Prison

    Hi again,

  Since our last post on Monday, it has been neat to join in on a couple small group bible studies in Rio do Sul and Lontras. We sang some songs(in Portuguese) and people from the group shared problems, encouragements, and prayer requests. Chase and I shared our testimonies and gave a little message on James 1:2-3. There was a recovering crack addict at one of the groups that had just gotten out of a 6-month Christian rehab center. He had gone to two other 6-month rehabs prior to the latest one where he relapsed both times. It was very encouraging to see that he had accepted Christ in his last rehab and is now living with his pastor and growing in Christ.

  In Lontras, there is a policeman that goes to the church there. On Wednesday, we got to go into a Rio do Sul school to have him give a presentation on drugs and alcohol and also to stress the importance of belief in God. Unfortunately, our time got cut in half so we were only able to share half of the presentation. Fortunately, we got invited to come back next week again so hopefully that works out. Later on into the day, Johnny took us to a the youth prison in Rio do Sul that he visits every Wednesday. We got to meet with kids from the age of 14-18 that are in there for anything from drug-dealing to attempted murder. We shared what the U.S. is like and how our lives have been affected by Christ. We had a prayer at the end and encouraged them to read the bibles that Johnny has given them. They seemed rather interested, which was really cool, so I ask you all to pray for these kids and for Johnny's ministry with them.

  Yesterday was the first Brazil game, so you can guess there was flags everywhere in store windows and hanging from houses. We went over to our friend Gabbi's house to watch the opening ceremony and game with some friends and family. Thankfully Brazil won, so we had a good rest of the evening with some amazing food. Churrasco and Ice Cream always slide nicely down the gullet. :)

  Lastly, we are very much appreciative for your thoughts and prayers and we hope that they do not cease. We once again hope this blog encourages you to live out your mission as a Christ follower and to grow in His love everyday.

                                                 Thanks,

                                                                Skyler

I'm Singin' In The Rain

    This will be a shorter post again, because we are at Unidavi College.  The last few days have been very interesting in Rio do Sul.  It has rained all day for the last few days, and the river has started to flood.  In case you've never been to Brazil, Celivris (our church) is like 20 feet away from the river.  It has a wall to protect itself from the flood, and last night the water was about a foot or two away from coming up and over the wall and into the church.  It hasn't rained (so far) today, and the river has gone back down a little bit, but if it rains much in the next couple of days, it could be a problem.

This is a picture of a soccer field across the street from Celivris.  It has (estimated) around 6 inches of standing water in it.

Please keep Rio do Sul and the rain problem in your prayer!  Thanks!

-Chase and Skyler

Unidavi

                 Hello all,


    Thank you for your patience with Chase and I as we were not able to blog the past few days due to lack of wifi. Since our last blog, most of our time spent has been at Unidavi, which is a college here in Rio do Sul. We have gone to classes to share about our lives in the U.S. and to also share about the love of Jesus Christ. Romulo who is a "Translater\fellow brazilian brother in Christ" has brought us to a couple night classes that he teaches and we were able to converse with the people there and share the Gospel there as well. They seemed to be pretty receptive of it and some of them were already Christians which was pretty encouraging to see.

    Also, a lot of our time has been spent building relationships with the believers down here at Celivris. It has been very encouraging to see their walks with Christ and how they have grown and are continuing to grow. As you may not know, relationship-building is one of the main aspects of our trip this year so we are pleased to tell you that it is going well. Chase and I are continuing to read through scripture and the book "Abba's Child" and that has been very helpful. Right now it is talking about totally acknowledging the fact that whatever we think God thinks about us, we are wrong unless we think that He loves us beyond measure, and that will never change because we are His children. Even when we mess up, the last thing he wants us to do is to run away from Him, instead He wants us to acknowledge our failures before Him and to know that we are still loved and accepted by Him. So I hope this is just as much of an encouragement to you as it is to us and just know that we always need to be in reminder of the Gospel no matter where we are at and what we are doing.
   

                                              -Skyler and Chase
   

God's Grace

    Part of the plan for this mission's trip was that Skyler and I would go through a couple of books together in the mornings.  Every morning we journal about the previous day, go through a couple chapters of the Bible, read through a chapter of the book we're going through together, then discuss it and pray.  The book we are currently going through is called "Abba's Child" by Brennan Manning.  The book talks about God's grace, and how it's so easy as Christians to misinterpret it.
    One of the biggest lies Satan feeds the modern world is that our flaws are useless and that Jesus doesn't love us as much when we sin.

