Keimai

Keimai is a Greek word. In its purest form, the root has to do with lying down or reclining - but the word came to be used of an official appointment and sometimes of destiny. For those engaged in military service, the word was used to reference a special appointment or assignment. When I think of those God has called to this season of ministry in Porto Seguro, I think of this word. These servants are fulfilling their destiny... appointed... on assignment... and He who called is using them to be blessing to the people of Porto Seguro.


Yesterday was a day of preparation for the Pastors' Conference that would take place beginning Thursday morning. Work at the church continued while the Production Team made their way to the convention center to unload audio and video equipment. After a morning of setup, the worship team gathered for a time of sound check and rehearsal. Late in the afternoon, the team had to return to the hotel to shower and change before making their way to a church to lead in worship for a thousand or so Brazilian believers.


One of our ministry partners, on the way to a site check at the church where we would minister on Wednesday evening, called this particular part of the city a slum. The believers who gather here might not be wealthy by the world's standards, but they are rich in their faith and worship passionately. It was evident as the team led we were in the presence of God. The atmosphere was electric with His presence.

This ministry opportunity was not part of our original plan. We did not know we were to minister on Wednesday evening. We DID know it was an opportunity that was not to be missed. It was a special appointment. Keimai. The team responded willingly, rushing through the afternoon, getting cleaned up and ready quickly, and then walked into an environment that was less than ideal.

After the visit to this particular site on Tuesday evening, I remarked that, in thirty-some years of doing this, I had never experienced a venue as "live" as this one... sound reverberating everywhere... and a sound system that was hardly adequate... but the team stepped in and ministered effectively. The production guys in particular, faced with a daunting task of getting the team ready to lead with little time and suspect equipment, rose to the task. In the end, the team sang and played passionately. And I believe God smiled. I believed He smiled for several reasons: because His people gathered to worship, and He was pleased to inhabit the worship... because the truth of His Word was celebrated through teaching and preaching... because those He had called to this season responded to the call to serve enthusiastically and passionately... because none of those called allowed themselves to be distracted or discouraged by obstacles... It was indeed a special appointment. Keimai.

At the end of this wonderful time of worship, most of us enjoyed pizza and rest. Most - but not all. Jack, who is here with his dad on his very first international mission trip, is playing with the band and serves as a key part of the team pre the Gospel through drama. Jack had an allergic reaction to something and had to leave the worship venue to go to a clinic, and then on to the local hospital treatment. So Jack and Robert found their long day even longer than expected. Thankfully, the doctors provided the care Jack required, and he is fine and serving again. For most of us...

We ordered pizza. Here was the deal: due to the pace on Wednesday, and the need to get to the church quickly, the girls missed dinner. While the worship refreshed them spiritually, they were hungry physically, and started singing songs about pizza on the way back to the hotel. These precious young ladies convinced us to order pizza - and we did. Deciding what to order and waiting on delivery made for a late night, but the refreshment was oh so good!

Finally - after the pizza, and after allowing ourselves to be poured out in the work of ministry - we rested. Keimai. The root of the word means to lie down, or to recline, and this is just what we did.

Keimai. Appointed to the work of ministry. Given a special assignment. Fulfilling our destiny. And having served well, we rested. Here is simple truth: There is no better rest than that which comes when we lie down with a sense of satisfaction that God had, for this day, completed His purpose in us.

Selah.

Porto Seguro Update

Tuesday was our exposure to the ongoing ministry in Porto Seguro – and we experienced a full day of activity. Annette and I began our day with breakfast at our hotel. Picky eater that I am, I came prepared with US-born breakfast bars and consumed one of those before leaving the room, but I ventured over to check out the hotel breakfast. The offerings included many fruits, cereal, and a wide variety of baked goods. A local favorite seems to be a cheesy bread that was quite good. I downed a couple of those and considered breakfast a success. By the way, the instruction on food is “if it’s not cooked or not peeled – don’t eat it.” I can live with that.

