I know it's quite uncharacteristic of us to post twice in a week (!); but we're excited to share a video with you that highlights one of our newest partners in Bulgaria. We're also quite excited to be taking our first Bulgaria Gateway Team to Sofia to work with this ministry as well in October (28 - Nov 10) 2009.

http://www.bulgarianpartners.org/building_hope.aspx
(please paste in your browser)

Thanks again for your interest, partnership and support!
The Schmors

Hey everyone!

We've come to the end of another busy summer here at Gateway Teams...and for the Schmors, an amazing number of weeks in Germany, Cameroon, Canada and Mexico.

Our family's been back from Mexico City for about a week now and in addition to a great 11 days with the Castros in Tlahuac, we had a some quality time with our long-time friends, the Lunas and another one of our Mexico City host receivers, Jaime Becerras. Jaime pastors churches in Santa Ursula Coapa and Huixquilucan in the Mexico City region.

But, back to Tlahuac...we led a Mexico Gateway Team from North Pointe Baptist Church in Warren, Michigan with our partners, Juan and Anamaria Castro who themselves are church planting missionaries from Chile/Brazil. Tom Gibson is the Youth Pastor from North Pointe and did a great job chronicling our time there in video and pictures...take a look and thanks again for your support and prayers!

Hi!
Just a few quick updates....and fyi's....

1. Cameroon - Nick and I (Randy) did make it home! We arrived late on July 3, exhausted but very encouraged. Our last days in Cameroon gave us a chance to recup a little bit as we hit the ground running pretty hard upon our arrival there. The future partnership between our youth and youth leaders among the Cameroon Baptist and NAB looks very promising and this training team consisting of a mix of Cameroonians and Americans was a great experience!

2. Canada - The whole family had the opportunity to head to Winnipeg, Manitoba last week for the North American Baptist's 'Triennial' Conference. It was exhausting, but a great week all in all as we connected with many friends, supporters and participants in Gateway Teams. Randy and Shelly led 2 workshops on "Effective Short-Term Missions - What is it?" and Kameron had a great time in the well organized children's program (although he continually lets us know that he's almost a Middle-Schooler!).

3. Mexico - We're heading there with a team from the Detroit area next week. Please pray for us as we re-connect with our friends in the Mexico City region of 'Tlahuac' and help them reach their community with children's ministry and English classes.

4. Brazil - (read on, maybe this is for you!)
CHAIN of Love Homes - www.chainoflove.org - Campo Bom, Brazil
Gateway Teams is taking an 'open' team to help serve the children of CHAIN of Love in June 2010. Please send us an email if you would like more details or are interested in applying!

Randy Schmor

NAB Youth gave towards the purchase of this motorcycle for the Ndu Field Youth Pastor back in 2003.


Youth Leaders that attended the Ndu seminar.

Nick Reyes teaching on the 'Building' section of our seminar.

No, it's not Greg Jennings but Richard Apongde, one of our trainers who has become a recent Packer fan! (Just kidding, but he did like the shirt! Especially in Ndu's cool 7500 ft. altitude!)

The group of CBC Youth Leaders attending our seminar in hot and sticky Mutengene, close to the coast.

Hello friends from Bamenda, Cameroon in West Africa!

As some of you know, I (Randy) am here with Youth Pastor Nick Reyes from Fontana, CA working together with youth leaders of the Cameroon Baptist Convention for the past 2 weeks. We completed the 3rd of our 3 discipleship seminars for youth leaders here using material from J-Life Africa on the Strategy of Jesus (as well as a follow-up seminar entitled 'Foundations'). Thank you for your prayers!

The training that we've been doing is a part of a partnership between North American Baptist (NAB) Youth and Leaders and the Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC) Youth and Leaders that has been going on for the past 5-6 years. I led the first training team of 6 youth leaders here back in 2007 and this current mission is the follow-up to that. From this point, the training of lay youth leaders in about 800 CBC churches here will be done by the Cameroonians. As a matter of fact, although just Nick and I traveled out here, we actually were a team of 5 as Tah Martin, Daniel Wango and Richard Apongde, who are all a part of the CBC youth leadership, joined forces with us as one training team.

We started in Mutengene, close to the Atlantic coast and about an hour from the Douala airport, moved on to Bamenda about 5 hours inland, and then went 5 more hours further inland to the village of Ndu, close to the Nigerian border. All together, close to 300 youth leaders were in attendance with over 135 attending at Ndu on June 25-26. (back in 2007 we had about 150 youth leaders in 4 different locations) The response was exceptional and our team was very encouraged as these youth leaders traveled, some over great distance to be a part of these seminars. Examples: at Ndu, some youth leaders walked on foot 8 hours to come; one man, Pastor Genesis, was in a car that he hired along with some others to come that rolled over a number of times, he ended up climbing out and helping the others and still made it to the seminar.

But what impressed us the most about the attenders here was their commitment to God and their knowledge of the Scriptures. They asked very good questions, knew the Scripture references they quoted and showed an incredible love for youth and the desire to see them grow spiritually.

