Brazil 2006
An Outreach Team from Calvary Chapel Corvallis will be in Brazil March 24-April 6. In addition to being an encouragement to Calvary churches in Rio and Sao Vicente the team will hold evangelistic events in schools, slums and on the streets featuring a rock band from the CCC High School ministry called Breakdown at First.
Team Members: Larry and Karen Lyon, Warren and Sheri Yoder, James and Kathy and Simeon Pach, Rory Rodgers, Ian Courter, Bala Ramaya (CC Olympia).
From left to right – Breakdown at First band members are Eli Flanagan, Shawn Clark, Brett Yoder, and LJ Wilson.
Scroll down for the most recent team update…
April 9
Final word from Florianopolis…
Karen and I joined Ian in Florianopolis for our final weekend in Brazil. We are in the airport in Sao Paulo right now awaiting our flight home. The time with the Caze´s was special. Ian spent a whole week there. Following are some photos and a perspective from Ian that will give you a good idea of what is happening in Brazil with Claudio and Jessica. See you in a day or two. – LL
Florianopolis, or Floripa as the locals call it, is incredible. I love to surf and I like the beach lifestyle, but even if I didn’t I’d still fall in love with the people here. The warmth of the Brasilian culture is perfected in Floripa and God has blessed Claudio and Jess with a unique opportunity to reach surfers. Floripa offers the best surfing in Brasil and people from all over the world come here to live and surf in preparation for the professional surfing tour. Surfers are notoriously difficult to reach because they typically only listen to other surfers when it comes to spiritual matters, but God has given Claudio and Jess unusual favor with the surfing community.
On Sunday nights God has filled the Caze’s house beyond what it can handle. Claudio’s heart is to find a building that will provide the same type of home fellowship feel. The Caze’s are also praying that leaders would be raised up in the church to help them handle the workload as the church gets larger. Please be in prayer for these two issues.
Surfers make up a considerable portion of the church but the Caze’s home fellowship has a good blend of families and young singles.
It’s a good thing my wife is at home in Oregon because if she was here I might not see any reason to leave. I love Floripa and I intend to come back annually to encourage the Caze’s and make sure the surf is still good. Surfar com Jesus! – Ian Courter
April 6
Two girls in Mexico 70 slum.
This morning we had our final team meeting. It is early afternoon and Bala is already on the way to the airport for his flight. The rest of the team will be leaving Sao Vicente in a few hours. Karen and I are here for one more day and then will go to Florianopolis to spend the weekend with Claudio and Jessica. We are looking forward to seeing team member Ian Courter also! He has been there since April 3.
This has been a great team and a great time in Brazil. I don´t know if I have ever watched God do a wider variety of things with one team than this one. Please keep the Pach´s in prayer as they will likely be staying in Brazil for another couple of weeks. It has been really special watching them reconnect with their Brazilian friends. Thanks to all, LL
April 4
Today was our first full day in Sao Vicente and man was it a full day. We went to a square a few blocks from our hotel and had an outdoor concert. We played a few songs and James preached the gospel.
After the evangelism in the square we had a concert at a middle school. At first we had it in our minds to play a big concert with all the bells and whistles, but our portable sound system blew a fuse. God had something simpler in mind. Brett and Shawn played two acoustic songs and I (LJ) shared the gospel. Even through my weakness God worked. When I asked “Who wants to accept Jesus” I was answered with the roar of 150 screaming middle school kids. We don’t truly know who genuinely accepted Jesus but we do know Gods name went out with power and man seeds were planted. – LJ Wilson
April 3
Monday morning, after about 3 hours of sleep, we made our way to the airport for a flight to Sao Paulo in route to Sao Vicente.
I want the moms to know that Rory has done a great job keeping an eye on our high school guys even though in this photo Shawn is having a milkshake for breakfast.
The guys really are doing great and Shawn told me this morning how thankful he was for our hotel and a real bed. In Rio they slept on cots at the church. LL
We arrived safely in Sao Paulo and were blessed with a smooth drive out of the city of 22 million. We made the long winding drive down the mountain to the quiet coastal city of Sao Vicente. The team enjoyed a refreshing time of worship and prayer with CC Sao Vicente last night and are finishing our last few days of outreach with this sweet church body.
April 2
As I write about Alex’s ordination service I know that words will not express what we witnessed in our spirits. The first song we sang, “Celebrate Jesus” (or something like that!) set the atmosphere. It was truly a celebration of joy and excitement for what God is doing in CC Rio. Alexandre and Lillian are a precious couple with a vision for the people of Rio and ready for God to use them in a big way.
