Run the Race

I'm starting to run again. If I'm here in April (I hope I'm in Brazil by then!), then I want to run the 10-mile Pear Blossom. In my seemingly long hiatus from running, I had forgotten all of the Biblical truths that come alive when my feet hit the pavement. Truths about running the race with endurance, about running to win a prize (Jesus), about straining for what's ahead and not looking back.

The other morning I was running towards the rising sun, fog lifting off the mountains, dew resting on the pastures. That is how this life is. As we run towards the Son of God, the fog slowly lifts from around us, and we begin to see clearly. We begin to see things as they truly are. We remember that each person is an eternal being, created to know and glorify his or her maker. And oh how it made me long for Heaven. I pray that each of us will remember this as we go about our day to day lives. Remember that each person we encounter is someone the Lord is longing to be with. And perhaps the Lord has made our paths cross in order to use us as arrows that point to Him.

Almost half-way there!

I have about 40-percent of my total funds raised. The month of February is almost completely dedicated to meeting with people and sharing my heart with those I can convince to listen :). Last night I had dinner with my first grade teacher and her husband - it was such an encouragement. They are both so mission-minded and have been through this process before, so it was so neat to talk with them. And she has been praying for me since I was in her first grade class - how amazing is that!

Tonight I will be sharing at Ashland Christian Fellowship. Please pray that the Lord will speak through me. The Lord is my Provider - He's the one that's going to make this happen. One part of me thinks - "Wow, 40 percent already!" But another part thinks, "How will the other 60-percent ever come in by the end of this month?" But God knows. His timing is perfect. I heard an old Caedmon's Call song yesterday that talked about how the Lord doesn't plan the end without planning the means. And so, this is where the Lord has me. This is the ministry He has called me to for the time being. Please pray that I will not become self-reliant and think that any of this is happening because of me!

I covet your prayers.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The Genesis of Raising Support

It has begun. The time to put my hand to the plow, eyes on the Cross, no turning back. I returned from my short trip to Brazil more than two months ago. I’ve spent a lot of the last two months contemplating, soul-searching, and seeking the Lord. The conclusion? The Lord is calling me to serve Him in Rio de Janeiro for an indefinite amount of time and I am honored to have this opportunity to be a part of what He is doing in Brazil (who am I that He should know my name?).

But. I can’t do this alone. And so, the search ensues. I am on the lookout for folks who want to partner up with me and be a part of this exciting ministry in Brazil. I’ve heard it called support raising, resource development, friend raising, etc. But I am quickly learning that it is much more than simply asking people for money. It’s informing people what the Lord is doing in Brazil and ultimately what His plan is for the world at large (that none should perish, but all should come to the saving grace of Jesus). It’s giving them an opportunity to be a part of it – to give, to pray, to encourage. It’s stretching and growing me – teaching me to rely more than ever on the Lord (Jehovah Jirah, my Provider).

So far it has been an exciting journey. I am having the chance to reconnect with people that I haven’t talked to in a long time. Today I went to my old college campus and chatted with some of my former professors. Yesterday I went to the Christian camp that my family lived at when I was eleven. Tomorrow I’m having coffee with an old friend from Young Life. This is my ministry for the time. I long to be in Brazil, but for now I am here (Wherever you are, be all there. ~ Jim Elliot). For now the Lord has me doing this new thing, meeting with people from different walks of life. My prayer is not only that I will get all the funding I need to move to and serve in Brazil, but that I will be able to minister to and encourage those I’m meeting with.

Please pray for me as I do this. Pray that the Lord will direct me to the people He wants me to talk to. Pray that He will speak through me and use me to encourage and inspire others. Pray that all of the funding will come in, in His perfect timing, and in a way that He receives all the glory.

To God be the glory

It's hard to believe I've already been back from Brazil for over a month. I have no idea where the last month went. And I have a feeling December will fly by, just as swiftly. I finally finished writing my prayer/support letter and am hoping to send it out by next week.

These days I find myself striving to redeem the time. To be like Jim Elliot in his statement, "Wherever you are, be all there." I want to be fully present and able to pour myself into my ministries here. Yet at the same time, striving to be prepared mentally and spiritually for moving to Brazil. It's a tricky balance.

Things with the youth group have been going really well. I took six high school girls to the Revolve Tour a few weekends ago (Women of Faith for teen girls) in Portland. It was a really awesome time of getting to know each of them a little better, of being able to challenge them in their faith, and of just being a listening ear. I think it was a springboard for future conversations and challenges. Please pray that I will be able to meet up with each of these girls and that the Lord will use me to speak His truth into their lives.

When I first came back from Brazil, I felt pretty confused and lost in a whirlwind of emotion. But now I find a growing desire each day to serve the Lord in Brazil. It's been neat how many people I've met recently who have been to Brazil, are Brazilian, or are planning to go to Brazil when a few months ago I couldn't name one person.

Please pray for me as I work to get all the logistics taken care of - getting credit cards paid off, getting my Oregon residency back so I can apply for a missionary visa, sending out support letters and having the boldness to talk with people and churches, selling my things (my guitar, my car, my furniture, etc.).

Ultimately, I want God to get the glory. Raising $20,000 a year feels a bit out of my league, which I'm glad about. I don't want there to be an inkling in my mind that I did this on my own. It's hard to see how this will happen - which is so awesome! Because I know that if the Lord wants me to be in Brazil, He's gonna make it possible. $20,000 is chump change to the God of the Universe.

