The Battle Is Over, We Have Won The War

I want to recap momentarily. I want to look back and highlight the events we will call the visa war.

October 2010 marks the date. Liz and I had been praying hard (along with others I am sure) about our calling to Brazil. I have always been a big believer in GOING, as Christ demanded in Matthew 28:16-20. Here was the thing though - we were poor, broke youth pastors at a small church in backwoods SC. We had NOTHING to go on, well, except for our faith.... My father-in-law and I were talking one night. At this point, I was ready to give up and go join the NAVY or something, anything. Our conversation concluded with him saying, "if you have a plane ticket tomorrow, you'll know where God wants you to be." Yeah right, huh?! The next morning we got a call. A missionary from Moldova needed an address to send us the money God had given her to get us to Brazil...... A missionary, who, is in the same financial situation as us is given money for us on the other side of the world to get us to the opposite side of the equator..... Needless to say, Liz and I were ready and equipped to GO. Remember Proverbs 16:9? We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. We had originally planned to go to Manaus - God had something else in mind.

I left in October eager to see what God had for us - my passport was ready from my trip to Ethiopia back in 09. My Brazilian visa was ready to go back from my trip with Pastor Jimmy and the Strength Team in 09. I landed in Manaus with Matthew 7:7 running a marathon in my head.

While Liz and I had all the intentions in the world to be in Manaus, God had our steps directed in,well, another direction.

While I was seeking, knocking, and asking in Manaus - I took a trip over to Belem to visit a school called AVA. Before leaving though, I called the school from my Skype account and asked them if I could bring anything with me - the director rudely said "some Bibles". I know now that the director wasn't intentionally being rude, but he did forget to pick me up - in a place I had NO CLUE where I was at.... With a backpack full of Bibles, I showed up for the first time at AVA. If you get a chance - read the blog post on the Jamba fruit.... it was the sign I knew God wanted us at AVA.

I got back to the States and we started the visa process. First, we had to get Liz's temporary visa so she could come check it out here. A trip to Atlanta, and it was done and we were both ready to confirm our call to Belem. Before we came though, we had to gather some documents, get them signed by the Secretary of State, get them officiated by the Brazilian Consulate, and bring them down with us. It was crazy, but we got it all done. Right before we left for Brazil, we found out that the local police record was not enough. We had to get an FBI background check done. This is where the miracle came in.

FBI Background checks take an average of 12 weeks to process and be returned - that's 3 months. It was the end of November at this point and we had to have documents that took 12 weeks to process and get it done by January the 1st. While we were in Brazil, less than a week after applying for the background check, they came in. When we landed in Miami, Liz's mom called us and said that we had a little problem. The Fed Ex guy apparently went to leave the documents in the backyard, got scared because of the 10 German Shepherds that were back there, dropped the envelope containing our background check and ran off. All the while, the dogs were playing a fun game of destroy our FBI records - that we had to have and take 12 weeks to get. I called the FBI and explained the situation. A guy named Michael answered the phone and said he was in the business of doing the impossible- He reprocessed our request, over-nighted the documents to us, and we got them by 10 a.m. the next morning! A 24 week governmental process in less than a week....... ponder that one for a moment...... I am pretty sure that dude was the Archangel......

The documents we had to have were complete, translated, and submitted.... By January 19th 2011, we were on our way to Work Visas. Impossible after impossible after impossible - nothing is impossible with our God! Liz and I received the email yesterday that the battle was over! If you have kept up with the blog you will know the events that have occurred since the start of this year. Our visas have been published on the official website. The battle is over! Chalk 1 more on God's score....

At this point we know God has an awesome plan for us here in Belem. Liz and I have given up a lot, fought hard, been humbled, but stand here ready and willing to do all the things God has for us to do here in Brazil. I pray that you consider joining us. We need prayer warriors, we need money for food, Bibles and supplies, we need the body of Christ to stand with us and win the city of Belem over for the Kingdom of God! If you explore the tabs at the top of our site you can get all the information on how to stand with us for God's Glory and Kingdom Growth in Belem, Brazil!

The World is Small After All......

So I would like to start off by saying we did make it back to Brazil...... And the potential for ministry this year is better than ever!!! We are currently getting settled in and organizing our life so we can be effective in our ministry.

