Our trip to the shopping center!!!

Last Monday we took our niece and nephew, Mariah and Cassiano, to visit Santa Claus at the shopping center. They are only 18 months old, and they were really afraid of Santa! With them we are practicing to be parents! Check out the pictures! :)

Cassiano is not happy about it! He is not understanding anything! ;)

Mariah couldn't stay at Santa's lap, she needed to call her mommy Carlota to take the picture!

We also couldn't resist, as we don't have any pictures with Santa when we were kids!

Mariah was terrified by Santa! These mothers like to obligate the kids to take pictures!

Cassiano also needed his mommy Patrícia to take the picture, he also cries whe he sees Santa!

He didn't last 10 seconds on Santa's lap! He's thinking "Get me away from this crazy guy!"

Now you know a little bit more about our Brazilian family, these two little kids are very special for us! We want to be there for them, and be an influence and example for them to follow Jesus! They mean hope for us! We imagine that they can do great things and make a difference in the lives of people who and will surround them!

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these". (Mark 10:14)

Habitat for Humanity in São Leopoldo

Once upon a time in São Leopoldo (metro area of Porto Alegre) three little princesses lived in a very poor house like this one. One day, a group of Christians from many different denominations got together and decided to do something to make a difference in their lives.

This group of people are from Habitat for Humanity, above you can see Matt translating for them. They are Christians from different parts of the world, mostly USA, getting together to build houses for humanity. Instead of going on vacation, they travel to serve others!

In March I took a Saturday to help them to communicate with the real construction workers and a young engineer. I helped them to carry some bricks and also played with the three little princesses in the house, all the family was involved!

This is Pat, he came all the way from the USA with his wife just to serve and work hard, really hard! And he didn't need to speak Portuguese, there were times that he could communicate just with a glance, or some gesture! The universal language there was solidarity!

This is his wife, she is also Pat! They stayed in São Leopoldo for a week, and will be remembered for much longer in this family!

These are the three little princesses of the house! They were soooo happy with so many volunteers speaking different languages... But the important thing is that they will be fine and have more quality of life. They will have dignity!

This is the team of volunteers with the Brazilian family and the construction workers! Together they could do wonders, even raising up walls!

At the same time 39 houses were being built , after Easter more 240 houses were built this year in São Lepoldo, involving hundreds of Volunteers like Pat and Pat St. George!

I thank all of them for doing this. It is not easy. I just worked translating for them for 1 single day, and of course I helped by carrying bricks, by the end of the day I was so tired that I slept for 14 hours...

The three little princesses helped a lot, too! If I was tired after a day, can you imagine how tired they were? Maybe not. They were sooooo excited about having a new home that they might have forgotten to be tired!

This picture was taken yesterday, 7 months after. Adrielle (10 yrs old) is on the left, Adrianne (13 yrs old) is on the right. The house is ready! The princesses have their castle now! :)

Here it is! After an initial work of 40 days, with different groups working every week, and continued work by the Brazilians, it's finished! Together we can make a difference! I am happy that I could have a small part in this house! I am really motivated to work more in the future, and make more difference! We can work wonders in the name of Jesus!

"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another" 1 Peter 4:10

Couple's meeting / fourth Edition

Bossa Nova show!

Renato & Branda
Moema & Roberto
Davi & Kátia
The Signorets


Benay & Kevin
César & Viviane

Lorena & Lauro

Me & my cake!










Saturday, we had our fourth couple's meeting with the help of Branda and Renato. We used the parlor of our building. We had less couple's this time, 8 couples! But the good thing is that we had 2 couple's visiting; Davi and Kátia, my English students, and César and Viviane, friends of ours, they had us over for a barbecue when my mon and sister in law were visiting !

Love wins!!!

This is Carolina Crippa, we just had a farewell party for her at the company. She was learning English for a romantic reason, she is going to marry an American from New Jersey. They had been dating for three years, and finally after all the bureocracy they will get married and be together. I'm glad I can be part of this romantic story by teaching her to say lovely words to her future husband. I really appreciate this couple for overcoming all the difficulties and distance to be together, they prove that when there is true love, there are no barries!!! :))) I'm sooo happy for them! I told her to look for a church of Christ to make friends and get some support, it is her first time in the US, and the adaptation can be difficult! Please pray for this new couple! We are going to try to meet in December, as New Jersey is closer to West Virginia. I always try to do more than my duty for my students! :) We are starting a beautiful friendship!

This is my english group of one of the companies I work for. We were having a farewell party for Carolina. We are sooooo happy for her.

The group is doing great, they are all systems analysts and programmers, so they need English to work. It is a really nice group to work with! And then there were 4! I really like to work with this group, but sometimes I need to be strict when they are not studying enough. By the way, they're still waiting for the Bibles in English!

Our couple's ministry continues!

