Photos
Here are some of the latest photos from our ministry. Click on a picture to see a larger image and read the description.
Missions Month – Rúbens is an evangelist to children in the Suruí tribe.
Missions Month – Try out reading this Portuguese in black and Suruí in red.
Missions Month – We had an exciting Sunday School with a native Indian missionary teaching the children.
Missions Month – Rúbens taught all the children to sing God is so good in Suruí.
Missions Month – This is s slide of the song God Is So Good in the Suruí language.
Missions Month – Shoge and his wife Eula are Brazilians that have been working in the Zoró trib for over 30 years.
Missions Month – Jefferson and Epi are Brazilians who are serving in São Felipe. They are working in a small church which is around and hour from Cacoal. Previously they have served in several different countries and still carry on weekly training after their visas were denied in the country where they served.
Missions Month – Gabriel and Eliane were a wonderful blessing to us. They are missionaries reaching the Zoró children. Their daughters Sofia and Heloisa were a special blessing to have around our house while they ministered to us at church.
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – This is our group of teens that were trained by missionary Garry Tyler. They won first place in the competition and represented the church well.
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – We had teens from seven different churches participating in this event. It was a great blessing to see these young people study the Bible and enjoy a day of fellowship together.
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – Unscrambling a Bible verse
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – Unscrambling a Bible verse
Teens Activity – Though our system is a bit primitive compared to some, having a bell on a table actually worked pretty well.
Teen Activity – Renan is one of the men in our church and he did a fabulous job of coming up with about 150 questions out of the book of James. He also had the opportunity to ask the questions on the day of the event.
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – Young ladies practicing their posture and balance. Just don’t let anyone knock the cup off of your head while you are practicing.
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – This is a game of Tug of War without a rope. They boys enjoyed the challenge.
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – The judges panel.
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – Scavenger Hunt
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – Pr. Hudson preaching to the young people.
Teen Gathering and Bible Quizzing – We were blessed with a good group of teens for this event and the Lord provided an air conditioned building for us.
Children’s Day – Which team can draw the best LION? It is a little unpredictable when they are blindfolded and each child one only draws one part.
Children’s Day – Everyone like trying to win candy.
Children’s Day – Even the little ones enjoy the activity in one way or another.
Children’s Day – You don’t always have to be the best person for the job. You just need to pour your heart into it. Working with children can be a huge blessing.
Children’s Day – Bible Story time.
Men’s Activity – What a blessing it was to get together with men from 13 different churches for an activity with Bible preaching as well as knife throwing, blow darts, and a variety of other manly activities.
Men’s Activity – These men came from 13 different churches to hear preaching and enjoy a time of fellowship at Bro. Brian Lawson’s church in Ji-Paraná.
Creation Conference – We had a full house on Friday night for the closing session of the conference. The topic was Dinosaurs and the Bible.
Creation Conference – Friday night was our biggest service and we had people visiting from two churches in Ji-Paraná (about 90 minutes away).
Creation Conference – Mrs. Johnson did a chalk drawing for the ladies and taught them a lesson. It was a great blessing.
Visiting a Suruí village – Bro. Dan Johnson displaying Ingá (a fruit).
Visiting a Suruí village – I met Rubens while helping with the vacation Bible school in the Indian tribe. He was also helping.
Visiting a Suruí village – This is fruit that we ate while in the Indian tribe. It is called Ingá.
Visiting a Suruí village – Rubens (standing beside me) is a Child Evangelism Fellowship missionary. He is working on reaching the children in the Suruí tribe for Christ. This is part of his family.
Visiting a Suruí village – I took the Johnsons for a quick visit to an Indian tribe. Wow! There is so much going on in this picture. Notice the port-a-potties in the background, the hand crafted items on the table, the Tupperware bottle, the seeds, and many other details.
Creation Conference – Dan Johnson has been a missionary in Brazil for nearly 50 years. He was a great influence in my life as a teenager and was a great help to our church through the week.
Father’s Day – Connect 4 is actually a pretty fun game to play. Here we have a father and son playing against a grandfather-grandson duo.
Father’s Day – We enjoyed an activity with some of the parents and their children.
Father’s Day – Zach and his daughter Michele are working on a puzzle together.
Indian Tribe VBS – Helping in any way possible.
Indian Tribe VBS – We were arriving at the Indian tribe and getting ready to unload. We were NOT standing in the boat out in the middle of the river!
