tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49973233852194734392024-03-05T00:05:48.231-08:00Hope BlogA Canadian family serving as missionaries in Northeast BrazilSnells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-23619847427803032422022-10-31T08:41:00.000-07:002022-10-31T08:41:22.124-07:00A Reason For Hope<div style="min-height: 100%; position: relative;"><div class="nH" style="width: 1324px;"><div class="nH" style="position: relative;"><div class="nH aqk aql bkL" style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; position: relative;"><div class="nH bkK" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1; overflow: hidden;"><div class="nH" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 16px; margin-bottom: 16px; overflow-y: hidden;"><div class="nH"><div class="nH ar4 z"><div class="aeI"><div class="AO" style="position: relative;"><div class="Tm aeJ" id=":3" style="height: 732px; overflow-y: scroll; padding-right: 0px;"><div class="aeF" id=":1" style="min-height: 542px; 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width: 948px;"><center><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="m_4569960160421983263bodyTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; height: 100%px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td align="center" id="m_4569960160421983263templateHeader" style="background-color: white; background-image: none; background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263templateContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 600px !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; 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border-top-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 9px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263templateContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 600px !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h1 style="font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">Thank you!</h1><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Before we bring you any news we first and foremost want to thank all of you for your faithful support. We have been on this ride for ten years and some of you have been there since the very beginning and we are incredibly grateful for all the ways you have blessed us, in prayer, financial support, meals when in Canada and just knowing we are not alone! </p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="m_4569960160421983263mcnImageGroupBlockOuter"><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnImageGroupBlockInner" style="margin: 0px; padding: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnImageGroupContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 273px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnImageGroupContent" style="margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 9px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnImage CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiIOUqald0idSl8lhycLSmfgRMS0PRb9U4D7PuebF9vGIcyQ9BQvIHVaf430uxcpi0KpNl9-thbIF1VIXlFj0TpENi7FRgiCkq2mwNgEAJH3WGLC5VvDT2-54P_UfFm5omblxZCUemScyVW06ItdAdJqb2k6Z7XMSwBVii8G7fPPnMl4nujV5V9X4hK9YxN-HHWnKPuJmImvPURZ3q6mi-Bm0yg=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 1px inset; cursor: pointer; height: auto; max-width: 1023px; outline: none; padding-bottom: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" tabindex="0" width="264" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnImageGroupContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 273px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnImageGroupContent" style="margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-right: 9px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnImage CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgRCs-U2fG3GpzsDC2M2HWtG2SVZ_8BlXRXPVxgBovQboxlZjMvpCZpuFwqaU3vjHYzQm4P6-C9_ZpjxfSE-UbgtB6RqfNGeGH4OSQ8C8etQNmcS_kgHfAiCF2ACmC0IAXqQG4mlpnY_lUTU5BpFAC4PJzRP2JpOEgEfTsqHw1lhbS_Ml1R1qedStQAJPECSCEt4pvKVfumjZnM8g4FyDpSe1EKlw=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 1px inset; cursor: pointer; height: auto; max-width: 1200px; outline: none; padding-bottom: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" tabindex="0" width="264" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"> 2012 TEN YEARS IN BRAZIL! 2022 </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnBoxedTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 9px 18px;"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContentContainer" style="background-color: #404040; border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContent" style="color: #f2f2f2; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 18px; text-align: center; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h1 style="color: #202020; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">A Reason For Hope</span></span></h1><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">For those of you who watched our documentary “Always Forward-A Love Story’ you will remember one of the women who spoke about their lack of choices and tearfully explained that they are not on the streets because they <strong><em>want to be</em></strong> but out of <strong><em>necessity. </em></strong></p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong><em>(If you haven’t seen our documentary you can watch an identity-protected version below<u>)</u></em></strong></p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">She has been married to a man for eight years who didn’t know how she was helping their family make ends meet since he was unable to find work. We had explained to her over the years that her husband would one day discover what she had been doing in secret to sustain their family.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">That day came a number of months ago. At first, he was understandably angry and hurt and left her. But, incredibly he has returned and told her he will do whatever he has to so she never has to return to that life.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">They are now expecting a baby in February.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Recently, she came to Hope Center with her husband, children, and aunt in tow. She wanted to show them the house that gave her peace in some of her darkest days.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">As we sat and visited and ate some coffee cake and she said to her family, ‘Do you feel it? Do you feel the peace that lives in this house?’ They all agreed.<br /><br /><em><strong>'Every time I came here, I felt the presence of God.'</strong></em></p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">There are days when we wonder if what we are doing is making any difference or if our hope is just too big for their realities. </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Some days we open the house and one woman will come. </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Some days we wonder-is the expense of renting this house is too much in relation to how many women we are serving.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">We are human-and we have days full of doubt.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">And then we have days like that and we realize that it isn’t just that one woman-it’s her kids, her extended family, and the generations after her that will hopefully know a loving God who meets them right where they are, in the darkest of dark places where they felt invisible and despised by society.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">So we continue to love them where they are, to meet them in those places, and trust that He knows the whole plan.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">We won’t always get to see what happened to them like we did that day. In fact, there are many women we used to see daily who are no longer on the streets. We don’t know if they have moved on to another area of the city or if they have left that life. But we keep praying for them and seeking out the ones that are still there in that dark place.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 18px 18px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #2baadf; border-radius: 4px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 18px;" valign="middle"><a class="m_4569960160421983263mcnButton" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://xtrememercy.com/hope-ministries/&source=gmail&ust=1667314703960000&usg=AOvVaw1qC5Hk207ezY1y7DiK_vHk" href="https://xtrememercy.com/hope-ministries/" style="color: white; display: block; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Join Our Team-Donate Here">Join Our Team-Donate Here</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px;" valign="top"></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h2 style="font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><strong>Coffee Start Up</strong></h2><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgy3NB8w0pDG3M5hUs11kQG7VLoT0lwLfZ-xX-QT_LuHKqJlAZSAGSIHr9Ad6yqXE_RIzZQHm3BDu-Z-qW5zEKt4McEYXW9EI5iMNWiIzv4OmNhbyDczs5CFpl5XNnD6b64s7190BB4_NEGH8dLUXOMUudWhaCzLunFeMQLHK3bQIKwoMKdxQPzqg3f2nz6UflBRbtkkZlZ0JzfL_X8I1LM_nCXwz1CbzVk=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; height: 466px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 350px;" tabindex="0" width="350" /></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Starting a business is a lot of work. Starting a business in Brazil adds a whole other layer of bureaucracy. But we have started the process!</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Here are the highlights of what we have done so far:</p><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;">We identified a coffee producers association led by women for women in Minas Gerais</li></ul> <ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;">In June we travelled to visit some of the producers and coffee farms to see how they produce, how their workers are treated and understand more about the coffee production process</li></ul><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;">We had several meetings with our marketing team and they have created a brand for our coffee that we love!</li></ul> <ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;">We have chosen our coffee supplier.</li></ul> <ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;">We are working on the logistics of packaging and shipping and all the costs involved.</li></ul> <ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;">We are investigating the possibility of exporting to Canada.</li></ul> <ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;">It is a labor of love and we are taking tiny steps towards what we hope will one day be a great source of funds and employment here.</li></ul><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Stay tuned!</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnBoxedTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 9px 18px;"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContentContainer" style="background-color: #404040; border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContent" style="color: #f2f2f2; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 18px; text-align: center; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h2 style="color: #202020; font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: white;">Quieter Streets</span></h2><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">The street we have been walking for the past five years has changed. In those early days, we would encounter up to 30 women or more in a day. Some days we see as few as two.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">In some cases, there are women we used to see and don’t know where life has taken them. But others we have been able to walk alongside and have been able to witness as their lives have made slow changes until they are no longer working on the streets. We continue to walk with these women, as support and encouragement.<br /><br />Currently we know of at least eight women who have made or are making the transition off the streets.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">One of those women said as she sat at Hope Center with us last week, “you know, I drove down that street today and thought <em>why did I work there?”</em></p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong><em>Her life is changing and we will bring you more news of that in our next update.</em></strong></p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Once a week we are bringing a hot meal to the streets and also to the house for anyone who wants to take a break. We often found in the past that when we came to the streets to pray they were asking for prayer to at least make enough money to buy food. This is a tangible way we can help fill an immediate need.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><img class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhWl__sdEEYQcUEDCinqdAs6yaUi1Vub2-iysJTAD69FsQVx4bVwzbuZihsrtk0VJr0tu9Fa7TNmspiWg7xBa6ss6htx5vRUQHLjakKliWJIWp3QpBjJ-bwmKH8iSXeuZq9ffaBrPGWPnRro7id_-8JTc6IGQDE2jPr2Rj0DaQEm4-FzhJ2DNWx0EmO4PfjVs4dXhWkINHabUWren4wnZviN8KZ=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; height: 262px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 350px;" tabindex="0" width="350" /></p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">Another day of the week we open Hope Center for our free store, a snack and an opportunity to receive prayer.</p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"> </p><p style="line-height: 21px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px;">We continue to bring the good news to the women we love and that Jesus loves so dearly.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h2 style="font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">New Area</h2><img align="center" class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhcrcZ2hTJ28c_2awVms9p6dhT96bnYSm1LQt4OfjJkhqqz6Bvu0yoPHkaWPRZfVrP05PEUT-hcn007zIhp6SQHUV1XF6-AKgWcUFnHd6SNvetGBtnbOjJzGi5ve7hLdQfoPydk34ZW29ymdygSqtA4Om7uCwlYxcZnwt0hQJxR7jwIxZw_vYNztcZF6Z4-UtkgRgaE2KTnS5gFs98g8q9RRrMa=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 10px solid; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 222px; margin: 15px; outline: none; width: 400px;" tabindex="0" width="400" /><br />As we mentioned, the street where we started has fewer and fewer women. We will not stop going to that area. But as we have prayed we feel that familiar nudge to start something new.<br /><br />There is an area in the downtown of João Pessoa where many women work. There are also 'bars' that function as brothels surrounding that area.<br /><br />As we prayed for direction, we felt that it was time to start to prepare spiritually to go into that area. We have started walking the area and praying over it in preparation for the day we feel released to start reaching out to these women.<br /><br />This area is known for being even 'darker' than where we currently work. In the brothels the women have pimps and madams-there could be more resistance to our presence than we have previously encountered. <br /><br />Will you join us in prayer for this new place? Pray for favour, pray for soft hearts ready to hear the gospel, pray for open doors that the light might enter into those dark places.<br /><br />Once again we are terricited for this new step!<div> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_4569960160421983263mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h2 style="font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">The Snell Kids</h2><span style="font-size: 18px;"><strong>M</strong></span>any have asked, "So, is Luke coming back to Canada? What are your kids plans?"<div style="text-align: center;"><img class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" height="533" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgNjfyX_5lHYzmiJgUVHpbpS2JZJpC_rGuJbh6UhD8u8BK9I2Om7a7YFVSSJEDzebGQq42MPud-TeA-KSFxBJ2krJTde1rFNlaKYmQ5Hie-jopiRr3t9YtnB99ozJxAKi1oC_y3xQqeOoQCMc8RIkc0KgFSAUG9eqTCfyKDDOS_2oiYUMWFaAfoWapUj3esd2SLzzKa6zlR7m61HR0zETb0YDzV=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; height: 533px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 400px;" tabindex="0" width="400" /><div style="text-align: left;"><em>Luke and Faith ready for Supercon-Faith wearing a costume she made herself (without any formal instruction!)</em><br /><br /><br />In September, Luke turned 18 and due to several factors, he is still working towards finishing his high school diploma. His plan was to head back to Canada for University once he finished but that has changed recently.<br /><br />When he is finished his high school diploma, Luke plans to seek a degree in psychology but ultimately working towards being accepted on the police force. He has a heart to contribute to society and to do something with his life that helps and makes a difference in the lives of others.<br /><br />Faith is still working through high school and focusing on her love of creating. She hopes to study fashion and design in Canada when she is ready for that next step.<br /><br />Please keep our kids in your prayers as they navigate the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This transition is challenging for anyone but there is another layer when you are a 'third culture kid'.<br /><br /> </div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></center></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-80536971312030828312020-12-03T16:13:00.001-08:002020-12-03T16:13:19.915-08:00Hope Center Opens!<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> <img align="center" alt="" class="mcnImage" src="https://mcusercontent.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/737d4b5b-5031-4063-b753-e21927374a37.jpg" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: inline !important; height: auto; max-width: 800px; outline: none; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: bottom;" width="564" /></p></blockquote><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-collapse: collapse; color: black; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" id="templateBody" style="background: none center center / cover no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom: 0px; border-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 9px; padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="templateContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 600px !important; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="bodyContainer" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="358" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3htxXR0hYSI" width="430" youtube-src-id="3htxXR0hYSI"></iframe></div><br /><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">When we were last in Canada we spoke of our dreams of being able to open a home for women where they could really find healing and transformation. A place where they would live for up to a year and receive healing, training, and discipleship.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">As we all know, we need to walk before we can run.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">We felt the nudge that there was a step in between where we were and where we hope to one day be. That step was a drop-in center. </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Thus, Hope Center was born.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">What is Hope Center?</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">A drop-in center for women currently working in prostitution, leaving or have recently left prostitution or at risk of entering prostitution. The vision was to create a place that felt like home, where women could come for refuge, prayer, relax for a while, have a snack or a meal, and receive services or job skill training. <img align="left" data-file-id="2626570" height="202" src="https://mcusercontent.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/_compresseds/a8ccc6bf-4003-4464-92c1-384078b0bae2.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 225px; margin: 10px; outline: none; width: 300px;" width="269" /><br /><br />Currently, the services will be offering are:</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Gynecology consultations</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Prayer and Discipleship</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Snacks, drinks, and showers</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Psychologist (group or individual)</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Connection to potential alternative <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>sources of employment </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span> </span> <span> </span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Education and training</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Prevention initiatives <span> </span></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Connection to existing community <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>services</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><br /><strong><em>Ultimately, we hope that this will be a place where women can begin to believe in themselves and who Christ created them to be, be encouraged to take steps toward a better future, and be supported as they rebuild their lives.</em></strong></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><img align="right" data-file-id="2626574" height="225" src="https://mcusercontent.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/_compresseds/b6741eb4-d948-4933-ad38-0801e4b56ab2.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 225px; margin: 10px; outline: none; width: 300px;" width="300" /><img data-file-id="2626590" height="225" src="https://mcusercontent.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/1de59591-4ac7-42c4-acd0-0c0903e2986d.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 225px; margin: 10px; outline: none; width: 300px;" width="300" /></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">On November 5th we opened our doors for the first time. Whenever we start something new, it is with trepidation not knowing if they will come, or understand why.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">On our first day, I asked the women who came why they thought we had opened this house.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">One of them responded with this:</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong><em>‘Because you value us, you care about us, you are the only ones who don’t look like us like we are garbage. Everyone else looks at us like we are nothing, worth nothing….’ </em></strong></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Our hope for these women is of course that they understand that God also loves them, values them, and sees them as so much more and that they will begin to see that value in themselves.<br /><br />On that first day, we watched as they relaxed on the couches in a way we hadn't seen before, opened up to us even more, and stayed longer than they would in the tent or on the street.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Beyond the tangible ‘help’ we hope to offer in this house, we want to connect these women with people who will encourage and lift them up. The culture of the people who surround them is one of discouragement. If someone tries to change their life the voices are chanting ‘<em>you think you’re better than us? You’ll never change, you’ll never get out of here,’ </em>and when they fall those voices are right there to say, <em>‘see, I told you!’</em></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">We want to fill their ears and their hearts with the words from people who want the best for them, who will believe in them when they can’t believe in themselves, people who will hold out a hand and help them to their feet when they fall on the way-because they will-but we believe they can get back up again.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong><em>Drastic life changes often take many attempts and a lot of time.</em></strong></span></p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Something we hear from many of these women is ‘if it’s God’s will, I will leave the streets’. Of course, we all know the streets are not where God wants these women, his daughters. But we also understand that it often takes our own action to activate God's plans.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">In Exodus 14:15 the Israelites were pressed on all sides. Escaping their enslavement in Egypt they found themselves on the banks of the red sea, impossible to cross. Behind them, the Egyptian army was bearing down on them. Moses, their leader said,</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">‘The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.’</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">But this was a moment when God required something of His people. This was not a time to sit still. God’s response was this:</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward!’</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">There are times in our lives when God requires us to go forward, face the impossible, and trust that he will part the waters, move the mountain. But, often that mountain doesn’t move and that water doesn’t part until we take the first step.<br /><br /><img align="center" data-file-id="2626746" height="123" src="https://mcusercontent.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/aee70885-fbdb-47e1-8a86-17bc50485b73.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 123px; margin: 10px; outline: none; width: 350px;" width="350" /> <br />These women are not in a place they can do that alone. They need people to walk with them. We are already seeing the interest of people and professionals around the city who want to know more, want to help…and have wanted to for a while but didn’t know how or where to start and now they have a place to do it.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">The street can be dangerous and it’s not for everyone.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Hope Center is the common ground where people who want to, can help those who need it most and a place where we can begin to see who is ready to take the leap.</p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"> </p><p style="line-height: 24px; margin: 10px 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%;">We also understand that timing is everything, and we can’t want this more than they do. So, we support and love them and continue to be available for the moment they decide, enough is enough.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnButtonBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnButtonBlockOuter"><tr><td align="center" class="mcnButtonBlockInner" style="padding: 0px 18px 18px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnButtonContentContainer" style="background-color: #2baadf; border-radius: 4px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="mcnButtonContent" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; padding: 18px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="middle"><a class="mcnButton " href="https://xtrememercy.com/hope-ministries/" style="color: white; display: block; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration-line: none; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank" title="Donate Now-Support Hope Ministries">Donate Now-Support Hope Ministries</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnTextBlockInner" style="padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #202020; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h1 class="null" style="font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Cards for Hope Fundraiser! </h1><br /><img data-file-id="2626562" height="199" src="https://mcusercontent.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/d334b9f4-30d9-47f9-a430-83bc943900bb.