We have a lot to be thankful for especially as we consider that in one month we celebrated all Three family Birthdays and our Wedding Anniversary.

 

Here are some reasons for Prayer and Praise: 

Alyssia Turned Two Years Old!   Jesus came to give life, a full life.  We thank him for the joy we find in the Wonder of a child!

 

A few weeks ago I preached at Pastor Pablo's church (pictured on my Right in Green) and now he invited me to appear on an Evangelical Television Program tomorrow with a panel of Pastors Debating the subject of "credentials of a true believer".  I am not sure what that means, but when given an opportunity to discuss the essence of a true Christ follower I want in.   Pray that the Holy Spirit will work through me convicting men and woman of truth and that the viewers may perceive love, joy and an exuberant life in me that comes from being filled with the Spirit.  

 

Pictured above: men from Surfers for Christ (silver surfers).  Pictured below: Fruit of the labor.  Chris professes faith in Jesus after a long spiritual journey and she was baptized on Sunday by Esdras, Christ follower and worker in Christian Surfers ministry!

Please pray for Surfer Fabio. He is not pictured here, but has a long standing addiction to alcohol.  A few weeks ago he sought out Juca for Spiritual help.  His wife has reached her end and wants out of the marriage.  Fabio's lifestyle has left him fearful of being alone.   He has an 11 year-old son.   Juca and I meet weekly with Fabio and his wife Paula joins in every other week.   Pray for true brokenness and repentance.  Pray that the Son will set him free from alcohol and restore his marriage.  It will be a long road and we are just beginning.   Pray that Paula finds Jesus too and the power to forgive.   

Vocare:  Brazilian Mission Conference for Millenials lead by Rodrigo of Mission BASE.   Left: Students register on System BASE (chamado.org) the website matches potential missionaries with sending agencies.   Praise the Lord for the unity of the 26 agencies and the nearly 1200 students from every state in Brazil.  There were 300 participants from areas identified as the least reached regions of Brazil.  Continue to pray for God's moving in Brazil raising up laborers for the Harvest!  I will be excited to report the fruit of the conference as we receive news.  Pray for Rodrigo as he is exhausted that he will find rest.

 

This has been a lot information, but I thank you for praying for us and our partners.  

 

Delighting In Him,

Craig, Alessandra and Alyssia

 

Online Donations 

 

Or

 

Make checks out to:                               EFCA ReachGlobal

Attach a note that says:                      I am supporting the ReachGlobal work in Brazil by Craig Weyandt, Account 1409 

Please Mail Check to:                         EFCA ReachGlobal; 901 East 78^th Street;  Minneapolis, MN 55420-1300

                                                            952-854-1300

 

 

 

 

 

VOCARE

Exciting Week for Brazilian Millenials!

  

 

April 21-24, 1200 young Brazilians between the ages of 16 and 30 will meet for the second annual Vocare (Vocation) Missions Conference.     Please pray for the 30 leaders of the 26 missions organizations running the conference and their leader, Rodrigo from mission Base.  

• Praise God for the Vision to work in partnership of so many diverse organizations working together with the common goal of mobilizing this young generation to Trans-cultural Missions!
• Please pray for unity among the leaders in the midst of stress, conflict and the hundreds of details that can disrupt a national conference:  Disrupted Travel Itineraries, Technical problems (sound and lights), housing and hosting details (beds, roommates, toilets and showers), 
• Please pray for Unity between the speakers and among the thousands of participants in the midst of a politically volatile country after the pro impeachment vote of the congress.  Brazil has more than 30 political parties and the students coming will represent all of them.   There has already been party bashing of some of the main speakers by some denominations.
• Pray that the main thing will be the main thing!  Jesus is calling this generation to himself and sending them out in the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of the Risen Christ and is calling this generation to go preach the good news and making disciples of the nations! 
• The students will present 10 different visions for new cross cultural missions projects.  Please pray for a new  harvest of career missionaries.  Pray for new works of grace to be born as a result of this conference!

 

Thank you for your prayers!  Delighting in Him,

 

Craig, Alessandra and Alyssia

 

Online Donations 

 

Or

 

Make checks out to:                               EFCA ReachGlobal

Attach a note that says:                      I am supporting the ReachGlobal work in Brazil by Craig Weyandt, Account 1409 

Please Mail Check to:                         EFCA ReachGlobal; 901 East 78^th Street;  Minneapolis, MN 55420-1300

                                                            952-854-1300

 

 

Enjoying Summer!

 

We hope you are well as you enjoy the summer! It had been a long winter for many of you and we hope that you can slow down to enjoy time with friends and family!   We were able to do almost exactly that! What do you mean by "almost"?  you may wonder… Well, we enjoyed special time with our North American family but we were not really able to slow down to do it!  

 

Alessandra, Alyssia and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to the US.  Our only regret is that we did not have more time to see all of you.  We had meetings in San Diego and Monterey, CA.  We participated in the wedding banquet of my nephew, Greg and his new wife, Amanda in Boston.  Alyssia got to spend days with her cousins, Aunts and Uncles and Mommom and Poppop at a family reunion in CT and time with good friends in NJ!

 

Here are the three of us at my nephew's wedding. I got to pray over the special couple during the ceremony.  Someone mentioned that I looked quite pastoral so I decided to attach this image as our updated missions photo (not to mention the digitally captured radiance of my two lovely ladies). 

