Go Global

 

Featured Mission:
Brazil

We have three Brazilian missionaries, their families,
and their ministries to keep in prayer.

First up: Isaias dos Santos and the Youth Recovery Center. 

Isaias was born in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He and his wife of 18 years, Claudia, live in Porto Alegre. They have two children: Evelyn (17), who is studying to be a nurse technician, and Jonathas (10yrs). Both of Isaias’ parents are pastors and the founders of the Youth Recovery Center where Isaias currently serves as the ministry’s director. Youth Recovery Center’s mission statement is: “Drug users transformed into men useful to God and society.” Youth Recovery Center has two locations that can house up to 40 men. The main location in Alvorada can house 25 men in recovery. The Aguas Claras community can house 15 men.

We asked Isaias to tell us a favorite testimony from the past year. Joyfully, he relayed the following story: “Last month, we had a wonderful moment where seven of our students were baptized. We gathered everyone at the Aguas Claras community and invited their families to the baptism. Many of our alumni came to the event as well and it was so good to see how strong they are and how well they are living. We had a big barbecue and celebration; we had dozens and dozens of people there. I can say it was one of those moments that made all of these years of work worthwhile. It was a beautiful day and we saw God’s hand at work so clearly.”

For full interview of Isaias, click here.

Our next missionary is Josimar Chaves da Silva (Mission CENA).

Josimar is a self-proclaimed “gaucho”[cowboy] from Porto Alegre, Brazil. He has been married to Aline Kelly for three years and he has a beautiful stepdaughter, Isadora (9yrs). The da Silva family live in Sao Paulo currently, but hope to launch a new ministry in his hometown of Porto Alegre in 2018. We asked Josimar when and how he became a Christian and he recounted his story: “My conversion began with the knowledge of God’s love at the end of 2007, when I was going through a recovery process at the Youth Recovery Center in Alvorada, where I had a true encounter with God, in which my life completely changed and I was baptized in June of 2008.”

Shortly after Josimar’s conversion he began to think and pray about dedicating his life to Kingdom expansion. In 2010 he had the opportunity to begin working at Mission CENA. Josimar serves as a social worker and directs youth sports programs. Mission CENA works with prevention (preschool and sports programs for at-risk children), rescue (ministry to the homeless and drug addicts), restoration (therapeutic community for those who want to get off the streets) and reintegration (halfway house where community graduates can live up to two years and receive life coaching while they reestablish themselves with education, work, and family, etc.).

For full interview of Josimar, click here.

Our final featured missionary is Elder Dias Teles (Youth Recovery Center).

Elder and his wife, Elisangela, were both born and raised in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. They’ve been married 10 years and have a son, Eminem Carlos (9yrs). Eminem Carlos loves sports, especially soccer and Tae Kwon Do. Elder went through the Youth Recovery Center program in 2006 at Aguas Claras and became a Christian. He and Elisangela now serve as program coordinators there. His story of redemption reminds us of a quote by Dr. Bethany Haley Williams, “When your greatest heartache becomes your greatest ministry, grace comes full circle.”

Elder says, “The purpose of our Ministry is to bring people who come to Youth Recovery Center to know Jesus Christ. The goal is the restoration of the human being, those who come to us completely destroyed by the abuse of drugs and alcohol. My greatest hope is that this work will continue to save lives, just as it saved mine.”

For full interview of Elder, click here.

Prayer needs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teens, adults, and entire families have served on mission trips sponsored by Fourth Avenue.

Our philosophy is to encourage our  members:

• to pursue areas where they have been already passionately called to serve
  
• to serve holistically by investing in cross-cultural relationships as we serve to help meet the most basic needs as well as the spiritual hunger for Jesus
• to add to the efforts of local programs that are already working successfully

Fourth Avenue Church also helps support work in Honduras, Nicaragua, Brazil and South Africa, that are led by American missionaries as well as indigenous leadership.

Missionaries: