Keys in Brazil

2011-03-01T14:13:00.000-03:00

At the beginning of this year we took a new position with the International Mission Board as mobilizers for Brazil. This means that we will work with Brazilians encouraging them in their missions commitment to reach Brazil and the world for Christ. We encourage a variety of missionary involvement such as short-term, tent-making, platform and career. Please pray for those God calls out to go.

Brief update

2010-02-03T14:39:00.000-02:00

Guy, Elena and Vanessa had a wonderful time in the U.S. visiting family. They actually had a white Christmas in Fort Worth, Texas. It had been many years since the last one. Jonathan, their son, got married to Erin Randall on January 9th. The wedding was beautiful. Elena stayed a week longer in the States and did a J-term at Golden Gate Seminary and is now finishing last assignments that have to be turned in. Continue to pray for them as they continue targeting the megacities of Rio and São Paulo.

Family Updates and Prayer Needs

2009-11-14T12:35:00.000-02:00

• Pray for Jonathan Key and Erin Randall as they prepare for their wedding on Jan. 9, 2009 in Ft. Worth, TX.
• We are grateful to God that Jonathan will complete his MBA with an emphasis on international business and will graduate on Dec. 9th.
• Pray for Marcio and Cristina as they continue to adjust to life in the USA. We are thankful that God provided jobs for both of them and that Marcio has begun his seminary studies at SWBTS. Pray for Cristina as she is making a decision about which Master’s program she would like to pursue.
• Vanessa’s school has gone through difficult times with a change in administration. They have created a student counsel to help deal with the transition and she was voted vice president by the student body. She continues to be very involved with her church youth group and the church praise team.
• Continue to pray for Elena as she continues her work and schooling.
• Continue to pray for health and strength for Guy in all his responsibilities as Strategy Team Leader (STL) for the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Pray for him as he continues to train and encourage church planters all over Brazil.

São Paulo Update

2009-11-14T12:33:00.000-02:00

Guy had the privilege of training Pastor Sayao in church multiplication and mobilization while he was serving a Portuguese speaking church in the USA. Upon his return to São Paulo in Brazil, pastor Sayao felt led to start up a new church in the South Zone of the city, reaching middle and upper class Brazilians. In this area of the city only 1% of the population is evangelized. Guy also trained another Pastor Guilherme in Brazil at the insistence of pastor Sayao. These two men launched a church, which has baptized dozens of new believers who are now Christ-followers. They have started small groups as well as having worship on Sunday evenings in a convention center. Their bridge events have attracted hundreds of non-Christians of their target segment. The church is mobilizing part of its membership to start up two new churches in other strategic areas of the greater São Paulo mega-city. Pray for Franklin and IMB missionary Steve Marlin as they are being trained to lead out in these new church plants.

Orla Rio Crusade Update and Prayer Request

2009-11-14T12:27:00.000-02:00

In August we asked you to pray for a Crusade that was to be held in September 26 and 27 especially as Orla Rio (Pastor Tiago) Baptist Church, that has been attempting to reach professionals in the beachfront area of Botafogo and Flamengo for the past four years now, is meeting in a location right across the street from where this organization was to hold the crusade. The lead church planter couple, Pr. Tiago and his wife Ana Flávia continue at the front of this work. Unfortunately because of the high level of prejudice and resistance in the neighborhood, the crusade was not very effective for reaching the type of people in that area and had a very low attendance. However, the church has continued to make its presence known in the neighborhood and recently had a weekend retreat where two people were baptized. There also were several non-Christian men present because of relationships, which have been built over time and have had their lives impacted by Christians. Thank-you for your prayers and though the fruit of this work is very slow in harvesting, God is faithful and we are thankful for those who have come to know the Lord and the relationships that are being built in order that Christ’s love can flow to them.

Due to extenuating circumstances they may have to move locations once again. Pray for Orla Rio.

Sao Paulo requests

2009-09-18T17:40:00.000-03:00

Pray for the mega-church in Sao Paulo which we have contact with.
Pray as they send out pastor C, a staff member, with some 100 church members to start up a new church in Moema, an affluent area of the city of Sao Paulo.

Pray for the United Nations Church which meets in the World Trade Center in the city of Sao Paulo and its influence in targeting middle and upper middle class Brazilians in that city. Pray as they seek to open up new satellite locations to reach more people for Christ.

