Dad' Day Cook-off & Land Dedication!

DAD'S DAY COOK-OFF & LAND DEDICATION


What a great day we had yesterday at First AG in Siloam Springs. It was our 2nd Annual Dad's Day Cook-off. We had cars, trucks, jeeps, and motorcycles lined up to see on our new property. There were also several who were doing their best to win bragging rights with their special grilled meats. This event is so much fun. It is a way to honor what father's love most ~ meat, cars, family & friends. We were honored to have Mayor David Allen, City Administrator David Cameron and Chief Police Joe Garrett as our official judges in the cook-off. Each one said they wanted to be a part of our 3rd Annual Cook-off next year. Plans are underway!

Yesterday was also a special day because we had our Land Dedication as well. All the events were held on our new property located at 2909 Cheri Whitlock here in Siloam Springs. It was our first official service & event to be held at the property. Everyone was very excited to be able to "put their feet" on the property. I shared a message "Possessing the Promises of God". At the end of the message, each person was given a small dram container that was filled with dirt from the property. I asked each one to take it and put it in their pocket, purse or a visible place so it would remind them to pray for the piece of property God had given to us. It was an amazing day. I am excited to see what God has for us in the future.

A special thanks goes out to everyone who made it a huge success. Because it was held on the property, there was a lot of work and planning that went into it. Tents, chairs, electric power, tables, food, drinks, sound, stage, security, greeters, ushers, parking attendants, judging, set-up/tear down and so much more. What a great group of people we have at First AG in Siloam Springs. You are the best!!!!

Back Home

Well, I made it back home from my trip to Brazil. It was an amazing time and I am so thankful for the work being done there for the Kingdom of God. Mark and Helba Lemos are the missionaries that are living in Pindamonhangaba (I call it Pinda for short) Brazil. It is a city of about 150,000 people. The Bible School has an enrollment between 100-150 students. Their Distant Education has an enrollment of over 8,000. Wow, God is doing wonderful things.
(Photo: Raymond Frizzelle, Mark Little,
Gary Wheat & Missionary Mark Lemos)

The trip home was an overnight flight. Our plane actually was delayed 3 hours and we ended up leaving at 12:40am. One thing that was interesting to me was how all Brazilians stopped everything on Tuesday at 3pm to watch Brazil's first game in the World Cup Soccer Match. They love their "futebol". We were standing in the airport when the Brazilian team scored their first goal and you would have thought they had already won the World Cup. People when absolutely nuts. They did end up winning the game against North Korea and everyone went wild. It was interesting.

The trip was really good and we are planning a trip for September to go back. Our church had funded the building of two churches in the Amazon and we are taking a team back to see them. I will also be preaching in the two churches we built. While we are there we will also be helping to install water filtration systems in some of the local villages. The systems will help filter the water from bacteria and other harmful items found in the water. Right now there will be 11 people from First AG taking that journey.
(Photo: "Christ The Redeemer Statue" in Rio)

It is good to see what God is doing, but it is also great to be back home. As I was going through customs and immigration at DFW, I heard some wonderful words from the immigration officer...."Welcome Home Sir!"


Missions is the heart of God and I am thankful that He has allowed me and First AG to make an impact across the street and across the sea.

Brazil Continued ~ Rio De Janeiro

A Day In Rio De Janeiro

Well, this is day three on for our Brazil trip and we left this morning from Pinda and headed on a four hour journey to Rio De Janeiro. Today was a day that we set back and enjoyed an overnight trip to take in the beauty of Rio. After checking into our hotel and getting a bite to eat, we headed to "Sugar Loaf Mountain". It is a mountain that overlooks Rio and the Atlantic Ocean. What beauty of God our creator. All creation calls that God is the one and only.

To get to the top of Sugar Loaf, you have to take two "gondola" to the top. Missionary Mark Lemos timed it just right so that we would be up on top of the mountain for the sun setting over the bay area in Rio. It was beautiful. Photos will have to come later due to the fact I left my camera transfer cable in Pinda.

Mark has been a great host on the trip. Tomorrow we will get up early and take in the "Christ the Redeemer" statue. This is the statue that is seen in photos of Rio. Afterwords, we will head back to Pinda where Helba, Mark's wife, will fix a Brazilian dinner and we will hear a final presentation of the Distant Education Project of the Bible School. The Bible School's Distance Education is reaching over 8,000 students. WOW!!!!!! They have over 8,000 students that are being trained through Distant Education of the Bible. It is incredible how they are reaching and training people to do the work of the ministry. It is exciting.

Thanks for your prayers for this family and the Bible School. God is doing great things and we feel honored to have a part.

Brazil Trip

Well, I left yesterday afternoon from XNA to begin my journey to Pinda Brazil to be with Missionaries Mark & Helba Lemos. They are friends of ours and also missionaries that our church supports on a monthly basis. Mark invited some pastors come to and be a part of launching a new project for their Bible School. It's always exciting to be a part of what God is doing. I hope to journal/blog each day and its events.

Today we landed around 6:30 local time. It was a 10hr overnight flight from DFW. The flight wasn't bad and I was able to do quite a bit of reading. Mark met us at the airport in Sao Paulo and after going through customs we made it to our hotel in Pinda. We rested for a bit and then Mark pick us up for lunch and then to the Bible School in Pinda. We were given a tour of the Bible School and it has grown quite a bit since I was here 14 yrs ago. God has truly blessed the work here in Pinda.

Tonight we are having Chapel Communion Service and Mark Little will be preaching. Mark pastors a great church in Elk City, OK.

Looking forward to seeing what God has in store as we become part of the vision that He has given to Mark and Helba Lemos. I'll keep updating the journey as I can. Thank you for your prayers for us and also the great work that is taking place here in Pinda.