Visting Santos in São Paulo

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The first weekend in November, I, with other leaders of Aliança Bíblica churches in Rio Grande do Sul, flew to the state of São Paulo to visit the Aliança church in Santos.  “Santos” means saints.  This city is about a one hour drive from the largest city in Brazil,  São Paulo (population of 11.2 million).  Santos (420,000 inhabitants) is on the coast and is lovely.  The Aliança Bíblica church in Santos has about 120 members.  It is the first time that I and many others had visited our sister church.  The members were very hospitable, giving us a dinner Saturday night and having us participate in their celebration Sunday.  Roger Wagner and I went dressed in traditional gaúcho clothes and told them about the culture and spiritual needs of our state.

During the days, the leaders talked about issues, did some planning for next year, and spent time encouraging and praying for one another.  We also took time for some sightseeing.  Our host was able to tell us much of the history of the city.  He also pointed out something very interesting to my engineering side.  Some of the older buildings are suffering because their foundations were not laid deep enough, so now they are sinking or leaning!  One building started with seven steps up to get to the entrance.  Now, there are 12 going down!

Speaking at the church in Porto Alegre

In the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to speak at the churches in Novo Hamburgo, Caxias do Sul and the capital city of Porto Alegre, where these pictures where taken yesterday.  One great thing about these churches with cell groups is that they work on applying what was taught on Sunday at their meeting during the week.  We are learning to abide in the True Vine.

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Our Saturday

After two weeks straight of cold weather (lows in the 30s) our supply of fire

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wood had run low.  So we made a trip to our cabin; the snake was there to greet us! Caleb and I went after a very large tree that fell two years ago.  It was a beautiful day and thrilling to be able to work hard with my son.  To get to the tree is a 70 degree incline that we cut with bush hooks.  Wild stuff.

Being Branches

We just spent a week with our World Team missionary colleagues who work in North and South America and the Caribbean Islands.  We took a week to study and talk about the truths in John 13 –17.  What a great week.  We are so thankful that we belong to a group that makes it the main thing to be in God’s Word together and apply it to our lives.

More than ever we are impressed by the intimacy and love that Jesus had for His disciples, and us. One of the questions we thought about when studying John 15 was,  “Who am I?”  Jesus tells us that we are “branches.”  I thought that was cool, because I can just be a branch.  Wow.  Simple, clear and profound.  May we always be strongly connected to our vine, Jesus, with His life flowing through us. He is our only way, truth and life.

Election Day

In Brazil, the first Sunday in October is election day.  This year a new president will be elected.  Different from the US, voting is required by law.  Since usually more than two candidates are running and a majority vote is required to win, a second vote is needed to decide the winner.  This year’s election is mainly between three candidates.  One is a woman of the same party as the current president who favors abortion (still not legal in Brazil), marriage of homosexuals, and tends to support censuring of the media.  She appears to be the favorite.  Another woman who is running appears to be a believer with good values.  The third was a part of the government who began the economic reform in the late 1990s.   Our state’s governor is up for election as well.

Scandal and corruption are as common in politics as promises are during campaigning.  Cynicism abounds in the people.  We have heard of people talking of wearing black to the polls.

Three, by Cherie

Good things come in threes, right?  So what do a science class, John 3 and a book on spiritual disciplines all have in common?  Metamorphosis.  A few weeks ago Mickey found tadpoles in the water tank at our cabin.  A toad had gotten into the source and laid eggs, which then made the 1 kilometer trip through the hose to our tank.  Mickey and Caleb got rid of most of them, but kept three to bring home and put into our aquarium.  Science is observation, so we are observing tadpoles become toads.  Metamorphosis.

We have four kids ages 10 to 13 in our cell group, including Keely and Caleb.  Instead of them just hanging out and sometimes getting into trouble, we decided to do a study with them using Precept Bible Ministries Discover 4 Yourself book on John.  For the past few weeks we have been talking about John 3 and being born again.  So then the song comes into my head, “Bullfrogs and butterflies, they’ve both been born again.”  Tadpoles, John 3, Born again.  Metamorphosis.

And I am also beginning to disciple one of the youth leaders at our church.  She is 20 and the pastor’s daughter.  Bible knowledge is not lacking.  We decided to read together John Ortburg’s The Life You’ve Always Wanted.  The first chapter is about transformation.  Metamorphosis.  Actually, he’s the one who gave me the word.

So if has come in three, what does it mean?  Metamorphosis.  Transformation.  My life and that of those around me is in a state of change.  Do I recognize this?  Do I hope and long for that?  As a church and movement, are we seeing people “being transformed by the renewing of their minds?”  This is the end we work toward.  We need God’s grace for it to really happen.  It all comes down to the first four words of the famous verse in the Bible: “For God so loved…”.

Watch the Tadpole Morf

Practicing Grace

Hello, I got back yesterday from the retreat with the cell group leaders, assistants and supervisors from the church in Sapiranga.  There were 32 present.  We started the 10 lesson series on grace in the book of Galatians.  It was a rich time.  I believe that they are getting gospel.  It was also great to spend time with Wilson and Viviane, our Brazilian partners from our first location, São Leopoldo.   One gal said that the retreat was so significant because she was applying the life of grace to unresolved problems in her life and really understanding things she had never understood.  I really experienced the grace of God to be able to flow through the different issues, sharing my life journey and seeing them learn though personal study, small group and large group sessions.  What a great time and what a great tool that some leaders with World Team have given us.

We will continue with lesson 5 on August 15.  These are some pictures that one of the participants took.

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