Experiences Along the Way

Classic after-work hangout

Sometimes I still have to pinch myself to believe I’m really living in Japan. I’m loving it even more than I thought I would. Four days a week we walk to church for a prayer meeting with fellow missionaries first thing in the morning. We have learned to always carry an umbrella; this time of year you never know when the rain will start. The Japanese also use umbrellas as sun protection. We usually stop at the railroad crossing for a train to pass. They are full from morning until late at night. So many people coming and going. Our prayer meetings have been a powerful time of uniting together to pray for this nation and the beautiful Japanese people. We believe God has great things in store for Japan!

Sometimes we grab something from the grocery store on our way home. It’s always fun trying to figure out what the Japanese characters mean, to find the food we need. Google translate has saved us many times! Once we thought we were buying hot dog buns, only to get them home and open them to find out they were filled with peanut butter and jelly! As we go through the check-out line, we smile and nod as the cashier rattles off in Japanese. They are always so polite and the service is great!

      Menu

Many restaurants have these fake plates of food in the windows to display their menu. And its usually an interesting assortment! I enjoy taking a look and trying to guess what the items may be. You can find vending machines on almost every street corner. They even have hot and iced coffee cans! I was surprised that there are many cafés and bakeries here. I had always pictured the Japanese as tea drinkers. But they like their coffee too!

      Vegetables and rice

In general, we are really enjoying Japanese food. When we first arrived, we ate a lot of ramen noodles. We would just pick whichever one looked appealing on the outside, since we had now idea what was really on the inside! Once, Vagner ate one in a red cup. His nose was running and he had tears in his eyes by the time he finished. Obviously red means spicy, ha! This is a very common and tasty vegetable dish at a restaurant (photo at left).

      Shinjuku station

The other day, we went to Shinjuku in downtown Tokyo. It has the busiest train station in the world. It is huge and seems to go on forever! It has 200 exits. We ran some errands and then came back and it took us several tries to find the right entrance, haha. You could get lost for quite a while in that place! The flow of people moves really fast, so you better know which direction you want to go. It’s quite an experience! Most of the stations have many gift shops, restaurants and even malls. The flow of traffic is opposite of the U.S., so when you go up the escalator, you stand to the left to let the through traffic pass in the right. It was confusing at first!

                 Mt. Fuji view

Vagner and a group from church climbed Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan. They went at night, because they wanted to reach the top by sunrise. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate and they ended up taking shelter for a few hours as a storm passed through. But they still had an awesome time and got a beautiful view. It took 6 hours and 15 minutes to hike up to the top. He was quite exhausted but very happy when he got home.

         Bike ride!

Japanese ride bikes everywhere. They all have a basket or a child seat on the front and a basket or child seat on the back! It’s great exercise and practical for getting around. So we each have a bike now! We took our first ride along the river not far from our home. It was so beautiful. All along the way, we saw kids practicing soccer, baseball, tennis, karate and even passed a small golf course.

These are just a few of the things we’ve experienced in our daily life since arriving. We will keep the posts coming!

Here at last!

Downtown Tokyo

(Português abaixo)

We touched down at the Narita Tokyo airport at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. We were greeted to very hot, humid weather which reminded me of the Amazon! It was very exhilarating to step on Japanese ground, after all of this time of preparing and dreaming! We had a smooth trip with only one connecting flight in Minneapolis. Thanks so much to all of you who were praying, things couldn’t have gone better! Of course we were tired when we arrived, especially since neither one of us sleep very well on planes. All of our bags arrived and immigration was a breeze. We bought bus tickets (thankfully the agents spoke English) and took the three hour bus trip to Noborito, the headquarters for PAZ Japan, and the city where we will be living. Two fellow missionaries picked us up and took us to the building that belongs to the mission. We are staying in the guest apartment until we find our own apartment.

A cool testimony about our luggage-most of the airlines from the U.S. to Japan only allow each passenger one free 50lb. bag. After that there is a fee for each extra bag. We were able to send three bags with gracious people who were visiting. We were planning on taking 2-3 50 lb. bags each, and just pay the fees. But Vagner made a few phone calls, and since we had booked our tickets all the way from Brazil to Japan, we got the Brazilian allowance, two 70 lb. bags each for free! That was an extra 80 lbs. that we made good use of!

