Moving Right Along!

Hello!


I want to thank all of you who stopped by my little booth at church yesterday to chat about my progress! I also want to give a special thanks to all who have decided to support me. But I want you all to know that both your financial and your moral support means a lot to me. This has been my dream for a long time, and it makes a big difference when you know that the people who care about you are standing in your corner.
A lot of you asked some great questions about my progress, and I would like to take this opportunity to answer some of them now.
Many of you wanted to know when I plan to leave. Right now, assuming all goes as planned, I would like to leave for Brazil in May of 2012. That's just around the corner! As you can imagine, I have a lot to do before I go.
Of course, raising support is pretty high on that list, and if you want to learn more about how you can help, please check out the "Needs" page of this blog to get a better idea.
In late February, early March, I will be traveling to Toronto to take a 2 week Missionary Prep class that is required by the Xingu Mission (that is the team I will be joining in Brazil). This class is designed to help prepare me for what I should expect as a long-term missionary and also help me to have the most success as I take on this new endeavor.
I have to work on getting all the info together to apply for a VISA. VISAs can be tricky, as they are time sensitive. Once the VISA is actually accepted, I have to leave for Brazil within 2 to 3 months or it expires! Please, pray that all those details go smoothly.
Strangely enough, I have to get a motorcycle license. Scary, right! When I get there, a motorcycle will be my primary form of transportation. Look out, pedestrians!
As far as learning the language goes, my mom bought me Rosetta Stone for Christmas. It is a great program, and really helps me get a feel for the language. I also have a Brazilian friend who said she would have some time to start teaching me Portuguese.
One of you things I will also need is support to travel to both Toronto and Brazil. If any of you have airline miles you would be willing to donate, that would be a great help.
And last, but certainly not least, I want to give you a brief description of what I will be doing while I am there. 
The first year that I am there, I will focus on learning the language and the culture. As you can imagine, the transition from one culture to another is quite a leap. My lifestyle will change is ways I can't even totally fathom at this point, and it will take some getting use to.
During this time, I will also be teaching English at the community center run by the Xingu Mission, attending small groups, and working for the local church. I will also be finishing the Vineyard Leadership Institute program I started a few years ago via the internet.
After my first year, I will move to another city in Brazil to join a team that will be planting a new church.

I hope I was able to give you a good description of what needs to take place in order to make this dream a reality. Again, I want to thank all of you for your interest and support. If you have anymore questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

God Bless You!!


Allison Rupert

Things are about to change.

New Years 2012

I went out with some friends of mine to celebrate New Years tonight, and we made our way to one of those clubs with lots of drunk, poorly dressed girls and bad dance music. Don't get me wrong, I love dancing, but these types of places usually turn me off. I can't help but notice the sea of faces that peer back at you with that lost and empty gaze. I see the voids and the desperate searching for identity, finding themselves in all the wrong things. My heart is always broken and grieved.

As midnight approached and the DJ starting counting down for the new year, I heard a warning in my spirit. I looked out over the shouts and laughter and knew that, very soon, their laughter would turn into mourning. All their lives are about to change as our country is about to move into a new season. A season of hardship and grief. A season of desperation and questioning.

I am not a nay-sayer, and I don't like it when people are overly dramatic about seeing doom on every corner. Yet, I could not deny the Lord's earnestness, nor his mercy.
Matthew 9:36 states: When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd." 
I felt so strongly God's desire to call all of us home into his loving and capable arms. I felt his desire that we would stop looking to this empty world and start looking to him to supply all our needs. The world will only ever steal and suck the life from us. God wants to give life back to us and them some.

Things are about to change, but no matter what, God's mercy is ever-present. He is always waiting to redeem us from our perils. And he will redeem us from the perils to come.

Hope for the Future

Yesterday for Christmas, I had the privilege of going to a juvenile detention center with Char Penn and the Youth group from Vineyard Tuttle Crossing. It was an incredible time, and God's presence was so thick with love and compassion. Char gave a message to the girls about how Jesus was born in a lowly place so that he could meet us in our low places. She spoke a message of hope to these young girls. She spoke about a God who wants to meet us in our brokenness and restore our lives, piece by piece. We also had the privilege of singing some worship songs for these girls, as well as giving them Christmas presents and praying for them. The whole time I was there, the Holy Spirit was all over me and my heart was just breaking. I felt so strongly, the love that God has for people like these girls. When we got to pray for them, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them and to speak healing words over their lives. It was just another conformation of what I want to do with my life. I want to be apart of sharing the love of God with the world. I cannot think of a better purpose or a higher calling. It is my dream and my gift. It is what I hope to do in Brazil. Each day in so many ways, God is preparing me more and more to be his servant. I am so grateful that he met me in my lowly place and gave me a hope for my future.

I'm starting a Blog!

Hello All,

I'm starting a blog so that everyone can follow my progress as a get ready to move to Brazil. This will be a great way for me to stare with you how things are going and what my needs may be. Please join!


Allison Rupert