A & C new church start

2009-09-10T09:43:00.000-03:00

Pray for church planting couple A & C who are preparing to start a church in a new area of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Pray for the two small groups which they began and the people they are leading to Christ.

Pray for the financial responsibilities which a new church start requires.

Brasilia Church One Year Celebration

2009-08-29T10:52:00.000-03:00

Please pray for Guy as he will be in Brasilia Friday through Sunday. He has been mentoring these church leaders for about 1 1/2 years and the church is having its first year celebration. He is going to encourage the church and to help the church develop a vision of starting other churches.

Barra New Start Update

2009-08-22T13:09:00.000-03:00

Armando and Camila are in the process of gathering a core group for the Barra church start. They are praying that God will speak to the hearts of those who should join them. Several have already shown interest.

Praise the Lord that they have already moved into the neighborhood where they are starting this church, have led several people to the Lord, and have a small group meeting in their home. They are already praying about starting a second small group.

Orla Rio Update and Crusade Participation

2009-08-15T10:59:00.000-03:00

Four years ago two couples began the Orla Rio (Ohr-luh Ree-oh) Baptist Church to reach professionals in the beachfront area of Botafogo (Bow-tah-fow-gow) and Flamengo (Flah-main-gow). The lead church planter couple is Pr. Tiago (Chee-ah-gow) and his wife Ana Flávia (Ah-nah Flah-vee-ah). The church is now running between 40 to 50 people and has four small groups meeting during the week. This area is less than 1% evangelized. The church has just gone through a time of really growing in leadership training and they feel the Lord has been preparing them for a time of harvest. Recently the church discovered that a major evangelistic outreach is being planned on the beach area, which is located on the beach right in front of the major avenue where the church has been meeting for the past 7 months. The crusade organizers are looking for churches in the area to do follow up afterwards. The members of this church will be working as counselors during the crusade and will do follow up on those who live in the area. Please pray for the Botafogo (Bow-tah-fow-gow) Rio (Ree-oh) Crusade on September 26 and 27. Pray especially as this young church follows up on those who live in the area who will be making decisions for Christ.

Church start in Barra

2009-08-10T20:48:00.000-03:00

Several years ago those of you who have been praying for our people segment were asked to pray for a church start in the Barra (Bah-ha) area of Rio (Ree-oh). Unfortunately, that attempt fell through. The Lord has raised up a young couple who God has put a desire on their hearts to make a new attempt in Barra (Bah-ha) to begin a new church. They have already moved to the area and have seen two people come to know the Lord. Though they are in the planning stages they plan on beginning a small group in their home soon. Please pray for Pr. Armando and his wife Camila as they have sensed God’s leading them to begin a church in this area.

Course Completed

2009-05-14T08:42:00.000-03:00

Thanks for all your prayers. I (Elena) turned everything in on Monday night for my course. I have 9 more courses to go to finish my Masters.

We have continued to enjoy having Vovó and Vovô Key here. Last night we went to the Seminary Chapel where we attended a wonderful service for ex-students of Jerry and Johnnie. It was very special to see the impact of their ministries even after so many years after their retirement. It was a very moving service for me personally. Johnnie played the prelude and Jerry preached a fantastic message on "Finishing Well." Please pray for them as Jerry will be speaking pretty much every day until they go to Vitória and there will also be speaking as well.

Jonathan is right in the middle of his final. Please pray for him.

Cristina found a job in Fort Worth and we thank God for that.

Orla Sul update

2009-05-09T16:37:00.000-03:00

At Orla Sul, we had a special "Family" day on Sunday where we spent the day together at a rented place with a pool and area for soccer. There were about 115 people present and we had 5 baptisms. Guy did the baptisms. There was a sweet atmosphere of fellowship. The candidate for pastor and wife were there and he brought a great message on the family. He then had the families stand together in groups and pray. It was very moving. Please be in prayer as 2 Sundays from now the church will vote on this candidate to come on as the new pastor of Orla Sul.

Elena is on the last leg or trying to finish her course. Monday will be the final day. Prayers are much appreciated.

Updates, Praises and Prayer Requests

2009-04-24T20:12:00.000-03:00

Guy's parents arrived safe and sound here in Brazil yesterday. They had a good trip and were able to sleep on the plane. It wasn't too comfortable but that is normal. We are so glad to have them here for about 5 weeks. Pray for them as they have several planned events during the weeks they will be here.

