Good-bye to the Airplane
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About 17 years ago Ross and his dad and his father-in-law built this airplane. For many years it served faithfully in the Xingu Region. From Altamira we could fly to Una in an hour. To travel here by boat takes 24 hours. As Ross flew in and out of these remote communities the airplane was always a welcome site.
Things change. Ross is back in Canada. We donated the airplane to Jim Benson of Salt and Light Ministries. Jim and Julie first moved to Brazil as missionaries just five months before we did, and we have been friends ever since. Jim came to Altamira in June of this year, dismantled the airplane, put it on a barge, and floated it to Santarem. After rebuilding the engine Jim plans to get this airplane going, to become once again a useful tool for planting churches and training leaders.
Thank you to everyone to helped with the aviation ministry.
Lummi Island
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I am sending this email from the Lummi Island corner store. This is a little different than the corner stores in our neighborhood in Marabá. Here there are no bars on the doors. You can walk right in. They even have free wireless internet, which clocks at 3 Mb/s, several times faster than what we considered “very good”. I have been given the gift of a week of solitude on this Island in the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Washington. The first two days I was completely exhausted. Yesterday I walked around the Island, about 7 miles or so. Almost everyone that drove past me waved and smiled. I think rural communities are the friendliest place on earth. I saw two seals, some deer and a bald eagle. My favorite time is sitting by the fireplace looking out the window at the drizzling rain.
I am completely impressed with how beautiful and well organized Canada and the United States are. There are very many sincere, godly people praying and doing their best to live right before God, and there have been many people like this since the foundation of these countries.
Bible Story about a National Revival
May God give us another spiritual awakening like he did in the days of Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 30:6-12.
Carry Your Cross
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Part of our farewell church service included this skit emphasizing how Jesus encourages His followers to carry their crosses, and to not take shortcuts. At the time I thought this was funny and well done, but a rather random topic in an eclectic and unique Sunday service. Now I think this was a message from God for all of us. We are experiencing a hard adjustment all around. While our girls grieve the loss of their friends, it is always more difficult for those who stay behind. Through all this difficulty God is creating something beautiful. We pray for patience, stamina and courage for the Marabá team and for our family.
Ball Cap Story
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We were in a Thrift Store in Northern Ohio. I walked over to see if I could find a good ball cap to replace my old, bleached one. A fellow with a grey scraggely beard reached for a nice cap just ahead of me. “Is this the Arizona something-or-others?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not from this country either.” As he sharply swung his head around to look closer at me I realized that my words came out wrong.
I backtracked. “I mean, I have been living overseas for a number of years. I am a Canadian. I am visiting here. I don’t know these teams.”
“What do you do?”
“We are missionaries, in the Amazon.”
“Oh…pause…I know about God. My parents used to take us kids to church. They must have known how to pray. Not one of us 15 kids ever went to the hospital a day in our lives until after we left home.”
“What happened? How did you fall away from God?”
“I joined the military and quit going to church. Once I returned to the US I could not get into the habit again. I tried going to the church up the road here but that didn’t work out. I wish I had brought my kids up in church. I raised them by myself while they were ages 12-14. If I had only brought them to church I think they would have had a community of good friends.”
“This is exactly what we are trying to do in the Amazon! We are trying to create places where families can get back together, a safer place to young people to find friends, and a place where people can get peace with God.”
Grey Scraggly Beard sounded so wistful and full of regret. I could only imagine where his kids were at. Then another old fellow came pulled my new friend away and the conversation was over. May the Lord bring other people across his path who will nudge him toward Jesus and help him remember “the good old days” when he was part of God’s family, as a child.
The Ohio Buckeyes ball cap I found lower down on that same rack is now my favorite hat.
Cell Phone Story
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After we locked the door to our house at 3:30 a.m., we gathered together as a family, held hands and asked God to protect us in our journey, to allow us to arrive safely and to help us not lose anything.
In Newark, New Jersey, I set down the cell phone so I could copy the email address into the internet pay phone. When we finally boarded our delayed flight, Olivia asked me for the phone. I unbuckled my seatbelt, ran past several stewards and checkers, left my passport with the last one while she was still talking to me. There, across the moving sidewalks in the airport was our phone, still sitting open where I left it. Thank you Lord.
In a Toronto airport bathroom Anni set down the same phone. When the airport speakers announced our flight was boarding she forgot everything and ran quickly back to the boarding area. The airplane people gave it back to Anni as we were lined up to board. Someone had found the phone in the bathroom and turned it in. “Thank you Lord.” I wonder how often God protects or blesses us and we are completely unaware of His intervention?
