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Satan seemed to ask God a relevant question in Job 1 when he says, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?" Satan was saying that Job feared God because God was protecting everything. If Job didn't fear God, God would remove that hedge and all would come tumbling down. The word "hedge" used in Job 1:10 is used only once more in the Old Testament than in Hosea 2:6. In both places, it is used to describe a thorny and impenetrable wall.  In Brazil, you will often see what is called a "Cerca Viva" or Living Fence. You do NOT want to come close to that obstacle because it is loaded with inch-long thorns that will penetrate your flesh and then break off. The wound takes weeks to heal and leaves scars that last a lifetime. So, with this picture in mind, go back to Satan's words and let's try to understand more of what he was saying.  When Satan made his accusation of God's protec...

By now you might know that Brazil will have a new president on January 1, 2011. She is Dilma Rousseff . The 26% of the population who voted in the run-off selected her by a 55% 45% margin.  Though she's had socialist roots for some time her goals seem to be to carry on what president Lula has been doing for the past eight years. Though just yesterday I heard him say, "She will have to forge her own platform." Time will tell if and how that platform might affect what we are doing here.  Until change comes we'll continue to do what we've been doing.  One of those things is making preparations for our coming Christmas Cantata. This year will be a bit different than last year. We will be presenting at the same rest home, orphanage and markets. But we've also added a play that Alexandre has written.  Our Cantata and play will tell the story of Creation and Salvation. We've also been granted permission to make a presentation at  WalMart . WalMart down h...

Graziele / Cris Grazilele (hard to pronounce if you are not a Brazilian) and Cris are getting baptized on Saturday night. Baptism is a big step of faith and these young ladies are ready. Grazi accepted the Lord several years ago when Company C was in it's infancy. She was invited to club by a friend, who has since left, and not long afterwards she opened her heart to the Savior. She is a determined twelve going on twenty year old. When Grazi sets her mind on a task she usually gets it done. Dawn has been teaching her Bible lessons and sewing skills recently and she's noted Grazi's abilities. Grazi plays the recorder in o ur orchestra. Cris is Alexandre's youngest sister. She accepted Christ when her older sister Dani shared her own personal decision a few years back. Cris always has a smile on her face and is a ready helper too. She is quiet but gifted. She is learning to play the violin and is also a part of our growing orchestra. Both of these gi...

We still don’t have word on the “ FREE ” land deal. We have spoken again with the lady concerned and she seems willing to help us but we are waiting on a meeting with the proper government officials. We are asking continued prayer on this one. The old saying, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!” holds true in this deal. We do not want to accept something that will compromise our testimony or the Gospel and would appreciate your prayers. While Ann and Gabriel were here during their extended stay Ann discovered that she is with child! This is her and Jackson’s second and will probably be born in the United States. Thus making them a real Brasil vs. United States family. We don’t have any further details on the baby’s sex or due date but will keep you posted. World Cup – Most of the world is tuned in to the World Cup and excited about their country’s possibility of winning the golden challis. It is difficult being an American in Brasil. I want like crazy for the U.S....

Saturday was Green Day at Bible Club! My team worked really hard and because of their excellent effort we finally WON first place for the day. With that win came our first Gold Star! The only problem was that it was the last day of competition before the graduation ceremony to Delta Sector. That happens next Saturday. The kids memorized Ephesians 6.10-17 and all that can say it next week in front of everyone will be promoted to that new level of fun. Mother’s Day was special too. We had a great attendance for the second annual Dessert afternoon. There were sixteen mothers present and several family members. Dawn counted eighty-four total! The above pictures the kids giving their moms little presents that Joelma and Dawn had made for them The Lord is at work but the news is not all good. A mom raised her hand at the invitation on Sunday, two kids came to talk to me about accepting Christ on Saturday after club. Those are good signs. The bad news came when one of our faith...

Our Bible club has been exciting recently after nearly dying. We were down to around 25 kids when Alexandre came up with the idea of changing our theme. We went from “normal” club to Sector Alpha! Just like that. As I mentioned in a previous post we have a weekly Mission that we have to work on as a team. Last week’s task was to bring five kids with the same name to earn our 5000 points and complete the mission. Even though we fell one kid short we still had TWO Grazieles and TWO Jonatas. Three of the four were nearly yanked from their homes by our own Graziele (left). She is our little missionary and always ready to seek out that unknown kid. GREEN came close to winning our first Gold Star but the blue team took the day again. We had over 60 kids at club. The mission has already been given for this week and it included a bombshell for Sunday. All of the kids that came to club on Saturday had to return Sunday morning for Sunday School. EVERY ONE OF THEM or NO points were giv...

Yesterday, Tuesday, we had our first Bible study with Marcia (left to right: Dawn, Jonatas, Marcia and Joelma, our coworker). She had informed me earlier that it was her birthday and so Dawn made a birthday cake. She celebrated her ___ years with the FIRST (yes first!) birthday cake she has ever had! Man that is hard for me to believe. I’ve been spoiled with about 56 in my lifetime! During the study she related time and again how confusing her religious past has been. At one point she said, “ I have been in church since childhood and NONE of my pastors have ever told me how I could have the Holy Spirit’s peace until you all shared it with me just two weeks ago !” She also had many good questions about spiritual things. Marcia has four sons. It was her teen son João that got baptized just three weeks ago and we are seeing God begin to move in this family. The oldest, Josué (Joshua), is a big 250 lbs teddy bear and is in my juniors Sunday school class. He just LOVES his teacher and...

