While it’s unfair and nearly impossible to normalize anyone’s life into one week, we have attempted to do this to give you a glimpse into our #1 Action Man in Brazil, Renato. In a country and region mired by unemployment, drought, civil unrest and government corruption, it’s a miracle anything gets accomplished. But that’s where God comes in, and we need to be reminded of His plan and provision as Jacob’s Well steps forward in faith. That said, let’s jump into a brief Q&A with Renato:
What are your main ministry opportunities in a given week?
Because our community development program in Riacho da Porta is still in the pilot phase, my work is focused on building the leadership and processes around the well management and economic development opportunities. The leadership development is primarily with Pastor Carlos who pastors the church we are partnered with in Riacho da Porta and secondarily with the pilot families who are receiving first hydroponics units.
What are the business and ministry development opportunities you work on each week?
I work with our assistant Mirza as she develops social work programs to enhance our pilot community. This is in the planning phase and we are excited about what can be offered in terms of women’s health initiatives and other programs aimed at strengthening families.
One of Jacob’s Well’s core values is partnership. In living out this value, we have and continue to develop transparent and trusting working relationships with federal, state and local government offices for the benefit of the communities. It has been useful that we are not aligned with any political party in Brazil as our politics have been especially unstable this past year.
What parts of your week are frustrating? Where are you stretched the most to trust God?
Leading people can be challenging and the path is rarely a straight line! Also, the bureaucracy in the Brazilian government has been difficult as has the overall political instability. Further, it’s frustrating when I see the projects we could be moving forward with and we don’t have the funding or resource commitments to make them happen.
How can Jacob’s Well supporters be praying for you? Your family?
Pray that I stay focused on the mission of Jacob’s Well and not get sidetracked on opportunities that might sound good but take us off mission. Also, pray that I keep some sense of balance in my life. I regularly get interrupted, deal with evening phone calls and responsibilities and get pulled in a lot of directions. This can have a negative effect on family time. Finally, I ask that supporters pray for God’s power to overcome the spiritual darkness here in Brazil. The more effective we are, the stronger the spiritual battle can be.