We also have had our share of adventure as many of the roads here are unpaved with many dips, holes (potholes would be way too mild of a term) and slick mud because we're in the middle of rainy season. As a matter of fact, as we were coming back from Ndu to Bamenda on Friday, our car slid off of the road and it took the 5 of us with the help of 4 other persons to actually lift the car out of it's prone position, ready to fall 4 feet down into a ditch, back onto a part of the road that was a little more stable; and all of this in slick mud and rain.

But we thank God for this time, for commited youth leaders and CBC youth leadership to pass this training onto and for the opportunity to share in ministry together with these committed followers of Jesus. And...we thank you for praying! Please don't stop! Nick and I will be traveling back to the coast tomorrow and then our flight will leave on July 1 late at night taking us to 2 stops in Europe before we finally end up back in Milwaukee late on July 2. Nick especially needs your prayers as he deals with excrusiating back pain that the rough trip back from Ndu revived, the result of a car accident he had some years ago. It hasn't been easy for him since we returned here to Bamenda last Friday and we have a lot of miles/kilometers to cover in the next few days.

Thanks again for your prayers and interest! If you'd like more details, please send us an email and let Shelly or I know.

In His Grip,

Randy

Hey Everyone!

Thank you for all the prayers for the combined team of youth leaders from the US and Cameroon. Things are going really well at the seminars, and exciting things are happening. Please continue to pray for health and safety for Randy and Nick. It's hot there! They will be finishing up some seminars in Bamenda today and then on to the town of Ndu. Please continue to pray for good relationships to be built with our brothers and sisters in Cameroon. It is exciting to be a part of the Kingdom work around the world. What a privilege that God allows us to partner with Him. The family in the picture is one of the youth leaders, Daniel, that Randy and Nick are training with. The baby they are holding was born last year and is named Randy - after our Randy!!!! Too cool!

The team that was in

Cameroon in 2007

Cameroon 2009

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give you an update on things. Randy and Nick Reyes of Fontana, CA are on their way to Cameroon, West Africa. They will be partnering with 3 Cameroonian youth leaders there to form a team who will go out to several locations to train volunteer youth leaders in discipleship principles. This is exciting as ALL the youth workers in Cameroon are volunteer. There is only one paid youth worker among the 800+ churches. This team is part of an ongoing partnership between NAB youth workers and Cameroon Baptist Convention youth workers. Please be in prayer for these men as they seek to raise up emerging young leaders! These are exciting times!

Randy and Nick will be arriving in Cameroon tomorrow! Right now they are in Germany on a very brief visit to some potential new hosting sites of Gateway Teams. Please be in prayer for their safe travel to Cameroon and then an exciting and fruitful time of ministry over the next 2 weeks. Thanks!

Shelly (for all the Schmors)

Quiet time, devotions, daily prayer, time with God.....

What do you call it? That time that you spend with God. Whether it be daily, weekly, moment by moment.... When and where do you meet with God?

I was contemplating this today because I found a new website at http://www.examen.me/ . It's a site that you can do various spiritual disciplines while at your computer. I did one this morning that took me to a passage in Ezekiel, I really liked thinking through the scripture and how God was speaking to me through it. I also did something called a "Center Out" prayer. A prayer time that started by praying for yourself, then friends and family, then our culture, and then the world. Again, I really liked the guided time of prayer.

Now, would I do this everyday for my "God Time"? No - I like to be outside and in nature way too much to connect with my creator only through my computer screen. But, when it's raining and cold.... it was a pretty neat thing. Please check it out!

But, I would love to hear from you in the comment section (please take a moment to share) of what are some creative, different or even routine ways that you connect with God. What do you do? Where do you go? Let's share some ideas - it might just spur each of us on to try something new and connect with our Lord in a way we never have before - maybe he'll teach us something when we step out of our "usual" routine!

Because we are a "Sound of Music" kind of family and Kameron performed in an amazing production of it last year, we thought you might enjoy this as much as we did!

Thanks for praying everyone! Randy's surgery went very well on Monday! In fact we think God was at work on his knee before the surgeon even got a chance to get in there. When the Dr. looked at the MRI before surgery he was pretty convinced that the damage to his MCL was pretty significant, but when he went in and looked at it, it was totally attached to the bone and was "very strong". So, when all was said and done, Randy only needed to have two areas of frayed cartilage shaved as well as the bottom of his knee cap. So, all this means, recovery time will be much shorter and the damage pretty much wasn't there! We truly believe that we experienced a miracle from the hand of God! So, we are going to brag on HIM and give HIM the honor due his name! Thank you for lifting Randy in prayer!

With Love and Appreciation!

The Schmors

Some Prayer Requests.....

We are so thankful for so many of you that faithfully lift our family and ministry up in prayer before God on a regular basis. We know that we could not do the things that God has called us to if we didn't have people like you loving and caring for us! So, thank you! Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus to us and loving us well. Our lives have been greatly touched and influenced by so many of you.

We do have some prayer requests that we would like to share with you....

* On Monday, April 6, Randy will be having knee surgery to repair his MCL. Please pray for the doctors and all involved that things would go smoothly. Pray that Randy would be a good patient and listen to all he needs to without getting frustrated.

