whoa whoa, what's happening?!

Dear Friends and Relatives,

Right now, for the past week, I have been helping care for my Grandpa here in Parentins, who, two days ago, has gone to be with Jesus. I stayed up with him all night, during which he slipped into a coma, and stopped breathing around 8:30am. He was buried yesterday in Santarem in the same cemetary as my grandma and dad. I really respect him so much, because without Grandpa and Grandma, Project Amazon would not even exist. Please pray for my family as we lean on God all the more during this time.

In August, I moved from Santarem to Fortaleza (by motorcycle and boat--a five-day trip!) I am very excited because God has given me the amazing, rare privilege of being mentored by my Uncle Abe, who I respect very much as an uncle and also as a very amazing church-planter! The church in Fortaleza, which he and Aunt Andrea and their team started less than 3 years ago, has already grown to over 1,500 members. Before coming to Fortaleza, Uncle Abe was the main pastor in Santarem for about 30 years. He trained many other leaders, and even though he left to start a new church, the church in Santarem did not suffer--it contines to explode. You can see the latest developments there at: http://www.projectamazon.org/

Uncle Abe holds yearly conferences for hundreds of pastors who come from other cities in Brazil and even from other countries, to pass on to them what God has taught him about church-planting, small groups, one-on-one discipleship and leadership training. He is on demand as a speaker, and travels a lot to train others pastors and churches. I plan to learn all I can and fit right into the vision that God has given to him! I have spent several weeks in his home now with his loving family. He has been like a father to me. I have already learned a lot, and I plan to learn all I can, starting from the bottom up, with a servant heart.

Fortaleza is a city of about 3 million people. Uncle Abe wants me to concentrate on the youth ministry of the church, under the leadership of their youth pastor, Pastor Sandro. (Pastor Sandro was initially discipled by my dad, and after Dad died, has been being discipled for many years by my Uncle Abe.) There are thousands of youth in this city, and he is full of vision for how to reach them. I want to learn all I can from him too.In a couple of weeks, I will be leaving to the USA to try to raise some support for my living expenses and ministry here in Fortaleza. Obviously this is an amazing opportunity, and I really thank God! He is so faithful and good!

Much Love in Christ,Isaiah Huber

trips, teams, churches!!

Wow, it's definitely time for another off-the-wall update!
I've had a super busy last couple of months! We often have construction or medical teams come down here to the Amazon. These are teams who want to help us in forwarding the Gospel in different ways and methods, such as providing medical care for river communities that don't have that privilege, and helping the community build their own Bible-believing church.
I helped lead a team to a village called Aritapera, where we worked on a wooden church. Because of the high water, (it's the rainy season) the village was completely flooded. All the houses are on stilts, as is the church. Because of this, if anybody fell, they would fall right into the water... and this really did happen a couple times! We also held an evangelistic outreach which was a very blessed time to share the love of Jesus to the village.
After that, I helped lead another team to a village called Miri, where we did similar work, but on solid ground this time and the church being a brick building. There we also installed water filters, and treated a huge number of sick people, as well as providing dental care. And of course we did house visits, evangelizing, and caring for specific needs.
The most recent news, PAZ just held our annual huuuuuuge evangelistic outreach. It's a 3-nigt outreach, and is so big, we have to use our city's soccer stadium! People come the thousands to hear the Word of God, worship, and see dramas. I played the part of Jesus in the final drama which was about Judgment Day. I was lowered in on a huge crane and "judged the nations". It was a powerful three nights!! On average, about 1000 people total give their lives to Christ every time this outreach is done. There are some great pictures at www.projectamazon.org.

Anyway, as time rolls on, the Lord has begun to bring back to life an old dream of mine: to reach out to different cultures, within the Brazilian culture that are extremely difficult to get their attention using common methods. Cultures such as the street culture in a larger city, and rebellious youth that want nothing to do with Jesus. Please pray with me as I plan and pray about this new opportunity in a large city in Brazil called Fortaleza. I want to use the skill and ability He has given me for His glory and to reach as many as possible, using un-common methods such as extreme sports etc. I want to be wise and courageous, and I know God has fantastic things planned for the youth of Fortaleza.

Right now, I'm still working here in the Amazon, but I'll keep you updated on these new ideas that God continues to show us.

Go after the lost with everything you have!!!

running the Race,
Isaiah Huber

continual growth: a sure sign of health!

So with over 40 people at the multiplication celebration last night of just ONE cell group, things were just a little ... uh, chaotic!! But it was a fun and happy chaos. It was wonderful to see so many people that are excited about how fast the cell group has grown and that are catching the vision to reach as many as possible. The party was so full of life that we had numerous people that were just walking by, come in and join us!
Please pray for the many visitors that came who do not yet know Jesus. I'm doing my best to follow up and challenge them. Pray that none be lost, but each discipled and cared for. Each has so much potential!

what?? Isaiah is a blogger now too!

Ok, when in Brazil, play soccer... our team: our cell group!! We accepted the challenge, and had tons of fun!

In other news, I went on an encounter with God weekend, and took two of my disciples with me. We were all radically challenged. It was completely awesome to see God at work in their lives. Cerrão, who recently gave his life to Jesus, had his whole world changed around. Just a few months ago he wasn't even a Christian, and knew practically nothing about Jesus. Today is my most faithful disciple, completely on fire for God, already has one of his own disciples, and cannot stop talking about his new relationship with God to everyone he knows! There really is nothing better in this world than seeing radical transformation in somebody's life. Cerrão is desperately seeking God, and is already being trained to eventually lead a cell group (small group/ Bible study) of his own. And thus the multiplication begins!
Speaking of multiplication, today our cell group is having a huge multiplication celebration!! The group has grown so much, we are going to start meeting in two groups!! Please pray for the new leaders of the new group, and the new group as a whole. And that God will give us wisdom as more and more people come and are saved. Our goal is that none turn away, and that all are followed up, kept accountable, challenged and discipled!

You are all fantastic! I love you so much it's ridiculous.
love, isaiah