Abundant Life

" I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." - John 10:10

" I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." - Philemon 6

Jesus came so that we could have a reconciled relationship with God, so that we could have eternal life in heaven with Him, and also an abundant life here. The abundant life that God wants for us is a life full of joy and peace and power and victory and fruitfulness and satisfaction. This type of life brings much glory to Him. Why are there so many Christians who are not experiencing this type of life ? Churches are full of people who are missing out on the abundant life.

Two of the reasons why so many Christians are missing out on God's best for their lives and the abundant life are found in Matthew 6:33 - "Seek first for God's kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you." Quite simply their relationship with God and the building of God's kingdom are not the first or top priority in their lives. Look at Philemon 6 above, a very interesting verse. Actively sharing Christ with others (being a faithful witness for Christ) is vital if you want to experience all that God wants for you. You will never have the abundant, victorious, fruitful, joyful, satisfying life until you commit to actively and faithfully share Christ with others. Jesus says in Matthew 4:19 "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Unless you are a "fisher of men" (a person who actively & faithfully shares Christ with others) you are not truly following Jesus, The Source of abundant life. You must walk closely with Jesus, The Source, and truly follow and obey Him, or you will never experience abundant life.

Our Comfort Zone

"Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out Lord save me !" 

Matthew 14:28-29

The main context of this message is about faith (or lack of) in the Lord Jesus, but this event can also represent something else. Most people are creatures of habit, and most have a comfort zone that they do not like to get out of. Our comfort zone can be a real hindrance to becoming a true disciple of Jesus, and to truly following and obeying Him. Let's say the boat in these verses represents our comfort zone. If you want to go to where Jesus is and to join Him in the work He is doing you will need to leave the boat - your comfort zone. If you are not willing to do this, you will miss the opportunity to join Him in His work, and you will miss the opportunity to see the Lord do great things and show who He is. The disciples saw Jesus for who He really is - the One True God with power and authority over all, and in verse 33 it says they worshipped Him.

So what is hindering you from joining God in His work and seeing Him for who He really is ? A fear of witnessing ? A fear or an unwillingness to try new things ? Tradition ? A lack of faith ? A stubborn refusal to adjust your will to His ? An unwillingness to move away from family or friends, if the Lord so leads ? An unwillingness to move to another country, if God so leads ? Unless you are willing to get out of your "boat" you will miss the Lord and what He is doing, and you will not grow in your knowledge of Him.

Let There Be Light

"God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good."  

                                                                                                          - Genesis 1:16-18

A beautiful sunset the other day reminded us once again that God has created many amazingly beautiful things.

A Difficult Week

For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight against your enemies to give you victory."       - Deuteronomy 20:4

But thanks be to God, who always leads us victoriously in Christ, and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere."              - 2 Corinthians 2:14

We have been having a very difficult week so far. We are speaking and sharing Christ in a large school in Guaruja all this week, and it is one of those weeks where everything seems to be going wrong. On Monday morning we had a near accident on the way to the school. Then when we arrive the school informed us that we had to rearrange all of the schedule this week due to other things going on at the school, so we had to scramble around to reorganize all of our interpreters that are helping us. Then one of the interpreters didn't show up, and neither did the church that was supposed to help us.

The pastor of the church later told me that he decided not to participate and help us this time, because the last time we had an outreach with them in a school in late May, only 1 of the people from the school visited his church after that. We had hundreds and hundreds that accepted Christ that week in May, but only 1 came to visit his church. The problem was that the pastor did not call us to inform us of his decision, he just left us hanging.

Also, in this week and last week, 2 of the schools we were scheduled to speak in cancelled, so now we are scrambling around trying to get 2 more school events scheduled. As they say, when it rains it pours.

We finally got another interpreter to come and help us on Monday morning, and we ended up having a great time speaking in the classes. We also spoke on Tuesday afternoon in some classes, and now we will be finishing there tonight and on Friday afternoon. We praise God, that despite all of the problems, so far more than 400 students and teachers have accepted Christ and committed their lives to Him.