I want to share a cool story that revolves around God's awesome Providence! As I was putting the final touches on the English service, I decided to check my email. The first email in my inbox was from a Pastor in Nigeria. In his email he sent me his testimony (I took out all information that would give away any identity):

By His grace I am a Believer bought and washed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. I am married with three children. I am a pastor of a small local church non denominational or affiliated to anybody. The church was founded in 2006 and now has about 30 members. I gave my life to Christ in 1987 when I was still in the high school at ____. A campus fellowship student by name ____ was my roommate at school and his life of faithfulness unto Christ and his prayer and teaching me the Bible led me to Christ. This Brother told me then that he sensed that God was going to use me for His cause. I was never ready to hear that because my dream or thought was never in the ministry but to finish my studies and get a nice job. Five years after school and already working I started having the stronger urge and sensing that God was calling me but I kept on putting it off my heart because my job and life was sweet to me and I felt I needed nothing else. One day a guest speaker was ministering in our church and he singled me out in a crowd of over a thousand and told me that God has called me to the ministry and cannot hide. After he left I told my pastor that I have accepted and my pastor and other elders of the church prayed with me. I immediately joined and headed the evangelical outreach of the church and I saw many coming to Christ in the outreach. I let go of my job in 2005 and returned to ______ my State. I joined a small local church and was assisting the pastor as the second pastor. In January 13th 2007 a pastor of a little church of about five families in my area walked up to me telling me that he is leaving the state to his home state where the Lord has asked him to go and start the work. He said he has been praying for over a month that the Lord has asked him to tell me to take over the little church he founded 2006. I have not had relationship with this pastor before now so it amazed me. He asked me to pray to ask the Lord. I did prayed and without wasting time I knew the Lord ask me to hold that little church and that was how I became the pastor of this church called ______. The church is a growing church and we meet at a temporary rented building. We are not earthly rich but rich in Christ, riches that will last for eternity.

What an awesome testimony! The cool part about it was the fact that the English service revolved around being obedient to God no matter what it costs. The Lord certainly works in mysterious ways, because the email went on further to give us an opportunity to be obedient to the Lord's calling and Kingdom work....

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. The reason why I am writing is to appeal for your assistance in the area of a Study Bible which will be of help to me in my research and study of the bible as well as lesson preparation as a pastor, and bibles for our aged members. These items are very scarce here. I need The Dakes Annotated Reference Bible. It is a very good study Bible for ministers of the gospel. A pastor friend here got his from www.christianbook.com where it was purchase for him by his cousin abroad. I checked the site and also found it there. Please help me for it. There are many in our local church who do not have bibles and cannot afford to buy. I want to specifically make a request for the elderly ones who cannot work and earn money to buy for themselves. There are 12 of such very old fathers and mothers in our church who read and understand English and they are very devoted. Please on their behalf I request that you send them 12 Bibles the very big letters which is the super giant print 18 point type would be preferable for them because of their sight. They also have this kind of bible at www.christianbook.com. We would also appreciate used bibles provided the pages are complete. Thank you for considering this request. And as you help to meet this kingdom need the Lord will bless you finance abundantly. If you send the bibles through post office a registered postage the bibles will get to us safely. I was told at the post office that _____ postage or insured mail is safer. My home and postal address is __________. Please write when you get my mail. I do not have full access to internet but I can check at least three times weekly. Ecclesiastes 11:1 "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days"

Continue to be obedient and the Lord will honour you in His time. Exodus 19:5, the Lord spoke to the children of Israel through Moses saying:  "Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:..."  The Lord bless you and keep you in His perfect love.

 I feel like we should help this church out! What do you think? If the Lord leads you to be a part of this church in Africa getting the Bibles they need, please contact me at amazonimpact@gmail.com. We have a quote from Fed Ex for around $1000.00 to safely get a box of Bibles to the Church. The Pastors Study Bible cost 30 dollars, the large print Bibles are 20 dollars a piece (need 12), and the other Bibles can be used.... so knock the dust off of them and lets get them to Africa! 


Wow! What an awesome opportunity to do something awesome for the Growth of God's Kingdom! Be Blessed! I look forward to seeing God do some pretty amazing things with our obedience!

 

These Are The Days of Elijah

I remember Elijah defeating the Prophets of Baal. Talking God into raining down fire that consumed his sacrifice, despite it being covered in water. A lot of water at that. God used him. In ways that most men will never experience. Shortly after, "the world", came after Elijah and he ran. He ran into the desert and decided he was done. He told God he was ready to die, to give up. God wasn't done with him - despite the fact Elijah stood facing the most barren place on earth. God provided everything he needed. Elijah survived the impossible and met God at the other end.

Liz and I had to leave Brazil because of Visa issues. We have a small apartment down there with everything we own still in it. Our calling is there, our jobs are there, our purpose is there. Since 2009 and a combined 6 months spent in Brazil 67 people have committed their lives to Christ. I guess if my goal was to stop that I would cause problems too. There is no doubt - the Prince of this World has been chasing us. When we left we were assured that we would be back in a couple of weeks. We packed for a couple of weeks.

We showed up at the consulate in Atlanta to get our visas.  I remember being slightly aggravated, to say the least. I told God that if we didn't get our visas, I was through with ministry. Pretty thick. We pulled out of the consulate with no visas. I was done - with it all. We were on our way back to my parents house where we were staying at the time. Liz felt strange, and in a strange way so did I. We stopped at CVS and asked the manager if we could get the key to the bathroom, but purchase the pregnancy test first. He laughed and gave us the key. Two minutes later, we were soon to be parents. Finding that kind of stuff out will change your thoughts on a lot of things. I started looking for a job the next morning.

