used to being involved. At first, I felt like my talents and gifts were not being used. However, the Lord had a different agenda for me, than my own. He very evidently showed me the power of fervent prayer. My main ministry while serving there was diligent prayer for the nationals since I could not speak the language. The Lord brought people to Christ right before my eyes, while my team members witnessed to them, and as I prayed for them. I was continually amazed at His greatness and mighty power!

Yet, the most amazing work the Lord accomplished was the work He did inside my heart. Prior to coming on the trip, I was struggling with the burden of guilt, and I was continually in bondage to my sin. I was weighed down with the reality of my imperfection. My worship, and my prayer before God was never fulfilling. All I could focus on was the reality of my sin. I wasn’t growing spiritually, and I felt like my Christian walk was a complete fake. I even wondered why I called myself a follower of Christ!

But God, in His steadfast love and mercy showed Himself to me during the first few days. As I wrestled with Him, and struggled to surrender my life and my guilt to Him, I prayed that He would show Himself to me. To my amazement, He did! Yet, He did not show Himself to me in the way that I expected. The Lord brought someone at that very moment to encourage me, as well as lead someone else to pray for me during those moments I was struggling. When I saw the Lord do all these things, I was humiliated before Him, and fell broken at His feet. Then the most wonderful thing happened. I felt the chains of my sin and guilt fall off. For the first time, I knew the reality of redemption. My heart immediately began to soar, as I realized what an amazing work Christ had done for me on the Cross. As a Christian of several years, I always knew in my head what Christ had done for me, and I knew that He had taken all the weight of my sin. Yet, in my life, I had never experienced the power of this redemption, until that moment.

I’ll never forget the love and closeness I received all week from my family in Brasil, nor the infinite goodness of My Lord. But, the beauty of it all is that the Lord has continued to work in my heart back at home. I have never had such a fervent prayer life, or close walk with God through my quiet times with Him. I have had unique opportunities to share His love with others that I never had before. The Lord is truly good to those who follow after Him. I am confident that His goodness will keep my heart steadfastly following Him, in love, humility, brokenness, and willingness before Him. He alone is worthy of all the glory, all the praise, and all the honor. My prayer is that my life will be so transparent, that others will never see me, and only see the cross of Christ.

“Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider) what great things he has done for you!” 1 Samuel 12:24

Joy
Student - Virginia Commonwealth University

PEPE has brought much encouragement to my life in Christ this past month. Two weeks ago I was privileged to take a missions trip from the States to Brazil. I was able to come along side PEPE with 40 other Brazilian young people in the city of Belo Horizonte. These believers came from 20 other churches, yet all had one purpose and goal – to worship Christ. I have never before experienced such unity. The love of Christ was very evident as we all worked together. The numbers did not matter, but what mattered was to bring glory to Christ – this was how we measured true success. Through PEPE I began to realize it was not important how good I looked to others. Whether I was taking out trash, praying upstairs while others ministered, or in the act of leading a lost soul to Christ, the only thing that mattered was that others should not see me, but Christ. I was able to understand how important it is for me to be obedient to God and do all that He asks of me. I do not have to be someone impressive or do something really amazing, I just need to be what God tells me to be. PEPE is helping the Christians in Brazil to be encouraged in the Lord and its foundation is these lessons that I have begun to learn. It is motivating, challenging, and equipping the believers and it is being used greatly of God. One of the believers from Belo Horizonte told me: “Before PEPE came I was very sad. I was working with the children in my church, but no one else was helping.   After PEPE came I am so happy! People from my church want to help now...” PEPE is a ministry that God is using mightily, in spite of human weakness and efforts. In everything God is being given the glory He deserves. In the short time that I was able to spend in Brazil, I saw Christ shining through the lives of the believers there. I also saw the power of God as He drew many lost souls to Himself. Through PEPE, as never before, I have witnessed the mighty hand of God.

Ruth
Student - Virginia Commonwealth University

God gave me an amazing opportunity to be a part of the PEPE mission trip MP3 in Belo Horizonte. Through the trip God taught me so much!  As a missionary kid, I have always had a heart for missions and a passion to see nationals realize their own giftedness and abilities to serve the Lord and fulfill the great commission.  What a joy it was for me to see young adults I knew as kids step up and serve the Lord and not only see it but to be able to serve ALONG side them!  My love for Christ and His gracious love towards me will be lived out and will overflow into the lives of people I am in contact with if I strive to live the motto of PEPE (By Him and For Him).  I was stretched beyond belief!  I had the tasks of helping with translation for the American team as well as helping in HOWEVER I was needed in other areas too.  As I was being stretched, I was also encouraged, refreshcd, and challenged in the body of Christ.  The love of God overflowed in the lives of EVERYONE involved. It was neat to see the numbers of people that made decisions for the Lord because we had the mindset to LIVE Christ in front of an unbeliever… but more than just the numbers, the REAL joy was seeing Brazilian youth  stepping it up, living their all for God, and making an impact in the lost world around us.  I have fallen in love with this ministry and vision and pray that God gives me more opportunities to be involved with it in the future.

Cynthia Taylor
ABWE MK & AMP Missionary, currently residing in Clarks Summit, PA.

God taught me so much in these two weeks!  The power of prayer is great!  Faith is necessary for working on the mission field! But what really stood out to me was this phrase, “hide yourself behind the cross,” make sure that people don’t see me, but that they see Christ!  I believe that we should live like this wherever we are at. At work, in college or even on the subway, people should not see me, but see the cross of Christ!  “For I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Because everything was made By Him and For Him.

Danilo Navarro
Student, São Paulo

This trip has had a drastic change in my life!  I learned so many things but what touched me most were the phrases “worship God in front of an unbeliever” and “live completely dependent upon God.”  Evangelism is nothing more than worshiping God in front of an unbeliever, regardless of whether people accept Jesus as Savior, the seed was planted. God is the One who will do the work. He does His will, what we need to do is worship Him and let Him use us. Depending solely on God means relying on Him in every area and not only when we face hardships, it’s living completely PEPE (By Him and For Him). Being a Christian is not just an area in our life, Jesus isn’t just one character in our life, He is the reason of our existence, He is who sustains us, He is our Father.

Daphne Lima
Student, São Paulo

God is Wonderful! There is nothing greater than waking up thinking of God, doing everything By Him and For Him. This completely changes our way of thinking, what may be small or unimportant in our eyes aren’t so to God. But two things really struck me. First, the Grace of God in reaching me and using me, to be a part of His plan, to see that we did the evangelistic work and people heard what we had to say, but at the same time didn’t want to commit to a relationship with God and turn their lives over to Him. Many times I didn’t understand it, but it seemed as though God was speaking to me saying, “Mauricio, I don’t want to save that person, at least now is not the time.” This made me think how gracious God was towards me, because He opened my eyes and did what no one could imagine, He changed my life story! The second thing that stood out to me was the day we evangelized in the center of the city, and we saw, like in our own city of Sao Paulo, that there were people that rushed about, we have streets like that in Sao Paulo, we have commercial stores like that in Sao Paulo and the most striking thought was that we have people that need the Lord just the same in Sao Paulo as in this city we worked in. This showed me that we have a lot of work to do, right where we live, because the mission trip continues, a 24/7 life for God continues, it just changed the scenery a bit!

Maurício Carvalho
Student, São Paulo