  We had a great weekend of activities at Faith Baptist of Sorocaba. Saturday night we took six teens to a youth rally at Hope. There were over a hundred teens there to hear a great challenge from the Word. Earlier on Saturday afternoon we had over fifty kids at Bible Club. Many had participated in club in the past but had left for one reason or another. The club's new theme has a "Mission Impossible" type emphasis. Each week the three teams get a "Mission" that they have to work out during the week. On Saturday they come with either a successful or a failed mission. Success brings boo-cu points and failure brings latrine duty! The Green team (mine) did really well Saturday but we were edged out by the blue team 1300 to 150. The Red team got latrine. During club a little boy showed up that I wasn't exactly excited about having. He is a little "demon" or at least that is what I've heard. His name is Alex. He lives next-door to our newest ...

We had a wonderful week! It's great to be able to spend this special time of the year with good friends.  Wednesday we visited João’s mother Marcia. João was baptized last week and his mother was touched by the message. During the visit our coworker Joelma shared her testimony and Marcia made a profession of faith! That was a VERY great start to the Easter weekend. Friday we showed the film Thief in the Night . Do you remember that movie? It was hard for me to get over the goofy clothing and old cars. Did we really look like that back in the 60s? Our group, however,  thought that it was a very interesting film and they had questions about Christ’s return. It was a rainy night but we still had ten that watched and ate popcorn. Saturday at Club we had about 38 kids and teens on another rainy day. Bible  Club is in a bit of a transition. We now have three teams in what is called the Alpha Sector ! The teams will compete for rewards, special outings and a promotion t...

Working on a missions team has its wonderful benefits and God has allowed my family to do just that for a little over eleven years now. Needless to say we have learned a lot. In fact when God helped me to realize that He was calling me to the mission field it was because a visiting missionary, during his slide presentation, mentioned that he was going to work in Brazil as part of a team with his brother. I talked with him after his presentation that morning and now, eleven years later, am still a part of that team with Shawn and Donna Alexander and Ben and Dani Jacobs! Granted, the team has changed over those years but the goal has remained the same. We want to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ who reflect Him in every aspect of their lives with the goal of becoming disciple makers themselves (cp. 2 Timothy 2.2). One of the many advantages of team work is that we often find ourselves serving in different corners of the world simultaneously. Take today for example. Shawn is head...

Saturday at Bible Club we had eleven boys and girls and Eliana came with her kids again. Mara and Carlinhos lead singing and finished telling the missionary story. I brought some games and decided to play one with the kids. BIG mistake. The game I chose was a running game and I was actually trying to get little five year old Sabrina involved. She didn't want to play so I grabbed her hand and started to run. Just as I did I felt an awful shooting pain in my hamstring and began to tumble out of control to the ground. I almost landed on top of Sabrina while actually throwing her down. She scrubbed her knee and as I tried to console her I was thinking... WHAT ON EARTH HAVE I DONE NOW! I got up haltingly and staggered to the wall. I sat there embarrassed and hurting like a dog. But after recovering my composure a bit I was able to share some more Gospel with Eliana. The story that Carlinhos gave was exactly what I needed to ask her THE question, “So, when are you going to accept Chris...

Have you ever been in such a sitution? This will date me but I remember my teacher walking into class to announce the president Kennedy had just been shot (I was very very young). I can still feel the tingle when I heard president George Bush (the first) draw his imaginary line in the desert sands. I remember hearing the news and then seeing the destruction on 9/11. In each of those I knew that I had witnessed something really important in our history. On Saturday, I think that I was a part of something really important in the history of Hope Baptist Church. Carlinhos had abruptly announced in Sunday school the week before that we were going to start a kid's club on Saturday (news to me)! The kids had responded postively. But kids have short memories (unless you've promised them a raise in their allowance or to pay for their college education). Anyway, the week went on and Saturday loomed. I wondered if we would have anyone come. I had mentioned it to several kids during the we...

I went to do some odd jobs at the church last Thursday and as I worked I noticed four raggedy little heads peering at me from the crumbling fence that separates the church property from the "house next door" (the words are in quotes, because if you saw "the house" you would probably place the words between ? Marks). "Pasthdoor, comeer!" Thadeu, is three years old but he is still sucking a pacifier which makes his "three-year-old Portuguese even harder to understand. "Can we wide your bike?" I had ridden Jackson's bike to work and Thadeu and his siblings: Marcia, Eduardo, and Edson were enthralled! "Our dad had two bikes, but one of them boke and he gave the udder one away." For the next half an hour seven kids (Edson, Marcia, Eduardo, Samuel, Mateus, Jacklyn, and Maria Julia) took turns taking the Schwinn for a spin around the parking lot. I winced a few times as they whizzed by on a rapid rush down the ramp that runs beside th...