* Please also pray for Kameron and Shelly through this time. Kameron is worried about "his daddy's operation" - pray for peace for him - he needs to be able to focus hard on school during this time and this is a HUGE distraction! Shelly is asking that you pray that she will be able to balance and handle all that she usually does as well as taking on more things to take care of Randy and many things that need to get done for Gateway.

* April 17-18 we will be having a Gateway Teams Leader Training Event at Sioux Falls Seminary in Sioux Falls, SD. We are so excited for this time as it has been long in the making and we are excited to continue to grow in our partnership with this fine place of learning. Pray that we will be able to give all that we have and can to this time.

* April is a busy and exciting month with the things listed above. And also, we will be celebrating Kameron's 11th Birthday on April 20 and our 21st Wedding Anniversary on April 30. Please pray for these special days in the life of our family.

Isn't the picture above beautiful.... I love it because in the midst of winter (that seems to go on and on and on..) it reminds me of the hope of spring and the making of all things new. I'm thankful that our God can and does make all things new and He gives us HOPE when we need it most! What a mighty God we serve - thank you for your partnership with us as we seek to see HIS kingdom come!

Love

Shelly (for Randy and Kameron too!)

Hey Everyone - I found this article on a website that I like to read and thought it was good enough to share! Seeing as we are all facing financial hard times - what can we learn through it. Hope this gets you to thinking too!

Shelly

How to Beat the Recession: Go on a mission trip
By Jeff Goins

March 2009

I heard a pastor the other day say that his church’s giving was down by 50 percent. He had to call up all of the missionaries they supported and tell them that the church wouldn’t be able to send them money this year. A friend of mine was such a missionary, getting an email from another church that could no longer send him monthly support (it was a substantial amount of his monthly income). Another friend who works for a large Christian missions organization told me that the number of participants they were sending into the mission field this summer was down by 60 percent, which translates into a few thousand missionaries for them.
Without casting stones at churches that are just trying to see their businesses make it through the recession, I want to point something out here—going on mission trips should not be optional. I know that some might say that short-term mission trips are nothing more than glorified vacations for rich youth groups (and in some cases, they would be right), but I’ve seen short-term missions serve the Church in incredible ways. I’ve seen teenagers come back from a month overseas, and their lives have completely changed. In fact, I recently got an email from a friend whom I helped train for a short-term trip a few summers ago; she was asking for prayer for some friends that she met in downtown Toronto. She’s been meeting with a homeless community each week for several months, all because God first broke her heart for the poor on a trip to Latin America.
My teenage sister has a heart for Africa, but she also has a tendency to desire “needs” that aren’t really needs at all. She recognizes it, but her surrounding culture isn’t offering an alternative other than self-centered materialism. What can she do? “Go on a mission trip,” I suggested. She listed a series of excuses, including finances, and I told her to find a mission trip and that I’d help her get the money.
The most generous and sacrificial people I know have all had some sort of experience in which God birthed compassion in them through exposure to the poor while on a mission trip. I know that there are other ways to get perspective and a healthy worldview, but the best way I know is to pack your bags and go live amongst the less fortunate for awhile.
Why is this relevant? Given all the economic hardships due to the recession, I’m concerned that the American church is facing a temptation to merely survive. For some of us, practices like charitable giving and going on mission trips are becoming increasingly more difficult. Naturally, it makes sense to make wise budget cuts, but I don’t believe that all God is calling us to do is subsist.
I believe that a scandalously gracious God wants to see His Kingdom come through His Bride who spurns the seeming lack of means to accomplish the task at hand.
I believe that Jesus wants His Body to live in such a way that our lifestyles say, “What recession?” (I realize that may be impossible for those who have lost their jobs, but I think you understand what I mean.)
I believe that our cultural addictions to comfort and excess need to be broken, and now is the perfect time to catalyze that paradigm shift. I suggest the way that you do that is by going on some kind of intentional trip to serve people much poorer than you. Read Luke 9 or Matthew 10, and tell me that short-term missions aren’t biblical, that Jesus doesn’t use discomfort and risk to teach His disciples how to rely only on God.
I realize that it seems counter-intuitive to cure a recession by spending potentially thousands of dollars on a short-term mission trip, but consider it an investment that will have long-term returns. Once you see people living happily on much less than you would even consider “fun money,” it changes you. It changes the way you make decisions, the way you spend your money, and the way you relate to the world around you. If you’re having trouble figuring out how to do this, send me an email, and I’ll help you figure out where to go and how to get there.
And then, maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to say, “What recession?”
Thoughts?
Jeff Goins lives in Nashville, Tenn., with his wife, Ashley. He works for the nonprofit organization Adventures in Missions, recruiting people for short-term mission trips, and edits an online magazine for “spiritual misfits.” In his spare time, he likes to write, read several books at once, play guitar and eat sushi. Oh, and he Blogs.

Randy at the Jordan River - 2008.

Matthew 11:16-17 - (The Message) - Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

The unforced rhythms of grace. Unforced - not conjured up, not forced, not pushed, not earned, just given --and received. Why do I try to "get" more grace? All I need is there - available - all the time, every minute of everyday. It's there - but just like I can't do anything to "get" or "earn" or "deserve" more - God won't push it on me or force me to take it. I need to make the choice to receive it - accept it - take it.