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 199px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 150px;" width="150" /><br /><img align="right" data-file-id="2626558" height="199" src="https://mcusercontent.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/aa5dcf97-7615-431b-b988-b61619485a4d.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 199px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 150px;" width="150" /><br />Our wonderful and talented friend is holding an online card fundraiser featuring Christmas, birthday cards as well as others. These cards are all hand-made and beautiful. All proceeds go to Hope Ministries! <strong>Click the link below to see the cards and buy now before they're gone!</strong></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnButtonBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnButtonBlockOuter"><tr><td align="center" class="mcnButtonBlockInner" style="padding: 0px 18px 18px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnButtonContentContainer" style="background-color: #2baadf; border-radius: 4px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="mcnButtonContent" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; padding: 18px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="middle"><a class="mcnButton " href="https://christmascardsforhope.wordpress.com/" style="color: white; display: block; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration-line: none; text-size-adjust: 100%;" target="_blank" title="Click here to buy Cards!">Click here to buy Cards!</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center" id="templateFooter" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom: 0px; border-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 9px; padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="templateContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; max-width: 600px !important; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="footerContainer" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnBoxedTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnBoxedTextBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnBoxedTextBlockInner" style="text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnBoxedTextContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="padding: 9px 18px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextContentContainer" style="background-color: #404040; border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #f2f2f2; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; padding: 18px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h1 class="null" style="color: #202020; font-size: 26px; line-height: 32.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: white;">Furlough?</span></h1>2021 is a furlough year for us. Time flies when you're living through a pandemic! We are still unsure if we will be able to come back. We are watching the situation closely. Here in Brazil, we are not, as yet, seeing a second wave. Perhaps that is due to the fact that the first wave was a bit of a tsunami. The numbers have been steadily declining here despite everything being open. <br />Furlough is a time when we connect with people, churches, and of course family. But, if things are still in a semi-lock down restricted state it would not be practical for us to head back. If we are able to meet with people, masks on, and social distance, then we will still come.<br /><br />Praying it will work for us to come! We miss everyone!<br /><br />If we are able to head back, both Luke and Faith are looking to get jobs. Part of their transition to life in Canada will be learning to budget, having more responsibility and independence. Here in Brazil, you can't work until you are eighteen and even then they earn very little. So, if you or anyone you know of is looking for eager, responsible hard-working teenagers let us know!<br /><br />Pray with us that it will be possible and practical for us to come to Canada!<br /><br /> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnShareBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnShareBlockOuter"><tr><td class="mcnShareBlockInner" style="padding: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnShareContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding: 0px 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnShareContent" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="mcnShareContentItemContainer" style="padding-left: 9px; 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font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><h2 class="null" style="color: #202020; font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Prayer Requests:</h2><br />Health-both Phil and I are dealing with a few minor health issues (partly age-LOL) but they can be a distraction and a pain!<br /><br />Luke and Faith- Their lives are already pretty restrictive but the pandemic makes it even more so. Prayers appreciated for them in this time of boredom and on-line schooling appreciated!<br /><br /><strong>Praise Report-I mentioned in another email or social media post that we were in need of air conditioners for Hope Center. We didn't have any offers and needed to buy them, so we did so on faith. God is abundantly awesome and provided a wonderful donor! </strong></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnFollowBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnFollowBlockOuter"><tr><td align="center" class="mcnFollowBlockInner" style="padding: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnFollowContentContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding-left: 9px; padding-right: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnFollowContent" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding-left: 9px; padding-right: 9px; padding-top: 9px; text-size-adjust: 100%;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; 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display: block; height: auto; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none;" width="24" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-61085233639176281762019-12-08T05:06:00.002-08:002019-12-08T05:06:14.312-08:00<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="templateContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: black; max-width: 600px !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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EMERGENCY FUNDING APPEAL</h1>
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THIS WEEK WE RECEIVED SOME BAD NEWS..... </div>
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To those who faithfully pray, and give and support us in so many ways, we have been hit with a significant financial blow.</div>
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As residents for tax purposes in Canada, we have been eligible and have benefited from the Canadian Child Benefit (baby bonus). This benefit has been part of our personal income from the beginning of our journey, helping us with the costs of living here in Brazil, feeding, and clothing and educating our two kids. </div>
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In short, making it possible for us to be here and do what we do.</div>
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I’ve often thought, ‘Without that money we would be dead in the water’.</div>
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That day has come. This week we learned that although missionaries working overseas are entitled to collect that benefit, they can only do so for five years. We are in year six. </div>
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That leaves us in a very critical situation. Which is why I am writing this appeal.</div>
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The Canadian government is very generous to those who are considered to be living below the poverty line, and our personal income qualifies as just that. </div>
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In order for us to continue here in Brazil, we need to replace the personal income we are losing with the loss of that benefit.</div>
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We are gaining momentum here with the ministry, we are building a team and awareness within the city, and of course deep relationships with the women, but things are not at the point that if we left they would carry on. That is our ultimate goal, but we aren’t there yet.</div>
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In order for this to continue, we need to continue to be here.</div>
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Please consider joining us in this work. As a monthly supporter you aren’t just getting a tax receipt you are a part of a team that is helping us to continue walking out what we feel in our hearts God has called us to do.</div>
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Currently, the majority of our support comes from individuals, so if you are thinking whatever small amount you can give won’t make a difference, those individual donations make up 70% of our monthly donations. 70% is a VERY big difference.</div>
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For our current monthly supporters, we ask that you would prayerfully consider increasing your monthly giving.</div>
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We are not blind to the fact that every time we take a step forward in this ministry we are hit with some kind of attack. This is another one, the enemy really doesn’t want us here breaking chains and freeing captives. </div>
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Partner with us today and help us to continue reaching the least and the lost!<br /><br />We need:<br />8 new partners at $100/month<br />or 16 new partners at $50/month<br />or 32 partners at $25/month.<br /><br />Of course we welcome more than the above but this is what we currently need to be able to continue. The more we raise the more we are able to do in the ministry. </div>
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To become a partner click here: <a href="https://xingu.org/opportunities/giving/snell-ministries/" target="_blank">Join The Team</a><br /><br />Thank you for prayerfully considering becoming a team member of Hope Ministries!!</div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-2478396112043054852019-06-05T12:44:00.001-07:002019-06-05T12:44:37.196-07:00<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="templateContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: black; max-width: 600px !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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Na Mesa Do Pai (At the Father’s Table)</h1>
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From the beginning of this ministry with the women we dreamed of one day being able to hold a larger event for them, like a banquet. But it seemed to be just that, a dream. How could we, just two people, pull off an event like that?</div>
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Early in the new year we both prayed and felt that was the next step, but we hesitated again because of the fact that it seemed like an unreachable goal.</div>
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But as I prayed I felt strongly that God was saying to us to move forward with it and as we trusted Him and stepped forward He would add to our numbers and the distance between us and where we wanted to be would be reached.</div>
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Well that is exactly what happened. We decided to just trust that somehow everything would come together.</div>
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That's when the sickness hit our house, and one after the other we fell down with a fever, body aches and a weakness I haven't felt since Malaria. The week before the event I was so sick I fainted on the way back from the bathroom! Thankfully Phil was by my side to catch me.</div>
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We feared that since we hadn't been able to get to the streets we wouldn't see any girls at the event.</div>
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The Wednesday before I managed to get into the car with Phil driving and we drove down the road handing out invitations to the girls.</div>
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By Saturday, the day of the event, I was mostly back to normal and running on adrenaline. </div>
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The Anglican church agreed to let us use their beach front church and our friends at Ezekiel 47 all pitched in to help with the food, set up and take down and praying for the girls.<br /><br />Shores of Grace stepped up and sent the leader of their ministry with the women in prostitution and a woman who has left the streets recorded her story and also came to speak in person and encourage our girls that they too can have a different life. Another five people from Shores came along with them to help. We also had our good friends and fellow missionaries Christopher and Denise visiting us as well as their adorable son Jonas.<br /><br /><img data-file-id="2347469" height="233" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/ed6e6a93-a62b-44cd-88e6-5752ff05f1cc.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 233px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 350px;" width="350" /></div>
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We had about 25 people in total involved in making it all happen.</div>
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In the end we had nine girls attend-a great turn out for the first one.</div>
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Maria, from Shores of Grace, spoke to the women about the story of Lazarus, that although he had been dead for four days, his body already decomposing, that Jesus called him out and back to life. She told the women that they may think that their dreams are dead and decomposing, like Lazarus, but that Jesus is calling them out of the tomb and back to life.</div>
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All of the women stood at the end to receive prayer, there were tears flowing freely and as we closed for the evening they all just stayed where they were, there was a peace in the room that was palpable.</div>
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Phil and I were overwhelmed, in a good way. All the sickness we had suffered and other calamities leading up to the event (too many to mention!) were worth it if even one of these women will see their life transformed, will begin to understand that she is worthy, loved and valued.<br /><br />When we were back on the streets all the girls were talking about how much they loved the banquet with the girls who didn't attend, we believe attendance will continue to rise as word gets out.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Sickness Hits the Snells!</span></h1>
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Our family is usually pretty healthy. In fact, I can’t remember a time before this month that our kids had a fever or flu, it’s literally been years and I don’t remember at all the last time I did.</div>
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Well this month we made up for lost time. It started with Luke, then it hit Phil and he was down for almost two weeks with what we suspected was dengue, just as he was getting better I started with a fever, a week or so later I was starting to come around, after having fainted once and losing about 8 pounds, Faith came home from school with a fever.</div>
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What.is.going.on.</div>
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We are pretty exhausted and now much more grateful for our usually healthy bodies. </div>
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Once we were strong enough to get to the doctor we went to have tests done and sure enough, all three of us had dengue, a virus carried by a certain species of mosquito. </div>
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Praying this is the end of it for a long time!</div>
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Time flies when you are doing what you are passionate about! It’s furlough time again, and although our time will be short due to the kids in school, we are hoping to pack in as much visiting and sharing as we can. Our calendar is booking up fast but we still have a few dates available if you would like to host a screening of the documentary that was made for us. If you would like to host a screening, please reply to this email and we will organize an evening!</div>
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We arrive in Canada on the 12th of June and leave on the 15th of August.</div>
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<tr><td align="left" class="mcnImageCardBottomImageContent" style="padding: 0px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="mcnImage" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/d9a92f60-cf10-4bf6-b3a8-f478ba2cd7dc.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 600px; outline: none; vertical-align: bottom;" width="564" /></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Prayer Requests</span></h1>
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For the rest of our month here in Brazil, that we can accomplish what we need to before leaving</div>
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For protection and health as we travel</div>
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For our kids as they will miss some classes and have to keep on top of their studies while we are away.</div>
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For our house and the Moura family who will be looking after it and our fur family while we are away.</div>
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That this furlough is a fruitful one. We need to increase our monthly partners to continue and expand what we are working towards here in João Pessoa.</div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-47876502538750999362019-04-20T06:47:00.001-07:002019-04-20T20:03:13.151-07:00Easter Reflections<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
When I was in university I heard about a guy who was giving way all his worldly possessions because ‘God told him to’. I just figured he was suffering from a mental illness. I also hoped I could get in line for some of his CDs.</div>
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When I was in Africa, one of our staff members showed me an article about a guy who had sold everything to move to Africa because ‘God told him to’.</div>
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I thought both of these people needed to check in with their family physician. Who does that? Who thinks God is talking to them? And who sells all their earthly possessions because of something ‘God’ said to them??</div>
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Flash forward 10-15 years.</div>
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There’s me explaining to my friends and family that ‘God is telling us to move to Brazil to be missionaries’.</div>
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Pretty sure most of my friends put me in the same place I put those two people I wrote about at the beginning. Jen needs to seek professional help, or Jen has been brainwashed.</div>
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I get it, years earlier I would have thought the same thing, I did think the same thing.</div>
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Phil and I were poised to have a great future, two great kids, Phil had his own renovation business and I was creating a great career in real estate. We lived in a great community, had wonderful friends and a big extended family. We lived in a country rated in the top 3 in the world most years.</div>
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What on earth made us give it all up, sell everything and move to a country where violence and corruption are rampant, education is expensive and we didn’t speak the language?</div>
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Were we brainwashed? Both of us at the same time? Or were we both, simultaneously suffering from a mental breakdown? Midlife Crisis?</div>
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None of the above.</div>
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For those of you who really know me, you know that yes, I have changed. But I haven’t become a religious zealot thumping my Bible and yelling ‘repent or the end is nigh!’ If anything I despise the word ‘religious’ and will often correct people when they say, ‘you’re religious’. Which usually gets me an odd look.</div>
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Religion starts wars, religion breeds hate, religion loves rules.</div>
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Jesus, the one that I have turned over my whole life too, hated all of that.</div>
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What Jesus was and is about, and what he has birthed in me, is LOVE.</div>
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I didn’t used to love people all that much. I loved those around me, the ones I knew, my family and friends, people I had things in common with especially.</div>
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But people who were different from me, quite frankly, annoyed me. People who thought differently or believed differently, I kept at a distance. Not that I was mean or rude to them, I just had no interest in knowing them.</div>
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In November of 2002, just a few months after we were married something completed shifted in my heart, and where I used to harbour fear, a need for the next thing, a gnawing unidentified hunger that couldn’t be satisfied was immediately and completely filled.</div>
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For the first time in my life it was like a light was turned on. Did I get a download to the meaning of life and everything in it? Sort of. Did I suddenly have all the answers to life biggest questions, no. But the thing was I was suddenly ok with not knowing the reason for everything. I was suddenly able to put my trust somewhere, that no matter what happened someone was driving this thing, someone who did know all the answers was in control and I could rest in that.</div>
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I had an inner peace I had longed for my entire life.</div>
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I know, sounds crazy, sounds impossible but 17 years later it’s still there and instead of fading, it only grows.</div>
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That peace is something that has no price. I used to live with a lot of fear, fear of wars, fear of loved ones dying, fear of disease, fear of the end of the world.</div>
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The world is full of a lot of scary stuff these days. It seems that doomsday looms over us, peers at us from around the corner.</div>
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Although I can’t say that fear doesn’t rear its ugly head every once in a while, it no longer controls and consumes me. I’m no longer a slave to it.</div>
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Why? What’s my secret? Well, I now have somewhere to put that fear, someone to take it to. I can say, ‘I can’t carry this it’s crushing me, please take it from me’ and as long as I remember to ask, He takes it, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.</div>
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And then there’s the love. Suddenly, people that used to annoy me became people I really wanted to know, maybe even understand how they ticked even if it was different to me. I love people in a way I didn’t think was possible before. Like really love them.</div>
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Especially the ones that look like everyone else has forgotten about, cast aside.</div>
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That love is what fills up that gaping void that I tried to fill before with alcohol, friends, new clothes, a better job, the next stage of my life, and on and on and on…..a constant search for something I couldn’t put my finger on but continued to try the next thing hoping that would satisfy it.</div>
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That gaping void has a shape, we all have one and I can tell you this, it won’t be filled with anything that has a different shape that what was created to fill it.</div>
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Once that love fills up that space, heals the hurts of your past, gives you a sense of meaning and purpose, there’s no telling the crazy things it will make you do.</div>
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It is often said that love is the most powerful force on earth, and maybe, just maybe because it isn’t of this earth. God is not just an old man with a beard sitting on a throne judging the world, He is a very real Father who loves his kids with the fierceness of a mama bear.</div>
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God doesn’t just love as an action, God IS love.</div>
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This weekend we celebrate Easter and for Jews, Passover. For most it’s the season of chocolate and daffodils. Easter and Passover are both about people being freed from slavery, that’s not a coincidence. For Christians, it’s the time we remember this man who gave up everything because of love. He gave up more than a career, a nice house and a neighbourhood. He endured so much more than living thousands of kilometres from those he loved.</div>
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He gave up his life so that I could have one.</div>
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And then he beat death! That thing we all fear, mourn over and wish we could escape. He died, and three days later came back. More than 500 witnesses saw him, touched him, put their hands in his wounds.</div>
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This season we celebrate that we too can be fully alive, no longer slaves to our wrong doings, fear and shame, because of what He did for us. He shouldered all of our wrongs, even though he was innocent, and then he forgave the very people that had beaten, tortured and crucified him.</div>
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‘Forgive them Father, they know not what they do’.</div>
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Who does that? Who forgives their killer? Who shoulders the entire worlds wrong doings? Was he mentally ill? Was he brainwashed? Midlife crisis?</div>
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Or maybe, just maybe, he was God in the flesh, showing us what love does.</div>
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This Easter/Passover, if you are struggling, if you are feeling alone, if you have a void and gnawing emptiness that you have not been able to fill, I ask you to just for a minute, ask yourself if maybe, just maybe, I’m not crazy, and their is a God and maybe He wants to give you all the peace and love and meaning that He has given me and countless others who have taken that leap of faith.</div>
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Because I can tell you this, it really is just a simple request away, ‘God, if you are real, I need you in my life’.</div>
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Happy Easter to all near and far.</div>
Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-78436719185601188412018-11-22T11:35:00.004-08:002018-11-22T11:35:36.051-08:00Moving Ahead, Traveling Fields<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #fafafa; border-collapse: collapse; color: black; text-size-adjust: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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Moving Ahead With Something New</h1>
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For a few months now, we've been feeling that familiar nudge, that still small voice saying it was time to take steps forward, take things to a new level. About a two months ago we started talking to the girls about doing a breakfast with them once a week, off the street, would they come? They said they would.<br /><br />So we started to pray, about what that would look like where we would do it.<br /><br />As most of you well know we love to use Alpha, it’s a great tool that helps to level the playing field, strips away some of the things that can leave people feeling like God is distant and angry and gives an opportunity for people who have questions about God, faith and the meaning of life to really explore what they think of these things. We know from personal experience that it can be the key that opens the door to peoples hearts, that’s how we ended up where we are today!</div>
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We started to look around for a place that was close enough but also not too costly. We checked with several of the hotels along the beach but either they didn’t have a meeting room or they wanted too much money for the short time we would need it.</div>
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Then I remembered that the Anglican Church that is located on the same road had already offered up their space for us to use whenever we needed it. I contacted them and they were delighted to help!</div>
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The space is perfect for our needs, open with an ocean view and a table for us to eat, as well as a small room that already has a TV where we can show the videos.</div>
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For weeks we talked to the girls about what we wanted to do, we have found that we often need to have a long lead up to do something so they start to get curious and excited and eventually start asking us about it 'when does that thing start?' </div>
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Despite all that we had no idea how many, if any, girls would turn up. At first there were none, and we thought maybe we would just be enjoying a lovely seaside breakfast with our team. We decided to take a drive down the beach and four girls decided to take the leap and come with us.</div>
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They loved it. Two days later when we were there praying, one of the girls who had come was there as I started to ask if the girls would like to come to the next one, they asked what it was. As I started to explain, so did the girl who had participated so I closed my mouth and let her do the talking.</div>
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This week we had TEN girls! There first question before coming was ‘will it take long?’ I told them an hour, and the decided to give it a go.</div>
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One of the most challenging things on Alpha can be getting people to talk, not so with this group, there was a very lively discussion after the video. I said to them in the car on the way back that I understood it was taking some of their time, but they stopped me and said, ‘But it’s good! We need this, and we loved it! We will be back next week!’</div>
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We feel privileged that they have trusted us enough to take part in something new, to allow us to begin with baby steps on what could be a turning point in their lives.</div>
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We continue to pray that their lives will be changed, that the seeds we are planting will blossom and that these women will know who they truly are, and the future they can have.</div>
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Maevia</div>
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We continue to walk closely with Maevia who left the streets nearly a year ago. The road she is on isn’t easy, and it’s marked with high highs and low lows, both for her and for us. In the space of two weeks she has gone from moving into a new place, in a better neighbourhood and starting her first job , leaving her first job to having a relapse in drug use last night. </div>
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There were a lot of changes that happened in too short of a time, and unfortunately despite our advice to the contrary on some of the changes. We recognize that emotionally she is in a fragile state and needs professional help, we have psychologist here in João Pessoa who is able to take her though a trauma treatment therapy, she will start this treatment tomorrow. Before anything else, she needs emotional healing to be able to move forward. We continue to support and love her through all these challenges and successes as long as she is willing.</div>
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Sowing Seeds In Traveling Fields</h1>
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In the past year and a half since we started ministering to these women and men, there have been many who have come and gone. Some we have seen again and we get to hear their story, ‘I’m working now, full time, God willing I will never come back to the streets!’ Or we hear through other girls when we ask that they have found work, or we have no idea what happened to them. Each time we go we pray that God will speak the words they need to hear, that we can bring hope and light and love to them. Often, we leave having no idea if our presence has had any affect, sometimes it can be really difficult to see these women week after week still there. </div>
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As one of our colleagues who works in the same ministry at Shores of Grace in Recife said in their update this week, we have ‘to learn to rest in the unknown and to continually sow obediently, knowing there will be fruit and there will be victory, even if I never get to see or hear about it.’ (Robert and Ana Floyd)</div>
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We are sowing seeds in traveling fields, the lives of these women can be transient, but we need to keep in mind that the Kingdom of God and the way He sees the harvest is beyond our ability to understand, all we can do is obediently act on the things he calls us to do.<br /><br /><img data-file-id="2238001" height="194" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/3897d8ac-0975-4b2a-abf4-9c1e429ccde0.jpeg" style="border: 0px; height: 194px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 259px;" width="259" /></div>
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<li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;">Praise God that we are able to continue to minister to these precious women and men</li>
<li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;">Praise God that our small group church plant team is meeting weekly, strengthening our relationships as a leadership team</li>
<li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;">Praise God that Faith is moving forward with her therapies and today studied for a test by herself, this is BIG news</li>
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<li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;">Please continue to pray for our kids, their schooling and their relationships here in Brazil.</li>
<li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;">Please pray for our small group, our relationships and marriages</li>
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<li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;">Please pray for the women and men that we encounter, that their hearts would feel the fullness of what it means to be loved unconditionally.</li>
<li style="text-align: left; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Please pray for Maevia, for the battle she fights daily and that she will continue, even when she slips, to get up and walk forward, trusting God</li>
<li style="text-size-adjust: 100%;">Please pray for our team, Allison and Rona and Oliver, that we have the resources both financially and spiritually to continue doing what we feel God calling us to do.</li>
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<tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #656565; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px 18px 9px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: 100%; word-break: break-word;" valign="top"><em>Copyright © 2018 Xingu Mission C/O Jen and Phil Snell, All rights reserved.</em><br />You are receiving these emails because we consider you a friend who would like to hear about the work we are doing in Brazil. If you would not like to receive these emails anymore please send us a quick email and we will remove you promptly!<br /><br /><strong>Our mailing address is:</strong><br /><div class="vcard">
<span class="org fn">Xingu Mission C/O Jen and Phil Snell</span><div class="adr">
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Rua Odon Carvalho, 214</div>
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Barrio dos Ipes</div>
<span class="locality">João Pessoa</span>, <span class="region">Paraíba</span> <span class="postal-code">58028-800</span><div class="country-name">
Brazil</div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-91841346640140107302018-08-27T02:20:00.000-07:002018-08-27T02:20:42.207-07:00Seeing The Kingdom Come<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="templateContainer" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: black; max-width: 600px !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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Our Team Just Doubled!</h1>
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These last few months have flown by. Our kids have the month of July off for school holidays which is a welcome break from the 5:30 wake ups and mountains of homework.</div>
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In perfect timing we welcomed our new team members Allison, Rona and their adorable son Oliver! Allison and Rona visited João Pessoa a year ago and decided that this was where God was calling them.</div>
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Allison has been working with women with addictions and relational struggles in Altamira, and has created a Portuguese 12 step program that uses Christian principles to helps people work through the root issues that led them into addictive behaviours. She has already begun to put this tool to use with one of our girls, it’s a great addition to our tool chest!</div>
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Rona has been using flag foot ball and Alpha to connect to new people and plans to use both these great tools here in Joao Pessoa as well.<br /><br />And Oliver just lights up every space his in with his delightful personality!</div>
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We are very happy to have them with us!</div>
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Missao Restauração</h2>
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Last year, a friend of ours took us to visit a foster home for girls. At the time there were several girls living there, one of which was seven months pregnant at the age of 10. Shocking and heartbreaking. We knew God had a purpose for us there we just weren’t sure what it was yet. We toyed with the idea of doing an Alpha because they said all of the girls were not connected to church or God and they felt that helping them spiritually was a big need that they themselves could not fill.<br />At the time we were just two people, it didn't seem like the right timing. But we didn't forget about them.</div>
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Ezekiel 47 is a small house church full of people who are very Kingdom minded and wanted an opportunity to serve. At the time that we started we had not started our own church and they were and remain like family for us. We have the same Kingdom purpose vision. We asked if they would like to help and they jumped at the opportunity.</div>
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Each week we start with food (who doesn’t love to eat-and it’s a great ice breaker!) and then we have some kind of active game. This gets the girls to wake up, laugh and have fun. </div>
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The video and discussion follow and they almost always ask at the end, ‘is that all? I wanted it to last longer!’ </div>
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Last month we held a retreat for them. Two nights were like our normal meetings but held in the house Ezekiel 47 uses for their meetings. Getting the girls out of their environment was great to help change the atmosphere and expectations.</div>
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Saturday our friends from Ezekiel 47 planned the day. They blew us away with their love and service to these girls. The day was filled with music and various people sharing their own life story, the hurts and pitfalls as well as they way they saw God moving in their life. Some of the girls opened up and told their own stories, which until this point we hadn’t heard. There was not a dry eye in the room.</div>
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The retreat ended with the three men who are fathers standing in the place of the fathers who had abandoned and rejected them hurt and abused them, and asking for their forgiveness, in an act of servanthood they washed each girls feet. It was a very moving moment for everyone.</div>
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The highlight was seeing one of the girls who has been the most closed off melt into the embrace of one woman after another as tears fell down her face. God clearly moved in her life!</div>
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When Alpha is over we will continue to walk with these girls, along with the people in our church as well as Ezekiel 47. We are already planning what that will look like.</div>
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It has been, by far, one of the most rewarding Alphas we have ever done!</div>
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If you don't already, follow us on instagram, Facebook and Twitter, we share snippets on a more regular basis!</div>
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A Visit from Michael Hansen!</h1>
<img data-file-id="2181245" height="363" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/53cda995-d6b6-45c9-87d5-e8cb5fddb8f4.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 363px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 450px;" width="450" /><br />At the beginning of August we were blessed to have a visit from Michael Hansen, pastor of Vineyard Church of Delaware County. We were extremely blessed to have him here to see and participate in what God has been doing over the past almost two years since we moved to João Pessoa.<br /><br />We hope it was the first of many visits!<br />If you want to visit we are always open to visitors, just write and ask!<h2 class="null" style="color: #202020; font-size: 22px; line-height: 27.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
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Update on Faith</div>
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After more testing it has been determined that Faith does not have Attention Deficit Disorder which means she doesn’t need to be on medication. It has been confirmed that she is dyslexic and has the Central Processing Disorder we mentioned in our last update. The good news is that for the latter, there is therapy that can be done to retrain the pathways in her brain. This will help her immensely in the classroom as well as with concentration. Faith has also started with an psychoeducational therapist which will help her in the area of dyslexia. Her teachers and principals have already seen a difference in her performance, thank you for your continued prayers!</div>
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<img data-file-id="2181257" height="533" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/b74e5d37-262c-43f2-a9eb-ab0889dc48a6.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 533px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 400px;" width="400" /><br />Faith was blessed to be part of a study, which meant free testing!<br /><br />We are incredibly blessed and grateful for all the professionals we have been able to find and the openness of the school to find a plan that will help Faith.<br /><br />It all comes at a cost and is not covered by our current medical insurance, please pray with us that we have the funds we need to cover these additional costs.</div>
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Speaking of which…..</div>
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Our wonderful friend Mirela has launched a fundraiser to help with these and just general education costs. She is making beautiful hand-made cards, proceeds going to the gofundme we started before leaving in February.</div>
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For more about Mirella’s cards you can go to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MyMidnightMuse/" style="color: #656565;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/MyMidnightMuse/</a><br /><br />Gofund me<br /> <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/Lukeandfaith&rcid=r01-153495055128-2b36124ba2284d7b&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w" style="color: #656565;" target="_blank">https://www.gofundme.com/Lukeandfaith&rcid=r01-153495055128-2b36124ba2284d7b&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w</a></div>
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Rua Fernando Ferrari, 147</div>
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Pedro Gondim</div>
<span class="locality">João Pessoa</span>, <span class="region">Paraíba</span> <span class="postal-code">58031-190</span><div class="country-name">
Brazil</div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-32048969721319543642018-06-22T15:13:00.000-07:002018-06-22T15:13:00.253-07:00One Year Ago, Girls Home, Vineyard Jampa, Faith's Challenges<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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<br /><br /><img data-file-id="2148797" height="301" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/005a42e3-d366-41fa-ac0f-9eb565e747ab.png" style="border: 0px; height: 301px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 450px;" width="450" /><br /><span style="font-size: 12px;">that was us, a year ago</span><br />One Year Ago</h1>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"> A year ago on June 9th we went out on a limb and trusted that God was calling us to reach out to show His unfailing love to the girls and women in prostitution here in João Pessoa. We had no idea what to expect, how we would be received, or what it would look like going forward.</span></div>
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We have been amazed and encouraged by God’s constant guidance, the openness the girls have had with us, and the relationships that have blossomed. There have been many mountain top moments and recently some very deep valley moments.</div>
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In our last update I shared that one of the girls who had left prostitution had returned, this month we had another blow. The girl who left prostitution six months ago whom we have been meeting with weekly, trying to help her find work, figure out education, is back on the street. This was a really hard hit, even though we knew it was a great possibility, there are often many false starts before someone is able to really break free, it's hard not to feel like we should have done more. <br /><br />But the situation she found herself in was almost impossible. </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"> Her husband had been shot, miraculously he wasn’t killed since the bullet passed through his groin, narrowly missing his artery and vein. But because he wasn’t killed, he needed to go into hiding, they had to move from her Mom’s house and into his mother’s house which was at the end of a impassable bumpy road governed by a gang faction that would mean at least the people who tried to kill him couldn’t get at him. We visited with them there, prayed with them and encouraged them to pray together. But they were stuck, he is a fugitive from prison and now escaping gangs. </span></div>
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<br />I sat with her to go over her education and work experience (grade 4, no work experience), and monthly expenses and income. We are trying to connect with other organizations that also connect people to work while also finding out how we could help her get back on to sorting out her education. </div>
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They have little to no income. She was helping her mother sell snacks at the market to the truckers who were unloading in the middle of the night, asking for fruit and vegetables or finding some that had fallen, unwanted to the floor. We were helping where we could with some basic food goods, but also trying to find a balance between helping become independent and her becoming dependant on us. A very desperate situation that ended with her back on the street, feeling like she was out of options and us feeling a lot like we had failed her.</div>
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Despite the fact that we know women who are trying to leave prostitution often make several attempts before successfully transitioning, we still felt sad and disappointed, not in her but in ourselves, in the system, we want to be able to do so much more but it takes time, resources and more people to do it. </div>
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The next time we saw her on the street I was intentional about having a very frank conversation with her, I could see she was acting differently around us. I assured her that nothing has changed about the way we feel about her, the hope we have for her or that we are walking with her. She cried and I hugged her and we promised to continue to fight with her.</div>
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I recently read an article about women trying to leave prostitution, this is a quote from it,</div>
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<span style="color: lightsalmon;"><em>Prostitution, if it is anything, is a choice between homelessness and having men we don’t like, do things we hate, to bodies we don’t know how to love.</em></span></div>
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<span style="color: lightsalmon;"><em>For this reason, those in prostitution have a tendency to boomerang in and out of it, like the jaded wives of an unfaithful or cruel husband. We pack our bags, we leave in a triumphant storm. But we find few options available to us.</em></span></div>
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<em> </em><em>Leaving Prostitution and Staying Out-Nordicmodelnow! The article was written By Alice Glass, a survivor of prostitution</em></div>
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We dream of a day when we see these girls freed from this emotional, spiritual and financial slavery.</div>
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Missão Restauração</h4>
<br />Not long after we moved to Joao Pessoa we were introduced to a couple who care for young at-risk girls. Over the past 20 years, they have cared for over one hundred and eighty girls. Some of which have been adopted by other families, some have been returned to their extended families, others lived there until they turned nineteen and then they were helped to find work and a living space. <br /><br />It was obvious from our first meeting that this couple has poured a lot of their life into these girls.<br /><br />We decided early on that we wanted to help, we just weren't sure how. Homes like this for girls can prevent them from ending up on the street.<br /><br />Working alongside another group called Ezekial 47 who had been looking for an opportunity to serve, we have started an Alpha and games night. We go once a week with a snack and a fun game and then we watch a video and chat. The girls are loving it and every time it's over they say, 'already?'.<br /><br />We look forward to continuing the relationships with these girls long after Alpha finishes.<br /> </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Vineyard Jampa</span></h1>
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Three weeks ago we held our first Sunday with our wee baby church. Right now it's more like a small group but the times we have had together have been rich. We are forming the foundations of a leadership team, so we are focusing for now on getting to know each other, the values we hold, and praying about what God wants for this new gathering. We all want to see a strong foundation built so we will take it slowly in these first steps.</div>
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For a month or so before we began we had been meeting with Ricardo and Nadir, current pastors of the Recife Vineyard, as well as a family from Joao Pessoa who are very eager to take part in planting a church with us.</div>
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Sunday, June 3rd was our first official service here in our house, in our outside kitchen that God has so abundantly blessed us with. We sang and prayed together, discussed the values we want to carry in this church and ate lunch together, it was a rich time and we are so excited to see this seedling of a church being planted.</div>
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Faith: Dyslexia+ADD+Central Processing Disorder + Second Language= A Layer Cake of Learning Challenges</h4>
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<img data-file-id="2149405" height="262" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/_compresseds/5108002a-aaa4-4208-ab43-7ecce3f03ad6.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 262px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 350px;" width="350" /><br /><em>Faith turns 12 on Monday! She celebrated early last week.</em><br /><br />A month or so ago we were asked to meet with the coordinator of Faith’s grade. She sat us down to discuss Faith’s performance in school. She had been helping her on her tests and noticed that Faith couldn’t remember the context of something she had read, that she read very slowly, and that had difficulty writing as well. She felt strongly that this was not only because she is working in her second language.</div>
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She was saying what I had already suspected for a while. She recommended a psychologist and we began the process of having her assessed for dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder. At the end of the testing we sat with the psychologist and she told me what I already knew in my heart; Faith, like her Daddy, is dyslexic.</div>