After five years of hard work Jackson has arrived at graduation day! It was a joint effort these last two years with Annie by his side. And the arrival of Gabriel added another dimension to the seminary schedule. Jackson received a special award at the graduation banquet. He was elected by the student body and professors as Student of the Year! Basking in the memories of these five years one could meditate on the highs and lows that have been integral in moulding three lives for future ministry. But I praise the Lord for shaping His will in these cherished family members lives through each and every event. When Dawn and I dedicated Annie to Christ more than 25 years ago we couldn't have imagined the script that He would place in her hands. And only He knows what the future will hold. Our prayer is that God will use them mightily in His service and that He will continue to direct their every step. Pray for them as they prepare for a visit to the States. Jackson is in the process to ...

When one is off the net one tends to grab time when one can. As I type now, I am sitting in Ben and Dani's echoing house. I just finished painting the babie's room. Don't panic, there is no baby yet, though I wouldn`t be surprised if one doesn`t come soon (just a guess). Anyway, while contempating life disconnected from the internet I am realizing that one can live a good and productive life with out it. I believe that my spiritual life has improved. My communication with my wife and daughter has improved. And it is refreshing. I am the type of person that can get on the internet and go from one thing (whether, artical, software site, or blog) to the next without much planning or forethought. What was a tool becomes a stumbling block. In fact not long ago I said to Dawn, "Why on earth do I need to know what is going on on the other side of the world?" Not that "keeping up with the news" is necessairly bad, but it can be addicting and a become a time wa...

This is my first blog from the cyber cafe close to home. We have had our second week of our in-home missions conference and our group was a bit smaller this past week. We had 18. Ben had a great turn out with several visitors. Davi too had six visitors which was Shawn, Donna and family. Pray for our two visitors who were Katia, Francisca's neighbor, and Marcio Francisca's husband. Both need Christ. Friday afternoon we had a suprise visit by Annie, Jackson, and Gabriel. They were able to stay with us through the weekend. Sunday we began a baptism class with three participating. Sunday afternoon I went to Habiteto to help with the ministry there. We had a group of over 40 kids. We are gaining the confidence of several families and will be making some visits in their homes soon. Pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Sunday evening Dawn helped put on a special presentation for Children's day and I preached from Matthew 18.1-5. There were several hands raised at t...

Time doesn't stop. It seems to drag, it seems to fly but in reality time marches on one second after another. The Dobis' have been gone only a few hours but it seems like only yesterday that I sent Rich an email about a possible work trip to Brazil. In just a few days Ann will give birth to her and Jackson's first child. In just a few more days he'll graduate, or so it seems. Time is a plugger. It "comes at you fast" like the commercial says. Just the other morning I was reading Jesus' words in John John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work . Jesus knew that His time on this earth was limited and He had many things to accomplish. He is my example. My days are numbered and I need to be doing His work. Plugging along like time. Looking at Rich taking a picture of his work made me think about how often things look so complicated at the beginning of a project. In reality, for me the wiring of o...

Have you ever had to invent something from virtually nothing. That is what Rich found himself doing in today's wiring project. He invented the Jewbis (a combination of Jewell Dobis, I actually helped with the invention). With the Jewbis you have a couple of long aluminum tubes a small piece of wood to connect the two tubes, some plastic "binding twine" and a roll of electrical tape. What you do is: Throw the tape with the twine hooked from one truss to the other, stretching the twine to taut. Then you you stretch the wires (including light bulb) over the twine to their proper location. Sound fun? It ain't. But it got the job done for today. Tonight is the last of the art classes. They have been going well with good participation from our ladies. We have made some good contacts and are asking for God's blessing on the seed that is being planted. In the pictures you see Jan doing the translation for Susan. Susan helping Zelha, Alenildes, and Isis. And Fransisca on h...

As Christians we know that One person has made a difference in our lives. We often forget that through Christ we too can make a difference as "one". We remember Adam and the difference that he made. One that we would love to forget. We remember Moses and the difference that he made. Men like Abraham, Noah, Paul all tell stories of one man who made a great difference. Not to forget the ladies; we remember Eve, Sarah, Hannah, Rebeca, Rehab, Mary, Priscilla. All women who made a great difference in the course of their history and ours. When I am tempted to get discouraged I remember these characters and many others in the Bible, and in my life, who, as one person against the odds, made a great difference. This past week, June 4 to be exact, was the seventeenth anniversary of the massacre in Tienanmen Square. To my shame, I lived through that event but never really paid much attention to it's significance until this past Friday. As I was looking at the headlines I noticed one...

Saturday we had the double blessing of having the quarterly youth rally (Hope, Calvary, New Life, and Bible Baptist of Jundiaí) at our church. We had 40 young people present for games, fellowship, and snacks. e also had missionary pastor Divino from Mozambique Africa with us for an evening mission challenge. With the addition of the adults for this special service we had over a hundred present to hear of the work in Africa. It was a challenge for our people who have never been exposed to a real live missionary (other than us Americans). Divino is a Brazilian who felt God's call and has really pioneered the field of Mosambique for our movement. There were several testimonies given in our Sunday morning worship time of the blessing received from that challenge.