One Kingdom One Mission

As I have been “home” for 3 weeks more or less I become more convinced we desperately need to understand we are part of His kingdom. Our role in that kingdom has very little to do with where we are or what task we are doing and much to do with who we are and our availability to the king. As we move about this world we are to be about the business of our true kingdom, affecting the things and people around us for the better.

We could not help but question the decisions we made to move on, to return to the US. Every time we became more assured it was right and right timing but as many of you we too questioned ourselves at the speed and timing of the decision. The thing I am learning through this is that if I want to be an emissary of my king and live by His word I have no choice but to be equally willing to obey regardless of what that is.

It was exciting to hear God saying to move our family to Brazil, it was easy to obey when there is a bit of fanfare around your decision, it appears heroic. No matter how much I wanted to be free from the pressure of what people think, no matter how much I wanted to live only to obey it was nice to have attention. Living the last four years I began more and more not only to want to be free from that but to see the necessity. Ultimately the Lord beginning to say go back was a completion of a lesson, I have much more to learn but something was completed. An understanding that what God does with me and my family is about His purposes and He has unlimited perspective compared to my very limited view point.

A great help in seeing this has been the act of obeying and “rushing” back. We see what God is doing in the kids as the reintegrate into US culture. There are still many challenges but they are really doing well, I see Daniel getting up and reading his bible for devotions, something I am struggling with at the moment. I had the chance to sit and talk with my sister in LA who is going through a few challenges, hopefully I was able to encourage her and in the very least I better understand how to pray for her.

I am able to both serve and help my grandmother in her life but also help an uncle battling addiction. Being used as a minister in his life. I see Melissa as always blessing everyone around her with compassion and love, especially in the situation I just stated. We were able to go together to the school of ministry in Corvallis and I was able to return once more. God has used us more in the last three weeks than in the previous. “Our ministry” has only expanded in our time here. I am so busy I am beginning to really question what God is going to do to provide for us here. Perhaps it will be very non traditional leaving me free to continue ministering nearly full time in this area.

The thing is we are members of a supernatural eternal kingdom and not an earthly one. We are sent out on mission all of us where ever we happen to be. This kingdom is more real than the one we more easily see, it existed before and will continue long after this world is done. How important is it for me to get better educated, make a bit of money and save up for retirement in this second half of my adult life? Only as important as that goal relates to my assignment in the eternal kingdom. Do we easily say store up for yourself treasures in heaven not earth than commit ourselves to the pursuit of this life or do we truly abandon ourselves to pursuit of eternal values. I am not saying those always must be mutually exclusive. I am believing more and more that I need a better education and a more professional job to carry more weight behind my witness but it is in His time and in His way in His place not mine.

As we are here we not settling in but going deeper into the things God has for us here. We are not readjusting but engaging new opportunities new people. God has plans for us here and plans for us somewhere else plans for us now and in the future. The purposes of an eternal kingdom are not location dependent but King dependent, Jesus must be more and more king of my and our lives. Pray for us as we continue to serve the Lord and attempt to teach our kids to be kingdom minded individuals.

Sadness and Joy

As Melissa and the kids left last night it was a strange feeling. If you have moved as much as us you know there is always a book left on a shelf or clothes on the floor, things that aren’t going, have lived out there purpose and are just waiting to be cleaned up. I feel a bit that way, got left on the floor as we packed the bags. I wish I was traveling with them to lead my family as they start the next chapter of our lives. At the same time I sensed we had conquered something, finished a great task and now I am free to get to tasks and move on.

I am sad to leave, we love Brazil. Alannah was born here, is a citizen and will always be. Moriah went from little girl to teenager, Daniel gained independence going out with friends in the neighborhood. Juliah is more Brazilian than American. The people and culture of this nation are a part of us, we no longer feel American, we know we aren’t Brazilian but still it has changed us and for the better.

I am joyful to look to the tasks ahead. It is interesting that I always knew Brazil would be a season, that God would call us on to another more spiritually needy country one day. I never realized though that a significant season would be calling to the US. Our hearts for our home nation have grown as we worked in Brazil. Reading about the challenges the body of Christ faces in the US, the persecution from media, education and social pressures. I thought we would have moved into Paraguay, Argentina or Bolivia, perhaps Guinea Bissau or another unreached Portuguese speaking nation. I knew there was a possibility of finances or other hardship leading us to take a step back.

The thing that has surprised me in the end is the strong sense of being called forward and yet we are US bound. Feeling called to impact a college campus, an apartment complex, immigrants who are going through what we have went through here. We have been further equipped to greater works, we have been strengthened deepened and developed now we move on to our original nation to have an impact there. We believe after more equipping there we will move on again but without doubt we have excitement to see what we can accomplish there

I also am excited to travel down south in Brazil, sell our car, meet with friends and the chance to visit Foz, where it began. To take some time to just enjoy Brazil, it saddens me Melissa isn’t with me but I will just have to enjoy it twice as much. Pray for us as we both tackle different tasks. Pray for the kids as they are less prepared for re-entry than Melissa and I. The process of “going back” is very difficult for missionaries. You often feel you have lost purpose, people aren’t that interested in what you did. You can fear they think you are a failure….. The kids, especially Moriah show signs of concern and we pray for a smooth transition. Melissa and I have both been through these kinds of transitions and are prepared for the mental battle but the kids are on their first. Pray for them.

I do thank you all, we hope to share more with all of you face to face. For those who financially have supported us or would like to contribute to our return costs. Shepherd’s Staff will continue to process funds for us through June, we ask if you are able to continue with us through that season. After that we will be entering a self supported season as I study and we prepare for the future. If you desire to help with that we aren’t closed but it likely would have to be a gift not a tax deductable contribution. The next 3 months are still fully tax deductable but after that it will change. This is a little scary as we desire to spend a time in Oregon and then move to Kansas for a season, we know though that God holds all this in His hands and a good God doesn’t abandon those who serve Him.

God bless you, if you see my family especially the little or big cutie give them hugs for me.

 

Ben

Completing a Season

First of all we want to thank all of you who have faithfully prayed and supported us over the last 4 or 5 years. God has done so much in our lives not to mention the fruit we know has came from OUR labor.

