A visit to the school and Brazil Volleyball!

We are having a full time here. :) The food is so good! The past few days we've given Mom and Dad the tour around town. We were able to take them to the school we'll be teaching in. We were given tickets to watch Brazil play Peru in women's volleyball!!! Brazil won. It was a blow out really. It was fun watching them spike! Brazil won the first 3 sets so it was a short game but fun! They gave us t-shirts at the door.

A day at the lake with our small group! So much fun!

Our going away party given by our much loved Bible study group.

Our Summer 2011

We have had an eventful summer!  After a yard sale we packed up our apartment with the help of some awesome friends. God sent the "angels" in to help us. It was a major effort but with the help of our friends and family we were able to get it done.

Kimberly was able to spend some time with the family at the beach for a week while JP finished up a class in Atlanta. Then we spent two weeks in Mississippi for training through the school we will be working at. We learned a lot about the structure of the school, the transitions of living abroad, safety, and a better understanding of children who move from country to country.  We also met some wonderful people there.  Our host family was gold!  We are so thankful to have met them and have a retreat to go to after the long days of training.

We made it to Brazil this week.  Mom and Dad are here with us for a few weeks.  We have been touring the city, eating delicious food, and spending time with family here.  It has been an adventure already! 
Thank you for all your prayers!!

Jp Kimberly send off

Church send off. Batista's going to serve in Brasilia !

Watson Mill St Park

Awesome hike!

Happy new year at the Burns farm

Aquarium!!

Great time with Julie, Greg, Jackson, Jessica, Brennen and Kimberly.
God is amazing for creating so many BIG fish! Amazing!
Sent from my iPhone

Merry Christmas! Feliz Natal!

We were blessed with a white Christmas this year!!! We loved playing in the snow! Check out our biggest snowman ever! We've had a super Christmas break so far, with lots of family gatherings, good food and awesome parties. Congratulations to the Burns on their 40th wedding anniversary! We celebrated with family and friends at Innoko's in Athens. So fun to see the chef cooking in front of us... Now a few more days of rest and here we go 2011!


Feliz Natal e um super 2011 para todos!!! Saudades do Brasil... por aqui muita alegria e muita neve!

4 Wells!!!

Thank you so much to all who contributed towards my birthday gift / fund raiser!!! Our total ended up being $4100!!! That's enough to build 4 wells in Asia! 4 villages will get new wells because of your gift!! Thank you so much for your heart! God bless you! ... JP

Great Party, Thank YOU!!

This is my B-day speech and well chant : )

Thank you for all who came and for all who donated towards the well!! Through your gift many people will be blessed with water for their basic, but most importantly many people will taste Living water through a relationship with Christ because of this well.

A few people have mentioned they still want to donate. Once I get all donations I'll post the total ammount raised. If you want to donate you can still mail a donation to us (for Gospel for Asia). 1070 Wellington Dr, Watkinsville, GA 30677

Thanks again. God bless - JP & Kimberly

JP's Birthday Party!!! You are invited!!!

Saturday - April 10^th , 12pm – 2pm

at Oconne Veteran’s Park

(pavilion by the tennis courts)

(If it rains, we’ll party on Sunday – April 11^th,

1 – 3pm )

We’ll grill out burgers and hot dogs

(+ some delicious deserts)

Bring a frisbee or tennis racquet to play!!!

Kimberly and I will provide the food and drinks.

I’m asking for a special gift this year!! J

Please RSVP to

jpbatista99@yahoo.com

& let me know how many are coming with you!

My Birthday Gift - The Jesus Well

You like water? Off course! But thousands of people in Asia do not have access to clean water!

Gospel for Asia has an amazing ministry that installs water wells next to churches and missionary bases, so that the missionaries can provide the natives drinking and Living water!

I want a Jesus Well in Asia for my birthday! It only costs $1000 to install a Jesus well. If you can please bring a donation to Gospel for Asia (tax deductible) for our Jesus Well.

Kimberly and I will collect all donations and send it to Gospel for Asia J. If you cannot make it to the party and you love JP or Jesus or water and you would like to contribute you can send your gift to us and we’ll forward it with all the other’s to Gospel for Asia (JP & Kimberly Batista, 1070 Wellington Dr, Watkinsville GA 30677). Thanks!

JP & Kimberly

~Love people, Love God.

RSVP to jpbatista99@yahoo.com

Noivado/ Engaged !!!

