Mike & Polly Brown - Missionaries to Bolivia
Reaching out to the marginalized, outcast, and forgotten with the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!

        "Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." Proverbs 25:25 (ESV)

We are Inadequate

We have felt inadequate at so many levels in ministry here in Bolivia. We have been stretched and put into places of ministry and leadership that we would have never imagined. We trust in the Lord and keep moving forward as God continues opening doors. However, I would be lying to say that I never have moments where my feelings of inadequacies really catch up with me. I recently had another such moment.

God has opened doors to amazing opportunities to serve the Deaf. This includes the opportunities to serve within leadership for the World Assemblies of God Deaf Fellowship and the Assemblies of God LAC Deaf Ministry Committee. This is a great opportunity. However, never in my life have I felt so inadequate for any ministry opportunity. I have learned Bolivian Sign Language (LSB) but I'm far from fluent. My American Sign Language (ASL) is very broken. The truth is that Polly is so much more capable in this area, having grown up with Deaf parents and having learned ASL as her first language. For me, though, it's a huge challenge.

As part of my responsibilities for the Assemblies of God LAC Deaf Ministry Committee, I recently had to travel to Brazil in order to plan for our big Conference coming up this October. We are expecting around 400 people connected to Deaf Ministry at the event. I was basically having a breakdown in anticipation of the trip, because: 1. My Sign Language is not very good, 2. my ability to read signs is significantly worse, 3. the two pastors I would be working most closely with use other Sign Languages as their main language, 4. one pastor does know a lot of ASL, but my ASL is even less strong than my LSB, and 5. even when I could speak with someone, they would speak Portuguese, which is a language I do not know. I honestly felt like it would be pointless to go. What could I contribute? How could we communicate? I was really wishing that Polly could go with me.

Fast forward to my time in Brazil. We communicated just fine and got a lot of important things accomplished. I even learned a lot of new words in Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS). I was able to communicate just fine in Brazil with my Spanish and broken Portuguese. Basically, everything turned out well.

Rewind just a bit to the day of travel while I was having my breakdown. I asked for prayer in our Facebook group and many responded and prayed for which I was grateful. God ministered to my heart, especially in reminding me that while I may be inadequate, He is more than enough and that He will equip me for the tasks He calls me to. I was reminded that I just need to trust God! This is not an excuse to be lazy or not try, but it's a priority. Even when we are not able, God is able!!

Amazing New Project Opportunity
We have shared a bit about the construction at Plenitud de Gozo, a kids' church near the city dump. We had a team from Hope Community Church in Hedgesville, WV come this month to work on the floors at the church.

We have also shared about the ministry center for the Chicas/Chicos adolescent ministries we operate in that community. We purchased 2 lots across the street from the church and have been preparing them for construction. We have a team coming in June to work on the Chicas/Chicos ministry center.

We also briefly shared the need for a Daycare/Preschool in this community as there are small kids just walking the streets during the day. Pastor Shaddai has her degree in place to be able to run such a school. We have recently decided and had approved a change to our plans.

We are going to split the property across the street from the church back into the two separate lots. On one lot, we will build a facility of two stories, with one floor for Chicas and one floor for Chicos. They will maintain separate entrances and so can remain personal spaces for each respective ministry. On the other lot, we will build a daycare/preschool facility to minister to this need. We feel that this is better stewardship of what we already have. We know that God will be glorified.

Because these are separate projects, a separate account number has been opened up for donations for the new daycare/preschool project. If you would like to donate toward this new project, you can do so at the following link:

DONATE TO NEW DAYCARE / PRESCHOOL PROJECT

Partner in Praise and Prayer

Praise God with us for...
...our faithful prayer partners
...the generosity of our financial partners
...amazing open doors in Deaf ministry
...many other ministry opportunities, especially with kids and youth
...His faithful provision on these projects
...the continued construction of the Chicas/Chicos ministry center
...the recently approved project for a daycare/preschool in the same community
...safety in all our travels
...health and safety, in general
...provision for all our needs

Pray with us for...
...the continuing construction projects
...continued favor in the Chicas/Chicos ministries here
...the funds for the new project
...our schools and the needs they have
...the Deaf ministry lunches and what the future holds
...the Deaf ministry conference in Brazil in October
...Elena, a student at one of our schools fighting leukemia
...more opportunities to multiply missions
...more workers to be called to Bolivia
...the missionaries who serve here
...the missionaries from Bolivia who serve around the world
...health and safety for our family
...continued favor as we walk in what God calls us to
...opportunities to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others
...all financial needs to be met each month

Partner in Finances

If you are a financial partner with us, please accept our gratitude: Thank you! Your faithful financial partnership helps us to continue to do the things God has called us to do. We do not serve here in Bolivia alone. We are in this together.

If you are not a financial partner with us, but have or are considering to partner with us in this way, now would be a great time. You can set up a monthly donation and commitment at s1.ag.org/brown. You can also use that link for a one-time donation. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions: mikeandpollybrown@gmail.com

Photos

Mike sharing at an event with sponsored kids and their families at the Palmasola school in Santa Cruz

Team from HCC laying down granite tiles in the sanctuary at Plenitud de Gozo

A blacksmith on the HCC team made a nice handrail at Plenitud de Gozo

Deaf ministry lunch seems to keep growing, having us running out of space

Mike with Deaf pastors from Brazil and Venezuela in Curitiba

Genevieve did a great job in her first cheerleading competition