We have realized that our time in Brazil has come to an end we are at the end of a season ready for another. The bottom line we are here in Brazil learning to be missionaries, growing as a family our hearts grow more burdened for those who don’t have access to the gospel.

Many of you know our purpose in looking at starting an English school was 2 sided. One, to be more self sufficient. We find a growing desire to be missionaries as a part of the community not as people entirely supported from the outside. Second was to see the establishment of a business here as a path to one day opening a business in a more closed country, where missions can not be openly practiced or even talked about. Returning from our visit with family and church in the US we were able to weigh the ability of an English school to accomplish both those objectives. The first objective is something that I am sure with much hard work, an investment of time and finances we could achieve. The second perhaps, however we have become increasingly doubtful of the necessity and efficiency. In the end  this is a much more long term investment than we are willing to make. Brazil is a highly Christian nation with an ever growing church. This is awesome, we love Brazil, it’s people and that they are becoming one of the great missionary sending nations in the world but our heart is to the unreached.

We moved to Rio because our children were showing some ill affects of the frontier we were living on, they needed a time for them and still do. In light of this I will be enrolling in college and hopefully with God’s help earn a civil engineering, agriculture or education degree. My desire is to have more international employability and the skills so desperately needed in places like Corumba, Puerto Suarez Bolivia, refuge camps who knows. This will give us more access to the parts of the world growing in our hearts. It will also require less time and investment while allowing our kids a chance to get a good education.

We are not leaving missions, missionaries is something that we are, not a job we do. We are moving forward, going deeper and adding skills to the development God has been doing in us. We ask those who support us to stick with us for a time, phase out over 6 months to a year. We aren’t closed to long term help and support may or may not be a part of our future but understand this is always a free will process. The direction we are going is definitely to be more self supported but God will certainly use His body to help us on the way.

We are still seeking God for direction as to where we will live. Obviously our home body of WCC would be a great support, loving body and a joy to be around. As we believe we are being lead to continue in missions through the process, both on a college campus and perhaps to an unreached people. We plan to head to Oregon soon for a time to decompress and communicate in person. While there we will finish evaluating our options for life with kids, college and our long term missions desires. We are looking for an area we can begin to learn Arabic and study their culture, somewhere that has a significant Middle Eastern or North African population. We appreciate all the questions you must have but ask patience as we need to finish this before we can give a hard answer as to where, when, how. We will continue to blog through this process in the same unique open way, letting you into our thoughts, ideas, success and failure.

Pray for us as we sell our things, pack, prepare to say goodbye to a country that has become home. Pray especially for our kids as their spiritual life and education are big factors in this decision. Pray that God leads the steps and that we remain submissive to him throughout this process. Pray for timing, we are looking for tickets around the beginning of April but this could change.

We can’t thank you enough and plan to continue sharing our story and what God is teaching us along the way. God bless and keep you all,

 

 

Ben and family

Memorial to my Grandpa

It is hard very hard to not be present in body with all of you. Grandpa was a unique man much like the characters in the western shows he loved. He was someone who built something from scratch, who left a legacy to his family. We have had the privilege to work side by side, to be influenced and molded by not only our parents but our grandparents as well. His work ethic, his dedication to family, his dedication to God are things we must continue to learn from. He was a singular minded dedicated individual who if he said he would do something you better not disagree. He was also generous and treated employees well. I see those qualities passed on in my father and have tried to learn from them.

Last Sunday I happened to be preaching at church. I had nothing, felt empty and drained. I only wanted to be home with the family, I went several times to call someone else and ask that they share instead. However I sensed the presence of the Lord assuring me to go ahead. Sunday afternoon as I still sat empty God reminded me of a passage that speaks of legacy, Deuteronomy 6:1-9. I have to admit I really didn’t prepare at all, I just shared from the heart what God was reminding me of the legacy Grandpa and Grandma have tried to leave us.

They read and studied their bibles, they applied themselves to practicing what they learned. Most if not all the things we loved about them were because of the character developed in their lives in their spiritual walk. God was first, they weren’t perfect but they didn’t place their faith on the back burner. It was central to their lives, they rarely worked on Sunday more rare they didn’t go to church. Their walk with God wasn’t limited to church or religiosity, it was sincere. They wanted to bless others with what God had given them. I remember one time a bus showed up full of some young people 20 years to late for the hippy movement. They asked if they could work for a bit of food. Grandpa took them to the house let them shower and take naps, grandma fed them and they were sent on their way with some vegetables, no work.

It struck me yesterday if I want to pass that legacy on to my kids I not only need to teach them what the bible says but make myself available the way my grandparents did. Available to God, to hear him, obey him and be used by him. I must be an active participant that I might have something to remember and teach.

As I returned home from Church and got the call from Jody that he had entered his final hours I was comforted by so many memories. Perhaps the most powerful was a time at Buena vista when I returned home from Brazil. I shared at church what had happened what God was teaching me. At the end of the service Grandpa made his way up front, and began to share how he was a hard man, not tender enough. How he hadn’t told us enough that he loved us, then turned to me and told me he loved me and was proud of me. That was probably 16 years ago. From that day forward I remember him going to extra effort to say those things more often, to be tender. I think it may have drove grandma a bit nuts after 40 some years of marriage to suddenly having him go soft and say he loved her all the time, buying jewelry and things.

It taught me we must always remain humble and ready to learn. That was another part of his legacy. After retiring and selling the farm he dedicated himself to reading, history, self-improvement the bible. Of course whatever he was learning must have been something I needed to learn too.

I also was flooded with memories of sledding at Mary’s Peak, I was 7 and as I went down the hill on his back we went over a jump and he fell out the center of the tube, I happened to land on it without him, thought it was the funniest thing. I remember moving pipe with him, having lunch at their house, him napping as he did every day. We walked out to go back to work and the old blue van had vanished. We both just stood there looking around absolutely astonished. Then both seen the van several hundred yards down the road and out into the Christmas trees, he hadn’t put it in park. I think the whole state of Oregon collectively breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor took his license. I also remember the fear in my stomach pulling out onto highway 20 when he could no longer turn his head. Not being able to see if any traffic was coming he would just gun it and away we went. I remember going to Yellowstone and sleeping in the back of the truck with him, waking up under a sheet of ice. I remember us thinking of leaving him at little big horn because he had to read every sign no matter how many of them simply said beware of snakes stay on the path.