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I cried. Not tears of sadness or disappointment but instead of relief. Now we knew why- now I knew it wasn’t because I had failed her as a teacher. We now knew what we were dealing with and could confront it appropriately.<br /><br />We were referred to a psychiatrist to complete the evaluation for Attention Deficit, she then referred us to an audiologist to see if Faith also has something called a Central Auditory Processing Disorder, which basically means her ears and her brain is not communicating properly. This can happen with kids who had a lot of ear infections or who had hearing issues early in life. <br /><br />When Faith was two her eustachian tubes were full of fluid, she heard as though she was underwater, for more than a year while we went through the process of testing and waiting for surgery.<br /><img data-file-id="2149549" height="604" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/8b6f81f0-7150-4745-a9c5-17548f63a793.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 604px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 453px;" width="453" /><br />This disorder can show itself with many symptoms that look like dyslexia and ADD. The good news is there is a cure. Several sessions of training will help to rewire her brain. It doesn't rule out the possibility that she also has dyslexia and ADD. <br /><br />On Wednesday we started the testing for this issue. For those of you on Facebook, that is the explanation for the photo I posted. Faith is in the little sound booth trying to decipher different sounds. One of the hardest parts about this disorder is being able to hear in loud places. Faith has often complained she can't hear what the teacher is saying when there is noise in the class. <br /><br />This week Faith will finish the testing and we will know more.</div>
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We prepared her for this possible outcome by ensuring her that dyslexia, ADD or this new possibility doesn’t have anything to do with her intelligence, that in fact, most dyslexic people are smarter than your average bear, Einstein, for example, was dyslexic, Phil likes to emphasize this fact.<br /><br />We have already begun working with a psychoeducational therapist to help Faith with reading and writing.</div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"> Please pray with us that she can find her way with the help of the specialist and that we can help her too.</span></div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-38878749030632934822018-02-21T01:54:00.000-08:002018-02-21T01:54:33.159-08:00The Way Forward, Christmas in Canada, University Alpha, Educating Luke and Faith<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="bodyTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; height: 100%px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-size: 26px;">Thank you!</span><br />To all of you who read, pray, support and love us thank you! We love you all!</div>
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Home for The Holidays</h4>
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What Were We Thinking? Winter in Canada is COLD!</div>
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Although we are questioning our sanity going back (as are many others) for apparently the coldest winter in 36 YEARS we thoroughly enjoyed being with friends and family and making some new connections during our time in Canada. </div>
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<img data-file-id="2067493" height="197" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/_compresseds/e8e7dbc9-0ca8-4ea0-8464-8d1bb1494dc6.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 197px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 480px;" width="480" /><br /><em>Christmas with my big beautiful family!</em><br /><img data-file-id="2067473" height="285" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/21614cf0-2254-4a7f-87db-32eb62594531.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 285px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 380px;" width="380" /></div>
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<em>Our very wintery drive to Ohio</em><br /><br />Our time in Canada was short, and we apologize if we were unable to connect with you on this visit, please know there is an open invitation to visit us in Brazil or we will have to make sure we see you on our next visit!</div>
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<em>Winter's beauty at our home church</em><br /><br />Thank you to all of you who loved us, kept us fed and warm and reaffirmed to us how much we love our Canadian family!<br /><br /><img data-file-id="2067501" height="400" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/abd31ffb-3ac9-4e88-8b0d-65cf2253f40f.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: none;" width="300" /></div>
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<em>Making winter memories!<br /><br /><img data-file-id="2067513" height="480" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/51e4f70d-1c1d-493b-9a2f-501bfa913630.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 480px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 480px;" width="480" /></em></div>
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This wonderful family puts up with us and lets us call their home our home when we are back in Canada, we love you Fellmans!! or as we like to call ourselves 'Snellmans'!</div>
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The Way Forward</div>
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As we have shared our stories of what God has been doing through us during our first year in João Pessoa and our ideas and hopes for the future, we have been so encouraged, things have evolved and we have vision and so much excitement for the future.<br /> </div>
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We are beginning to see the girls in their homes, this gives us the opportunity to meet and begin to build relationships with their families neighbours and friends, and we know that that will only increase as we get to know them more. As we prayerfully move forward we can see where God is giving us more and more opportunities to expand our relationships and the Kingdom through these growing relationships!<br /><br />We are continually surprised at how God has connected us in such a short time. A year ago we arrived in a city of almost a million people and the only people we knew left the city. We now have a large circle of friends and a ministry we love! Blessed beyond measure!</div>
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University Alpha</div>
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Last August Phil began running Alpha in a state University English class. The opportunity came about when one of the people who had been taking Alpha in our home suggested it might be a possibility. </div>
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The professor gave one stipulation, ‘If even one student complains, we have to shut it down’. At the time any kind of religious based study was prohibited in the University. </div>
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Not only were there no complaints, there were passionate discussions that often flipped from english into Portuguese as they asked the hard questions and wrestled with what they believed. It went so well and the students enjoyed it so much that we have been invited to do TWO classes this year! This is great news as it introduces us to new people.</div>
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When we return we will be starting a new small group and inviting the people in the class to come.</div>
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Educating Luke and Faith</div>
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As most of you know we made the decision last year to put Luke and Faith into a Brazilian school. After four and a half years of homeschooling (which is a calling….and I don’t have it!) and going from living somewhere where they were surrounded by other kids to a big city where we live behind walls, we felt that the healthiest decision for them and our family was that they start going to traditional school.</div>
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<em>Ready Set Go! The school year just started!</em><br /><br />It has been the best decision we could have made! They love being surrounded by people, even though it has meant a lot of blood sweat and tears as they learn to read and write in their second language. They both passed their first year which is a small miracle in itself and as a mother, I see it as fruit of the strong willed personalities they have, they persevered and it paid off!</div>
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The school they attend is private and fully Portuguese. The public school system in Brazil is not equipped to handle the kind of accommodations immigrant students need and unfortunately the system is broken in many other ways. There are frequent strikes and students suffer because of it.</div>
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The cost of schooling privately is high, but the benefits for our children and us as a family are immeasurable. They finally feel as normal as they possibly can as missionaries in a foreign field. Not to mention they are getting an education and becoming fully bilingual. When they reach high school age (only a year away for Luke!) they have the option of entering a dual diploma english program that will give them a Brazilian diploma and an American one. Both Luke and Faith want to pursue their post-secondary education in Canada, so this dual diploma will ease the transition.</div>
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<em>Homework time</em><br /><br />The downside is that the cost is something very difficult to carry on our limited budget. We have started a go fund me to help with the cost of this crucial need for our kids. </div>
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We are asking friends, family and supporters to consider giving towards this campaign or investing in them by sponsoring them on a monthly basis. Investing in a kids education is priceless and you are indirectly helping our ministry by helping us keep them in school. </div>
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Here’s the link to give to the campaign. If you would like to help monthly with their expenses, just reply to this email and we can discuss how you can go about doing that.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/Lukeandfaith" style="color: #00add8;" target="_blank" title="Luke and Faith Fund">https://www.gofundme.com/Lukeandfaith</a></div>
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Prayer Requests</div>
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As we settle in to our other home it stirs all kinds of emotions, although we love where we are living and what we get to do, having your heart in two places can make transitioning difficult, especially for our kids.</div>
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<li>Please pray that they have a great transition back to Brazil and back to school and routine </li>
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<li>Please pray that we are able to pick up where we left off. Leaving so early into the ministry was hard, the girls asked often, ‘you’ll be back right?’. We have tried to keep in touch as much as possible but we know it’s also possible that we may have some ground to make up.</li>
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<li>Please pray for wisdom as we move forward, our greatest desire is to always be in step with our Father and what His plans are.</li>
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<li>Please keep our friends and co-labourers Allison and Ronã and their son Oliver in your prayers, they are about to start the process to fundraise and move to João Pessoa to join our team! We are so excited to have our team grow!</li>
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<li>Finally, please pray for the girls we are ministering to, that they would increasingly feel the Father’s love so deeply, that they would have the courage to take the necessary steps forward to see their lives changed!</li>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-77921620774549327282017-11-16T07:15:00.001-08:002017-11-16T07:15:35.907-08:00Home For The Holidays, Beach Church and Film Crew<br />
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We'll Be Home For Christmas!</h1>
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We Are Dreaming of a White Christmas!</div>
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We are coming to Ontario for Christmas! Now that our kids are in school, furloughs will need to line up with our kids’ school holidays, and in Brazil the school year ends in December. We are cold just thinking about it and you may see us wearing ‘suvets’ (see photo) to keep warm! But we are also very excited to spend Christmas with our friends and family. Being Canadian, a warm snowless Christmas always feels a bit odd. <br /><img align="center" data-file-id="2014089" height="292" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/babd0070-bafa-4099-9ebc-48aaf40c42c0.jpg" style="border: 2px; height: 292px; margin: 15px; outline: none; width: 350px;" width="350" /><br />We are looking to connect with as many of you as possible while we are back but due to our limited time (7 weeks) we will be trying to do some group gatherings as well as one on ones.<br /><br />We will be sharing at the <strong>Cambridge Vineyard Sunday December 10</strong> just two days after we land. We will be the ones with our teeth chattering! We will also be having a lasagna lunch after the service for all of you who have supported us financially and in prayer and for those of you who want to hear more and maybe even join the team, we will be there to eat, talk and hug you all. </div>
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In addition to lunch we will be holding a <strong>silent auction </strong>with<strong> </strong>some lovely items from the tourist market here that would make great Christmas presents and will help us to update some of our limping technology. <strong>If you can help by making a lasagna or caesar salad or garlic bread please get in touch!</strong></div>
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We are also in need of a car to borrow during our time in Canada to facilitate all the visiting we will need to do. If you have a car available for all or part of the time we are in Canada (Dec 8-Feb 4) please let us know!</div>
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If you are part of a church or small group, please let us know how we can share at your gathering. It has been an incredible year full of stories and we would love to share them with you!</div>
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We hope to see you at one of these gatherings or contact us to set up a time to chat!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Quick Look At Snell Christmas Schedule:</span></h1>
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<li style="text-align: left;">December 10-Speaking at Cambridge Vineyard followed by Lasagna lunch and silent auction</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">December 12-15- Vineyard ‘Genius Bar’ Kelowna B.C. (with national Vineyard leaders David and Anita Ruis)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">January 12-14 -Ohio- Vineyard Church of Delaware County (VCDC) </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">January 21-Living Water Christian Fellowship, New Hamburg</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">January 28- Mapleview Mennonite Church, Wellesley</li>
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Church on the Beach</h1>
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Early on when we started this ministry with the women in prostitution, as we prayed for wisdom, next steps and basically ‘what do we do God!’ he showed me a picture of a tent on the beach, laying out all the details for us. It was to be white, with three sides closed in, a carpet on the floor, flowers and music. We were to create another environment entirely different from the street where we normally pray.</div>
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The three sides were to be closed in so that their only view was of the beach in front of them, away from curious eyes. We are so often stared at as we pray for and with these women that I no longer even notice it. </div>
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We found the materials and began to plan when we would do it, talking to the girls about it and handing out invitations.</div>
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The day of the event felt like the first day we went to pray for them, we had no idea what to expect. Would anyone turn up? </div>
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As it turned out, 5 of the girls turned up early, a very rare thing in Brazil! We weren’t completely set up so we had to ask them to come back.</div>
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When we were fully ready they came back, entered the tent and sat down. I handed each of them a small card I had written up that said we are all hurting, broken in some way and that the world puts labels on us but that we have another identity in Christ. I asked that they close their eyes and ask Jesus to show them how he sees them while I washed their feet.</div>
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Earlier that week both Phil and I had suffered from a major crisis in our spine, him in his lower back and me in my neck. I was awake at night because of the pain. When the day came for Phil and I to go pray he asked if I still wanted to go and I said without a doubt, yes! I wanted to take the opportunity for the girls to pray for me.</div>
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As it turned out only one of the girls was there, she asked how we were and I said ‘mais ou menos’ which means, ‘so-so’ I explained what was going on with my neck and asked if she would pray for me this time. Her eyes got wide and then she looked at the ground and said, ‘oh, I don’t know…’ her voice trailing off. </div>
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I looked her in the eyes and asked if she had given her life to Jesus before. She said she had. I explained to her that she had the same authority in Christ to pray for me as I did for her, that we were no different. Jesus told his disciples that they would do everything and he did and more, and that means her too.</div>
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She agreed to try. I told her to put her hands on my neck and just simply tell the pain and inflammation to go in Jesus name. She did and I felt a warm sensation run through my neck. I also felt I heard the Lord say that he had given her a gift of healing. Afterwards I tested it out, the pain had diminished slightly. I encouraged her that sometimes we are healed completely and instantly and sometimes it takes time, and sometimes it doesn’t happen. But what is important is that we try. I also told her what I thought I heard. A smile crept across her face and she said, ‘that’s not the first time I’ve heard that. Another missionary in a church prayed over me once and told me that God gave me a gift of healing.</div>
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The next morn I woke up and my pain had almost completely disappeared. I messaged one of the other girls and asked her to tell the girl who prayed for me what happened.</div>
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Back to the beach church. </div>
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As I was washing the girls feet, behind me was the girl who had prayed for my neck. She was quietly sobbing as she read the Father’s Love Letter. I made my way around the chairs praying and washing their feet and finally came to her. After I washed her feet I asked her what was going on. She said she felt as though God was pursuing her, that she had once been very close to Him had been baptized in the spirit, spoken in tongues and other experiences but now, because of her shame she is afraid to face him. The other girls began to encourage her and she then started to passionately talk about how this life they are living isn’t pleasing to God, that they need to get out, that she would rather sell food on the beach than her own body. She had been to church the week before with her mother and she said she felt as though the sermon was directed at her, she said she could barely lift her head because she felt as though she would see the face of God and her shame was so heavy she couldn’t do it.</div>
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I spoke to her about the fear, that it is a tool of the enemy to keep us far from God and that her sins are no different from my sins, that not one of us is perfect and capable of living a sin free life, the only one who ever did that was Jesus and then he paid for all our sins when he died for us, so that we could be free. The important thing is that we recognize that we are not perfect and always lean on the only one who can free us.</div>
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One of the girls then suggested we all stand and pray together, we held hands and asked God to show them what he created them for, how they can leave the life they don’t want to live, that he would fill all of them with his unconditional love, that they could all feel that they are loved no matter what they have done, they can always turn to their father.</div>
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To say Phil and I were overwhelmed would be an understatement. In such a short time we have come to love these women and feel privileged that God has invited us in to what He is in the midst of doing.</div>
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We are now working on how we can begin to help these women takes steps forward to a new life. Explaining to them that the change will not be fast, but that in the end it will definitely be worth it.</div>
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This is just one of the stories that have come out of this ministry this month. There are so many more and we look forward to sharing them with you or your small group or congregation while we are back in Canada.</div>
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<img align="center" data-file-id="2014065" height="200" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/51092b7d-156b-4c74-a514-e2a862c991bc.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 200px; margin: 15px; outline: none; width: 200px;" width="200" /><img data-file-id="2014073" height="140" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/4e33de37-717c-4031-a982-4b57f5d2b9ce.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 140px; margin: 15px; outline: none; width: 200px;" width="200" /><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Documentary in the Making</span></h2>
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Creative Impact Ministries is comprised of an American couple and their son, making documentaries to help missionaries tell their stories. This month we were blessed to have them with us for six days, filming interviews with us and documenting our story as missionaries.<br /><img align="left" data-file-id="2014061" height="200" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/3a03d18e-32e3-4cbc-828d-1afe0f0b6f66.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 200px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 200px;" width="200" /><br /><br /> It was a fun, busy few days and we are looking very forward to seeing the final product!<br /><br />In the mean time, you can watch this scene...we might have had a little too much fun with them!<br /> </div>
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<tr><td align="left" class="mcnImageCardBottomImageContent" style="padding: 0px;" valign="top"><a class="" href="https://vimeo.com/242409581" target="" title=""><img alt="" class="mcnImage" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/video_thumbnails_new/eeccc2a57cfbba2f14bdaf5e8302e908.png" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 640px; outline: none; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom;" width="564" /></a></td></tr>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-62717649304697531212017-09-27T04:57:00.002-07:002017-10-16T16:57:30.671-07:00Devine Connections, Hurt by the Church, Cracking Down the Walls<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter">
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<img align="center" data-file-id="1979633" height="186" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/56280969-e88c-4a6f-944b-c32603b8272a.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 186px; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 280px;" width="280" /><br />Divine Connections</h1>
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There are times in life when you feel like God is distant, wonder if he’s even aware of your existence and then there are times that you feel like He is orchestrating your every move.</div>
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Lately, we’ve felt more like we are in the latter experience. God seems to be connecting us to key people with shared vision, goals and dreams.</div>
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Recently we felt we should meet with the minister of a local Anglican church we have been visiting now and then. It’s a strange thing to be without a congregation for this long, the longest period of time we have not been regularly attending organized church since we became Christians. This Anglican church is very much like our beloved Vineyard. We have had several conversations with the minister who was recently made Bishop in the region. A few Sundays ago as we were leaving the service in a bit of a rush because I realized I had left our slow cooker on burning my baked beans, Phil was stopped by one of the ministers saying he had seen us praying for the girls. He said they wanted to know how they could help and be involved.</div>
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This week we met with Marcio, the bishop for the northeast region and shared our story. Half way through he shared a dream he had about giving a dinner for the women and men in prostitution, he described it as a very fancy dinner with tablecloths and nice dishes and that he was wearing a suit (rare for him). He said, ‘it was very honouring to them and it was like…like a banquet’.</div>
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At this point Phil and I started to laugh the kind of laugh that bubbles up when you realize God is speaking the same thing to others that he has been speaking to you. We shared the fact that doing banquets for these ladies is one of the things we are working towards.</div>
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He became very excited and offered up their beautiful space to hold our banquets in. He went beyond that and offered up the space for us to use as our Vineyard church family begins to grow and we need space to meet in!</div>
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He believes strongly that we, as Christians, should be more about being the body of Christ than our denomination. We can see a future of our two churches working closely together to expand the Kingdom here in João Pessoa.</div>
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I am continually amazed on this journey at the ways he guides, provides and loves us!</div>
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What used to take us an hour is now taking about three or more hours. Spending time with the girls has gone beyond a quick prayer of blessing and request for health and protection to the girls sharing their hearts and lives. We talk, laugh, cry and pray together. </div>
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Some are more open than others. One of the women we met in the first few days is particularly closed off, she always allows us to pray but you always know that she is not really letting her guard down. A couple of weeks ago as we were praying for her to be freed from addictions she said she struggles with, I felt I was supposed to ask her if she had been hurt by the church.</div>
