Now We are Three

A new season is starting

I wish I could express just how much I would like to spend some time with each one of you to share our experiences and be able to listen to your life experiences, your dreams, challenges, disappointments, achievements and joys.

We have the privilege of sharing a little bit of what the Lord has done in and through our lives in the last few months in South Africa.

We are very grateful to the Lord for our friends and partners that He has placed in our lives. Yes, you have been praying with us and also offering into our lives.Thank you very much for taking part in this journey, thank you very much for all your sacrifices and your generosity towards us.

A dream come true

We are celebrating the fulfilment of God's promise in our lives, we dreamt a lot about becoming pregnant. Since we got married 9 years ago, we planned when we would like to get pregnant, we had a few things in mind and we prayed a lot to have our first baby. 

Faced with our way of life in missions and being a transcultural couple, we wanted to wait at least 5 years before getting pregnant, and then when five years arrived, many things were happening in our lives and we decided to wait a little longer and a little bit more and a little bit more... .hahahaha ... and we needed a medical aid since public health service in South Africa is very different than in Brazil. Unfortunately we could not afford a medical aid so we decided to take a step of faith and have our baby without having a medical aid. It has surely been steps of faith, every month and every medical consultation, sonar but the Lord has blessed us so much.

Tilanie is the most beautiful pregnant in the world, she is well and healthy, the baby is also very well and growing every day. We are very happy for this moment and dreaming of the arrival of our baby. We still do not know if we will have a boy or a girl but we already love this baby very much.

The Search for a New Home

As I have shared with you we are looking for a new place to live, this has been a great challenge because here in South Africa rent is very expensive and there aren’t many good places available to rent. We are looking for a 2 bedroom house or apartment, please be praying with us about it. We still need an amount to complete the monthly rental costs and the deposit amount which is 2 months in advance.

The one-bedroom kitchenette we are currently renting, we pay R1.200 reais per month (or 4,200 rands), the value of a 2-bedroom place costs R1,800 reais (or 6,500 rands).

We are tempted many times to do what is easier and more comfortable, but when we obey Jesus the Great Commission is not always the most comfortable, the easiest and the cheapest option, because let’s be honest, being in missions is very expensive, and we really need friends, partners, people willing to walk together with us. In moments of struggles and challenges we need to have faith and perseverance to continue doing what God has directed us to do.

It is very difficult being far away from our families and even more so when one of them are sick. This year my mother was very sick, and it was very hard knowing she was hospitalised and I could not be with her during these moments. My mom has 4 nodules in her lungs and the biggest problem has been that the lungs kept on filling up with water, so my brothers had to go with her to the hospital, many times, where she usually stays for one to two weeks.

Time In Brazil With My Family

I had the privilege of going to Brazil for a month to be with my mother during this difficult time of sickness. I’m so grateful to God for opening the doors to make this possible and for each and every one of you who sacrificially gave towards buying my ticket. My time in Brazil was very special with my mother, the biggest part of the month there was spent with my family. Unfortunately it was not possible to visit many of you during this trip, but it was very important for me to spend these days with my mother. She is better, the doctors were sure that she had cancer and thank God it was not proven, she will have to undergo another biopsy and then the doctors will decide if they will remove the nodules from her lungs or not. Thank you very much for all your prayers, thank you to everyone who responded to my messages and encouraged me during that time.

Ministry with Children

The work with the children in the community is still going from strength to strength, we have been investing in the lives of these children, and we believe that Jesus will change their history. Crime in this community has also been intensifying and almost every week we receive news that someone was murdered due to their involvement in crime and gangs.

We have been praying and asking God for ways and ideas to change this reality.

Every life that we ​​touch through sport, is a seed of hope that we envision growing and transformation this community, a family that may have a better future from what is the reality at the moment.

This week we had a very challenging day in the community, while we were trying to do our program for the day with the children, many older kids came to the soccer field and they were using drugs next to the field where we were busy teaching our children. These young people are very involved with drugs and gangs. We really need wisdom on how to deal with these kinds of situations, and we frequently pray for God's protection over our lives. It is very sad to know that these young people are responsible for the crimes that’s happening in this community. They are very young and we really need the favor and grace of God to impact these young people and at the same time to continue our work with the other children.

We dream of a community that’s overflowing with the full knowledge of God's glory.

Prayer request

• Please pray for Tilanie's pregnancy, for her health and for our baby’s health.
• We need to organize things for the arrival of the baby, nappies, clothes, crib etc ...
• Pray for our new home, protection and for provision for our rent monthly.
• We need at least 12 new people helping us with R$100 (reais) a month to pay for our new rent and electricity.
• We need to pay for Tilanie's monthly medical appointments.
• Please pray for my mother's health and for wisdom for the Doctors to know which treatment to follow.
• Pray for our work with the children in the community, for wisdom, protection, for transformation in the lives of the children and teenagers.
• Pray for the me teaching the Course Destiny by Design, for new opportunities and for the students who partake in this course.
• Please pray for this new season in our lives, as father and mother, that the Lord will give us  the necessary wisdom and grace.

Thank you very much for walking this journey with us… Please remain in contact with us for more information.

May God bless you a lot…