VNMB Mission Tour 2010.

[] There are not enough words to describe how great was this mission trip. Check it out some on the following movie:

Day 9 - Brazil Mission Trip 2010

Day 9 / last day []------------------------ - - -

Hello y'all!

This was the last day of our mission trip. We visit the girls home orphanage and then we toke them to the park. We had a lot of fun at the park, playing with the girls, eating hot dogs and chips, loving them. Right after we went to have lunch at Burger king and the girls really enjoyed that moment. We got a chance to love on them and spend some fun time together.

Around 2:00pm (local time) we say good byes. It was had. But that is one of the signs that our mission trip is really about to end. We toke tons of pictures, we hug them, we told them "next year we will be back." That wasn't a "good bye" but it was just a "See you all later!"

Following the schedule we headed to the open market, then back to the hotel. We had dinner at the mall and ice cream on the beach. VidaNova team spend those last moments with us just having fun and planning for next summer. We actually didn't get any sleep at all because we should head to the airport at 2:00am so we spend the rest of the time left with the VidaNova Volunteers.

Once again we would like to say thanks to GOD for provide that blessed mission trip. To provide the amazing team we had this year and for all things that He is doing through us. We also would like to say thanks for Hibernia Baptist and for each one of you that was part of this mission work. Thanks also for the VidaNova Volunteers for your love and carrying not only for the lost but also for the american volunteers.

The team left Aracaju this morning at 5:40am (local time) and they might be home around 10:00pm. May God keep them safe and give them a nice trip back to the USA.

Love you all. And I'll see you next year.

Always in HIM,

- Emerson

Day 8 - part 2 / Brazil Mission Trip 2010

Day 8 part 2 ][ --------------------- - - -

Wow! It is hard to believe we are at the end of the trip! After arriving back in Aracaju, we had our customary lunch at The Golden Arches - McD's. We return to our hotel and prepared for the evening services. Tonight one of the local church's had an "English Hang Out Social". The event was advertised as an English only event - no translators. Many folks came to try out their English skills. There are many people here who have learned English and look forward to try their skills out with Americans. As one young man put it, "I have studied English, but I have never been tested by Americans." We thought that was so funny. Melissa, Zach and Ermeson performed in the praise band. Melissa's singing sounded great. We performed the drama and Zach did a great job delivering the message. Zach was so comfortable on stage delivering a message to these young people - he did a great job explaining the drama and sharing the gospel. To God be the glory. It is always great to have discussions with the Brazilians who have studied English - most of the time they speak very well, but are shy to use their skills. We just returned from eating Chinese food - yep 1230 am. God assembled an amazing team - the Vida Nova team was truly amazing. It boggles my mind to think how Ermeson continues to find such incredible Christian men and women to serve on Vida Nova. To bed now, on the bus at 0800 for a trip to the Girl's orphanage.

God Bless - Steve Faulk

Day 8 - Brazil Mission Trip 2010

Day 8 / part 1 [ ] -------------------------- - - -

Hello blog followers. Since we have been on the road very early this morning traveling from Paulo Afonso (in Bahia state) to Aracaju (in Sergipe state) I am glad to let you know that we made it safe and sound. We got here around 1:30pm (local time). We headed to McD's and had lunch. Right after that we checked in at the Hotel Pousada do sol in Aracaju. Right now some of the team members are having a little nap, some are doing some other things, some are working for the English program tonight and some are blogging =)

Tonight we are going to have a english meeting with English course students. The program is called "Hang out!". We are going to have snacks, live music, drama performance, chat chat and new opportunity to make more friends. BUT... no translators needed on that time. We will leave the hotel at 6:15. Please pray for us as we are sharing the good news tonight and for the safe trip we had on the road.

More to come. later gator!

