Team Member Profile: Glenn A. Hair

Hometown: N. Charleston, SC
Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 32:27
Hobbies: Walking, volunteering, & Twitter/Facebook
Family: 3 beautiful & saved children - April, 32; Justin, 21; & Rebecca, 9
Spiritual strengths: prayer, encouragement, & organization

This will be my 3rd mission trip (all to Brazil). God provided me an opportunity to get involved in missions in 2009 when I was laid off from my accounting job. I had been feeling a desire to do more after Jesus healed me of my alcohol/drug addiction in October of 2006. I knew I needed to do something that would be challenging, stretching & uncomfortable. As I began to search for what that was, my friend Amie Heath approached me about joining her team to Brazil & she can be very persuasive. I had all the usual "excuses" that satan uses to keep us from doing His will like I knew there was no way I could raise that much money, I I don't have time, & I can't speak the language. All of these, of course, proved to be easily overcome because I was doing His will.
After I arrived in Brazil for the first time in March 2010 & found out about the incredible need in the Amazon Basin, I knew I would be doing this for as long as I am able & God is willing. I absolutely fell in love with the people of Brazil. They have so little, but are so very happy, friendly, & lovable. Much to my surprise, I learned that there are 35,000 unreached villages (villages, not people) in the Amazon Basin. I was & am still blown away by this number & the incredible opportunity that it represents. We are blessed to work with http://www.projectamazon.org/ whose mission is to plant 100,000 churches, 1,000 by 2014. What an incredible organization & vision! Please join me by praying for our entire team as we head to Brazil March 2, 2012. Please pray for wisdom, discernment, guidance, & protection. We've got a great team & can't wait to get down there & change lives! May God be glorified!

Team Member Profile: Kristy Page

Hometown: Macon, GA
Favorite Verse: Philippians 4:13
Hobbies: I love to travel. I have a bucket list of things that I hope to do before I go home to be with the Lord and every year I make it a goal to check something off the list.
Favorite Dessert: homemade banana pudding
Family: I have two wonderful boys, Damon-16 and Ken Jr-6 and a cat named Sacha. God has such a sense of humor. We went to the pound to get a dog and came home with a cat. (We are dog lovers, not cat lovers,ha!)
Spiritual Strengths: being an encourager and the spirit of discernment

I am very excited about this trip. It has been on my heart for over two years and the timing wasn't right. I love people and can't wait to see what the Lord does with me on this trip. I am open to wherever He needs me to serve. I'm especially excited about being in another culture to experience how others worship the Lord. I am completely surrended to what the Lord has for me to do, learn and observe during this trip.

It has been awesome watching God work to open the doors for me to participate on this trip. He has moved mountains in such a short time on financial funding and providing care for my children while I am away. The one fear I have is snakes! I have jumped out of an airplane, swam with dolphins, worked with the scariest criminals, but nothing scares me except snakes. I don't have a fear of dying, there is just something about them. So pray that God delievers me from my fear before we arrive or clears my path every day of snakes!

I am excited for this team God has put together. We are very diverse but yet mesh very well. I can't wait to serve along side by side with them. I'm excited to tell others about what God has done in my life before this trip, on this trip and after this trip. I know this trip will take me to another level of relationship with my Lord and I'm so excited!

Team Member Profile: Laura Ashley

Hometown: Carmel, NY
Favorite Verse: Psalm 119:105
Hobbies: baking, volunteering, traveling, sports, reading, and spending time with family & friends
Favorite Dessert: frozen yogurt
Pets: Charlie Knapp, our 2 year old Chiweenie (part Chihuahua and part Dachshund)
Spiritual Strengths: energetic, teamwork, organization, helping others, positive attitude, empathetic