Indian Tribe VBS – It was a great blessing to be with Gabriel and Eliane for the VBS. Pray that many children will be saved through their ministry.
Indian Tribe VBS – The Red Team
Indian Tribe VBS – What a fun time these kids had!
Indian Tribe VBS – Victory! The black team won. Each participant was given a wrist band with their team color.
Indian Tribe VBS – Waiting for the evening service to start.
Indian Tribe VBS – Proverbs 3:5 in the Zoró language.
Indian Tribe VBS – Lunch anyone?
Indian Tribe VBS – This looks like a painting, but the photo was taken right near the tribe as we went down to the river.
Indian Tribe VBS – Beautiful children!
Indian Tribe VBS – The young man in the front is from a different tribe, but came to help with vacation Bible school. He also did not speak their language.
Indian Tribe VBS – Young people participated answering questions about the stories.
Indian Tribe VBS – Gabriel teaching the Bible story of Joshua and Caleb.
Indian Tribe VBS – Eliane taught the story of Jim Eliot and Nate Saint to a group of Indian children. The story was full of emotion as she described the missionaries giving their lives to share the Gospel. What a marvelous change the Gospel has made in this tribe!
Indian Tribe VBS – The kids sat in the chairs, but the adults sat in the back and participated in everything.
Indian Tribe VBS – Kids are the same everywhere! They light up when they get an opportunity to have fun.
Indian Tribe VBS – The afternoons were full of fun and games for kids and adults. These are beautiful kids that were full of energy.
Indian Tribe VBS – As you can see on the sign near the guitar, the name of the village is Pawãnewã. This was the setup for the Vacation Bible School.
Indian Tribe VBS – Many times the fish was set out on this table. Once something is set on the table, it is free for grabs. The dogs eat any fish bones or leftovers, so just drop anything you don’t want on the floor!
Indian Tribe VBS – This is the supper line! Grab a plate and they will fill it for you with fish, rice, spaghetti or whatever the menu for the day includes.
Lorraine has been excited to come to Sunday school. She repeated the entire lesson on the way home. This is the result of a young lady who has dedicated herself the last three months to teach Sunday School. Look at the effort she put in to building a well. The amazing thing is that it actually works. You can raise the bucket in and out of the well. Can you guess what story this is?
God has blessed us with three wonderful children. We are very thankful for each of them.
Bible Story Time! (At least they look like they were enjoying it.)
Bible Story Time!!! No story, no play time. That is what one of the ladies decided as she asked these boys to come over to her house.
Peter and Zirlene Doolittle along with their boys Stanley and Kevin. They were a great blessing to our church when they had the opportunity to stop in for a service.
June 2023 Family Picture
Thank you Pastor Sexton for your encouragement to us and our children.
Jonathan with Selina Kokenzie
Missionary kids!!! They are an interesting bunch. They can’t even figure out which camera to look to. Jonathan enjoyed having the Kokenzies and the Rogers at his graduation.
Jonathan’s graduation
The graduate and his mother.
Sometimes you have to travel over 5,000 miles to see friends who live just two hours away! We have been friends with the Kokenzies for years. Though we have not been working together for almost ten years, our children have been very close friends through all that time.
Church ladies having a bit of fellowship after church.
Jonathan and I in Chicago, getting him registered with the consulate.
Heading to the airport for the beginning of a summer trip.
The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate
Never a dull moment!
Watch out below! This is not a tree I want in my yard. Look closely.
Some of the ladies gathered for a birthday.
Raylda training our people to teach children.
Raylda is a missionary to children. She works in the public schools and holds Bible Clubs, Vacation Bible Schools, teaches in Day Care Centers, and has been doing this for over 40 years.
Raylda – Missionary to Children
This cake is a good description of Jonathan. Happy Birthday!
Youth Activity in Ji-Paraná
Youth Activity in Ji-Paraná – Our young people once again won the Bible quizzing competition that was held in January.
Youth Activity in Ji-Paraná
Youth Activity in Ji-Paraná – Pastor’s wife and a Missionary’s Wife
Youth Activity in Ji-Paraná
Youth Activity in Ji-Paraná – Bro. Mike Schmidt preaching
Youth Activity in Ji-Paraná
Youth Activity in Ji-Paraná
Youth Activity in Ji-Paraná
Children admiring their attendance chart in the Sunday School classroom.
Christmas Day at church. What a blessing to see young children at church.
Christmas Day Fellowship after church
Christmas Day Fellowship after church.