Waiting…

Seen on Steven Furtick’s blog today:

“The only thing harder than waiting on God is wishing you had”

Given the current scenario in Ubaúna, I think the quote is perfect!

Sucking big time

At the insistence of my bud pastor Jeff, I’ve been following the blog of a character (I say that in a nice way ) by the name of Vince Antonucci.

Vince’s contention is: “We absolutely suck at reaching people who are far from God. There are lots of things our churches do well, but if we’re being honest, leading lost people to Jesus is not one of them.”

Check out his mental ponderings – he makes some very valid points that should jump up and slap you in the face. If it does, ask yourself “why?” If it doesn’t, ask yourself “why?”

So what does this have to do with Brasil?

I take this sucking thing seriously concerning the church in Brasil.

It has been the standard of the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Churches of Christ, Assemblies of God, etc. Some have sucked a whole lot worse than others, but they all suck. Period. How could they not? They are only reproducing what they have done here in the U.S. Please don’t ask me what I really think.

Just as here in the U.S., there is a movement afoot in Brasil where followers of Jesus are saying that they are mad at hell and are not going to take it anymore. The Brasilian Jesus followers who are being drawn to the work centered on Ubaúna are of that caliber.

The impression that I’m getting is that amazing things are on the verge of happening. Sucking will not be a term that will be applied to the Spirit’s moving in Ceará. We’re serious as death about this responsibility.

Even in the face of opposition and apathy, it will happen.

A request

I talked with Áudrey last night on the phone.Their belongings still have not arrived and they don’t have any firm information as to when they will arrive. They are literally living out of their suitcase. They have no furniture, no cooking utensils, none of the things that are necessary for your day to day living. Additionally, Andréia’s transfer from the university in Brasilia to the one in Sobral has run into problems. This means that she will have to sit out an entire year before she can continue with her studies.

This is trying on them and threatening them with discouragement before they even get started. Having nothing to begin the work with and playing a waiting game is fraying their nerves. While on the phone with them they requested prayers.

Them being in Ubaúna is nothing short of the power of God overcoming the power of the Evil One. I want to ask that you lift them up with faith over the next several days, asking God to allow this work to hit the ground running.

Thanks for your participation!

Uptown we are

We’re really uptown in downtown Ubaúna!

Áudrey just emailed me and told me that he’d been given a glass pulpit. A glass pulpit! In the middle of the desert?

I can’t wait to see pictures!

Elvis in Ubaúna

It just dawned on me, Elvis and Brasil (and therefore Ubaúna by extension) have a very close connection.

On August 16, 1977, two very important events took place: the King of Rock died sitting on a toilet in Memphis and a really young Joe Carr got on an airplane in Memphis bound for the jungles of Brasil. As the plane banked to the west leaving the Memphis airport the pilot called our attention to the long lines waiting to get into Graceland for a viewing of the King.

On August 28, 1977, Joe came back sitting on a toilet and feeling like he was dying while Elvis had already left the building.

It’s taken 30 years to make the connection… Elvis has been seen in Ubaúna down by the lake eating fish eyes, drinking cachaça and spouting Portuguese.

But the locals all deny it.

Chairway to Heaven update

Wow! (I’ve got to find another word… I’m about to wear this one out! )

A week ago we started this little campaign to raise $2,000 to buy chairs for Ubaúna; as of today we’ve at $1,500 — that blows me away!

For full details, check this out.

Want to help us push it over the top? You’d better hurry… we’re on the verge of filling a building with chairs in Ubaúna and getting ready to turn that little town upside down and inside out! You definitely want to be able to say that you had a hand in it.

It begins!

Àudrey and Andréia are in Ubaúna!

Wow! It is real and it has begun. This is so exciting that I’m like a little puppy running around wetting on everything because he can’t control himself!

All these years, all the effort… we have full-time workers in Ubaúna!

Now if only their belongings could get there…

Unsung Hero… the beginning

I tend to work backwards. I attribute that to having studied Hebrew back in the late ’70’s (yes, I am THAT old!) — Hebrew is read and written “backwards,” from right to left. You open the Hebrew Bible at the back, or at least by our way of looking at it, not the front. So, blame Dr. Jack Lewis — it’s his fault!

Working backwards, I tend to start at the latest, most obvious first. From there I go forward (that is, backwards). Am I confusing you?

My latest unsung hero is actually a heroine. And she even has a superheroine costume to prove it!

Meet Tiffany Poston.

Tiffany has jumped into the pool at the deep end and doing her absolute best to become indispensable! She is succeeding…

Tiffany went with us to Ubaúna in July and was the first to find one of the tiny little spiders who wanted to be close to us. Something strange happened to her while there — she fell in love with the people. Some of the most adorable pictures we’ve taken are of Tiffany with the kids (check out the flickr.com link to the right); I do believe they’ve stolen her heart.

I was telling her of some of the things that needed to be done and weren’t and she immediately volunteered to help. Just as an example, Wednesday she spent more than an hour on the phone calling folks and asking for donations for chairs to be used in the new worship center in Ubaúna. In an hour’s time she came up with 10 chairs! Is that cool or what!!!

Friday she spent the entire day working on photos of the children in Paxólas so we can begin the Adopt-A-Child program to feed the kids in earnest. All day! 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. What an animal!

She did cheat, however; she’s already chosen the child she wants to support

She wants to do whatever needs to be done… I call that holding up my arms!

Do you think you have what it takes to be a hero?

Unsung heroes apply within…

I always found the story of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ arms while the Israelites fought the Amalakites to be fascinating. As long as Moses held his arms up with his staff lifted over his head, the Isralites were winning; when he had to drop them, they began to lose.

If you’ve ever tried to hold your arms up for an extended period of time, you know how difficult it can become. In fact, it becomes impossible at some point. The text states: “Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up.” It was impossible for him to continue in that position. The end result was going to be disaster.

I think God knew that.

Aaron and Hur see the predicament Moses is in and rush over to help:

So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
                                                                                          [Exodus 17:1-13]

They were the unsung heroes — had they not stepped in, what happened would not have happened. In fact, not only would good not have happened, bad would have been the result!

There are times I’ve felt a bit like Moses with my arms up in the air. I’m certainly no Moses but I do feel overwhelmed with what God is directing me to do in Brasil [Com'on Lord! Didn't you dial a wrong number?]. My arms get so numb that I can’t continue doing what needs to be done — I fall into the trap of thinking that “I” must do it. The result is that things don’t and can’t get done.

Again, I think God knew that.

In steps the unexpected and unsung heroes. They grab a stone, set me down on it, then hold my arms up high. Wow! Am I ever humbled by their willingness to do whatever has to be done.

I’m going to be giving you some snap shots of what unsung heroes look like. Be forewarned! They’ll probably look just like you…

WANTED: Medical Folks!

We’re looking at putting together a medical mission trip in the near future. Any of you physicians, nurses, optometrists, dentists, chiropractors, etc., who read this on a regular basis, let me know if you are interested.

If you know one of these type of folks who might be interested in such a trip, let them know to drop by and express their interest.

I can guarantee that your talents will be sorely taxed, that you will be overwhelmed and heart-broken, and that you’ll feel like you’re “practicing medicine” for the first time.

I can also guarantee that your faith will grow to levels that you cannot imagine and that you will find a new strut to your gait when you return.

Space is limited. Please make me have to work overtime to accomodate a larger than expected response!