Today is a national holiday in Brazil.  It’s when Brazil declared that it would be a Presidential Republic, no longer an Empire under the rule of Dom Pedro II.  So, Samuel and I are hanging out at the house doing guy things.  But where’s Vanessa and Ysabel?  These two are at a sports tournament between American schools and it’s called Big 8.  Vanessa is the cheerleading coach and Ysabel went because mom couldn’t stay away from her for a whole week, which leaves Samuel and I hanging out together until next Saturday. So, here’s a brief recap of what God has called the Flurry’s to do here in São Paulo, Brazil for this semester.

Ysabel is almost 3 years old (she’ll turn 3 on December 2).  She loves to talk, to sing, and to cheer.  Hanging out with the cheerleaders has rubbed off on her.  She comes home and practices her cheer, stances, and moves.  At the same time, she’s not quick to accept people.  The cheerleaders work hard to get her to come to them, but she’s very reserved – yet she knows them all by name.  Ysabel is also a little prayer warrior, praying for everybody and loves going to church.  For her 3^rd birthday party, Vanessa is making it a princess party.  Ysabel is debating whether to go as Bell (from Beauty and the Beast) or Snow White.  There will be about 12 of her friends, plus parents.

Samuel is currently in 4^th grade and is a growing young lad.  The big news on his part is that he’s going to be baptized on November 20.  God’s been moving on his heart to follow Jesus and Samuel has learned that includes being baptized.  Since he no longer goes to Junior Church, he’s been in the main service.  And this last month, our church has emphasized missions.  This has caught his attention and we might have another Flurry missionary in the future.  On the school front, the boy has lots of homework, since he’s studying in two languages (English and Portuguese).  If God allows us to stay at PACA until our kids graduate, both of them will get two diplomas – an American High School and a Brazilian Ensino Médio.  Which means that they can choose colleges in the USA or in Brazil. PACA’s dual curriculum program does that.

Vanessa has the craziest schedule of us all for this semester.  God has called her to help a very good friend from the school by taking care of Enrico, a precious, rambunctious 1 year old.  Enrico comes over 4 days out of the week so that Vanessa and Ysabel can hang out with him.  Ysabel loves having a little “brother” to take care of and gives lots of love and orders.  What makes this special is that God knew of our financial needs and Vanessa is getting paid to take care of Enrico.  This helps put food on our table and pay some bills during the month.

Another Vanessa duty is being the Cheerleader’s Coach for this semester.  She’s got 8 girls on her squad and is currently at the Big 8 tournament, a sports tournament amongst the international schools of Brazil and Argentina.  Part of the tournament includes a cheerleading competition.  Vanessa and the cheerleaders have worked extra hard to get ready for this event.  Plus, Vanessa lead the girls into several fundraisers to help raise money to pay for shoes and the cost of this tournament.  Ysabel went along as the cheerleading mascot.

Besides taking care of all this plus the home, Vanessa is leading the church’s 4 to 9 year old program during the main service.  It’s called Junior Church.  She finds materials, organizes the teaching schedule, encourages the teachers and assistants, and covers for people who sometimes can’t make it that Sunday.  This has been a demanding semester for my wife.  It’s been God’s grace that has allowed her to make it all happen and with excellence.

Kevin’s schedule has been strongly divided into two major fronts at PACA.  The continual demand for an international Christian education means that I give many tours during the week to potential families interested in PACA.  This is a major element to our admission’s process.  God has blessed the school with a great reputation and great teachers, making our program really outstanding.

On another front, I have organized a fundraising schedule for this semester that includes a school Walkathon, connecting with alumni, and contacting businesses to make donations to a major improvement project to our gym.  We just completed the Walkathon and now the major task of collecting pledges starts to kick in.  This means lots of phone calls and emails to donors.

It’s a struggle to keep both fronts balanced since there is so much follow up to make both successful.  So, God has brought me an alumnus who is very creative on the graphics end and text editing.  Peter is making some fantastic contributions to our marketing department.  Our next project is to overhaul all of our marketing communication pieces:  website, brochures, facebook, emails, and forms.  I’m praying God will allow Peter to stay in my department for a long time.

God has also lead me to take on two new initiatives that involves investing – investing time into young people’s lives on a direct basis.  I teach Middle School young people at my church’s Sunday School program.  On average there are 8 kids coming.  We have been going through a series of understanding why the Bible is the truth.  The other initiative is I’m a discipleship group leader to 5 freshman boys from my high school.  We meet every Thursday during lunch to discuss life and what God’s Word has to say about life.  We are currently discussing what it means to be a man.  We have looked at both Saul’s and David’s lives.  Our next example will be Solomon.  This is a time to connect with these young men and God willing give them sound advice for their future.

