Land

We went to City Hall today and discovered that the lots can be used for a church building. We then talked to our lawyer and he made some crucial calls for us. He confirmed what the guy at City Hall had told us.

We’re excited and trembling at the same time. I always sweat the details of a big ticket purchase. I think of all of the extra costs that will be involved like: taxes, electric, water and building upkeep. Each will require money that we don’t have.

We had a business meeting just yesterday after church. If you would have seen it you might have compared it to one of the old Little Rascals movies. You know the ones where the club is meeting in their old broken-down hide-out and the kids are calling all of the shots. It was something like that. Alexandre was directing the meeting but it was the kids who were voting for and against each item on the agenda.

I went back to that scene on the hills of Judah when David met Goliath. I wonder what that looked like? Did it seem silly to those trembling soldiers? Was it surreal? Was it absurd? Why wouldn’t it have been? Here was a punk kid going to fight the Terminator! Stupid kid!

We are just now running toward a Giant! Do we have enough stones in our bag? Is there a vulnerable spot on the Big Guy’s armor covered body? What on earth are we getting ourselves into?

Did these thoughts cross David’s young mind? I doubt it. David had such a relationship with his God that all he could see was red! He wanted that blaspheming fool dead.

We are focused and trusting in David’s God too! Our gang has saved nickels, dimes, quarters, fifty-cent-pieces, Brazilian dollars. The only reason we haven’t saved pennies is that they don’t use pennies here. Kids have scraped, saved and sacrificed to put money toward the land purchase. With their change and the help of many other Brazilians we have gathered R$52,000. Please don’t ask how much that is in dollars because it doesn’t matter how much it is in dollars. It is more money than any of our kids have ever seen or might ever see in their entire lives!

Now is the time to put that mountain of money down on two lots that have the potential of becoming a heavenly investment. Jesus said that, “…where your treasure is there will your heart be also”. Our church will minister the Gospel for years to come because of the change these kids have invested.

Alexandre told them yesterday’s meeting, “It doesn’t matter the amount that you invest. What matters is that you are obeying God with your tithes and offerings. If you do your part God will do His!”

When he said that I could hear the sling cutting through the air. I think that I heard the little stone leave the sling on its brutal trajectory. I think that it is going to smite that giant in the only open spot he has.

Do you want to be a part of the following fray? Then when you see the giant’s head held high you can begin the charge!  OK? OK!