And yes, all of those men got on that one little boat.  Big men, little boat.  Not quite the deep sea luxury cruise Americans are accustomed to use for deep sea fishing.

It was rainy, so the waves weren’t so bad out on the ocean; however, a day later when some others headed out, a few returned a little “green” from all the movement out on the water.

(The white box is typically used by fishermen when they go out for longer periods of time.  It contains big chunks of ice to help preserve the fish.)

Fred returned wet from both the rain and a short swim he enjoyed while they were out.  Personally, I don’t know that I would have readily jump in deep ocean waters where big fish swim – too scared – but I enjoyed playing in the waves later that day as well as the fish they served for lunch!  Mmm.

Happy fishing!

Fred and I recently spent five days camping out on the beach in Almofala, Brazil, for IBBM’s Carnaval Retreat.  It was an adventure, to say the least, as we spent time with our church family in close quarters under leaky roofs and rainy skies.

The bulk of activities were held under a thatched roof shelter (made of tree branches and dried coconut tree leaves) built right on the beach, which also served as the boys’ sleeping quarters.  You would be amazed at how many hammocks can be strung across a small space!  The girls slept in a small house up the dune from the barraca (ba-HA-ka). You women will be interested to know that there were only two bathrooms shared among our group of 50+ and, of course, neither included modern conveniences.  Well, not entirely.  Each had a “modern toilet” but it lacked a seat and flushing was by bucket, as were the showers.

The housing conditions were aggravated by rain.  It’s rainy season here in Brazil, and although we were on vacation, the weather wasn’t.  This proved to be particularly significant for Fred and me as we had taken a pup tent along for our sleeping quarters. Our tent was water-resistant, but not water-proof; thus during the downpour of the first evening, we were forced to make an early morning evacuation to the boys’ barraca where we slept on the sandy floor.

The next day we spent scouting out a vacant barraca under which we could pitch our tent.  We ended up moving it twice when an afternoon shower proved the roof of the first barraca we found to be inadequate.  The night we slept dry for the first half until the leaky roof and the wind-driven rain (no side wall to the barraca) moistened the walls sufficiently to allow water to seep in to the tent.  Unfortunately, the rainy weather continued throughout the next day, so we were unable to dry out; however, we did make some “improvements” to the barraca with garbage bags we had used to keep our luggage dry on the trip out there.

The sun finally came out with force on the fourth day, and we were able to dry and air out the tent, sleeping bag, etc. – all that just in time to pack everything up in the rain the following day!  Needless to say, it was a special delight to sleep in my dry bed that evening – that is after the convenience of sitting on the bathroom stool and taking a shower with running water.  Ah, modern conveniences!  It was also nice to simply sit in a chair! Sitting options for the week included the sandy floor, which can be surprisingly stiff after a time, and a few tree bark benches built into the barraca.

That was the housing adventure; the meals were an entirely other matter.  They were very basic with very little variety – lots of bread, corn meal, rice, spaghetti noodles and other starchy foods.  I had some apples packed along, but after three days of the same diet, I (and my body) gratefully accepted a friend’s generous offer to drive to town and buy some papaya and pineapple.

There were, of course, team competitions. (Being Brazilian means being competitive!) If you have never seen a six-month pregnant woman sprint (at least attempt to sprint), you may have missed your chance. My team picked me for the sprint/swim leg of a relay race, but only because I was the only one who knew how to swim. Beggars can’t be choosers! I quickly discovered when I tried to stand and dive over some of the initial waves that a heavy belly definitely changes one’s center of gravity; I also don’t have the endurance that I did six months ago, especially after my month of bedrest!

Pastor Tiago spoke in the evening services, focusing on the retreat’s theme: “Fishers of Men.” Fred headed up the music for the retreat and gave a devotional the second morning on not being ashamed of the gospel (Rm.1:16-17). A special blessing of the week was the salvation of two sisters. Their husbands accepted Christ as Savior last year and have since been praying for their wives. It is a neat continuation of God’s work of grace in this family as the sisters’ mother Vilany and younger sister Paula (the first one saved in the family) have been praying for them for nearly five years. Now they all are praying for Vilany’s sister Gracilene, who attended the retreat, and other sibilings/family members.

So, in spite of the showers (that is, the natural ones), it was a good retreat, a spiritually refreshing and edifying time for our church family. As youth leaders, we were especially excited to see the teen’s initiative in working and saving up money for the retreat.

Speaking of, please continue to pray for this ministry. Daniel, an unrepentant teenage boy, was recently disciplined by the church. Some of the teens are really struggling with the change in how they are now relate to Daniel.  You can pray especially for three who have strong ties to Daniel: his sister Isabelle, his best friend Michael, and his ”crush” Lucience (who is a very young, impressionable Christian!).