Even with all of the confusion and problems and stress, God is always faithful and He will do what He has promised ... to always get us through difficulties and empower us to overcome them. God will always do what He has said and promised. In our ministry of reaching out to others for Jesus, God has promised to always lead us victoriously in Christ. If you read the verses around 2 Corinthians 2:14, Paul is specifically speaking about missions and reaching lost people for Jesus. Praise God that He always does what He says and promises - He is perfectly faithfully.

Being A Servant

Below is an excellent devotion from the Experiencing God devotion. I believe many Christians, pastors, and churches have lost their reverance for Almighty God, and have forgotten that we are to be humble servants and that God is the Master. We are here to do whatever God wants us to, however He wants us to do it, and wherever He wants us to.

"The servant carries out the master’s will. The servant doesn’t tell the master what to do. The servant does not choose which tasks to perform for the master, nor does the servant suggest days or times when it would be convenient to serve the master. The servant’s function is to follow instructions. The master, on the other hand, gives directions. The master does not tell the servant to develop a vision that will guide the master. The master is the one with the vision; the servant’s task is to help fulfill the master’s purposes.

We are the servants; God is the Master. We tend to try to reverse this! God’s revelation of Himself, His purposes, and His ways depends directly upon our obedience. He may not reveal today His intentions for the next five years, but He will tell us what our next step should be. As we respond to God’s revelation, He will accomplish what He desires, and He will be the One who receives the glory. Our fulfillment comes from serving our master.

The world will encourage you to strive for positions of authority and power. God wants you to take the role of a servant. As God’s servant you should have no other agenda than to be obedient to whatever He tells you. God does not need you to dream great dreams for your life, your family, your business, or your church. He simply asks for obedience. He has plans that would dwarf yours in comparison (Eph. 3:20)."

Happy Easter / Feliz Pascoa

We want to wish everyone a Happy Easter / Feliz Pascoa. Jesus' resurrection is an important truth in the Christian faith. Without the resurrection Jesus would be just another religious leader, just a teacher, just another human being. But by God's divine power Jesus rose again from the grave, and He now lives. The gift of eternal life in heaven is available to everyone because of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. The gift of abundant, full, meaningful life filled with joy and purpose is also available to those who put their faith and confidence in Jesus, because Jesus lives. Jesus IS the source of life - abundant life and eternal life.

 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to 
the Father except through me."  - John 14:6

"He told them, this is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the 
dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will 
be preached in his name to all nations..."   - Luke 24:46-47

"If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith... And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins... But Christ 
has indeed been raised from the dead...    - I Corinthians 15:14,17,20

"And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit.   - Romans 1:4
 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ! In his great mercy 
he has given us new birth into a living hope through the 
resurrection of Jesus from the dead..."  - I Peter 1:3

A Miracle In Sao Paulo

On the night of March 22 two Brazilian Baptist national missionaries were in a terrible accident with 4 trucks and 2 other cars on one of the main highways near the Sao Paulo airport. Soraya Machado, whose husband leads a missions ministry in the worst drug infested area of Sao Paulo known as Crackolandia, was driving and volunteer missionary Mirian Leite was in the car with her. Their car was completely destroyed in the accident, as it was crushed in between 2 of the large trucks that were involved in the accident. As people were trying to get their car out from between the 2 trucks, the truck behind their car was on fire and there were several explosions. Below is a picture of the car, and also a video (in Portuguese) of the accident and the effort to free Soraya and Mirian from their demolished car (their accident is the 1st of 2 accidents in the video). It is a miracle that Soraya and Mirian escaped with their lives and without any grave injuries. God is still in the miracle business today.

Soraya's demilished car

video of the accident (in Portuguese)

What Are The Odds ?

On Saturday we received an email from a couple in Mississippi. Their 86 year old mother Florence was on a cruise near Brazil and she had a stroke. They took her off of the ship and put her into the ICU unit in a hospital in Brazil. One of Florence's 3 sons and daughter in law live in Mississippi, and they were frantically looking for a way to learn about their mother's condition. They finally did a search on the internet for missionaries in Brazil and they found many sites.

