"Wisdom"

Isaiah 24:14
"Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

I have been reminded lately how wonderful it is to see that the gospel's simplicity is so powerful. The world is looking for some great wisdom that has never been heard before that will change the way we think. But the gospel is seen as foolishness to the intelligent. That is where I see the hand of God in it. It is so simple yet so powerful, no man's wisdom could have invented such an idea. I'm thankful that the gospel is for everyone who will believe in it.

At this point in our mission, I'm really enjoying my reading sessions. I feel like I am getting as much out of them as any reader could. Each one is a challenge, but I can see the Spirit working in the Word of God. I've never had so many chances to see that happen. I'm very thankful for that.

My everyday life is good. I haven't felt any significant signs of culture shock, but I attribute that to the 2 month lesson on "flexibility" that we had before we finally arrived here. My blog may mislead you into thinking that I'm doing nothing but work... but that isn't true. We have had a couple of wonderful trips to the beach and I've even been snorkeling! I'm sorry that I don't have any photos, but we have had terrible problems with our camera. I hope to have that remedied so I can post some more on my photo website (see previous entry about pictures).

Please pray for our readers. Also pray for our spiritual and physical well-being. Thank you for being prayer warriors!

Searching for truth

I want to tell you about one of my readers, who will remain anonymous. In our last session, we were talking about the birth of Jesus using the text from Luke. As I was asking him questions about the story, we started talking about the magi. The magi aren't mentioned in Luke, but only in the book of Matthew. This surprised him. He mentioned that he knew all three of their names, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar. I told him that it was interesting that they had names since their names aren't mentioned and we know so little from scripture. He was really surprised that their names weren't in the Bible. So I suggested that we read the account from Matthew.

After reading about the magi in Matthew, I said that this is all we know form the Bible. He said, "I wonder where the names came from?" I said, "Probably from someone who wanted more details. Many people have added to scripture because it makes them seem important. If I say that I know details about a Bible story that no one else knows, then you might listen to whatever I have to say and see me as wise and important."

In Brazil, children are taught Catholic Christianity in the public schools. I am seeing that there are many things that they are taught that aren't in the BIble. I really look forward to having the opportunity to help them to see for themselves what the Bible really says. I keep telling them that you don't need anyone to tell you what the Bible says, read it yourself! This is a very different concept because so many people in the Catholic church want to tell people what to believe. I'm praying that the Word of God will change their lives... and of course, improve their English at the same time.

Answered Prayers

Good news!! The Brazilian government has granted our request for a visa extension. That means that instead of leaving Brazil next Monday, we will need to leave by December 20th. That gives us three months in Natal!!! Many people have been praying for this and God has answered graciously. We are so thankful because we are really just solidifying our relationships here and want to continue in those relationships.

Let me tell you about just one of those relationships. I am reading with a young man who is reading the "Da Vinci Code" because he is searching for answers. He told me in our first session that he is very curious about religion and has attended the Mormon church before. But he made a point to tell me that he is not decided about religion. I told him that in our reading sessions we will learn about what Jesus says about religion.

I am very excited that we can give him the opportunity to learn the truth about Jesus. I look forward to watching the seed of God's Word take root in his soul. Thank you for all of you who helped us come to Brazil. And we especially thank God for allowing us to remain here for 2 more months. Please continue to pray for our readers.

Workers in the kingdom

I've been really busy this week with reading sessions and work for the BSG (Bible Study Guide), but I found a little time to blog about some wonderful people living for Jesus here in Natal. I'm really happy to get to know the missionaries. I've heard so much about them and how great they are from Cyndi, who came here last year. And now I'm seeing the proof. They help us in so many ways. Since we are handicapped with our Portuguese knowledge, we need help with so many things, they are too many to name.

First, let me mention the Brazilian ministers and their families. Roberto and Marisa Signoretti have been as hospitable as anyone can be. They immediately made us feel like a part of the family here. Osmildo and Marta Braga have been wonderful to us as well. I felt instantly connected to them and their ministry. They are obviously great examples in the church and have a real passion for service. Both families are already dear friends and co-workers. I feel blessed to work with them.

Also there is an American missionary here, John Jewell. He has been studying with readers who are ready to look at committing to Jesus. He is helping bridge the gap between the church and all of us Americans coming and going. He and his family are doing an incredible job in forming the vital link between LST and the church.

Last but not least, Cris Carpenter has done a wonderful job in coordinating the LST situation here. This job is an enormous task, while also keeping a full schedule of readers. In addition to helping us set up schedules and match us with readers, she has helped us with every step in getting settled into our Natal home. This help cannot be overstated. She has blessed us tremendously and God is using her big-time. Without her, our integration into the work would have been extremely difficult. See her blog by clicking here.

Hopefully, this helps you see the people that God is using to make this effort work for Cyndi and I and of course, our teammate, Lacy. God is using His obedient servants.

Pictures

I'm finally getting around to posting pictures on the internet. I'm sure many of you would like to see where we live and some of the people we are working with, etc. Well, I'm using "Picasa" (associated with Google) to post my pictures. So if you want to view my albums, go to the link below.

Click here.

I will load any photos to this site, so you may want to bookmark it to keep up with what's going on. I've been having trouble showing photos here, so there's another reason to bookmark the picasa site.