Rhythms - ebbs and flows - patterns - like a river - sometimes flowing strong and hard - like rapids, other times just a soft, quiet flow, and other times a small, almost trickle. Rhythms - sometimes fast, sometimes slow but always complimenting the melodies and harmonies of life that go with it. Always enough. Not too much, not too little. Not overpowering, but not so little that it can't be heard, seen, felt.

Grace - What is it? Do I really understand what it means? Have we ever truly experienced it? Do I live it? Do I give it? The Sunday School answer often given - God's Riches At Christ's Expense. What are God's Riches? Do I think I only experience it when things are "going well" and I am 'materially' blessed? Or, do I understand his Riches even in hard times and dark days? A quote from our good friend Pastor Mike - Never question in the dark what you know was true in the light. If it's true in the light then it's still true in the dark days. It doesn't change even if my circumstances do.

...Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.... Learn them, figure them out, seek understanding and wisdom. Learn - it's a process - it doesn't just happen overnight. How long does it take? A day? A week? A month? A lifetime? Yes! All of the above - because it's given (grace that is) as we need it - in rhythms. ebbs and flows.....

Wow Lord, thanks for speaking. As I live and learn in the unforced rhythms of your grace - help me to then be an extension of that grace. To all those around me and especially to those that I am closest to let grace flow. Help me to love well and not in a controlling or manipulative way but in a way paved by GRACE!

Because of His Grace,

Shelly (for all the Schmors)

Hi! Brazil Gateway Team Leader Randy Schmor here once again. Thanks to Team Secretary Nalanda Barber for her last post of the team's activities through August 12! (and the great pics too!)

Nalanda hard at work painting grates.

Sorry for the lack of pictures in the rest of the postings regarding the August 2008 Brazil Gateway Team as I simply forgot to bring the USB cable for my camera along! :( Oh well....I'm glad Nalanda brought hers and that she uploaded a few pics of our time there.

Wednesday (Aug. 13) continued our time with another full day of work projects, craft and games classes that the team led. We also had the opportunity to have the evening to ourselves as the bulk of the CHAIN of Love kids headed to church events. Wednesday was also the day, I believe, that team member Zach W. had a little run in with a tool he was using to cut some vines with. After a trip to a local clinic and a couple of stitches, he was on his way to recovery! Thanks for prayers that God would keep us safe from serious injuries....

Assistant Team Leader Charissa and 'Tiara' in craft class.

Thursday was our last full day with the morning and afternoon activites and also our evening 2 levels of ESL classes and sports. A small group of us also visited a number of the 9 homes to take some pictures of the parents and kids as well as to deliver some August birthday gifts to 9 children (altogether) who have birthdays in August; 6 of which were during our 16 days in Campo Bom. It was really neat to see the reactions of the kids when we gave them the gifts and to have a chance to connect with the parents and other kids as well.

August birthday gifts to House #4.

Friday. As our time in Brazil was rapidly coming to a close, we took the opportunity in the morning to walk to the city center of the city we had been in for the last 2 weeks, Campo Bom. Everyone had a good time looking for souvenirs and getting some gifts for friends and family back home. A few also enjoyed a Brazilian ice cream buffet where you can basically fill a cup or waffle cone as much as you want and just pay by the weight! "Sorvete", as they call it, is pretty good! That afternoon was also given to a very important 2-3 hour Team Meeting dedicated to 'Debriefing' the entire experience and preparing the team to re-enter life back home. As was discovered during this time, some of the most important things considered were how this experience would be used to effect our world-view and our decisions for the future. It was also a time to remember and reflect on all that God had allowed us to experience, people we had met and just how wide our eyes had been opened to seeing the world a little more as God sees it. We also talked about 'saying goodbye' appropriately to people that have significantly affected your life and how to do that in a meaningful way.

We also headed into the evening for the closing classes of ESL and sports as well as a special treat that all the CHAIN of Love kids were looking forward to; a basketball game with all of the house mothers and adult women of our team! I don't think anyone was prepared for what that would be like, but just to give you an idea; my wife Shelly still has a bruise on her arm and can't fully extend her elbow, AND some women came out of the game with teeth marks!! I'll say no more.... :)

Nelson, Sara (Assistant Team Leader and Gateway Teams' summer intern) and Telmo enjoying the ladie's basketball? (if you want to call it that!) game and some 'chimarrao'. Nelson made over 20 pair of custom tennis shoes for our team members (no kidding!) and Telmo is the volunteer coordinator at CHAIN of Love Homes. 2 awesome men with an incredible hearts for kids.

Saturday was our last day in Brazil and we took the opportunity to have 3 of the kids help us ride the public bus about 10 km into downtown Novo Hamburgo and do some last item shopping. It was a great experience for everyone and some found some pretty good deals too! The women assistant team leaders also suggested that we treat the team to an ice cream before heading out....great stuff! It was also time for us to begin the process of packing and cleaning our 'home' for the last 2 weeks; which was no small task (dirt AND smell wise, hey guys?). :)

Also, Chris and Ingrid Kidd (missionaries working at CHAIN of Love) brought over their 2 day old new baby boy to visit before they even went home from the hospital!

