Meet The Canady’s
It all started when…
In 2018, I made my first visit to Brazil. Our great friends, the Blackwell Family, had been serving there for a few years, and the purpose of the trip was to just see how things were going with their mission.
I remember praying one of the first nights I was there, “Lord, help me to see the people here the way that You see them.” God answered that prayer immediately! And the next day, I saw things in a different light!
Needless to say, my first trip to Brazil was life changing, and I left a piece of my heart there. I remember coming home and telling my wife, “I think we should move to Brazil and serve on the mission field there.” To which she promptly replied, “I don’t think so!!” LOL!!
For almost 3 years, the Holy Spirit continued calling and I was scared to death to answer. Mainly because my wife said no! LOL!! But I kept praying, "God, lead US where you want us to go!"
A couple of years ago, just before COVID-19 changed the world, one of my wife’s dearest mentors, Hope Moore, passed away unexpectedly. Hope was an amazing woman who loved the Lord and would go out of her way to be sure everyone she encountered had the opportunity to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
At Hope’s funeral, the pastor talked about the banners that would be carried and waved during the battles. He explained how the ones fighting in the battle knew that they could continue, as long as they could see that banner being waved. Hope was definitely one who held a banner and waved it continually throughout her life.
Towards the end of the message, the pastor continued to explain the importance of that banner. In the event that the one waving the banner should be wounded or killed in the battle, it was the responsibility of the closest soldier to run to that banner, pick it up, and continue waving it so that all of the other soldiers would know…. WE ARE STILL IN THIS BATTLE!
The pastor’s closing question was, “Which one of you will pick up Hope’s banner?”
That afternoon, my wife submitted to the call of God on her life to GO! To pick up Hope’s banner and wave it constantly for the Lord! Since then, we have had only one thing on our hearts and minds... HOW CAN WE GET TO BRAZIL?
For the past 3 years, we have been traveling back and forth to Brazil to better understand the need and the vision. Brazil is heavily dominated by Catholicism and Spiritist. It can be a very dark place at times, and while everyone is suffering from a lack of knowledge of the One True God, the children of Brazil have been the burden of our friends, the Blackwell’s.
Over the past 7 to 8 years, the Blackwell’s have been very busy building a tremendous youth ministry at their church in Barbacena, Igreja Batista Livre Esperança (Hope Church)! Their mission has reached a ton of kids whose ages ranging from 5 years old, all the way through 18 and 19 years of age. Kids are giving their hearts to the Lord, and the impact it has had in their families is tremendous! You can check out some of the things happening on their Facebook page HERE.
In 2019, I was blessed with the opportunity to make a trip to help build a parquinho (a playground) for the kids at the church! Something as simple as swings and slides immediately opened the doors of multiple families to be able to hear about Jesus, as they would bring their kids to play, and the parents would be given the opportunity to talk with others at the church.
As the youth ministry at Esperança continues to grow, we believe that God is leading us to partner with the Blackwell’s in building a youth camp! And after years of prayer, the perfect property has become available!
We have no doubts, whatsoever, that God wants us to be in Barbacena, Brazil, to help make the vision of this youth camp a reality!
We would be honored if you would partner with us on our mission by contributing to our start up or with a yearly partnership contribution! Information about our yearly partnership levels is available on our website HERE.
Thank you so much for contributing to God's missions in Brazil!
God Bless!
Robin, Nicole, Korey, & Sarah Canady
ONLINE GIVING
Thank you for your support to Smithfield FWB Missions. Because of your financial support and generosity, you have planted the seeds that will enable the Canady's to take the Gospel to Brazil. Thank you for answering the call to contribute to God's work as the Canady's answer the call of the Great Commission.