Hello all!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! A few last Brazil highlights and OUR personal NEXT STEPS!
Christmas in the Slums:
The last few days in Brazil were focused around hosting Christmas parties for the less fortunate. We held one for the children in the slums and we also held one in the evening for everyone in the slums. Both included food being served, the children singing, games, gifts and most importantly Jesus (hope & freedom) being shared.
Ex-Murderer Man in Wheelchair:
One day leaving the slums, Jake saw an old man in a wheelchair breathing very short. He felt compelled to pray with the guy. After praying the man's breathing normalized. He shared with Jake how he spends most his time in the hospital, but still makes trips to the slum to get and use crack. He also shared how the day prior he almost died. Jake shared Jesus with this man and he asked Jesus into his heart, repented of his sins and began weeping. He told Jake he had murdered many people, but that he felt the freedom of being forgiven of his sins and wanted to change his life completely. He is going to work with the missions base to get into a treatment program. The grace of Jesus is so amazing. This man will spend eternity in heaven even though he was once a murderer! He told us as we were leaving, "December 14th 2017 is a very special day, and I will never forget it!"
Purple Shirt Lady:
Prior to going into the slums one morning, Rachel felt there would be a woman dressed in all purple, heavier set, that would need prayer for healing of a disease. That afternoon as we were leaving the slums, Rachel saw the woman from her vision. We approached her and started conversation and shared how we knew we would meet her and why and then asked if she would like prayer for healing. She let us know it was a total God thing because the next day she had a scheduled appointment for a tumor to be looked at. She also struggled from high blood pressure. As we prayed she kept saying, "Yes Jesus, I know this is true!". Once we finished she was beaming. We shared some words with her and she was shocked to know God had revealed to us secrets about her life. She said, "now I really know God hears my prayers and I am not insignificant." She was so blessed and said she could not wait to hear the good report. She plans to follow up with us once she gets her exams back. We look forward to seeing the miracle!
Beach B4 Red Light:
Our last evening going into the Red Light District we went down to the beach beforehand to intercede; allowing God to go before us to prepare hearts. We had leftover pieces of homemade art from the Tea Party laid out on the pavement that we were praying over. We had planned to hand it out to women on the streets and in the clubs that we felt they were for. During this time of worship, people walking by were drawn by the presence of God. One homeless man joined and fell to his knees crying. He received Jesus into his heart. A group of 3 young guys smoking came and joined and one guy began weeping. One of the Brazilians, Pedro, went and held him and this guy received Jesus also. And lastly, a guy wearing a marijuana shirt came and sat next to us for the entire hour and our friend Jon, who had painted the art, picked up his favorite piece, of a lion and gave it to the guy. As he shared with this guy his friend also joined and they both got very touched. How CRAZY that 6 people were impacted during worship before we went out to minister. The love of Jesus draws people and transforms them.
One of a Kind Orphanage:
We got to visit an orphanage outside of downtown Fortaleza. The husband and wife shared their story of quitting their careers to start the children's home. They have adopted 6 of the orphans as their own, on top of their 2 blood children. What they are doing is one of a kind. The orphans they are raising spend about an hour a day talking with Jesus. The kids are SO gifted and joyful. They hear God's voice clearly.
The children all came from extremely dangerous homes- with lots of drugs, abuse and abandonment. They said this work has not been easy, but they rely on the supernatural daily to be sustained. They shared many financial miracles and also many miracles of things the children have heard God say and then saw fulfilled shortly after. Jesus has brought deep healing to these children of all the trauma they experienced. You wouldn't guess they came from such darkness as they walk in true freedom and identity. The presence of God was so thick on their property. You could feel such a peace, even though just behind their backyard is great danger and among their neighbors are many threats. Be praying for this orphanage. They are believing for more missionaries to come along side them and they are also praying for the finances to build a fence to protect the children from the outside village.
HUGE breakthroughs from our last email:
- The woman we had tea with who was a prostitute is now walking in FREEDOM! She has decided NOT to go back.
- One of the guys Rachel spoke over in the crack den is working with the missionaries to get out of his atmosphere and create a new life. They're working to get him into a Christian treatment center.
- There were two young guys Jake approached by the ocean who he shared Jesus with and prophesied over. One had recently got out of jail and knew about Jesus, the other didn't know anything about Jesus. That day, after Jake shared the gospel, they BOTH accepted Jesus into their hearts and their faces looked completely transformed. We invited them to attend a service on our mission base. A few days later during the outdoor service, we noticed they were there!
Our Next Steps
We've had many people asking us what now?
We feel called to be self-sustainable missionaries. In order to do this we will enter a season with a lot of front load work where about 80% of our time will be entrepreneurial and 20% ministry & missions. In the future we will work towards being more 50/50 (work/missions) and at some point our true heart's desire is to be 25/75 (work/missions). We believe these businesses someday will not only fund our life and missions, but allow us to invest in other missionaries and their works (i.e. planting churches). Our calling is to fund the Kingdom.
The 2018 primary focuses:
- Developing a protein bar we've had in the works
- Invest more time into Y.O.Y.O. (our inner city youth ministry)
- Go on 2-3 overseas mission trips
Other items we are pursing in 2018:
- Day trading
- Managing the computer rigs (mining ETC coin)
- Rachel is studying Russian with a goal to be fluent by 2019
- Jake is recording Christian rap and will be launching an album in 2018
- Rachel will be launching a band workout program for her business: www.morr.fit
If you have questions or would like to stay in touch, do not hesitate to contact us!
Have a blessed 2018!
Jake & Rachel Beaudry
P.S. Jesus is alive and well and desires an intimate relationship with you. A life lived with Him & for Him is the only thing that can bring true fulfillment. If you desire this true peace, joy and freedom in your life, but don't know how to go about it- whojesusis.com is a great resource. Otherwise, if you'd like to let us know, we'd love to come alongside you as well!