A few weeks later I found a job in Charleston as an Account Executive for Worldwide Express. Honestly, it was one of those jobs you dream of getting in college. It had everything you could ask for in a job. About 2 weeks into my new job Liz was scheduled to get her second check up and to hear the baby's heart beat. I got off work and waited to hear how things were going. I picked up the phone to sobbing - all I remember were the words, "no heart beat".

The job was going great. I took a day off to be with Liz in the hospital while she had the procedure done. I just sat in the chair in the waiting room and played "Angry Birds" on my cell phone. We left and I returned to work the next morning down in Charleston. I began to think it strange that- despite me giving up - God was providing for us in amazing ways. I mean it just didn't make any sense that me telling God "I quit" led to a good job.

I was driving down the road on the way back from Awendaw, SC. I went out there to see if I could strum up any business out that way. On the way back I told God that I knew this isn't what He wanted me to do. I asked Him to send me an email and let me know what to do. Kinda like a fleece thing I guess. Two minutes later I got an email on my phone. The Brazilian Consulate sent us an email telling us that our visas were at the consulate and come get them. Seemed pretty clear to me. I quit my job the next morning. The cool part about it was my boss told me if I ever needed a job- I had one with them. That made me feel a little better about things anyway.

We arrived at the Consulate in Atlanta to find out that they did not mean to send out that email to us. Apparently, there was a singing group called "The Bennetts" who were waiting on their visas as well. Theirs came in, ours didn't- the email went to the wrong "Bennetts". Needless to say we fired our lawyer in Brazil and got a new one. This one has his ducks in a row, and a couple of friends in high places. We get a play by play about every other day now. Our Visas have been approved at the Ministry of Labor in Brasilia and we are just waiting on them to be in Atlanta at the Consulate for real. The lawyer said it shouldn't take more than 45 days.

Liz and I are currently staying in Norway, SC where she is filling in at a local Christian School and I am selling classic cars- or trying to at least. A family we used to go to church with at St. George opened their house to us while they are living in Lexington. To be honest this is a dream home, but a blessing while we wait to return to our little apartment in Belem to finish out the work God has called us to in Brazil.

Elijah traveled across the dessert for 40 days on the strength God's provision provided him (that's impossible in human terms by the way). Liz and I are living on the strength God's provision has given us- we can't wait to see God working in mighty ways when we get back to Belem - soon ;)

If you get a chance, check out Josh Kerr's Channel on YouTube. God has certainly gifted him to lead others in praising HIM!

Josh Kerr's YouTube Channel 

Gap Creek Baptist Church

I have to tell you... the Lord works in strange and mysterious ways. I won't lie, one of the first things I wanted to do when I got back into the States was hang my hammock up in the mountains. There is a spot at Lake Jocassee that is just incredibly beautiful. I was bound for those two trees in the mountains. An owl woke me up after falling asleep about 7:30pm. I guess when your alone you tend to go to sleep a lot earlier. When I opened my eyes I could not believe the sight. Millions upon millions of fireflies are dancing all around me in a light show only the Great I Am could create. The sight was just phenomenal. Well after sleeping about 3 hours I was no longer tired. I pulled out my phone to see if I had any reception... apparently I hadn't hiked enough earlier in the day, because I was at full bars. I called my buddy Paul to see what he was up to. Just hanging out.... some how in the conversation though he was on his way to come and get me. I hiked back to Hwy. 178, waited a few minutes and saw one of my best friends ever for the first time in 5 months. I just kicked back the next day and waited for Paul to get off of work. By the time he got home Liz and I were on our way with him to church.

It is always an incredible thing when God has a plan for you that He decides to surprise you with. We had the honor of eating with Pastor Harry and his wife for Wednesday Night supper. He asked what we did and had a pretty cool story to tell :) To my surprise, Pastor Harry looked over at me and told me that he hoped I was ready to preach the Wednesday Night Service at the church. Being that I have the most incredible wife ever, I was well prepared - hiking shoes and all! Now, I am not saying that God doesn't go to all churches, because I am sure He does. But I have heard that the mountains of South Carolina are God's Country, and I have to admit I believe it a little more now. You could tell by the spirit in the church that God wipes his feet off on the welcome mat quite frequently. The church just recently - in the past few years - built an incredibly beautiful sanctuary and place of worship. As a matter of fact the church still had another 325,000 dollars left to go on the building. God paid it off in one check! Yep, all of it - I imagine God needed to thin out His cattle population in the hills.....

Gap Creek Baptist Church.... my prayers go out to your ministry. May God continue to bless you so that His Glory, Purpose and Will can be displayed through your obedience and sacrifice to Him. I have no doubt that God has great things planned for the body of believers in your congregation. Afterall, "¹⁴ “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."
-Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT) 

By the way, if you are ever up in the mountains of SC and need a good church to go to, check out Gap Creek Baptist Church! www.gapcreekbaptist.com