I miss you Grandpa and am thankful I will soon be with you. Thank you for the legacy, thank you for showing us to repent and know God is better than anything else we can have on this earth. I am so comforted knowing you are home with your savior. See you soon

Youthful Energy

There is something very contagious and exciting about being around youth. For me it is those last teen years and beginning of adult hood that is perhaps most exciting. I remember as I was about to turn 18 taking our youth group to gleanings for the hungry,  a ministry of youth with a mission that dries and processes food for hungry people around the world. While there the founder asked me to stay the rest of the summer and give a hand to hosting other groups and running the plant. My farm back ground made me valuable I suppose and as I had just graduated I decided to stay. While there not only did Wally have further impact in my life an Anglican priest called Father Rob and another man Dave Hebert both had extremely profound influence on me. This was the time in my life where my relationship with God had been transforming into an adult relationship. Dave really influenced me towards doing a school with youth with a mission. These were men influencing a young man, being used by God to place the foundations in his life that would eventually lead me to where I am today and where I will ultimately end up.

As we begin to experiment with an English business as a way to connect more deeply with the culture we have faced many struggles. Not the least of which was the passing of someone who had become a dear friend in a short time. We were home less than a week before we said goodbye to Sergio, someone who had been involved in nearly everything we have done. We have had a few problems with our house which somehow are the renters responsibility. We are unsure how to pay for the kids books, tuition and uniforms. Should we be investing more money in our VW Van to try and get it licensed, it really doesn’t work for us here and we need something else but without documents could we even sell it, how much of a loss would we take. English may or may not help, so far we have spent a little money and are looking at spending more. I believe it is what God is calling me to and believe it may eventually allow us to one day be financially able to support ourselves but for now remains an expense. I know things take time.

Those are just the normal challenges we face. Those things were pretty overwhelming when we first arrived in Rio. Today though they are just details, things that will work out with time. Largely because what we have seen so far as we attempt to get some English classes going is that we are engaging that age group. I am tired, spent and feel empty like all the energy I poured out this last week may come to nothing. It feels good. I have sat in a printing office with a bunch of youth from the community next to us laughing as they attempt English. Been at a church meeting with the Pastor about the classes we will start the 13th of February as a bunch of curious youth look on. He is excited to see his church used as a way to both bless the community and allow us to perhaps make a bit of money. He wants to start showing movies in English on Mondays with subtitles in Portuguese to piggy back on the English, to attract non church kids in a non threatening way.

I find myself both spent but rejuvenated. The flesh still hopes for failure at times, that I might have an excuse to see myself with a little cabinet shop back in the Midwest on a little farm with motorcycles, chickens and a cow or two. The flesh is always going to like the sound of winning the lottery. The temptation comes as I know that if I put out this effort in the US there will be a financial reward. Here I just am not sure.

The issue is though that we don’t labor for financial gain, we aren’t doing this to make money but to be more effective missionaries. As I do this I understand why Pr. Jeff Jackson told me if he could do his time serving in the Philippines again he would teach English, I understand now why he recommended it so highly to us and to others. I have done nothing in missions so far that has so instantly connected me with that wealth of energy, excitement and passion that is young adult hood.

We have had success, soccer schools, prison ministry, girls club Melissa is still doing the girls club and is very effective with a those girls. The thing is though as youth get older they don’t want to participate. They are too cool to go to the soccer school or a girls club. To involved in sex, drugs and whatever else. It is hard to grab them.

English seems to be bridging that gap, connecting us with the age that can and will change their nation. Connecting us with rich and poor, Christian and non giving us a voice in a generation that is active, alive and waiting on the possibilities life holds for them. It gives us an identity that business men and community leaders respect. It is opening doors at the kids school. It is early but it is exciting. I love being with 17-25 year olds and can’t wait to start tutoring Renato and Rafeal next week. I can’t wait to meet their pastor who has a church full of young people. I can’t wait to start at the Baptist church in Jardim Olympio and get to know that group of kids more. Who knows who will be the next pastor, leader, business man. Who knows if I can have a similar impact that those men had in my life at such a formational time. I am thankful for the opportunity to continue to learn.

We also are thankful that Moriah will be able to start school the 3rd of Feb. That they will continue to work with her through the year to finish her evaluations instead of her being forced to finish them all first. We are thankful that the church in Jardim Olympio will be starting these movie nights, that our ministry direction may prove to be part of the cure.

Please continue to pray

• Moriah’s adaptation to Brazialian school and teen culture
• Students for our English classes
• Wisdom for where and when to offer classes
• Finances as we need provision for school and a new car

Season of change

We were recently blessed to be able to visit family and church family in Oregon. My (Ben) grandparents were in need of encouragement and a visit as they continue to age and prepare for some big changes in their relatively near future. It was a great time, we actually were able to have my sisters, parents, grandparents and all the kids together again at  Christmas time. It used to be a normal for us but had become something unlikely as we all live in different parts of the world. It proved to be a different experience than we expected as much of it was spent helping with doctors, dentists and all sorts of other errands as my Grandfather and one of my dad’s uncles are no longer able to be alone.

The interesting thing  about this trip is that it wasn’t necessarily refreshing. The other time we have visited the US we had longer, we were able to see Melissa’s family as well, we weren’t in a hurry. More than that we weren’t in the season of change we have been in. We had been fairly well established in Corumba, were tired and needed a good break. It was exciting, full of bbqs and camping. Summer in Oregon is great. This trip happened shortly after a big move with little settled as to what life in Rio will be for us. Yes we have some things going with Calvary Rio, a girls club locally, involvement with local families and getting the kids in school. However culture shock to living in a city of 12 million is going to take a while to get over.

This sense of uncertainty and flux wasn’t helped by leaving 95 degree weather arriving in Oregon for a record breaking cold storm that wound up with –5. Don’t miss understand it was a great time and sad to leave but it was full of uncertainty, change and uneasiness. We had little time to adjust to being in the states, I went from the airport to grandma’s to fix a broken pipe, next day we were sliding around in the snow, sitting with grandpa while grandma went to the dentist. We or I never had that sense of our feet being under us, my parents no longer maintain a home there, my sisters have moved out of state, our church was full of new faces, has two services instead of one, friends were busy with Christmas and we just seemed a bit lost, out of place in time.

