David and Taara Portela
david@portela.com
taara@portela.com
David and Taara at Elena's Party
Lucas playing in Elena's crib.
Elena just before her first birthday.
www.portela.com
Rua dos Aposentados 53,
Apto 142 Rubi
Alto do Ipiranga
Mogi das Cruzes, 08730-510
SP, Brasil
+55 11 7979-9494
![]() ![]() ![]() 
For Tax Deductible Gifts:
1. Online Donations -
www.WorldOutreach.org
Click Donate, Missionary Support
& select Portela
USA & International Cards accepted
2. Or Mail Checks to -
World Outreach Ministries
P.O. Box B
Marietta, GA 30061
(designate for Portela Fund Code #53)
|
A Resident Alien
An alien is defined as a "foreign being" and if you look it up in a thesaurus; you'll find these among the synonyms:
floater, foreigner, guest, immigrant, incomer, interloper, invader, migrant, newcomer, noncitizen, outsider, refugee, settler, stranger, visitor.
It is one thing to visit a country as a tourist, taking in the sights and getting a glimpse of its language and culture, and quite another to settle down and really live in that country. While Taara had visited Brazil several times before moving here, beginning our lives here turned out to be a completely different experience. She entered Brasil in 2009 on a tourist visa and after almost two years of paperwork and protocol she received her permanent residency in Brazil and her RNE (foreigner ID card). So while she occasionally feels like a visitor, settler, newcomer, stranger and most days still like a foreigner, at least the government recognizes her ties to Brazil and allows her to live here as a "resident alien".
Since the last time we wrote the days have been packed! We've been setting up our little apartment (still a few projects to do here and there) and enjoying the opportunity to have friends over and become more connected with our church family. We live about 20 minutes away from Refúgio and David was able to carve out a small office for himself there. It isn't easy to work at home with two little darlings running around, so most days David heads to Refúgio to work in peace and quiet.
Taara has settled into a good routine with the kids at home. Elena celebrated her first birthday (August 21) with a nice party we were able to host in our building's party room. Lucas started school on Monday! (More on the school search later in this letter.)
Refúgio Ministry
The ceiling construction work has been finished over the library and the offices. The wood now awaits treatment to make it insect-proof, after which it will be varnished. Then we will move everything out of the library and paint the walls, install new bookshelves, and begin setting up furniture, computers, desks for study, a lounge, and of course, the books (about 7000). We want to specifically thank those who assisted in the purchase of construction materials for this project, your help was essential!
Rev. Wadislau has been receiving many individuals and couples for counseling over the past months. He is currently meeting with them in his office, but the fact that there are others working nearby has an effect not only in terms of distractions (the occasional noise) but in the feeling of privacy (even with a closed door). So we have started planning Refúgio's next construction project: a counseling room which will be separate from the library/offices and will give people more of the privacy and comfort they need when they come to Refúgio. If you would like to specifically support this project, please let us know, as we plan to get started on it as soon as we can once the work in the library and offices is complete.
If you're part of our support group on Facebook you know about the fire that happened at Refúgio a few weeks ago. Well, this weekend there was another fire! Thankfully there was no damage to the families or to their properties. The fire most likely originated in a neighboring property, since it came down along a ridge which borders another farm/ranch.
Igreja Presbiteriana Paulistana Church Plant
IPP continues to surprise us with its growth. Last Sunday over 100 people gathered, and several families were on vacation or absent for other reasons. It is amazing to see how many people God has brought together over these last two years...when we arrived we were barely pushing 30 on most Sundays! The growth in numbers is such that we will be moving to another hotel (with larger meeting rooms) at the end of this month.
IPP's growth is evident in more than just numbers. It has been exciting to be a part of several new Christians' lives as they learn about the Lord and about what He wants for their lives. Seeing our brothers and sisters grow in Him, and in their fellowship with us, has been a very rewarding part of the work we do at IPP.
This continued growth in quantity and quality has allowed IPP to begin investing time, energy, and resources into two new church plants (soon to be three). We have been assisting these small groups of friends in other cities to organize their own meetings, often sending pastors to preach there while continuously offering guidance from afar. In each of these cases we have done this in partnership with other churches in the region, so that the new church plants can grow up as sisters in an ecclesiastical family rather than as interlopers into someone's territory.
IPP's sermon videos, which are edited and maintained by David, recently passed the 10,000 mark in the number of plays (instances of people watching at least part of the sermon) since we started making them available online. Many people eagerly await these sermons, especially those who for some reason or another are unable to attend the services themselves. They keep the pressure on David to put them up – usually by Tuesday someone's already asking about the previous Sunday's sermon!
Blessings and Praises
Lucas has been very excited about starting school. Public schooling is only available here starting from age 6 so we were looking at private pre-schools. Many children here go to school at a very early age, usually because both parents are working. Even though we don't find ourselves in that situation, we have long felt that Lucas would really benefit from school, since it would help him to integrate into Brazilian culture and to learn Portuguese.
We had already visited several schools in the area around our home but hadn't really settled on one, and the costs seemed prohibitive. However, the other day as she looked out from our balcony, Taara noticed a newly renovated house had installed a playground in its backyard. It turned out a Christian daycare/pre-school was opening this month! It was exactly what we have been praying for as it is within walking distance (2 minutes), has a flexible schedule and is a small, Christian, Portuguese environment. Lucas started there on Monday, and seems to be fitting in very well.
We continue to be amazed at the way God is providing for our every need.
We praise the Lord for those who have chosen to partner with us by supporting us financially. We could not do what we do here without your help, and we do not take it for granted.
Continuing Challenges
Please join us in prayer for:
-
David, as he finishes up a major Web development project. While these are useful and necessary to our survival, they do take up a significant amount of his time. Pray for work efficiency and focus as he splits his time between church work, ministry goals, tent-making, school papers and family.
-
Taara, as she continues with language learning. She is now meeting twice a week with a tutor. With Lucas starting school she hopes to have more time to help out with projects at Refúgio.
-
Daniel and Marcia Gomes, who work with us at Refúgio. They are building a house on the property and have run into several delays (due to sloppy work by the construction company). Pray that these will be resolved and corrected soon. They were supposed to move into their new house in June!
-
Lucas, as he adjusts to his new school environment. It will likely be a tough few weeks as he adjusts to a Portuguese-only context.
-
Please pray for God to prompt the hearts of a few more people, challenging them to support us on a monthly basis. We are at about 75% of our target support.
Your thoughts and prayers are deeply appreciated. If you have time to reply, we'd love to hear from you and be able to uphold you in prayer too.
Blessings,
Taara and David
|