So, the Flurrys have been on a crazy schedule this semester.  But we have seen God’s hand of blessing, protection, health, and provision over us.  Despite it being financially interesting at times, God has been faithful to provide for our needs and in some cases blessing us unexpectedly.

We ask that you continue to pray that we keep God first, our marriage second, our family third, and God’s ministries in balance.  We need His strength, patience, and wisdom to run the race. Thank you for loving us, praying for us, and in some cases supporting us.  We are blessed to have you as part of our family.

Sincerely,

Kevin Bruce Flurry

We are missionaries to Pan American Christian Academy.  If God leads you to help us financially ( plan for a rainy day, pay for medical bills, support a growing family, etc), you can give through the following ways:

Online Giving via credit card or debit card, use this page >> https://paca.site-ym.com/donations/donate.asp?id=3417

Sending us a Monthly Check, start your first gift by using this form >> http://theflurrys.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/flurry_giving_form_dollars.pdf

Financial support is processed by the PACA ALUMNI FOUNDATION. The Foundation is a non-profit, 501 (C)(3) organization dedicated to linking resources to develop PACA’s future. Every gift is tax-deductible.  The PACA Alumni Foundation is located at P.O. Box 4182, San Dimas, CA 91773.

Many of my high school students come from Christian homes, but some of them are just going through the motions about being a Christian.  And about 25% of my student don’t have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  I know what many are going through since I was one who only went through the motions.  At one time I thought Christianity was a list of do’s and don’ts.  It wasn’t until I went on my prodigal son walk during my college days that I realized what an amazing statement Romans 5:8 is “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Christian Journey is not about rules and trying to win favor with God (by doing this or that, God will bless me more).  He loved me when I was still stuck in the middle of my filth and that’s amazing love.  He reached down and told me that a new life, one that is abundantly full of peace and joy despite the troubles life brings, is only found through his son Jesus.  But to get this life, I needed to take his hand, let him pull me out of my crud, and then learn to surrender my life to him on a daily basis.

And I’ve been learning that God is a very patient, loving, holy God.  His rules and principles are there for my protection and provision.  I’ve still made mistakes, I still make wrong decisions, and I still wrestle with what I think is more important to and for me.  But along the way,  I’ve discovered that God wants to journey life with me, He wants to help me make better decisions, and He has a grand plan for my life that includes bringing joy and peace beyond what I could imagine.   He wants my thoughts to be captured and held captive for Him so that our relationship can be profound and grounded in His truth and love.

So, pray for me as I share my life’s journey with the high school students.   If you are lead to specifically pray for me during the event, I will be sharing at 2:20 am California time (5:20 am New York time) on Tuesday, February 8, 2011.  I’m only a clay vessel and He is the potter.  I just want to be a messenger for God.

Blessings and thank you for praying over the Flurry’s.

Abraço,

Kevin

PS  I’ve posted a summary of 2010 and the challenges for 2011 on our blog:  theflurrys.wordpress.com.

• Through PACA’s 50^th Events, we touched base with over 1000 people, of which 300 were alumni families.
• At the grand dinner finale in December, several parents heard for the first time how the school was started (Prayer and Sacrifice) and each guest was given a bilingual Port/Eng Bible customized in green, with school logo, and all gold trim.
• Enrollment is 99% of school capacity
• Waiting list for all grades keeps growing with lots of Christian families have been looking at PACA to place their children.
• We are also receiving several Brazilian missionary families coming for furlough and wanting to place their kids at PACA (God has blessed us with the ability to offer them 70% off of their tuition costs).
• We are building a new classroom off the high school wing, specifically for our science program.
• The school’s finances have grown to have 6 months of reserve and we have 40% of our students receiving financial aid (so God has blessed us).
• Several students have come to know the Lord and saying yes to following Jesus (even though their parents are not Christians).
• Several high schools students went on a missions trip to the Amazon to serve and translate among doctors working with native Indians (and presenting the gospel through 1on1 relationships).  Three of these high school students recommitted their lives to Jesus.
• Vanessa was the assistant cheerleading coach and was able to connect with 5 girls.  Next year, they want Vanessa to take over as head cheerleading coach.
• I was immersed in 50^th events and am glad to have made it through the year.