Hi, this is Davi, he is my English student. He was presented here before. This last Saturday, Matt and I had dinner with Davi and his wife Cátia. We had a great time together. We also invited them to visit us at the next couple's meeting on November 17th. They were really optimists about it. They are both very intelligent and open mind. Cátia works for a Dutch company for hair products called Keune, she is a technician. Next year I am going to work for this company to teach English to hair professionals, as they have to travel to have courses abroad, that is being a pretty big project for me right now, as I am preparing my own English book for this purpose. God has opened many doors for me since I started to use my gift and acquaitances to serve and glorify the name of Jesus! I ask you to pray that our relationship with this couple grow! And also pray for their relationship as a couple!

Bible Campaign

I was talking to Jennifer Terry, and I found out the she also has a study group in English at her home, she is teaching English using the Holy Bible, she is teaching Moema and Roberto, they're new members and they are interested in learning about Jesus and also to study English. I believe it is a blessing for Jennifer to be part of it. So it rang me a bell! :)
It is me again with another idea. Christmas is on the way, it would be a great opportunity for me to give mini new testament bibles for my students, and I could offer a free class (maybe Matt can help) to read with them one of the gospels, maybe John would be a good one to start. Their interest in English plus a mini bible from the States could make a big difference. I know most churches distribute mini bible for possible future members to introduce Jesus. Would it be possible to separate some and send to me? Now, I have about 20 students and Jennifer is expecting more students after Christmas, maybe 5. They are all adults and workers, from middle class families. I believe that with such an ecouragement we can have a new English group for a Bible study class! If you want to help us with some mini-bibles please write to Matt or to me at: waleskapauls@globo.com
We are here to serve!!!

Meet my students!!

These are Felipe and Alex, they are computer programmers.Our class is on Tuesday and Thursday at noon, after class they have 30 min for lunch. they studied together for a few months, and then Felipe left to work in another company. Alex is the one wearing glasses , he is very smart and has an advanced English, right now he is studying with another student, Rafael who is also a computer programmer. Great news, I will have this group over next Friday night for a pizza and a game night in English. Matt will help me with that. I will have more students coming. I will take more pictures to show you later! :)

This is one of my study groups, their names are Rita, Graziela, Gustavo and Éder (on the computer). I go to where they work, our class is on Mondays and Wednesdays at 12:30 , they have just 30 min for lunch before class. It is a good group, the English is basic, and they are getting better everyday. It is a computer software company, they are systems analysts, so they need English to have better opportunities in the job market. I like my work because I see them growing proffessionaly, and I know that I was part of this growth. Matt also visits this group once in a while to check their English and talk about our mission in Brazil.

And this is Fábio. He is 26 years old, from São Paulo. He was transferred to Porto Alegre to work as a System analyst. But it is not his dream. He really wants to be a tour guide. We have fun studying English, he is very forgetful and never on time, however he has changed lately; once I got home just in time to teach him, and he was already in my living room waiting for me , he had arrived half an hour earlier for the class, and when I get home, he was playing chess with Matt, and it was difficult to take him out of the game. I believe a seed was planted in that moment, maybe it is the beginning of a friendship!

Couples' meeting October 6

In my opinion, one of the most important ministries in a church is strong marriages. That's where the church is first attacked by the enemy. Unfortunately nobody on the Porto Alegre team was willing to invest in it, because they were already busy with other ministries plus family. I had already volunteered to help, but I soon realized that my help would be taking the leadership. After inviting a few couples to lead a class and having "no" as an answer, Matt and I realized that God might have chosen us for this. I thought, "How come!! We 've just been married for 1 year and half! " So, we went to a Brazilian Christian store and searched for materials and activities for couples, it took just a day to study and prepare a nice class. We had the help of a very nice couple Branda and Renato. Since they work a lot during the week, they decided not to give the first class, but they provided the house , the food, and the invitations, we had three Brazilian couples acting out some situations , and that was all we needed. Together with Matt, I could use my teaching skills to lead a communication game. I felt that Matt and I have a lot of harmony working together. God really guided us in this meeting! We had 14 couples. They all had a good time, and we learned together about communication! By the way - We were the youngest couple at that meeting , they were all married for at least 10 years, and at most 25 years. It was a great experience for me. By preparing these classes, I have been learning to be a better wife to my husband. The feedback was great. Now we are going to teach more couples to lead future classes, by showing them our material, and supporting them in this ministry. We had a great time! everybody enjoyed and learned from and with us! Even with non-Christian couples we used the Bible as a basis to confirm everything we were talking about!
I hope God has touched some hearts in that meeting! :) Please, pray for this ministry! Next meeting will be a romantic dinner with candles and a singer (we have a member who is a singer in a restaurant). Next year, after vacation time we are commiting to have these meetings once a month. Our plan is: Communication, finances, sex. We started with communication, because without it we can't work out the other two areas! :) The missionary team in Viamão has gladly supported us, and helped us in this ministry Rui & Nádia Diogo, and Mark & Juaneila White!