As we have arrived home it doesn’t go away. That is the interesting thing about a season of change, every small decision becomes a monumental task. One of the big challenges for us is to finish the process of getting Moriah into school. This has been a major battle, the school is being very helpful but her fear of going to school here has blocked her from fully committing herself to preparation. It is hard for me to feel like I have to fight my little girl to get her to study. I want to hold her on my lap not push her to concentrate. This isn’t an abnormal experience for a parent of a new teen but an abnormal situation. Part of the stress is normal part though is the fact that our first calling is to our kids. We have no energy left nor ability to fulfill any call we may have here if we don’t get her in a better educational and social situation. Our future may ride on her getting into school and developing relationship with others.

On top of this our growing desire over the last four years has been to move a bit more towards some sort of business in mission. Not that we necessarily could become fully self supported but more to be able to engage the community more as a part of it than an implant. Especially here in Brazil where we can see the church growing more and more capable before our eyes. I first came to Brazil in 97, there was a solid church and many solid Christians but nothing like there is today. Brazil for both good and bad is becoming a global church leader. We love it here but must question the validity of staying as a traditional missionary, in that we had and continue to see great possibility to learn about and become foreign business people here while providing a great resource to help people.

We would like to begin English classes that may lead to an English school. English is a door to a better life for many people as they can use it for better work in oil, in tourism and many other areas. Especially with World Cup and than the Olympics to be in Brazil and Rio.

This by no means we would quit to do many of the things we have been doing. Melissa will continue to grow her club to try and motivate girls to stay in school, have good friendships and avoid a lifestyle that is often self destructive. Girls have little to do here to keep them out of trouble and spend much of their time trying to be the most sexy. Also as we look to meet our own kids needs we see the possibility to use flag football to get more involved in the kids school but also perhaps to do a mini league in the area.

These things all are good and may well be the Lord. The challenge is that until we see more stability in Moriahs life it is more than difficult to gather energy to apply ourselves to them. To recruit English students, to start a football club or anything else new takes pep, spark. When you are overwhelmed by doubts as to whether your doing the best for your daughter, whether she would be better off to spend her high school years in the states. Should she live with your sister, should you all move back? Where does the energy come from when these questions hang over head.

This is our home, we are happy here. We are more a part of Brazil than we are the US. However Moriah isn’t. She isn’t making friends, she isn’t engaging others but in fact has seemed to close up more. This was the big reason to move to Rio. I will say at church here she is more comfortable, doing a bit better. Pastor Alexandre and his wife have noticed and make great effort to help. We have the support structure here we need to deal with this if she will soften.

None of us would be upset to have a greater change. The US is easy and comfortable. I personally am always up for a new challenge, one of my strengths and weaknesses’. The idea of the kids in 4h playing sports and speaking English with friends is always appealing. However one does  not easily walk away from that which he feels called. That sense of purpose being in doing the work of God. I am aware though that kingdom mindedness is not dependent on location.

Now I have some similar experience to Moriah. I grew up partially on the farm than my parents went into YWAM. This was fairly traumatic to me, new schools I wasn’t much of a friend person anyways and we often traveled. When I was about the same age as Moriah my parents left YWAM not because of me to my knowledge. They moved back to the farm to help my Grandpa manage it to a point at which he could retire. I had a great difficulty adjusting back in school but looking back can see that it probably made the difference in keeping me able to become a semi normal person. Those teen years I was able to make a few new friends and stayed connected to one that I had made while we lived in YWAM. I had the farm, family and a bit more normal to get me through those confusing years.

We have little worry about Daniel, Juliah or /alannah. They are equally adapted here and there. We simply need much prayer for Moriah. We need great wisdom to know these next 6 months if she is adapting here, what is normal teenage stuff or if we need to be willing to take a break, to change direction more drastically for a season. If we are to stay in Brazil we need to see her healthy to see God provide students, finances for the kids school and a better car more suited to the city. I also want to make it clear Moriah isn’t asking to leave. She isn’t sure what she wants and knows she likes it here in many ways. She is just not as adapted as the others and school is a place that is hard enough for a teen girl much more so when you just aren’t the same.

Religiousity and Dogma

I am someone who is a definite product of the Northwest. Rules, structure, buildings, plans are a part of church sometimes considered necessary, tolerated and employed but almost begrudgingly. I love the idea of a free flowing Jesus that doesn't need structure, that isn't trapped in a building that sits with people in town squares and parks unburdened by the details of a church. However I do reluctantly admit that Jesus did teach in Synagogues and didn't fully throw out order. He certainly taught that he was bringing new wine to a new wine skin but said you desire to loose neither. Certainly I see God is a God of order, a creator, an engineer with a clear plan. The fact that he gave us the book of Revelation whatever flawed view of the book you hold too (don't worry I think everyone is wrong including me) it makes it clear God has a plan with a beginning and end, an ordained set of happenings.

I say this to explain when I get frustrated with Christianity, with "church" I  am not advocating anarchy. Especially after living in Rio a city on the verge of complete anarchy. The police do a traffic stop here with two officers heavily armed, for war, standing guard while the other approaches the car. The other day we were caught in traffic, arriving at the end there were around 50 police heavily armed behind there cars. What appeared to be a bullet struck the ground in front of us than what appeared to be another sprayed the passenger side where Melissa and Alannah sat with little rocks. Chaos sucks, it leads to traffic, abuse of power, corruption, disaster. As I write this blog I do not want chaos in my corporate relationship with God.

What  I want is to like Jesus with the Samaratin Woman at the well, I want to bypass the image of religion and get to the heart of the issue with people. My frustration with Church is more that we have gotten so comfortable in a structure people I interact with can easily fake it. Everyone to whom I say "I am a MISSIONARY" knows what to say and how to act. To be okay, to be left alone, to feel important. It is so hard to get past the religiousity to just know someone for who they are and to be known for who I am it often feels impossible to accomplish the task of making disciples.