Downtown Tokyo

Our sleep schedules are totally screwed up! The first couple nights we woke up between 2-4 a.m. wide awake and unable to go back to sleep. It’s a 14 hour time difference from IL and it really messes with your body clock! Our friends have kept us busy going places so that we aren’t tempted to sleep during the day and can get our bodies adjusted.

The first day we explored a little bit of the city, got bento boxes (divided in three sections with ready made food-rice, chicken over noodles, a mystery pickled dish, an omelette, and breaded boiled eggs on a stick) and ate by the river that runs through the city. It is a very pretty area, with beautiful landscaping everywhere. The streets are very narrow and look like one lane, but the cars manage to pass each other, as well as bikers and pedestrians.

Shinjuku station, the busiest in the world!

On our second day we took the train into downtown Tokyo to visit the language school. The Shinjuku train station is the busiest in the world, with over 3 1/2 million people passing through daily! It has 36 platforms and over 200 exits. It was quite an experience as we went during rush hour. At each stop, you just get a little more packed in! You really can’t move until the train stops. Tokyo is an incredible city, super clean and organized. As you walk, you are constantly passing vending machines, with everything you can imagine!

Morning prayer

One of the neatest things we’ve experienced so far is morning prayer with Japanese, Brazilians, New Zealanders, and other Americans. The church is doing a 21 day Daniel fast to pray for the nation of Japan. We meet from 6-8 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It is so awesome to all gather in one place, unified through the Holy Spirit, and lift our voices to the one true God in both Japanese and English. The presence of the Lord has been so strong.

Toilet room

Yesterday afternoon we went apartment hunting! It was a fun experience. Things that you look for in an apartment: the year the building was built, how close it is to the train station, what floor it is on, what kind of gas is used, to name a few. We found a cute apartment for rent, we are just waiting to find out some more details. It has two bedrooms and a kitchen, living room, dining room all in one. The whole apartment is 52 meters squared (about 560 feet squared). The toilet room is always separated from the shower and sink area, and usually the washing machine is next to the sink. The Japanese are so efficient, the lid of the toilet is shaped like a sink with a faucet

Shoe cubby

and a hole for the water to run down. So while the toilet is filling you can wash your hands! Usually one of the bedrooms has tatami, which is a straw mat that covers the whole floor. Some sleep right on that mat. Another custom is that everyone takes their shoes off as soon as they enter the house. Some of the places have cubby holes or cabinets where you can store your shoes. Then you are offered slippers to wear! Pretty nice treatment.

This afternoon we will visit the cell group that we will be helping with! And then church tomorrow. We are so excited to be here and see what God has in store. It is Japan’s time for salvation! We believe the harvest fields are ready and many souls will be saved! We feel very privileged to be part of the Lord’s work here.

Centro de Tóquio

Aterrissamos no Aeroporto de Narita em Tóquio às 2:45 da tarde de quarta-feira. Fomos recebidos com um clima muito quente e úmido que me lembrou da Amazônia. Foi muito emocionante pisar em solo japonês, depois de uma conexão em Minneapolis. Muito obrigado a todos vocês que estavam orando, não poderia ter sido melhor! É claro que nós estávamos cansados ao chegarmos, especialmente porque nenhum de nós dois dormimos muito bem em aviões. Todas as nossas bagagens chegaram e a imigração foi tranquila. Nós compramos nossas passagens de ônibus (graças a Deus a agente falava inglês) e fizemos uma viagem de três horas para Noborito, a nossa base da PAZ no Japão e a cidade onde então viveremos. Dois amigos missionários nos buscaram e nos deixaram no prédio que pertence à missão. Nós estamos hospedados no apartamento para hóspedes até encontrarmos nosso apartamento.

Um testemunho legal sobre as nossas bagagens: a maioria das companhias aéreas que operam dos EUA para o Japão permitem apenas uma bagagem de 23 kgs por pessoa e a partir daí, para cada bagagem, uma taxa é cobrada. Três pessoas que vieram visitar trouxeram bagagens para a gente. Planejávamos trazer 2 bagagens de 23 kgs cada um e pagar as taxas. O Vagner fez algumas ligações e como havíamos comprado as nossas passagens saindo do Brasil indo para o Japão, nos permitiram embarcar com os pesos que saímos do Brasil, duas bagagens de 32 kgs cada um de graça! Isto nos deu 36 kgs extras que foram muito bem utilizados!