It may seem like a silly request, but please pray also for my feet. Do pray that they will be the beautiful feet of one “who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, [and] who publishes salvation” (Is. 52:7); but also pray that I will be able to wear shoes the remainder of my pregnancy! Although my blood pressure is low (per usual) as is my salt intake, I’m having a tremendous problem with swelling feet. Trivial, but true. The swelling usually goes down a little a night, but it doesn’t take long for them to fill in the morning.

It’s said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I took a one after our we arrived home from retreat.  Pretty, aren’t they?

This weekend, two in my small circle were assaulted.  The first was Edissa (eh-gee-sa), Fortaleza Academy’s Portuguese teacher.  On Friday after school, Edissa went to the bank with her sister who withdrew a large sum of money.  As the two entered Edissa’s front gate, a man suddenly appeared with a gun, demanding the sister’s purse.  She refused and he shot the pistol into the floor, threatening that the next would be for her.  When the sister again refused, the man called for his partner who was waiting outside on a motorcycle.  The two men easily wrestled away from the older woman and escaped on their bike.  At this point, Edissa fainted.  She was taken to the hospital but returned home later that day.  Later, we deduced that the men must have been tipped off by someone at the bank because the men demanded only the sister’s purse, not Edissa’s.

The other assault hit a little closer to home.  There is a large praça kitty-corner to our church in Edson Queiroz that includes some park benches and a large cement quadra that is often used for soccer, volleyball and occasionally basketball games.  On Saturday afternoon, Lydia, the daughter of ABWE missionaries Jerry and Lynda Neuman, was lying on a bench when she was approached by two guys.  One flashed a revolver and asked for her purse.  Lydia asked if they were joking.  In response, he showed her the bullets in the gun.  She handed over the purse but, in shock, refused to let go it.  By this time, the guy with the gun had taken off, so the other literally ripped the bag out of her hand, the material tearing the handle.  The scuffle ended with Lydia chasing and yelling after them as the second robber made his escape.  The two boys ran down her boyfriend’s street (André actually locked the door as the two ran by, a clear indication of trouble) and so Lydia stopped when she reached his house.  The authorities were able to recover the purse (minus cell phone, I think), but there is now a lot of red tape necessary for Lydia identify and prosecute the thief.  In addition, the family of the thief threatened André and his family should Lydia do so.  Unfortunately, the boy with the weapon was not implicated and cannot be charged.

As I mentioned earlier, all assaults leave an impression on their victim.  Please pray for faith, peace and calmness in Edissa and Lydia’s life.  Edissa, especially, is struggling with fear as the threat occurred within the confines of her home. 

I confess I wrestled with some doubt, as well, after hearing Lyida’s tale, for while I have known since the beginning that Edson Queiroz is a dangerous neighborhood, and Fred and I are just weeks away from moving into our apartment there.  It would easy to allow this story (and that of Lilica, our pastor’s wife, who was very nearly assaulted by these same guys just two weeks ago!) to make me fearful; but “God gave [me] a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control” (2Tim. 1:7).

So I ask that you pray.  Pray for our daily protection and that of our church family.  It is not something we take for granted, especially now with the threat made against André and his family.

Pray also that this incident, rather than incite me to fear, will heighten my awareness and burden of the need in Edson Queiroz.  There are so many lost, hurting souls crammed into this economically depraved neighborhood, and entrapped by their sinful nature, they have no choice but to sin; but praise God for the hope we have in Christ!  And God is at work.  Before this the assaults occurred, I had planned to blog about the testimonies of recent converts and the five women recently baptized at Saturday’s baptismal service; but that will have to wait for another day.  Até mais!

Last weekend, in the midst of my house-sitting assignment, I managed to squeeze in another trip to Fortaleza for a wedding. Neto is a seminary student at SIBIMA and a good friend who loves English and music; so in addition to the song he sang to his bride, he asked two other missionaries and me to sing “Agnus Dei” in English. As most weddings, it was a fun and beautiful evening, but the real excitement happened the following night at mocidade (youth group).

Just before youth group began, two guys who attend fairly faithfully showed up in an apparent hurry. They talked with a few other teens, hopped back on their bikes and were gone. Contrary to their odd behavior, the youth meeting was quite ordinary with times of singing, bible reading and a devotional. There was a lot of noise outside, but that, too, is par for the course. Near the end of the devotional, however, cell phones started ringing, LOTS of them!

I should take a moment to explain about cell phones in Brazil because you might be wondering if this church is in such a depleted neighborhood, why the kids would have cell phones. The fact is that everybody in Brazil has a cell phone – everybody, including those who live in the favelas (slums). That is because NOT everybody has a land phone in their home. Often it is more expensive to have a fixed telephone than to a cell phone.

The majority of people have pre-pay plans, and they guard their precious minutes carefully. One way they do this is by using the “three-second rule.” If you call someone and talk for only three seconds, you’re not charged for that time. I have watched people call one another back and forth for fifteen minutes using this method. One calls and as soon as the other person answers, he speaks a phrase or a question and hangs up. A short time later, he gets a response in the same manner. Granted, it’s crazy, inefficient, and, in my opinion, a horrible method to communicate; but it saves them money they don’t have.

