We just hosted a three-day Youth Retreat called Cristovál.

Here are some stories.

Four teams had to follow clues to race to the four corners of our property to collect firewood, water, matches, a tin can, a tea bag, come back to the starting line, build a fire, and boil a pot of tea.

Who would have thought God would give us four daughters who love racing in an Amazon swamp?
(Here is a photo of Emma getting stung by something under the water which left a two-inch welt. This is the same swamp where I saw an anaconda eating a hawk about eight feet away from me. When the neighbour cleaned out his swamp he killed 53 anacondas.)

Swamp Race Photo Album

We have 45 youth here for a three-day sleepover event. Three times a day there are services. There is a lot of repentance, asking forgiveness and the sense of God’s presence as the youth ministered to one another. Ivanildo planned an obstacle race which includes teams racing through the swamp, crawling through the mud under some barriers, going through some deeper water on two cables. The winning team was the one who helped each other all get through together first.

Then the youth prepare for another ministry time, more food, more racing around and singing in the middle of the night. (No playing the drums tonight!)

Cristovál is a Youth Retreat here. While much of the country celebrates excessive sinful lifestyles, some churches in Brazil use the holiday to seek God and celebrate life.

We thank the Lord for His abundant life, for calling us to Marabá, and for young pastors. Ivanildo and Monica are running this whole event. We are support staff. Very  cool.

“I think you guys must have a much easier time living for God than I do. Whenever I come to this church property I feel such a peace and calmness. There is a different atmosphere here. Then when I go back home or out on the street there is so much agitation or temptations…”

This is a translation of a discussion I had with Sammy yesterday. We have a “discipleship” meeting once a week, when we talk about life. I was telling Sammy about our dream of having a set-up where we can have course for a week-end, or a week, or a month, where people can come and see God, and have fun, and move forward in their faith.

Sammy’s response of how he feels peace here is an answer to our vision, patterned after the Celtic Way of Evangelism. We can feel it too. You come through our gate and onto our property, if just feels different.

Thank you, Jesus.

We have started this project up again. We tried to get in by the end of last year, but we did not allow for the storms of the rainy season. Now we would like to bring this building to lock-up so we can use it.

This video is for people who have been thinking, “I would like to invest some more money in God’s Kingdom. I wonder where would be a good place?” It is also for people who would like to pray with us, and those who would like an update on past investments.

Do you ever wish you could hear or understand God better? I often wish Jesus would just show up beside me and I could just ask Him whatever I am thinking about. Clyde and his family are planting churches about a days journey the other side of Altamira. Last week we were together at a leadership meeting. I was praying for Clyde and I saw a kind of vision. “I see you splitting wood, and throwing kindling on a fire in order to get it burning. Once it is burning good enough you will be able to move on.”

The next day, as Clyde was taking me to the airport, he told me about what happened the week before. “I made a fire to bar-be-que a big fish.
I invited Poli (the Brazilian church-planter he is working with) and his family for lunch. The fish cooked through on the one side, so I turned it over on the coals. Then I saw that I had used too small of kindling. The coals were almost burned out. I told Poli, ‘I should have used bigger firewood. Now I have to rebuild this fire. I think God is talking to us through this example. We need to invest more in the people we are working with so we can establish churches that will last, and will stay hot over time. We need to get bigger blocks of wood burning, not just some kindling.'”

I find God often speaks random words of encouragement. In my morning devotions I would like to hear God tell me how to heal my family from sickness, or how to help the neighbours with miracles. Instead God often seems to say things like: “Just keep going. This is not a sprint. You are doing a good job. Take a break. Keep watching for Me today. I’m proud of you.”

Here are a few things I have learned about God talking to us:

1. God talks to prophets with dreams and visions.
2. God talked to Moses face to face, directly and not in riddles.
3. The least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than the greatest Old Testament prophets.
4. Angels long to look in on these things.
5. Jesus talked clearly to His disciples. It often takes awhile to understand.