Computer Theft

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Tracking my stolen Macbook... the name had already been changed to "gaga"

The bad news is someone broke into our office and stole my notebook computer and new backpack about one month ago. It happened in broad daylight on a Monday during lunch, and we're not sure how. But the tracking option on my computer sure tells me it was not in my office anymore and that someone tried to connect it to the internet.

The good news is that I had recently met another American staying for two months in Belo Horizonte, and he sold me his computer that was newer than my stolen one and in really good condition. Buying this computer from him in Brazil was much, much cheaper than buying one from a store in Brazil, and also cheaper than purchasing in the US and having to declare it in customs upon entry into Brazil and pay the tariffs. (Thanks Rob Adams Films!) God oddly works things out when we sometimes don't think He will.

So, this was a round about way of getting a computer upgrade! Our office insurance should help pay for some of the loss, but my backpack and cherished items like my Swiss Army knife that I got for my 15th birthday are gone, and that's hard to be cheerful about.

Just wanted to share the ups and downs from the field.

 

The Great Update Drought of 2015

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Last year was the scenario of the unfortunate, the lamentable, the debacle know as " The Great Update Drought of 2015". Supporters and Prayer partners, I have nothing to say except the mediocre, "I'm sorry!" Or maybe, "bad missionary, bad!"

So, 2016 rushes in with a series of BLOG posts and I will begin with a lackluster job of recapping 2015 for all, hitting only a few highlights.

  1. The last post of 2015 was in April, after we spent 4 month in the US on the support trail to be positioned for the next life-phase of ministry in Belo Horizonte. God provided new partners and new support through long-time supporters. Also, the economic reality in Brazil has not been a good one, so the Brazilian currency in relation to the US Dollar has fallen, meaning out purchasing power increased without an increase in salary. Summarized, we are financially ready for the next years barring a sharp fall-off of support or an economic 180º here in Brazil.
  2. As director of the Resource (administrative) Team, 2015 was an important year to consolidate my team. Fabiana really embraced her role and did an amazing job in my absence. We hired Pedro Albuquerque, a recent grad from UFMG and member of my discipleship group. And both Pedro and Fabiana got married during between August and December. They will both continue on full-time with our Resource Team.
  3. Our UFMG campus team continued their coffee-shop discussion groups through out the year, and were a great way to initiate and go deeper in personal conversations about God alongside other Bible-studies and individual times with students. It all cumulated to our summer project in jan 2016, which you can read more about here!
  4. Tathiana and I began to lead a Regional small-group at our church, and has given us the opportunity to grow our pastoral role in the church and invite non-campus friends to events where the central focus is on Jesus.

PNP 2016 - Summer Project Recap

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We love because God loved us first. (1 John 4:19)
Where is the the love? We used this question during the semester to challenge students and their thoughts about God. Everybody longs for love. Everybody arrives at the same conclusion when considering the the problems in the world: “the answer is love.” So...where is this love that we long for but cannot begin to actually put into practice?

After numerous discussion groups we presented an idea; how could discuss love and not hear Jesus’ opinion on the matter? After all, is there another historical character that addressed love in such a brazen manner other than Jesus? And surely, if asked to answer our question, he would certainly say, “love is in God.” He is the source. He loves first. No one can love without first being loved by Him.

Prosa na Praia - Summer Project:
Jesus’ viewpoint concerning love was the focus of our discussion time during our annual summer project, called Prosa na Praia (Discussion at the Beach). We had the amazing opportunity to spend a week with 40 students we have been investing in by living in the same house and sharing quality experiences. The beach, sports, games, food, talent show, sunrises and sunsets among many others! All together our week was full, fun and helped us create a sense of real community.

Beyond the fun and games, we had a daily time to go deeper into our discussion about “love is in God” thru Bible studies, talks and facilitated discussion groups and lots of informal ones! By the grace of God, we could truly see the Spirit moving in that place! Many students asking honest questions, new people interested in studying the Bible and investigating more about Jesus, young Christians growing in maturity and, overall, the gospel making sense like never before for so many. We are extremely humbled by what God is doing among us!

I got to help with the graphics for both the 2015 Coffee-shop discussion group image and project images. Go to the Media page to some of them.

Site • Instagram • Facebook
Instagram: @cafecomprosabh
hashtag #pnp2016 on Instagram or Facebook
www.cafecomprosa.org

Here We Go!

Today we head back home to Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Thanks to all the family, friends and supporters who made these 4 months fun and productive. Thank you for your love and partnership.

Kelley, Tathiana, Rachel and Becca

Support Update: April 2015

Understandably, some of you might expect this update to be about how we arrived back in Brazil. However, we are still Stateside (no April Fools Day hijinks here!). We decided to extend our trip for 3 weeks to invest as much quality time as possible in this current season of support raising.