Centro de Tóquio

Nossos horários de dormir estão totalmente bagunçados. As primeiras duas noites nós acordamos entre 2 e 4 horas da manhã e ficamos totalmente acordados sem podermos voltar a dormir. São 12 horas de diferença de SP e isso realmente bagunça os horários do seu corpo! Nossos amigos nos tem mantido ocupados indo a diversos lugares para não cairmos na tentação de dormir durante o dia e tentar ajustar os nossos corpos.

No primeiro dia exploramos um pouco da cidade, compramos obento boxes (marmitas – divididas em três seções com com arroz cozido, frango sobre macarrão, uma porção de picles, omelete e ovos cozidos à milanesa numa vareta para churrasco) e comemos às margens do rio que corre pela cidade. É uma área muito bonita, com belas paisagens em todos os lugares. Algumas das ruas são muito estreitas e parecem ter apenas uma faixa e os carros têm que dividir espaço com outros carros, pessoas andando e ciclistas. também.

Estação de Shinjuku, uma das mais movimentadas do mundo!

No nosso segundo dia fomos de trem ao centro de Tóquio para visitar a escola de idiomas. A estação de trem de Shinjuku é uma das mais movimentadas do mundo, com mais de 3.5 milhões de pessoas transitando diariamente! Tem 36 plataformas e mais de 200 saídas. Foi uma experiência e tanto, visto que fomos no horário de pico. A cada parada você fica mais e mais espremido. Você realmente não pode se mover até o trem parar. Tóquio é uma cidade incrível, super limpa e organizada. Ao andar, você constantemente se depara com máquinas automáticas de venda, com tudo o que você pode imaginar!

Oração matinal

Uma das coisas mais legais que vivenciamos aqui até agora são as orações matinaiscom japoneses, brasileiros, neozeolandeses e outros americanos. A igreja está fazendo o jejum de 21 dias de Daniel em prol da nação japonesa. Nos encontramos das 6 às 8 da manhã de terça-feira a sábado. É muito legal todos nos encontrarmos no mesmo lugar, unidos pelo Espírito Santo, e clamar ao único e verdadeiro Deus, tanto em japonês como em inglês. A presença do Senhor tem sido muito forte!

Banheiro

Ontem à tarde nós fomos olhar alguns apartamentos. Foi uma experiência divertida. Coisas que você deve pensar ao alugar um apartamento aqui: ano que foi construído, distância da estação de trem, o andar que fica, que tipo de gás é usado, entre outros. Nós encontramos alguns bons apartamentos para alugar, só estamos aguardando alguns detalhes extras. Tem dois quartos e uma cozinha, sala de estar, sala e jantar em um. A área do apartamento é de 52m quadrados. O vaso sanitário é sempre separado do chuveiro e da pia, e a máquina de lavar geralmente fica próxima a pia. Os japoneses são muito eficientes, a tampa da descarga tem a forma de uma pia com uma torneira para lavar as mãos ao terminar, com um buraco no centro para a água que vai encher o receptáculo.

Cubículo para sapatos

Geralmente um dos quartos tem tatami, que é um tipo de colchão de palha que cobre todo o piso. Algumas pessoas dormem direto naquele chão. Outro costume é que todos tiram seus sapatos assim que entram nas casas. Alguns dos lugares tem um cubículo ou prateleiras onde você pode colocar seus sapatos. Então eles te oferecem sandálias para calçar! Tratamento muito legal!

Esta tarde visitaremos a célula da qual faremos parte! E visitaremos a igreja amanhã. Estamos muito empolgados de estarmos aqui e ver o que Deus tem preparado. É o tempo da salvação do Japão. Nós cremos que os campos de colheita estão prontos e muitas almas serão salvas! Nos sentimos muito privilegiados de fazer parte da obra do Senhor aqui.

Goodbye Brazil! (Português abaixo)

Vagner’s sister’s family

Well, it was an emotional goodbye, leaving our loved ones and ministry behind and heading towards the new things the Lord has for us! We are so blessed for the time we had in São Paulo and our PAZ church there. All of the experiences we had helped to prepare us for the new ministry we will have in Japan. We are so grateful to have a Brazilian church family who will continue to stand behind us and pray for us as we serve across the world.

