Weekend in Johns Creek. Amy and I just got to our hotel room after an evening at Perimeter Presbyterian Church. We are here for a discipleship clinic - Life on Life - until Saturday. We were graciously invited by Bryan Brown and are excited to soak in the training. Comunidade Horizonte, the church we will co-labor with in Brazil, is already implementing Life on Life discipleship, and we are excited to join them in the work of making disciples who make disciples!  Pray with us this weekend that the clinic could be a meaningful time of training and inspiration. Life on Life discipleship is happening in Brazil. Pray for it produce laborers across the country in every sphere of life. Support Update As of today [2/6] we are at 53.9%! Just this year, we've gained 20 supporters. We are so humbled by the Lord's provision through you! Thank you! We had such an encouraging moment this past Tuesday with the leaders at our church, New City Milledgeville. They spent the first half hour of our meeting hearing from us and praying for us. We are so grateful to have a church praying for us and sending us out!  Pledge today!

flood update

 

Update from Pedro on flooding. Thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to intercede for Belo Horizonte and our people. Last night's rain (Tuesday) was even worse than the one from Thursday/Friday last week. At least 53 died and thousands lost their houses, cars and many more. Again we are safe and we live in a higher area of the city, outside of the risk area. Here are a few English articles to help you understand our current situation: Powerful Storm Kills 47 in Brazil Heavy rains and floods leave dozens dead in southeastern Brazil Brazilian city experiences deadly flooding after 32 inches of rain falls in just 27 days In Christ,  Pedro Alberquerque It's hard to know how to pray when things seem so desolate. But let's pray the words of Paul to Timothy, "for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able..." (1 Tim. 1:12). God is trustworthy and more than able to fulfill his purposes. Let's pray that God works mightily through the church through this storm.   Let's pray for Pedro and Priscila as well. They've been laboring with Campus Outreach for several years and recently transitioned into leadership for the ministry in Belo Horizonte. Pray that the Alberquerque's would find their strong foundation in the Lord as they lead and care for the CO staff and disciples in Belo Horizonte. We so enjoyed our time with them during our last visit and look forward to joining them, hopefully, in July!  We are at 43% and climbing! Also, thank you to those who reached out after our last update!   Pledge today!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

 

Flooding in Brazil. This morning we woke up to friends in Belo Horizonte marking themselves safe on Facebook due to flooding in the city. Please pray with us for not only their safety but for the church as it seeks to serve others. Here's a message from the Campus Outreach director, Pedro Alberquerque:

Would you pray for and with us for our city and state?  Exactly one year after the dam rupture in Brumadinho (40 min away from Belo Horizonte), when more than 200 people lost their lives, we have been facing another catastrophe. Over the past 48 hours it has rained more then 190mm (7,5in) in Belo Horizonte. It is the heaviest rain recorded in our city. Several rivers and creeks flooded, lots of areas with landslides and flash floods.  That situation affects mainly people who live in poor and risky areas. Over 2000 people lost their houses and assets and as of right now, 8 people lost their lives and at least 10 people are missing. Everyone on our team and church is safe but we do know some people who were affected.  Our church and community are collecting donations to help those in need.

Please pray:  - For the missing to be found alive; - For the rain to cease and for steady weather over the next few days;  - For God's grace, comfort, and mercy to be with those who lost relatives and possessions;

In Christ,  Pedro Alberquerque

almost halfway there

 

