Eventful January
"Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice."
Proverbs 27:9
January was a very eventful month. I was at Hope Mountain since the second week of December. I was supposed to be back in São Paulo the 2nd of January. But I decided to stay a week longer to participate in the Hope Mountain Camp! We take the boys to a camp site where there's a pool, football field, and more! I changed my bus ticket to go back to São Paulo 3 times because it was very hard leaving Hope. I thank God and Aunt Corenne's family for making me feel so at home.
2025 Christmas was the first time I did not feel homesick since leaving Taiwan in 2022. Hope Mountain really is like home.
When I had to leave Caramelo and everyone at Hope Mountain… I was sad... But I know that in this new phase in my life... like the others before... I must submit under God's will. I'm looking forward to the time when I can visit Hope Mountain again. I hope I won’t have to wait too long...
When I came back to São Paulo, I got right back to ministry! For me, I've had my rest at Hope. I came back and was ready to start this new phase in my life with the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church of São Paulo. I've become really close with my roommate who is a missionary from Chile. She is like my best friend now. I've also been able to get closer to the young adults at church and also people from the Mandarin service in which I'll be prioritizing in serving. I've also been given the opportunity to preach once a month in the Mandarin service. For those who don't know, the church that I'm staying at has 3 different services in 3 different languages: one in Portuguese, another in Taiwanese, and finally, Mandarin. The church has bought some of the apartments next to it. The church partners with a non-profit organization that does refugee ministry. So parts of the apartment are used to house the refugee families and also missionaries and the pastor's family as well. Yes, I’ve gotten very close to our pastoral couple! So... That's where I'm staying at right now. Aunty Sandra, who has known my parents for over30 years when my parents were ministering at Evergreen, is actually Chinese born Brazilian. She saw through Facebook that I, Lovely and Alan's daughter, was in São Paulo. So she connected me up to her church which is very mission oriented. So, praise the Lord for the opportunity to be at this church. I never thought I can serve the Chinese community in Brazil. I never really thought that speaking English and Chinese can help me so much. Anyways, for those who don't know what's been happening in my life I wanted to update everyone as to how everything switch from YWAM to Hope Mountain and now to the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. It's interesting because I am reminded that the body of Christ is ONE. It's not just YWAM that is the body of Christ. It's not just the Presbyterian Church or the Assembly of God Churches, but all who believe in God! All who confess that Jesus is Lord. All who have been reborn in the Spirit. Therefore it's a blessing for me to be able to serve here in São Paulo!
If I were to use 3 words or phrases to describe January, it would be "family love", "friendship growth", and "refreshing spirit." May the Lord bless you! Thank you for praying and supporting me!
If you like, here's the link to the sermon that I gave at the church. But it's only in Mandarin. If you are interested, let me know and I can send you the talk notes!
https://www.youtube.com/live/a7VfWeVCRSk?si=chE8bFTdHSUfJ6cj


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