A Little Peek...

The graduates and their escorts: waiting to be called.

Lia receives her diploma from her uncle Antonio. Lia loves the Lord and desires to serve Him. Next year sometime, she is planning on taking a missions trip to visit a tribe with which New Tribes Missions has a ministry. Pray that everything will work out for the trip and that the Lord will be guiding her concerning His will for her life!

Valdim and Jailma, along with their son Kaleo. They left the metropolis of Paraguai today to head directly into the ministry: they will be working in the town of Morada Nova, alongside of Jim and Lydia Johnson (missionaries with BGFM) to establish a church plant.


Together with former classmates:
Alexsandra, Gerlandia, Lidia, Vanderli, and Jailma

Charliane with her "significant other," Daniel, who is a student at the Institute. It has been exciting to see her love for the Lord! She is currently ministering to children through "religion" classes in the local public school.



Alexsandra hugs her mom:
A moment dededicated to honoring the mother of each graduate.


Segundo (Alexsandra's husband) making his speech.

Segundo and Alexsandra (and their two adorable daughters) have been working at a church in the area. He is now the pastor there. Pray for them as they serve the Lord together a tthe Acarau Bible Church.

Not even "standing-room only"--there were at least four hundred people in attendance!

The students singing "O Meu Senhor Irei" [Lord, Send Me Anywhere].

Lidia and her fiance, Rafael. They are both very interested in missions and, I believe, are seriously considering the possibility of going to Japan. Pray for them as they prepare for their upcoming wedding.

A special blessing has been the opportunity to spend time with Libby Johnson--a dear friend since childhood--who is also visiting Brazil for the summer!

You have now seen a glimpse of a small aspect of the ministry here in Brazil and an event that was an incredible blessing to me last Saturday... :)

It is 11:30 pm, Saturday night: that means it is high time that I get to bed. However, I simply could not wait until later.

The graduation of the seven Antioch Bible Institute students this evening was incredible. I am so thankful that I was able to be here for it! To witness the dedication and zeal that each has for the Lord was truly a privilege.

The choir sang the song "Lord, send me anywhere" by David Livingstone. Talk about a song with words of commitment and dedication to the Lord! I absolutely love the words to the chorus:

"Lord, send me anywhere, only go with me.

Lay any burden on me, only sustain me.

Sever any ties but the tie that binds me to

Thy service and to Thy heart."

Ahh, there really is no greater thing than to be serving the Lord, no matter what may be the cost!

Week 1

It has now been a week since I closed the car door, left campus, and headed into an adventure for the summer. I am now here in Brazil, back in the town of Paraguai where I spent almost ten years before heading back to the US.

It has been wonderful to see that even though I have been gone for three years, there are something that never change. Want a real-life example? Well, Jared still has some trouble smiling for pictures... =)

At church this past Sunday, I couldn't believe how much some of the kids at church have grown: I seriously had to ask Melissa who some of them were they had changed so much!

This past Monday night was a special get-together with the Antioch Bible Institute students: this Saturday, the 28th, is graduation and there will be seven graduating. It was special to be able to be here for this time and celebrate with them. Not only did we have some incredibly tasty Brazilian food (my first since getting back here!), but it was also a time of hearing how God has worked in their lives during their time here at the Institute. Be praying for Segundo and Lele, Regivaldo and Jailma, Lidia, Lia, and Charliane as each of the couples and these three single girls all head into this new phase of their lives! Both of these couples are either already actively working in a ministry or will be heading into one in the near future.

It is exciting to see how each of the girls--Lidia, Lia, and Charliane--are also very much involved in serving the Lord! Lidia was telling me yesterday of the many different things she will be involved in during the summer: VBS in several different places, possibly as trip to a neighboring state to a children's class, helping with a children's retreat, and then on top of everything else, planning for her upcoming wedding! She and Charliane also left early this morning to go to Solidao, a community nearby, to teach the required class in the grade school. More and more, the doors for opportunities to teach Bible lessons in public schools are swinging open wider and wider and have been an incredible way of teaching God's Word to children in a preominantly Catholic country!

Already in the short time that I have been here, God has been showing me different areas in my own life that I need to work on...I am looking forward to how He is going to work during this summer, not only in various ministry opportunities that I will get to help with, but also in my own life and walk with Him!

To finish off my somewhat random post, here's a picture of the the first sun-set I saw after getting here to Brazil.

I will try to regularly update this blogspot throughout the summer...

H.O.M.E.

After being gone from Brazil for three years, here are a few thoughts about the last 24 hours of my life:

"Senhoras e senhores: sejam bem-vindo a Fortaleza" --

I cannot describe how wonderful it was to hear the stewardess announce these words!

After six airplane rides, I could pretty much tell you all about the safety procedures in case of an emergency.

I now understand why Dad isn't all that crazy about flying: it is stressful enough trying to figure things out for myself, but then multiply that times six, well, yeah...

The view of the ocean and skyscrapers together makes me smile.

I think I've been away from Brazil too long: I am experiencing a little bit of what some people call "culture shock."

Seeing family after two years does something to you that doesn't happen on a regular basis....

I know it has been too long since seeing Jared when he is pretty much as tall as I am!

It may have been three years, but Brazil pretty much looks the same as I remember it to be.

I am h.o.m.e. with my family!

Close to an end...

The other night I was playing piano and came across the song But Continue Thou. The opening words of the song are "These days are coming close to an end..." and it is based on 2 Timothy 3:14 where Paul is exhorting exhorting Timothy to "continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them."

As I played the song and saw snatches of the lyrics, I was struck with how true those words are concerning these very days in my life right now: this semester is quickly coming to an end, and in just a few days, I will be entering "the real world" for the summer. This entire year, but especially this semester, has been incredible: God has taught me so much about Himself, my relationship with Him, and how to live the Christian life. When one's life revolves around Bible classes and pretty much every day is centered around developing one's relationship with the Lord, it is easy to be on a "spiritual high" here at school.

But...what about once school is over for the semester and I no longer have classes in which I am being forced to study the Word? What about when I no longer have to read commentaries such as Romans by Newell and I no longer have to attend chapel every day at 9:35 am? What about when I am away from friends who love the Lord, who have a passion to serve Him and live for Him, and who consequently encourage me in my own spiritual walk? Then what? Will the spiritual truths that I have learned in class and the things that I have learned through daily life in what some may call "a spiritual bubble" also affect my life when I'm away from it such an environment? Through God's grace and the empowering of the Spirit, yes!

Peace with God

With the end of the semester quickly approaching, I have felt the rather pressing need to get some reading done. Some of this reading includes Romans: Verse-by-Verse by William R. Newell for Romans class (an excellent book, by the way!) I came across the following on the peace that the believer has through Christ, according to Romans 5:1.

"I hear the words of love,

I gaze upon the blood;

I see the mighty Sacrifice,

And I have peace with God.

'Tis everlasting peace,

Sure as Jehovah's name;

'Tis stable as His stedfast throne,

For evermore the same.

My love is oftimes low,

My joy still ebbs and flows;

But peace with Him remains the same,

No change Jehovah knows.

I change, He changes not,

God's Christ can never die;

His love, not mine, the resting-place,

His truth, not mine, the tie."

~Bonar

~taken from Romans: Verse by Verse, pp. 165-166