Morgan's Abroad

I just spent the weekend with my brother Daniel, his wife Janette, and their beautiful son, Shiloh. We walked through Lithia Park, snapping corny pictures, drinking Starbucks, laughing together. This was one of the last times we’ll spend together for God-only-knows how long. They got the green light from their mission board just yesterday to go ahead and buy their tickets to Guatemala. It’s hard to believe it’s already time for them to leave. Daniel has talked of being a missionary since he was a little boy and now they are walking in obedience to the Lord’s calling, stepping out in faith, and moving to Guatemala in a few weeks.

I thought they were crazy when they quit their jobs and sold all of their possessions a couple months ago, before they even knew if, when, and where they would be going (details that seemed important to me). But they were confidant the Lord would show them which way to turn as Isaiah 30:21 says, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’ Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.” It seemed a little foolish to me (I am so quick to judge!) and yet now I see what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 1: 25 and 27, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men… But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise…”

I asked them tons of questions today about what exactly they will be doing and they didn’t know a whole lot (working with churches, opening a clinic), but they are not worried. They are trusting that the Lord has it all figured out. It’s such an awesome testimony of putting your hope in Christ alone. Please pray for Daniel and Janette and Shiloh as they step out in faith and serve the poor in Guatemala.

"Greater things have yet to come and greater things have still to be done in this city..." ~ Bluetree

When I drove across the country with Graden and Jono, we listened to lots of music, to say the least. The song "God of This City" came on and I skipped over it. Jono asked, "You don't like the song?" I explained how it was kind of annoying to me because it had been played on the radio so much. And how the lyrics were extremely repetitive - "Greater things have yet to come and greater things have still to be done in this city," over and over and over.

"Cheddar, do you know the story behind the song?" Jono is well-versed in the history behind songs (similar to a man we met in a Mormon-country coffee shop who stated that the "Encyclopedia of Rock 'n' Roll was his Bible). He then told me of a band (Bluetree) who played a concert in a bar/brothel in Thailand. Surrounded by drug traficking, child prostitution, debauchery, and thousands of lost souls the band began to sing to the Lord, "You're the God of this city..." They saw that even in the midst of the depravity, God was still the God of that city. And He wasn't done - He still has things He wants accomplished in that seemingly hopeless city.

Hearing that story gave me new ears to listen to that song and it is now a favorite of mine. Last week as I walked through the favela (a slum in Rio) called, Morro dos Macacos (Hill of the Monkeys), that song played in my head as a prayer the entire afternoon. Jeremy and Jason (two of the missionaries down here) teach some soccer classes and Bible studies at a community center within the favela. Six teenage boys in their afternoon class took the three of us up to the top of the favela. It was quite a trek to the top. It felt like we were climbing stairs for years, weaving in and out of little alleys between the homes. The further up we walked, the poorer the homes were. Some were just cardboard and trash nailed together to form four walls. The people who live at the top have to walk those stairs anytime they need anything (there are no roads for cars at the top). Some even have to carry water up because they do not have access.

When we got to the top of the hill, there was a little pasture with a large cross off to one side. The pasture overlooked the enormous city of Rio de Janeiro. As we made our way towards the cross, there were about 10 young men with guns overlooking the other side of the hill, to make sure that drug dealers from the rival gang were not trying to invade. They didn’t really seem to care that we were up there so we just kept walking.

When we got to the cross there was a man, R*****, about the age of twenty sitting by it, gun in hand. He was very friendly and started talking to us (in Portuguese of course). He ended up telling us that he had been shot five times in his life and pointed to each scar. At that point, Jason said something along the lines of, “You know, R*****, God has spared your life for a reason.” I’m not sure who initiated this, but the next thing I knew we were standing in a circle, holding hands (the drug dealer, the 6 teenage boys, the three of us) and praying.

God is the God of the people of Morro dos Macacos, whether they know it or not. He created each of them, fashioned their hearts individually (Psalm 33:15), and longs to give them the full life that He died to give. The drug dealers, the prostitutes, the kids who are stuck growing up there. It's encouraging to remember that God isn't finished yet - greater things are left to be done in that city.

Acts 17:26- 28 “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him with live and move and have our being…”

Brazil

Things I am thankful for:
1. Brazillian coffee
2. Warm Weather
3. Beautiful mountains in the heart of the city, sceneries, and beaches
4. No traffic rules
5. Warm, friendly people
6. Kissing both cheeks when greeting or saying good-bye
7. Playing ultimate frisbee with Brazillians
8. Playing street futbol (soccer) with the kids of Reame (orphanage)
9. One of the teen girls at the orphanage washing my feet and giving me a pedicure (talk about humbling!)
10. One of the little boys at Reame sitting by me all morning long, being content to chat away with me in Portuguese even though I couldn't speak back
11. The smile of a little boy in the favella as I cleaned a wound on his foot
12. The way Jacob dances (the little 2 year old boy of a missionary couple here)
13. Conversations with Jeremy, Jason, and Kristin (the missionaries of Sombra Road)
14. Staying with Carol (pronounced kah-rowe) and feeling a part of her family
15. The delicious bread and fruit on every street corner
16. Watching the Office and eating Thai food with new friends. Such a "normal" thing to do in this foreign place.
17. The way that certain towns and streets remind me so much of Benin, West Africa - the smells, the people, the dirt roads, the tiny shops
18. Everyone's patience with my complete lack of language skills
19. Getting a small glimpse of life in a favella
20. Being able to laugh and feel comfortable despite the language barrier
21. Discovering this new found desire and heart for Brazil, when 6 months ago it was the furthest thing from my mind
22. The way the Lord provided for my airfare, getting my tourist visa, and the expenses of being here
23. The rich diversity of the people (many with roots right out of the country I was in while in Africa)