This is Roberto and Moema:
We first met them at Garrett's soccer school. Kjeld was taking soccer classes at the same school.
One day she heard a woman and man speaking English at Kjeld's soccer practice. She talked to the coach and found out that Garrett was an American and that the couple speaking English was my parents visiting from the states. She got our phone number and got in touch with us.
One of the first real conversations I had with them was during a soccer tournament. They both told me they wanted "spirituality" for their son but they didn't know what that meant. I almost fell over and really felt Spirit led to have a conversation with them right there about what this "spirituality" was. We got home and Benay said, "I hope you didn't come on too strong." Rarely do I just jump into biblical things with new people and rarely do I come on too strong. I believe that everything starts with a friendship and usually it goes slowly as you build up trust but I really felt led to go deeper with them on that first conversation. During the conversation I invited them to a mid week bible study we were having. They came but, as Moema confessed later, they were just being polite in accepting the invitation and decided to come once and then never come back. The opposite happened........they never quit coming and about 6 months later they gave their lives to Christ.
They have good hearts, question lots of things and really study and try to do what God wants. We love them.
When Moema's cancer was diagnosed she was able to retire from her job as a sociology professor at a university. Roberto is a gifted singer but has had a difficult time being able to keep a job since we've known him (not from any fault of his). When his last job didn't work out he and Moema decided to really turn their future over to God and ask His guidance on what to do next.
God has led Roberto to begin a 5 month training program with Youth with a Mission. It's an international Christian program that trains people for mission work around the world. They have a training center not too far from our city. Roberto left today to begin his training. Moema and Kjeld will stay here.
This past week Benay sent out an invitation to all the house churches to come to our house to send off Roberto with a blessing.
Roberto had a chance to explain what he was being called to do:
We were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who came to bless their brother. 
People had the chance to share with him from their heart. We were also able to bless him by reading emails from people who weren't able to be there and at the end we put Roberto and Moema in the middle of all of us and laid hands on them and prayed for them and this training.
We, of course, had fun as well:
A cute, future mom (again) got to get a little practice in.
We even got to watch a guy try to break into his own car after he locked his keys inside.
Like I said.......we had fun.
They, along with their son Kjeld, are a part of the house church that meets in our house. They've been Christ followers for almost two years and, as with any young Christians (or long time Christians as well) there have been many ups and downs in their faith walk. But they always do their best to follow what the Bible says.
We first met them at Garrett's soccer school. Kjeld was taking soccer classes at the same school.
Our meeting them really shows that God has a wicked sense of humor. You see Moema grew up as a full fledged, hard core Marxist. She hated the United States, Americans and the English language. Then she was diagnosed with cancer. She fought and won the battle with cancer and came out on the other side with a new perspective if you will. God began to break her hard heart. She decided she wanted to learn English and became crazy to absorb anything English.
One day she heard a woman and man speaking English at Kjeld's soccer practice. She talked to the coach and found out that Garrett was an American and that the couple speaking English was my parents visiting from the states. She got our phone number and got in touch with us.
One of the first real conversations I had with them was during a soccer tournament. They both told me they wanted "spirituality" for their son but they didn't know what that meant. I almost fell over and really felt Spirit led to have a conversation with them right there about what this "spirituality" was. We got home and Benay said, "I hope you didn't come on too strong." Rarely do I just jump into biblical things with new people and rarely do I come on too strong. I believe that everything starts with a friendship and usually it goes slowly as you build up trust but I really felt led to go deeper with them on that first conversation. During the conversation I invited them to a mid week bible study we were having. They came but, as Moema confessed later, they were just being polite in accepting the invitation and decided to come once and then never come back. The opposite happened........they never quit coming and about 6 months later they gave their lives to Christ.
They have good hearts, question lots of things and really study and try to do what God wants. We love them.
When Moema's cancer was diagnosed she was able to retire from her job as a sociology professor at a university. Roberto is a gifted singer but has had a difficult time being able to keep a job since we've known him (not from any fault of his). When his last job didn't work out he and Moema decided to really turn their future over to God and ask His guidance on what to do next.
God has led Roberto to begin a 5 month training program with Youth with a Mission. It's an international Christian program that trains people for mission work around the world. They have a training center not too far from our city. Roberto left today to begin his training. Moema and Kjeld will stay here.
This past week Benay sent out an invitation to all the house churches to come to our house to send off Roberto with a blessing.
Roberto had a chance to explain what he was being called to do:
We were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who came to bless their brother. People had the chance to share with him from their heart. We were also able to bless him by reading emails from people who weren't able to be there and at the end we put Roberto and Moema in the middle of all of us and laid hands on them and prayed for them and this training.
We, of course, had fun as well:
A cute, future mom (again) got to get a little practice in. We even got to watch a guy try to break into his own car after he locked his keys inside. Like I said.......we had fun.
Please pray for Roberto, Moema and Kjeld, as God puts them on your heart, over the next 5 months. That He will keep them safe and will really make it clear to them where He wants them and what He wants them to do at the end of these 5 months. This organization literally has contacts around the world and so, in just a few short months, we could be sending off our first missionaries from something that didn't exist here just 6 years ago. We praise God for Roberto and his family and for God's faithful love for His children.
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