On May 31, 2006, a combined team of seven people from Germantown Presbyterian Church and four from Peachtree Presbyterian Church left Memphis and Atlanta to renew their relationships with Christian friends in northeast Brazil. Although Germantown teams began mission trips to Brazil in the year 2000, this was the first joint venture with another team and we really felt blessed during the entire experience together. 

 

Marta Carriker was asked to travel with our joint team as our translator and we soon realized that Marta was much more than a translator. She was an integral part of our team. Marta is a Brazilian living with her husband, Tim, an American in ministry in southern Brazil. We also have learned from previous trips the value of having youth and young adults as part of our mission teams. 

  

A range of ages and experience has always been a blessing. Each person brought the gift of their presence and their faith and we bonded quickly, having shared preparations and agendas in several team meetings, sometimes through conference calls, prior to our departure.  We were delighted to finally meet, some for the first time, some once again, but each to serve the Lord together. Sharing devotional times, meals, worship, thoughts and concerns together was indeed inspiring and life changing. 

 

What a joy to spend eight days in three cities along the Atlantic coast and in the interior in the Sertao region once again serving along side our Brazilian brothers and sisters in Christ; whether missionaries, pastors, teachers, administrators, musicians, or dancers. Spending time in communities of the faithful of all ages is always special, and who can forget all the enthusiasm and beautiful smiling faces of the children.

 

We are frequently asked, “Why do we travel so far on these mission trips?” Initially we might have gone to provide support and material needs to those less fortunate in other countries. But we also quickly realized the value of building and strengthening relationships with fellow Christians with different cultural backgrounds and traditions. While our cultures are different there are common threads that make up the fabric of our lives. We all are brothers and sisters in Christ and learning together how to be faithful disciples and members of the Body of Christ, the church.   We have strong bonds of sharing the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit together over these past six years. As we reflect on our trips and our special times together with our friends from the Sertao, we have come to appreciate the deep faith of our friends. Their congregations are very much aware of the needs of others in their community and reach out to serve them in many creative ways. We have learned a great deal from each other. We are so grateful for the blessings we have received from our friendships and partnerships. It is indeed a privilege to pray for each other and encourage each other and learn from each other. Surely, we all received that mutual spiritual blessing that the Apostle Paul writes about in his letter to the Romans, “…that we each may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” (Rom 1:12)