Then...conversation, hugs, laughs, tears...and goodbyes continued well into the night and finished up on Sunday (Aug. 17) morning as our bus came right on time at 8:30am to begin our 40 hour (more or less) trip(s) home.

We met up with our good friends Arthur and his father Filipe (who attend Boas Novas church and works in Gramado at the chocolate factory we visited last week) and their family as they met and helped us at the airport before we headed through security. Then it was 2 hours to Buenos Aires, Argentina, a 7 hour lay-over there, 10 hours to Houston, 2 1/2 hours layover, and 4 hours to Calgary. In Calgary, the 4 of us from Gateway Teams had 2 flights back to Milwaukee via Minneapolis and the bulk of the team waited for another 7 hours before finally arriving back in Regina, SK Monday evening (Aug. 18). Unfortunately, the 4 of us who headed to Milwaukee had to rush to check in for our flight and because we were actually late checking in, had to rush in for our security checks and US immigration before the rest of the team made it upstairs to say good-bye :(. But, we were able to connect by phone a little bit later...........

All in all, lives were changed by this experience....for many on this team, it was a first opportunity to see life outside of North America and as we had the opportunity to interact with the children, house parents and missionaries who make CHAIN of Love Homes the amazing place that it has become; you can only wonder and thank God for how children's lives have been totally transformed because they live there.

It was an incredible opportunity to see the world from a child's point of view and at the same time from the Creator's point of view as well.

In a world where community has become possible across many barriers and borders, including distant geographical ones, the relationships that have been formed are life-changing much like the God who given the opportunity, changed our lives as well through being of service to 'the least'. How much more could you ask for?

Thanks for your prayers for this team and all the other Gateway Teams that served in 2009. We'll see you in September at our next post! Blessings!

Kameron and his friend Pablo. They became friends on our last trip to Brazil 5 years ago when Kameron was 5 and Pablo 4.

Randy (for the Brazil Gateway Team from Faith Baptist - Regina, SK)

Well, Saturday came and went as a pretty laid back day, especially compared to the rest of the week. Not many people work on the weekends in Brazil, and Chian of Love is no different. We got to sleep in, eat a leisurely breakfast, and hang out in the dorms for the morning. After another delicious lunch, we headed outside to hang with the kids, who were all pretty excited for the upcoming Festa Inverno, which was planned to start around 6:00. All afternoon people had been setting up tables in the gym, and as 6:00 grew closer, these tables started filling up with crafts, games and most importantly, food. We all agreed that the "common" Brazilian food is some of the best food we have ever had. There were pastries with meat in them called pastels (to die for) and the best dessert ever: little balls of goodness with chocolate icing and sprinkles on it. According to Luke F. they are "life changing". The gym was packed with people, all having a great time. Outside of the gym was a mechanical bull, which cost only 1 real (60 Canadian cents) for three tries. Of course, a lot of our team wanted to try. By the time 10:00 rolled around, we were all pretty tired, and headed off to bed.

Sunday gave us a little more of a busy day, as we got up and ate breakfast, had a team meeting and headed off to the hippie market in Porto Alegre. We arrived at 10:30, and the ladies powershopped until 12:00, when we were to meet at the bus. Most of the guys found a lot of the merchandise very feminine (there was a lot of jewlery), but still enjoyed the very unique experience of an open market. At 12:00, we were driven to a genuine Churrascaria, with a gaucho (cowboy) show and everything. A Churrascaria is a restaurant that is similar to the Pizzaria in the way you are served, but differs in one aspect. It's not pizza; it's meat. And it's giant chunks of meat on swords. On the left, you see a picture of one of the waiters, holding a large sword with meat on it, and the very sharp knife used to cut it into serving size pieces. A very unique experience, for sure. After the meal, there was a show, with some traditonal dancing and rope tricks. These ropes were used with cattle, and have weights on each end. The gauchos in the show demonstrated some very intense tricks, including spinning the end of the rope so close to someone's head that their hair moved! Very cool. After the Churrascaria, we all headed back to Chain of Love, very full and very ready for a siesta. We left for church at 6:30, and enjoyed another service of worshiping in two different languages. Because this Sunday was Father's Day in Brazil, they had the little kids come up and sing a song. I think the only word that any of us (except Randy S. and Krista D.) caught was 'pie' - dad! Soon after we got back from church, we quickly headed to bed, as we had a busy day ahead of us.

Monday was pretty normal. We got up, ate breakfast, the got to work. Between craft classes, sport classes and other work projects, we were kept busy. Lunch was delicious, as always, and siesta was delightful. Then it was back to work until around 4:00, when we got to hang out with the kids until supper. Randy, Shelley, and Kameron S. as well as Sarah H. headed off to eat supper at the house of a family from the church. We had ESL and sport classes that night, with Josh D. filling in for Randy S. in ESL. At 10:00, we had a team meeting, then went to bed.

At breakfast on Tuesday, Ken and Jerilyn Bayer and Chris Kidd shared with the team a little bit about Chain of Love's ministry and how it started and then left the floor open for questions from us. Then the rest of the day went fairly normal, with the exception of a little outing for the lady leaders and Ingrid Kidd in the afternoon. They were planning on getting manicures and petticures, and then going grocery shopping, but the nails took a little longer than expected, and the rest of the team picked them up on our way to our second Brazilian Pizzaria, which was absalutely amazing. There were atleast 10 different types of dessert pizzas, all very delicious. On your left is an example of one of the dessert pizzas - white chocolate and strawberry. Delicious! After the Pizzaria, we headed back to Chain of Love, and went to bed.