Women's retreat September 28-29-30

Hi, Last weekend we had the women's retreat. It happens once a year. We had about 20 women. Jennifer and Benay did a good job planning the retreat. I collaborated having a study group and working with an ice-breaker acitivity. It is always important to renew our spiritual energies and be closer to our sister in Christ! Check the photos! :)

This is Juaneila. We have many things in commom. She is a missionary in Viamão with her husband Mark White. She has supported me to work more in this mission with my husband. It' s nice to have someone like her around, it is hard for me to understand what do to by myself. God has put angels in my way!

This was my study group at the retreat, they are (from the left to the right) Juaneila, Daisy, Valéria and Rosana. Rosana goes to the church that meets in the Blumes' house. Jú is a missionary with her husband Mark White in the city of Viamão. Valéria and Daisy attend a house church in their neighborhood near Viamão.

This is Valquíria , she was our cook in this retreat. She used to work for Matt and Paul. Now she attends the church in the city of Viamão, actually, she has a house church at her home, and they had about 6 baptisms within her family recently (Great blessing!). She is also a good friend of mine! :)

My Idea!!!

I have thought of ways to be a blessing for my students, I know I am just an English teacher and I have to do my job, but you know, a Christian does more than just a job. So I was wondering if you could help me with my ministry by being online missionaries. I mean, you could exchange e-mails with one of my students, it would be a way for them to practice their English with native Americans, and beyond this, they would be in contact with Christians, and you could know more about them, pray for them, and stimulate them to participate in a church (our house-church, :) ). So they would gain much more. Can you imagine what a blessing is to be a missionary nowadays with the help of technology? I think it would make a great difference for my life as a Christian-missionary and for God! You could write about your life as a Christian, your story, your testimony, how you became a Christian. And they could come to me to help them to translate and respond it. It would open many doors for God. Well, it is just an idea, I believe there are no frontiers for the love of God. Please think carefully and give me your opinion. Would you adopt someone to be your e-pal?

my students!

Hi, This is Davi. He is a civil servant and he is a very dedicated student. His son lives in Sydney, Australia. He's learning English to visit his son in the future and because he likes to study. He is a great student and he's learning fast. We meet once a week and study for two hours, we just speak English during this time. We study hard, grammar, speaking, llistening, we watch videos and American culture, besides we have a lot of fun!! He is married with Kátia, she works with imported cosmetic products. She started to study English with Davi but she gave up - she is also a university student and it was too much of a time commitment for her, so she hopes to return to our classes in the future.

more students

These are Maria Foster and Luis Roncato, they have been studying English for 1 year, they are able to communicate in English very well now. When they travel to other countries they even write me postcards in English, it is really rewarding for me to know that I am part of it. Luis and Maria are both psychologists, we study in Luis' office. They really like the class, it is twice a week in the afternoon between their appointments with their patients. It is a good way for them to get away from work for a while. Sometimes we go to a cafeteria to practice English and chat. They are catholic, but they are not going to any church as far as I know. They know I am a Christian, and whenever they want to know about our church in Porto Alegre, they are welcome. I introduced Matt to them and my husband could explain more about his missionary work. So they know we are there for them. Their English is getting better and better, so after a while we can open a bible study class in English and invite them. What do you think?
I love their personality, they are always happy, making jokes, willing to learn, they're awesome! We always have a great time together. I hope God blesses this relationship now and in the future. All I am doing as a Christian is making myself available through my work.

Waleska's work and ministry

Hi, my name is Waleska, and I am Matt's wife. When I met my husband I wasn't a missionary, I worked in a school as an English teacher, I also worked as a translator for some companies. This way I was able to meet lots of interesting and different people. So after I married Matt I decided to continue working with English, teaching, translating, and meeting people. Working at the church next to my husband would limit my acquaitances. This way I can invite more people to come to us, and to God! I still contribute at the church organizing the couple's meeting, I invite speakers, I check the date and place of each meeting, organize favors, etc. :) There's always time to serve God!

So, little by little, I will introduce my students, people I work with during the week.

This lady in the picture is Mrs. Blanka Kronfeld Muller. I teach her Portuguese twice a week. She is 95 years old (Amazing!!!!) . She was born in Vienna, she emigrated to New York during the 2nd world war to escape from persecutions as she is Jewish. Now she is a widow and as she had no children, her nephew in Brazil takes care of her along with his family. In New York, she worked as a Social Worker. We became very good friends, and she doesn't mind if I am a Christian, I talk about Jesus, I do my part as a Christian, and she respects that. We became very good friends, she's doing great with her Portuguese, sometimes she just wants to speak English, so I let her lead the class. She also speaks French and German. I learn a lot from her, she always tells me things about her past and her history. And she corrects my accent too. :)

I know that working for this family will somehow be fruitful for God! I would never meet these people if it weren't for this work.

Love in Jesus,

Waleska Rehbein