Some school items that need prayer coverage:

• There is a growing feeling among the missionary community that PACA is too expensive and not there with them.  This is mostly due to the low exchange rate (dollar lost 40% of it’s value since 2009).  We give missionaries a 65% discount on the monthly tuition rate…  But, we have heard lots of grumbling.  We need wisdom on to work with this part of our community (which is now a minority – only 25% of our student body).
• Lots of pressure from parents that PACA should grow their enrollment since there is so much demand, but this means some mega construction investment.  The Board needs prayer over this.
• We need to recruit a History high school teacher, high school principal, and a kindergarten teacher (so far) for next year.  Pray for my superintendent who is the one making contacts with candidates (if you have any suggestions let me know).
• I need to update lots of marketing items: brochures and website.  And we need to present in English and in Portuguese (which means double work).
• The school is looking to purchase homes to house teacher/administration families but housing prices are high and keep going up since Brazil’s economy is going strong (which is why the dollar is weak).

On another note, thank you so much for those who pray and financially supporting us.  You won’t believe what a huge blessing your gifts have been, especially since the dollar is at R$1.67 but food prices are 80% higher then in 2009.  Just fyi, a big mack macdonald’s meal costs US$11.00, a gallon of gas is US$ 6.24, and a gallon of milk is US$7.00.  Which means going to dinner is a real treat and reserved for special occasions.

Some Flurry prayer items for 2011:

• For Vanessa’s anxiety attacks to diminish and that the doctor prescribes a good treatment plan (anxiety attacks caused by food allergies to milk products and spices).
• We need a new home that is drier (less mold in walls or on floors), close to PACA, and fits our budget.  All this is due to Samuel’s and Kevin’s asthma crisis and every time we get a huge rainfall our house gets close to flooding (I’m an expert in gauging rain fall and how to quickly use the squeegee to push water out of the way).
• Increase Personal support – with the dollar’s devaluation and increasing food prices (80% increase in the last 2 years), we need to raise another $500-$750 in monthly support.  This will have to be a God thing due to the economic situation in the USA.  For example, we need to start saving up for an emergency reserve fund for things like flying back to the USA due to death in the family, college fund, retirement, and medical bills.  Please pray with us that God would lead us to supporters and lead supporters to us.

Great short video by alumni, Deepika Chandaranami.

Video by school students on the school’s polo shirts.

Dear friends,

We asked for rest during this break and God is giving us plenty of it. It is unseasonably raining so much here in São Paulo.  Remember, while you are enjoying a sunny summer in the northern hemisphere, in the southern hemisphere we are in the midst of winter.  Winter in São Paulo is usually a dry, cold spell – not the case this time with all the rain.  But we are enjoying it by staying home because we are recovering from a sleepover birthday party for your 8 year old son and his friends.

We did a Star Wars theme for Samuel’s 8^th birthday, giving him a chance to invite seven friends to get some Jedi Training, fight Darth Vader, eat Naboo food, and spend a night at the hut.  But, some of the parents wanted to stay to see what kind of crazy parents we were due to all the activities and games planned for the night.  In total, seven Samuel friends (boys), two sisters, and six adults stayed until 10:00 pm enjoying the festivities.

Samuel "Luke Skywalker" with friends at his 8th birthday party

I dressed up like Darth Vader with official mask and voice box effects and all in black.  Although I didn’t need to worry about the breathing effects because my asthma was in full bloom.  But, I sucked it up and challenged the kids to one-on-one fight with Darth.  After giving them a chance to warm-up, it became a free for all when all the kids decided to attack Darth Vader.  I am always surprised by kids’ courage and their desire for an adventure.  Needless to say, I was glad to have left the fight with some life still in me (although I might not have any more kids due to some accidental hits…).

Of the seven friends that came for the party, five of them stayed for the sleepover and the last one didn’t go to bed until 2:00 am.  Our son made it to 1:00 am before he passed out.  The next morning they woke up to pancakes, eggs, bacon, strawberries, whipping cream, and juice.  My wife, Vanessa, is an awesome woman!  If she ever got into the business of planning birthday parties, she would be a hit.

Star Wars legos at the party

In Brazil, kid oriented parties is left to the Birthday Party Buffets.  The kids run off and play games with tons of other kids and the parents stay together eating, talking, and drinking.  Several party monitors make sure the kids don’t die or kill each other. And the activities tend to be video games, climbing mazes with slides and chutes, karaoke, and other indoor rides.  So, the kids don’t really get an adventure and the parents are never engaged.  The food is always the same and we’ve been to several of these party buffets.

That’s why our friends love our parties.  They know kids will have a grand time, build lots of memories, and the food is always delicious – thanks to my creative wife who patiently puts up with a grumpy husband when getting the party supplies.