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She pulled back and looked at me like, <em>how did you know that?</em></div>
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Yes, I was, she said. <em>A pastor asked me to have an affair with him.</em></div>
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My heart sunk. Oh, how the enemy messes with the people who are supposed to represent a just, fair and loving God.</div>
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I was at a loss for words so I prayed quickly….’ok God, now what?!’ I felt that Phil was supposed to apologize and ask for her forgiveness on behalf of the pastor, the church and men in general who have hurt her.</div>
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So, there in the street with cars passing, some slowing down to stare, Phil put the power of forgiveness in her hands. She forgave and then, without prompting or asking leaned over and hugged Phil.</div>
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After that moment her entire demeanour changed. Her body language was much more relaxed, she smiled more, it was clear to see that a bit of her protective armour had fallen away.<br />
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As we were getting up to leave she said, ‘Please don’t stop coming here, we really appreciate what you do here, I always feel lighter and more at peace after you pray for me’.</div>
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All of these women have similar hurts. God knows what each of those hurts is and when he tells us it’s like he’s giving us the keys to open the door to the protective wall they have built around their hearts.</div>
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Daily they deal with hurt, rejection, jealousy and addictions. They are enslaved to a destructive lifestyle that, for a variety of reasons, they can’t see a way out of. We are continuing to pray that as God works on healing them physically and spiritually, that he will also give them new eyes to see hope for a different future.</div>
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We are so grateful to be a part of what God is doing on that dark street. There are so many stories, every time we go God moves in some way.</div>
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Next month we will begin our beach church. Stay tuned.<br />
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Below is a video of the making of a bench Phil made to install in one of the locations the girls wait for clients...<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndEMQAqoc3Q" style="color: #00add8;" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndEMQAqoc3Q</a></div>
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Cracking Down the Walls</h1>
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Running parallel to our ministry to the women we have been trying to crack through the hard surface of this concrete jungle to find the soil to plant a church. One of the ways to do this is using our skills as native english speakers.</div>
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Last month I started teaching at a local bilingual school where I have been able to incorporate Alpha into the curriculum, this encourages the students to have great conversations about what they believe.</div>
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Recently, Phil was invited to begin an Alpha course in the state university english class. University is where we are more likely to find people who are not part of a church or have begun to question their spiritual beliefs. Research says that only 30% of young adults who enter University as Christians leave as believers. University is a great education but it also is a setting where people are taught to question everything and discover who they are apart from their family.</div>
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Alpha is the perfect tool in this environment because it works best when there are people with different opinions and lots of questions. It’s also a great tool for people wanting to improve their english because instead of repeating simple phrases or learning grammar, it forces them to express their thoughts and opinions about a sometimes heated topic.</div>
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After the first video, at some points, the discussion became so passionate that the students flipped into Portuguese because expressing themselves and their thoughts won out over speaking in English.</div>
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Our goal in this is to identify people who are interested in continuing and perhaps starting a small group with friends or family, people who naturally meet. We are looking for ‘people of peace’ as the Bible refers to them, who will connect us to larger groups of people.</div>
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We keep following and walking through the doors as God opens them.</div>
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Visitors</h2>
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We have been blessed to have several visitors already in our first year here. Last month we had Allison, Ronã and their adorable baby boy Oliver visit for two weeks. Their visit had several purposes. Oliver’s birth needed to be registered, Allison needed to change her name in her passport, Ronã needed to apply for a visa and last but certainly not least, they are praying about whether or not João Pessoa is the next step in their missionary journey.</div>
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Please join us in praying with them that God will speak directly to them about where they are to serve here in João Pessoa.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">LUKE FACILITATES ALPHA YOUTH</span></h1>
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We were invited to start a youth Alpha in an apartment building where a member of our small group lives.<br />
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On the first night it was evident that Luke, without being asked, was facilitating the group. <br />
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It's exciting to see him stepping out in this way!</div>
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He's a teenager now, a time when he can either influence or be influenced, we are overjoyed to see him doing the former!</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">PRAYER REQUESTS</span></h2>
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<strong>HELP! </strong>We need to build a team here to facilitate the growth of the ministry and the church. Please pray with us that those who’s hearts are stirred will begin to surface to help us.</div>
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<strong>Kids</strong>-Both our kids are nearing the end of their first year of studying here in Brazil, it’s been a really tough year for both them and us as we learn the ins and outs of the system, more of the language etc. adjust (AGAIN) to a new city, friends etc. this is a lot for them to process. </div>
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<strong>Finances/Resources</strong>-As a missionary one of the hardest things is to feel like you are always asking, but that is the reality! In order to grow our ministry and church we also need the resources to do so. Both people and finances are needed. We need to connect to the people who can help us further the ministry and grow the church</div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-46136965832423639962017-08-17T17:00:00.000-07:002017-08-17T17:00:02.354-07:00<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-7277813715123029136mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="m_-7277813715123029136mcnTextBlockOuter">
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In spite of our plans, God moves....</h1>
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When we moved here in October we had a plan, so did God....they just weren't the same.</div>
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<span style="background-color: honeydew;">‘We Don’t Want to Be Here, We Need To Be’</span></h1>
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It’s a phrase we hear often now, a prayer request to be freed from the life they are living. The women we are praying for twice a week have begun to open up to us more and more since we were robbed. What used to take about an hour now takes more than two as the women want to spend time and share their hearts.<br /><br />When we introduce ourselves to girls we haven’t met before (and there are ALWAYS new girls) one of the first things they often ask is, ‘was it you guys who got robbed?’ The story is making it’s way around and, we believe, that because we have come back they are opening up to us more easily. </div>
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<em><strong>What could have scared us away has actually opened their hearts.</strong></em></div>
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Before we go down we always spend time in prayer. We pray for protection for them and us, we pray for God to go before us and we pray for words of knowledge, things that only God can know about them. If God knows of any physical pain or illness or emotional need we ask that he would show us so that we can pray for them to be healed.</div>
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It’s always fun to see the look on someone’s face when they have been physically healed. There have been many of these in the past month and each one immediately goes and tells someone else what just happened. There is something spiritual that happens when someone is physically healed, that persons faith is increased immensely almost instantly and their trust in God and us is strengthened.<br /><br /><em><strong>The walls they have built begin to tumble.</strong></em><br /> </div>
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One particular story stands out. One of the days we went down I felt like someone was suffering from some kind of lower abdominal pain or infection. When we arrived we asked the first group of girls if any of them had this issue. They immediately said no, but that one of the other girls who usually waits with them has been in a lot of pain in her abdomen from a surgery.</div>
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But she was out with a client. We said we would make our rounds praying for the other girls and come back.</div>
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When we came back she was there and she explained that she had had a c-section three months earlier and that the incision still gave her pain, she had to start back to work soon after the baby was born. It was her second c-section in less than two years.</div>
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I asked her to put her hand where the incision was and prayed for it to be healed. After praying twice she poked around and said the pain was gone. This girl normally is very cold, she tolerates our presence there and usually allows us to pray for her but as I pray she usually stares me directly in the eyes, like she’s looking for the real reason we are there. There was a strong distrust.</div>
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After her physical pain left her body she started to share her emotional pain with us, she opened up her heart in a way she hadn’t before. She said she often feels that people are either hurling abuse at her or she feels invisible. We prayed again, this time for her emotional healing, we assured her that she is not invisible to us and definitely not invisible to God. </div>
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Before we left we gave her a copy of the Father’s Love Letter that we give to all the girls we haven’t met yet. She said she would read it when she got home.</div>
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When we drive home we have to drive down the same road where they work. As we passed her she was reading the letter.</div>
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The next time we saw her she looked like a different person, her face was lit up and she smiled at us with a warmness that I hadn’t seen before. </div>
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‘I loved the letter you gave me! Thank you!’ she said beaming.</div>
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I’m not a psychologist and I don't pretend to be an expert on what these women face every day, but I believe that they have to create an armour of defence mechanisms and that trusting people must be very difficult.</div>
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Before I left for our annual conference in Altamira Phil and I went down again to pray for them. As we were praying for one of the girls we met on that very first day, a car stopped and someone got out. It was another of the girls we have gotten close to. Her face lit up and she ran over to us.</div>
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‘I didn’t miss prayer did I? Because I want to pray for my enemies, the people who speak bad about me and who I have conflict with. I want God to work on their hearts, and our relationships.’</div>
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We often are asked, ‘where is your church?’ I have begun to tell them we are standing in it.<br /><br /><strong><em>Our church right now is with these women, hearing their stories, praying for them and with them, sharing the gospel with them and seeing God begin to transform their hearts. </em></strong></div>
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We are so grateful for how God is using us and blessing us with their trust to open up to us and how he is already moving in these women’s lives. </div>
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We are praying about next steps and how we can spend a bit more time with them, somewhere away from their work environment where they are often distracted. </div>
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One idea that the Shores of Grace project does in Recife is a banquet. Once a month they host a dinner, in an upscale hotel with a full buffet, the women and men are invited to take part and feel special. There is worship time, someone shares a testimony and there is lots of time for prayer and conversation. We had the blessing of being invited to one of the banquets last month. The thing that stuck out the most to us was listening to women who have left the streets pray for and speak into the lives of girls still in that world.</div>
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We hope to have the resources to some day host this kind of event here.</div>
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We are praying for knowledge and connections and ideas for how to help those who truly want to get out.</div>
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We appreciate your prayers along side us!</div>
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Right now we feel as though we are supposed to keep doing what we are doing, keep showing up and listening and praying and showing them the unconditional love of the Father.</div>
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<strong>NO PICTURES PLEASE</strong></h2>
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You may notice that our updates are a little void of imagery these days. For obvious reasons we don’t bring anything valuable to the streets when we go, just ourselves and our prayers. I also don’t want to, in any way, disrespect the women we are working with who are quickly becoming people we love. One day, when they are on the path to freedom I hope to have photos of their graduations or weddings or other triumphs. So for now, you’ll have to paint the images in your heads. I hope you understand.</div>
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<tr><td align="center" class="m_-7277813715123029136mcnButtonContent" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; padding: 18px;" valign="middle"><a class="m_-7277813715123029136mcnButton" href="http://blogspot.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424&id=c7007e067a&e=cdfce508c2" style="color: white; display: block; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -0.5px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Join our Team! Donate to the Snells">Join our Team! Donate to the Snells</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 22px;">Intervinha 2017 Regional Conference with Gary and Joy Best</span><img align="left" height="443" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/bfd581cc-b55c-416f-862d-d5da0265b72b.png" style="height: 443px; margin: 10px; outline: none; width: 250px;" width="250" /></h2>
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<br />I had the joy and privilege of spending a week with my Brazilian family and friends in Altamira last week. The only down side was that my family stayed behind in João Pessoa. We are finding the cost of flights makes it difficult for us to stay connected physically with the rest of our mission and church as they are more than 2,000km away.</div>
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<br /><br /><br /><img align="right" height="333" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/images/6022a4ba-162b-4d82-92f8-09329065e996.jpg" style="height: 333px; margin: 10px; outline: none; width: 250px;" width="250" /><img height="187" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/cc4bd87cec2427faaeb30c424/_compresseds/1f43d098-37a5-44a6-adfd-1951fad25ed8.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: 187px; margin: 20px; outline: none; width: 250px;" width="250" /></div>
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<br /><br />This years theme for the conference was ‘Naturally Supernatural’ and we were so blessed to have Gary Best and his wife join us as the speakers. Gary was part of the founding fathers of the Vineyard in Canada was was the national leader for many years. He shared with us God’s desire for us to partner with Him in what he is doing, looking for where heaven is already breaking through and joining him in his work in those times and places. He spoke too, of servant leadership and that our whole point as Christians is to ultimately be ‘little Jesus’’ here on earth.</div>
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It was a pleasure to meet and spend time with him and his wife and my beloved Brazilian and missionary family.</div>
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Prayer Requests</h3>
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Prayer Requests</div>
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Please pray with us for....</div>
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<strong>A team! </strong> We need people and resources here in Joao Pessoa to help us move along with our ministry and church plant </div>
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<strong>Pray for our kids</strong> as they continue to transition and study in a foreign language</div>
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<strong>Pray for provision</strong> for our ministries and in country travel to remain connected to our Vineyard family</div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-63563119163511984022017-06-29T06:03:00.001-07:002017-06-29T06:03:37.155-07:00Staring Down The Barrel Of A Gun<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: black; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnTextBlockOuter">
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Staring Down The Barrel Of A Gun</h1>
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Last week we had something new happen. We were robbed at gunpoint. Full story below.</div>
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I always wondered how I would react if I were ever held at gunpoint. Would I panic? Would I try to be the hero and karate style kick the gun out of his hands? Last week I got to find out exactly what I would do.</div>
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Two weeks ago we took a leap of faith, some red heart shaped balloons and The Father’s Love Letter out to the streets to pray for the women and men who work in prostitution not knowing how we would be received.</div>
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The initial response was so much better than we anticipated. We were ready for rejection, instead we found openness and a need.</div>
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The most common prayer request is protection, and for their children.</div>
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Last Wednesday, Phil and I headed out to pray while the kids were in school . As we headed down a laneway towards the street the women work on we saw a girl we hadn’t seen since the first day. She had been in tears reading the <a href="http://www.fathersloveletter.com/" style="color: #00add8;" target="_blank">Father’s Love Letter </a>that we had been giving to all the women.</div>
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Since then, while I was praying for all of them, God gave me a vision, specifically for her, so I was excited to see her and she seemed happy to see us as well.</div>
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I told her that I had been hoping to see her because I felt like God had something he wanted to say to her. She allowed me to explain.</div>
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I started to explain the scene that was painted in my head and part way through she interrupted me and said, ‘This is speaking directly into a situation in my life right now.’ She explained her situation and it did fit perfectly with what I had seen. She said she had prayed that morning that God would give her a sign, show her the way.</div>
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The next part of the scene was Jesus freeing her from bondage and showing her a new path.</div>
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We were both covered in goosebumps. I told her that I also felt like I was supposed to pray over her feet, if that wasn’t too strange, would she allow me to do that right here in the street? She said, ‘Yes, please!’. So I knelt down on the rocky sidewalk, and laid my hands on her feet and prayed that she would have the courage to follow the path Jesus has for her.</div>
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After I prayed, as we walked together she said, ‘You know, I had money in my hand ready to buy a piece of land, I know now that I shouldn’t, I believe God sent you’.</div>
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We walked together to the place under the tree where her and some other girls usually wait for clients out of the sun. There was a girl there we hadn’t met yet and as I opened my mouth to introduce us, our new friend did it for me. She excitedly explained who we were and that I had just given her a revelation that spoke right into a situation in her life.</div>
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That morning while we prayed at home before leaving, I had also felt like one of the girls was suffering from stomach pain, possibly gastritis. So I asked if that was anyone of these girls. </div>
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Guess who put up her hand? She has been doing tests and was waiting to do an endoscopy to see if she has gastritis. I prayed again for her, this time for physical healing. </div>
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We left the group under the tree on a huge high! We were so excited see what God is already doing in such a short time. We approached the second group and again they introduced us to a girl who hadn’t met us before. The first woman we met was there, she has not let us pray for her yet, ‘because she is Catholic and we are Christians’ (her words not mine). This same woman said she thought she saw some guys who were looking to steal things, and everyone asked if I had a cell phone in my bag. I responded that the only thing I had was the love letters we had been giving out and if someone did want to rob us they were welcome to them. </div>
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A minute or so later I started to pray for one of the women when two motorcycles approached us. I wasn’t looking at the road and honestly, people pass and slow down or stop often-it’s the nature of what is going on there. But one of them shouted, ‘Give me your cell phones!’ I looked over and saw that one of them was pointing a gun at us.</div>
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He pointed at my bag and told me to give it to him, I obeyed and said a prayer in my head that he would read the letters. Then the one who was driving the motorcycle looked at Phil who had his hands up and was trying to look as non-threatening as possible so as to not escalate the situation. </div>
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‘Wallet! He has a wallet!’ he shouted.</div>
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Phil was also carrying a heavy backpack full of water bottles making it awkward for him to reach for his wallet, so I reached back and handed it to the guy with the gun who, quite honestly, looked terrified.</div>
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After that they drove off and I said another silent prayer that somehow Phil’s wallet would find it’s way back to us. <strong>(Make sure you read all the way to the end of this story)</strong></div>
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So here’s the crazy thing. During that whole thing Phil and I both felt an incredible, doesn’t-make-sense-when-you-have-a-gun-pointed-at-you, sense of <em>peace</em>.</div>
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After they drove off the women were understandably shaken up and we all headed for the main road in case they decided to try again. A man lent us his cell phone and one of the girls called the police.</div>
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Before leaving to file a report at the police station about Phil’s wallet we asked if we could pray for the girls, and they let us, all of them, even the one who previously wouldn’t let us.</div>
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WIN!</div>
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Here’s the thing, every city has those streets you shouldn’t walk down, we are going to the places. We know this is a risk, and normally we don’t take anything of value, but that day Phil forgot to put his wallet in the car. But if he hadn’t had his wallet they may have searched him and found his phone or worse the keys to our car.</div>
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We weren’t hurt, and either were any of the women and we are so grateful for that.</div>
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We also know that what we are doing is rattling the enemy, we are trying to shine a light in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t want to flee that easily.</div>
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<em>Ours is not a battle of flesh and blood…..</em></div>
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We have been back since this incident and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little more aware, Phil spend most of his time paying attention to the cars and bikes passing while I did the chatting and praying.</div>
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While we were there, one of the girls saw us and said, ‘Is it true? You guys were robbed?’</div>
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Word is spreading amongst them. They will now know too, that <em>we came back</em>.</div>