After breakfast, we boarded our bus and headed to the ministry site. Those initiated to ministry here call it “the project”. Calvary Baptist Church – Igreia Batista Calvario – serves as host for much of what will take place this week. Our time there began with a reunion of our team with the members of this local congregation. They were ready for our arrival. Much of the setup for the ministry to come had already taken place. We greeted one another, and then enjoyed a sweet – and energetic – time of worship led by our team. Following worship, setup continued… eyeglass area furnished with the glasses brought from the US, Happy Feet area prepared, drama rehearsed… training for those who were new to their respective ministry areas (Annette worked at the vision / glasses distribution ministry area)…  Pastor David led an evangelism refresher for everyone using evangelism bracelets… several of us prayer-walked to the site where a new facility for Igreia Batista Calvario is being constructed… It was a busy morning indeed.

The Igreia Batista Calvario team provided a hearty lunch – and then the doors were opened to the community. Those attending are ushered into an area where they are introduced to the Gospel through drama. This is followed by a clear presentation of the message of Jesus we are here to share. Strategically, there is no call for a commitment to Christ for fear that those attending will feel that they must indicate a choice to follow Christ in order to have access to the ministries provided. This is certainly not the case.

Following the presentation of the Gospel, children and adults alike are invited to several ministry areas. There is a face-painting station for the kids. Haircuts are offered. Those needed reading glasses are given a vision test and then supplied with glasses. There is a station offering basic dental care, and a Prayer Room. And then there is Happy Feet… offering washing of little feet, socks, and a new pair of shoes to children, some of whom have worn flip-flops all of their lives. This station was my favorite… the one that moved me deeply… as members of our team, assisted by an interpreter, lovingly washed and powdered little feet before clothing those feet with new socks and shoes, all the while gently sharing with children and the adult who accompanied those kids how much God loves them… how He sent His Son to die for them so they could know the love of God personally and be assured

of eternity in a place called heaven… and giving these least-of-these people an opportunity to give their hearts to Jesus. This was the case at every ministry station: care provided as conversations about Jesus and His love took place. Our team being and bringing Jesus to the people of Porto Seguro proved to be a beautiful experience! This all went on until late afternoon. A bus ride back to the hotel offered time for a shower and a brief time of rest before dinner for most. (The production team and some of the band conducted site visits to the venues where we will play Wednesday and Friday in place of that “brief rest time.”)

After dinner we gathered for ministry reports, inspiration, and worship. I had ice cream – and we called it a day.

So there ya go… an idea of what our first real day of ministry in Porto Seguro looked like. Real ministry. Life transformation. Good stuff. Good stuff indeed!

It’s Wednesday morning now.  Most of our mission team is serving again at Igreia Batista Calvario – this time, morning and afternoon. The Production Team and I are at a local convention center, setting up for a Pastors’ Conference to take place all day Thursday. (I’m writing this as setup is taking place.) The band will join us after lunch for sound check and rehearsal. After an early dinner, we’ll head to a local church to lead in worship for a gathering of local believers.  It’s going to be another long day. It’s going to be another productive day. And I am confident that God will use the effort put forth – the sacrifice of time, energy, and effort – to bring glory to Himself to and to bring precious people into His Kingdom.

For now, there are images of more of what we experienced on Tuesday. Updates on what God is doing in Porto Seguro to come...

Greta Mitchell coaching the newbies up on how to share glasses and the Gospel.

Pastors' wives can be buddies AND partners in ministry.

Work at the face-painting station.

Some of the drama cast - Hannah, Megan, Justin, and Simon.

Prayer with a little boy and his mom after experiencing Happy Feet.

Prayer walking on the way to the new home of our host church.

Praying over the construction site.

Add caption

Gary Taylor, Porto Seguro Mission Coordinator / business from Jackson, Tennessee.
Gary has invested years in the work here in Brazil.

Photo bomb!

Brazil!

Our latest adventure: travel to Brazil on mission to share the life and hope we’ve found in Jesus with the people of Porto Seguro, Brazil. This is a first for Annette and me. Our church has been involved in ministry here for a decade or so, but we’ve never been a part of this particular mission effort. We’ve wanted to come, knowing how important the ministry here is to many of our friends, but calendars and circumstances just haven’t lined up to allow us to come. In 2015 – we’re here.

