First of all let me say, "Sorry!" I'm very sorry for not blogging the entire trip. To say we were busy would be an understatement. I literally had zero downtime to write anything. We were averaging about 5-6hrs of sleep each night and we were constantly on the go. The fact that there was no Internet connection where we were staying in the jungle didn't help either. So please forgive me. The only thing I had time to do was post ministry pics to my facebook page (at a local truck stop) so that the parents and friends of the students could see what we were doing.
Now, back to the blog title. To look at pictures that anyone takes on a mission trip can be deceiving. Let me explain. When we take pictures on a mission trip it's usually of smiling children (like the one above) or of ministry while it's taking place. But the thing that the picture doesn't show is the "back-story" to the subject in the photo. For instance, in all the ministry photos we posted from our trip ( here's my link http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000179768897) you can't tell how hectic it was trying to set-up all our equipment. You couldn't see how difficult it was just getting to each location because of the horrible road conditions and the weather. You couldn't see the spiritual warfare that was going on as we faced resistance from the enemy at every turn. As a matter of fact one of my friends, who wasn't on the trip, told me that it looked like the places we ministered in were nicer that last year, which they weren't! So to that I say this, "pictures are deceiving." If you look at the picture that's at the top of this post the little boy looks happy, safe, secure, right? But that's where you're wrong. We met this little boy in the park at Villa Zumbi. A very poor part of Curitiba, Brazil where, barring a miracle of God, his future isn't very bright. Just a day or so earlier 8 people were shot and killed due to gang related violence that erupted right there in this little villa. As a matter of fact on the same day that I took this picture, about an hour later, I was staring down the barrel of an Uzi (machine gun) as the Federal Police rolled by pointing their weapons at me and my wife. So to think that just because the pictures look great doesn't mean the surroundings or the people are great. (Don't get me wrong... the ministry in Brazil this time was awesome. We literally ministered the Gospel to thousands of teenagers in the local schools. It was amazing.) But here's where this post relates to you and me. As we live our everyday lives, we come in contact with people every day. If we were to "take a picture" of the people that we come in contact with chances are they would look just like this little boy. Happy, safe, secure. When in all actuality most people we encounter are completely the opposite. Most people are stressed-out, fearful, depressed and lonely. So to not engage with these people would be wrong. We miss opportunities to share the Gospel every day because we take these "mental pictures" of people that look OK on the outside when they're actually hurting on the inside. The only way to find out who's hurting is to engage and actually be a part of peoples lives. In our culture this is very difficult because we're too busy. In our culture we've evolved into a people who stay behind locked doors with our shades drawn, hoping nobody comes by our little safe homes. But as Christ Followers we can't be that way. We need to "do life" with people and make a conscientious effort to find out how they're really doing spiritually, emotionally, mentally. And by sharing Jesus and the Gospel with them, we can do our part in making sure that not only does their "picture" look good but their lives are good because we introduced them to Jesus. So step outside of your comfort zone and engage in someones life today. You won't regret it.
Please pray for us. Our last Sunday at Hope and Life is Sunday. It's been an amazing 9 years there and we're excited about what God has next!
Love Ya,
Jim
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