It Might Get Loud

First, I would like to apologize for the delayed update. It has been a couple of crazy weeks. Being busy, though, is a very good thing.On the 17th-19th the church in Itu hosted Max Lucado as he began a Brazil book tour. I was able to help organize the church and film some of his words to the church on Saturday and Sunday.

On Tuesday the 21st I went with Mark Kaiser to a drug rehabilitation center in Itu called Centro Terapêutico Christo Vive or CTCV (roughly: Therapeutic Center- Christ Lives). Mark visits on a weekly basis and leads a devotional on Wednesday mornings. We spent the night on Tuesday and Mark gave me the opportunity to lead the devotional in the morning. I talked about manhood and relied on “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge which I have been reading this summer. I was able to interview some of the men at the center and hear their story for a short video explaining the work the center does. It was inspiring to see these men facing their demons with such openness and fighting for each other. It seems rare to see men fighting and forming a brotherhood with each other in today’s world. If I have found one thing to be passionate about this year and during my time here in Brazil it is the need for Christian men and women to become true men and women of God, not merely caricatures of what God intended us to be. Of course I am 21 and none of this comes from some “holier-than-thou” attitude, but I do feel and see a need to pursue a true manhood within my life.

From the 24th-26th, the Itu church hosted the group Acappella. They had a performance at the church on the 25th and sang during church on the 26th. The whole weekend was very exciting and exhausting as we dealt with organizing a concert. The performance was amazing and church service was inspiring. I was able to help with planning and organizing while translating when necessary. This past week (30th-6th) my parents and I came down to Brasília to help the church receive Acappella. In essence my parents and I were Acappella groupies for a couple of weeks. My mom wore a bandana and did the sound checks, my dad wore a sleeveless shirt and made sure each member had fresh sharpies and wrote out the set lists, while I wore aviators and took care of security. What we actually did was mostly translate. I was able to translate for an interview Acappella did on a national radio station and then an interview on a national TV station here in Brasilia. The group was a lot of fun as we toured Brasilia (the city where I was born and have not visited in a long time). Acappella and the Lancaster family have a true passion for what they do and it blessed the church here in Brasilia in some amazing ways.

Unfortunately the fun with Acappella ended Monday as they headed back to the US. The past three days I have been sitting in meetings with my parents as they continue to work with the leaders and mission team here in Brasilia. It is good to see the work in Brasilia continued and that my parents have been able to come back and see the work they started 27 years ago carried on. I have also been interviewing the leaders and mission team for my parents to use next time they return to the US to update their supporters.

That brings us to now. That didn’t take as long as I thought it would. This next week I hope to finish the video projects I have been working on and enjoy time with my parents and friends before I leave on the 16th. I will have a final report over the whole Summer once all is said and done. Once again I cannot begin to thank each of you for your prayers and support. To God be the glory. Amen.

Max Lucado at the Itu Church

Devo at CTCV


Parents with Max

Acappella at the Itu Church

Sign for Acappella in Brasilia

Sightseeing in the capital

Translating at the radio station

The excitement of running PowerPoint

Rest and Recover

So I lied. Last time I wrote I said I was getting better. I actually spent the rest of the week pretty sick. Wednesday I couldn't handle sitting around the house anymore so I went to hep at the medical campaign (this was all last week). The campaign went better than anyone had projected. We ended up taking care of over 700 people. The environment was positive and selfless. A thirteen year old girl came on Tuesday as a patient then came back the next day to volunteer. I spent my time organizing the flow of people coming in. We had to begin forms for each person and make sure they where taken care of by the right doctors. In the afternoons I played with the kids that came in and helped translate for the dentists and the doctors. The week was a lot of fun and it was amazing to see other peoples dedication to serving. During the weekend we helped shuttle the last of the Americans to Sao Paulo to catch their planes. Monday I woke up with pink eye... which caught me off guard. Spent most of this week recuperating because my body was breaking down after getting really sick and not stopping. This weekend Max Lucado is in town so there are some lunches planned with him and he will be speaking Saturday and Sunday. Next week Acapella will be in town for a performance. It has been great to spend time with my parents and Mark and Ali are an amazing couple serving God and I feel blessed to be working with them. I know these blogs have been pretty dry, but this time here has been an answered prayer. My prayer request is for the Itu church. The church has very strong leadership and know that they have this wonderful new building my prayer is that the people within it will act as a light on top of a hill. I miss you guys and hope to hear from some of you soon. Tchau.

