January 3, 2012

Happy New Year!

Yeah, I know, it's a couple days late. My excuse is that we were on an island in the middle of the Sobradinho reservoir in Bahia. Internet access was "iffy".

The occasion was the New Years retreat (or Retiro da Virada, in Portuguese). Thanks to my friend Júnior (our camera is operating at a less than optimal level), here are a couple pictures of the event:

Kayaks!

With Júnor and Netinho

Sermon Prep

We are now in the Cariri, staying with friends Júnior and Cris (different Júnior) and helping a young couple prepare for their wedding on Saturday, in which we will be participating. Then it's back to Maranhão, and the many exciting adventures that await us there!

Get a Kindle for Christmas? Break it in with The Astonishing Adventures of Missionary Max, Part 1

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December 25, 2011

Meet Me in São Luís: Feliz Natal

This post is part of an ongoing series which seeks to introduce the readership of this blog to the many fascinating aspects of one of Brazil's best-kept secrets--the city of São Luís.

The city of São Luís has gone all out in their Christmas decorations. While I have been unable to photograph many of the more attractive areas, I did get the main attraction--a huge Christmas tree downtown.

The big tree, dwarfing the palm trees around it.

Right next to the tree, in front of the Maria Aragão church, is this larger-than-life nativity scene.

Mikey and Nay Nay tried their hand at shepherding two-dimensional sheep.

This could be a scene from the North Pole...were it not for the palm trees in the background.

São Luís is a beautiful city, and it looks really nice decked out for Christmas. The lights downtown (which I couldn't get due to my camera's lack of ability to take night pictures) are spectacular. We have thoroughly enjoyed being here during this Christmas season.

A great last-minute Christmas gift for the e-book fan in your life! The Astonishing Adventures of Missionary Max, Part 1

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December 9, 2011

São Luís in the News: World's Largest Cargo Ship Could Sink

Some of you may have heard the report of one of the largest cargo ships in the world in danger of sinking off the coast of Brazil. In reality, this is an unfolding story, and it is happening just a few short kilometers from where we live, in the Baía de São Marcos (St. Mark's Bay). If you haven't seen this in the news, you can read about it here.

The following video (in Portuguese) shows images of the large boat, loaded with iron ore, floating in the bay.

There are some shots of some sites around town that are familiar to us, and, if you freeze the video at 1:32, you can see the skyline of São Luís in the background.

Below is a satelite map of São Luís. It shows St. Mark's Bay, on the bottom left, and towards the top right, the neighborhood where we live.

This is really a tense situation. According to reports, at one point the back of the ship was one meter away from hitting the bottom of the ocean...and if that happens, the ship could break in two, releasing it's cargo into the water.

Don't forget to get your adventure fix with The Astonishing Adventures of Missionary Max, Part 1

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December 7, 2011

Meet Me in São Luís: A Feira do Livro

This post is part of an ongoing series which seeks to introduce the readership of this blog to the many fascinating aspects of one of Brazil's best-kept secrets--the city of São Luís.

A book fair within walking distance of the beach.

Heaven must be something like this.

Soon after we arrived I in São Luís people began telling me about the book fair. As a card-carrying bibliophile, I eagerly awaited its arrival, set on spending at least a whole day there.

Unfortunately, our schedule began to fill up so that, when the book fair arrived, I was only able to spend part of one evening perusing shelf after glorious shelf of books. Still, it was an amazing experience.

Yet, in a gripping display of self control and financial responsibility, I bought only one book.

Me at the entrance to the book fair. Though there were scads of real books, these are fake.

Books, glorious books!

Nathanael and the Book...Weasel?

Me with my date to the Book Fair

Looking for a good book, with no time to go to a book fair? Why not check out The Amazing Adventures of Missionary Max, Part One?

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November 17, 2011

An Historic Missionary Conference

Historic, because in the history of our association of churches here in Maranhão (roughly 30 years), there has never been an event like it. All of our churches got together and organized an event that was for...all the churches. And it encouraged us greatly that the event was a missionary conference.

For the conference we were privileged with presence of AMEN, the missionary prayer group from our former ministry, the Cariri Baptist Seminary. They made the 15-hour trip just to help us out with the event, and they were a blessing. The above picture shows them visiting our congregation Saturday afternoon.

Among other things, the AMEN group presented "field profiles", alerting our people to the many needs around the world. One of the most interesting for Itacyara and I, on a personal level, was the one presented by our dear friend Crizelite. When we met Criz she was a young person not sure what God had for her life. Now she is in her final year of Bible college and passionate about the field of Bolivia. Lord willing she will be going there in January.

The conference itself represented a group effort on the part of people from all of our churches. In the photo above, young people from the Boas Novas church lead the worship.

Our own Kerigma congregation was represented by, among other things, this group of young ladies who put on a very well-done skit. In the picture each of them is dressed in an outfit representing different regions of Brazil.

For me, one of the most significant events of the conference was when, at the end, all our association pastors were called to the front, and the speaker prayed for us and the ministry here in São Luís. In the photo above are (left to right) Pastor Rafael from the Clamor Pelas Naçoes congregation, Pastor Francisco from the Kerigma congregation, Pastor Samuel from the Boas Novas church, Pastor Izaías from the First Baptist Church, the conference speaker Pastor Paulo Roberto, Pastor Fred who is currently taking classes at the seminary, and Yours Truly.

If you think of it, please pray for these men. The challenges in front of us are enormous, but we believe our God is bigger. Each of these men has been a tremendous encouragement to me personally, and I am honored to call them friends.

The general feeling is that the conference was a success, and plans are already underway for next year!

Don't forget to check out our spine-tingling missionary story, The Astonishing Adventures of Missionary Max!

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