So here in Brazil we celebrate an international day of thanksgiving as well, but it is nothing like our thanksgivings back in the good ol’ US of A. It is mostly an evangelical celebration and had it not been for the Pastor’s announcement that they were going to have a special midweek service I think I would have forgotten completely about it. I know, I know, how can you forget about Thanksgiving and all that wonderful food and time with family?!?
Well, for one its definitely not cold out; much the opposite! It’s hot and humid and everything is in full bloom. The hillsides are as green as they come and everything is alive again with the water from the rains. Needless to say, that fall weather that ushers in thanksgiving and the fall colors that give it its glow are nowhere to be found. I don’t think I have seen one turkey for sale and I most certainly haven’t seen any turkey decorations. Sad. I know, but as with any difference there are perks that come with it.
Just the other day we were singing, “Count Your Many Blessings” in Portuguese and I thought to myself, “How many times have I actually stopped to see how many blessings I could count?” I must confess I can only think of one time that I purposefully did that and that was years ago. So I began to think back over this last year and wouldn’t you know, I discovered that His mercies ARE new every morning!
For starters the Lord brought me to Brazil in a fantastic way, providing everything I needed. My first months spent in Manaus working with the riverside communities and getting re-acquainted with the culture and language were more than a blessing. It was a dream come true!
One of my concerns and goals for this year was to truly get integrated back into the Brazilian society. Since being here the Lord has given me opportunities to travel the country from North to South visiting our works and institutes. I’ve had innumerable opportunities to speak and share about this my passion – tribal church planting. I preached for the first time in Portuguese and since then I have preached in two other churches. I’ve shared with youth groups, college and career groups, mid-week services, home groups and missions conferences. I’ve taught at two seminaries, (I know, crazy right?) and at a church missions course. And, perhaps, most importantly I’ve had opportunities to encourage young people my age to give their lives to Christ – since it already belongs to Him.
On a different note the Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to live at home again and spend quality time with my parents again. It’s been a privilege to glean from their wisdom once again and to have someone to lean on during this transition phase. Through it all I have developed many friendships and rekindled old ones. I now have friends – true friends spread all over Brazil. I could go on and on but I’ve already run out of fingers and toes to count my blessings on. However, I would like to share one last blessing with you.
The Lord has given me the opportunity to take one of these rekindled friendships to the extreme. A couple has taken me up on the challenge to visit one of our tribal works! He is a seminary student and his wife is working in the fashion industry. This December 8th we leave for a norther state into the heart of the jungle to visit the Waiãpi. We’ll be there for a little over a week and I want to ask you to pray for this couple and this trip. It will be totally out of their comfort zone – a huge stretch for the wife especially. Pray that the Lord would use this time of discovery and tension to kindle a flame in their hearts for the lost peoples of the world! And I leave you with this request but I promise to post the result and pictures as soon as we get back. Oh yeah, and happy Thanksgiving to all of you!