Anyway, to return to the story, phones started ringing. My first reaction was to wonder why so many had forgotten to turn off their cell phones, but as more and more received calls, it became obvious that something was going on. I soon learned what it was when Fred, the youth leader, closed the evening with prayer. Unbeknownst to me, just a few blocks away, a gang war had taken place during youth group, leaving one dead and very near it. Parents were calling to warn their children not to leave the church without an older teen or adult. Needless to say, no one lingered after youth group. Instead, we formed groups and escorted the adolescents and teens home.

Something else different about Brazil is that when there is a tragedy, people flock to the scene of the crime or accident; but no one offers help.  They are there only to gawk. There is no such thing as a police line, so the people are intermixed among the police. One of the boys from youth group lives on the very street where the fight took place; so to get to his home, we had to walk through the crowd, by the very corner where the crime occurred. The police had ordered the people home, of course, but the area was still full of spectators and reporters. As we entered his street, a wailing woman stumbled past us.

As I have mentioned in previous posts and prayer letters, Edson Queiroz is known to be a dangerous neighborhood full of thefts, drugs, prostitution, etc. in addition to gang wars. The two gangs have a long history, and there is a very definite diving line between the upper and lower parts of the neighborhood. A young man from the lower part came up and shot one from the upper level; but before he could run back to safety, a group of boys caught him. They beat him, knifed him and stoned him before the police arrived (who, by the way, have a permanent watch in the area because of such occurrences). Incredibly, the boy was still alive when taken to the hospital but died once there.

What never ceases to amaze is how quickly the life goes back to “normal” after such tragedies. The next morning as we drove through the neighborhood to church, people were out and about as usual: kids were playing in the streets; men were at the bars; women were conversing on the side of the road.

For those in church, however, the event was not so easily dismissed. The adults have been learning about the Ten Commandments in Sunday school, and ironically, Sunday’s lesson was on the sixth commandment: “You shall not murder” (Ex.20:13). Life is indeed precious and, although we often forget it, very fragile. How often we take tomorrow for granted. “For what is your life? It is eve a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’” (Js.4:14-15). And how important that we seek to accomplish the Lord’s will during our short time on earth for “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hb.9:27).

Please continue to pray for the ministry of Igreja Batista Bíblica Maranata. The people of Edson Queiroz face incredible challenges and pressures, but such difficulties merely expand the platform of opportunity for God to incredible things. Pray especially for those responsible for shepherding and caring for this small flock.

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with might through His spirit in the inner man,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the width and length and depth and height –
to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;
that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.”
Ephesians 3:14-21

EDSON QUEIROZ
The theme for this VBS in EQ was “Loving God.”  Although a relatively new church, IBBM has already hosted VBS several times in this neighborhood.  The reputation from past VBSs coupled with the Saturday morning children’s ministry helped draw kids; and on the first day, 204 children from ages 4-14 in attended.  That number grew to 294 the second day, and ended with 345 on the third day, a rather large number in comparison to the 20 “tios” (lit. “teachers,” title used for anyone who helped) who served.  Of those who attended, 38 made decisions of salvation.  On the second day, I talked with Pedro, a 13-year-old boy who recognized that he was a sinner, but did not fully understand salvation.  He thought making a decision would help him to no hit his sister anymore, or disobey in school, etc.  We looked at several verses in the Bible together.  He didn’t want to make a decision then but said he would do so that night at home.  The next day, he confirmed that he did.  Please pray for these new believers, that is was a sincere, comprehesive decision that will impact their lives as their understanding and depth of faith grows.  They do not have an easy home life.  Sex and drugs and not only out in the open, but often pushed upon them.  Robbery is a justified way of life.  Follow up visits have been planned during the next month.  It is essential because of the overwhelming influences around these kids that they become established involved with a local church.   

BOM JARDIM
This was the first VBS held in Bom Jardim by Maranata, and it held a lot of unknowns; however, the 15 tios who volunteered were both capable and flexible.  As a result, this three-day trial was a success.  It was a little bit different format as we did not break up into classes; but the kids did fairly well sitting, especially considering many are accustomed to doing what they want in school (i.e. talking, leaving the classroom, etc.).  The first day, 120 kids showed up.  Days two and three, brought somewhere around 150 each.  Safety was a huge concern, but – praise the Lord! – we had no trouble in this area!  That truly is an answer to prayer, especially with the attention we drew with the materials we brought it.  We had some kids hang around the vehicles a few days, but the guard at the school was able to keep an eye on them.  We also praise God for six kids who received Christ as their Savior.  We actually talked and prayed with several more, but their understanding of what Christ did for them and the decision they desire to make was not firm.  Pray for follow-up with the kids.  Several individuals desire to begin a Saturday ministry like Resgate, however, distance and safety are two big obstacles to be overcome.