When she began to realize Jesus was a spiritual man, a leader the wall went up, the image. Your fathers say this mountain ours say this what do you think. I doubt at all she cared the least about religion in general. She cared about very little probably. A woman who had five husbands and living with another guy simply was just surviving, likely simply trying to survive.

This woman seamingly so uninterested in religion then leaves the conversation completely transformed, invigerated and passionate. So much so she was used by God to go back to her town give testimony of what had happened leading to the whole town going to see Jesus and believe.

Brazil is so over evangelized right now that it has been hard for me to know how to approach my "job" here. When I would say I was a missionary the look on peoples face was so apparent. I suddenly went from wearing shorts, being a bald buck toothed fat guy to a flashy suit, big hair, shiny teeth big boobed blonde wife spraying you in the face with water I prayed over for 50 bucks TV preacher. The image is all over TV, billboards on the front of churches, cars driving by with speakers blaring on the roof. As soon I become that guy in their mind they either run away or play the game. Fight or flight.

I am not saying there aren't many bible believing Jesus loving believers here in Brazil. Praise God even the worst prosperity doctrine churches have seen many people come to know Jesus.

What I am saying is I want to make disciples and that when something has become so common it becomes more difficult to find reality. We all make mistakes we all fall short but the problem when religion grows so prevalent in our Christianity, when the culture of the service becomes so routine we become in danger of becoming mechanical. Pray this, sit here every Sunday, hide your sin a bit and we are doing good. However often our building is full of people desperate to escape the bonds of sin just as much as if they never went. Everyone knows the right thing to say but still manages to go home to live with their girlfriend, be angry, fight, struggle with porn whatever it may be.

Disciples make all these mistakes too but begin to recognize change is good and that we need one another to do it. The idea of organized church should be to create an environment where we do this for one anther. Encourage, uplift, edify and exhort, confess our sins to one anther, teach and grow stronger that we might win more.

Recently I have began to make a switch in how I approach people. I tell them I am trying to open an English school or going to be offering classes next year. We will be. This doesn't mean we are no longer missionaries, that is the task in front of every child of God. We are simply adding something to the girls club, home groups, thanks giving dinner at church that hopefully allows to bypass that overly religious image and get to know more people more deeply.

A few days ago I began to see the success of this strategy or the potential success. I approached the owner of the kids school a few weeks ago about advertising and perhaps holding an English class there. I left missions out of the conversation. I offered and asked about teaching a PE class or two on American Football as a way to get more involved as a father and potential businessman. He jumped on it and had the PE teacher come out.

Thursday Melissa and I had the joy of a hundred or more kids piling around us excited to know us without fear of what we might want. We went and did a 2 hour class and played flag football, thanks Jody. It was great and the teacher had the most fun of all. He asked us to come next year for all the classes. The older kids that didn't have a teacher show even sat on the side and watched. Being themselves, a couple girls even dancing perversely for the boys. It was awful and awesome. We weren't the missionaries or the pastors to be avoided we were the Americans they want to know.

There are 1000 students at the school. They nearly all want to learn English. They represent about 600 families. They have fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters, step families. 

We believe this is going to be a big part of how we begin to spread the gospel here. At the same time we continue to do our traditional stuff getting involved in the community in this way allows us deeper access and more opportunity to witness to those who we other wise wouldn't. On a scale I am not sure we are prepared for. Pray for us, that our faith would come through. That we would build long lasting relationships that provide opportunity to speak into these families lives. That God would direct those that not only want to learn English but those that would be open to him our way.

We don't know what the end result of English lessons will be, of English courses but we know we can be ordered and strategic without being in a box. We know God is opening doors in the kids school through Football and that English can attract those kids closer. We just want to respond to what God is doing and what He has put in us.

Above all else, if you read nothing else pray for Melissa and her girls. She has been doing this girls club a bit over a month. Girls here have little to do and many end up pregnant at a very young age. She has one girl about 14 that has a 2.5 year old boy. She has met with them once this week, will again tonight and is doing a clothing give away together with them tomorrow. There is no person I know better at bypassing religion than her. She makes a heart impact on so many hurting people. This is a vitally important ministry. Pray for more girls to come and for some volunteers to teach dance, sports and above all disciple these girls.
 

Breaking Through

In the last blog I opened myself up perhaps more than I should have but I hope to always communicate with a bit more honesty than is perhaps traditional of missionaries. I have strove not just to give the stories of people coming to Christ or changing but deal with the realities of what we go through. To open myself up and share what I am learning about myself and my God as we seek to obey him. Moving here, learning to live in a city was tough. God however is always faithful and always has something more in mind than we can see.

How amazing it was to find out as I dealt with some frustration and began to grow impatient in our desire to reach out I discovered our church prayed for us 2 times a day during their advent conspiracy prayer focus. The week they were praying not only did the darkness break we began to see vision to add too what God was doing already. Prayer works!!!

In the last blog I shared my frustration in trying to really reach people and disciple them in such an overly religious nation. It was frustrating to do an English night, selling pizza and have it limited by too many Christians. What I mean is, the Christians want so much to participate and come that the ration gets thrown off. The people you want to reach don’t come in because of the wall of eager to evangelize believers sitting across the front of the building. It isn't bad and often people do wind up coming to know the Lord through those kind of events.

However Melissa and I have been long been drawn to those wounded by the church and or alienated from it. This can be a hard line to walk, we desire fellowship with believers, want to be a further extension of the body of Christ but in both our own events and those of local bodies we feel stifled by the things that often keep the non believers away. We do have two things that are working, that are connecting with those who don’t have relationship. Melissa has a growing girls club that has several girls who don’t go to church coming and learning Gods word. She is teaching them dramas and they in return have done them in the praca. Girls world wide are often left out and have far less opportunity than men. That is true here and this is a vital ministry.

The other thing we began last night is to go and join in playing soccer with the weekly Friday night group. Defiantly not your traditional church environment. Just neighborhood guys playing soccer. They didn’t talk much with us and were sure curious but no doubt this will pay off.

