Today was our last full day of work here in Brazil. We met the children of Sao Camilo early this morning in the church building.  We had a fun time of eating breakfast with the children and entertaining them. 

The Bible story was about Jesus. The people here have done most of the work in teaching the kids and have done an incredible job. We got into groups and talked about Jesus with the children.  Some of them prayed to receive Christ! We also gave them the prayer bears that the children of North Side made for them. They really enjoyed that.

We came back to the church building that night and had our worship service. Many of us got to help lead in worship and Randy preached.  Several children from Sao Camilo came back tonight and a few even brought their families to worship.

We had to say goodbye to a lot of people tonight - even though we will see most of them tomorrow. These people have been extremely gracious and hospitable to us. I am constantly overwhelmed when I think about all they have done for us and taught us.  I do pray that we will be able to communicate what we've learned when we return home to Weatherford.

House Churches and Slums

Wow. It was quite an eventful day in Jundiai. We got up earlier than normal and met the kids from Sao Camilo for breakfast. We talked through the story of creation, did crafts, played ball, and hung out with the children.

When it was over we took the children back to their homes in Sao Camilo. From there we invited kids to come back tomorrow, and we invited their parents to come to the church service we're having tomorrow night. It was great going in the second time, people seemed more friendly and comfortable with us being there. However, we were told that going in 3 days in a row would wear out our welcome.

After a full day of VBS with kids and walking around Sao Camilo we went to various house churches of the church. The one we went to was really amazing. There were about 30 people packed in there of all ages and backgrounds. One family brought their 9 year old disabled adopted son. At first I thought he had cerebral palsy, as he didn't seem to have any functioning motor skills. But I later learned he was beaten so badly as a baby that he had had brain damage. It was amazing to see how much the church loved on Lucas. His mom brought him, but different people in the church took turns picking him up and putting him in their laps or holding him. They all loved on him because he belonged to all of them. And today they celebrated his recent birthday - the 6 or 7 children that were in the house church meeting all circled around him and prayed for him - out loud. It was an incredible sight to see how comfortable these kids were praying for their friend.

Tomorrow we go back to the church building to work with the children of Sao Camilo. Please pray for strength and wisdom as we share the Gospel with them. Pray that their parents would come to the worship service on Sunday night and hear the Word of God.

I hope you know that we all appreciate your prayers! Keep going!

Let's Go to Sao Camilo!

It's difficult to find words to describe what we did today. I'll do my best here.

Most of the morning was prayer and instruction. We prayed for Sao Camilo and prayed for our team. After lunch we were prepared to go. We packed up our pockets with New Testaments and soccer ball keychains, we separated into our teams, and we started walking up the hill to the slum. As we approached the entrance to Sao Camilo we saw three police cars with all their lights on. We were advised by all the Brazilians to turn back and avoid the neighborhood. This was disappointing news for us all. For many of us the highlight of the trip last year was going into this slum, and this year we may not be able to.

We turned around and went back to the church building. We found ourselves on our knees once again praying for Sao Camilo. This time it was more heart-felt, more intense. We prayed for the neighborhood, we prayed for our team and safety, we prayed for the Brazilians as they continue the work there even after we leave.

The minute we got up from praying Dairson walked in the building and said, "Let's go to Sao Camilo!" Everything was then clear for us to go. Why the wait? Maybe God wanted to make sure we were totally dependent on Him.

We carefully walked the streets of Sao Camilo going to houses of the children who are part of the program the church has every Saturday. We got to talk to many children and some adults. Some of us were able to go in homes and others walked up and down the street inviting them to come.

For the next two days we will be working with these children. On Sunday we'll give them the prayer bears Tamra and the preschoolers at North Side made for us. We'll also get to go back with them to their homes and tell the family members about Jesus.

Tonight we had a worship service with the senior pastor of the church. He challenged us to think about the mystery of Christ which is the Church (Eph 3:4). We continue to be challenged and touched here by the kindness and hospitality they show us. I can't really say enough about what they have done for us, and how they've been Jesus to all of us.

Please pray tomorrow as we do VBS with the children of Sao Camilo. Let us be the hands and feet of Christ. Let us love on the children and show them the love that is shown us.

