Liz and I have been going through a transition in the past couple of months that has required us to step out on a new level of faith than we have ever seen. We have had to face situations that have required a strength from God we have never needed - or at least, no, we never needed it.... I mean, really cool opportunities to Know Him More! I have been reading the Book of Isiah lately. Isiah is a really interesting guy who God gave an almost unparalleled insight and ability to stand firm in faith. Obviously, on the side of the mission field where people are working for God - Satan likes to show up, once in a while, and distract us from seeking and sharing Christ. Those times are hard and Satan knows it! It reminds me of Judah's King, Ahaz. Ahaz feared for the well-being of his country because there were plots from Israel and Syria to overthrow him. God sent a message to Ahaz through Isiah, "Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm". (NLT). God spoke to me in that moment... we pray all of the time for God to help us stand firm in the battle, for the strength to overcome the day. We want so bad to stand strong for God, yet, without faith, we won't. We fall asleep many nights tired and weary from getting our keisters cut throughout the day. Without faith, we fall. With it, we stand firm, unmoved by anything the enemy throws at us. God continued to speak to me through that passage of Scripture, "the invasion will not happen, it will never take place". You mean to tell me we went through all of those battles for nothing? Certainly not! But I am convinced we get ourselves caught up in battles that we would never have to fight if we had the faith to allow God to work through us and in us for His Purpose and Glory. Fé, Fé apenas nos permitirá combater o bom combate! Faith, only Faith will allow us to fight the good fight!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
And a Country Boy Can Survive....
You know the ol' sayin, "you can take the boy out the country, but you can't take the country out the boy"? Ok, maybe that was supposed to be girl, but for this purpose it's boy. Anyway, I posted in an earlier post that you just don't drink the water form the city supply here. The natives don't so I am going to bet I shouldn't either! I remember being younger and mom telling me if you don't do what your told your going to go to bed hungry. She never said thirsty.... I am going to imagine that is because I would rather go to bed hungry than thirsty - I mean what parent wouldn't give their kid a drink of water... As we say in Brazil, it doesn't exist! I won't lie to you, this is the first night of my life where I actually thought I was going to go to bed thirsty. We forgot to fill up our water bottles before we came home today with the schools filtration system, so naturally, we didn't have any water. I was thirsty enough that my wheels in my head began to turn. How am I going to get water? I remembered I brought an old Sawyer water filter down with me in my camping gear. Bingo! But the faucets aren't the same here so there was no way of hooking up the water filter.... that's when the country came out... I had an extra outboard priming pump (you never know when you might need that on a river to get the engine going) that had never been used. I hooked that bad boy to the water filter and pumped myself a nice warm glass of filtered Amazon rain water :) Amen!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Becoming a webmaster.....well, maybe not!
New aspect to the blog.... There are new tabs on the blog you can click and check out even more of what we are up to in Brazil. Take a moment and explore around the site, you never know what the Lord may lead you to :) You can check out the Amazon Impact Prayer Needs, Ministry gear to help us serve at an even higher capacity here in Brazil, Ministry Focus, and more! May you be Blessed and Encouraged as you read all about what the Lord is doing through you and us here in Brazil!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Could you spare some change....
As this school year comes to an end in a couple of months, a lot of things will be changing here at AVA. People are leaving and new people are coming. Land is being sold and new buildings are being built. There is a lot of unsurity, but one thing for sure is that God is in control! I have been praying more often lately about the direction God is taking AVA in the upcoming weeks, months, and years. There are a lot of changes that have to be made, and changes can be very tough. New ministry opportunities for AVA are on the horizon and God is working out the details more and more everyday.
I was thinking about the ministry Liz and I had/have at PBC. I realized that no matter what happens with the youth group things will be different than they were with Liz and I on the front lines. I guess in a way things will be the same for AVA. Honestly, we cannot minister in the same way that those who have proceeded us have. With that, God has been laying new opportunities to minister to the people in Brazil on our hearts. I wanted to share some of those opportunities with you so that you could help pray for God's wisdom, direction, and guidance towards His Plan for us, AVA, and the people of Brazil.
