Category Archives: Brazil

Final Thoughts On Brazil ‘09

Here is the recap video from the trip. It is set to a wonderful song by Brazilian worship leader Heloisa Rosa called “Clamarei Teu Santo Nome”, which means “I will proclaim Your holy name”… A very fitting song to recap this trip.

If I had to summarize this trip in one word, that word would be synergy:

syn⋅er⋅gy [sin-er-jee] – the working together of two (or more) things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.

Our team had a little bit of everything thrown at them on this trip. On the ministry end, they had to sing, share testimonies, share the gospel in a language they didn’t know, do mime-skits that were pretty challenging to learn, and anything else that was asked of them, often at the drop of a hat.

On the work end, it was just as difficult and required as much flexibility. The guys had to haul cinder blocks, sand, cement bags, and tiles. Then they actually mixed the cement and hauled/poured it. The ladies had to strip old varnish, sand, and re-varnish doors. They also sanded and painted many other areas around Haven of Hope.

In addition to that, the art team that did the mural at the school entrance had to work very expeditiously to get it done. That included figuring out the dimensions, doing the scale drawings, and then doing the actual painting.

As I look back on this trip, the word synergy really sums it up. With everything thrown at us, and with 17 of 23 people getting sick, we could have whined and complained and taken it easy. But that is the opposite of what we did. Everyone put in 110% to get everything done. Our team realized that what we were doing in Brazil was much bigger than Haven of Hope or IBABI – it was about the Kingdom of God! Every aspect of the trip modeled a godly, Christ-centered synergy.

In our training: synergy.

In our work: synergy.

In our proclamation of the gospel: synergy.

In our worship and devotion: synergy.

I pray that future Center Point missions teams experience the level of camaraderie that we had.

Brazil Update #4

Ministry Recap

Another aspect of our experience in Brazil was spending time with the children that came to Haven of Hope. Some of these children are regulars at Haven of Hope, while others were visiting on a field trip. Russ and Diane often host outside schools at the property for field trips, and we were blessed to help host one during our time there.

Our team put all their energy into making these days special for the kids. We performed songs and dramas, shared testimonies, did relay races and face painting. But the most important aspect of our ministry to the children was telling them about the love of Jesus Christ. Many of our team members were able to share individually with kids in Portuguese and lead them to faith in Christ.

In addition to the time with children, our team had the chance to visit a few English schools. These schools are comprised of teenagers and adults. Most of the students were on a beginner’s level of English, but there were many who could carry on deeper conversations. The school operated on a tutor-pupil structure rather than in a classroom format. This gave us the opportunity to get into gospel conversations with students and teachers one-on-one. God blessed this immensely, and we were able to lead many people to Christ.

Here are some photos of the ministry days (English school pictures coming soon):

Our team singing songs with the kids.

Our team singing songs with the kids.


Sara Monroe cheering on the relay races.

Sara Monroe cheering on the relay races.


Freddy, Zach, Chad, and Blake chased children around during a relay race.

Freddy, Zach, Chad, and Blake chased children around during a relay race.


Keri Monroe sharing the gospel with a young girl.

Keri Monroe sharing the gospel with a young girl.


Sam Cirrincione and Freddy Salcido sharing Christ with children.

Sam Cirrincione and Freddy Salcido sharing Christ with children.


Jason Orr and Blake Medley hanging out with kids.

Jason Orr and Blake Medley hanging out with kids.

Brazil Update #3

Work Project Recap

The Brazil team had to be multi-faceted this year. Not only did they have to sing, share the gospel, and preach and teach about Christ, they had to do a pretty challenging work project. Our Center Point Church family raised the money to do the work project to improve the Haven of Hope facilities. While the facilities are already in great shape, there is still much to be done to enhance it and keep it up-to-date. The team worked on the project on Monday through Thursday.

Our project was three-fold. First, there was an art team that worked on a mural for the children’s school entrance. This was spear-headed by Kurt Oetken, April Pilcher, Brian Oldham, and Serah Thomas. They didn’t have a ton of time to design and paint, but they did an incredible job with what they had. Here’s a few shots of the mural and the art team:

New mural at the entrance of Haven of Hope classrooms.

New mural at the entrance of Haven of Hope classrooms.


The mural art team: Serah, Kurt, Brian, April.

The mural art team: Serah, Kurt, Brian, April.