Always in HIM,

- E (Ermeson)

Day 7 - Brazil Mission Trip 2010

Day 7 [ ] -------------------------- - - -

Wow! Has it really been a week? I guess so because we are headed back to Aracaju in the morning... or should I say later this morning. Today was our last day in Santa Brigida this year. It is always a sad time to leave the people behind that we have come to love over these last 7 or 8 years. There are so many heart wrenching stories in this little town. There is not enough time to list them here. We worked with members from the church again today and the 4 teams continued to reach out into areas of town that had not been covered before. I had Pablo from the church, Shannon, Taisa and Emerson on my team. The goal was to get Pablo comfortable in sharing with the E-Cube so we made it a point to get him to discuss the cube in several homes. I am greatly impressed with 19 year old Shannon. She has a spiritual maturity that allowed her to share with several people in a way that was authoritative but at the same time genuine and friendly. Her easy, friendly manner resulted in open arms from everyone she talked to. Not, all received the gift of salvation from God but all heard a clear presentation of the Gospel and a warning that this decision is not something they should put off.

There is still a great need in Santa Brigida for the Truth and for someone to tell it. Please pray that God will send a pastor to this little Baptist church.

Emerson has come through again with a super team of translators. These girls are very talented and capable as well as being Spirit led and focused on serving God. We are very fortunate to have Emerson handling all our logistics from Brazil. This allows the whole team to focus on the mission without worrying about things like hotel, food, transportation, etc. etc.

Tonight we did an open air event in the town square. Central Baptist had invited all the English teaching schools to bring their students to talk to Americans. We played music, sang, did the drama and then Zach spoke. The people in the square got to practice their English on us but they also heard the Gospel.

Now we are back at the hotel and I can hear some of the team laughing over stories out in the lobby. It is 1:15 and we have to have the bus loaded at 7am. I have to decide now wether to go hang out with the team or try to get a little sleep. Oh well, sleep is overrated.

Love in Jesus

Rob

Day 6 - Brazil Mission Trip 2010

Day 6 [ ] ------------------------- - - -

Hello everyone! Guess what we had tonight????? ICE CREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM ... lol

And it was really good! Delicioso! Cold! Yummy! MMmmmmMMMM... Sorry I had to say that!

Well... its enough for now. I'll talk to you soon.

Always in HIM,

- E (Ermeson)

[] ------------------------------ - - -

Hello Peoples,

Today has been a pretty interesting day full of being put on the spot. All I have to say is thank God for patient leadership and translators. I have always struggled with shyness but in spite of that I have been able to share the gospel with the guidance of our team, and this being my first mission trip I am very grateful for them. The people are absolutely wonderful here. They are very welcoming and always make you feel at home. A lot of them think I am Brazilian. I have also had the opportunity to sing in the church out here which was the most nerve wrecking thing ever. A couple of us got to go to the radio station where Steve, Shannon, and Rob spoke and I sang. Every time that I have sung there had been no rehearsal... AHHHHHHHH!!! so that was a challenge. I have really had to rely on God more than I ever have before. This has not been easy but I am being stretched so much right now that I'm a little overwhelmed. But I am learning to trust God and to get over myself and my fears. You know? learning to let go of what you are so used to hanging on to is hard, but once you do there is freedom. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks,

Melissa Ayala

[] ------------------------------ - - -

So guys it has been a really blessed mission trip. The other day my group and me just met a couple (Mr Emanuel and Mrs Jovelina) married for 49 years. They had 9 kids all of them married and they still in loved for each other. Without asking Mr Emanuel told us that they will only be apart when they die. We talk for about 30-40min and it was a good talk. Pray for them specially for his lady because she is sick.

For now I will leave to you some of the names that you should add on your prayers. Those are names from the people we got to meet on the streets, at they own homes or at they work place during our home visit's in St Brigida up till now:

#Hilda Souza, #Maria Lucineide, #Valdinete Silva, #Hildenilton Souza, #Silvania, #Valdir,

#Celia, #Dercy, #Sonia, #Maria Eunice, #Clecia, #Edijanete, #Patricia, #Lara, #Luciel, #Renata, #Maria Aparecida, #Erilene, #Wallison's Family, # The man in the porch, #Socorro, #Jovelina, #Emanuel, #Gilda, #Miguel, #Maria Branca, #Detino, #Vicente, and #Henrique.