What we will be adding is something we have played with a little. We had an encouraging call with Jeff Jackson from Shepherds Staff. He spoke some things to us about pursuing English that definitely struck a cord with our hearts. This also was in the midst of the week of prayer from our church. We are now beginning to pursue some English students. We believe this is a way to build relationship with people based on who they and we are outside the presumptions that come with MISSIONARY.

Anyways we appreciate you all, appreciate your prayers and I appreciate your patience as I often have and will probably continue to open my heart to you as I process what is God doing and am I continuing to obey him rightly?

Jumping in an Ice Cold River

After a few months in Rio I (Ben) find myself limping. I am sure a great deal of it is kind of a reverse culture shock leaving the isolation and remoteness of Corumba for a big city. There is no doubt a system shock that comes from starting over again as well.

I grew up swimming in rivers on the west coast, fed by the mountains. I remember several times after weeks of swimming in comfortable water, showing up jumping in and getting a shock. Heart racing, body feeling like a thousand needles stuck in you. Several times, it was always after a heat wave or during one. The snow up in the mountains would have started to melt fast and ice water showed up on the valley floors. I remember one time on the kings river in California, it was about 110 out and the water couldn't have been much more than 60. I thought I would die.

That is how I have felt here lately. We suddenly uprooted moved over a 1000 miles and jumped right into ministry. Suddenly my body is convulsing, my heart is racing and I just want out of the water.

We have been involved in getting some home groups going. We have a bible study out here in our neighborhood on Tuesdays, the church came out and did a kids event. It was fun working with Moriah to build a ski ball like game and bean bag toss. We experimented last Friday with free English lessons and selling Pizza. We are busy.

One of the most exciting things was Melissa starting a girls club. She found an unmet need and began to meet it last Saturday. Her and a couple Brazilian friends look to continue this exciting ministry.

The thing for me has been feeling like why are we doing missions over the top of Brazilian churches. We are in a heavily churched area. I will be the first one to tell you that the issue is to obey God and that every area, region, neighborhood, country, city in the world needs more missions as long as there are hearts rebellious to God.

The fact is though, Melissa and I have grown more and more hungry to reach the less reached, Corumba felt like training for going further and Rio feels like a step back. Our kids need this, it is a season but for me finding passion for what we are doing has proved more than hard. Anyone who has read the blog over the years knows that if I err it is on the side of brutal honesty.

So here it is, Brazil is more than a reached nation. It is a more Christian nation than the US. Where does that leave me? Well it isn't only a reached nation it is becoming the biggest sending nation in the world. Brazil is producing missionaries and this is where God has me with a frustrated missions heart.

How do I turn that frustration into a positive, do I decide this is pointless and go home when everything I am is a missionary? This is who God created me to be. Do I assume all the miracles God did to demonstrate the call to Rio was wrong?

As we continue to tackle tough questions. As we continue to involve ourselves in the lives of those around us. As we continue to try and socially better the lives of those around us how do I give way to this missions heart.

Pray for us as we begin to tackle taking steps foward

• We want to seek and find the different comunities that have come here (Muslim, Chinese...)
• We want t0 disciple young Brazilian Christians that our excited to be a part of Mission
• We want to lead teams from Calvary Rio to Bolivia, Egypt and who knows
• We especially want to see kids who come to know Christ in the project here grow to be one day sent where we ourselves are not yet sent
• Pray Melissa and I will be able to go to Egypt next spring and take a group to visit Renata a friend serving there

In the end I definately need prayer. I am loosing the abiltiy to cope with the stresses and problems I face. My energy is low, I am thankful to Melissa for pulling me along. However in my spirit I choose to be excited to be in the heart of Brazil, the next great missionary sending nation of the world. I choose to be excited to be a part of what God is doing here and to participate in seeing them fulfill their destiny. I choose to rely on Him not me. I choose to know His purposes in what often feels like a step back is much more likely a great leap forward.

Lost in the Big City

There is no doubt both me and my dad are just a couple of country boys lost in the big city. It can be overwhelming, stressful and begin to eat away at your confidence and desire to live. It can also be exciting, adventurous and a real joy. You have your days at the Zoo with a Lion roaring in your face and you have your days stuck in 2.5 hours of traffic because some *%*# started a fire in the middle of the freeway to protest something.

The funny thing is watching my father struggle in such similar ways. For those of you who don’t know we have been able to partner with my parents here in Rio. We wont be doing all of the same things but we have rented the two apartments in an upstairs downstairs duplex.

The thing is God has made it abundantly clear that this is where He has called us. The last few years we have done soccer ministry, food ministry, visited people door to door, given out clothes, home bible studies and much more. We have seen fruit but as many of you who read this blog know I have felt more and more called to take more responsibility for the long term discipleship of the people we are working with.

2 years ago when we were getting ready to perhaps leave Foz one of the options had been to look for a building to move the ministry we had been doing with kids and families from the favela into our own location. To grow these and hopefully see them turn into a church. The timing didn’t feel right even though the people and the pieces seemed there. As it turned out a few months after we moved to Corumba the Government moved all the people and leveled the favela. The ministry would have halted. God knew that wasn’t the location or the timing to see social ministry and discipleship incorporated into a body life.

Our time in Corumba was filled with physical and health challenges but much great ministry. We miss deeply the kids from soccer. People from the orphanage, people from the churches. As we ministered there my heart just became more burdened not to leave people to go find a church but to take responsibility for them. We began to pray how to take steps forward, were we to “plant a church" how would that be connected to a work in Brazil?

At that time Pastor Alex of Calvary Rio began to again ask us to consider moving to the greater Rio area and minister here in the district of Xerem. We came and looked and even though this country boy didn’t want to live here eventually God changed his heart.

Where we are now. The same or similar necessity of social ministry exists. People need food, kids need something productive to do, families need counseling it is all here. We have a small house we are preparing for ministry. We have a local church that will cover the work with the desire to see it become a church.

I am nervous and struggling with the realities of living in this city. It is expensive, consumes time, energy and much more. I know I need to be more disciplined, have a clear schedule for study, for communication, for prayer, for ministry, for fun. It demands a step forward personally.

We don’t have a lot of ministry to report so far but we have connected with the family that owns the house we will minister in. The owners are a stable successful business owning family. They have blessed us tremendously. Her sister who lives near us and her husband are sick. She has chronic arthritis and can’t work, her husband is a truck driver who has aids and can’t find work anymore, they have a 15 year old daughter and 20 year old son. We have begun a bible study with them that various others come too.