Today we spent the majority of the day in Sao Camilo.  I know for the past year we've talked about Sao Camilo as a drug infested place that was not safe to enter.  You can imagine how we felt when we were told we would be going door to door there. But when we got there we realized there was a safer part of the neighborhood.

Our seven groups walked the streets telling people about Jesus. We had several people pray to accept Christ, many of them children. We did a program in a park late in the afternoon and afterwards were able to share Christ with many around us.

Tonight we split up and had dinner in people's houses. People from the church here invited their friends to dinner and we were there to share our testimonies about what God had done in our lives.  Our group met with a group of house church pastors and it was a great time of sharing and encouragement.

Please continue to pray for us. After 3 days of work we've become tired and even distracted. Please pray that God would give us new strength. Pray for us tomorrow that we will be able to talk to people in the slums of Sao Camilo. Pray that people in that community would come to know Him.

Day 3

Today started out with much uncertainty. Since we've been here they've had storms in Brazil that they usually don't see in July and August. It was pouring all night last night and into the morning and we were praying that the rain would stop. 

By the time our crowded bus pulled up to the house church in Novo Horizonte the rain stopped. We were able to go out into the neighborhood and share Christ.  The Americans got into groups and went down the street talking to all who would listen to us.  We had several people accept Christ, were able to pray with some, and made many contacts for the house church.

The Brazilians went out looking for kids and invited them to an event we had for children at the house church. There were close to 40 kids packed on the patio of the house. We teamed up with the Brazilians and did VBS type activities. I believe we really planted some seeds there with children and their parents.

Tonight we went back to the church building and had a worship service with the young people from the church. It was a very powerful time of worship. We heard from a guy who is an American and a pastor of a Brazilian church. He spoke to all of us about this generation must love God more than the pleasures of this world. The prayer time afterwards was truly amazing and hopefully prepared us for tomorrow. 

The pastor of the church here has invited us to fast tomorrow morning. If you are reading this I would like to encourage you to do the same. Tomorrow after lunch we are going to Sao Camilo. This slum has been on the hearts of the church here for 3 years now and has been a very difficult place to reach.  We're praying that God would break the chains that bind this place. That they would see the light of Christ through us and others who go there to share of His salvation.

This was a great day in Brazil! We did some prayer walking this morning. Some of us walked by Sao Camilo - the slum area where we will go on Friday-Sunday. The church has a real burden for this place plagued by poverty, drugs and crime. We are praying their hearts would be open to the Gospel and that the church could make a lasting impact on this community.

This afternoon we went door to door in Novo Horizonte telling people of the good news of Jesus Christ. There were several who began to trust Christ as their Savior today! The purpose of being in this neighborhood is so we can share Christ and point them to a place where they can go to study the Bible. The church members who host this Bible study were saved about the time we came here last year.  This year they are inviting everyone around them to come to their house where they are leading the Bible study. It's amazing to see them passionate about reaching their neighborhood for Jesus.

Tonight we did our program with some music and drama. It rained a little bit, but that didn't stop the right people from coming. After the program we dispersed to share with people in the crowd. From this several people came to know Christ, and many others heard the Good News.

Tomorrow we go back to Novo Horizonte to work with children. Please pray for us as we prepare for this work and that children and families would come to know Christ through what we do here.

Sharing

Sitting here with Randy, Matt, and Ruan the translator drinking tea and eating....again. This place is amazing.

We met tonight with our team and the Brazilian team to talk about what we are doing this week.  The next two days we will be working in Novo Horizonte. Tomorrow night we'll be focusing on ministering to adults and families, doing some door to door witnessing and some Gospel presentations in the streets.  On Wednesday we'll focus on activities for children. Please pray that God would give us wisdom as we share with the people of Brazil.  Pray that God would constantly remind us that we are here to further His kingdom through sharing of His grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Brazil day 1

We finally made it to Jundiai, Brazil.  We arrived about an hour after we were scheduled to, but all is well. We are now in our host homes getting some rest after almost 24 hours of travel. Tonight we will join in worship with our Brazilian team members and talk about the schedule for the coming days.

