New Faces for Ministry

This past week was very different for us...it was the yearly week where new candidates for Asas de Socorro come and spend time at the mission, go through interviews, etc. We were able to be involved in different ways including a "tea" for the ladies (in the hangar...you can see the planes in the background! Here at Asas there are almost always planes in the backgrounds of our pictures :)

I was also part of the breakfast "crew" which was pretty challenging for me since the meal had to be on the table at Asas at 7:15! I am NOT a morning person :)

Overall the week was a neat, different time of ministry - a time when we could spend time with people who were contemplating what God had planned for their lives. We had the chance to minister in a very different kind of way by sharing about our lives and how God had lead and provided for each step.

Jeyson also got to take some of the candidates for short flights. It feels like yesterday that it was us being taken for rides when we were candidates. How time has flown ....pun intended :)

One of our favorite parts of the week though, was getting to know this couple, Alec and Estela (center). They are from Columbia and their dedication to God's call in ministry was an inspiration to us. They are a very simple couple, but when they felt God leading them to candidate for the mission, they left their 3 children with relatives and came from their small town in Columbia to Brazil by boat....a 6 day boat ride that is! And this was not a cruise ship either....it is the kind of boat where everyone hangs their hammocks in large rooms and sleeps side by side, sometimes even hammock one on top of the other! They traveled like that to Manaus, Brazil, and then came by plane the rest of the way.

Although in the end it was decided that Asas wasn't the right fit for them, we were so glad they came for the week, and so were they. We had them over for dinner on the last night along with Andres and Camila (as soon as I get the hang of speaking Portuguese I once again was lost in the Spanish conversation!! :) and during the time they shared about how God taught and stretched them so much through the trip. He showed them they He will provide for their every need and that stepping out in faith is stepping into the hands of the Great Provider. They had left their hometown without even enough money to make the trip, but along the way God provided just enough for the next step. He even provided shoes that Estela needed but hadn't told anyone about. They both felt that God brought them on this trip to show them how they can depend on Him for the ministry He has for them. We know wherever they end up God will use this special couple in an amazing way.