Nalanda Barber (for the Brazil Gateway Team from Faith Baptist - Regina, SK)

August 8, 2008

Hey there everybody! Sorry it's been a little while since I posted.... :(
But, as many of you can probably imagine, things have gotten quite busy here at CHAIN of Love Homes these past few days.

Tuesday evening we had the chance to go to Porto Alegre and visit with Lyndell Campbell (a NAB missionary that teaches at the Brazilian Baptist Seminary there). She gave us a tour of the school and we had the chance to meet the president and to meet one of the classes being held that evening. Then after that, we had another of our Brazilian restaurant experiences; Dom Vitto's Pizzeria! Pizza in Brazil is nothing like anywhere else as you are served and served and served up to 35 different kinds of pizza without leaving your seat until you say you can't have another bite. Then they start bringing desserts around; all you can eat! These teenage boys (and girls!) were all in heaven! ......and actually, the leaders all enjoyed quite a bit too! :)

Wednesday was another day of work projects, craft/art classes (morning and afternoon led by Nalanda B., Sarah R. and Jaclyn W.) and games (morning and afternoon led by Josh D. and Krista D.). Most of the kids here headed off to church on Wednesday night, so we had time for a great team meeting together. Shelly S. and Sarah H. have been heading up and doing a great job on our breakfasts and suppers. Our noon meals (the big meal of the day here in Brazil) have been cooked by some ladies connected with the CHAIN of Love Homes; great Brazilian fare and always plenty to eat whether being cooked by Americans or Brazilians!

Yesterday (Thursday) we had the same schedule during the day as shown above but also re-added English class (advanced taught by Randy S. and beginners taught by Krista D.) as well as a sports hour (basketball, North American football...) in the evening which is led by Zach W., Rebecca W., Jordan F. and Luke F. After all of that, we still had a team meeting in the evening as well! Busy times. Our work projects have been headed up by Stewart K. (painting metal grates), Shayne R. (staining window shudders), and Shelly S. (greenhouse weeding) and supervised overall by Randy S. There's definitely not a dull moment around here! Everyone enjoys the chance to get a little rest after lunch.......

Today (Friday) we had an outting scheduled into the interior hills/mountains northeast of Campo Bom as we went to Nova Petropolis where we walked through a natural labyrinth and happened upon a German Festival (yes, German, there's many of them here!) where polka dancers were performing and a craft fair was going on. We then headed to Gramado; a touristy city in the mountains famous for their International Film Festival, chocolate and pinheiro trees. We stopped here for lunch at a type of restaurant called a 'Cafe Colonial' where over 85 varieties of meats, cheeses, cakes, and many other dishes were served until we said 'no more'. These people know how to eat here! After this we hiked at an incredible park with a view of a high waterfall, mountains and valleys. We walked all the down to the base of the waterfall and then puffed (at least I did!) all the way back up the 1000 stairs. This being right after lunch was a bit challenging but we did it!

On the past Sunday, a man named Filipe from the church here in Novo Hamburgo (where the CHAIN of Love kids go) had invited us to visit the chocolate factory in Gramado that he manages so we made that stop. He was a great host, as we got a tour of the factory, a little free chocolate and a stop in the company store. Our last stop before heading back to Campo Bom was in the city center of Gramado where there was a lot of opportunity to shop and just generally check out the town. They were setting up for the film festival there and there were many people out on this early Friday evening braving the 10 C / 50 F temperatures that characterize winter here in southern Brazil.

As we returned here to Campo Bom, we were a bit late but went ahead with our 2 English classes and a sports class for girls which was very much appreciated. Rebecca W. and all the rest of our girl team members and leaders participated and had a great time as about 30 of the girls came from the homes. They rarely get the gym to themselves and this basketball clinic was a really a great time for them.

Well, that's probably enough for one blog post! The weekend's ahead and so are a number of new experiences as we hit the mid-point of our Brazil Gateway Team's trip.

Everyone continues to be healthy and as I type late into the night here, they're all sleeping and relishing in the fact that they finally get to sleep in tomorrow (9:00am) as we look forward to a Festa Inverno (Winter Festival) happening here tomorrow evening at the Homes.

Much more to blog about real soon! :)

Thanks for your prayers and for reading. Blessings!

Randy Schmor (for the Brazil Gateway Team from Faith Baptist - Regina, SK)

August 5, 2008

Boa tarde desde Brasil! :) (Good afternoon from Brazil!),

Our Brazil Gateway Team from Faith Baptist, Regina, SK continues to enjoy and get more accustomed to life here at the CHAIN of Love Homes in Campo Bom. We're beginning to settle into a routine here, but definitely an active routine!