I am sure that tomorrow we will have more to tell you. That's all. For now. =)

Always in HIM,

- E (Ermeson)

Day 5 - Brazil Mission Trip 2010

Day 5 [ ] -------------------- - - -

Hey guys,

Today we set off to Santa Brigida at about 7:30a.m and when we arrived we split up into four groups. Three of which had a member from the chapel of St.Brigida. We did door-to-door visits, in order to keep in touch with the locals and also share the Gospel. I realized that many people are not very concerned about life after death and they also need someone to teach them the Word of Salvation because many of them are illiterate.

At about 12:30a.m the groups went back to the chapel in order to have lunch. At 2:00 p.m we shared a Bible study with some of the people we invited during the visits. After that, we came back to Paulo Afonso. That evening at 6:30, we went to a public school and had informal conversations with the students. At that time, we presented the "american group" and asked the students if they had any question for them. It was funny because they asked questions like: " What would change if you were Brazil's president?" and, "how is social life in the USA, comparing to Brazil?". People were impressed with the reason why they had come from so far, and had come so often. Then we explained what an evangecube was and used it to share the Gospel with them. We were able to share God's love through the plan of salvation. I really enjoyed it.

Shannon and Rob became famous and they were asked to give autographs. After that, we came back to the hotel, had dinner and as usual we hung out and went for ice-cream. The night ended with a game of Apples-to-Apples, but unfortunately I didn't get any green cards. =/ .

Keep praying for us! God bless you!

With love,

Taísa (VNMB Volunteer)

[] ------------------------------- - - -

Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love it here! the people, the culture, the weather, everything. I feel as though it is home, which is strange because this is my first year coming to Brazil. We are having a great time with the Vida Nova team , lots of laughing, fellowship, and ice cream :). I know that God has me here for a reason, and that reason is to share the love that Christ has shown me to others. I have definitely been stretched out of my comfort zone during the street evangelism and home visits. I am now getting more and more comfortable sharing the Gospel with every visit, for this I am very grateful. I count it a privledge and a blessing to have had numerous opportunities to share my faith with the people of Santa Brigida. I know that God is using our team to advance the Kingdom and to encourage fellow Brazilian brothers and sisters in Christ.

I look forward to what God has planned for us the rest of the week. I pray that he will continue to use all of us to minister to the people that we come in contact with. This week has been life changing for me. I feel a definate spiritual tug at my heart for missions. I hope that I can go on many more mission trips, especially to Brazil because I feel a strong connection to this place. God is doing great things here. Thank you for all of your support and prayers, keep them coming. Please continue to pray that people's hearts are softened and that lives are changed through the acceptance of God's gift of grace.

In Christ,

Shannon Ostrowsky :)

[] --------------------------------- - - -

That was a really nice day. Not only in St Brigida but also in Paulo Afonso. Its 2:23am and I got lots of things to do including get some sleep =)

Thats all for now guys and plz keep us in your prayers.

Always in HIM,

- E (Emerson)

Btw... David I read your blog comment to the team and it was very special. I got two word for you also "Good Job, Good Job, Good Job, Good Job..."

Day 4 - Brazil Mission Trip 2010

Day 4 [ ] ------------------ - - -

Hey Everyone Monday was a long and busy day. We helped the Brazilians with the Fada. The Fada is like a huge outdoor market.The church had a booth with games and give aways to encourage the locals to come. I thought it was cool that there were so many people at the Fada and the business of it all. I saw a lot of strange things, like live chickens for sale and Pam was talking to a goat. We also shared the gospel to a lot of people telling them about the local church . I thought it was awesome to share the gospel with people that don't speak english with the help of our translators. Yesterday I gave away my silly bands I was amazed that they don't have them here . They were a BIG HIT.They keep asking for them, I don't have any more. Tonight we went to a house for a Bible study , Pam shared her testimony. She did a awesome job. Steve shared the gospel. I met a man, his name is Sandro, he was working on his English and I learned some portugese. He call me simpatica, it means happy and friendly . It was a great ending of the day.

Laura

[ ] ------------------------------------ - - -

Hey, guys!

