News Update August 2008

Hi everyone

We’ve had many opportunities to practise our Portuguese over the last few weeks without actually being in Brazil: a visit to Mozambique, catching up with Brazilian friends based here in England and also receiving guests from Brazil.

June 20-22- We attended a Kairos conference at the Wycliffe Centre near High Wycombe. This was a great opportunity to meet and share with friends old and new from the Kairos family. We were particularly pleased that Levy and Deborah were able to attend and helped us with a presentation of news from Kairos Brazil. Other nations included Germany, USA, Romania, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Levy and Deborah recently visited Iceland and are praying over an open door to take the Kairos course to Reykjavik.

June 27^th, Jan travelled with Linda Harding to facilitate THE FIRST Kairos course in Mozambique at Maforga Mission Base , near Chimoi, inland from Beira and the SECOND at the SIL base at Nampula. It was particularly exciting to be working in Folk-Muslim areas of Mozambique where there are many unreached and least people groups. Three young Mozambicans, orphans from the Civil War (which ended in 1992), took part and shared their desire to take the gospel cross -culturally to other tribes in the North of Mozambique and also into other countries.

Our Brazilian friend, Pr Alexandre who works with Pronasce, a Brazilian NGO working in Portuguese speaking nations and who is a strong advocate of Kairos, gave Jan an introduction to Pr Paulo, who is working with Pronasce near Beira. We fully expect to build on these Brazilian/Mozambican contacts in the future. Alexandre is going to accompany us to the International Kairos conference in Thailand in October 2008.

The second course was conducted using English, Portuguese and German materials and included missionaries from New Zealand, Germany, South Africa, UK, and Mozambique. The experience of praying with detailed, first hand information for unreached peoples in Mozambique was very powerful. We are also praying for Mozambican missionaries to be mobilised in Mozambique and to beyond its political borders.

Growth point groups play an important part in a Kairos course-this is probably my first group with 5 different nationalities together and definitely the first with cashew nut trees in the background!

Domestic flight timetable changes presented Jan with a significant challenge to connect with the Air France flight from Johannesburg.

An amazing answer to prayer meant she travelled business class to Maputo and also gained 12 hours with friends, Graham and Nicola in Johannesburg!

It was a privilege to facilitate the first Kairos course in Brazil in April 2007 and then the first course in Mozambique in 2008. We continue to pray for the gradual unfolding of the WHOLE Brazil and Beyond project and fully expect to be back in Mozambique in the near future. Especially as our close friends Julian and Annie Bullen will soon be living and working with the Koti people near to Angoche, Moz, for one year. We also are currently working on the possibility of some Taster courses in Portugal in early September and have started to pray about an opening into Angola! A Brazilian friend who has already completed Kairos with us is travelling there this month.

In late July, Pastor Cesar and Nubia from Rio de Janeiro visited the UK with their Picture5opt

sons, Daniel and Lucas. We had a great time walking round Wisley Gardens with them and Stuart and Jayne Lindsell. Later that day Jan translated for Nubia at a gathering which included 3 other Brazilian friends- sorry no photo here of Marcos – Levy is on right (translated for Cesar) and Deborah is on left next to Nubia.

This occasion certainly strengthened the concept of the 2-way Bridge between the UK and Brazil as we joined to pray for the area of Jacarepagua in Rio where Cesar and his family live and work. We have already run 2 Kairos courses there and along with Cesar, are planning more for Nov/Dec, 08.

Another opportunity to host Brazilian friends and build the bridge of relationship occurred when Reuel, the son of Julio and Elizete from CMA church in Goiania, stayed with us for a week in late July.

We also attended the Brazilian/ English wedding of Wagner and Iona in Knaresborough. They have already offered their help with Kairos and local arrangements in Rio de Janeiro.

We were able to combine our trip North with a visit to Leeds where we started the Kairos Facilitator training for another Brazilian couple, Edjmilson and Giovanna (see right). They recently completed Kairos in Berlin as part of their Transform year out. They return to Brazil in early September and expect to continue their training if they can join us in Goiania or Rio OR if we hold a course near their home city- another state capital - Belo Horizonte. Please pray for wisdom as we plan the courses and their locations.

We fly to Goiania, Brazil on September 14^th and start a 5 day intensive course on Wednesday 17^th. This will be followed by a set of courses with a longer format to make the course more accessible. During this period we will train more facilitators and in particular will be working with Sal da Terra, Victory Church and CMA. In Mid October we will be taking part in the Kairos International Consultation in Thailand. In early November we will continue working with Apascentar and Povo Santo churches in Rio de Janeiro and expect to return to Farnham in mid December.

Please pray about how you might be able to invest in Kairos to see the spread of the gospel to as yet unreached peoples through holistic projects. As yet we still do not have sufficient financial support to complete the next stage of the Brazil and Beyond project. Our Stewardship Services reference number is 20037605. (Click here to download the Stewardship Form)

Please pray for God to lead us and guide us and OPEN the right doors
Please pray for God appointments: to meet the right people at the right time
Please pray for our health and safety and for our family
Please pray for the unreached peoples of Brazil and Mozambique

With our love and thanks for partnering with us

Duncan and Jan Weir, 09/08/2008