Project Alegria: An Overview
Greetings!
Thank you so much for being willing to pray for my mission trip to Brazil. I hope you will continue to check this blog regularly, as I will be updating it periodically with pictures, news, and prayer requests. For now, let me just give you an overview of why I am going to Brazil this summer in the first place!
First of all: Why "Project Alegria"? Actually, "Alegria" means "Joy" in Portuguese. My hope and prayer is that this summer, God would be able to use me and the gifts He has given me to bring the joy of the Lord through the hope of Christ to Brazil. Pun intended!
I really wanted to teach overseas somewhere this summer, and God opened the door for me to teach music in a city outside of São Paulo, Brazil, called Atibaia. There is a large church there called Primeira Igreja Batista de Atibaia (www.piba.org.br) which is attended by a missionary family from Boca Raton Community Church--Ken and Susan Collins.
The church hosts an after-school music education program as well as english classes. As far as I know, my duties at PIBA wil involve teaching instrumental music (trombone, saxophone, french horn, and tuba), helping the music ministry with some praise team arrangements, playing/singing at various events, and possibly teaching an english class or two. I believe that several weekends might be spent making trips to the interior of the state of São Paulo and hosting mini-music-retreats for other churches in the area. I will be living by myself in an apartment adjoined to the church.
Here is a picture of some of the people I will be working with at PIBA: (The Gale family and Micheli Lopes)
I will be ministering in Atibaia from June 2 - July 16, 2005. On July 16th, I will meet a group of over 50 people from Boca Raton Community Church who are coming to Brazil on a short-term mission trip! 22 of us from the Oasis college group will then travel to Campinas (another suburb of São Paulo) where we will conduct a 3-day Vacation Bible School at an orphanage called City of Youth. On Saturday, July 23rd, we will fly to a different orphanage called Hope Mountain in the city of Victoria, where we will do a week-long Vacation Bible School. I will be involved with the music team as we lead worship (in Portuguese!) at each event. On July 30, we will meet the other 28 BRCC people in Rio de Janeiro and I will fly back into Miami the evening of July 31!
Whew! This is crazy! Here's a small map to give you a spacial idea of where I will be this summer:
Prayer Requests:
My greatest fear at the moment is the language barrier. I have been studying Portuguese for only a few months, and I know that this is an area where the Lord's strength will have to be made perfect in my weakness, especially because I will have to teach and work and sing in only Portuguese. Please pray that God will give me understanding/retention, give other people patience, and give me the grace and endurance to persevere, especially during those first few weeks. Another fear is just the fact that I'm going by myself and living by myself for a long period of time. I have already made some Atibaia friends over e-mail and phone, but it will be easy to fall into the temptation of feeling lonely and isolated. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is what God wants me to do with this summer, and I have complete faith that He will provide me with exactly what I need to serve Him! He has already provided over and above my monitary needs, and now I know that prayer will be the vehicle by which God will provide everything else.
Thank you so much for your prayer and support!
Abraços, ("hugs")
--Joy Wilson
Thank you so much for being willing to pray for my mission trip to Brazil. I hope you will continue to check this blog regularly, as I will be updating it periodically with pictures, news, and prayer requests. For now, let me just give you an overview of why I am going to Brazil this summer in the first place!
First of all: Why "Project Alegria"? Actually, "Alegria" means "Joy" in Portuguese. My hope and prayer is that this summer, God would be able to use me and the gifts He has given me to bring the joy of the Lord through the hope of Christ to Brazil. Pun intended!
I really wanted to teach overseas somewhere this summer, and God opened the door for me to teach music in a city outside of São Paulo, Brazil, called Atibaia. There is a large church there called Primeira Igreja Batista de Atibaia (www.piba.org.br) which is attended by a missionary family from Boca Raton Community Church--Ken and Susan Collins.
The church hosts an after-school music education program as well as english classes. As far as I know, my duties at PIBA wil involve teaching instrumental music (trombone, saxophone, french horn, and tuba), helping the music ministry with some praise team arrangements, playing/singing at various events, and possibly teaching an english class or two. I believe that several weekends might be spent making trips to the interior of the state of São Paulo and hosting mini-music-retreats for other churches in the area. I will be living by myself in an apartment adjoined to the church.
Here is a picture of some of the people I will be working with at PIBA: (The Gale family and Micheli Lopes)
I will be ministering in Atibaia from June 2 - July 16, 2005. On July 16th, I will meet a group of over 50 people from Boca Raton Community Church who are coming to Brazil on a short-term mission trip! 22 of us from the Oasis college group will then travel to Campinas (another suburb of São Paulo) where we will conduct a 3-day Vacation Bible School at an orphanage called City of Youth. On Saturday, July 23rd, we will fly to a different orphanage called Hope Mountain in the city of Victoria, where we will do a week-long Vacation Bible School. I will be involved with the music team as we lead worship (in Portuguese!) at each event. On July 30, we will meet the other 28 BRCC people in Rio de Janeiro and I will fly back into Miami the evening of July 31!
Whew! This is crazy! Here's a small map to give you a spacial idea of where I will be this summer:
Prayer Requests:
My greatest fear at the moment is the language barrier. I have been studying Portuguese for only a few months, and I know that this is an area where the Lord's strength will have to be made perfect in my weakness, especially because I will have to teach and work and sing in only Portuguese. Please pray that God will give me understanding/retention, give other people patience, and give me the grace and endurance to persevere, especially during those first few weeks. Another fear is just the fact that I'm going by myself and living by myself for a long period of time. I have already made some Atibaia friends over e-mail and phone, but it will be easy to fall into the temptation of feeling lonely and isolated. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is what God wants me to do with this summer, and I have complete faith that He will provide me with exactly what I need to serve Him! He has already provided over and above my monitary needs, and now I know that prayer will be the vehicle by which God will provide everything else.
Thank you so much for your prayer and support!
Abraços, ("hugs")
--Joy Wilson
posted by Joy | 3:07 PM
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