Group discussion at camp.

Translating at church inauguration.

Filming church inauguration.

Translating for dentist at the medical campaign.

Camp Victory

Camp and the inauguration are done. The week was busy, but amazing. There was the obvious lack of sleep and a very rainy day, but everyone was involved and excited. During the week I was involved with leading a small group in discussion every day, helping organize worship each night and leading an group each day during "crafts" time where we mainly plaid improv games. We were blessed to have few problems during the week. The last night of camp we had a brother and sister join us in Christ. At the start of the week I was a little thrown back by how everything was moving so fast but I have been able to catch on. Being a part of a bi-lingual camp as a bi-cultural person ended up impacting me more than I thought. Every night we sang songs in portuguese and english, with the occasional sung in both at the same time. It was a true testament to God's awesome power to have these two cultures coinciding. Now, I know I keep referring to it as a bi=lingual camp, but it was a Christian camp where there happen to be people who spoke English and Portuguese. The group of Americans could not say enough of how the week changed them by seeing Jesus through the campers. Some time this week I hope to post some pictures from camp. Sunday we had the inauguration and I helped film the worship. Unfortunately, after a week with little sleep my body had trouble keeping up. Sunday I woke up sick. Today I am taking a forced day-off to recuperate. The medical campaign started today which makes a day-off hard to take. I am feeling much better and hope to be back to work in the morning.

As I said, this past week was amazing. Being here has been a blessing so far and I am extremely grateful for your thoughts and prayers.   

-English club on Saturday.

-Walking around neighborhoods in Itu giving out flyers to the church inauguration.

-Picture of finished church building.

Up and running

Hello friends/supporters,

It hasn't even been a week and things are already pretty crazy. I got in on Wednesday and was able to rest a little, but at night I met with the three other interns and my bosses for the summer (Mark and Ali Kaiser) to discuss the dynamics of the internship. Was able to rest Thursday before a group of 30 Americans came in on Friday for a bi-lingual camp we are having this week. Friday night was a big pizza part for

the youth group and the Americans. Yesterday was service Saturday and English club (where a small group of Brazilians get together with the interns so the Brazilians can practice their english). At night we had a "festa junina" which is a typical Brazilian party that happens every June. Today was church and in an hour is the big Brazil X USA game... That might not be a very detailed description but these next two weeks are going to be really busy. It looks roughly like this:

30th-4th: Bi-lingual camp with 30 Americans and 60 Brazilians. It's a pretty typical camp but with the added opportunity for the Brazilians to practice English. Since I am one of a handful of people that speak both languages well I will be working pretty hard.

5th: Church inauguration. The church here in Itu has been working on building a new church for some time now and it is finally ready. I will helping with the filming of the inauguration.

6th-10th: Medical mission. A group of American doctors is coming down for a week for a medical mission. There are plenty of volunteers from the church and I will be translating between the two groups during the week.

That's what these next two weeks look like. There is plenty in between the lines but those are the main events. I wish I had some pictures to show but I left the USB cable to connect my camera to my computer at home in the US so I Will be having to use other people's pictures for now. Once these two weeks are over I will be working on some projects for the Family Institute of Latin America. I will also be helping Mark and Ali make a video for their ministry and a handful of other projects.

It is great to be here and to be busy. I ask for prayers a calm spirit and for energy to handle all that is on my plate right now. I hope you are all doing well.

This is Chewy. He is the newest member of the Heiderich Family. He is a handful but is hilarious.

This is an older picture of the new church building in Itu. At this point it looks really good and just has a few minor touch ups before the inauguration.