For some reason they were drawn to our site, and they saw on the site that they could contact us by email. Still not knowing where we exactly lived in Brazil they contacted us and told us that their mother was in a hospital in Santos Brazil, and they gave the name of the hospital, and asked if we could help. As it turns out, we know the hospital well, and we live only a 10 minute walk from the hospital. In fact, we live on the same "avenida" or street as the hospital. What are the odds that Florence's son & daughter-in-law do a search on the internet for missionaries in Brazil, which is a very large country, and they contact us, and we end up only a 10 minute walk from where Florence is ? God is truly amazing.

We have gone to see Florence in the hospital every day since Sunday, and have been able to relay news and information back to her 3 sons and families. She had a stroke and at the beginning could not move her left arm or leg. She is all alone in a foreign country, and does not speak Portuguese. It is a very difficult situation. Yet God has shown Himself to be faithful, and He has provided for Florence in the midst of a difficult situation. She has improved enough to have been able to enter a private room yesterday, and she can move her arm fairly well, but can only move her leg & foot a little. Thankfully her condition is stable and she is improving. 

One of her sons who lives in Florida is working on getting a visa so he can come down and stay until he can take Florence back home (she lives in Florida also). We are not sure when she will be able to go home. Please pray for Florence and her family, that she will be well enough to be able to go home soon.

One of her sons sent me this verse after we sent some good news about Florence after our first visit:

"Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land."   - Proverbs 25:25

Missions Conference In Sao Vicente

Last night we went to a Missions Conference at Primeira Igreja Batista Sao Vicente which is being put on by the National Missions Dept. of the Brazilian Baptist Convention. The conference is one of 24 that they are having this year all across Brazil. The goal and hope of the conferences is the awakening of the Brazilian church, and to raise awareness of the urgent need for more missionaries and for more people to be involved in the most important work of sharing the Good News of Jesus across Brazil (and to other parts of the world).

One of the great works of God that was highlighted last night is the project in "Crackolandia", a drug infested area near downtown Sao Paulo. The area is a very dark and oppressed area where drug use is rampant, and where thousands of addicts and homeless people live. The Baptist Convention has a mission work there and God is doing great things and miracles in the hearts and lives of people there. There were several testimonies last night of drug addicts, thieves, and kidnappers that were living in the streets in Crackolandia, using drugs every day, until they met Jesus and received Him as their Lord & Savior. They have been freed from drugs and lives of crime, and many are now serving in the mission that helped them to know Christ. God is mightily at work in this world, performing miracles, changing lives, healing and freeing people from all sorts of terrible things, and bringing them into a restored personal relationship with Him. The One True Living God is awesome !

The Harvest

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."  - Matthew 9:37-38

"I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields ! They are ripe for harvest."  - John 4:35

Jesus was speaking about the spiritual harvest in these verses. He spoke about a plentiful harvest, meaning that God had already done the work of touching and preparing the hearts of many people. Many people are ready to hear about Jesus, they are just waiting for someone to love them enough and care enough to share the wonderful news of Jesus with them. God is mightily at work all around us, touching and opening the hearts and minds of many people today, and He wants His church to join Him in the harvest work of sharing the Good News with those He has prepared, and helping them to have a personal relationship with Him through Christ. In John 5:17 Jesus said "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working." This is still true today. God is the same God today as He was when Jesus spoke these words over 2000 years ago. We need to always be seeking where God is at work, and then be ready to join Him. In John 4:35 above, Jesus said we need to open our eyes (our spiritual eyes), and see that the harvest is ripe and ready, thanks to God and His Holy Spirit. Many Christians are living their lives with closed spiritual eyes, unaware of God's activity all around them. They are blinded by the cares of the world, or by sin, or by being self-centered, or even by religion or by being too busy "serving God" at their church. May God open our spiritual eyes so that we may see how He is mightily at work, and how we can join Him in the great harvest He has already prepared. The harvest is ready ... are we ready ?