We have begun to connect with the young couple across the street. They have just opened a shop to work on motorcycles. It is starting slow and they often just sit out front. What an opportunity to just do something simple like take them cookies or invite them to have lunch here.

I have been working to build relationship with a guy who is a community leader. Works, has a little restaurant, building something for his family.

Also very importantly we are part of the leadership at Calvary Rio. A small church that is growing. As the leaders of the ministry here and leaders with youth in the church we are part of a team that looks to grow our impact on the overall city. We are teaching a youth  class, helping with a home church close to us and leading the ministry here.

We are just getting going but everything we have done the last 3 years seams to have built towards this opportunity to bring it al together. To see what we are good at result in something needed. New body for new believers.

We appreciate your continued prayers, we couldn’t be here alone.

If you desire to support us or give a one time gift you can here,

http://ssmfi.org/missionaries/ select Lyon B&M and click donate

Only God

Today marks 2 weeks in Rio and tomorrow will be 1 month that we decided to move. I seriously am in a bit of system shock. We have 4 kids 2 dogs and had more stuff than we knew what to do with.

The Journey itself was adventurous but mostly uneventful. It was supposed to pour down rain every day but our plastic didn’t work out so we simply asked God to keep our bags dry. We drove 3 days seeing rain in the distance on all sides. The fourth day it started to rain and we weren’t able to find a store to buy a tarp so we again “resorted” to asking God to protect the bags. It rained the 5 hours to Rio but when we pulled up and opened the bags our clothes were only damp.

We know we will and already do miss many people and thing in Corumba. Melissa and I need to make a trip back at the end of this month to say good bye and get the last of our things. God lined up people to buy our furniture or spoke to us to give certain things. We sold the boat and were gone in a whirlwind. This gave us the ability to get into a house here and buy our appliances, a mattress for Melissa and I and a couch. We have many things we still need but know God sees all and will open up the doors of provision.

 

We pray God is using Ricardo and Larissa with the kids in Corumba and look forward to a  better good bye. It was amazing how God brought people in to take everything over.

 

 

One of the clearest things God laid on our hearts in this move was the need for our family to be in a place for the kids to have better educational and spiritual opportunities. The first night we were here Sylvio and Celeste took us into their home and immediately began to be another set of grandparents for the kids. The second night we were here we were in a home group. We have been to a church party, Alannah is learning to play with other kids. Daniel and Juliah have started school and love it. Moriah has a meeting today with the school to get her in. The majority of kids in this school go on to the federal education system, free college education for kids who get good enough grades.

On top of meeting our family needs we feel this is a clear step forward in ministry. We are taking more responsibility to disciple the people we are working with. We will be leading a work of Calvary Rio here on the outskirts. We were at a non Christian families home until 10pm last night with a Man from the neighborhood who has some connection with the church in Centro. Thursday they will come to a home group bible study at his home with some others. Anyone who has read our blog knows God has been moving me more towards “church planting” if you will. Taking more responsibility to build community and church with those we interact with. Melissa hopes to start girls soccer this Saturday, I am taking some men from the neighborhood in to a Men’s breakfast at the church Saturday morning.

The point, we are new and know God will refine and redirect much of the ministry we are jumping into but we can see he has prepared a balance here for us. Balance of helping and supporting the local Church, Calvary Rio and building new community, a work of Calvary Rio here in the Xerem area. We are very excited to see where all this goes, just don’t want the little boy from last night trying to kiss Alannah anymore, going to have to start breaking knees early with her.

I can’t state enough how amazing it is that in less than a month we have sold everything and began again 1200 miles away. We have been amazingly blessed. We know finances will be tight here and we have a lot of needs remaining. Not the least of which is a better car for the amount of driving we are now doing. Pray for us, we need wisdom first and provision second. We are considering some English lessons as evangelism and to help financially.

 

The move has been incredible and we know it was God all the way. I told Alex the day before we arrived God would provide a house when we arrived. We pulled in unloaded our stuff had a cup of coffee then met Sylvio and Celeste here to look at this house. The next day we paid the deposit. God is so big.

It reinforces what God has been teaching us. Abandon ourselves to him, free ourselves from the love of this world and the things of this world and He will abundantly bless us. Not always with comfort or easy living but with the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. The two trips we have made to the beach haven’t been bad either. Nothing like swimming in the ocean when it isn’t 50 degree Oregon water.

 

Love you all, visit any time

 

The Lyon family

Making Decisions in Missions

We have had such a busy year, it seams to have flown by. Soccer, prison, neighbors, orphanage it is almost impossible to think of all we have been involved in. At the same time we have been praying about an invitation we received to move to the Rio de Janeiro area and run a ministry in Xerem, a small city that has a very hard inner city feel.

At first we were very closed but as Pastor Alexandre was asking we continued to pray. This has been one of the first major decisions we have made since really beginning to come into our own as missionaries. We spent a year in Foz working on language and getting used to the culture and on top of that having a baby. Then sensed the Lord moving us to Corumba, we were still very green though and really it mattered little where we were going.

The difference we see now, we have a decent handle on the language, we have learned who we are in ministry as a family and feel much more professional. When Alex invited us to go it was because of the track record we have been establishing of usefulness. We have established that we can learn language though we have work to do, that we are comfortable in cross culture situations, that we can just enter into peoples homes and be normal. This invite then came as what you might think of as a job offer with another company or a promotion.

The difference is as missionaries it seems more confusing than if we were just deciding whether to move across country for another job. Our salary comes from supporters, many of you. Our leadership advises but in the end we have to sense God’s call for ourselves. I remember friends working at HP and deciding whether to take contract buy outs, or move to Texas. They looked at things very pragmatic like, is this better for my family, do I like Texas, can I find another job here? We have all those same concerns.

On top of those though, we begin to worry. What will people think? Does this make us flaky if we move? Are we abandoning those we care about here?