For light sabers, we built foam light sabers so that the kids could wail on each other without hurting each other (Darth Vader was especially grateful for these).  For training, they had to use their foam light sabers to keep balloons in the air using their Jedi focus and then were lead into how to defend and attack with their weapons.  We had lots of Star War legos out for the kids to play when they got tired.  And at the end of the night, we gave them a Jedi Training Certificate (click here to download a sample: http://theflurrys.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/jedi-training-certificate.pdf) that we created.  So, it was lots of fun but very tiring.

We also just received a huge care package from the First Baptist Church of Lordsburg, New Mexico.  It came loaded with lots of goodies:  peanut butter, zip lock bags, baby cereal, baby cookies, Concord grape jelly, cards, church stuff for kids, seasonings, and jello.  Can’t believe how much stuff was in the box.  A very big THANK YOU to the Women’s Missionary Guild at the church for sending love wrapped in a box!  These surprise gifts renew the soul for they remind us of those who love us and are praying over us while we are in São Paulo, Brazil.

Thank you Women's Missionary Guild from Lordsburg's 1st Baptist Church for this wonderful care package!

Some prayer requests for this next month:

• The Salaiz Family – Uncle Alex passed away, leaving behind his wife of 50 years, Auntie Grace, daughter Debbie, and son Rex, married with Julie with three kids.  Uncle Alex defined the words generosity, integrity, and family man.  We will miss him tremendously.  So, we would appreciate your prayers for God’s comfort, direction, and blessing over Auntie Grace and family.
• Ysabel’s growth – she’s moving into eating solids and loves to eat, but has not gained the amount of weight desired by her pediatrician.  But, she’s growing, is alert, and is fully engaged.
• Samuel’s Portuguese – we need to find ways to keep his Portuguese language skills engaged during the break.  I would like to find a soccer camp for him but it’s been raining so much.  I have some contacts and will be looking into this next week.
• Vanessa’s health – she’s been strong for Samuel’s birthday party, but I know she had a cold and she’s had some weird pain located around the gall bladder area.  She’s also been worried about Ysabel’s growth.
• Kevin’s health – a surprise cold became a big asthma crisis.  It’s been seven days and I’m not over the asthma crisis (which usually only takes 4 days).
• Financial support – Currently the dollar is losing value here in Brazil, increasing our cost of living.  Ideally, our support should come in at $1,500 a month but we average $1,000 a month.  Pray that God would bring along monthly financial supporters.

We thank you for being part of our ministry team – through your prayers and friendship.  When you partner with us, you are investing into God’s Kingdom  at PAN AMERICAN CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (http://www.paca.com.br), a non-profit, college preparatory, Christian Day School (Preschool through 12th grade), serving the educational needs of missionary families,  Christian families, and international families of São Paulo.

In Christ – the true “Force” of the Universe

With lots of Amor,

The Flurrys – Kevin, Vanessa, Samuel and Ysabel

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Our mission is to advance the educational and spiritual excellence of Pan American Christian Academy, enabling PACA to develop into a leading international Christian school to impact the world for Christ.

We love to stay in touch with you.  Our home skype address is Vanessa.flurry and our home phone number is 323.230.7325.  Vanessa’s email is Vanessa.flurry@gmail.com and she can be found occasionally on Facebook.   My SKYPE address is Kevin Bruce Flurry, my personal email is Kevin.flurry@gmail.com, and my work email is Kevin.flurry@paca.com.br.  I sometimes find time to get on Facebook.

Become a financial partner – make a secure online gift today towards our ministry through NetworkforGood.org by clicking here.  Or if you want to download a form to give by check, click here to print one out.

Financial support is processed by the PACA ALUMNI FOUNDATION (http://www.paca.com.br/?page=thefoundation), a non-profit, 501 (C)(3) organization dedicated to linking resources to develop the school’s future. Their mission to advance the educational and spiritual excellence of Pan American Christian Academy by linking financial and gifts-in-kind resources, enabling PACA to develop into a leading international Christian school. Every gift is tax-deductible.

If you are lead to support us prayerfully or financially, we are grateful for your prayer and financial support. Prayer is needed as we seek to stay focused on following Jesus direction for the school, to develop relationships with friends, to raise a family, and to expand God’s Kingdom here in Sao Paulo. Financial support is needed so we can focus on our ministry at PACA and not have to be anxious over money. God has been faithful to provide for our needs and has blessed us so much, using many friends like you on this journey. We desire to be a blessing to each person God allows our lives to touch. From students at school  - to the little kid who comes begging for food at our door – to our neighbor next door.

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