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December 2023 Ministry Newsletter
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December 2023 Ministry Update |
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Greetings from the Hamstras at Retiro Agua Viva! Notice the slight name change for the mission? We will explain as this month has been filled with moments of great rejoicing in seeing God's work here, but also days of doubt and hardship as we try to further navigate where God is molding the mission of this retreat center. Yet in this hardship, God has proven again that His plans are greater than our plans. To update everyone, we will break it up in this way: the moments of joy, the moments of hardship, and how God has used this hardship to refine the mission. |
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We had so many blessings this month to be thankful for. One highlight was having over 40 people come for 2 work days. The amount of work they did was astonishing and humbling as it would have taken us months to do the same. They got all the fountains working on the property, except one (there are a lot of fountains fed by the natural springs). They trimmed around the waterfall and we actually found another concrete water box that is fed by another natural spring. By the end of the event, they had Lorena crying because of the amount of loving support above and beyond that they provided.
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Another highlight was hosting 2 events on 1 day for over 100 people (church retreat and women's meeting for another church). The joy we saw in people enjoying God's nature here was encouraging. So many people just relaxed in the cool water of the river, used the pool, had a feast in the salon space, fished in the ponds. Below are links to two videos that were taken of the events:
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This month has also had many moments of hardship. These hardships have at times brought doubt, discouragement and pain (both emotional and physical). The biggest obstacle we have been dealing with is related to the building of structures on the property. The property itself is connected to the Serra do Itajai National Park (ranked by one travel guide as one of the top 10 in all of South America). Because of this, there are restrictions on what we can do on the property, not just set by the municipality, but also set by the state government. When we purchased the property, we had been advised by the previous owner, neighbors, and others that it was okay to build cabins as long as they weren't within 10 meters of the river. Therefore, we built 3 cabins on the property on the foundations that had been set by a previous contractor. This month we received a written notification from the state that we need to remove these cabins. So even though our neighbors built their buildings, we have been told that the law is not the same for everyone and that is the sad truth here. Thankfully, the officer in charge of notifying us did not fine us the >$3,000 fine per cabin that they claimed we would have had to pay. However, the notice to dismantle all cabins and remove all walkways/walls built remains. Through our local pastor, we met with the deputy's secretary who connected us to a lawyer (who agreed to do the administrative side for free) and an engineer. Thanks to this, we were able to see that other possibilities existed, and we're currently exploring those with the engineer in close communication with the director of the environmental sector. This opened up being able to convert some of the banquet hall into four rooms and possibly building cabins on the mountainside, possibly 10! This upcoming week the dismantling will take place and then the topographer and engineer will get to work on the proposal for building authorization. |
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Let me give an analogy, the picture to the right is of a Tegu, which I found on our property. Unfortunately for this Tegu, it was not able to evade its predator, but you can see it doesn't have a large portion of his tail. This is not because the predator bit it off, but because the Tegu has the ability to drop part of its tail to save itself. It then can regrow its tail. I tell you this because God may have provided us in this moment of hardship a similar solution, one that while we may need to remove a portion of the retreat for a time, will allow us to regrow it in the way God can use it more impactfully to show His glory. |
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I want to share a recent story that proves God is at work and He has provided the right people to do His work here. One day was exceptionally difficult for us. Lorena had a tough meeting with the municipality and I was dealing with the township of Palmetto Bay via email regarding some issues back in Miami. Being split between two countries is proving difficult. On this same day, we were working on our house to prepare for the women's retreat that would be hosted here. While cleaning, I cut my head on some stone. Nearly immediately after this, I was plugging in something, which apparently one of the animals had chewed on. When I plugged it in, it shocked me so bad that I screamed. Lorena was next to me, and her response was, "Well we know we are doing something right, since the devil is working so hard to discourage us."
"No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." (Romans 8:37) While the devil may try to discourage us, the great author of all creation makes us not just conquerors, despite our puny ideas of what this retreat can be, but we are more than conquerors. God's plans are greater than we can imagine. He will make a way and accomplish His purposes. |
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Based on some of the hardships noted above and from discussions with some of the leaders we have met with both in person and virtually, we have been able to better refine what the retreat center will provide. As we mentioned in our previous update, the original goal of this retreat was to provide a space for people to truly wrestle with God, to separate from the things of this world. As we continued to discuss this with local church leaders, we saw that this truly needed to be the main mission - to provide a resting place for individual church leaders or missionaries. This is why we changed the name from Pousada (Guesthouse) to Retiro (Retreat) as this is more of a place of retreat to rest in God's sanctuary (descansando no santuario de Deus). While our focus is providing a place of tranquility and rest for church leaders, we will be opening up the space for church retreats/events as we did this past month, so long as we don't have a worn-out pastor staying at the same time! |
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Due to some of the hardships noted above and discussions we have had, we began working through how the retreat center would function. One of the pastors we talked with noted he wanted a solitary retreat for 15 days. This is a seasoned pastor who is just in need of rest, but this caused me to question, what is the right amount of time for a retreat? Does the amount of time depend on the purpose? As I questioned these things, God put on my heart to look at how Jesus retreated. As the gospels record, Jesus began his ministry in this way: When he was already 30 years of age, he was baptized and then instead of going out and ministering right away, he took 40 days alone - in the "Eremos" or wilderness.
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It struck me that we don't seem to follow this example. When we commission a missionary or pastor, we pray over them and then send them out. Many have years of seminary to prepare, but very few take solitary time to pray and be alone with God. God has put it on our hearts to provide a space for this type of retreat - an Eremos retreat. |
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In the next month we plan to have a developed brochure to be able to share with local church leaders and missions organizations that will outline the individual retreat possibilities. In addition, based on the topography report and engineer plans, we hope to be able to provide a property map outlining the retreat accommodations. |
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While we wait to hear on the building of the cabins (which may take a few months to finalize), we continue to reconstruct the rest of the property. The concrete ponds are in desperate need of repair as the concrete has deep and long cracks. Our home, which we are joyfully opening up to events, was full of mold, thanks humidity; and thus we're repainting all the inside walls. The banquet hall roof was leaking and is being repaired. In late January, we hope to begin constructing the individual rooms in there.
We continue to need your prayers in this. Pray that:
- the topography report provides opportunities for additional use of the 10+ acres of the property we didn't think we could use.
- the engineer can put together a plan that allows for not just the 10+ cabins near the river, but for more isolated cabins on the mountain.
- we continue to have the local workers and support to get the retreat center operating in the coming year.
- God connects us to the right missionary organizations that will recommend pastors/church leaders who are truly in need of a retreat.
- our kiddos make new friends and learn the language.
We continue to have needs to fulfill in order to make this retreat center run efficiently. While God has provided what was needed to fund the project to date, now that we are dedicating ourselves full-time to the retreat center, we will need to begin to have outside funding in the coming year to continue the project. If you'd like to donate to support these needs/projects, we've included a "donate" button below. We are a registered 501c3 charity through our US partnership, the Smoldering Wick Foundation, so your donation is tax deductible.
In Christ,
The Brazil Hamstras
Calvin, Lorena, Josiah and Jonah
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