Can I Have My Change Please?

The other day I was at this store called a Lojas Nina in Jardim Paulista. It’s the American equivalent of a Dollar General Store back in the US. They sell a cornucopia of stuff ranging from clothes to toys to tools. Everything is super-cheap... just like all the junk at Dollar General. The only problem is the stuff usually breaks after you’ve used it a couple of times... just like the stuff from Dollar General: ). You know what I mean, right? Well, we were out the other day looking for a special kind of paper for Marlon so that he can make kites. Flying kites is a huge thing here in Brazil and Marlon, as it turns out, is a master kite maker. It’s something he learned before we adopted him (back in the orphanage). The fact that kids like flying kites here is awesome though. It replaces the X-Box, TV’s, computers, and all the high tech gadgets that kids back in the States want (which saves me money) so I’m not complaining: )
Anyway, back to the Lojas Nina place. We went there looking for the paper-like material that Marlon uses for kites, a couple roller naps (those things you roll paint on with) and a few other things. After we found all the stuff we needed MJ went out to the car while I went to pay. When I payed the lady handed me my change back and also gave me a little piece of wrapped candy. When I saw it I thought, “man... that’s nice. She gave me a piece of candy because she appreciated my business.” It actually made me feel good. You see, customer service isn’t the same here as it is in the States. In the States there are terms that are used like... “the customer is always right” or “the customer is king.” And because of the high level of competition (between businesses) customer service is a priority. There’s a high value that’s placed on the customer because you want their repeat business. Here, where we live, there’s not the high level of competition (between businesses) because they’re not really competing with anybody. Either people like what you have or they don’t. If they want and need it you’re “the only game in town” so going overboard with pampering the customer isn’t necessary. They can either buy it from you or they can go without. Pretty simple. So, there’s no “price wars” or super-creative marketing schemes that are devised to make the customer want to choose your business or return to it. (I’m sure it’s different in the larger cities here in Brazil, but here in the smaller villages it’s not). So when this lady used such a simple gesture (giving me a small wrapped piece of candy) to appreciate my business I thought it was great. So, I put my change and my little piece of candy in my pocket and strutted out to the car where MJ was waiting for me. I got in the car and began to tell her the story about how they gave me a piece of candy and how cool it was and then she busted out laughing. She continued laughing as she began to explain to me how if they don’t want to give you back smaller amounts of change (like a few pennies) they’ll give you a piece of candy instead. What!? Candy? My countenance fell and my feeling of feeling appreciated quickly switched to feeling like I just got ripped-off! What’s up with that? It’s not like they said, “excuse me sir... can I replace your 3 cents with this finely wrapped piece of Brazilian candy?” No. They just assumed that money wasn’t as important to me as food and that I’d probably buy candy with the change anyway, so they were just eliminating a step for me. Is it because I’m overweight? Sure... throw the fat guy some candy and he’ll be happy! Man. I really felt like I had “just got taken.” I guess it’s just another part of the Brazilian culture. I’m still learning: )
But back to my initial reaction when I thought that I was being appreciated. It was so unexpected. Such a small little piece of candy made me feel appreciated and made me feel like I mattered. The lesson I took away from that (besides the fact that if I get a piece of candy with my change, it really means I just got shorted) is:
“little gestures of appreciation mean a lot.” It doesn’t matter if it’s towards my wife, towards my kids, towards an employee, towards an employer, towards a neighbor, toward someone visiting or attending our church, towards_____________ (you fill in the blank). It means something. When you appreciate someone you’re actually building a bridge toward them or strengthening something that’s already established. And that’s important. It’s important to the people that God has placed in our lives. It’s even important to God. Everyone’s heard that quote from Galatians 6 where Paul writes about how God isn’t mocked, that everyone will reap what they sow, right? But what about what verses 9-10 say? It’s says,

”Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”

That word “good” in the Greek (kalos), means “good that inspires (motivates)”. Didn’t know you’d be gettin’ some Greek today, huh? But showing appreciation is doing just that... it’s inspiring someone. So, I’ve already got someone in mind that I need to show appreciation to, what about you? Is there someone you need to surprise with a little appreciation? I’m sure you can think of at least one person.

