Life on the Ranch

This morning the Starfish mission team was honored to work along side some of the AMO mission team on needed tasks around their ranch. With AMO's direction, the Starfish team worked laying block, tending to their garden, help to finish walls in one of the new missionary houses, and we mixed compost.

The first picture is of the AMO team members and our Starfish team preparing to lay block. The house is being built to meet the expanded needs of the AMO team. Each house is occupied by a couple who came from the favelas, found Christ through the work at the AMO ranch, and now work to share the gospel. These couples also take in kids who have been growing up in a similar situation to what own their childhoods once were. Because they know what the kids have gone through, the couples are able to help them along the path of kingdom work & discipleship.

Rescued from the darkness within the favelas to later be agents of light to the favelas!

In the second picture is Nate with AMO and Tim with Starfish are working in the garden. Today the garden needs we're tended to and lettuce was pulled which we enjoyed with our meal tonight. At the ranch they grow a variety of vegetables including beans, corn, sweet potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, egg plant, okra, and quash. A portion of the food raised goes to feed the AMO mission team and the rest is given to the needy within the favelas as the teams take the gospel into Sao Paulo. Those in the favelas can rarely get vegetables, so the AMO team feeds them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Picture #3 is of Laura helping to finish walls to prepare them for painting. This is Anderson and his wife's home. He was rescued from the favelas and now has brought a number of kids from there to Christ, some of which are now AMO mission team members.

In the evening AMO and the Starfish mission team members visited three families to encourage, share the gospel, and invite them to the coming Thursday night service here at the ranch.

Picture #4 is with the first family. This family worked hard to build their house. They saved and built the house over a five year period. Some if the family attended last Sunday's service at the ranch and then invited Glen, a Starfish team member, to his home. The team was blessed to hear their salvation story, to share the Word with them, and enjoy fellowship. The team prayed for the family and health struggles different members were burden to have.

Picture # 5 is of the second family visited. The grandmother is raising a number of her grandchildren and the son does not attend church with them. Tim shared a gospel message and Laura shared as well the message of the shooting at Marshall County High School to illustrate the need to come to the Lord. Tje family was prayed over. The grandmother was hugging all for coming.

Picture #6 is of a brief stop to encourage the girls to come to the ranch Thursday night for worship and lesson. Prayers were offered and he team said goodnight.

We loved the full day of work on the ranch, listening to the stories of a number of the AMO Brazillian mission team members (quite moving), and visiting homes in the area. 

~Glen