We are doing well. I (Elena) am still working hard on my seminary course. I have a lot to turn in by the end of the semester on May 11th. I have enjoyed the course and have learned a lot.

Guy is doing fine and is busy with all his work. He just had his yearly Cardiology check up and the doctor said everything looks great. Praise the Lord.

We are also beginning to work with a church planter couple who have accepted to plant a church in Barra. They won't actually get started until the end of the year as they need time to transition out of the church where they are. But we are already working with them on training. Please pray for them. We will let you know their names at the appropriate time.

I also continue my work at Orla Rio as the leader for the Bases (5 Purposes). We are getting things more and more organized which has brought some good changes to the church. This past week Tiago was able to renew the contract for 6 more months with the people we rent from. This was a big Praise the Lord.

Please remember Vanessa in prayer as she finishes up this semester. She enjoyed serving as a translator for a mission team recently. It was a great blessing to her.

Marcio and Cristina have moved to the States to further their education. Please pray that God will provide for all their needs. They will not start their studies until the fall semester. They are in Ft. Worth right now. We miss them very much but know they are in God's will.

We are excited about Jonathan and Erin's upcoming wedding and are so thankful they found each other. Pray for them as they study, spend time together, and work on wedding plans. They will be married on January 9, 2010.

We thank each of you who pray for us faithfully.

2008-12-11T10:26:00.000-02:00

Yesterday we had a breakfast for all the church planters in the Greater Rio area. It was a fantastic time of hearing what God is doing through these various leaders and their churches. Three of the churches have already planted the 2nd generation churches and have plans on expanding to plant more. Those who are farther along were an encouragement to those who are just beginning and those who are just beginning inspired with their enthusiasm. It was exciting to hear their reports of what God is doing through their efforts. There was mutual encouragement overall and it was exciting to see the fellowship and mutual understanding of those who have sacrificed and given their lives to see the birth of a new church.

Orla Rio in a new location

2008-12-03T16:27:00.000-02:00

In August we asked you to pray for Orla Rio Baptist Church as the church needed urgently a new meeting place since the space they had been meeting in was very small. Tiago, the pastor, was able to have a meeting with the owner of a Medical University who is a Christian and agreed to rent the auditorium space to the church. They settled on a six month contract which is something the church never had in the 16 other locations in which we have met. In these other locations it was on a week by week basis. We have been there for a month and in conjunction with the worship services have had several special events. We had many non-Christians participating. This new location is in a strategic area and in an area that with easy access to the public. There is a new excitement among the members and we are excited about what God is doing. Continue to pray as this is one of the most difficult areas of Rio, right in the heart of South Zone. The most important factor is persistence in trying to win these people to the Lord. Check out the pictures of several recent events at Orla Rio.

2008-10-09T13:07:00.000-03:00

We had a meeting last night with a pastor and his wife who are leaving their church of ten years and are open to what God would have them do. We challenged them to begin a church in the section of Rio called Recreio. They already live there. They are not sure if they should begin a church or seek another pastorate. Please be in prayer for them as they try to understand God's will.

2008-10-08T15:10:00.000-03:00

Our trip to São Paulo was very good. We had meetings with various church planters, church leaders and possible church planters. The Julian's church plant is going well. Zoe Marajoara is their house church from where the students are encouraged to go and make a purposeful friendship with at least one non-believer. They are running 12 to 15 people. They hope to have 2 baptisms by the end of the year. Tamboré is a satellite of Zoe in a suburb of São Paulo at a University which also has a high school and middle school. They are attracting not only college students but also high school students. We also met with Pr. Samuel who has started a church in an area called Granja Viana. His work is going well. They meet in a store front building in a commercial area. He works in a full-time government position which opens many doors for him. We met with Pr. Valter and Lídia who have a desire to begin a new church. They are still praying as to where God wants them to begin this work. We also met with Pr. Guilherme, one of the pastors of Nações Unidas Baptist Church. We talked about the need to share the vision with other pastors of the great task of trying to reach this target group of people. We came out of this trip with some names of areas of the city where new work needs to be started. Tatuapé (Tah-too-ah-PAY), Anália Franco (Ah-NAH-lee-ah FRAHN-koh), Vergueiro/Paulista (Vehr-GAY-roh), Alto da Lapa (AHL-tow dah LAH-pah), Cantareira (Kahn-tah-RAY-rah), Horto (HOHR-tow), Alto de Santana (AHL-tow day Sahn-TAHN-nah), Alto da Mooca (AHL-tow dah MOH-kah). Please begin to pray with us for these specific places in São Paulo.