Today we just woke up really early! We took off to Santa Brigida at 7:20 and when we got, we went straight to the market. That's probably the best time to find people to talk to. They are all over the streets and, when they first heard that we were going to be there, they started lining up to receive some gifts. They had to play this game (beanbag) to win the prizes, which were stuff like t-shirts, pencils, soccer balls, hats, flipflops... We stayed all day morning and, in the end, the group performed the " everything" drama. After that, we had a raffle. The prizes included a bike, a radio and a panini maker. Then, Steve, Melissa, Rob, Shannon and the translators went to a radio station, where Melissa performed some songs. By 15:30 we went back to Paulo Afonso and after having a cone pizza for dinner, we split into two groups. Each one went to a home service in a different place. This was a really great time. My group had Steve, Pam and Laura. We were able to talk about how salvation depends on what you choose to do with the gift that God offers you. That was it, and it was really nice! Keep in touch! God bless you all.

Larissa.

Day 3 - Brazil Mission Trip 2010

Day 3 - part 2 [ ] ------------------- - - -

Have you ever been called a shrimp? Not because of your size but by the way you look? Well today was a first. Coming from the smallest boy probably in Santa Brigida, I was given the nickname shrimp. Due to my spiked blonde hair and fair skin, red from the sun, the name Shrimp has now been given.

On a more serious note, the start of this trip has truly been a blessing from God. I truly feel that this is where God wanted me to be at this given time. When all seemed lost, the door opened and I followed God's call and here I am, with an awesome team from Hibernia and an amazing group from Vida Nova here in Brazil. Today we heard from Evanildo in the Santa Brigida church. He shared a verse with us today that sums up this entire trip for me. If anyone was to ask why I would spend my summer off from school to come over here I would share this verse with them. He read from Romans, chapter 10, verse 14 and 15. "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feel of those who preach the gospel of peace. Who brings glad tidings of good things!" This team was not formed by accident and because we have been sent, we will be blessed. I hope that the faith that is shown from this team from the states gives those reading this, a sense of encouragement and hope that when you follow the call of God, things might not be smooth, but they are much better than not following His call at all.

God Bless <><

Zach "The Shrimp" Duke

[ ] ------------------------ - - -

ONE MORE YEAR!!

Has been a great time so far and we're only in the beginning.This is my first year as an official translator not that would make any difference in the way I feel about Jesus work through me. But this is a key point for me as I am wondering how much can I can give to Him. Matter fact I'm pretty much enjoying this time here in Paulo Afonso and Santa Brigida. Not just because I'm hanging out with a group of friends that touches my heart by making sure I'm having the best time but mostly because I could answer the call when Jesus said GO and make disciples. Today we were at Santa Brigida working on the Sunday Bible School with the children and was amazing how God wants us to do good things for Him because we are His flock, a girl got saved this morning, PRAISE GOD.

Before I start to write a letter...and We don't want jammed the blog. So before I blog tonight I was doing a devotional with Larissa, Taisa, Laura and Melissa and We read this awesome passage that says we have one body, one baptism and one Father and as body of Christ we must love one another. So... I love Jesus, I love Hibernia team and definitely I love the VidaNova members. I pray that our Lord and Savior bless us today and until they call us to be with Him!!! Thanks for the person who wrote above....

P.S: If you like ice cream clap your hands!!!....CLAP, CLAP!!

Lais Feijo (Official Translator Mission Trip 2010/Kids Ministry/Lord's Kingdom worker)

[ ] ---------------------------- - - -

And Just get ready because tomorrow morning we are going to the OPEN Market at St Brigida to give away things and tell them some GOOD NEWS!

See y'all later,

- Emerson

Day 3 - Brazil Mission Trip 2010

Day 3 / part 1 [ ] ----------------------- - - -

This morning we got up around 06:30 (Local time) and after get ready we had some yammy breakfast at the hotel. Man it was Go-oooood... lol

Suddenly Eeeeeemerson says "To the Buuuuuuuus!" wich means its time to hit the road. So we got on the bus and to St Brigida we go. It was sunny. It was nice. It was a blessing morning. We had a safe trip to the church in St Brigida and an awesome service/ bible school with the kids.