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They face these risks every day because they are doing the kind of ‘work’ that no one should have to do. And although it may be seen to some as a ‘choice’ I am willing to bet that not one of them dreamed of this life when they were a little girl. Do some research, you will find out.</div>
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<strong>UPDATE: </strong>Monday morning we planned to go to the Federal Police to begin the process to replace Phil’s Brazilian Permanent Residence card. But, when I woke up I felt like we weren’t supposed to go, that we were supposed to wait until Wednesday. Specifically, <em>Wednesday.</em></div>
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Tuesday evening someone we don’t know tried to friend Phil on facebook. Sometimes that happens but this guy is from João Pessoa and we don’t have any friends in common. Then he messaged Phil saying something about documents he found that he thinks could be Phil’s.</div>
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Wait, WHAT?</div>
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I wrote back to him and we waited. Later my phone rang and it was the kids school calling, asking if my husband had lost some documents recently. </div>
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‘Yes, we were robbed last week’, I responded.</div>
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‘Someone found your daughters card from school and called. They gave me their number.’</div>
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I jotted the phone number down and called it. </div>
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As it turns out, this guy was driving down the highway and stopped at the side to wait for a friend, he happened to look in the grass and saw Phil’s documents lying there. </div>
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‘I have no idea why I stopped at that particular location, it must have been God’, he said.</div>
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We arranged to meet him the following morning which was…….</div>
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<strong>WEDNESDAY.</strong></div>
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Coincidence? I think not.</div>
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All of Phil’s ID was there, including the credit card we had cancelled but that’s ok because the new one arrived, that same day!</div>
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<br />Someone asked this week, ‘So, although this ministry is clearly something God is calling you guys into, how do you see this planting a church?’</div>
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Good question.</div>
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About 15 years ago, under a tree in Altamira, Rick Bergen met with a few guys every week to pray and read the Bible. All of them were a mess, their marriages were breaking up, they were drinking heavily, sometimes even coming to the study drunk.</div>
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Most of those men are now pastors or leaders. Their marriages and lives have been restored.</div>
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All any of us can do is look to see where the Father is working and join Him. We spent months praying about whether or not to step into this ministry, it wouldn’t leave us. The way we have seen these women responding tells us that the Father was already there, working, we’re just joining Him.</div>
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Built into the Vineyard’s DNA is going to the dark places, looking for the lost and the broken and showing them the unconditional love of the Father. </div>
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<em>Beyond being what we do, it’s who we are.</em></div>
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<strong><em>The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. Isaiah 61:1</em></strong></div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-88421990142800691512017-05-26T02:42:00.001-07:002017-05-26T02:42:55.929-07:00They Are My Daughters, Planting Seeds in the Concrete Jungle, Raising Bilingual Kids<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="mcnBoxedTextBlock" style="border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 100%; width: 100%px;"><tbody class="mcnBoxedTextBlockOuter">
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<tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="color: #f2f2f2; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: center; word-break: break-word;" valign="top">Thank you so much for all of you who pray, give and read we are so grateful for all your support and love!</td></tr>
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'They Are My Daughters'<br /> </h1>
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'He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,' Isaiah 61:1</h3>
<br />Our heart is to love our neighbours, whoever they are. We want to serve them as the Lord would have us serve them, because we know that only he can truly transform lives.<div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<br />One Friday night we were driving back to our house and as we turned one corner a woman shouted out to us, we all turned and my son asked, ‘Mom, what is she doing on the corner like that? And why is she dressed like that?’</div>
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I said it was a conversation for later. </div>
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Another Friday night we saw five or six women and watched as a motorcycle pulled up and stopped in front of them.</div>
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My heart ached.</div>
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Another day, in another part of the city, in the middle of the day on a Tuesday we counted fifteen to seventeen women.</div>
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We started taking these routes purposely, at different times of the day. We started doing research. Prostitution is legal here in Paraíba, but many times minors fall pray to it, the average age of a girl starting is 12-14.<br /><br /><em><strong>They are somebody's baby girl.</strong></em></div>
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They've either left home or been turned out onto the streets. With little to no education or skills, it’s often chosen as a profession because they have run out of options.</div>
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We started to realize that we were both feeling pulled in a direction that we had no idea what to do with, but it kept tapping on our hearts, invading our thoughts, that still small voice was whispering....</div>
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<em>‘<strong>They are my daughters.'</strong></em></div>
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Only one problem. We have absolutely no idea how to start or what to do.</div>
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So, we prayed. ‘Lord, if this is you calling us into this, we can’t do it without your guidance, show us how to do this Lord’.</div>
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In our research Phil came across a website for a group in Recife, Pernambuco (the next state south of us) called <a href="http://www.shoresofgrace.com/" style="color: #2baadf;" target="_blank">Shores of Grace</a>. They started working with prostitutes and others in the streets about seven years ago. They now have a comprehensive ministry who's priority is to show these women and men that they are loved. IF they choose to leave the work they are in, they have things in place to help them get trained and on a new path. But first, love them right where they are, no strings attached.<br /> </div>
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Last week I was able to make contact with Nic Billman, the founder of Shores of Grace. I told him how we had been feeling and that we would love to have a chance to chat with them, possibly learn from them. He invited us to come for a few days, receive training and go out with them when they minister.</div>
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<br />We still really don’t know how this will look. Right now we have committed to praying for these women on a daily basis, praying that God would continue to show us what it is He would have us do.</div>
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Leaning on Him and not our own understanding. We will keep you posted as we move forward.</div>
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For more information about Shores of Grace you can visit their website: <a href="https://shoresofgrace.com/" style="color: #2baadf;">https://shoresofgrace.com</a></div>
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<span style="color: lightyellow;">PLANTING SEEDS IN THE CONCRETE JUNGLE</span></h1>
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Living in the Amazon basin, seeds are easier to plant. In fact, we once had several different vegetables and fruits start to sprout up where a broken pipe from our kitchen spilled onto the ground.</div>
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Similarly, getting to know people happens more easily, walk around your neighbourhood as the sun is setting and you will find them sitting outside their houses, enjoying the cooler temperatures of the late afternoon and sipping cafezinhos. You sit and begin to chat, the seeds of relationship sprout. </div>
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Living here, in a big city, a concrete jungle, it’s difficult to find soil to throw seeds on, people tile the sidewalks. Walking around our neighbourhood here at sunset we find a few people, the ones with dogs, but our conversations are shorter, in passing. The seeds of relationship don’t sprout as quickly.</div>
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So, we have to have patience and be creative. Find ways to spend more time with people.</div>
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<br /><br /> One of the ways missionaries in other parts of the country have done this is to fill a need by opening an english school.</div>
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Learning english is Brazil is a much desired skill. It opens many doors.</div>
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João Pessoa has as many english schools as any Canadian town has Tim Horton’s. Opening another one here isn’t really filling a need.</div>
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Saying that, having native english speakers to practice your english with is hard to come by. So, we’ve decided to use this angle to fill a need and also connect us to different groups of people.</div>
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The idea that came to us was to approach one of the english schools and offer a free bonus english conversation class. </div>
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Faith’s tutor mentioned that the english school she attends, Uptime, is a smaller school and run by a Christian woman, maybe we could approach her.</div>
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A few Sundays later, we were invited to attend an English service at a local Anglican church and started speaking to the minister. He has traveled to England several times and is very familiar with Alpha. Our idea about running an Alpha at an English school came up and he said, ‘well you should meet Erika, she owns Uptime english school!’</div>
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Well whaddya know....</div>
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We spoke with her and since their church is familiar with Alpha and eager to help us get started, she loved the idea!</div>
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Our hope of course, is that from this we can begin another small group and make more connections.</div>
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We have to break through the concrete here to get to the soil. It will take longer, but we have confidence in the one who sent us here that he is giving us the tools we need.</div>
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Raising Bilingual Kids</h1>
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<span style="color: black;">Recently the kids got what we would call interim report cards, kind of a dipstick look at how they are doing. They are doing amazingly well considering what we started with.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">This is the result of many afternoons of blood sweat and google translate as we hack through the homework. All of us are learning more portuguese, spoken and written. We didn’t go to an official language school, we just sort of learned the language on the fly as we went, sink or swim, so this has been a great crash course.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">It’s also been really tough, on all of us. It’s a big time investment too, it's almost like I'm still homeschooling but now in Portuguese! But we are already seeing results. Faith started as a blank slate. She struggles with reading in english as it is so we were concerned. But the crazy thing is, she is now able to read at a grade 1 level in portuguese and her english reading has improved immensely! On Friday, Luke tackled his Portuguese homework (by far the most challenging subject) by himself!! I cried real tears!!</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">We are so grateful that they are doing this, that they will come out of it on the other side fully bilingual. We have great peace that this was the right choice for our family. I love seeing them want to succeed! We are so proud of them!</span></div>
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<em>Copyright © 2017 Xingu Mission C/O Jen and Phil Snell, All rights reserved.</em><br />You are receiving these emails because we consider you a friend who would like to hear about the work we are doing in Brazil. If you would not like to receive these emails anymore please send us a quick email and we will remove you promptly!<br /><br /><strong>Our mailing address is:</strong><br /><div class="vcard">
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Igreja da Vinha</div>
<span class="locality">Maraba</span>, <span class="region">Pa</span> <span class="postal-code">68512652</span><div class="country-name">
Brazil</div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-4504240597372700012017-01-28T08:40:00.000-08:002017-01-28T09:11:49.859-08:00Letting Him Lead-Finding Our HomeOne Saturday morning in Canada shortly before we came back to Brazil, I was leafing through flyers minding my own business when I saw a picture of a golden retriever. For those who know us well, wed are often comparing ourselves to those overly friendly extroverted dogs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRb0805O62hJ7y5Bulebompw9cTOdz0BlXP8G4Epw8SvhleQ0EpMg2TA2TudjtMmBIxbaORuSvdtoTtp7Nv3DOdq3qMuUnjIM5eyQUrLsVjNKVJZk48LS6lHgnEsTvGMxqKLWusqxv1to/s1600/golden+retriever.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRb0805O62hJ7y5Bulebompw9cTOdz0BlXP8G4Epw8SvhleQ0EpMg2TA2TudjtMmBIxbaORuSvdtoTtp7Nv3DOdq3qMuUnjIM5eyQUrLsVjNKVJZk48LS6lHgnEsTvGMxqKLWusqxv1to/s1600/golden+retriever.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
But we also really want one and it represents home to me and to my kids who's only ever house that felt like home had a golden retriever in it.<br />
<br />
At that moment as I looked at the golden retriever in front of a cage I felt the Lord say, 'so when you get to Joao Pessoa, you're going to find a house that looks pretty great early on. But, it's not the house I have for you so don't rush it, wait on me'.<br />
<br />
Okay.<br />
<br />
I told Phil and then forgot all about it.<br />
<br />
Two weeks into our time here, and the fourth house we looked at-we were in love! It was clean, bright, had an extra bedroom for visitors, a bit of space outside, great location. We were ready to rent it.<br />
<br />
The next morning we had an appointment to see it again. I woke up feeling uneasy and couldn't figure out why. So, I said, 'what's up Jesus, why do I feel like this?'<br />
<br />
That's when he reminded me what he had told me when I was looking at the flyer.<br />
<br />
Seriously? But this house is PERFECT. It has EVERYTHING!<br />
<br />
<i>But I have something better.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I told Phil, his shoulders sloped and he sighed, 'Really?'<br />
<br />
So, we didn't rent it. For the next week or so there was NOTHING new on the market. We started to panic a little, what if I heard wrong?<br />
<br />
But, everything in me told me not to rent it. Trust, wait, He has something better.<br />
<br />
Finally, one day as I was obsessively looking on the Brazilian version of Kijiji a house appeared I hadn't seen before, a new listing. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwmZJVAYdaIE3EgR6YPTSBRwlJAGVetPRPiGDBGkZZjs8Ohr4xRN6mHMTkjBWR4VK3NE5-SuvkjEqo8sALveEKtmxCQDFP_gOSSSUvX0tF7bO3yq9UICOjKEgBVLg3QXIJXA4zlsW3y8/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNwmZJVAYdaIE3EgR6YPTSBRwlJAGVetPRPiGDBGkZZjs8Ohr4xRN6mHMTkjBWR4VK3NE5-SuvkjEqo8sALveEKtmxCQDFP_gOSSSUvX0tF7bO3yq9UICOjKEgBVLg3QXIJXA4zlsW3y8/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="320" /></a>The initial picture had two large dogs that looked like golden retrievers in the drive way.<br />
<br />
IT'S A SIGN! I joked, sort of.<br />
<br />
I read the description, 3 bedrooms, and an 'annex'. I made an appointment to see it at the earliest opportunity.<br />
<br />
The minute we walked through the gates and into the house we were all sold on it. It had so much outside space, which is nearly impossible find here. There was also the annex, which had a garage below for all of Phil's fiddlings, and above a full bedroom with ensuite for visitors. Separate from our own house for the visitors privacy and ours. <br />
<br />
We really want our house to somewhere that pastors, missionaries and family and friends can come to find rest. <br />
<br />
This place was just that. <br />
<br />
Now that we are moved in, I am reminded every day that waiting on what God has for us is ALWAYS better. Jesus always has what's best for us, even when it doesn't look like it.<br />
<br />
We just have to be willing to wait.....and that my friends is the hardest part.Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-15786832015158871552017-01-28T07:14:00.000-08:002017-01-28T07:14:25.394-08:00Can You Give Your Yes?<div aria-label="Shared with: Public" class="_6a _29ee _4f-9 _43_1" data-hover="tooltip" data-tooltip-content="Shared with: Public" role="img" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;">
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This past Sunday we had the opportunity to share with our home church about what we feel God has placed on our hearts. I felt strongly leading up to our talk that this was supposed to be something other than a slideshow and stories from the Amazon. I felt God pressing on my heart that He wanted people to examine their hearts for the areas they haven't let him in, the 'dirty closets' they preferred to keep closed. </div>
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The worship left Phil and I undone as it spoke exactly of the message we felt pressed to share with our church family. </div>
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<b><i>Surrender.</i></b></div>
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I posed the question, 'If Jesus asked you to say yes before knowing the question could you do it?' If you couldn't, why? Is there fear involved? Are there areas of your life that are off limits to Jesus? What are the fears? Fear of loss? Fear of lack?</div>
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<b><i>When we hold back and live in fear we become paralyzed, stop listening to what God wants for us and in turn we choke off the blessings God has for us. </i></b></div>
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Our yes comes at a cost,<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"> sometimes it's a great one, but it also comes with great reward. </span></div>
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We shared a bit about some of the awesome stuff God has been using us for in Brazil and how we came to the understanding that he is indeed calling us to move on to Joao Pessoa where we will be part of planting a church and beginning new ministries that we are yet to discover.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We also shared our financial situation, where are we four years into this thing? </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>Reality is the numbers currently don't add up but we are pressing forward in confidence knowing that God has called us into this and requires our action to activate his provision. </i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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We shared <b>where the majority of our funding comes from, 80% from individuals </b>who give anywhere from $25-$200/month. That maybe Jesus is asking them to say yes to joining our team, to trust that he will provide. We also stressed that although you may think what you can offer is just a bit, it's all those bits that make up the majority of our funding. Not to mention knowing we have a team of people rooting for us, praying for us and supporting us is invaluable.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I sighted Exodus 14:12-18 when the Israelites are whining that Moses should have left them as slaves, Moses tells them to be still but God responds, '“Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to <b>MOVE </b>on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>God wants our yes AND our action. When we do that He gets the glory, people see the impossible become possible.</i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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Sometimes being enslaved by our fear is comfortable because it's what we know. But that's only because we haven't given God a chance to show us what he is capable of. When we do, we taste real freedom and there's no turning back.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We are so incredibly grateful to the people who have been faithfully supporting us these last four years and to those who have just decided to join the team. We are still recruiting, if you want in send us a message and we'll get you set up.</div>
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We also shared a video highlighting some of the best moments of the last two years.</div>
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Here's the link:</div>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/_4tQPz93m6o" rel="nofollow" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/_4tQPz93m6o</a></div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-15200418536955256372016-06-22T09:43:00.000-07:002016-06-22T09:43:34.469-07:00Neither Here nor There-Why Re-Entry Is Harder Than Culture ShockI walk into Walmart and am immediately feeling a duality of emotions. I'm excited because there are so many choices, and yet my heart rate quickens and I feel something like a panic attack coming on because….<br />
<br />
<b><i>There are so many choices!</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
We have just returned from serving as missionaries for two years in northern Brazil and although we have lived cross culturally before this is the longest stint that I have been 'away'. At some point, the scales tip and it stops being away and becomes home, or something like it.<br />
<br />
Going to a new country means your senses are overwhelmed, you are soaking in a new climate, culture and sometimes language. You are overwhelmed, you long for 'normal' and you feel completely displaced, out of place and definitely not in Kansas anymore.<br />
<br />
<b><i>But you expect that when you pick up your life and move to a foreign land…you don't expect it when you come back to the place you used to call 'home'.</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
I have explained re-entry or reverse culture shock to others like this. Before you left your home country you were part of a beautiful puzzle, you had a shape and it meshed with the shapes of those around you. But then you pulled your piece out of that puzzle and moved to a new puzzle where for a while, turn and twist as you might you don't fit the same. So slowly, your shape shifts and changes to fit into the new puzzle. Trouble is, when you come back that new shape that you had become to fit in the new puzzle, doesn't just slide back in to the old puzzle. Because you are different and guess what? <br />
<br />
<b><i>So is the puzzle you left behind. </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
You can't just 're-enter' and pick up where you left off because you are not the same person and even though you in your mind you hit the 'pause game' button on life at home, the people you left behind didn't actually pause (GASP!!) their lives went on without you and maybe, just maybe there is a new puzzle piece where you used to be.<br />
<br />
<b><i>So although you had started to feel comfortable in that foreign land, it is in fact still foreign and now that place you call home isn't the same either so you feel out discombobulated wherever you are.</i></b><br />
<br />
What can be done? Not a whole lot unfortunately. But for those reading this who are welcoming home missionaries or other travellers you can be patient, understand that most of their conversations will revolve around that other place, because they are trying to make themselves fit back into your puzzle by bringing a bit of the foreign puzzle into your life.<br />
<br />
It's confusing, and emotionally overwhelming and they are feeling a bit lost.<br />
<br />
In the end, I wander around Walmart picking things up and putting them back down again and eventually leave with nothing. The choices overwhelm.<br />
<br />
<b><i>I don't fit yet. But maybe, most likely, I will feel like I fit again just as we are about to go back.</i></b><br />
<br />
That is life when you live neither here nor there.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-25583628286541403942015-09-04T14:42:00.002-07:002015-09-04T14:42:43.567-07:00Taking Alpha On The Road<br />
For years, the Alpha resources sat unused on a shelf here in Maraba. <br /><br /><em><strong>Why? Because they had never experienced or seen Alpha running, they didn't know how to get started.</strong></em><br /><br />A
few weeks into running the first Alpha here in Maraba, the team loved
it. The Brazilian pastor said it was ‘the best thing they had running’.<br /><br />Two weeks later we were on a plane headed for Canada after receiving the devastating news that my Dad was dying.<br /><br /><em><strong>But Alpha kept running, and growing. Without us.</strong></em><br /><br />Since
then we have had two Alpha’s in the church, two youth alpha’s and an
Alpha in the Street. Alpha has become part of our churches culture and <strong><em>it’s bringing people to Jesus</em></strong>.<br /><br />It
isn’t the only effective evangelism tool but it’s a good one. It’s the
one that took me from not believing to believing, and ultimately
brought me here. We’re pretty crazy about Alpha.<br /><br />There are missionaries and Brazilians within the Xingu Mission who also have the materials but don't know where to start.<br /><br /><em><strong>They would like us to help them. An Alpha kick-start if you will.</strong></em><br /><br />So,
in the coming year it looks as though we could be traveling quite a
bit. Right now, there are four bases that would like us to come for two
weeks, train their team and get them started.<br /><br />We are excited!