Paulo and Gabi

We were packing and cleaning right up until the time we left for the airport! Squeezing in one more piece of clothing that got left in the laundry room, and cleaning out cupboards and cabinets to leave the rental apartment spic and span. And giving last minute hugs to friends and family who stopped by to say one last goodbye. After downsizing, we crammed our lives into 5 suitcases and 2 plastic bins. We loaded everything in our friends’ pickup and started on the hour long drive to the airport. It took four luggage carts to get all of our things to the check in line! After hugs and tears, we headed to our gate. We had a smooth flight to Atlanta, where we had to split up to go through customs. We were a little concerned because we only had an 1 hour 40 minute layover and had to get through customs, pick up our bags and check them in again. But the Lord gave us supernatural favor; when it was my turn with the customs agent, he asked if I was traveling with anyone and told me to go get Vagner out of the other super long line. He checked us through together. When we got to the baggage claim, all seven bags came off together and a lady with a large cart helped us get everything loaded and rechecked-in. We walked to our gate and had only a 40 minute wait to board our plane for Peoria! We arrived to the hugs and smiles of Katie’s family. We really couldn’t have asked for a better trip!

Our time here in the U.S. will consist of visits with family and friends, and meetings with churches and individuals to share our plans for our new ministry. We will move to Japan on July 28th.

A few more pics from our last couple weeks in São Paulo:

Surprise goodbye party!

Our pastor praying a blessing over us at church

Good friends Gilmar and Monica who helped us get our things to the airport

On the plane on our way to Atlanta

ATÉ LOGO, BRASIL!

A família da irmã do Vagner

É, foi uma despedida bem emocionante, nos despedindo dos que amamos e do nosso ministério e indo em direção às novidades que o Senhor tem para nós. Nós fomos tão abençoados no tempo que vivemos em São Paulo e na nossa igreja da PAZ! Todas as experiências que tivemos nos ajudaram a nos preparar para o novo ministério que teremos no Japão. Somos muito gratos por termos uma família na igreja que continuará orando e nos apoiando enquanto estivermos servindo onde quer que seja no mundo.

Paulo e Gabi

Arrumamos as malas e limpamos o apartamento até o momento de partirmos para o aeroporto! Espremendo mais uma peça de roupa que deixamos na lavanderia, limpando os armários e prateleiras para deixá-lo tinindo para ser alugado novamente. E dando os últimos abraços nos familiares e amigos que passaram por lá para um último até logo. Após termos compactado todos os nossos pertences, conseguimos organizar todos eles em 5 malas e 2 conteineres de plástico. Carregamos tudo na pickup de um amigo e iniciamos a nossa longa viagem de uma hora até o aeroporto. Foram necessários 4 carrinhos de bagagem para levar todas as nossas malas até a fila de check in! Depois de alguns abraços e choradeira, nós nos dirigimos ao nosso portão. Nós tivemos um vôo tranquilo até Atlanta, onde tivemos que nos separar para passarmos pela imigração. Nós estávamos um pouco preocupados porque tínhamos apenas 1h40min de conexão e tínhamos que passar pela imigração, pegar nossas bagagens e fazer o check in novamente. Mas o Senhor nos deu favor sobrenatural; quando foi minha vez de passar por um agente de imigração, este me perguntou se eu estava viajando com alguém e me pediu que fosse buscar o Vagner na outra gigantesca fila. Ele nos autorizou continuar a passar pela cabine dele  juntos, passando pela entrada dos cidadãos americanos! Quando chegamos ao setor de coleta de bagagens, todas elas vieram em sequência e uma senhora com um carrinho bem amplo nos ajudou a carregar tudo e fazer um novo check in. Nós andamos até o nosso portão e tivemos que esperar por apenas 40 minutos para embarcar no nosso avião para Peoria. Nós fomos recebidos com abraços e sorrisos da família da Katie. Nós não poderíamos ter pedido por uma viagem melhor!

Nosso tempo aqui nos EUA consistirá em visitar parentes e amigos, reuniões com igrejas e pessoas individualmente para compartilhar os planos para o nosso novo ministério. Nos mudaremos definitivamente para o Japão no dia 28 de Julho.

Mais algumas fotos das nossas últimas semanas em São Paulo:

Festa de despedida surpresa!