 

Please pray for us as we get ready to move into the mission house.  That is the next big  "event" on our agenda.   We are excited about the  opportunities to receive guests that our new abode will provide for us.   Please Pray with us that our home will be:

 

 

• a house of prayer.
• a meeting place of the nations for His Glory where disciplemaking is a central ministry focus.
• a safe refuge and place of growth for Alyssia and joy for our family.

 

Please pray for our patience for one another and all that goes along  with a move and for God's provision and care as we move forward!

 

That is it for now!

 

Delighting in Him,

Craig, Alessandra and Alyssia

 

 

 

Online Donations 

 

Or

 

Make checks out to:                               EFCA ReachGlobal

Attach a note that says:                      I am supporting the ReachGlobal work in Brazil by Craig Weyandt, Account 1409 

Please Mail Check to:                         EFCA ReachGlobal; 901 East 78^th Street;  Minneapolis, MN 55420-1300

                                                            952-854-1300

 

 

Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year!    Alyssia celebrated her first Christmas!  What a joyful season it was for Alessandra and me to have such a precious gift J  We also had the joy of receiving my parents for two weeks over Thanksgiving as they came to love on Alyssia.  We are very thankful as we reflect upon this past year!

 

We would like to share a few highlights of 2014 with you.  Some ups and some downs.   

 

 

We will start with some low points:

 

Brazil's "Time" Magazine (Veja) ended the year with this headline:  2014- O Ano em que Pagamos Mico-  (The year which we paid the Monkey) The translation is something like Paying the Piper or Paying for our Indiscretions. 

Brazil's current Government will go down in history as the most corrupt and her corruption is what has sent       her into a financial recession. 

Brazil's soccer crises revealed in her 7 to 1 loss to the German team here in Brazil at the World Cup.

Brazil's Water Crises.

Brazil's Shameful Presidential Electoral Campaign fraught with Lies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One bright moment came for Brazil late in December when Brazilian Surfer, Gabriel Medina, was crowned World Champion of the Professional Surfing Circuit.  It might sound like a small detail, but in Brazil surfing is close behind soccer as a national sport and pass time!

 

 

 Praise the Lord the for the Gospel goes forth!   We know that  God is in control and not only has He ultimately defeated His enemies....Satan, Sin and Death, but that He is very active fulfilling His promises and purposes in His name, through the Holy Spirit and including us as his ambassadors announcing the Good News and administering Grace in its various forms!   

 

Here are a few ways that we have seen God at work in our midst here in Brazil in 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

  We celebrate with our Ministry Partner, Pastor Fabio and the Life Church at Caju, as they sent their first two full time missionaries out.  Pastor Marcelo and his wife Bia and family are moving to the Rio neighborhood of Novo Iguaçu where he has planted a church.    Christ follower Maiara was sent to the Northeast of Brazil to start a Disciple Making movement among Brazilians who have migrated to Rio many from that region many years ago and now have migrated back.  This is one way God is using Urban Missions and the Urban church to take the Gospel to remote regions of the world. 

 

 

We celebrate with the Pathways team the accomplishment of studying God's Word with our Partners.   We practiced and taught careful Bible study tools as we studied the books of Jonah, 2 Timothy, Genesis and Mark.   Then I had the privilege to help the leaders of the Caju Life church pass the same studies on to 20 more leaders.  We witnessed this teaching repeated over and over again with the plans for continuous Bible study to continue.  Next Jonah will be taught at the new church plant in Novo Iguaçu.  Below: First and  Second Generation teaching Third Generation Disciples the book of 2Timothy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed starting a Discipleship Relationship with Mateus leader of Mission Surfers for Christ in Rio de Janeiro.    This is a mission with a world-wide focus of making disciples of Jesus Christ, partners with the local church and is very well organized.

 

What a great mission it is for a country with nearly 6000 miles of shoreline and the World's best surfer!!

 

 

We celebrate with Mission Base and MissionNext for the development of the mobilizing software and website that will be used to connect willing workers to the Harvest!  Below is a team of young Brazilians working together to see that the Gospel goes forth from Brazil to the Nations.

 

I need to mention the contentment that I feel in seeing the joy in Grant, Susan and the Brazilian team from the Mission Network, Salt and Light.  This group of Americans and Brazilians meet on-line twice a week as they sit in their living rooms from two different continents practicing English, developing friendships and sharpening their evangelistic tools and skills!

 

 

We celebrate that Alessandra is on the home stretch of her 5 year project.  It has been an amazing adventure.  After much prayer, patience and persistence the Brazilian Fish Industry is in the position to adapt basic norms for a number of indigenous fish species that highlight Transparency, Responsibility and Leadership Initiative.  2015 will reveal if Brazil stops pagando Mico!  (above) and decides to move forward toward justice and righteousness. 

 

 So May we all go forth in Jesus name toward new adventures fulfilling, each one, our calling as God reveals His glory in and through us  transforming lives through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

 

 

 

From the Weyandts,  Craig, Alessandra and Alyssia…  Delighting in Him

 

 

Online Donations 

 

Or

 

Make checks out to:                               EFCA ReachGlobal

Attach a note that says:                      I am supporting the ReachGlobal work in Brazil by Craig Weyandt, Account 1409 

Please Mail Check to:                         EFCA ReachGlobal; 901 East 78^th Street;  Minneapolis, MN 55420-1300

                                                            952-854-1300