We also need your help. Traveling so much will increase our monthly
expenditures and we will need extra funds to make it work. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhvpvyljP5CxMLPpIzOIgVJZwM2zRoQ49q-mp2HOuTPwO0MvT6g6lSNvGjon3xiYSzf0LVjiiHEeRCgOH_ydTZgf22DFTG5z-mEDEiQM-U81XMOZxQUTq4UwRGhUV2B47a0iMR1MBDJM/s1600/question_mark.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhvpvyljP5CxMLPpIzOIgVJZwM2zRoQ49q-mp2HOuTPwO0MvT6g6lSNvGjon3xiYSzf0LVjiiHEeRCgOH_ydTZgf22DFTG5z-mEDEiQM-U81XMOZxQUTq4UwRGhUV2B47a0iMR1MBDJM/s1600/question_mark.png" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: red;"><br /><strong>Prayerfully
consider whether or not you would like to partner with us in spreading
this ministry. We are training people who will train others and spread
Alpha, and the message it brings throughout Northern Brazil.</strong></span><br /><br />We are VERY excited about this new chapter!</div>
Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-83839257141857475212015-09-04T14:35:00.000-07:002015-09-04T14:35:03.909-07:00Help Is On The Way!<h2 class="null">
</h2>
Last year shortly into
our new homeschool year I had a horrible day that was part of a series
of bad days. I’m going to be completely honest. The hardest part of
this move to a place full of new things, new climate, new culture,
snakes and tarantulas has not been the adjustment to all these new
things.<br />
<br />
<b><i>The aspect that has been the biggest challenge, the one that
has brought me to tears and had me consider packing up and
leaving…is...HOMESCHOOL. </i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There, I said it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />So, one very trying
day I cried out to God, I vented to Phil and I probably yelled at my
kids that if something didn’t change, if something didn’t shift I
couldn’t do it any more. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Every day was a battle of wills, and it was mine that was breaking.</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b>It
was in that moment of desperation that I heard that still small voice
saying, ‘help is on the way’. I looked to the sky, eyebrows raised and
replied, ‘Really? From where?’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /><b><i>Oh me of little faith. Shouldn’t I
know by now that he always has a plan? Shouldn’t I know by now that
when I hear that still small voice I ought to listen? Didn’t I name my
own daughter as a reminder?</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b>And yet, the frustration continued.
People were put in their rooms (me included) tensions mounted. I
scoured the internet for ideas, ways to change what we were doing, new
curriculums, maybe that would be the help I longed for.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />Then, on another terrible, awful, no good horrible day again that still small voice came and said, ‘google exactly this: <em>help me homeschool my missionary kids’. </em>So
I did and there in front of me was a web site that linked missionaries
in need with people looking to serve missionaries, voluntarily, no cost
to us and on a tourist visa.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /><b><i>Exactly what I was praying for!</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />Long
story short I applied. In April in the wee hours of the morning I
couldn’t sleep for some reason and checked my email. There in black and
white lighting up my dark bedroom was an email from someone who wanted
to come and help.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /><b><i>Help was indeed on the way.</i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b>After a series of emails, skype calls and more emails we decided we liked each other and wanted to give it a go.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />In less than a week, Madeline, an eighteen year old highschool grad taking
a GAP year will come to help us with homeschool for three to six
months. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />Oh Jesus how sweet your answered prayers taste to this dry mouth!</div>
Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-71604780635837588852015-07-04T12:02:00.000-07:002015-07-04T20:30:08.508-07:00Narrow and Deep with Vineyard Delaware (VCDC)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOdEs_7Xf59IaDZ0Hj3FQ3Lot6tGyDHD-PwBJFawUZaVImnKqsmMQHUGgJ_DrZngksC2XjTSk4eHV3I01Gkgw5Zrao5306VHueobo7bxPZVMRzO3HvXGrske_roQ2WWAqb_fOz1-pU7q0/s1600/11148211_10206928581278226_7335156271408859797_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOdEs_7Xf59IaDZ0Hj3FQ3Lot6tGyDHD-PwBJFawUZaVImnKqsmMQHUGgJ_DrZngksC2XjTSk4eHV3I01Gkgw5Zrao5306VHueobo7bxPZVMRzO3HvXGrske_roQ2WWAqb_fOz1-pU7q0/s320/11148211_10206928581278226_7335156271408859797_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>The black water of the river is like a mirror, reflecting
the intense green of the foliage that surrounds us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The canoe lies low in the water with less than an inch
between the eight of us and the river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We all joke about what might be watching us from the banks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael Hansen of the Delaware Vineyard (VCDC) comments
that he is in awe of the colours, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘so
intense they seem fake’</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s
my first time traveling with a short term team on a river trip and it’s our
last day on the river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve taken
the canoe down one of the smaller rivers to visit an elderly lady and her
husband of over sixty years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
small wooden home lies at the end of a ‘dock’ comprised of small tree trunks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to imagine them navigating this
pathway after paddling away from the service the night before into the
impossible darkness. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fDapWyFHZuP4bDX9Z8-PovlCcKZofbTVQSxiPoRfUNsIFBOQODCj-hJ-d0RaKtlGWgV1vPs4zQEvpmZOk_j7kiiMOfXI585pFg7gxBlYOD0odSEiXjal3WzF1sjYKE5gxEL2SHegJ34/s1600/1978458_10206928584078296_8315324573424924190_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fDapWyFHZuP4bDX9Z8-PovlCcKZofbTVQSxiPoRfUNsIFBOQODCj-hJ-d0RaKtlGWgV1vPs4zQEvpmZOk_j7kiiMOfXI585pFg7gxBlYOD0odSEiXjal3WzF1sjYKE5gxEL2SHegJ34/s320/1978458_10206928584078296_8315324573424924190_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>Michael Hansen has been to Brazil with Xingu Mission at
least four times, and beyond that their senior pastor Danny Meyer has been
involved for eighteen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The vision
for partnership with missions at VCDC is to go ‘Narrow and Deep’ building deep
relationships with a few missions as opposed to spreading support thin and wide
with several.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For five days the team of twenty travels along the rivers
near Portel delivering water filters and the gospel together, sleeping in
hammocks on the boat and getting to know the habits of people who, for me, were
strangers just days ago which always leads to good memories and funny
stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At each stop we meet with the families from the surrounding
houses to worship and share the good news of the gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Team members share their own stories of
how God has changed their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
services are simple, and the fragrance of God’s love is heady and sweet and many
are touched by His presence, including those on the team.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioW87X2XIul-Rq36wxSOU9KIkc7oeLWP74fa_SoZn_bEvowL4pgz3U1fyAK5t68QcysTd4WGrGzPBeyi9KG75XjJ3TorhBdFCidjAju9psCc1QFXv39DlC-BDCQc7HqatH9x8wg0LrJRg/s1600/DSCN0789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioW87X2XIul-Rq36wxSOU9KIkc7oeLWP74fa_SoZn_bEvowL4pgz3U1fyAK5t68QcysTd4WGrGzPBeyi9KG75XjJ3TorhBdFCidjAju9psCc1QFXv39DlC-BDCQc7HqatH9x8wg0LrJRg/s320/DSCN0789.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is often said that a better use of resources would be to
send money instead of teams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
whole heartedly disagree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only
is the team a blessing to all the lives they encounter (including mine) while
they are here, but the lives and hearts of the team are transformed and become
bonded to the people here in way that money could never accomplish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Money can build churches and Sunday
schools but it can’t pray for a wizened face old lady living in a wooden shack
somewhere in the Amazon basin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Teams build relationships and partnerships that span years and
continents, something no amount of money will ever do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_OKN0LktO36WXfExIjSP2Xz-LS7tA6IwFcoXLswev3UsIoUb04ypxZlUVYq9UWoENEJg1IOs1fRLVtyoHV8qv3FvlVEtgsKLjknk2r57oxWF2Lbxi2Fis-mbIjXLZ-79bUoYMBty98E/s1600/_MG_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC_OKN0LktO36WXfExIjSP2Xz-LS7tA6IwFcoXLswev3UsIoUb04ypxZlUVYq9UWoENEJg1IOs1fRLVtyoHV8qv3FvlVEtgsKLjknk2r57oxWF2Lbxi2Fis-mbIjXLZ-79bUoYMBty98E/s320/_MG_0924.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-29536178825084357532015-06-04T06:27:00.003-07:002015-06-04T06:27:50.579-07:00I Want To Go Home<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
Standing in our hallway, my daughter looked up at me with
her big, brown, tear filled eyes and asked me, ‘Mommy, where is home?’<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I paused, took a deep breath and told her that home is
wherever we are, that our family is home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Four walls don’t make a home, a country doesn’t make a home, a family
does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But Mommy,” she protested, “Canada feels like home, but now
we are here and we are here for two years and then we only go back for a few
months and come back here again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
it’s like Brazil is home but it’s not, because I don’t feel normal here," a tear left a wet trail down her cheek.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIel-3Bc0HKK3VvsRJtusWORXCqQ84Cwrm3OCheEeeHOak0Ga5DCbkwZgT0KWMTmpNTIVWab8sim2bnqKk_uVOPH-OEYEqqOx9zyE8gMMCPPibmD5f9UK6cxG_QGeFgeYYrfjWQ0bJ7I/s1600/2013-10-18+05.58.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaIel-3Bc0HKK3VvsRJtusWORXCqQ84Cwrm3OCheEeeHOak0Ga5DCbkwZgT0KWMTmpNTIVWab8sim2bnqKk_uVOPH-OEYEqqOx9zyE8gMMCPPibmD5f9UK6cxG_QGeFgeYYrfjWQ0bJ7I/s320/2013-10-18+05.58.48.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I fought my own tears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a battle I have in my own heart almost daily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a heart in two places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a child, a missionary kid, she’s
considered ‘third culture’ a mixture of where she’s from and where she is she
isn’t strongly part of either one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
a tough place to be in some days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday was one of those tough ones.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Faith lay with her head on my lap, tears fell from her eyes
and I wiped away each one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She cried for
the friends she left behind, for the family she longs to see at holidays, she
cried for the way kids make fun of her when she speaks English, she cried for
the middle ground she lives in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>I held her and whispered in her ear that some days, Mommy
feels exactly the same way.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘I just want to go home, I just want to feel normal’ she
said through tears and a trembling bottom lip.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>What I couldn’t bear to whisper in her ear is that the
reality is, there is no going home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Even
when we land in Canada a year from now, home will no longer feel the way it
did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The comfort of ordered streets that
are well paved, clear of litter and stray dogs will be replaced with a feeling
of estrangement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will feel oddly
sterile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Friends have made new friends. The landscape has changed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The puzzle you once fit into
with ease, is still there but you, the piece of it that flew away to a far
away land, you are no longer the same shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Try as you might, your shape no longer fits the same way into the void
you left behind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No, I couldn’t tell her that part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’ll learn that on her own.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Many times, often daily, I have to remind myself that God
called not just Phil and I into this adventure, he called our kids too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They aren’t skin tags, along for the ride.
They are part of this thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is
purpose in it for them too.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This week our base leaders took there two youngest daughters
to the airport to see them off, back to Canada where one will stay to go to
University and the other visit with her sisters before returning to Brazil for
her last year of high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another missionary family recently took their oldest son back to the U.S. for the same reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My heart aches for the mothers who now live
with thousands of miles between them and the children who have been beside them,
working with them, doing life as a family in a way that most don’t get to
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have been together for
every victory and every tear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But all
that closeness, it comes with a high price tag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One day, if we are still doing this missionary life, we may have to do
the same.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>My own words ring in my head, </i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>‘home is our family’</b>.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But what happens when
your family is now in two places?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
normal for your kids to grow up and find a life of their own, but normally they
move maybe a couple hours away, not a continent.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>The gifts in this life, they are enormous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sacrifices are too.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzanrHeOEObS7ucjR_vw1vv8nvXBjCazeCbxZvGcNpTBkqNnLCLC4OZxf29sJoQlVbvST3CTnqX9Fl-xqzcwKPprvcdPU5e02NwqemN3cTjDbOJvPgKcsbXh-Y5aOnvl2zJMy0UK_xQ6k/s1600/10393724_10155808643735643_6675837071139147866_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzanrHeOEObS7ucjR_vw1vv8nvXBjCazeCbxZvGcNpTBkqNnLCLC4OZxf29sJoQlVbvST3CTnqX9Fl-xqzcwKPprvcdPU5e02NwqemN3cTjDbOJvPgKcsbXh-Y5aOnvl2zJMy0UK_xQ6k/s320/10393724_10155808643735643_6675837071139147866_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The daughters of our base leader wrote a children's story for their Mom. About a Momma bird and her four babies and how the Momma bird feels like her heart is flying away with her babies as they leave the nest. In the end, the Momma bird learns that she can learn to sing a</div>
gain, she finds her song.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the biggest challenges as parents is letting our kids fly, letting them go and figure out this life. Even if they are still doing it with us. When Faith's heart is breaking for home, I want to fix that hurt, I want to get on a plane and take us back. But that would be robbing her of the richness God has planned for her, that the pain and the struggle are some of the best nuggets in life. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="footnotes" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-transition: all 0.2s; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; transition: all 0.2s; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
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<div class="chapter-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span class="text Rom-5-3" id="en-NIV-28051" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </sup><i><span style="color: red;">Not only so, but we<sup class="footnote" data-fn="#fen-NIV-28051a" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NIV-28051a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+5%3A3-5#fen-NIV-28051a" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup> also glory in our sufferings,<span style="font-size: 0.625em;"><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28051A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28051A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup></span> because we know that suffering produces perseverance;<span style="font-size: 0.625em;"><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28051B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28051B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup></span></span></i></span><i><span style="color: red;"> <span class="text Rom-5-4" id="en-NIV-28052" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">4 </sup>perseverance, character; and character, hope.</span> <span class="text Rom-5-5" id="en-NIV-28053" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><sup class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">5 </sup>And hope<span style="font-size: 0.625em;"><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28053C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28053C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup></span> does not put us to shame, because God’s love<span style="font-size: 0.625em;"><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28053D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28053D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup></span> has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,<span style="font-size: 0.625em;"><sup class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-28053E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-28053E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></sup></span> who has been given to us. Romans 5:35</span></span></i></div>
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I know in my heart of hearts that the things she is learning here, the character that is being built in her at such a young age will prepare her to fly higher than I ever have or will in my life. And isn't that what we want as parents? For our kids to fly higher, live larger? </div>
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If only it didn't hurt so much in the midst of the struggle.</div>
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Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-39906156122588413522015-04-11T08:23:00.003-07:002015-04-11T08:23:43.634-07:00No Going Back<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Do you remember those paintings, the ones that just look
like a bunch of blotches but hidden within is a three-dimensional image?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-thtNT6KByGMvozeerigdzZQy-EpcNvkQzMu7esn2nc0j9Cc0oOia3JlcicVKpcwCRBeDkcbq2lyU9idJg_HEo5E-GQuvJHWDqKQdk7pLjer92l5Q6yCNzGLUAVT80-kFU0TAffYSnNI/s1600/jesustereodsg1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-thtNT6KByGMvozeerigdzZQy-EpcNvkQzMu7esn2nc0j9Cc0oOia3JlcicVKpcwCRBeDkcbq2lyU9idJg_HEo5E-GQuvJHWDqKQdk7pLjer92l5Q6yCNzGLUAVT80-kFU0TAffYSnNI/s1600/jesustereodsg1.jpg" height="249" width="320" /></a></div>
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When they
first came out I thought it was ridiculous and that anyone who said they saw a
soaring eagle or a skyline of New York city was either lying to themselves and
everyone else or just delusional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
tried and tried, blurred my eyes, stood like a fool with my nose pressed
against the painting at first and then backed up, but still nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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I finally gave up and decided it was exactly as it looked, a bunch of random colour blotches with no other hidden image.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Then one day I was at a friend’s house and they had
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They gave me a few suggestions for
how I could try to see the picture so I tried again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I allowed my focus to blur, relaxed my eyes
and there was a flash of something round, and protruding from the picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I startled me so much that I brought my eyes
back into focus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did I just see?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly, my eyes came back into focus, except this time I was faced with an image jumping out of the blotches. I was looking a full moon, hanging over a majestic pine and through the night
sky soared an eagle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Incredible!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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‘I see it I see it!’ I shouted.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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My sister, who was with me, hadn’t seen it yet.<br />
'Where, how? I
can’t see it!’ she was frustrated and a little jealous that I could see it, somewhat doubtful that I actually was seeing something.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I walked her through the steps again and told her how I managed
to see the picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I watched as her eyes went from dull to large and bright.<br />
‘I see it I see it! Oh my goodness, how is this possible!’