Please continue to pray for us. God has been working in this place and we want to be a part of it. There is a great need here for people to leave their lives of trying to please  

If you would like to receive more play by play updates you can join us on twitter. www.twitter.com/nsbcbrazil. 

Justice and Righteousness

Van threw a magazine in my office today. I'm not even sure if he read any of it. But the cover reads "canned worship". Maybe he's trying to tell me something? I usually put that stuff in a pile of magazines I want to read. It would have gone right on top of Relevant Magazine and the latest Musician's Friend catalog. For some reason I read this one immediately.

The article from the cover was written by David Ruis, and my head is still spinning and processing what he wrote. What stands out most in my mind is basically that there is no authentic worship without justice and righteousness (Amos 5:23-24). If we do not care for others, we cannot worship God.

Reading this I thought about this time last week when we had the youth rally in Vermont. I've never seen our kids worship like that. I've seldom been in any worship service like that. And the reason the worship was so incredible was not because of a great band or a "worshipful" atmosphere. It was great because we were a room full of people who that week had been whole-heartedly devoted to serving God through caring for those around them.

Too often we come to worship wondering what we're gonna get out of it. We hope the band plays the song we like, or we hope they play that old hymn that reminds us of way back when. But the truth is that true worship will not happen unless we devote ourselves daily to serving Christ and serving others. If half the people that sit in our sanctuaries would focus on worshipping God all week through service to Him and through loving people then our corporate worship would be amazing!

So think about that next time you're sitting in church wondering why you just can't connect with the worship. Ask yourself if you've done what God has called you to do in the way you treat others. Maybe if we all do that then our corporate worship will be better than we can imagine. And I think God would like it more, too.

Vermont report

I was fortunate enough last week to go to Vermont and be with the students from North Side. It was an incredible trip! I saw God move in so many ways.

I would have liked to have blogged while I was there, but I can't figure out this blogger thing on my blackberry and I was too tired at night.

What prompts this blog is the fact that I left church on Sunday morning feeling a little empty. It seems that no one here understands what we went through there in Vermont. Nobody knows how we experienced God, how we all grew in Him and with one another. I realize from many experiences that this is a normal feeling after a mission trip, but this time was different.

First of all, let me say that the response in Vermont was very slow. It was disappointing to see how much people didn't care about what we had to say. Of course, what should we expect in Vermont? But we did come across several people willing to talk to us about matters faith and even hear what we had to say.

There was close to 0 people who sat and listened to us in the park on Monday night, but several people came close and listened for a while. And several conversations were started with people about Jesus and why we had come from Texas to share with the people of Vermont. I personally learned a lot that night about the place where we were.

On Tuesday night we did a concert in the mall and there were a few contacts we had made during the week that came to hear us - that's nothing small! Many people heard the message of Jesus as they walked by. Some even stopped for a while.

Wednesday night we shared with a church full of young people. Only two families of kids were from "church families". The rest were kids whose parents are not Christians. There was a group of kids in the back that were doing their best to disrupt the incredible Spirit-filled worship. But those same kids stayed after to hang out with our kids and to hear more of what we had to say. AND 5 TEENS CAME TO KNOW CHRIST AS SAVIOR that night!!! Thats not small!

Thursday night we did a concert at a different church and some of those kids came to hear us again. The church was blessed, and our kids sang more in the Spirit that I've ever heard.

My prayer is that adults in our church would hear about what the kids did and do likewise. I feel sometimes that our kids are leading the way into missions and this shouldn't be. We need to learn it from adults. Mission trips are not just for the young, they are for all. As Dillon Phillips shared in one of the services on Sunday, the Bible says "GO!" It doesn't say pray about going or go if you feel led. It says "GO". I understand we all can't go to everything that is offered but if we've made up our mind that the "going" isn't for us then we are mistaken and we are missing out on all the blessings of obedience God wants to give us.

And while I'm rambling, I would also like to say that North Side has the most incredible group of kids I've ever seen. They were 100% willing to walk up to people they didn't know and start a conversation about Jesus. They have a love for God and a love for others, and each other. None of them had to be told what to do, they just did it.

That's my report. I hope we go back to Vermont. The workers there really are few.