Paixão de Cristo

In Brazil Good Friday is called "Paixão de Cristo", which means the Passion Of Christ. I like the Brazilian name better, because it better describes what this very special day is all about. Because of His great love and passion for every person in the world (John 3:16) Jesus left his place of glory and came into the world. He came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and to suffer horribly and die a terribly painful death on the cross, all to pay the price for your sins and mine, so that we can have a restored relationship with Him, peace with Him (Romans 5:1), and eternal life with Him in heaven (Romans 6:23). And because Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross, God can offer a restored relationship with Him, peace with Him, and eternal life with Him in heaven as a gift of His love and grace. If you would like to receive this most wonderful gift from God and have new life in Christ, please follow this link: Steps To Peace With God

Called By God

Some great insights into God's call from Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest" devotional:

"Called By God": "I heard the voice of the Lord saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us ?" Then I said, Here am I ! Send me." - Isaiah 6:8

God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, ". . . who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude. "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened. Then they hear "the voice of the Lord" continually asking, ". . . who will go for Us?" However, God doesn’t single out someone and say, "Now, you go." He did not force His will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be to say, "Here am I! Send me."

Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19). If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God, we too will hear what Isaiah heard-"the voice of the Lord." In perfect freedom we too will say, "Here am I! Send me."

In It's Time

"I am the Lord. In it's time I will do this swiftly." - Isaiah 60:22

One of the most important aspects of walking closely with the Lord and joining Him in His work is to learn how to walk in His stride and in His timing. Just like God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9), His timing is definitely not the same as ours. We by nature are in a hurry, and we want things right away. We want results right away. We want God to use us in great ways right away. And we do not want to wait for God. But God's ways and His timing are very different than ours. It takes a long time for God to mold us and transform us into the faithful servants He wants us to be, and to be more and more like Jesus. It takes a long time before we become the faithful and trustworthy stewards and servants that He can rely on and use. If you look at how God prepared people for His service, it usually took a long period of time. Look at Moses - 40 years in the wilderness ; Abraham waited 25 years for God to fulfill His promise of a son ; David waited 17 years through many tough trials before he became king ; Joseph waited 13 hard years before God lifted him up into His service at age 30,...

We have experienced this verse Isaiah 60:22 several times now in God's call for us to join Him in His work. First of all, we walked with God for over 20 years before He called us to join Him full time in His work as missionaries in Brazil. Then after the call, it took approx. 1 1/2 years before we could actually get to Brazil. We had to sell our business, house,... and get our permanent visa and everything else in order. I remember we thought that we would move to Brazil in June 2006, because that was the "logical" time to move, after the school year was over for our sons. Well, God's plan was a bit different. First, we had a surprise and Nancy had cancer of the thyroid. Thankfully she came through the surgery well in April 2006. And then ... nothing. Our house wouldn't sell, and the process for our permanent visa was terribly slow (it took well over a year). We waited, and waited, and waited all summer. Finally God started speaking in our hearts in late August to go to Brazil and buy a house and get ready. We went and did this, before knowing when our visa would be ready and before our house sold, which was a real test of our faith. Once we did this, when it was God's time - boom - everything went incredibly quickly and well., and we moved to Brazil in October. We waited, waited, waited, and then all of a sudden God showed up and did everything quickly, smoothly, greatly - in it's time.

We are experiencing this again right now in God's call for us to move to Santos and join Him there in His work beginning next year. God started leading us to go to Santos earlier this year, and it took alot of prayer and seeking and waiting to confirm His leading. Then we started selling our house in July and also started looking for a new place to live. We found a nice apartment in Santos and started the process of buying it on Sept. 10. Since then we've been waiting, waiting, waiting. The documents for the purchase of the apartment have been delayed because bureaucracy in Brazil is really bad. We started getting frustrated and tired, because we have had a very busy ministry schedule at the same time, and we were not even able to know when we could schedule our move all of this time. We've shown our house many times, but no one was buying. Then early last week God brought to my mind this verse ... "In it's time I will do this swiftly." ; 2 days later (last Thursday) a woman shows up at our house and looks at it, and then brings her family back 3 more times over the next couple of days. On Monday she started the process of buying our house, without a realtor, which will save us valuable money we can use in our ministry (we are using our own money here). Then yesterday we were in Santos and received the good news that finally we can sign the final document on this Friday and we finally know when we are moving (November 10). In it's time, God did it swiftly & smoothly & greatly - again.

