Three Month Reflection

Before I get into my three month reflection I just want to let everyone know that I went back to the doctor today and everything is great. Thank you for your prayers.

Wow! That is really all I can say right now. God is so good. He has brought me through three months here in Brazil. Through the many obstacles that I have faced, God has brought me through them and has given me victory. I have spent the last couple of days doing some serious soul searching. I have reflected on my first three months here and all that God has done and has taught me. I have also been scheming and dreaming for the next three months and the time thereafter. I´ll start with the three months that are behind me.

A quick rundown of the events that have taken place since my landing here in Brazil. I landed in this country not knowing or even seeing a picture of any one in this country. I only knew one name and knew that for me to survive I would have to find the man that I knew the name to. I knew only four words in Portuguese and one of them I learned on the flight over. I spent my first week helping Pastor Waldir finalize last minute stuff for the teams that were coming a week after my arrival. To be honest I wasn´t there to help him. He didn´t need my help. The time was designed more for me to see exactly what takes place prior to the teams arrivals. It was a learning experience for me. Then I experienced two amazing weeks with the American teams. The first week evangelizing in schools, homes, and churches. The second week hosting a medical clinic were we saw over 2,ooo patients. Then the reality of my mission started to sink home once the Americans got on the plane to head home and I was still standing in the airport waving to them. This was the first moment that I began to fill butterflies in my stomache due to fear and nerves. I then spent a week of being a tourist. I hiked, climbed, and jumped off plenty of waterfalls. I spent the week after that doing some hard labor that gave us building material to build mutiple homes and buildings for those in the village. Then I faced my first foot injury somewhere around the 13th of July. I recovered quickly and now had a cool story for the people back home. I moved to the village towards the end of July. That is when I finally began to slow life down a little. The days were peaceful and quite. I had tons of time to read and soak in the presence of God. There I also learned most of my Portuguese because no one in the village speaks English, leaving me with no option but to learn the language. About a month had passed and the village had become my home. I loved the people and they loved me. I tried to visit everyone in the village every week. It was a way of getting to know everyone and it also allowed me to practice my Portuguese. My foot had finally healed enough where I gained my confidence back to play a little soccer. BAD IDEA! Within thirty minutes of the first time playing soccer after my first foot injury, I did it again. I popped my toe back out of place and skin back open. This time it was worse. I already had my cool story so this injury wasn´t looked at near as optimistically as the first time. I ended up with surgery and back on my tushy for three more weeks. Not to mention the pain that came along with it all. This minor setback has pulled me away from my home in the village and with the people that I had tried so hard to form relationships with. When I do return I will have some ground to make up, but I look forward to any challenge because I know that God is on my side. Later today I get the privilege of returning to my home in the village for my final three months here in Brazil. Wouldn´t choose to be any other place in the world right now. Honest! These past three months have been awesome with the things above alone. I haven´t even begun to tell about the spiritual things yet.

What has God done in my life. Above are the things that God has done with my life, the following is what has done in my life. He has taught me patience, to wait patiently for him to show up and show up big. Show up anywhere at anytime, just for me to make sure that I am ready. He has taught me that He is not a safe God and calls me to live in the Holy Wild, a place where prosperity is measured by rewards in Heaven and by nothing here on earth. He has taught me to share the Gospel of love through actions. He has taught me this through the language barrier. I was unable to share about Christ my Lord through words, so I had to share through actions. He has given me a small taste of what it means to suffer for His kingdom and given me a thirst for more! Because being beaten up by satan and then having Christ lift you up into victory is the greatest feeling in the world. This is the whole concept of salvation. He has taught me that He always offers refuge for the weary when I was tired and burdened by the feeling of homesickness. He has taught me many things about the love that He has for His church and how that applies in all aspects of a family. From being a brother and what it means to love a very special brother of mine that I can´t wait to hug and take to lunch as soon as I get back. He has first priority because of the lack of biblical actions on my part to be a Christian brother, a brother that disciples, guides, and teaches. And most imprtantly a brother that loves through my actions and not my words. I want you to know that I am sincere about this Allen and I cry as I write this. I love you and can´t wait to see you. He is continuing to teach me what it means to be a leader of the Church one day and how that applies to my future marriage and my future family that is the greatest earthly desire of my heart. Nothing except my salvation is a greater reward then the gift of marriage and a family.

And the list goes on. My God has been good to me and I am thankful for His absolute sovereignty in all things. He has given me a desire to serve Him with my life and to long to be righteous like Him. I am thankful that He has chosen me to be an alien in this place called earth. He has gone before me and is preparing my home with Him in His Kingdom.

Now what lies ahead? Things that I don´t know. But I can only expect as much glory towards God as the past three months if I continue to practice the presence of God. God has opened many doors for the future of my life once I return home, but that is not my focus currently. My focus is my mission at hand and that is how I can be someone who leaves an impact on this place for the Kingdom of God. I will spend the next three months living in Córrego do Ouro. I will continue to learn Portuguese and teach English twice a week in the local school. I will continue to work with two church plants (Igreja Batista da Água da Vida -Water of life Baptist Church and Igreja Batista da Colheita -Harvest Baptist Church). I will continue to help lead two other house churches and countless Bible studies in the home. Most importantly I will serve through love. I expect further attacks and persecution. But I will stand firm in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. But I am not perfect and need relentless prayers from fellow believers. So that is what I ask of you. Prayer! Pray that God would give me strength and rest when I am weary. Pray that He would give me abounding love for the people and His calling on my life. Pray that I would never let up nor give up, but I would press on towards the goal that Christ has set for me! This I thank you. Thank you for the support that you have given me the past three months and the support that you will give me in the future. I say all this in Jesus´s precious and glorious name. Amen

Until He Returns.