I thank God that he allowed our team to share in the joyous evening. After Larry shared, it was amusing to hear Tim and Celso interchange roles as speaker/interpreter. We had quite a time trying to keep track of who was the speaker and who was the interpreter because they were so excited about what the other was saying the interpreter would almost take over. Unsaved family members were present so at the end of the service Alex extended a heart felt altar call. We may never again have the opportunity to hear four pastors preach and teach in one sitting and not be bored! – Karen Lyon
On the team’s last night in Rio, a few of the team members went to a nearby juice and sandwich stand to get some much needed nourishment. An 11-year old boy approached begging for money. He was ignored by other customers, but when he approached us I felt Jesus’ heart of compassion for the boy. Through a translator I asked if he was hungry and offered to buy him a cheeseburger and a mango juice. It was an awesome opportunity to share Jesus as he ate. I told him that Jesus loved him very much, so much that He died for him, and that if he would ask Jesus into his heart, his sins would be forgiven and he would go to heaven where there would be a banqueting table at which we would dine with Jesus forever. The boy was astounded and said “Does the Bible really say that?” I said “Yes, do you want to ask Jesus into your heart to take away your sins?” Without hesitating the boy said “Yes!” By this point other tourists and Brazilians were listening into the conversation, and they all stood in awe as this eleven year old boy named James repeated the sinner’s prayer aloud for the whole juice stand, and most importantly Jesus to hear. James proceeded to tell his little brother about Jesus. Please pray for James and his little brother, that the seed would bear much fruit in their heart, and that they would get plugged into the fellowship in Rio De Janiero. – Rory
March 31
Jessica Caze and Bala Ramaya pray for a man.
Bala’s evangelistic zeal has been an amazing boost to the team. Missionary Jessica Caze, who joined us from Florianopolis, has been a major blessing in many ways including translation.
As I expected this team is experiencing a real variety of ministry in Brazil. We’ve been teaching in the church, doing outreach on the streets, beaches, slums and schools. As varied as the ministry so is the team. We’re blessed with fantastic cooks, gifts of hospitality, teachers and preachers, interior decorators and musicians. Thanks to Eli Flanagan, a young man gifted with his camera, for capturing the two photos for today. They were special moments that, at a glance, will give you a feel for what is going on in Brazil this week. LL
Cowboy/High School Pastor Rory Rodgers has been a hit with the kids and everyone else he meets. His warm and funny personality are a real match for Brazilian culture.
The team will spend this evening in a large slum called Boreu. Youth With A Mission missionaries who live there have asked the band to come and do a concert. Appreciate your prayers. LL
March 28
Monday night was our first concert. Ace Café filled with people that heard both our energetic music and the Gospel. A local Christian Brazilian band, Philadelphia, played a smooth and inviting set of music before Breakdown at First. Members of the team surrounded us in prayer before we took to the stage and we surrendered the night to God. Amplified guitar melodies, the crash of cymbals and peoples conversations blended together to create a lively atmosphere. Rory preached the Gospel at the end and the room fell silent and everyone present clearly heard the message of salvation. – Eli Flanagan
Breakdown at First band members are getting a wide variety of experiences on this missions trip. Their willingness to serve in ways other than music was demonstrated as they helped the rest of the team clean and paint Alex and Lilian’s new apartment.
Working hard literally inside…
and outside of the apartment. -LL
March 27
After all the planning and prayers, we arrived to be greeted by the most gracious people. They have served us endlessly with comfortable surroundings, wonderful food and amazing fellowship. We have come to encourage and serve them and instead they have blessed and served us. I was so blessed by the church body yesterday. Many of us expressed how surprised we were to see how large their body already was. The little room was filled with people and it was a wonderful sight to see them worship the Lord in their own language. Though I could not understand what they were saying the worship drew me to the Lord.
Language can be a barrier, but it seems there are always ways to communicate with one another and lasting friendships are already being formed. God is at work here and it has been wonderful to remove myself from my little corner of the world and see a bigger picture. Larry’s message encouraged us to be used by the Lord in anyway He leads, to cross boundaries in sharing our love of the Lord and His love for others. The Bible is full of ordinary, nameless people doing great things for the Lord.
Tonight the band will be doing their first concert so please join us in prayer to cover this ministry. We’re looking for great things to happen, beyond what we could think to ask for! – Sheri Yoder
March 26
We are all finally in Brazil and, for the most part, over jet-lag. Most of us arrived on Friday. Ian missed a flight and didn’t get to Rio until noon on Saturday.
Today is very rainy and though that changed our outreach plans for the day it has cooled things down considerably. When our plane landed in Rio on Friday the captain announced that the temperature outside was 82 degrees. I thought to myself, “That’s not too bad.” Warren reminded me that it was only 8:00am! Needless to say, it turned out to be a very warm day.
Saturday the team held an outreach in one of the many beautiful places in Rio, Lagoa [Lake] Rodrigo de Freitas. It was a good time – sort of a warm up for things to come. This team, and the church in Rio, is blessed with people ready to share their faith and reach out to lost souls in this city. Thank you for keeping us in prayer. LL
March 18
5 days before departure and despite sickness and chilly weather the Brazil Team trained together for 8 hours on Saturday, March 18 at Youth With a Mission, Salem, Oregon’s ropes challenge course.
As a team they learned how to work together to overcome this 12 1/2 foot wall. The challenge was not completed until each person was safely lifted and pulled over the wall.
The ropes course is designed to creat teamwork and help individuals step out into new levels of trust. Several team members climbed to new heights and took great leaps of faith overcoming personal fears and insecurities.
The things they learned about themselves and each other will likely prove vital as they encounter all that awaits them in Rio.