Looking For My Change,
Jim


PS - Please pray for us and our Thursday Night Discipleship meetings. We started last week and have given the meetings a total facelift. Can’t wait to see what God does in these kids’ lives.
Also, the picture up top is the actually piece of candy that was used in the crime... the crime of me getting ripped off by “the Loja Lady,” that is: )

This is Really Awkward

What are some of the most awkward things that you can remember form your childhood? I remember when I was a kid and my Mom asked me to go in the store to buy her maxi-pads. Yep, that’s what I said, maxi-pads (didn’t see that one coming, did ya? haha). Talk about embarrassing... it was sheer torture having to casually walk up to the counter to pay for feminine hygiene products as a young boy. It was the whole "placing them up next to the register to pay for them thing" and the look you'd get. And then it seemed like an eternity before the cashier would tuck them safely away in the bag so nobody else could see them. What’s up with that? Put it in the bag, Lady! At least when MJ has had me pick them up for her I could hide them in between a box of Fiddle Faddle and a couple bags of chips, but not Mom. She would only send me in for those and that’s it. No wonder I’m so messed-up. Thanks Mom. lol!
I’m gonna tell you a story that happened the other day and it was equally, if not more, awkward than that. Now this is kind of weird talking about this on my blog but it happened and we’re all adults so I had to tell you about it. Anyway, the other day MJ and I had to go to the pharmacy in the next town up from us (Quattro Barros) for some vitamin supplements for our youngest son, Robert. I still can’t speak Portuguese so I use the translator app on my i-phone for pretty much everything. I type in the sentence in English and then I hold the phone up so the person I’m trying to communicate with can read it translated into Portuguese (I love technology!). So MJ and I walked up to the pharmacy counter and I typed in “liquid magnesium” and then “zinc for our son.” They didn’t have it so I typed in why we needed it. They immediately went over to the shelf and brought back what they recommended as a substitute. Then we walked around the store a little and picked up a few more things since we were “in town.” While we were there I decided that I should probably buy some condoms because as awesome as having more kids would be (I’m sarcastically rolling my eyes right now) we don’t think we needed any more stress... I mean, blessings in our life. 8 kids is definitely enough right now. So to avoid the embarrassment of having to type in “I need some condoms” in my phone and then flash it to the pharmacist (who by the way is a female!) MJ and I scanned the entire store for them ourselves. We looked up and down every isle and you guessed it... no dice. So at this point MJ is already walking away from me as quickly as she can so that I don’t recruit her to go with me to the pharmacy counter and flash my phone to the lady. So I flew solo over to the pharmacist and I typed in the request and waited for a response. I could see the smirk emerge on her face as she tried not to laugh at me. Then I watched as she walked the length of the counter, then out from behind the counter, then to the front of the store (where we just looked ourselves) and pointed at the condom section. MJ came over and joined us as I was trying not to make eye contact with the lady. When we started to look at the selection we busted out laughing because rather then just being normal they were all flavors! It was like being at Baskin Robbins. Seriously. They had grape, strawberry, orange, they even had mint flavored ones! Is that even necessary? For real. There were so many to choose from so I chose Tutti Frutti. That’s them in the picture up top. And the reason we didn’t see them ourselves is because they were in packages that looked like cough drops. I’m not making this up: )
Back to the whole awkward thing. It was awkward having to ask someone for condoms. It’s even awkward talking about them here on a blog. Why is that though? MJ and I have been married for 22 years. We have children so we’ve obviously “been together.” We’re in love. Sex was created by God for married couples. So where does the whole awkward thing come from? I mean we’re inundated with sexuality everywhere all-the-time (in a negative way) but for a christian man who loves and desires his wife to talk about his sexuality it’s awkward. Why? Some people may have even gotten offended that I even mentioned the word condom. Why is that? We need to change that line of thinking. God created sex not the devil. But what the devil’s done is pervert it, so that not only is sex outside of marriage a major issue in our culture, but he’s got all the christians afraid to talk about it... like sex was his idea! Ha!
Sex is good... inside the marriage relationship. It’s not dirty and God created it to be enjoyed... inside of marriage. And if you’ve never talked to your teenager (or tweenager) about it, go ahead and talk to them. It’ll be worth the awkwardness to have the discussion.
When I started typing today I had no idea that I was going to say all that but there ya go. Hopefully it wasn’t too awkward : )

Love Ya,
Jim

PS - If you have teens or pre-teens here’s an article for you. This guy is also a great source for people who minister to (or have) teens. Click HERE

Dead Bats for Your Anniversary?

