Heading to Brazil!

Good evening, everyone,

A little over six months ago I sent out a letter announcing that I would be going to Brazil on a missions trip, God willing. It appears that God was willing. Thanks to Him and your generous support and prayers, our 9-person team leaves for Detroit tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., beginning our voyage to Brazil.

I would appreciate your continued prayers. The team (5 men, 2 women, 2 teenage girls) will be gone for two weeks. It should be quite an experience. Here’s a bit of the overall view of what we’ll be up to:

• Wed, July 14th – Depart for Brazil
• Thursday, July 15th – Arrive, finalize preparations for English Camp.
• Friday, July 16th – Head to Aba Camp, get set up.
• Saturday, July 17th – English Camp.
• Sunday, July 18th – English Camp (including a mini-service, I believe)
• Monday, July 19th – Stay at Aba Camp, install 600+ feet of water lines
• Tuesday, July 20th – Water lines, cont’d.
• Wednesday, July 21st – Halfway done. Head to Estrutural (a poor community) and set up outreach.
• Thursday, July 22nd – Estrutural outreach, cont’d.
• Friday, July 23rd – Sightseeing / Reunion service
• Saturday, July 24th – Nucleo Banderantie Church – 50th Anniversary celebration!
• Sunday, July 25th – Morning services at Nucleo Banderantie Church; Afternoon services at Estrutural Church; Evening services at Riacho Fundo Church
• Monday, July 26th – Meeting to establish future partnership plans
• Tuesday, July 27th – Leave Brazil
• Wednesday, July 28th – Arrive home

And now for some final mixed notes: My understanding is that I’ll be preaching three times during these weeks…but that I should be prepared to preach more, just in case. Pray for my preparation. Also, I’d like to let everyone know that my sister-in-law Katie did our team a great service by preparing all of our English Camp materials. Several members of the Brazilian churches will be hosting us in their homes while we’re not at the Aba Camp, so that has made the total trip cost drop a bit (praise God!). Finally, we’re taking 9 suitcases of ministry materials, gifts for the poor, and other items that we have been asked to bring to Brazil. Please pray that all of our luggage arrives on time and in good shape.

Again, thanks so much for your gifts, your support, and your prayers on my behalf and on behalf of Christ’s work in Brazil. Please keep up the prayers!

Grace and peace –

Matt

Missions Trip to Brazil

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. – 1 Peter 1:3

Hi,

If you received our Harner family Christmas letter or viewed it online at my three-quarter tank blog, then you know that God’s been very good to my family and me this year. It’s a privilege to serve as pastor at Swanton Alliance Church, where the believers are so wonderfully gracious.

Just like many churches, Swanton Alliance Church sends teams overseas on missions trips. For the past five years, we’ve sent teams to Brazil, where we’re cooperating with several Brazilian churches to plant a church in a location known as Estruteral, a village of poor people find living space in a garbage-dump area. We’ve also been helping with the Brazilian churches’ outreach efforts.

So on this particular trip, we look forward to passing out hygiene items in Estruteral, hosting an English camp, witnessing, extending church invitations to people we meet, perhaps doing some construction and maintenance work, and celebrating a partner church’s fifty-year anniversary with them. Oh yeah… and I’ll be preaching. Twice. With a translator, I hope. 

I yearn for your prayers. Needless to say, many details have to come together in order for 10 people to plan a 2 week (July 14th-28th, 2010) ministry trip to Brazil. Pray for our health, for our safety, for our cooperation and unity, for our spiritual preparation (we’re working through the book of Mark together), for our ministry preparation, for our organization, for our hosts—anything that you can think of, we probably need prayer for it. So please pray. At least once a week.

And I could also use your financial help. The trip will cost me (and every other team member) about $1600.00, maybe a little more. I’ve already been setting my own money aside, and our team has also been doing fundraisers together—pancake breakfasts, garage sales, silent auctions. We’re trying to be frugal about our trip planning, too; we’ll be staying in church members’ homes rather than in hotels. But I could still use your help; my own funds are currently $1300 short. If you can’t contribute, please pray for us regularly, anyway. But if you can contribute, whether $5, $15, $25, $50, $100, $500 (ok, most of you can’t contribute $500, but some of you could if you wanted—I wouldn’t mind!), it would help a lot.

Let me know if you’ll be praying for me and the rest of the team. If you are also able to give, your gift will be tax deductible if you make your check out to “Swanton Alliance Church” and write “Matt Harner’s Brazil Trip fund” on the memo line. Any money coming in above the costs of my trip will go towards another team member’s expenses, and that would be a huge blessing to us all. We’re trying to buy our plane tickets in mid-to-late February. You can send any letters or checks to me at:

Swanton Alliance Church
113 Franklin Ave
Swanton, OH 43558

Thanks for being a part of my life and for praying faithfully for me, whether you can give or not.

Grace and peace –

Matt