God's Call - Part 2

"God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

- I Corinthians 1:9

What is God's call for your life ? When most people think of the words "God's call", they think of when God calls someone to be a pastor, or a missionary, or to some job or task. It is not entirely incorrect to think this, because God certainly does call us to join Him in His work (notice I did not say that God calls us to do something for Him). But when we only think like this we miss out on God's main call for our lives, which is to have close fellowship with Jesus our Lord and Savior. The word that is translated to fellowship in the English language is "koinania". The best definition of koinania that I have heard is that it is "the closest possible intimacy, fellowship, and friendship with God, and it is also a partnership with God where you join Him in what He is doing in the world."

God has a heart's desire and a passion first to have a reconciled personal relationship with all people through Jesus Christ, and then to have intimate and close fellowship with us. You were created to have this close fellowship with God, and He longs for you to be close to Him. Receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and committing your life to Him is only the beginning of what God wants for you. According to John 17:3 eternal life is more than just living your life and waiting for your chance to go to heaven. It is about knowing God and having fellowship with Him. The word "know" God means much more than just reading the Bible and knowing about God. It means to have a growing personal knowledge of who He is, and to see and experience Him in your life.

And having close fellowship with God is all about having passion for Him, and passionately seeking to know Him more. When we have a passion for God we will gladly obey and follow Him, wherever and however He calls us. It will not matter where God calls you to serve Him or how, when you have a true love and passion for Him you will go anywhere or do anything, as long as you can be with Him. The person who has this kind of love and devotion and passion for God is the one who God can use in great ways for His Kingdom and for His glory. The closer you are to God the more He can use you and the greater impact you will have for His kingdom. In the next post we will talk more about the 2nd half of having koinania fellowship with God - where we have the great privilege of having a partnership with God and He "calls" us to join Him in what He is doing in the world.

The Wilderness

"Therefore since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God." - I Peter 4:1-2

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline: He is treating you as sons... God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness... it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." - Hebrews 12:5-11

When you look at the lives of some of the people that God used in great ways, the majority of them went through one or more times of being in the "wilderness" - a period of trials and difficulties and suffering. In the Bible there are some good examples: Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness, and he came out quite a different person. He came out of the other side of this banishment to the wilderness as a faithful servant of God. Abraham went through a training period of 25 years before God's promise of a son and of being the father of a nation came to be. There was a period of 17 years between the time God proclaimed that David would be the king and the time he actually took the thrown as king. This 17 years was filled with difficult trials, and even fearing for and hiding for his life from King Saul who was trying to kill him. Later in Acts 13:21 God called David "a man after my own heart". Joseph was nearly killed by his brothers and then sold as a slave when he was 17 years old. He went through very difficult times of suffering and heartache, and he remained a slave until he was 30 years old, a "wilderness" period of 13 years. He definitely came out the other side as a different person - he came out as a humble servant of God, a man that God could use to do whatever He wanted.

Our family has gone through alot of "wilderness" time - years of various trials and difficulties - financial difficulties, failures, times of great frustration, cancer, depression, sickness,... Many people give up on their walk with God during this "wilderness" period, which could be a time of punishment/discipline, or it could be a discipline time of training or molding & shaping. These times are very difficult to endure, and in fact too difficult without God's presence and grace. Perhaps you are going through this type of difficulty now. Rest assured that God is in control, and He has a very definite purpose and reason for what you are going through. And He sees the potential and the possibilities of what He can do through you once you get to the other side. You will be a more humble and faithful and appreciative and obedient servant and friend of God that He can use in incredible ways. Stay close to God, your source of victory.