We departed Orlando on Father’s Day Sunday evening after a full weekend of ministry. The flight was uneventful for the most part… on-time departure from Orlando, a pleasant flight to Sao Paulo that involved one movie and a lot of sleep… McDonald’s in the Sao Paulo airport as our last some-what American meal for a while… and then another couple of hours of sleep on the flight to our final destination, Porto Seguro. We checked into our hotel, grabbed a shower and a nap, then enjoyed dinner and sweet time of worship with our mission team. This morning, ministry begins.

I’m here with the band. “We” will play for a city-wide cultural renewal event of some sort in downtown Porto Seguro on Wednesday, lead worship during a conference for pastors on Thursday, and be involved in worship a couple of times on Sunday. The rest of our time here will involve construction, washing feet and distributing shoes in something called Happy Feet, providing eyeglasses, offering dental care – and most of all, sharing the love of Jesus. This is going to be interesting… and rewarding, I’m sure!

The “we” in the paragraph above is highlighted for this reason: While I’m here with the band, I have learned just two words in Portuguese, the native language here: good morning and thank you. So I obviously don’t have much to offer in singing and leading in worship. I’m here to facilitate the ministry however I can while three Portuguese-speaking worship leaders on our team lead. I can’t wait to experience these three singers – along with the very-capable members of our band – do their thing here in Porto Seguro.

The language barrier has already caused me to feel a little anxious and helpless. But Gary Taylor, leaded of mission efforts in Porto Seguro, reminded us last night that we can share the love of Jesus without words. And then I read a bit of 1 Corinthians 13 this morning and realized that I can love the precious people of Porto Seguro without saying a word: If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, do not have love, it profits me nothing…

“Apart from the spirit and motive of love,” writes John McArthur, “nothing done in the Lord’s name – no preaching, teaching, or service, not matter how orthodox or impressive – is truly acceptable to Him. It amounts to nothing.”

Lord, if I can’t speak or sing the language this day, may my love for the people of Porto Seguro burn bright in such a way that they see You in me. Amen.

Day 8 - Moab, UT to Durango, CO

SOUTHWEST ADVENTURE - Day 8
Starting Point: Moab, UT
Destination: Durango, CO
Day 8 mileage: 405.1
Cumulative mileage (GPS): 4153.3
Cumulative mileage (Odometer): 4232.6

The ride on Day 8 was altered pretty significantly from the original ride plan. At the end of our day on Tuesday, we were just worn out from the hiking into the parks to see sights of significance. We headed for dinner and hotel before seeing the iconic Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. We just couldn't miss this, so we cut a ride into the LaSal Mountains in order to go back to Arches NP. We rode straight to Delicate Arch and chose to do a short hike (about 20 minutes each way) to see the arch, rather than hike the 1.5 hours each way to get all the way to the landmark. Even so, our abbreviated hike (uphill both way, it seemed) took a lot out of us. Following this adventure, we rode a quick in-and-out rode along the Colorado River, then set our sights on Colorado.

We enjoyed a wonderful ride along US190 to US145, where we connected with the San Juan Scenic Skyway. This ride was absolutely beautiful... challenging, but not overly so. We were able to cruise on long sweepers while occasionally encountering switchbacks as we climbed to 10,000+ feet on three different occasions. We stopped for lunch in Telluride, Colorado, a quaint little skiing town. While there, a restaurant proprietor told us how we could ride just north of town to see Bridal Veil Falls before continuing our ride to Durango.

In our planning, we added an optional visit to Four Corners Monument. This was significant to Randall and me - as well as to Elizabeth and Annette - as we were supposed to see this monument in 2012. Our plans in '12 were altered by a terrible sandstorm that had us riding this same area without seeing a thing. That remains the scariest riding day ever for me. Here is a quick 20-second video of what we experienced in 2012:

While the monument itself was a disappointment in several respects, it was nice to make it to this location several years later - and it gave rise in me a desire to explore the history of Native Americans who manage this site.

After leaving Four Corners, we headed to our hotel in Durango, shared a quick bite of barbecue with the gang - and now we're calling it a night.

Day 9 takes us to Vail, Colorado, where Annette and I honeymooned nearly 31 years ago. I know this will be a special time for the two of us!

Peace!

Delicate Arch