Estamos noivos! Kimberly e eu estamos muito felizes e estamos planejando em nos casar dia 27 de junho de 2009, aqui em Athens na Georgia... será um casamento simples, mais mesmo pra família e os amigos mais próximos e é claro que se alguém quiser vir do Brasil está mais do que convidado : ) Orem por nós... valeu!

English

We are engaged! We are very excited and we are planning on getting married on june 27th of this year. Please pray for us... cheers!

Triathlon X-terra

English

Just ran my first Triathlon (X-Terra in Fort Yargo, GA). Awesome experience, much harder than expected, so much fun!!! Highly recomend it!!! Half mile swim, 10.8 mile bike ride (on very hard/technical trail) and 4.5 mile run on the trails...took me 2:58h to finish. I took it easy to enjoy the race and the experience, and I am glad I did because I was dying at the end. Despite some cramps in the first half of the run, I finished strong and had a blast! Lenore Nix did it too and she also finished strong. She did awesome!

Português -

Wooohhhoouuuu!!! Ontem corri no Triatlon X-terra (extreme) e foi muito louco!!! Eu ia lá só pra dar uma força pra Lenore, irmã da Kimberly, mas ai eu pensei, bom já que vou até lá, vou levar a bike e o tenis só pra acompanhar a Lenore e dar uma força... ora se eu for levar todo o equipamento melhor então participar de verdade e correr pra valer. Então na sexta a noite eu peguei a bicleta da filha do meu chefe (Mike) emprestada e fui correr o Triatlon no sábado de manhã! Detalhe, depois de 7.5 horas na quadra, além de organizar as (800) cadeiras na igreja na sexta (só dormi umas 5 horas...).
Mas lá na hora a adrenalina dá aquele gas e foi muito massa! 800 metros nadando no lago, 17.28 Km de mountain bike (numa trilha super difícil), e 7.2 Km de corrida (em trilhas também). No total terminei a prova em 2h e 58 min. Fui bem tranquilo pra curtir a experiencia e também porque eu tava esgotado da sexta-feira puxada. Ainda bem que eu peguei leve... a natação foi moleza, mas a parte da bicicleta foi muito difícil, tive que descer/pular/cair da bicicleta várias vezes pra atravessar obstáculos e súbidas impossíveis (p/ amadores como eu). A corrida pegou geral, nos primeiros 4 kilometros caimbra nas duas pernas! Mas na segunda metade da corrida (depois de muita oração e louvor) a caimbra deu uma melhorado e achei meu rítimo (ainda assim corri bem abaixo do normal). Até que eu cheguei bem, com uma corridinha forte, mas estava muito cansado. Foi muito mais difícil do que eu esperava, mas foi muito legal! Curti de mais! Adorei! Quero fazer outro : ) Muito 10 completar uma prova tão difícil.
A Lenore completou a corrida também. Ela estava super empolgada : ) Depois da corrida descobrimos que a trilha da bike é a segunda trilha mais difícil no estado da Georgia! Tá doido! O próximo eu quero pedalar no asfalto, hehehehe. Mas a trilha foi muito doida e me diverti muito! Só queria que fosse mais curta ; )

Depois da corrida pulei no lago gelado pra dar uma relazada nos músculos, ai que alívio... depois um sanduba de almondegas e muito gatorade : ) Dai passei o resto do dia descando. Pernas muito cansadas e o corpo muito quente do sol e da corrida. Tive que tomar outro banho frio pra refrescar e baixar a temperatura. Experiência nota 10!!

Viagem à Uganda

Alegria! Já estou de volta da Uganda! Eu tive uma temporada incrível com minha equipe do Teen Missions (agência missionária) e Deus nos usou em grandes maneiras para o Seu reino durante nosso tempo na África. Peguei uma equipe sensacional de 15 adolescentes (11 meninos e 4 meninas) e 3 líderes (eu e mais duas mulheres). Nossa equipe se reuniu primeiro na Flórida por duas semanas para um treinamento intensivo que nos preparou para vida/trabalho na África. De lá fomos para Jinja, Uganda onde ficamos na base da Teen Missions (3 semanas) e construímos uma casa para o diretor da base. Foi um projeto muito grande e estou orgulhoso da nossa equipe pelo esforço e dedicação ao trabalho duro. Construímos quase toda a casa, só ficou faltando o telhado porque não tivemos tempo suficiente. Além da construção da casa nós fizemos evangelismo em várias escolas em Jinja usando basquete e esportes como ferramentas. Nós jogamos e ensinamos as crianças a jogar basquete e depois que havíamos formado uma certa amizade com o grupo, nós compartilhávamos o evangelho com eles através de música e teatro. Muitas crianças (mais de 100) aceitaram Jesus como salvador e muitas outras foram encorajadas, e vieram com pedidos de oração e perguntas sobre a Bíblia, etc. Foi incrível orar com as crianças e jovens e ver a alegria deles em ter um relacionamento com Deus.