We have already shared a little bit about a ministry we have plans to work with ministering to the Riberinos through Amazon Reach. We will take weekend trips with them to bring physical and spiritual aid to the people of the river. This will provide a training ground for the students to begin their future ministries on through the guidence of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord has recently opened up opportunities to serve Project Horizon. PH is a non-profit organization that seeks to help under-resourced youth become successful in the calling they have in life. The organization raises sponsors for each youth. Youth are put through classes a couple of times a week to learn English, social skills, business skills, and other necessary skills in order to be successful in life. The students would be able to help teach classes and shape their social skills in a positive manner.
Of course, there are also many on campus ministries that are in development now or are already established. More information on those as soon as possible.
We want to thank everyone for your love and support and we look forward to hearing from you soon :)
I was thinking about the ministry Liz and I had/have at PBC. I realized that no matter what happens with the youth group things will be different than they were with Liz and I on the front lines. I guess in a way things will be the same for AVA. Honestly, we cannot minister in the same way that those who have proceeded us have. With that, God has been laying new opportunities to minister to the people in Brazil on our hearts. I wanted to share some of those opportunities with you so that you could help pray for God's wisdom, direction, and guidance towards His Plan for us, AVA, and the people of Brazil.
We have already shared a little bit about a ministry we have plans to work with ministering to the Riberinos through Amazon Reach. We will take weekend trips with them to bring physical and spiritual aid to the people of the river. This will provide a training ground for the students to begin their future ministries on through the guidence of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord has recently opened up opportunities to serve Project Horizon. PH is a non-profit organization that seeks to help under-resourced youth become successful in the calling they have in life. The organization raises sponsors for each youth. Youth are put through classes a couple of times a week to learn English, social skills, business skills, and other necessary skills in order to be successful in life. The students would be able to help teach classes and shape their social skills in a positive manner.
Of course, there are also many on campus ministries that are in development now or are already established. More information on those as soon as possible.
We want to thank everyone for your love and support and we look forward to hearing from you soon :)
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Too Long, But Truckin' Strong :)
Sorry it has been so long since our last post. Liz and I have been going through, I guess we will call it, Phase 2. Basically, we got to a point a couple of weeks ago where we were just settling down. Of course, on the mission field that rarely happens. Now we are turning a place to stay into our new Brazilian Home. I have learned the importance of home over the past couple of months. Actually, I guess I have learned what home really is. Most of my teenage and young adult years you could have considered me somewhat of a nomad and not have been too far off. Here, home has to be a place of refuge to recharge and recoup. The fort in this spiritual battle. Liz and I have been building our fort. It is almost done and we want to thank everyone who has supported us in our ministry here in Belem. Hopefully soon we will have a video walk through of "The Fort".
The School is getting smoothed out at this point as well. Liz is doing well in 6th Grade and developing strong relationships with her students and parents. I am still teaching the High School Physical Science Class until we get a science teacher. To give you an idea of ordering things online in Brazil, we ordered the curriculum for this semester in January, it just arrived about 2 days ago. Needless to say I have been crunch timing to learn how to teach HS science.
The English service is booming! The service has been attracting new people every week. It is apparent God has great plans and is working mightily through this service. Be in prayer for a few people there who have been seeking truth yet have not accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Brazilians have a quality about them where they just don't jump into things. Impulse is not prevalent here - at all. Pray that God gives these few people the Strength to jump into a real relationship with HIM!
This weekends Ministry opportunity was really awesome! The people we were working with are direct descendants of African Slaves who escaped into the Amazon Rain Forest. Basically, you have an African Tribe in Brazil! Anyway, we were able to go with a Presbyterian Church from Belem to bring medical and spiritual support to these people. The Kilombola people are a very neat group of people, but have very little. We were able to bring in medical teams including dentistry, general physicians, hygiene training, nails and hair, we even had a preacher to legally marry the engaged couples :) But most importantly we were able to bring the Word of God to these people.
