About Us
Welcome to our website! We are glad you took the time to update yourself on our family and ministry. We are missionaries, serving in the country of Brazil. Currently we are serving our first term in Brazil. We arrived on February 28, 2008. Melissa and I just finished studying Portuguese at the Portuguese School for Evangelical Missionaries, in downtown, São Paulo, Brazil. We are sent out of Piney Grove Baptist Church in Trenton, GA. We serve with Global Faith Mission Agency, Inc., in Chattanooga, TN.
We came to Brazil with three goals: 1) Evangelize the Brazilian people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ; 2) Educate them in the Word of God and train them to live according to it; and 3) Establish local, New Testament churches for the advancement of the Body of Christ. We desire to be used of God to reach people here, being confident of the fact that God has called us to be missionaries to the people of Brazil. One of the burdens that God has placed in our heart as we set out to accomplish our goals is to reach Deaf people with the Gospel. There are millions of Deaf here in Brazil. We see them almost daily here in São Paulo. We have made contact with some Deaf people and will begin to learn Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS). Please pray with us as we seek to please God Almighty and perform His will for our lives here in Brazil.
We now have a new blog! When you get a chance, check it out at www.danielfamilyblog.wordpress.com.
What are we doing now?
We are currently working with another missionary family, the Jonathan Mathews family, in the East Zone of São Paulo, in an area called, Cidade Tiradentes. This area is home to more than 220,000 people and also boasts the largest number of government housing projects in all of Latin America. It is a poor area economically, morally and spiritually. Before we arrived the Mathews had already acquired a considerable sized piece of property in a very highly visible area of the region of Cidade Tiradentes. With this piece of property we have big plans! It measures several times larger than that of the average Baptist church in São Paulo, which gives us a huge advantage. Space is limited in the city and with this property we have fewer limitations.
Now the property is not useable. We are currently doing some excavation and drainage work on it to make it "job-site" ready. When it is able to be built on we have plans for a multi-facility campus that includes a Church, Youth Outreach Center, Sports Facility, Training Institute and Christian Pre-School. The opportunities are limitless.
Some of the main concerns and difficulties that we face in the area are a lack of complete family structures. There are many "families" with no father. There are many "families" with a man, woman and several children living under the same roof and often the children are from different fathers. Also the pre-teens and teens run the streets, are left unattended to whatever the world can offer them and are seemingly destined to follow in their parent's ways. We have a great task to be the LIGHT of Christ in this area and will be able to offer many avenues of ministry on the property.
Currently we are raising funds to further develop the property through what we call, “The Cidade Tiradentes Project.” We are looking for people interested in supporting this project that currently do not make up part of our support team. If you are interested, you may donate through our mission organization listed on the "Contact" page (if you wish to receive a tax deductible receipt). When donating through the mission organization, please be sure to designate your contribution to “Josh Daniel – Property Development”.
You may also visit the following blog that was designed to allow you to track the progress of the property development - www.engagetheprojects.blogspot.com. On this blog you can donate via PayPal (for which we cannot give tax deductible receipts).
We want to thank you for your investment in our lives and ministry.
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