Over the past year, I have contemplated participating in a missions trip through my church, Seacoast. I joined Seacoast when I moved to Charleston, just over two years ago and immediately joined the volunteer team at Kidscoast (K-2nd grade). While researching different missions trips, something about the Brazil trip resonated with me and I decided to go for it! I know that God has something special in mind for this trip and I can’t wait to see how he will use me and my talents to benefit the mission efforts.
At first, I did have some concerns about leaving my husband, my work, and the country for an extended amount of time. The more I thought about it, any concern that I had was really just an excuse. I felt confident that somehow I would make this work; come up with the money, take the time off of work, and let myself come out of my ‘comfort zone’ to take part in something amazing. I am truly blessed that my employer allows for me to have the time off and is supportive to associates who are looking for unique opportunities such as this. My husband and family have also been totally supportive of the trip (I plan to get him a recordable hallmark book for while I am away hehe). I am grateful for all the amazing people I have in my life and for all the blessings I have already experienced.
While preparing for this missions opportunity, I have been overwhelmed with a sense that something great is going to happen in and through me. Leading up to the trip, I will be praying for good health, financial support, a positive outlook, as well as a closer relationship to God. This will be my first global mission trip experience and my first time to Brazil. I am excited for this experience! I believe the best way to receive is to give and that everyone should serve where they can. I know this trip will change my life and I anticipate being stretched to the limit both mentally and physically.

Team Member Profile: Nicole Robson

Hometown: Hollywood, FL
Favorite Verse: Psalm 27
Hobbies: yard work, movies & walking
Favorite Dessert: tiramisu
Pets: a kitty named Misu, who is part Maine Coon
Spiritual Strengths: building relationships, organization

As I think about the Brazil 2012 trip, I find myself encountering many different emotions. This is my 1st mission trip and really, only my 2nd time out of the country (if you don't count a handful of trips to Canada and Mexico!). This past year, I've tried to immerse myself in the church and have been working on deepening my relationship with Jesus Christ and really felt that it was time to step out of my comfort zone and do a trip. It was funny the way it happened (God works in mysterious ways, doesn't he?)--I had sort of focused my energy on another trip later in the year to South Africa and out of the blue got a call from one of the Brazil trip leaders letting me know that a spot had opened up and would I be interested in joining the team. As she and I spoke, I really felt God whispering in my heart letting me know that this was the trip he wanted me on. As I said, there are so many emotions that one feels when thinking about an undertaking like this...some things kind of silly, and some things not so much, such as, 1. how will I come up with the money required to make this possible? 2. am I ready to travel to another country with 9 people I barely know?, 3. what do I pack for the Brazilian rainforest? But perhaps the most important question and/or thought of all is, 4. how does God want to work through me in Brazil and will I be up to the challenge? This I have been praying on every night. I pray that he will allow me to be a blessing to not only my team, but to the people of Brazil. I pray that he is preparing all the hearts of those who are involved in this trip. I pray for financial support...I pray for strength (because I know I can sometimes have wimpy tendencies and really don't want to be a burden to anybody)...I pray that he will allow me to step outside of myself and all my day to day worries, etc. and really be humble and open to the many blessings that are sure to come out of this trip. The blessings I have already experienced have taken my breath away: getting a support check in the mail from someone completely unexpected, discussing the trip particulars with friends and family who are so intrigued/excited about it, becoming more involved with the church and making friends with the people on my team to name a few.

The Final Countdown

We are in full swing planning our trip to Brazil in 2012! The blog shows you a good update on where we have been and the history of the teams, but we are excited about this year and what it has in store for us. Our relationship with Project Amazon is stronger than ever....they are our family on the ground in Brazil and our prayers are lifted daily for their teams as they evangelize on the front lines.

We also have an amazing team this year:
Laura Ashley
Tommy Elliott
Glenn Hair
Amie Heath
Jerry Miner
Kristy Page
John Peckham
Nicole Robson
Chuck Sumner
John Tucker

God has bless us with very specific talents and the work He has in store for each of is has already been prepared in advance. We covet your prayers as we are in full swing raising both financial and prayer support!

Stay tuned to get further updates on our planning!