Monday the team painted most of the playground equipment various primary colors and Shelly and Sarah Hagan did some weeding in the on campus greenhouse they have here. We also begin to schedule various sports, recreation and arts sessions/classes for the kids here over the next 2 weeks. We're offering craft classes every morning and afternoon and recreation games for younger kids every morning and afternoon as well. Those all begin and are in session as I write (Tuesday afternoon).

We also began 2 levels of ESL (English as a Second Language) classes last night and had a huge response with over 30 kids involved. We'll be doing those ESL classes 2 more nights this week and 4 nights next week. Beginning after the ESL class on Thursday night, we'll begin to have Basketball, Football (Canadian) and Floor Hockey clinics/scrimmages as well. We'll do a total of 2 this week and 4 of those next week.

On top of all of that, those not involved in leading/helping in all of these classes are doing other work projects involving painting, staining, weeding, etc. Justin Jaarsma, from our team, is an electrician by trade and he has been put to work with some new wiring in the activity center.

We also had the opportunity to go to House 9 last night for Marcia's birthday and give her a gift from one of her sponsors (my parents in Milwaukee, Art and Irma Schmor) and a gift from the team. Those who didn't need to head back to start the ESL class were also treated to an exceptional meal by Marcia's house-parents which they're still raving about!

Tonight we have plans to visit NAB missionary Lyndell Campbell in Porto Alegre for a tour of the Baptist Seminary where she teaches and also dinner out.

So, as you can see, we keep quite busy and this place has been able to keep all 20 of us quite active. Shelly Schmor, Sarah Hagan, Josh Docksteader (Faith's Youth Pastor) and Krista Docksteader have also been helping Chris Kidd with some of his office work by filing, taking pictures of the kids, and other general needs.

Thanks for your prayers! Pray for endurance and adequate rest. The team definitely eats enough as we have Worley (a Brazilian lady) cooking for us each noon hour and Shelly overseeing and cooking the rest of our meals.

Blessings,

Randy Schmor

August 3, 2008

Hello everyone again from Campo Bom, Brazil!

Our first Sunday here at CHAIN of Love was a nice day as it hasn't rained here since the evening we arrived on Friday. Although cloudy and cool (15 C/60 F), we enjoyed time hanging out with the kids here, playing indoor soccer and getting to know them better. We also had a team meeting this morning (church would be later in the evening) that a cut a little short because our bus driver arrived to take us to our first Brazilian restaurant experience; the 'Primavera' Galleteria (literally the 'spring chicken'!). The team was more than enthused with the amount of food and the quality of it as well. The Bayers (NAB missionaries who oversee the CHAIN of Love Homes) and the Kidds (other NAB missionaries who work at CoL) along with their family from Canada were also there with us at the Galleteria.

We also had a chance to rest up before heading to the main church service of the day which is in the evening. We rode the CHAIN of Love bus with all the rest of the kids and their house-parents; quite the loaded ride but really fun and a great opportunity to know the kids better. The service of course, was entirely in Portuguese, but the team was happy when the worship team did 3 songs that we all knew in English (one was by the 'Newsboys'). The worship team was quite professional and good! Everyone was really friendly and we greeted and met many different folks; including a school teacher who'd like our team to visit her religion class sometime while we're here.

Well, our work projects begin in the morning (painting, weeding, other) and also classes that we're planning on doing with the kids (English, crafts, basketball, other).

More to come......

Randy Schmor (for the Faith, Regina - Brazil Gateway Team)

August 2, 2008

Greetings from Campo Bom, Brazil!

Our team (from Faith Baptist - Regina, SK) arrived here at the CHAIN of Love Homes yesterday after a 30+ hour trip from Regina to Calgary to Houston to Buenos Aires to Porto Alegre!

We've had a great first day getting to know the kids, volunteers and house-parents here and are excited for the 2 weeks ahead of us. God surely has had His hand on this place and our team as we traveled long and hard to get here.

The kids had a kite competition today that we watched and our team played soccer, basketball and just plain horsed around with them for most of the afternoon. Many of our team members have been experimenting with their Portuguese and having good success at communicating!

The weather has been cool but comfortable; around 14-15 C (60 F) with rain and thunderstorms last night but partly cloudy skies today. We're looking forward to going to church tomorrow night and our first Brazilian restaurant tomorrow. Everyone's trying to get used to the Latin eating schedule which features the biggest meal of the day around 1 or 2 pm, but hey, it's not wrong, just different, right guys?!

More tomorrow! Thanks for reading!

For the Brazil Gateway Team from Regina,

Randy Schmor

Sometime ago, we mentioned some friends of ours who were struggling with health issues, so here's an update and a few other requests for you to keep in mind and prayer if you would....

John Roberts (Menomonee Falls, WI) - John is doing amazing in his recovery from a stroke in February and continues to improve. This last Thursday there was a benefit concert for John where he played keyboard (John's a great musician) along with his band on a number of songs! It was quite moving to see John playing, with one hand of course, but still! What an answer to prayer. We even heard that he's hoping to be back to work in a few months!

Craig Kelly (Tacoma, WA) - Last we heard, Craig made it through brain surgery and continues to do amazingly well!

Kathy Kroll (Cameroon) - Kathy is recovering from meningitis in her city of origin, Spokane, WA where she has family. Last we heard, she's made progress but it's been quite slow and she's still hoping to recovery her full speech and motor skills. Continue to pray for her....