I talked in a BLOG post in December 2014 about being Prepared, Assessed and Positioned for the next season of life and ministry in Brazil. By “positioned” we mean being financially ready for the next 5-10 years on the field; hence the past 4 months in the US. We have been wonderfully received by my family, current supporters and several churches in the Chattanooga area. We have not been so well received by snowstorms and cold viruses.

Thus far we have raised $1000 in new support. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. This is a combination of new supporters AND increases from current supporters. Glory to God. Really. A huge shout-out to all the new supporters, welcome! To our current supporters, we LOVE this partnership. Should anyone like to consider an increase in their support level, let’s talk :) !

This puts us to about 55% of our $1800/month goal for new support. The need is based on recovering $500 in lost support over the past 2 years, $800 in new support for increasing expenses over the next years with more kids, schools and raising cost of living, plus the final $500 to save toward a down-payment for housing in Brazil. We are still $800/month away from that goal.

I have tried to connect with may of our supporters, and to those far away from Chattanooga or Birmingham, I’m still going to try to connect in other ways before we head back to Brazil.

Please pray as we continue to work toward our goal the next weeks and fly back to Brazil at the end of April.

Alumnus Opportunity

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Last week, I was very pleased to have been included in the Samford University Journalism & Mass Communication departmental E-newsletter, Monday Morning Memo. Often the MMM includes a short testimonial from alumni as a means to encourage current students and to allow for networking among its graduates. I was happy to write about how I benefited from this quirky department and how my time spent there aids my current role as Resource Director with Campus Outreach.

Alumnus Spotlight: Jon Elam (2001)
Global Horizons

Hello, my name is Jon and I'm a production junkie.

Before arriving at Samford, I knew I liked to design and enjoyed writing, but I thought myself too mainstream to be an art major and yet too unique to be a mere business major. Advertising seemed enough of a mix of capitalism and creativity to be enjoyable and also to provide a job upon graduation after dropping a pretty penny on a private-school higher education.
I believe God sometimes enjoys irony as much as we lowly men do.
Now, almost 15 years after graduation, I still do not have that coveted job that makes my higher education cost worth it...or maybe I do? Divine irony has ordained my vocation as a support-funded missionary ever since 10 months after graduation. I work with Campus Outreach in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and I love it.
The JMC department at Samford truly was a great fit for me. The academic rhetoric of a liberal arts university was inspiring. However, I had a craving to do something. I love to do, complete, make, refine and produce. Yes, I am a self-diagnosed production junkie. So I loved the hands-on, project-heavy JMC advertising track. I freely admit that I did not have a traditional exam the last two semesters of my college career. Those countless hours spent in computer labs and group meetings to get projects done... that was the life!
It was the mentoring of JMC professors Dr. Melissa Tate, Dr. Jon Clemmensen, Dr. Dennis Jones, Dr. David Shipley, Dr. Julie Williams, other adjunct faculty and loving JMC department regulars that made my impulse to produce into a skilled capability to produce something that actually had content and quality for the audience it was directly toward.
I really enjoyed advertising, my internships and the Advertising Federation competitions. It all seemed like the type of job I wanted and the type of atmosphere that a guy who loved Christ could go into and have relationships that extended beyond the normal surface-level, business culture. That would be my future: a creative/production career in this non-status-quo field. So, since that would be my long-term future, it made total sense (to me) to go overseas to serve God and experience non-American life for a few years before my professional reality began.
A two-year term in Brazil turned into five years, then longer, and before I realized it, ministry became my calling and Brazil became my home. I spent several years as a campus staff member, but most recently I have been serving as Resource Director, taking charge of the administrative and operations side of our field team for both our American and Brazilian staff.
However, my time spent preparing for advertising was not wasted. I really do believe that the well-rounded education and preparation I had as an effective communicator has served me so well as a missionary. From coordinating external and internal communications, to financial reports, and all the way to editing resources in Portuguese, I thank Samford JMC's courses and staff for helping me produce quality material communicated in an effective manner. I use my training as a communicator so that Brazilian college students can investigate the person of Jesus Christ in their own language and context.
Obrigado e abraços a todos!
Jon Elam is from Chattanooga, TN., and lives in Belo Horizonte, Brazil with his Brazilian bride Tathiana and their 2-year-old son Isaac. He serves as Resource Director for the Belo Horizonte region of Campus Outreach where he coordinates the U.S. and Brazilian administration and operations for his staff team. You can find more information about his ministry at www.jonelam.net.

Globalization + Missions

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This pic is Instagram post of Wandson (from fellow staff Lee Cunningham), a friend and graduate of CO from our church in Belo Horizonte, Comunidade Horizonte. 

Wandson left Brazil in February to serve in Papua New Guinea with Mission Aviation Fellowship's radio broadcast ministry using his degree and experience as an electrical engineer. Thank God for sending out His people from BH!

Also, I, an American, just bought a book for Wandson, a Brazilian, from an online bookstore in Australia for delivery in Papua New Guinea. Pretty neat - and also a good possibility for processing errors - and all so that Christ is known all over the world.