Depois da Uganda fomos para Etiópia onde tivemos mais um período de treinamento, dessa vez para nos preparar para voltar aos States. Foi um período bem legal e tivemos tempo de contar as histórias, fazer umas comprinhas e louvar a Deus por tudo que Ele fez através de nós durante nossa viagem. De lá voltamos para os Estados Unidos e agora estou de volta em Athens na casa de um amigo.
Essa viagem à África foi muito rica, e foi uma excelente oportunidade para eu trabalhar e aprender mais sobre responsabilidade, liderança e criatividade. Louvo a Deus por tudo que Ele fez através da nossa equipe e apesar de todas as dificuldades e desafios que passamos, eu toparia fazer tudo isso de novo para honra e glória de Deus. Não tem nada melhor nesse mundo do que seguir os planos de Deus!

No momento eu não sei até quando eu fico nos States... tem muita coisa pra resolver aqui com a namorada (Kimberly) e com o chefe no trabalho, então eu não sei o que vai acontecer.
Muito obrigado por toda força e suporte, e pelas orações!! Eu não conseguiria ter feito tudo isso sem a ajuda e o suporte de vocês! Valeu, muito obrigado!!! Abraços,

João Paulo.

Trip to Uganda

Hello friends! I am back from Uganda! I had an amazing summer with my Teen Missions team and God used us in wonderful ways for His Kingdom this summer! We had an outstanding team of 15 teenagers (11 boys and 4 girls) and 3 leaders (2 ladies and I). Our team first met in Florida for two weeks of training (boot camp) and from there we went to Jinja, Uganda for 3 weeks where we built a house in the Teen Missions base for the base director. This was a big project, and our team did a great job and we finished the entire floor and practically all walls. If we had a little more time we could’ve finished the roof. I am very proud of our team’s effort and accomplishment at the work site. We also visited many schools around Jinja doing basketball clinics and evangelism. We would teach and play basketball with the kids, and once we connected with them and became friends we would sing songs and present drama skits and share the gospel with them. Many kids (over 100) accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, and many others were encouraged and asked questions about the Bible, prayer requests, etc. It was great to be there and see their joy in starting a relationship with God. Extremely exciting and rewarding J.

Once our time was up in Uganda we went to Addis Ababba (Ethiopia), where we met with another Teen Missions team (Malawi) for debrief. This was a time to train for the reverse cultural shock of coming back to America and to share stories and praise God for the great things He did through us. Our debrief lasted one week and on Monday (08/11/08) at 1:30am (after 37 hours of travel) I arrived in Atlanta. Overall for me this summer was an amazing opportunity to practice (and learn) leadership, responsibility and creativity. I thank God for this opportunity and for the lessons I’ve learned, and despite all the tough times and conditions I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! There is nothing greater in this world than to follow God’s plan J.

As of now I am not sure how long I’ll be in Athens, GA. There are a few things up in the air, but once I sort it out I’ll let you know… : )
Thank you all for your prayers and support (financially, emotionally and spiritually)!!! I could’ve not done it without! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!

Uganda trip in detail

Uganda 2008 – Teen Missions – Team #11

I just had an amazing summer in Uganda, full of challenges and blessings! I went to Uganda with a Teen Missions team full of brave and talented young guys and girls, and we did a beautiful work while we were there. Teen Missions is an international and interdenominational Christian missionary organization that sends thousands of young missionaries all over the world every year. This summer I was one of the leaders of the team that went to Uganda, along with Christa Paap (co-leader) and Camille Headlock (head-leader/ Teen Missions staff in Uganda). The three of us lead a team of 15 teenagers to Jinga, Uganda, where we built a house for missionaries in the Teen Missions base and we went to different schools and orphanages to do basketball camps and share the gospel with kids. We had an outstanding team with kids from all over the U.S. and Canada and their names are: Tyler Renew, Andrew Nelson, Alex Carver, Kristy Kerr, Michael Boone, Jenni Chrock, Andy Brak, Jonathan Davis, Zach Anderson, Jonathan Day, James Jakosa, Scott Dykstra, Jasmine Parros, Aubre Lindsey, Evan Lindsey.

Our team first met in Merrit Island at the Teen Missions’ headquarters for Boot Camp – a very intense training phase. Boot Camp was tough and it really broke each of us individually and at the same time brought us all together and built us up like a team. Boot camp was intended to prepare us for the mission field so we would not experience a big cultural shock once we arrived in Uganda, so we slept in tents far into the woods and away from electricity and running water. We had a very structured schedule that started with an early 5:30am wake up call (by the leaders), 5 minutes to get ready and out of the tents and a long walk out of the woods back to the boot camp facilities. At 6:00am we would ran the obstacle course (OC) which was a lot of fun for my team and at the same time very muddy and wet and challenging. The OC was definitely one of the highlights of the day for my team, and almost every day we finished the OC in first place! Since the Uganda team was designed to be a “sports evangelistic team” we ended up with a very athletic team, which gave us a huge advantage.

After the OC we ate breakfast and for the rest of the day we had many different classes that trained us for the summer ahead. We had classes that talked about the Bible, character, evangelism, cultural differences, etc… and we also had many practical/ hands on lessons such as carpentry, block laying, drama, puppets, music and others. There were no breaks between classes, which made it very challenging for us to go from one place to another and get there on time (it’s a very large property), but this was good to teach us punctuality and prepared us to have long and productive days. It also prepared us for the “lifestyle” the we were about to experience in Uganda with no running water, limited electricity, bucket baths and bucket laundry J.

After surviving two weeks of boot camp we were finally off to Uganda. We were extremely excited to leave boot camp and head to Africa! We flew from Orlando, FL to Washington, then to Addis Ababba (Ethiopia), and finally to Entebe (Uganda). However we were stuck in Addis Ababba for two days because of flights cancelled and mechanical problems with the airplane… but eventually we made it to Entebe and from there we embarked on a very bumpy and fun truck ride to Jinja, where we stayed at the Teen Missions base. The base was very nice and well taken care off – beautiful property. We stayed in tents and we shared the bathrooms (squatty potties) and shower stalls with the students/missionaries that lived and worked in the base. Everything was very simple, but well organized, and we were very content with our living arrangements.

Our main job while in Jinja was to build a house in the Teen Missions property for the base director (Peter). This was a very large house and it took a LOT of hard work and time, and I am so proud of our team for the effort and energy they put into this job. We were able to finish all of floor (which was by far the hardest part), and we built almost all of the walls in the house. The only thing missing was the roof, but we ran out of time and money… I think if we had two more weeks we could’ve finished the whole thing. It was a great accomplishment and a huge blessing to get so much done. Peter and his family have been praying and waiting for this house for 10 years! So it was very exciting to see the project finally take off and see the walls go up. The students and staff that are now in the base will finish the roof and do the finishing touches around the house.

Another part of our ministry while we were in Uganda was basketball evangelism. We went to several schools to play and teach the kids how to play basketball (we also used frisbees and volleyball, but basketball was our main tool), and by doing that we created friendships and we really connected with those kids. Many times in the middle of our basketball practice we would stop for a minute and use basketball as an illustration for some biblical principle and that way it was easy for the kids to understand the message. At the end of each practice our group would do a presentation which usually consisted of two songs, a drama/ skit, and then a testimony or alter call. These presentations were very powerful and many kids (over 100) came forward and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Some kids came forward and converted from Islam to Christianity, some kids came to us and asked for prayer requests, they asked questions about the Bible and how to grow in their faith, they asked for advice on how to deal with different religions, temptations, and other life issues. It was amazing to see God and the Holy Spirit work in their lives, and to be part of their joy as they developed a relationship with God. These evangelism trips to the different schools were certainly the most exciting and rewarding experiences of our summer! On Sundays we would always go to different churches (sometimes 2 or 3 churches/services in one day) to do presentations and share testimonies to encourage the local congregations. This was also a lot of fun and very rewarding. Church in Africa is so different! They are extremely alive and excited, and they love to worship J.