Dentist Office
Doctor's Office
The Nurse
Entrance to the medical facility
Just a Big Pretty Tree
And its trunk
Main Street
The bathtub, water supply, and hydration station!
The Jungle
The Interstate (to the next village)
The Bridge
Yes... That would be the Power Lines for the villages nearby.....
Instructions on how to brush your teeth!
Sharing the Word of God!
Manicures and Pedicures
Hair Salon
The Children and Their Jesus Books!
Fluoride (Obviously it doesn't grow natural in the river :) )
One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi.....
That would be the fan plugged into the socket directly, no plug!
Thank you everyone for your love and support and prayers! We are excited about the work God is doing through the Ministry God has called us to be a part of!
The School is getting smoothed out at this point as well. Liz is doing well in 6th Grade and developing strong relationships with her students and parents. I am still teaching the High School Physical Science Class until we get a science teacher. To give you an idea of ordering things online in Brazil, we ordered the curriculum for this semester in January, it just arrived about 2 days ago. Needless to say I have been crunch timing to learn how to teach HS science.
The English service is booming! The service has been attracting new people every week. It is apparent God has great plans and is working mightily through this service. Be in prayer for a few people there who have been seeking truth yet have not accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Brazilians have a quality about them where they just don't jump into things. Impulse is not prevalent here - at all. Pray that God gives these few people the Strength to jump into a real relationship with HIM!
This weekends Ministry opportunity was really awesome! The people we were working with are direct descendants of African Slaves who escaped into the Amazon Rain Forest. Basically, you have an African Tribe in Brazil! Anyway, we were able to go with a Presbyterian Church from Belem to bring medical and spiritual support to these people. The Kilombola people are a very neat group of people, but have very little. We were able to bring in medical teams including dentistry, general physicians, hygiene training, nails and hair, we even had a preacher to legally marry the engaged couples :) But most importantly we were able to bring the Word of God to these people.
Dentist Office
Doctor's Office
The Nurse
Entrance to the medical facility
Just a Big Pretty Tree
And its trunk
Main Street
The bathtub, water supply, and hydration station!
The Jungle
The Interstate (to the next village)
The Bridge
Yes... That would be the Power Lines for the villages nearby.....
Instructions on how to brush your teeth!
Sharing the Word of God!
Manicures and Pedicures
Hair Salon
The Children and Their Jesus Books!
Fluoride (Obviously it doesn't grow natural in the river :) )
One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi.....
That would be the fan plugged into the socket directly, no plug!
Thank you everyone for your love and support and prayers! We are excited about the work God is doing through the Ministry God has called us to be a part of!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
My Utmost for His Highest
So these two little devotionals spoke to me thought I would share them with you! They are from a little devotional book by Oswald Chambers titled, "My Utmost for His Highest"
February 26:
The woman said to Him, ’Sir, You have nothing to draw [water] with, and the well is deep’ —John 4:11
Have you ever said to yourself, “I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God’s Word, but He can’t really expect me to live up to that and work all those details into my life!” When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality— that what He says cannot actually be done. Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, “Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?” Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, “It’s easy to say, ’Trust in the Lord,’ but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water— no means to be able to give us these things.” And beware of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, “Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.” If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus. And our pride is hurt even at the thought that He can do what we can’t.
My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”
And February 27:
Where then do You get that living water? —John 4:11
“The well is deep”— and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! (John 4:11). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the “wells” in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep “well” of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, “But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can’t draw up quietness and comfort out of it.” Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn’t bring anything up from the wells of human nature— He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, “Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing.” The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God.
The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, “Of course, He can’t do anything about this.” We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, “It can’t be done.” You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.