    "God is relentlessly tender and compassionate toward us just as we are--not in spite of our sins and fault (that would not be total acceptance), but with them.  Though God does not condone or sanction evil, he does not withhold His love because there is evil in us." Manning 20

     The idea that God does not love or accept us when we are sinning is a lie from Satan.  On the contrary, God can use our sin and brokenness to share his love with others.  Manning uses a one-act play by Thornton Wilder titled "The Angel that Troubled the Waters" in order to get this point across.  The play dramatizes the power of the pool of Bethesda to heal whenever an angel stirred its waters.

   " A physician comes periodically to the pool hoping to be the first in line and longing to be healed of his melancholy.  The angel finally appears but blocks the physician just as he is ready to step into the water.  The angel tells the physician to draw back, for this moment is not for him.  The physician pleads for help in a broken voice, but the angel insists that healing is not intended for him.
    The dialogue continues-- and then comes the prophetic word from the angel:  "Without your wounds where would your power be?  It is your melancholy that makes your low voice tremble into the hearts of men and women.  The very angels themselves cannot persuade the wretched and blundering children on earth as can one human being broken on the wheels of living.  In Love's service, only wounded soldiers can serve.  Physician, draw back
    Later, the man who enters the pool first and is healed rejoices in his good fortune and turning to the physician says: "Please come with me.  It is only an hour to my home.  My son is lost in dark thoughts.  I do not understand him and only you have ever lifted his mood.  Only an hour. . . . There is also my daughter: since her child died, she sits in the shadow.  She will not listen to us but she will listen to you." Manning 28

    God can use the broken parts of our lives in order to help other people.  Instead of hiding our flaws, we should be using our flaws as a tool to share God's love and grace with the world.  In the case of the physician, he isn't even healed, yet he can share his problems to help other people.  If you have been healed, think of how much you can use that story to proclaim the grace of God!
    When discussing the first chapter of this book, Skyler and I talked about how sometimes it can be hard to fully comprehend the grace of God.  We are continuously praying that God will keep revealing his grace to us.  We're still trying to figure out how God can use our flaws to show his love to others.
    -Chase and Skyler

5 Things we Learned on our First Day in Brazil

    Skyler and I have spent the last 24 hours in Brazil, however about 12 of them were traveling.  We have already had a lot of "fun adventures", but we have narrowed down to 5 life lessons we have already learned.


1. Always accept free Brazilian coffee
    It's yummy.

2. Bus terminals are scary
    Keep your eyes on your belongings at all times.  And bring a dollar if you're planning on going to the bathroom.

3. Don't believe the taxi driver
    A 5 minute car ride is not deserving of 50 dollars.

4. Its okay to have chocolate crust on regular pizza
    Especially if it has strawberries in it.

5.  Water pressure and water temperature are an inverse relationship in showers
    That's something we learned last year, but that doesn't mean it's any less hard to master.


    -Chase and Skyler

Leaving Tomorrow

    Tomorrow Skyler and I are leaving for Brazil.  Our flight leaves at 11:57AM.  We are flying to Chicago, which we will stay at for about 9 hours.  After that, we will begin our 12 hour flight to Florianopolis.  Then, we will most likely take a bus to Rio Do Sul.  We're pretty nervous for the trip, so I've made a list of things you can pray for us about.

Chase Florom (Left), Skyler Nobbe (Right),
and random Brazilian lady (Middle)
take a picture in Random lady's store.

Prayer Requests:

1. Safety

    Although Skyler and I like to think we are brave adventurers fearlessly putting our lives in danger for the sake of Jesus, our families (and my girlfriend) would definitely appreciate it if we made it back safely.  Pray that our travels go well, we're safe while we're in Brazil, that we make it back safely, and that we can make it the whole way without getting sick.

2.Changed Lives

    This is the reason why we're going to Brazil.  We want to make a huge impact on these peoples' lives.  But not only that, we pray that

God will work through us.  Pray that he would change these lives for the better. (No Wicked joke intended)

3.Opportunities to Share the Gospel

    This prayer is closely tied to the last one.  However, as any one who has shared the Gospel might know, it's scary!  Pray for bravery for us.  Not only that, but we're going to be working closely with a lot of people in the Brazilian churches.  Pray that they also have the courage to share God's Word without fear.