Nosso pastor fazendo oração de envio perante a igreja

Bons amigos Gilmar e Mônica que ajudaram levar nossas malas ao aeroporto

No avião em direção a Atlanta

Counting Down! (Versão em Português abaixo)

Packing has begun!

We are counting down the days until move day! The last few weeks have been busy getting things ready. There are many details involved when moving to another country. Sorting through things deciding what to take and what to leave behind, saying good-bye to friends and family, getting documents in order including trips to the federal police and other government institutions, and transitioning our ministry to other leaders. We have also been sharing a short presentation we put together about the work that is going on in Japan and how we will be involved. We are so thankful that our visas were approved! Now we are waiting for the documents to arrive from Japan so we can finish the process at the Japanese consulate here in São Paulo. Nothing like working down to the wire!

Ladies beauty day

A few weeks ago Katie’s cell group had a special ladies outreach “beauty day”. One of the ladies in the church is a Mary Kay consultant and she did facial treatments and makeovers. The purpose was to invite friends and family who we would like to invite to cell group. Even though the ones we invited were not able to come, it was a special time of having fun and hanging out together. It’s exciting that in the last couple weeks a new family plus another woman have begun attending the cell group!

Friends’ beach wedding

The end of March we were groomsman and bridesmaid for a couple of very good friends of ours. It was a beach wedding, and our friends rented a house so that the wedding party was able to hang out together for the weekend. It was nice to just participate and not have to deal with the stress of planning! It was a beautiful day and the Lord was really glorified through the service.

Market in São Paulo

Katie’s good friend Christy came to visit for a few days. It was so great to have her here, and show her our life in São Paulo. We went to the mercadão, which is a huge market in downtown SP. It has incredible displays of every kind of fruit and vegetables you can imagine, as well as nuts, cheese, wine, spices, seeds, breads, sweets, etc. It is always packed with people, which is a little overwhelming. Yet it is totally worth the experience! Besides touring downtown SP, we also took Christy to a family barbecue in the countryside and a pizza party at our friends’ house. She also visited our church here in Barueri. She got her fill of buses, trains and subways!

Cell group

This week we said good-bye to our cell groups. We have had a cell group in our home on Saturdays led by one of Vagner’s disciples. Today the group moved to one of the members houses, and it was wonderful to see the way his family opened their home and warmly welcomed everyone. Even though we are moving, it’s a joy to know the work that was started here will continue on in the faithful hands of trained leaders, who have an opportunity to grow in new ways.

CONTAGEM REGRESSIVA!

A mudança começou!

Estamos em contagem regressiva para a nossa mudança! Essas últimas semanas têm sido muito corridas enquanto preparamos todas as coisas. Muitos são os detalhes quando nos mudamos para outro país. Verificar todas as coisas enquanto decidimos o que levar e o que deixar, nos despedir dos amigos e família, organizar todos os documentos, incluindo visitas à Polícia Federal e outras instituições governamentais e transicionar o nosso ministério para outros líderes. Nós também temos mostrado uma curta apresentação que fizemos sobre o trabalho que já está acontecendo no Japão e como nos envolveremos. Estamos muito gratos pois nossos vistos foram aprovados! Agora estamos prontos para levá-los no consulado japonês a fim de que eles possam carimbar os nossos passaportes, tudo isso ainda nesta nossa última semana aqui no Brasil. Nada como viver no limite!

Dia da Beleza para Mulheres

Há algumas semanas a célula da Katie teve um evento especial para alcançar novas pessoas, chamado “Dia da Beleza”. Uma das membras da igreja é uma consultora da Mary Kay e ela fez tratamentos faciais e maquiagens. O propósiro foi convidar amigos e parentes que gostaríamos de convidar para a célula. Ainda que as pessoas que convidamos não puderam participar, foi um momento especial onde nos divertimos e passamos tempo juntas. Estas últimas semanas foram muito empolgantes pois recebemos um casal e mais uma mulher que passaram a fazer parte da célula!

Casamento de amigos na praia

No final de Março fomos padrinhos para um casal de amigos muito especial. Foi um casamento na praia e nossos amigos alugaram uma casa para que todos os padrinhos pudessem passar o final de semana juntos. Foi muito bom apenas participar e não ter que lidar com o estresse do planejamento! Foi um dia muito lindo e o Senhor foi muito glorificado através da palavra.