The woman said to Him, ’Sir, You have nothing to draw [water] with, and the well is deep’ —John 4:11
Have you ever said to yourself, “I am impressed with the wonderful truths of God’s Word, but He can’t really expect me to live up to that and work all those details into my life!” When it comes to confronting Jesus Christ on the basis of His qualities and abilities, our attitudes reflect religious superiority. We think His ideals are lofty and they impress us, but we believe He is not in touch with reality— that what He says cannot actually be done. Each of us thinks this about Jesus in one area of our life or another. These doubts or misgivings about Jesus begin as we consider questions that divert our focus away from God. While we talk of our dealings with Him, others ask us, “Where are you going to get enough money to live? How will you live and who will take care of you?” Or our misgivings begin within ourselves when we tell Jesus that our circumstances are just a little too difficult for Him. We say, “It’s easy to say, ’Trust in the Lord,’ but a person has to live; and besides, Jesus has nothing with which to draw water— no means to be able to give us these things.” And beware of exhibiting religious deceit by saying, “Oh, I have no misgivings about Jesus, only misgivings about myself.” If we are honest, we will admit that we never have misgivings or doubts about ourselves, because we know exactly what we are capable or incapable of doing. But we do have misgivings about Jesus. And our pride is hurt even at the thought that He can do what we can’t.
My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.”
And February 27:
Where then do You get that living water? —John 4:11
“The well is deep”— and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! (John 4:11). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the “wells” in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep “well” of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:1). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, “But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can’t draw up quietness and comfort out of it.” Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn’t bring anything up from the wells of human nature— He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, “Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing.” The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God.
The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, “Of course, He can’t do anything about this.” We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, “It can’t be done.” You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Flakefest 2011
Preparation is good. The only problem with preparation is, you can only prepare for what you expect to happen. When the unexpected occurs all of your preparation gets thrown out of the window. Well, maybe not all of it - but when what you prepared for doesn't happen then your ability to improvise is vital to success. At that point, I was ready to come back to the good ol' USA. Commitment..... Wow, what a term that has been thrown to the wayside so much in life. "Yea sure, I'll be there", "I can do it tomorrow", "I know the contract says that, but....", anything but what I committed to. Marriage commitments - dropped, work commitments - dropped, family commitments - dropped, church commitments - dropped. Dropped! It is like the song, Drop It Likes It's Hot, runs through our minds constantly! We get to a point where we have to sacrifice and commitment gets thrown out the window. All of the sudden the situation is no longer to our convenience and we don't want anything to do with it anymore. Honestly, ALL of us are guilty of that one. But it seems like we see more and more commitments being dropped everyday. We'll call it "Flakey Disorder". The Church is no exception to this widespread epidemic. It's like we all went to Flakefest and never came back. You know, it would have been easy to say we couldn't raise the support so we had to come home. Reality - God you can't provide for our needs.... Or the context changed when we got here. Reality - We are single-minded and not willing to go with God, but instead, telling God to go with us. We could have made excuses, and justifiable ones at that. Reality - I am incapable of completing the task laid before me and unable to overcome the obstacles in front of me. Yea, we could have been kicking back in the air conditioning, sipping a nice cold Mountain Dew, making money at our nice jobs, but we would have been asking God to go with us. We wouldn't be where God wants us. Commitment. Noah was committed to completing a task that seemed impossible and completely unnecessary - called an Ark. Moses was committed to giving up his seat around the royal table in Egypt to go on an impossible journey with the people of Israel. Jesus stuck to His commitment to dying on a cross. John the Baptist committed his life to Honey and Locust and camel hair clothes to Prepare The Way For The Lord! It is not always fun here, actually a lot of times it is tough, but when you shake the hand of a man who has sought Truth his whole life and God used you to help him find It then..... or when a little girl gives you her necklace, and that is about all she has, because you came to her and shared the Kingdom of God with her people, then..... or when the wife of a pastor comes to you and lets you know God used your ministry to work in her life, then..... All the sudden that commitment you made in the beginning was absolutely worth it. And that sacrifice becomes no sacrifice at all. And those supporters and prayer warriors make it possible through their commitment and sacrifice.....
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