Here are some other verses that may help you: Psalm 66:8-12, John 15:1-5, Malachi 3:2-3, James 1:1-4, John 17:9-11, Romans 8:28-29

An Amazing Video About God At Work In China

I found this video that shows some of the amazing things that God is doing in China. The video is long but it will really touch your heart, as it did mine. It is humbling and moving to see the passion and faithfulness of the Chinese evangelical Christians.

God Is Amazingly At Work In China

At least 20,000 people in China accept Christ as their Lord and Savior - each day

In my last post I wrote about how God is doing great things here in Brazil. I have been doing research into what God is doing in other countries in the world, and I am astonished at some of the things happening in other parts of the world. Some of the most amazing things are happening in China. Despite Christian missionaries being banned from China in 1950, and despite heavy persecution from the government, the Lord is touching and saving an amazing number of people in China. It is estimated that between 20,000-30,000 people accept Christ as their Lord and Savior - each day. It is difficult to say exactly how many evangelical Christians there are in China because the vast majority belong to underground house churches, but estimates range from 40 million to 130 million or more. The general concensus in China is that there are at least 100-130 million evangelical Christians in China today and quite possibly more. Many of the Chinese missionaries and church leaders are ordinary people and farmers that are filled with the Holy Spirit and with God's passion to reach out to people without Christ. There are thousands and thousands of underground house churches, as well as many underground house seminaries and Bible study institutes to train new leaders and missionaries. God is truly doing amazing things in the world today.

Happy Easter To All

Romans 5:8 - "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

I Peter 3:18 - "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit."

Matthew 28:6 - "He is not here, he has risen, just as he said."

Poa' - Sao Paulo, Brazil

This past weekend we were in Poa' for some special evangelism events, which is a city on the outskirts of the East Zone of Sao Paulo. Even though we live close to the center of the greater Sao Paulo area (a little east of the center), it took us 1 1/2 hours each way to drive to the far east end of the metro area. That's how large this city is ... it goes on and on and on...

Poa' has a population of 105,000 plus residents, and it is an extremely poor area. It can also be a dangerous area at night. To get to Poa' we had to drive through an area called Ferraz de Vasconcelos, which is one of the most dangerous areas in Sao Paulo. Poa' is located next to Ferraz de Vasconcelo, and we have been to Ferraz before. Shortly after we moved here in December 2006 we almost had our car hijacked in Ferraz (in the afternoon, not even at night). I spoke in an event on a Sunday afternoon, and on our way home a group of young men on 7 motorcycles, many with 2 people on them, started following our car. They sped up to us and were looking into our car. The Brazilian young man that was with us said that they are going to hijack and steal our car. Then all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, they just stopped. We could see that there was another car far behind us, and from a long distance behind us we could see them block the road and they hijacked and stole that other car. In the daylight. On a fairly busy road (they waited until there was not much traffic). God clearly protected us that day, as He promised He would. We constantly need to rely on God and His protection here, especially when we work in many of the poor areas, which is alot of the time.

Here are some pictures of Poa'. We had an absolutely great time there. The people we met in Poa' were wonderful people, and they treated us amazingly well. That's how it is in the very poor areas and "favelas" here - most people are wonderful and very kind & hospitable, and very open to the Gospel also. Then there is a distinct contrast, with a dark side of crime, drugs, violence, prostitution,... But many people in the dark are seeing a Great Light, the Lord Jesus, and many are being delivered from the bondage of crime, drugs, emotional problems, and other problems.

Primeira Igreja Batista Cidade Kemel in Poa'

Leave Room For God

The following is from Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest" devotion:

" When it pleased God ..." - Galatians 1:15

As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him-to give God "elbow room." We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly— God meets our life ". . . when it pleased God . . . ."

Keep your life so constantly in touch with God that His surprising power can break through at any point. Live in a constant state of expectancy, and leave room for God to come in as He decides.