From Taylor

I just want to let everyone know that this trip has been truly amazing! God has truly blessed this trip! I can see him at work in many situations. The chemistry between everyone, including those from texas and florida, is phenomenal! God is most definitely at work in our hearts and in Tefe', Brazil. Today was such an encouragement to me and to others. As I have shared my faith in Jesus throughout the week, God has also showed me as well as others the importance of discipleship. Even though we are sharing Christ with the people of Tefe now, if no one in the community continues the Lord's work when we leave, then the church will not grow. Today was an incredible opportunity for my group. I was able to share with two girls around the age of 16 in the morning. They really understood their need for Christ and they gave their life to Him! It was great! Soon after, we left to go to lunch. Later on in the day when we went back, we saw those two girls again. They wanted to work with us and learn how to share their new faith! So they worked with us and watched us share Christ with their friends. Near the end of our time there, they asked for a cube that we use to share Christ with. So we acted as the lost person and they shared their faith. It was truly amazing! They did not know all that we knew about the Bible. But they knew the need for Christ in their life and the needs of others. So we gave them the cube and right then they went to share their faith. The Lord showed me today the importance of teaching others so that they too may do the Lord's work when we are gone. Also, Billy's group had a similar opportunity to disciple a couple of kids. This was so encouraging. I just felt led to share this with everyone back home. Thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray that God will lead us and use us in a mighty way! Taylor

Dinner on the side of the road is always good, especially with your pastor.

From Sarah

Today I had the opportunity to share the gospel with an older catholic couple. At first I was overwhelmed with fear because its usually easier for me to talk to people my own age. But I just asked God to replace that fear and as always He did exactly that. The conversation went as smooth as ever. They both admitted they were uncertain about their salvation and right then and there the Lord helped me lead them to Christ. The woman didn't have a bible so I gave her one. I've never seen anyone so excited about receiving a bible and like always I got really emotional from that. I was really convicted because why don't we see that much excitement at home? Again thanks for all the support and prayers. I miss you and love you all!

Lovely afternoon boat ride.

Billy Becker

We are losing the race!

Billy Becker

Taxi today

Billy Becker

Another great day

We had a tremendous day today. Lots of children in the area today. We saw several people accept Christ and are continually discipling the best we can. Please pray for the city of Tefe, that God would raise up nationals (native Brazilians) to do the work of discipleship and ministry at the churches. We spend a lot of time teaching the people on growing with God, but there is only so much you can do in one 30-45 minute conversation. The people need native leaders to rise up.
We found out today that we'll spend the rest of the week here. Brother Ashley and I will get to preach Sunday night and lead the service for our particular church. Pray for us that we would say exactly what the people need to hear. On Monday morning, we'll pack our bags and leave Tefe and become one with the River. We'll live on a boat for a couple of days going up river to some villages. We all got our hammocks today that we'll be sleeping in on the boat. The picture below is what the boat looks like. After the days on the river we'll go back to Manaus and spend one "fun" day there shopping and such, then we'll head back to our home land.
The students are doing so good. God has kept us unified. Each day feels like two or three. We are eating dinner every night at 9 or 10 and getting up to breakfast by 7. They are definitely standing firm and leaning on God's strength. I am so proud of them. Each one has expressed an excitement in witnessing. Pray that this excitement won't be lost over the ocean. What could begin in our own lives and areas of influence if we come home and continue what God has done here?
We miss home some, too. You know that you can leave comments on the pictures and blogs, right? Encourage them sometime with a comment. Thanks and God bless, Bill
Billy Becker

The boat

Taylor is a hit with the kids.

Billy Becker

Quick update...funny

While Jessica was witnessing to a lady her baby was unruly. I knew exactly what was about to happen. Yes, she lifted her shirt and fed the baby. I decided to go behind her and jesse kept on talking. And...she got saved. God is full of all kinds of surprises.
Billy Becker

One of the pastors. Mikey B had wise words for him.

Billy Becker

Sarah finally got her picture with the children.

Billy Becker

Jesse sharing

Billy Becker

Our taxi today.

Billy Becker

Evening Debrief

What a great day we had! Several good testimonies from our group. Sarah talk to a girl who said she had prayed for someone to come to her house to talk about Jesus. Sarah got to lead her to the Lord and she went and got two of her friends that got saved as well. Jessica got to lead two people to Jesus today. One lady was pregnant and jessica was very touched (as well as me and the translator) by the Spirit in her house when she accepted Christ. I got to talk to two teenage boys. Both got saved and one came to church tonight. Each day there have been many school kids (teenagers) that walk down the street when school is out. This morning Jessica and I almost called several over to share with. In the afternoon we said that if we saw a lot of school kids getting out of school we were going to "herd" them up. Towards the end of our afternoon there were several school kids leaving the school. We went to several who were sitting on the side of the road and began to share. Each of them (7) understood the message and gave their life to Christ. We ended the day with another church service then pizza and finally a "memphis meeting" back at the hotel. Thank you for your prayers. Please pray for First Baptist Tefe, the girl that Sarah shared with, and an inmate the Mark Haley shared with. Peace and God bless, Bill.
Billy Becker

One more motor ride!

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Cute kid.

Ready to start the morning!

Great day

Evening debrief
What a great day we had today. We started the morning with a great breakfast with good coffee and then went through orientation type stuff with Mark Davis our leader. He gave very interesting statistics for the area. Currently, the IMB has no presence here and are relying on WWCP to oversee the area. There are 50000 unreached villages within 500 miles of the river where Mark is set his aim. Our goal for this trip is to help start six churches. Please pray for us in the task.
Our kids are doing great. We've had no sickness or "mental" breakdowns. The food has been wonderful and everyone is eating good. We have walked mostly, but today we got to take a motorcycle taxi back to the hotel...very fun. Taylor and Sarah got to go across the Amazon in a boat this afternoon and see a village that Mark is currently trying to start a work in. Everyone in the group got to witness to someone today except Sarah and every group saw at least one person saved (one group saw 16 people accept Christ)!
Pray for us that God would continually give us strength and that our unity would persevere. All of these kids are acting like they do this everyday. God has definitely had his hand on us so far. Thanks for your prayers and enjoy the pictures!
Bill (Billy here is like a girl's name so everyone laughs when I say. I've been forced to use Bill).