2008-09-22T10:31:00.000-03:00

Guy and I are flying to São Paulo City tomorrow for a two-day trip. In São Paulo, a city of 19 million people, there are 2.5 million professionals who we are targeting to share the gospel of Christ. The task is overwhelming. This city has high rise after high rise buildings. It is huge. Since we don't live in this city it makes it even more difficult to target these people. We do have one strong church planted there which is Nações Unidas Baptist Church (see their website in the list). We will be meeting with their pastor to begin talking about what can be done to begin new works. We will also be meeting with the Julians who are starting a church among university students. You can visit their website to accompany their work. We will also be making contacts with other pastors and leaders to begin dialogue as to how we can get other churches started. We spent 14 years of our missionary career in the state of São Paulo. We have a love for this state and specifically for this city. We still have a lot of contacts among Bapitsts pastors from those years spent there. We will need to seek their help in order to see many new churches planted. Please be in prayer for us and for the tremendous task that exists in this city.

Méier Church Plant

2008-08-20T11:50:00.000-03:00

On Sunday night we participated in the baptism worship service of the Carioca Baptist Church in the Méier section of Rio. This is a Purpose Driven church that is 3 years old and reaches out to the Professionals in this area. Pr. Washington and his wife were in the group we took to Saddleback Church in 2002. God has blessed and the church now has 530 members with over 40 small groups meeting throughout the week. They have had baptisms once a month as God has continually blessed with new conversions through the emphasis on personal evangelism given in the church. As Pastor Washington says, "We work, work, work to reach people and God has blessed." They were the sponsoring church for the Méier church plant led by Pr. Leonir and his wife Andréia which we trained. This plant is going well and has an attendance of about 20 people. One of the persons baptized was a woman who was reached by this new church plant. The photo displays Pr. Leonir baptizing her with Pr. Washington in the back. Please continue to pray for these churches.

2008-08-18T15:53:00.000-03:00

On Saturday we met up with Tiago and Ana Flavia from Orla Rio Baptist Church at a pool area as they had invited two other couples to come hang out. One of the couples consists of a woman who is a new Christian and her non-Christian husband, who has yet to attend the church. Tiago has been trying to befriend him for some time. The good news is that recently he agreed to get officially married. They have lived together for many years and have set the date for December. They have had a tough road as they lost one of their twin girls to cancer last year but it was this tragedy that caused this woman to commit her life to Christ. There is much prejudice against evangelicals and many times one has to prove himself to be genuine and demonstrate Christ in practical ways through friendship.
On Sunday morning we got a text message from Tiago saying that the church would be meeting at another location since the space they normally rent was rented out from under them. This was done even though Tiago had reserved the place for the rest of the year. This is part of the prejudice that we face in this area of Rio. Many of these places do not want churches to rent from them. In the midst of all this Tiago brought an excellent message about persisting and working hard to fulfill the dreams that God has for us. He said that the events of the day served only to show us that we can't give up but must work hard in order to reach others for Christ. The church needs urgently a new meeting place since this space where they have been meeting is very small anyway. Tiago has been talking with the people at another location where the church had its official organization yet were not allowed to stay because they were a church. He is trying to talk to them. Please be in prayer that God would open up the right meeting place.
They now have 4 small groups meeting during the week and with the Billy Graham campaign the goal is to double the number to 8 small groups. The strategy involves televising on a major network the crusade instead of filling a stadium and have people invite others into their homes to watch the program. This way these people will be automatically plugged in to a small group and consequently a church. This will be done nationwide and will reach many more people than what can fill a stadium. The dates for this are 6, 7 and 8 of November. Please be praying for this as well.

