1 to 10

Just a little tidbit concerning which ElliAnna's parents are very excited...
Elli is able (and loves) to count from 1 to 10 in English AND Portuguese...actually, I think her preference is Portuguese. :) Very cool. :)

A Blog Post about PV

The time changed here about a month ago now and the mercury has spent a few days in the upper echelons of the thermometer. There are mornings when the air is so heavy you know it is only a matter of time before it will just dump (I learned a new word last week- pancada de chuva - which means downpour). Then, while the humidity lingers and the rain dies off, the temperature drops and you almost forget how hot it was just a couple hours earlier. Ahh, spring is here. The magnolia tree outside bows its head under the weight of its heavy flowers. Their sweet aroma is almost as heavy as the flower on the branch. The grass springs up so fast and tall after a day of rain followed by a day of sun that you start to worry that you might loose a toddler or a member of the youth group out there in the grass. (What it was like in South Dakota to have to mow the grass two or three times a summer?)

Ahh spring. Santas are hanging from the trees in the park across the street in all of their red and white winter clothes. They look like they could be drowning in a puddle of their own sweat. Does the Northern Hemisphere dominate the Christmas season so much that we have to see Christmas moose wrapped up in a scarves, "snow" underneath the Christmas tree in the mall, and sleds and skis out in the lawn to help decorate? How is Santa Claus supposed to land on a clay-tiled roof in the middle of summer and slide down the chimney into the barbecue pit anyway? I guess I haven't noticed any stockings on the mantle yet.

This post is getting more random by the minute but it is a good illustration of an important leadership quality. If you don't know where you are going when you leave, you probably will arrive somewhere eventually but only after you have wasted a lot of time.

And speaking of leadership, I did spend the last weekend at a retreat for leaders of Word of Life's Bible Clubs (Palavra da Vida or PV). I am not a leader of a PV Bible Club but I got to attend anyway. I have not had a lot of contact with Word of Life in the past. They have a very well developed ministry in our state and in Brazil with a very strong camp and discipleship program. It was very refreshing to hear someone preaching dispensations without making excuses or acting embarrassed. One of PV's ministries is Grupo EMME, a singing group made up of about 30 young people who spend a couple months in intense voice and music training and then the rest of the year touring Brasil. They are directed by John W. Peterson's brother ("Magoo" Peterson) and are singing several of John Peterson's cantatas this year. They were about as good as any group I have ever heard. We were able to get a couple of short camera videos that we will try to upload soon.

I was also super jazzed to learn that PV of Argentina is doing a missions work in Cuba. While generations have come and gone without hearing of Christ in that little island nation as a result of their isolation, what a joy it was to hear of those who are working hard to see that Cuba is reached with the gospel. And what a greater joy it would be if/when relations are normalized so that Americans could re-enter Cuba, if Christian missionaries filled the first plane to leave Miami for Havana. Let us pray that God would bring glory to His name in this, for it is not quite as important which political system wins as it is where millions of people spend eternity.

And one more random thought . . . how exactly are you supposed to respond when your almost two year old daughter starts praying for a puppy? (which was the idea of her mother)

Refreshment

Above: Jon tomando chimarrao this afternoon (He is becoming a professional chimarrao artist!)

We've been encouraged and blessed this week by the chance to get to know Joao de Deus and his wife Anna Sancha. They are from the Northeast and came down here to visit the Stuckys, share testimonies of what God is doing in the Northeast, and see what God is doing in this part of South Brazil as well. They speak some English, and us some Portuguese ~ and so we've been able to communicate without too much getting lost in the translation. Last night (Friday) they and the Stuckys came over for supper and games...here's some pics. :)

On Skype, Clout and Other Random Thoughts

Think of today's post as something of a smorgasbord, if you get bored of one topic, scroll down until you come to the next paragraph or two and I will probably change subjects. I will resist the urge to invoke our dear and dedicated mothers (including you, Rachel) again and instead say, thank you to all of you who can find nothing better to do than read our random thoughts.

Subject 1: Brazil. Our fair and fine country has certainly made a name for itself over the last year. In fact I don't think that after today there is much debate that we are pretty much the hottest place on the market these days. This country seems to have been able to finally shake the shackles of government instability, financial insecurity, and aristocratic mentality that had been holding it back from being a world player so that today its stature and influence are simply exploding. (a quick disclaimer: Brazil still has a long, long way to go) Here are a few examples:

• Brazil was recently made a major player in world economic policy at the G-20 summit.
  
• The Brazilian economy has hardly skipped a beat while major economies in the northern hemisphere continue to struggle.
• The American Dollar has lost more than 25% of its value against the Brazilian Real since last January.
  
• Brazil has taken a central role in trying to resolve a conflict in Honduras (whether by choice or coercion it remains to be seen).
  
• Brazil, long a world leader in sports, will host the world cup of soccer in 2014.
  