She exclaimed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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After that night we were a little crazy about seeing these pictures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We bought a book full of them, ran to the
mall where there was a display of them and stood looking at all of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You felt as though you could reach out and
touch the things in the picture.<o:p></o:p></div>
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From that day on the images that were ‘hidden’ in these
blotches, were impossible for me to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i>
see.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, where am I going with this?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I always wondered what people meant when they said they <i>found Jesus</i> like he had been hiding under the couch or something. I just didn't get it.<br />
<br /></div>
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The Kingdom of Heaven is sometimes described as the already
and the not yet, the seen and the unseen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Before I ‘saw’ I thought that those who could see were like the people
who claimed to see something in those paintings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were either delusional, or lying to
themselves.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>I was blind but now I
see....</b><o:p></o:p></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b><br /></b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For me the moment of believing came in a flash, just like
seeing the images in those paintings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
was blind to it, and then I wasn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
all became known, even though I didn’t have all the answers, I now could see
what was always there, I believed.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>How precious did that
Grace appear, the hour I first believed.<o:p></o:p></b></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In order to see those images, I had to re-learn how to see,
I had to un-train my trained eyes, not to see what something looked like on the
surface, but to see beyond it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I
saw the images in those paintings, there was no going back, I couldn’t un-see
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>I once was lost but
now I’m found.</b><o:p></o:p></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I believed, I saw most Christians (and ironically most especially missionaries) as people who just
wanted to bend you to their way of thinking, they'd been brain washed and now they were bent on shoving religion down other's
throats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why couldn’t they just leave
people to their own beliefs?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I was able to see the images in those paintings, I wanted to help
everyone else see those images, not because I wanted to push something on them
but because it was AMAZING.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you begin to understand the magnitude of believing and
see how it has changed your life from a seemingly random arrangement of
blotches of colour, into a beautiful three-dimensional piece of art, you want
others to have it too, because it’s GOOD, it’s more than good….<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>It’s AMAZING!<o:p></o:p></b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now scroll back up, look at the blotches, blur your eyes and then relax. Do you see him? He's in there, waiting, he's been seeing you your whole life, just waiting for you to be able to see him.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-38410682465517285672015-04-01T09:45:00.001-07:002015-04-01T09:45:32.788-07:00A Video UpdateOur ministries here are in full swing, kids are in school and days are full. I find I'm without the time to let my fingers fly on the keyboard the way I would like to these days. Saying that, we don't want to leave our followers and supporters thinking we have sailed down river never to be heard from again.<br />
<br />
So, this month we are shaking it up and bringing you a video upate! <br />
<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NRzEXHslx8w/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NRzEXHslx8w?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-64683409268173551942014-11-11T12:15:00.001-08:002014-11-11T12:15:42.880-08:00Do You Believe In Miracles?<br />
<h1>
Do You Believe In Miracles?</h1>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8JkPn0BkfH-6Ul3FyCli-rgFWgeMP5wgcfQY8hVAuA04x1ahPFhOk8tm2PLXsxswIpuDAU8PulbkfQz9yxdm9_sBILV15Mk5253OSRMGKVC9QdiytZ5Ya5i6SVG8GqEuuywyoM5aNgo/s1600/2014-10-24+22.13.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF8JkPn0BkfH-6Ul3FyCli-rgFWgeMP5wgcfQY8hVAuA04x1ahPFhOk8tm2PLXsxswIpuDAU8PulbkfQz9yxdm9_sBILV15Mk5253OSRMGKVC9QdiytZ5Ya5i6SVG8GqEuuywyoM5aNgo/s320/2014-10-24+22.13.27.jpg" width="320" /></a>Three weeks ago we packed up our Kombi and with our family and four
youth from our church drove the bumpy dusty Transamazon Highway to a
conference on Healing in the Streets in Altamira. I had no idea that
one of the first miracle healings I would witness would be my own.<br />
The
day before it happened, I admitted to someone that I was a bit of a
'doubting Thomas', that I would have to see or experience something like
a limb growing in order to believe it. The next night at the
conference on 'Healing in the Streets', the speaker, who was from Ireland
and therefore being translated, asked if anyone in the audience had one
leg shorter than the other. My hand seemingly involuntarily shot up. Because
everyone else didn't understand what he said until it was translated, I
was the first one. He called me up and I was immediately surrounded by
300 people and regretting having put my hand up. He explained that
Christ gave all His disciples the authority to heal the sick. Just as
the Apostles did, they spoke to the problem and to it told go in Jesus
name, and that because we are disciples we have the same authority. At
that he gently held my feet in his open hands and told my back to be
straight (I was diagnosed with mild scoliosis when I was twelve) and I
felt something shift in my back and I think I stopped breathing. He
then told my leg to grow and....well....it did. There was a loud
collective gasp from the crowd as they watched my leg extend to meet the
length of the other. I was in shock, my leg just grew, I felt it move
through the leg of my shorts as it did. Turns out that even when I
experience something I still have a hard time believing it. <br />
This visual miracle was a great faith booster for our youth (and me!)
and they were excited to hit the streets the next day praying for the
sick. We lined chairs up in a busy market street and offered to pray
for passersby. We saw many people healed of pain, bone growths shrink,
eye infections disappear and hearts that were broken revealed and
healed. We are bringing this ministry to Maraba, with hopes to visit
different parks every month, with worship, dance and theater
performances followed by prayer.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzNSb_Fva8sSYW-F_9iS8b59mGhj-Dv71T-vAORP_7wc2WKU921oSlI45IOEFAE4U73iYnMk5ApLyXZ-IG7_dzQK0NtPVZAui-ZF22ZTjAXmblVUZ5wE7WnWh30uIVYLxP2OkrFl_ibw/s1600/2014-10-25+08.05.58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzNSb_Fva8sSYW-F_9iS8b59mGhj-Dv71T-vAORP_7wc2WKU921oSlI45IOEFAE4U73iYnMk5ApLyXZ-IG7_dzQK0NtPVZAui-ZF22ZTjAXmblVUZ5wE7WnWh30uIVYLxP2OkrFl_ibw/s200/2014-10-25+08.05.58.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVCQZ_tiAtJw-KzT_rqIdXZHVhl5btcC7u5ZMevPpy4BHPuc_v7FqMnhjI4JJp-Y6s0Dzuzhi5fR5rgRDZz1sjuudJc8zw-JgkwTXJFuy6WQn7yZArXKKTxUnLZd_4QxoH4TIoN6-EC4/s1600/2014-10-25+08.01.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVCQZ_tiAtJw-KzT_rqIdXZHVhl5btcC7u5ZMevPpy4BHPuc_v7FqMnhjI4JJp-Y6s0Dzuzhi5fR5rgRDZz1sjuudJc8zw-JgkwTXJFuy6WQn7yZArXKKTxUnLZd_4QxoH4TIoN6-EC4/s320/2014-10-25+08.01.44.jpg" width="239" /></a>
In the Bible, when Jesus healed someone he often told them not to tell
anyone about it-and of course they did the exact opposite and shouted it from the rooftops. Many have
discussed why He might have told them not to tell anyone.<br />
I posted about my miraculous leg growth experience on Facebook and to my
dismay found that it led to a huge debate about the reality of the love
of God and miracles between my Christian and non-Christian friends.<br />
In Kevin Dedmon's book 'The Ultimate Treasure Hunt' he says "most
people do not come into the Kingdom through a well-developed argument.
They come through an encounter, whether it is a personal testimony of
how someone else encountered God in some way, or a supernatural
encounter in which God revealed Himself to them in a specific way. The
reality is a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with
an argument." Although I believed that God could heal anything, clearly before my own encounter, I still had some unbelief. Because of my own experience, my own encounter, that unbelief is gone. When God demonstrates His love through physical healing, the veil between heaven and earth is opened and we are able to experience the 'not yet' in the here and now.<br />
We want to introduce the people in our neighbourhood, in our city to a loving and living God, through personal encounter. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApp-EtYtqoSFjO8OwBNtbi0GVK7_YVGCgGlQeaied2wk7qqgkvbi6OcRWxlLgj1ZpUNi2O51VEwVt_wLhqEBK68yLs361Y1Ky3y97cD4Q2cXCI9fqQmwFzc4kGmDdSKrJadaRfU8G5fc/s1600/2014-10-25+08.17.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhApp-EtYtqoSFjO8OwBNtbi0GVK7_YVGCgGlQeaied2wk7qqgkvbi6OcRWxlLgj1ZpUNi2O51VEwVt_wLhqEBK68yLs361Y1Ky3y97cD4Q2cXCI9fqQmwFzc4kGmDdSKrJadaRfU8G5fc/s320/2014-10-25+08.17.03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4997323385219473439.post-80643859685836925492014-10-14T03:53:00.000-07:002014-11-09T05:09:08.780-08:00Alpha Hits the Streets"Tia Jennifee, tia Jennifee!" shouts a small voice. I look over the hot pan of beans I'm carrying from the Kombi to see little Emily running towards me, arms outstretched. In the absence of her beloved 'tia Deanna' she seems to have taken a shine to me, and I am not complaining.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgO8-_j_FDwekJ48hKzUSrdVhVtpLiWclOIjRv5DfgQE66DPHqMyKNG7aXMwWKW1p2WPYSqP-U3a_j5GlEt2mTE0sUFikZE-o8nIGaSJH1hssQmIsY1C0_px_nnQqKbBXBL43zNBKU4lI/s1600/IMG_6933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgO8-_j_FDwekJ48hKzUSrdVhVtpLiWclOIjRv5DfgQE66DPHqMyKNG7aXMwWKW1p2WPYSqP-U3a_j5GlEt2mTE0sUFikZE-o8nIGaSJH1hssQmIsY1C0_px_nnQqKbBXBL43zNBKU4lI/s1600/IMG_6933.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily (Eliete's daughter) and Ruan (Kita's son)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
She's hands down adorable. <br />
<br />
I put the pan of beans down on the blue satin cloth covering a table outside the house of another friend of ours, Kita and bend down to scoop Emily up in a big <i>abraço </i>(hug). She chatters away to me about this and that and I nod but unfortunately since she's only three and I'm still learning Portuguese, she's hard to understand. But we hang out anyway as we wait for the people we invited to attend our <i>Alpha Na Rua (Alpha in the Street).</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The tables are adorned with red and white checkered table clothes and set up right in the dusty street. There are few cars in this neighbourhood so blocking off one area is not a problem.<br />
<br />
The sun is starting to set at it's usual time, life near the equator means equal amounts of dark and light. Unfortunately, in this neighbourhood there is more darkness than light, something we are hoping to change.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HY3vbmqDFolVwr-idMG8FKKuYlTreye5W4u5fjSqgZzlYZS7Nrg_Z7q_LD92F9JpDN_Tq-nhsTYdkiyA7PAZcq7xoeHZUyPJFcJMoSETZd0FakLib7h-ZFWFvScN7BEkaIp8A6reU1o/s1600/IMG_6942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HY3vbmqDFolVwr-idMG8FKKuYlTreye5W4u5fjSqgZzlYZS7Nrg_Z7q_LD92F9JpDN_Tq-nhsTYdkiyA7PAZcq7xoeHZUyPJFcJMoSETZd0FakLib7h-ZFWFvScN7BEkaIp8A6reU1o/s1600/IMG_6942.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a>Seven o'clock comes, and as I do every week, I worry that no-one will turn up. It's in that moment I have to remember that God will call those who he's working on, it's not a worry I need to have. But, as it also happens every week the minute we lift the lids off the pans and start to serve the food, our guests arrive and soon our tables are over-flowing with people and children, and the bubble of conversation mixes with the chirping crickets, barking dogs and cicadas still buzzing in the night heat.<br />
<br />
By doing this on the street, we hope to remove some of the barriers people have between them and 'the church'. We've taken down the walls, invited them to our table to eat, talk and question life's biggest questions. Alpha is a twelve week, non-denominational introduction to Christianity. It allows people to ask questions, discuss and wrestle without judgment.<br />
<br />
This weeks Alpha is an introduction to the Holy Spirit. When the video ends instead of having our small group discussions, we gather everyone in a circle and pray for them. As I'm praying for woman, I notice a group that has gathered across the street, watching from a distance. I ask my husband and one of our young adults to go and pray for them. Our young adult is a bit reluctant, I'm nudging him to the edges of his comfort zone. They offer, and only one accepts, it's the lady who lives in the house directly opposite to where we are and she has been watching every week, this week she's decided to take part. I offer to pray for her and she accepts. After I pray her eyes are bright, and her smile is wide (the first time I've seen her smile) and she thanks me, says "I really needed that prayer".<br />
<br />
As we finish for the night and pack up the chairs I notice, that sitting in the dark is a woman I've begun to know. I ask our pastor's wife Monica to come with me to pray for her. As we sit and chat with her two men who are sitting with us chat with us too. We pray for the woman, and afterwards one of the men says something quietly, I can't hear him. Monica asks if he would like us to pray for him. He nods. <br />
<br />
We rally the troops and surround him. As the others are praying I see a picture in my head of this man in the dark, so dark he can't see the hand in front of his face. Suddenly, there is a light so bright it illuminates everything around him, and there's path in front of him. I sense that there is some fear of this light. I explain the image to him and tell him not to be afraid, that the light is good, the light is Jesus and he has a plan for his life. <br />
<br />
We finish and he thanks us and heads home. Monica asks 'Do you know what he said to me?'. <br />
'No, I couldn't hear him' I respond.<br />
'He said yesterday, he wanted to put a rope around his neck and kill himself', she says.<br />
<br />
My eyes widen and I think of the image I had in my head, of him in the dark, and then in the light. I say a silent prayer for him, I hope that something in his heart just changed, that the light is illuminating a path for him out of the darkness.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXI5aYBeHFZ3bo9nNvMDKx5zbw82rNjI4kh8zec6qXBsoCcrXuqr9VceaPFWceeMYGmR62RnyDiK3tOSPT8YxdO7qLs5ZiaqNIQHJZ26Aq2oLAzlfeUdUC2PpG8UhhthiB7hkcTnGYZgM/s1600/starfish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXI5aYBeHFZ3bo9nNvMDKx5zbw82rNjI4kh8zec6qXBsoCcrXuqr9VceaPFWceeMYGmR62RnyDiK3tOSPT8YxdO7qLs5ZiaqNIQHJZ26Aq2oLAzlfeUdUC2PpG8UhhthiB7hkcTnGYZgM/s1600/starfish.jpg" height="232" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
.<br />
<br />
There's a story about a child throwing starfish who've been beached, back into the ocean and someone asks why the child is bothering, there are thousands and thousands of starfish he can't save them all. The child picks up another starfish and puts it back into the ocean saying, 'No, but I just saved that one'.<br />
<br />
There are thousands and thousands of starfish in our neighbourhood, we can only pick up the ones God puts in front of us and put them back in the ocean.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KPpX24rJGOY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
Here is a 3 minute video about Alpha in the streets and how you can help.<br />
<br />Snells with a Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16563814491878225592noreply@blogger.com0