Mr. Santos (Portland, OR) - He also had a stroke while visiting relatives in Brazil and has since made it back to Portland where he is being cared for by his family. Although he recovered somewhat from the stroke, definite changes in life-style had to be made.

Other requests from the Schmors...
- Nashville Youth Gathering '08 - please pray for this event that we're a part of the leadership of. 600+ youth will be attending and working in various ministry/mission opportunities each day in this city. MAJOR REQUEST - Please pray for our numbers as this event needs 800 attendees to break even. If you know of someone or you yourself may be interested in coming to Nashville to serve July 20-25, 2008, PLEASE let me know ASAP. All are welcome to come and serve; youth, college age, older....consider it!

- Brazil Gateway Team - we'll be leading this team in August from Saskatchewan to Brazil to serve. Please pray for our air travel. With all of the fuel charges and cutbacks on flights, it has been very difficult to secure seating space for our team...space that we need NOW!

- Sarah, our intern - she has been a major blessing! Sarah is working with us for 3 months this summer and has one down and 2 to go! Pray that God would continue to lead her in the future as she begins seminary in the fall.

- Our family - balancing our office work with Kameron's summer activity schedules and the travel mentioned above is a major task. Please pray for Shelly as she especially shoulders much of that balancing...

- And speaking of Shelly! - we had a great time, celebrating Shelly's latest (number not to be disclosed) birthday with many family members and friends. Yes, it was a major surprise party especially when a powerful flooding storm hit right at the time of the surprise forcing all 70 attendees inside our little house! But it was awesome! We love you Shelly!

Just outside of Nazareth, the Valley of Megiddo.

GYI Israel continued...


March 16, 2008 (journal)

Last day in Israel! So much has happened over these past 12 days, it really is hard to begin to process it all. But, we weren’t finished yet either!

We began by heading up to the highest peak surrounding the Sea of Galilee, Mt. Arbel. You could see so incredibly far from this height; the entire area north of the Sea, the town of Magdala and the route where the ancient road came between dominant high cliffs from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. Many battles were fought on these heights because of the caves there and the attack positions that were there.

The incredible view of the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee from atop Mt. Arbel. Along the lake in the foreground is the site of the ancient village of 'Magdala' (think Mary) and in the distance, also along the lake, is Capernaum.

We then headed towards Nazareth itself, passing through Cana, site of Jesus’ first miracle and on to Mt. Precipice on the outskirts of the city. This is the site where Jesus was likely forced by his own home townspeople to the edge of a cliff to be pushed off, but he wasn’t. What I didn’t realize was that this cliff also overlooks the Jezreel Valley, also know as the Valley of Armageddon, the site of the last battle described in Revelation. Across the valley was also Mt. Tabor, one of the sites thought to be where the Transfiguration took place; and also the site where Gideon took on the much larger Midianite army; and where Deborah inspired (on Mt. Tabor) the Israelite army to defeat the Philistines and their iron chariots. It was incredibly inspiring to look out over all of these sites from this one location and know that we serve the same God.

From this mount, we headed down and crossed the Jezreel Valley to pass the ancient and present city of Megiddo (form which Armageddon gets its name) and head up to the top of Mt. Carmel. We recounted the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal that took place up here and also looked down on the Kishon river where all of those same priests were slain by Elijah after the confrontation. It was cool to see where this place was in relation to Mt. Carmel, a very rocky place where Elijah made this stand.

We then headed to the Mediterranean coast and the ancient city of Caesarea; where Peter realized the worth of Gentiles in God’s plan, where Paul spoke before Felix, Festus and King Agrippa; and to see what an incredible capital city Herod built for Israel. It was inspiring in itself just to be on the shores of the ‘Great Sea’, but Dann Spader also spoke to us in our final assembly in the Caesarea theatre. He spoke about the fact that this was where the Gospel was sent out into the world and here we were from 53 different countries, evidence of the fact that the Gospel had gone into the entire world! This was a great place to spend a few minutes (which I did) of reflecting on God’s plan, looking out at the water and seeing the remains of this once very large and influential city.

Herod the Great's proposed capital sea-coast city for Israel, Caesarea; much of it is still intact including an artificial harbor (constructed over 2000+ years ago, imagine it!).


At Caesarea with my good friend Paul Ewing who came to GYI Israel from Osaka, Japan where he and his family are planting a church.

From Caesarea it was back to our final stop of the trip, our hotel in Tel Aviv where I write from now, anticipating my early morning start to go back to Milwaukee tomorrow! I can’t wait to share all of this with my wife, Shelly…it would have been so much better to have her here…but I hope all of you can catch a little of what God did in my heart over these past days.



It’s hard to put it all into words, what an experience it was to be with all of these other youth leaders, to share in a great conference and to experience Jerusalem and Israel. But I think our guide for these past 5 days, Hannah, said it best. “Before, you had a 2-dimensional idea of where the events of the Bible took place; now you have a 3-dimensional idea. Tell your friends and families not to wait until they’re old to take the opportunity to visit Israel; as Joshua and Caleb came back with the favorable report, as opposed to the rest of the spies, go home and do the same!” Well put Hannah.