Update

Hello friends and prayer partners!
I know it’s been awhile since I’ve written an update, but I’ll be short, I promise. Or at least as short as I can be.
Last time you heard from me (related to ministry), we were in the middle of June in a medical team. Since then, it’s been a blur. We have had 2 more medical teams, mission meeting, a week off, the Pan American games for 2 weeks, and we have just finished our third medical clinic since then! AND I have turned in my papers for visa renewal, which should be ready in 3-4 months. Thank you for your prayers about all these things, even when you didn’t know exactly what you were praying for. God knew, and He honored your prayers with blessings for every person we came into contact with – through the 20,000 water bottles we gave out during the Pan Am games, through medical care in the favelas, through simply getting to rest and relax for a week with fellow laborers.
The Lord has given me Jeremiah 29:7 to remind me of the fact that He has me here to seek the well-being of those who live in Rio. “Seek the welfare of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it has prosperity, you will prosper.”
I still find it hard to express some days how amazed I am that God would orchestrate circumstances to allow me to be here, in a job that fits my skills and strengths, and challenges me to grow in my weaknesses. But on the other hand, this is what He has called me to right now, and so this is what I do. It’s funny to me how awesome and how normal it can be all at the same time. But I think that’s part of how God works. He calls us to glorify Him in whatever situation we find ourselves, whether we are “official” missionaries overseas, or at home raising children, or working outside the home in any setting. Ministry is where you are, and glorifying God is as connected to that as breathing is to life.
Prayer requests:
Continue to pray for S (my supervisor) and her family, that they will be given rest and peace in Him regarding her upcoming surgery (thyroid surgery in October).
Pray for our team and the teams coming in over the next couple of weeks. My roommate's parents and their team come in Saturday morning (August 18) and will be doing a medical clinic in Jardim América, and FBC Nashville comes in next Saturday (August 25) to do a medical clinic in Vila do João.
Continue to respond to the Lord’s charge to pray for the city He has “deported” you to.
Pray that we will rest well during our week off (September 1-7), so that we may begin again and continue to be faithful to Him who has called us.
For He alone is worthy.