The Cross

This morning I was preparing for our Easter services and decided to go ahead and move the cross out of storage to the sanctuary. I really didn't expect it to be so difficult.

There were several crosses in our storage shed across the street. One was tall, and pretty flimsy looking, another was just small. The one that looked most life-sized was thick and splintered - it looked most like what my perception of the cross must have been like.

The cross was awkward to carry. It may have been 70-80 pounds, not light by any means, but doable. I looked at it for a few seconds trying to figure out how to maneuver it without getting more splinters in my hands and arms than I had to.

I carried the cross about 15 feet to the back of my truck. At first I thought about all the people who saw me from North Main. What did they think about the guy carrying the cross? Then my mind jumped to something completely different. I started thinking about the few times in my life that I felt like I gave everything to someone or a group of people only to find myself completely rejected and shunned by them. As I hoisted the cross in the back of my truck I thought about my own sin, how too many times in my life I've treated Jesus the same cruel way some others had treated me.

My thoughts then turned to Matthew 16:24 where Jesus tells me I have to take up my cross and follow Him. I've been trying to wrap my mind around that for a while, but today I grasped it a little bit more. It involved a lot of effort in carrying a cross - even if it was just for 15 feet. It involved getting splinters that will be annoying for a couple of days to come. It also involved some sympathizing with the emotional pain Jesus went through as he "endured the cross, scorning it's shame."

I don't in any way want to compare what took me 15 minutes this morning to what Jesus did for us on the cross. But I feel like this morning I've been reminded in a very tactile (even though miniscule) way of what Jesus went through for me.

When I got back to the church Daryl, a new employee of North Side, ran up to help me carry the cross to the sanctuary. Yes, the wonderful thing is that Jesus does not ask us to carry the cross alone.

Our first Brazil meeting for 2009 (and some other stuff)

I'm sitting in my office right now, listening to the youth choir sing some Toby Mac stuff, and trying to prepare for the Reality study tonight. I figure if I'm going to keep up with Van on this blog thing I better start writing.

Let me just say I loved today. I love leading worship in the 9:40 service.  It gets pretty intense in there sometimes and I really feel the presence of God. I just hope for all of us that the way we worship in the church building translates into how we live our everyday lives. 

Tonight we had our initial meeting for all interested in the Brazil mission trip. Man, I was encouraged! We had 25 in attendance and several people who have already expressed interest were not there. 16 who were there had never been to Brazil before.  As I've prayed for this trip my desire has been that the people who go will be able to come back and communicate that excitement of what God is doing there in Brazil.  And that our church can develop that passion for what God is doing beyond our nation's borders.  North Side has an incredible missions presence in our community and nation, but I'm praying that God would also give us a heart and desire to reach the nations for Christ. I see this happening, and I praise God for the people He is bringing together to be a part of this adventure.

So, if you're reading this, please take a moment to pray for Jundiai, Brazil and the Christian Missionary Community Church there. Such amazing things happened last year, and even more will happen this year.

Now I've gotta go teach some high schoolers about experiencing God. This crisis of belief stuff is challenging - but that'll have to be in another blog.

I'm not dead yet

I know all both of my blog readers have really missed hearing from me lately. I guess since they linked my blog to the church website I've felt like I've had to make my blogs more spiritual and wise. This blog might be a little spiritual, but problaby not wise at all.

Last week we started a contemporary service at 9:40 on Sundays. I was really nervous as we approached February 22. 20 minutes or less to transition to the contemporary worship service and then 20 minutes or less to transition back to the blended service. I was honestly surprised that the first time around could go without a glitch. I praise God for that, and thank the many volunteers who made it as smooth as it was. I pray that we never become lazy and pretend for once that we really know what we're doing.

This past Sunday was good too - Van really brought it! I must admit I was tired after leading 3 services. I really admire Gary for being able to do that for two years, and I'm looking forward to having him back this week. And Van gets to keep preaching three times every week - even in the new sanctuary. Not too bad for an old man. (I say that with complete respect).

God is doing great things here. I pray that we don't become satisfied in looking back at what He has already done, but that we look forward with a sense of eager expectancy and willingness to Go where He leads.