Fifteen New Church Plants Needed in Rio

2008-08-06T19:32:00.000-03:00

Today we had a meeting with one of our leaders of the IMB (International Mission Board). We talked about the tremendous challenge that is before us. When we first moved to Rio in 1998, our goal was to see 5 new churches planted in the beach front areas of Rio. We discovered that planting churches in this area is much more difficult than we imagined due to oppression, materialism, apathy, prejudice, love of pleasure, and the list goes on. Out of the six attempts in this specific area only two have made it - Orla Sul Baptist Church in Leblon and Orla Rio Baptist Church in Flamengo. In other areas of Rio we have two ongoing church plants - Vila da Penha and Méier. Our goal for Rio is 15 new church starts. We do not lose heart but are encouraged. We are trusting God to raise up churches to begin these new starts as well as finding church planters willing and able to take the risk. We ask that you pray with us that God would open the right doors.

Church Planter in Rio Grande do Sul

2008-08-02T18:39:00.000-03:00

Alongside our work of mentoring church planters in the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, God has given us the opportunity to train and mentor church planters in other areas of Brazil. One of these is Pr. Rogério and his wife Marisa. They work in a very difficult area of Brazil, in the southernmost state of Brazil - Rio Grande do Sul. Elena's parents began their missionary service in this state. This is where Elena's three siblings were born.

God has blessed his efforts in the midst of many challenges and few resources. He has been able to recruit and lead a team of missionaries working in three fronts of new church plants. The other two couples are Pr. Delton & Fátima (in Vila Jardim), Eduardo and Tatiana (in Gravataí). The three fronts are Rubem Berta, Vila Jardim and Gravataí. We had phone contact with Pr. Rogério this past week and it is exciting what God is doing through these families. Please be praying for Marisa's health as she has had some health issues. Pray also for God to send the financial resources for these families.

Lambach Family

2008-07-30T21:41:00.000-03:00

Today we went to the airport to be with part of the Lambach family who were returning to Brazil. They are missionaries in Belém and Elaine passed away in Belém from an infection on July 14 at age 49 leaving her husband, Paul and 5 children. Joseph (22) is in the Marine Corps. Jonathan (21) is in college at Union University. David (17) just graduated from high school and will go off to college in another week to Tennessee to try out for goal keeper of the soccer team - his mother would have been accompanying him on this trip back to get him settled in. Paul and the girls will leave for a 6 month Stateside Assignment in December. Missionaries are like family to each other. The picture is of the Senior Recognition at our Annual Meeting of missionaries for David.

Please pray for this family in the many challenges ahead...

Our Family

2008-07-30T00:35:00.001-03:00

In the slide show at the top you can view our family. Jonathan is our oldest. He is a salesman at a department store in Fort Worth, is working on an MBA, and also is helping develop an apartment ministry where he lives with another young man. Cristina is married to Márcio, our son-in-law. She works at a tourist agency in Rio and is also a pastor's wife. Márcio is pastor of Orla Sul Baptist Church. Vanessa is 14 and will begin 9th grade.

Conference with Rick Warren in São Paulo

2008-07-26T13:16:00.001-03:00

Thank you for your prayers for the Rick Warren event in Brasil...God really used him...Carlito (our purpose-driven leader for Brasil) did a fantastic job with the organization of the event...he called on people to be involved in the Global PEACE Plan...the P stands for PROMOTING RECONCILIATION THROUGH PLANTING NEW CHURCHES.

We were glad to see several of our IMB personnel at the event. We saw many of our church planters from around Brasil at the event as well. God is using PD church planting to really impact Brasil.

Pray for Rick as he is in Buenos Aires this weekend...then Uruguay, Colombia and Mexico...God is using this servant in a mighty way.

2008-07-19T20:58:00.000-03:00

We have just returned from our Stateside Assignment in the U.S. and we created this blog so that those of you who pray for our ministry can know how to pray. Here are some prayer requests for now.

Pray for the new churches that were established during our last term of service:

In the city of Rio de Janeiro: Orla Rio Baptist Church (formerly know as Orla Sul Flamengo) website - http://orlario.org/
In the city of São Paulo: Igreja Batista Nações Unidas website - http://www.ibnu.org.br/

Pray for other church plants in progress that were started during our last term:

In the city of Rio de Janeiro: Meier Project (church planters Leonir and Andréia) and Vila da Penha Project (church planters Cícero and Nádia)
In the city of São Paulo: Zoe Marajoara (the Julian family IMB representatives in São Paulo reaching university students) http://concretejunglebrazil.blogspot.com/

Also on our team are Jeff and Sharon Renard working with Celebrate Recovery Ministry.
http://renards-n-rio.blogspot.com/