Second, there was a team that worked on painting and cleaning around the main room of the Haven of Hope dining room/kitchen/foyer. They had to strip rust and old paint and put a new coat on. It was tedious, trying work, but they kept going and sought to honor Christ in every minute of it. Here are some photos of the painting/cleaning team:

Marie getting the door ready for a fresh coat.

Marie getting the door ready for a fresh coat.


Susan, Kelli, and Erin putting on the first coat of paint at the dining room.

Susan, Kelli, and Erin putting on the first coat of paint at the dining room.


Zach Monroe plastering the stairway walls.

Zach Monroe plastering the stairway walls.


Sara and Kasey taking a much needed break after sanding and painting.

Sara and Kasey taking a much needed break after sanding and painting.


Heather, Susan, Serah, and Erin sanded the main door and then revarnished it.

Heather, Susan, Serah, and Erin sanded the main door and then revarnished it.

The third tier of work on this missions trip had to do with a bunch of brutes and a ton of cement. The task was simple: fill in the columns on the security wall that surrounds Haven of Hope. The work was quite wearying, but it was worthwhile knowing that it was being done for the protection of these precious children. Just like the painting/cleaning crew, none of the guys complained, even at points of extreme exhaustion.

Brian Oldham jump-starting the cement mixer. Where did he learn how to do that???

Brian Oldham jump-starting the cement mixer. Where did he learn how to do that???


The guys filling the columns in the wall.

The guys filling the columns in the wall.


Jason Orr wheeling sand to the cement mixer.

Jason Orr wheeling sand to the cement mixer.


Chad Wiles tossing a cinder block to Jeremy Armstrong.

Chad Wiles tossing a cinder block to Jeremy Armstrong.


Cement team thanking God for a good day's work.

Cement team thanking God for a good day's work.

While the work was hard, it was very rewarding. God gave all of us at each project area the strength and energy to go on – in spite of 17 of our team members getting sick while in Brazil. It truly reminded us of one of the Bible verses we memorized:

“Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58

Updates on the ministry days is coming soon.

Brazil Update #2

Puxa (WOW)! What a week! We are back in the USA now, and I wish we could have updated more while in Brazil. We just didn’t have access to the internet for the second half of the trip. Thanks for all your prayers and your comments on the previous posts!

Now instead of updates, we’ll be posting some recaps of the trip so that all of our supporters and church members can know all about what God did on this trip. Since the previous post covered Friday-Sunday morning, let’s start with Sunday evening…

Sunday Evening
Brazilian church culture differs from what we are used to in the USA. Sunday morning is usually reserved for small groups and fellowship. Many churches don’t have Sunday morning services – Sunday night is when the big gathering of worship takes place. Our group was thrilled to take part in this service with the Brazilian church leaders.

We had the opportunity to participate in many ways on Sunday evening. Our drama team did a fantastic job with their wordless sketch called “The Woman”, which takes its audience through the life of a woman searching for satisfaction and approval in life, but doesn’t find it until she meets Jesus Christ. The message of this drama is cross-cultural and cross-generational, and it had a profound impact.

Zach Monroe and Ashley Oldham in 'The Woman'.

Zach Monroe and Ashley Oldham in 'The Woman'.

In addition to drama, we had the opportunity to serve on Sunday evening through music. I had the profound privilege of playing guitar with the IBABI worship team. Some of the band members have been friends of mine for more than 10 years now! Here is a shot of us jamming together:

Todd playing with the IBABI worship band.

Todd playing with the IBABI worship band.

Our team members learned three songs (some of which were very difficult) in English and Portuguese – We Fall Down, Be The Center, and From The Inside Out. There was a moment of comedy on Sunday night on stage when we sang Be The Center, because half of the team started the song in English and the other half in Portuguese. Actually, for a moment I wondered if somehow a third language slipped in there. Here is a nice look of confusion from the team:

CPC Brazil Team singing Be The Center at IBABI.

CPC Brazil Team singing Be The Center at IBABI.

Tim Parsons, our Lead Pastor at CPC, preached on Sunday night from Revelation 3. Patrick McClure, long-time missionary in Brazil, translated for him. It was a fantastic message and the perfect way to end the night. God used Tim, whose name is pronounced “chin” by Brazilians, to challenge all of our hearts and our walks with Christ. Here is a picture of Tim, Patrick, and Pastor Joel of IBABI on stage together:

Joel, Patrick, and Tim together on stage at IBABI.

Joel, Patrick, and Tim together on stage at IBABI.

More to come soon… Keep an eye out this week for more recaps.