Mark with his translator sharing his testimony at the church service.

Our special music for the church service.

Yes...this was our taxi today, and probably tomorrow. Don't pray for us, pray for the parents.

Yes...this was our taxi today, and probably tomorrow. Don't pray for us, pray for the parents.

Nic translated for me and Jessica today.

The Last Supper

Good morning Tefe!

We're in Tefe!

Two long days of travel are over! We made it to Tefe safely and all in one piece. So far, the boat ride has been the stretch, but everyone has done great. For me, it feels like we've been traveling for four days. Tonight we will definitely sleep well (hopefully). Our hotels rooms have our necessities with an added bonus of AC.
We are looking forward to the work that we have come here to do, as well as, the work that God will do in our lives. Pray that we'll get a good nights sleep and wake up refreshed to start our mission. Thanks and God bless, Bill

Walking to the hotel

Tefe from the boat. We're here!

He's not smiling because we're boating down the Amazon river with beautiful scenery, he's smiling cause we only have 30 minutes left of this boat ride.

Easy flight

RBC, we had a good flight on a great airplane...each seat had a screen for movies or games...we played trivia but not before practicing our witnessing. Not only are we here safe, but our luggage is too! No problems...we are in Manaus airport talking (girls are sleeping on concrete floor!). We will shortly leave to go to the river but will not board speedboat until 7...
We're already blessed with our translator!
But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19
Your Brazil Team
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Our speed boat for the day (11 hours).

Who needs a hotel when you've got luxuries like this?

How's that concrete bed?

Atlanta is amazing!

And...Jesse gets taken to the side. We always knew she wasn't innocent.

One last gathering time before we leave.

Has it all come together?

Really? I checked this morning and our four remaining visas are completed and in transit. "Trust me," is usually the final thought from the Holy Spirit in times like this, not an overwhelming excitement that our visas are here. Just..."trust me." We had one final meeting last night before we leave on Sunday. Dr. Wilkes, a professor at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary and the president of World Wide Church Planters, met with us to answer any final questions and go over using a translator. We also got to hear several good, Steve Wilkes stories.
The area where we are going is very open. It will not be unusual for each person to lead someone to Jesus EVERY day of the trip! Maybe even households. The primary goal, however, of WWCP is to start churches, then lead people to Jesus. But, you lead people to Jesus to start churches. Dr. Wilkes says it like this, "We lead people to Jesus to start churches that will continue to lead people to Jesus when we leave."
Continue to pray for us as we draw close to departure. Our bags will be packed and at the church tomorrow morning which gives us one free day to relax and remember something we forgot to pack. Sunday morning we will be sent off by our church family in prayer. Peace.

I know where I'm goin to eat tonight!

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If you were wondering what a visa photo should look like, here is a great example. Notice the neutral expression and innocent look.
Billy Becker

Visa, Visa, Visa

I vaguely remember a meeting I went to for a Brazil trip in 2007. It was the first meeting we had for this trip and in our packet there was an information sheet to fill out that asked for our mother and father's full names, place of employment, permanent address, and the city I was born in. "Why in the world do they need this stuff," was probably my reaction. Then, I had to go get my picture taken. None of this has made sense until yesterday. After some issues with our Visas, I called our travel agent and she suggested that I send our apps directly to the Brazilian Consulate in Atlanta. "No problem," I thought, "I'll just fill out the paper work and mail it myself." Ha! Boy was I mistaken. So far our students have had to come to the church twice and after much reading and hair pulling, I think I am almost ready to go to the post office. So, folks, lesson is to get all this meaningless paper work, pictures, and passports at the very beginning of the preparation process and if anyone complains, tell them to get their own visa.

As for the team meetings, they are going great. We have met three times and will meet once a week until the trip. Yesterday, we watched Brazil's Deadliest Animals on the Discover channel. I think the guys are ready to play Crocodile Dundee and the girls are scared to death. We are learning that we will be visiting a very beautiful part of this planet. Oh yeah, and we'll be 3 degrees below the equator.

Continue to pray for our team as we prepare. This group is a good one and ready to be used by God. peace

It's Official

As of yesterday, our plane tickets have been purchased and we are officially going to Tefe, BA July 11-24. We also found out that we will be staying in a hotel instead of a boat! Most everyone has their passport and we anxiously await the trip. Our weekly meetings begin this Friday. Continue to pray for our team and the people we will engage. peace

Billy Becker

The beginnings

"The number one harvest field in the world." Mark Davis, our team leader, told me on the phone that the Amazon Basin in Brazil is ripe for the harvest. Nine of ten people there will openly accept the Gospel and are hungry for God. Our team consists of two pastors, myself and Pastor Ashley Ray, and six college students, Mark Haley, Michael Bruno, Taylor Locke, Sarah Micklos, Ashley Wilson, and Jessica Couch. We will travel by air (24 hours) and by boat (11 hours) to arrive in Tefe, Brazil. While there, we'll be assisting church planters in starting local churches and home Bible studies. We'll begin our training next week and are going through the book, Successful Mission Teams, by VanCise. A book that my missions professor suggested to use as a training manual. Once a week our team will gather to talk, probably eat, pray, and prepare for this awesome opportunity. Please keep us in your prayers.