Stranger- “Hi there! Where are you from?”
Me-“Hahaha well, that depends.”
Stranger- “‘That depends’? You don’t know where you’re from?”
Me- “Well, when I’m in America I’m from Alabama, but when I’m in Brazil I’m from Minas Gerais!”
Stranger- *Awkwardly stares*
Yep, that basically sums up how almost every conversation starts with a missionary kid. Do I hate it? Hahaha no, I love it! My parents have been missionaries in Brazil for 31 years now. I’ve had the privilege to be born and raised on the mission field. I have loved every minute of it! The Lord has allowed us to do so many fun and crazy things, all the way from jumping off of waterfalls, to building tree houses, to having pet monkeys and toucans, to riding horses to church! You see, we’ve lived on a farm for most of my life, and at our farm over the years we’ve had horses, cows, chickens, dogs, monkeys, green parots, toucans, we even had an armadillo for a short time. When I was little my brothers used to run after the monkeys and chase them into our house and trap them in the bathroom so they would be easier to catch. After we caught them we would put them in cages and they would then become our pets. Our toucans were lots of fun. They were very playful! We would put little balls in their cages and they would get them and throw them up in the air then catch them again with their large beaks. Even meal time is a game to them. They get the fruit, and throw it up into the air then open their beaks up wide and let it fall in, and down their throat. We had both the monkeys and the toucans for a while until it became illegal to keep them in cages. We then had to release them. But the monkeys still play in our trees, and every once in a while the toucans fly over our farm.
The current farm that we have now is actually an answer to prayer! We had been renting a farm on the far side of town, and were looking for a place to buy so we wouldn’t have to pay rent anymore. We had been praying for a while, and one day a man from our church told us that he knew of a man that was wanting to sell his farm. The man and his wife were getting a divorce and he was willing to sell the farm for a lot cheaper then any of the other farms we had looked at. Another blessing was that the farm was closer to town, it was right by the main highway (so easy access). It not only had a four bedroom house, but also had a large building on the property which they had used as a restaurant for a while. It was perfect for what we wanted to use the farm for! Every year Brazil has a week long celebration called “Carnaval”. I guess you could say its like Mardi Gras in America. It’s a wicked time of the year! To get the church people away from the city and the wickedness that goes on, we have camp during that week of the year. We invite churches from all over the country to participate with us! It’s definitely one of my favorite times of the year! Behind the large building that we use as a lunch room/ tabernacle, there was another building which we used as a girls dorm. We also built another building for the boys dorm. Not only did the farm have those large buildings, it also had a soccer field, a pond, a barn, an orchard, and other large fields! It was the perfect place for God’s work! One whole month before camp, we start preparing by cleaning all of the buildings, mowing all of the grass, preparing games, food, and most importantly praying for God to do a great work that week. During the week we have preaching every morning and evening, bible games, skits, sports (like swimming, soccer, volleyball, etc.), and games (like water balloon fights, tug-of-war across a mud pit, capture the flag, flourball fights, etc.). It’s lots of fun! For the past four years we have had so many people attend the night services that we have had to hold the services out side, because there were too many people to fit in the building! God has certainly been blessing! Our goal for the future is to build bigger and better buildings to accommodate more people, and hold more camps, retreats, training sessions for young men and young women, pastors meetings, etc. more times of the year! This type of thing is so needful in todays day and age! Please help us pray that the Lord would provide the money and the labor that we might be able to do those things; not so we would be glorified, but that He might be glorified through our ministry! We’ve been holding camps, youth meetings, and retreats at our farm for the past 14 years! It is definitely one of my favorite ministries to help out with!!
Another one of my favorite ministries, is working with the children! Years ago, when my dad was the pastor at our church in the city of Formiga, he talked with the mayor in town, and asked if we could use one of the local schools to hold a children’s Bible club (Awana- or as it’s called in Portuguese “Oanse” ) on Saturdays, and he allowed! We had an old suburban that we would load up with kids every Saturday and take them to that school and we would have all sorts of different games in the gym, then we would separate the different ages into different class rooms where we would have the songs, bible verse, and bible story time! The kids loved it! It was the highlight of their week! Many children were saved, then their families were saved, and now lots of them are members at our church! Two of the kids that came and got saved are now grown and help out with the music at our church. Another girl that came and got saved, is grown and is a pastors wife, and another girl that was saved is now the youth pastors wife in neighboring city. Another young man who also got saved is now the right arm of the current pastor at the church in Formiga! Some of the families that got saved through Awana are now faithful workers and members at our church. It’s so rewarding to see all that the Lord has done through a “simple” little Bible club! Don’t ever underestimate what the Lord can do through your life in what ever ministry he has put you in! Invest your life for eternity and you will not return empty handed!
Hope y’all enjoyed this post, and I hope it was a blessing to someone in some way!
~Anna~