Time of Testing
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Please pray for the leadership team in Marabá. We had a great phone call with them yesterday. During these two weeks since we left enemy is testing the boundary lines. Chelsea is sleeping at our house, “the house of peace and blessing.” She is having nightmares, something very unusual for her. The church itself is very sad since our girls have left, and going through withdrawals. There is a sense of a dark cloud over the chácara. Ivanildo and Monica started an early morning prayer meeting on Tuesdays and Thursday. Things are starting to look brighter. I said I would ask for more prayer.
- Please pray that the favor we have in this neighbourhood will transfer to Ivanildo and Monica, Aline and Chelsea.
- Please pray that God will protect this young team.
- Please pray that the leaders in Marabá will have courage to continue to live by faith, to not over-react, to be calm, fun, hopeful leaders, defenders of a safe zone in a very volatile neighbourhood.
- Please pray that God will move with signs and wonders, and establish His work on this Chacara with this leadership team.
When we left for a week in March a large group of drunks (about 30 people) started crossing through our property to go to the river, drinking and rowdy as they walked. They stopped by the church building on the way by and threatened the youth there, “We are going to start using this property for a shortcut whenever we want.” Their leader is a big guy, waving a machete around. This happened two or three times during the five days Deanna and I were attending a conference in another city. At the same time another group of people smashed down the brick wall on a nearby lot. They were planning to invade it and take it over. The police came and threw some of them in jail for awhile. Some of our church people were involved in this attempted land grab.
After I returned everything calmed down almost instantly. I bought three padlocks for the gates. Then I went to the locksmith and got him to change the “secrets” of the locks, so they all opened with the same key. I walked down to the river where the drunks were. Friendly waves back and forth. I did this a a few times. I went over to where the invaders were to hear their story. They understood this particular land had no title, and therefore was public domain. The judge ruled differently. It all blew over. They went home. The owner rebuilt his wall. One day on the street one of the drunks apologized to me for walking through our property uninvited. I was so surprised.
I am not surprised that Ivanildo and Monica, Aline and Chelsea are once again experiencing times of testing. Living in Marabá we often feel like we are camped on the edge of a crisis or disaster. At the same time we always feel safe. May God grant Ivanildo and Monica this same sense of His presence all around them, and make them aware of the authority He has given them. May they see people as God sees them. May they not be discouraged by all the junk, but may their hearts rejoice at each little victory in the lives of those they are influencing.
A Difficult Good-bye
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The church was packed Sunday night. We are leaving at 4 a.m., in just a few hours. After we called the leaders forward and prayed for them and blessed them, Ivanildo and Monica called us forward and prayed for us. Then they gave an open mic. The service ran an hour overtime and there was no time for preaching. People kept on coming up, and crying and talking. As we looked out over the motley crowd of people unaccustomed to coming to church, we could see adults and children openly weeping. We have never experienced a service like this before.
It was especially emotional for our two oldest daughters, who don’t know when they will be coming back or what they will be getting into in the foreign land of Canada. It is emotional for all of us as we think of our family ministry team breaking up. And it is difficult to think of leaving. This has been a great 2 3/4 years in Maraba and God put a great love in our hearts for these people. For all this, we see God’s hand in allowing this church some time without us missionaries, to grow under Ivanildo and Monica’s leadership.
Over the past few weeks I have come to a better understanding of how Jesus was very good friends with the drunks, prostitutes and those type of people. Somehow God has given me favor. Several were at church this last Sunday night, and some came forward to bless us. “My life is not worth living. But now I am here. This is my second time. I am really liking this.” Several of the testimonies had to do with me being like a father, often to people I have hardly talked to. This seems to be a huge hurting place in many people’s lives.
We left our house at 4 a.m. because of the serious threat that MST protestors were going to close the highway again. We saw them milling around on the side of the highway and were glad to get safely over the bridge. About 30 hours later we arrived to a warm reception in Toronto.
May God continue to bless Ivanildo and Monica, Aline and Chelsea, and the growing church in Marabá. Please pray for them when you think of them.
104 F feels like 133 F
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Yahoo News says that Marabá is 104 degrees F today, but according to them, it feels like 133! It must be the relative humidity index. Deanna agrees that it is hot out.
That is 40 degrees C, but it feels like 53.
Missionary Training 101
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Francisco’s brother and best friend was shot a killed about a year ago. His other brother is in jail. A couple of weeks ago killers came for him. His family wanted to send him to another state to live with his relatives, but Clyde and Kelsie also offered to help. They live and work at church planting among the remote Brazilian river people for part of the year, and in a town along the Trans-Amazon for part of the year.
Clyde and Kelsie lived here in Marabá with us for a year, so many of the youth in our church remember them. Now they are sending photos of some of joys of remote, church-planting, missionary work. Last night they skyped our house. Many youth were here for a farewell bonfire for our girls. They all gathered around the computer and talked and joked for about 40 minutes!
The Lord is gathering more workers for His harvest. Francisco is out there training. The rest of the youth with they were with him.