Mercadão de São Paulo

Christy, uma amiga muito especial da Katie, veio nos visitar por alguns dias. Foi muito bom tê-la aqui e mostrar a ela um pouco da nossa vida em São Paulo. Nós a levamos ao Mercadão em São Paulo. Lá existem muitas barracas com todo tipo de fruta e verdura imagináveis, assim como nozes, queijo, vinho, temperos, sementes, pães, doces, etc. É sempre muito cheio de pessoas, o que é impressionante. Mesmo assim, a experiência é muito válida. Além de levar a Christy para o centro de São Paulo, também a levamos para um churrasco de família no interior e para comer pizza na cada de um amigo. Ela também visitou a nossa igreja aqui em Barueri. Ela teve a oportunidade de vivenciar tudo, ônibus, trem e metrô!

Célula

Esta semana nos despedimos das nossas células. Nós tivemos uma célula na nossa casa liderada por um dos discípulos do Vagner. Recentemente o grupo mudou para a casa de um dos membros e foi maravilhoso ver como a família desse membro abriu sua casa e recebeu calorosamente a todos. Mesmo que estejamos mudando, nos alegra muito saber que o trabalho que iniciamos aqui dará continuidade através da fidelidade dos líderes que treinamos, que terão a oportunidade de crescer de formas diferentes.

Changes

U.S. wedding in October 2014

A few things have happened since my last post. I got married twice (once in the U.S. and once here in Brazil; just to clarify, it was to the same guy!). We settled into our apartment. I’ve learned how to get around the city by bus. Vagner and I started studying Japanese. I started giving English classes to my Japanese teacher. We’ve grown in ministry as our cell groups have multiplied and Vagner became a supervisor of his six cell groups. We had the privilege to be part of several of Vagner’s family members making commitments to Christ. And now we are going through the visa process and preparing to move to another country! It has been an action packed year, full of wonderful and exciting things as well as plenty of challenges.

São Paulo has been an interesting place to live. Quite a bit different than Santarém, in the middle of the Amazon! I think the hardest thing for me to get used to is that everything is far away. And the traffic is crazy, so depending on the time of day, you have to double or triple the amount of time it takes to arrive at a given location. There is never a dull moment here. I think it is good training for living outside of Tokyo, one of the largest cities in the world!

Coffee date

Married life is great! Vagner is truly my best friend, and it is such a blessing to get to minister together. The more I get to know him, the more I respect and admire him. He is truly a man of God. Being from two cultures definitely adds spice to our marriage, and makes it all the richer! I think I have learned more about myself these last five months than ever before. We have a busy schedule, but always try to take time for just the two of us. It might be going grocery shopping together, or our Wednesday breakfast date at the produce market. Or a Starbucks coffee break!

Vagner visiting a Japanese cell group, 2013

Our biggest news is that we are moving to Japan! We are in the visa process right now, and are praying that they are approved by the beginning of May. We plan to travel to the States the middle of May and be there for a couple months, reconnecting with family, friends and churches. Then it’s off to Japan. We are so excited to work with the PAZ mission base there, leading cell groups, discipling and helping to train up Japanese leaders. The Japanese are beautiful people who need the hope that Jesus brings. We have started studying Japanese, and it is very difficult. I’m hoping that once I arrive, the light bulb will go on, and everything I’ve studied will make sense! To make it more interesting, I’m learning Japanese from Portuguese. As if it wasn’t confusing enough! A lot of the studying is on our own. We go to class twice a week, and the professor grades and reviews our lessons and answers questions. Our teachers have been great, and have given us a lot of tips and advice about living in Japan. We both really enjoy Japanese food, and São Paulo has plenty of Japanese restaurants.

God has been so good to us, confirming his direction and calling on our lives. We are two very ordinary people who have an extraordinary God!! We realize everyday just how much we need to depend on Him, our source of everything. When situations are uncertain, we have peace, knowing that He is in control. Our greatest desire is to know Him and to be known by Him, and to share this incredible truth with others.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

A few more pics

 

Vagner studying Japanese

Japanese dinner made by our disciplers

Cell group multiplication party Dec. 2014

Brazilian outdoor wedding, Nov. 2014

Christmas at Vagner’s sister’s house

Birthday celebration