May 28, 2013

Miracle in Morros (Photos)

Here are some pictures of the "miracle in Morros" mentioned in our most recent prayer letter.

Getting ready to travel.

The village of Bom Gosto (Good Taste)

Relaxing in the river.

Cottage industry: making farinha

Jadson with some of the neighborhood kids.

Neighborhood boy demonstrates his improvised, functional, toy gun.

The service begins.

Abreu at the guitar.

Yours truly preaching, around the time the mosquito entered my mouth.

Itacyara, Ilza, and Maria with some of the neighborhood children.

The men of the congregation with some of the new converts. There were seven in all.

Two young girls who talked to Itacyara about the gospel.

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May 20, 2013

Camp Elim: The Way Forward

For the first part of this year it has been a major struggle to do any kind of work at the camp we purchased in Morros in late 2011. Conflicting schedules and the priority of getting a fledgling congregation off the ground have made it difficult to begin any sustained work there.

However, the dream of beginning a camp ministry here is far from over. Last month I took some bricklayers out to the property, and together we came up with a plan to get the camp functional for day-long activities, or weekend camp-outs by the end of the year.

The following are the steps we will take to make this happen:

1. In June and July we will be hosting two groups from the US. As part of their ministry here, they will each spend a day helping us clear out the front of the camp, and make other pre-construction preparations.

2. In the middle of July I will spend a week at the camp with the bricklayers. Together (and hopefully with the help of other men of the church) we build a gated wall along the part of the property that faces the highway.

3. Beginning in August, I will take small crews to the camp every other weekend. From there to December we will build simple bathrooms, and a pavilion for eating and other activities. This will involve digging a well, and hooking up electricity. We will also clear out spaces for tents and other activities.

4. Sometime in December or January we will hold an official inauguration for the "Acampamento Elim".

This work has taken on a certain urgency, as we have seen a tremendous door open for us in the area of the camp.

So how can you help? Glad you asked. There are at least three ways:

Pray. Ask God to provide resources and manpower to complete this phase of the work.

Contribute. If you would like to help with the purchase of construction materials, send me an email and I will let you know how.

Participate. Perhaps you have a particular construction skill, or your church has a group of men who like to "get their hands dirty" with this kind of project. Get in touch with me, and we can set up a time for you to come down and help us finish the project.

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May 17, 2013

A Wrinkle in Chrome

The donkey-induced damage to my Fiatt.

It was a dark and stormy night.

I was returning home from a deacon's meeting, where we discussed the exciting prospects of our congregation and made specific plans for the future. A couple items of concern were brought up, and these were weighing heavily on my brain as I navigated the dark stretch of road between Paço do Lumiar and Araçagi.

Approaching headlights caused me to squint into the darkness. The evening's rains had caused sand to drift across the road, much like snow drifts, except not as "snowy".

The car passed and my eyes readjusted to the darkness, and there in front of me were three donkeys. Two of them lived to tell of their close encounter with a red Fiatt. The other--whose nose was extended almost to the middle of the road--went to that great grazing land in the sky, where the streets are paved with carrots, and where there are no silly wagons full of bricks to haul back and forth.

The red Fiatt--heceforth and forever more to be known as Donkeyslayer--is in stable condition, having suffered superficial damage.

Moral of the story: when donkeys stick their noses where they shouldn't, the results can be catastrophic…for the donkeys.

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May 4, 2013

Musical Interlude: For Lizzy

Für Elise like you have never heard it before. IMHO, simply spectacular.

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April 24, 2013

Ebenezer Update: Weed-Whacking Warriors*

The above picture shows the men of the Ebenezer congregation (yours truly in the middle doing his best Braveheart imitation) on the recently purchased property, after having hacked through the underbrush that dominated the landscape up to that point.

Next step: designing the building that will one day house a fully organized, New Testament local church.

*My original title was "Weed Warriors", but that might have caused some confusion...

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