After a time it began to seem the best option for the family issues would be to move to a larger less isolated area, the kids were beginning to show sings of stress from the isolation of Corumba. Also the job offer if you will was like a promotion or moving up. However we had felt like we would be here longer, we had communicated that, in fact we had even been thinking of buying property here. God began showing us it was time to be open so we went to Rio for a bit of vacation and to look at Xerem.

Coming home we sensed that would be the direction we would take later this year. The concerns remained, how do we decide that as missionaries, do people need to agree, what will happen with support? We decided to take some steps as if to move and I went to Rio to help host a team from Canada. It was a great opportunity to see how I would work with Alex and the people from the church, including a guy named Marcio who just moved there with a similar heart for ministry with his wife and child. It went fantastic, we really functioned as a team without much need for communication. Each one stepped into a role that fit his gifts and just did his job.

I came home thinking that we would move there at the end of the year. We quickly though realized we have some momentum going in Rio and in Xerem, while there I was able to do some soccer with Marcio. We were able to share the gospel with a large group of young men. One of whom happened to be a drug lord and went to prison a few days later. At the same time we continue to have locals stepping up here to take over what we have going including Ricardo, Larissa and Pastor Braz.

God also has touched our landlords heart to release us from our contract, the kids school suggest we move sooner and offered to return tuition. Kind of makes you feel like people want you to go, joke. So we have begun taking steps towards moving, boat is for sale, organizing things for a massive moving sell in a couple weeks.

The thing we are learning is our boss is clearly Jesus and our best possible decision making is to just abandon our hearts to obey, not to think to far ahead and continue to work hard to affect those around us with the hope that is in Him. This isn’t all easy, Rio is not as wonderful as it may sound. Crowded, horrible traffic, violent, dirty yeah the beach is great but even that can be hard. The simple truth is it is just because God is calling us. We don’t have the money, don’t have a place to live, not sure how everything will work out but the team we have been praying for is there, the house for ministry we have wanted is there and above all Jesus is calling us there.

We still have things we are doing here but God has all in His perfect timing. Today we did soccer, I helped with a couple things at the orphanage and will be to the prison a couple more times. I pray God uses us to bring teams here from Rio.

At the same time as we are sad we see the promotion God is giving us. A ministry in Xerem serving a Brazilian pastor who has a long term vision for the ministry. Helping him establish home groups for his body that spread across the city. Better education and fun opportunities for our kids who are becoming teens. Opportunity to work with the youth of the church providing a healthy spiritual atmosphere for our own kids. It is a step forward but a scary one.

Please pray for us, for a house, for the boat to sell, for provision and for us to get along through a stressful process.

		New orphanage and Ricco at Soccer VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

What’s Important

Over the last 6 months we have had some of our most successful, fruitful ministry. We also have seen some of our biggest disappointments. So many times I am amazed how much ministry and missions reflects what it was like to own a small business. You couldn’t make any money without taking some risk. You can’t touch any lives without the same.

Relationships aren’t easy, they take time and work. Our relationships are what we are investing in. When we do soccer for the kids it isn’t to run a big soccer program, the goal isn’t to see that succeed though that would be nice. The goal is simply to build relationship with the kids, with people.

I have seen this so clearly demonstrated the last couple of weeks. We needed a break from the soccer ministry after about 5 months. We took a little trip to Rio to visit the beach and scout out what could be a future opportunity, future not today. Some how we returned from vacation missing the beach and with one more dog. Missionary friends of ours will be moving to an area they won’t be able to have a dog so we are in the process of welcoming Fritz to the family, a miniature Schnauzer.  By the way this was 5,000 kilometers in a VW bus.

Having a dog that has to be walked not just turned outside is new. As Melissa walks him every night we have gotten to see just how much relationship was built through soccer. Several of the boys follow her up and down the street walking the dog with her. So much more ministry happens in these moments than we can know. It isn’t the 10 minute lesson, though I believe God’s word never returns void, that impacts a life. It is the time spent just loving.

It is the boys coming to our gate to get their balls filled with air. It is TT and Kaela desiring to go to church, to visit, giving us bread instead of just selling it. It is seeing people want to know you, want to be near you. The moments we get to be like Jesus and demonstrate the Father are rarely the moments we are up front preaching.

Sometimes though they are. The day after we got home I was able to run the boys from the orphanage up on top of the hill with the Jesus statue overlooking the Pant anal. Every time I get to the orphanage they still talk about what I shared from them out of Corinthians about being the body of Christ. How they are called by God to be family, being built to be a unit not just kids living together because they have no place else to go. It was one of those moments God gives you something very specific and powerful. They needed to know and hear that God is constructing a home and family unit for them.

At the same time I am heart broken. A large part of the reason I attacked the baseball field project was Aluizio. A young Brazilian helping us train the kids telling us it has been his dream to do a soccer ministry in the neighborhood. For us a ball and an indoor court to play with the kids and share was enough. We joined, attacked the field, began communicating with the Baptist Association to look at a bigger long term program. We were looking at getting him in a seminary program.

Suddenly he begins to back off. More suddenly he stops. I paid him out to bless him and his family with a new baby. Heartbroken wondering what I could have done better to bring him along. I could see the roots were spiritual, attack, stress and marriage.

Sadly his wife came to clean yesterday. They are under a lot of pressure. He has left town to work in another city. She doesn’t want to live there and is thinking of leaving with her parents to live in Rio. Their marriage with two kids under 3 is on the brink. Honestly I am a little crushed.

At the same time I had the joy of seeing my dad visit the prison again last week. Seeing the joy on the faces of the prisoners knowing they are loved. Especially Martin who my dad connected with last year. I have the joy to go there almost weekly and preach one or two times a month. Sharing that with Ricardo, or more him sharing with me. It is a pleasure to see relationship thrive.

In the end, a bit heartbroken at the pain in the lives of Aluizio’s family. Unsure of where to go with the soccer ministry. Unsure if I am good at anything. Beat up by the enemy I can wake up and think about all I see and realize we have success. Simply because in the middle of a hard city a hard neighborhood we have been able to crack into peoples lives in a deep way and begin to implant the seeds of the gospel in their lives. The seeds of hope that Christ can bring life into their lives now. People here make very little, struggle, live in shacks but the hope they have is that Christ loves them and wants to satisfy the purpose to which they were created. Relationship with God and others.