• Brazilian cultural, political and financial clout were all on display today as the International Olympic Committee awarded the summer games of 2016 to the city of Rio de Janeiro. While it might have been inevitable, it is interesting to note that the three cities Rio was competing against to host the games all sit in areas of the world that have since WWII been the traditional centers of economic power- Asia, N. America, Europe.
  

All of these things would have seemed impossible 15-20 years ago. The truly interesting part of this story is that in a lot of ways, Brazil has yet to realize (or should we say utilize) their vast and diverse natural resources. More than simply political or economical, this is a spiritual fact as well. I remember reading a couple different articles on missions in the last couple of years that argued that the geographical center of Christianity had already shifted from its traditional Euro-American center to South America and Africa. In other words, the majority of the world's Christians now live south of the equator instead of north. I don't have any facts to back that up but I'm sure they could be found with little difficulty. One of the most populated of those southern countries is Brazil. I will not be surprise if we see something, that has already begun to happen in big numbers, start to explode: a great missionary movement, similar to ones in recent church history, also come from this part of the world to reach traditionally sending nations with the gospel of Christ.

Subject 2: Internet communications has, without understating the obvious, transformed missionary work. My own personal history. When we lived in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa in the early 1990s I remember talking on the phone to someone in the United States two or three times. I was just entering the tender ages that end in teen and I remember waiting by the community phone in the little "mail" building that NTM for their missionaries at the appointed time for the phone call from the states. Then, once it rang I would wait patiently for my turn to talk to Grandpa and Grandma on the other end of a long delay when they would ask me about what girlfriends I had or some other important grandparent type thing. This is a long way to say I am so grateful for Skype. What a blessing! I am cooking on a short list that may or may not appear on this blog sometime soon. It has something to do with the ten commandments of {voice-and-video-over-internet-calling} etiquette. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

Subject 3: Denielle and I read this morning Psalm 71:14-18. Verses 14-15 say: "But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day. For I do not know their limits." Imagine how dull life would be without the righteousness and salvation of God! Imagine how lame it would be if we were left to provide our own righteousness or salvation on our own merits. We would quickly find their limits. Instead we get to sing and praise the righteousness and salvation of God which are magnificent and matchless, endless, glorious in grace, and profoundly practical when it comes to my personal holiness. God, be glorified!

We have had a tremendous privilege throughout the last couple of weeks during the Bible Study that we have joined here in our town of helping to teach new believers their first songs about Christ. I get a thrill when I think about people who formerly despised God now learning to sing for the first time, "Christ is exalted, the King is exalted on high. I will praise Him!" What thrill to teach men and women who for all their lives did not have a chance to sing a song with any true eternal significance, songs about the majesty, glory and beauty of Christ. Awesome! (we wrote about this subject in our monthly prayer letter also released today, if you did not receive it but would like to, send us a note!)

Until next time . . .

Last Week...

Last Sunday (not yesterday, but the Sunday before...which would've been the 20th?) our family, Phil and Rachel, Pastor Fabio (from the Campo Bom church where we are attending), Pastor Roberto and his family (also from the Campo Bom church), and 2 other families met for churrasco and a meeting. These first two pictures show Vilmar, our host, at the churrasqueira - caring for the delicious things roasting inside....

(beef, chicken hearts, smoke provolone...)

Here's a few of us - visiting, smelling churrasco... :)

and another one of the same kind...

This room, by the way, is where the Bible Study here in our town of Estancia Velha is being held. Currently, there are about 25 people attending each week, not including the 5-7 children also present. Please be in much prayer for this group - it is growing and people are eager to hear the Word. There are many needs present ~broken relationships, broken hearts ~ and Christ is sufficient for all of them. A number of these folks are not yet saved!
We are truly excited to be a part of this group and minister alongside of the others on the team! What a blessing to work and grow with them!

ElliAnna had some fun sunbathing :) She was secretly wishing she could swim in the pool ~ but it was too cold. :)

During Bible Study (Wednesday evenings), Rachel and Sirlei (pictured) lead the children's service. I (Denielle) will be beginning to help with the music soon...and gradually will ease into more aspects which involve more speaking. :)
ElliAnna has been doing a good job sitting and listening for most of the lesson time. Afterwards, she loves to play with toys and color with the big kids at the table.

It's been raining raining raining (chovendo muito!) these days ~ but we were blessed with a good warm sunny couple this past weekend. Perfect time for walks amidst the cars and flowers. We have a very cool walking path in the middle of the highway (I'm not being sarcastic, it really is cool :)) and we're enjoying putting it to use. Right at about the 3/4 mark of the return trip, ElliAnna gets bored of riding in her stroller and asks, "Out?". But then she's not content to walk alongside of us, but she needs to push the stroller too. It's a nice leisurely walk back to the house. :)