Lunch time came, but the food got a delay so some of the team members stay at the church or on the surrounding area talking to the locals. And then after 2 hours late the food arrived. The really good thing that really impressed me was the fact that no one complained about being starved.

That is what i always say to the teams: "RELAX. You are in Brazil."

More to come at night.

Always in HIM,

- Emerson

PS.: September thanks for the words of encouragement on your blog's comment. I read to the team today. ;-)

Brazil Mission Trip - HBC 2010

Day 2 /part 2 [ ] -------------------- - - -

Hello, guys! My name is Mariana and I am a VidaNova Volunteer. It's really nice to be part of this mission. The Lord truly shows us the mysterious ways that He can use us.

Today we woke up early to travel from Aracaju to Bahia state. We arrived at Paulo Afonso around 2:00 pm, and the weather was really hot. I got to unpacked and we went to the supermarket then we got back to the hotel to have some lunch. Later on in the afternoon we had some free time to get to know everyone. Tonight we had been invited to go to a pizza place to have dinner with the locals in Paulo Afonso and then we had some ice cream right after the dinner. It was DELICIOUS!!!!

I'm looking forward to go to Santa Brigida tomorrow morning. It will be good to have some contact with the locals there. I hope the Holy Spirit will be guiding us in every way possible.

So, for now i would like to say thanks to you VidaBlog followers for being there for us! Hoping to write back soon, Mariana.

Hello everyone! This is Pam from Hibernia Baptist!! I cannot describe the excitement that is in the air, although many think of a third world country as a place they would not won't to visit, personally I have been at peace as we traveled to Paulo Afonso . The countryside was beautiful, and everyone we have encountered has made us feel very welcome. We have met most of our

Vida Nova Team, a few new faces this year...and although we may not know some of them, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ..and the bond that has been created so far is indescribable. We have spent the day traveling and getting settled in to our home for the week. We have already had a lot of laughs as we have been getting prepared for our week here in Brazil. Tomorrow we will travel to Santa Brigida in the morning, and attend church in the one we built 8 years ago. We have much to do this week, and we are ready to do God's work.

We are in much anticipation of what God has in store for this team. I am excited to see the 3 new members on the team as they are able to experience Brazil, the people and their culture for the first time. This is just the beginning, I know God will do great things for us and through us, and we are ready. Thinking of you all, and appreciate the prayers that are being lifted up for this team. I know all family and friends back home are being missed, so we send hugs and love to all. God Bless, Pam Piedlow.

More to come. Please keep us in your mind and prayers.

- E (Emerson)

Brazil Mission Trip - HBC 2010

Day 2 [] -------------------------- - - -

Oh maaaaan.... the sun is bright and we are just awaking up to get ready and get on the road. Its 6:30 am (Brazil local time), temperature about 79º F and the bus just arrived so we can load it.

Some are already having breakfast, some still on the rooms but we will be ready to leave the hotel in Aracaju at 7:30am. It will be a long ride to Paulo Afonso, something about 5 - 6 hours drive. BUT I am sure we are going to have some fun.

For now i got to go ... but later on we will keep you up dated in what is going on.

You have a good day, and keep us in your prayers.

Always in HIM,

- E (Emerson)

Brazil Mission Trip - HBC 2010

Day 1 [] --------------------------------- - - -

We arrived after 27 hours of travel, thank the Lord. We were finally able to change our clothes and shower. Rule number one: Don't drink the water and don't flush the toilet paper. We have a lot to learn. We felt refreshed, recharged, and ready to go. After a short nap we met with the vita nova team and went to dinner. Food, fellowship, and beef swords ( Swords with chard meat on them). How many americans does it take to write a blog? apparently 4. We are wrapping up the evening witha patio chat with the wonderful breeze blowing in. Continue to pray for us as we go and follow the call that God has given us. A long bus ride tomorrow takes us to our next destination and another door that God has opened.

~ Shannon, Zack, Melissa

(first timers)