Update Highlights! We have 41% of our support in!  And... 24 degree weather is probably too cold for camping! Oh well, hindsight is 2020.  We (me, Amy, and Everett) took advantage of the long weekend to head up to Spartanburg, SC to visit Braden at college. He got us tickets to a home basketball game on Friday - Wofford vs. Furman, and on Saturday we set out for Keowee-Toxaway State Park in Sunset, SC for some camping. The temperature dropped down to 25 degrees on Sunday night, but we survived and had a great time with him and his girlfriend, Aniah. Everett, however, continues to remind me that I fell on the trail and had a short slide down a hill.  Support raising continues to build our faith. Earlier this week I was reading in Genesis 50 about Joseph's brothers' fear that he would do harm to them after their father died. Joseph replied, "Do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." And I thought, if Joseph makes a promise like this, surely God's promise is much greater. Then today I read, "how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" God is teaching us to trust him and not our own means! It's true in our parenting, in support raising, in our personal transformation. God, teach us to trust you!  In the past month our support has increased by 10%! And we've met with many others who plan to partner with us. And, as if that weren't enough, God has blessed us recently with two supporters joining our monthly support team unprompted by us! As we work toward a July departure, all giving received is counting towards our one-time moving expenses. So, thank you for your generous gifts! Prayer requests:  that we'd walk by faith as we invite the remaining partners God has for us to join our team. that we'd quickly break the 50% threshold!  that the kids (and Amy) could stay strong in school in this transition, for Simon to thrive in his last semester before graduation, for me to finish well at work, and for us as we move toward selling the house and packing up our things!  Pledge Now

all I want for Christmas

 

Overwhelmed. No doubt the holidays can be an overwhelming time, but thankfully we've been overwhelmed for a different reason. You all! Your quick generosity, your encouraging words, your part in our ongoing story... it's all meant so much to us of late. We pray most every night with Everett before he goes to bed and it seems like every night it's us thanking the Lord for friends we've seen that day or heard from. Thank you!  We are now at 32% of our monthly support pledged! And as we go down the list of those praying and giving, we see a team surrounding us that care for us and, more importantly, are passionate about seeing the gospel transform lives! So awesome!  We pray you all have a wonderful time celebrating our Savior this week.    Love, the Dowdys Pledge today!

Real-Deal Hospitality

 

What difference do you make? A BIG ONE.

I was reading 3 John this morning and thought of you all. Your support to us (as travelers to Brazil) reminds us of God's love for us. And in supporting us, you become our companions in spreading the Truth. Thank you!  A friend asked on Monday how support raising was going and I said we were at 24%. She quickly pointed out that we are a quarter of the way there! Keep praying for more "companions."

A Quick Visit from Wofford We had a great visit with our eldest, Braden, this weekend who is currently in his 2nd year at Wofford College. Some quick facts on Braden and a prayer request:   He's a government major (but is also enjoying his accounting class).  Works as an intern in the admissions office.  Just started an intramural soccer team (they play their first match tonight against a group of guys from the cross country team!).  Please pray for Braden to finish the semester strong and for some special, un-rushed time with the Lord during the busyness of the end of the semester.

Find Out More

Big20

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View this email in your browser It's Happening!   We've crossed the 20% threshold in our support raising. I can't tell you how happy we are about this! Progress! That's 2 out of 10 steps! But also, you make up that 20%. We can literally name each of you that have rallied alongside us to support us financially and in prayer in the mission to strengthen the church in Brazil! That's pretty fantastic. It's a privilege to be a part of this with you.  Yes, we still have more to go. But your early partnership gives us a headstart to build on. Please pray with us as others are deciding right now whether to partner with us! Thank you!     Love,  Jeff, Amy, Braden, Simon, Lucy, and Everett p.s. Some may be curious about what happens to donations between now and the time we move. The money stays in an account and can later be used towards our one-time moving expenses! So, it's like a double gift. Also, did you know you can make a pledge before you are ready to start? There's an option for you to indicate when you will start giving.  Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*

Post-Labor Day

 

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View this email in your browser It's Like Brazil in Milledgeville!  Shortly after returning from Bainbridge on Monday we made a quick run to Kroger and you won't believe what we found... pão de queijo! That's the famous Brazilian cheese bread that we love so much from our "home state" in Brazil. We were so excited. Thank you all for praying for our time in Bainbridge. We had great appointments with two groups of folks from Grace Church, and on Sunday - despite the holiday - the church was packed. Continue praying that many would decide to partner with us in our mission to Belo Horizonte! And for those interested, you can watch my sermon on The Harvest is Plentiful.    To no surprise to many of you, I found a way to talk about pickleball. LOL  Have a great weekend, Jeff  Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*