We worked on the house and did evangelism around Jinja for 3 weeks and on our last days there we went shopping for a day in the open market and local souvenir shops and we also got to see the source of the Nile River. We went on a boat ride around Victoria Lake and got to see where the Nile River starts.

After all that we left Uganda (wishing we could stay longer) and went back to Addis Ababba (Ethiopia) for Debrief - a training time that would helps to adjust back to our lifestyle in America. This was a good time and it helped us with the reverse cultural shock of coming back to the Western World. We stayed at the King’s Hotel and experienced outstanding service. The Malawi team joined us for debrief and we were all very excited to have electricity, hot showers and toilets again! We had many classes on how to bring back home our experiences and deal with the cultural shocks, in addition to lots of fun times playing games, and sharing stories, and shopping in the HUGE open market in Addis.
Debrief lasted one week and from there we returned to back to the States, and in Washington with smiles and tears we said good-bye to our leaders and teammates as each of us embarked on different planes to go their respective homes.

It was an amazing summer and I was extremely blessed to have such an outstanding team and great leaders next to me all summer. Praise be to God for all the deliverance of injuries and accidents that we experience, and praise God for all the lives that were touched in so many ways in Uganda and Ethiopia through our team. For me it was an amazing opportunity to practice (and learn) leadership, responsibility and creativity. I thank God for this opportunity and for the lessons I’ve learned, and despite all the tough times and conditions I would do it all over again in heart beat! There is nothing greater in this world than to follow God’s plan J.

Athletes in Action camps done... Uganda next

Wooohhhhooouuu!!!! I just finished working the Athletes in Actions camps and it was amazing!!! The last twenty days were VERY intense! We had almost 200 college athletes in our camps, LOTS of competition, LOTS of running and a LOT of grinding! It was awesome! At these camps the athletes learn how to apply biblical principles into their sport and competition. We worked a lot on motivation, attitude, overcoming trials, etc. By the end of the camp we end up playing harder than anyone else, because we had the BEST motivation, and we knew why and to whom we were playing for. It was very physical, very tough, very real. Unbelievable two weeks!! All the running and training in the spring paid off big time : )

Now I am at my sister’s house in Colorado, but on Sunday I’ll be going to Florida to meet my team and do the boot camp (training) to go to Uganda. I’ll be in Florida for 2 weeks, then in Uganda for 4 or 5 weeks, then Ethiopia for a few days, and finally back in the States on August 9^th.

Please pray for my team! Pray for team unity, good attitude through the tough circumstances, and perseverance. Pray for opportunities to share our love and faith. Also pray for deliverance of accidents and diseases (we’ll be doing construction work and basketball camps).

Starting on Sunday I won’t have access to my phone or internet until August 10^th!! But you can write me a letter! And I’ll write you back… : ) below are the addresses …

Thank you so much for your support thus far! For more news during my trip see www.teenmissions.org (team Uganda) . Remember to pray for me and the team!

Thanks!

JP

Atletas em Ação- show de bola

Alegria!! Estou na casa da Luisa no Colorado e por aqui tudo nota 10! Nos últimos 20 dias eu estive trabalhando com o ministério “Atheltes in Action” (parecido com Atletas de Cristo) aqui no Colorado e foi sensacional. Foram dois acampamentos com quase 200 atletas universitários (de alto nível) no total. Nesse acampamento os atletas aprendem a usar princípios bíblicos na area de esportes. Trabalhamos muito na área de motivação, disciplina, perseverança, etc… Tivemos MUITAS competições, MUITAS corridas, e muita ralação, e no final quando já não podiamos mais correr Deus nos carregou! Foi de mais!!

Domingo estou me despedindo da Luisa e Preston para ir para Florida fazer meu treinamento (duas semanas) e encontrar com minha equipe para ir à Uganda! Estaremos lá por 4 ou 5 semanas, depois passamos mais uns dias na Etiópia e volto para os Sates no dia 9 de Agosto.

Por favor orem pela minha equipe. Por união, por disposição e determinação de encarar as condições difíceis do treinamento e da viagem. Também orem por livramento de acidentes e doenças. Estaremos trabalhando com construção e com esportes (basquete).

A partir de domingo não terei acesso a internete ou telefone até dia 10 de agosto! Mas você pode me escrever cartas! Escreve pra mim que eu te respondo! Endereços abaixo… Fico por aqui… Para mais updates durante minha viagem vejam o site www.teenmissions.org (ver Team Uganda).

orem por mim.

Saudades,

JP