My mother-in-law and father-in-law’s 51st wedding anniversary was Saturday. They’ve been here in Brazil for 2 years ministering here at the camp (they were here in Brazil in the 70s’ as missionaries for several years too). They live in a small house (maybe 600 sq ft) that sits on a hill overlooking a small pond. Where their house sits is absolutely beautiful. It’s surrounded by jungle on 3 sides and overlooks the mountain range that borders the camp property on the other. It’s been a perfect place for a retired (yeah, right! haha!) couple to live. It’s got a perfect view and it’s nestled away “kinda” all by itself. It’s not far enough away though because you can still hear my kids screaming at our house (sorry Grandma and Papa). But besides having to endure all the racket coming from our house (across the valley) it’s very quiet and peaceful. They can sit on their porch in the early mornings and have their coffee as their hummingbird feeders are full of hummingbirds. They can hear the gentle rush of the waterfall that spills into the stream below. They can enjoy the clouds rolling over the mountaintops... it’s absolutely perfect. Well, perfect except for the fact that they’ve had to live with bats in their house for the whole 2 years they’ve lived here! That’s right bats! And I’m not talking about baseball bats either. I’m talking about nasty, rabies carrying, fang wielding, little disease ridden rats with wings... bats!
I remember the first time I heard them. It was freaky. Just to hear them scratching around in the attic like they owned the joint. It gave me the creeps. And the fact that my in-laws have lived with them (for 2 years) is crazy. They (the bats) usually just stay up in the space between the ceiling inside and the roof outside but sometimes they would actually fly around in the house and my father-in-law would have to try and kill them. They’ve tried getting rid of them by every means imaginable - Closing up all the holes around the roofline, fumigating, smoking them out, poisoning them, using ultrasonic sound to “annoy them away”... they tried everything.
But on their anniversary my father-in-law tried something new. He installed live exposed electrical wires that would fry the bats if they touched them. Kinda like an electric chair for bats. This was a desperate-last-ditch attempt to get rid of these super annoying house guests that just wouldn’t leave.
MJ and I went to their house to give them something that night, and from the inside of the house, I could see the bats swarming around the place that they normally liked to enter in at. The only problem is that it was now booby-trapped with high voltage electricity surging through these little wires: ) They (the bats) were mad and confused. It was pretty amazing actually. We finished our visit and went home.
The next morning I could hear our kids yelling from outside, “Papa killed a bat- Papa killed a bat!” Somehow they (my kids) were able to look across the little valley that separates our house from my in-laws and see a dead bat on their front porch (I still can’t figure out how they could see that far???). So we ran over to investigate and see the carcass to confirm that it was really dead. Yep, sure enough... a little nasty disease carrying bat, was dead. Praise God! Another useless animal, dead... yessss! I snapped a picture of it for you guys. That’s it up top. When I spoke to my father-in-law about it he was extremely happy about his “big kill” and the fact that he had finally found something that worked and my mother-in-law was pretty happy as well: )
So, long story short - I guess my mother-in-law got a dead bat for her anniversary, huh? Just what every woman wants, I’m sure. haha! But for some reason I think for her it was a gift that was perfect. Happy Anniversary Guys!
We’ve got a lot going on this week. We’re finishing a few little construction projects, doing some upgrades on the bunkhouses and designing a new ropes course for the camp. Please continue to pray for us. Good stuff.

Love Ya,
Jim

PS - the pictures at the top are of their house. You can actually see my father-in-law sitting on his front porch (which is a miracle because he never sits still) and the other one is looking out from their front porch.

I Got Kicked-Out of School

Did you know that I was kicked-out of high school when I was a teenager? Yep. That’s right. When I was in high school I threatened the vice principle at Norcross High School and was permanently expelled from the public school system. Awesome, huh? I was such a punk! I had to go to night school to get my diploma and everything. What’s up with that? (Don’t judge me... that was before Christ, lol! And, I did end up going to college, actually 2 colleges, and graduating so I’m not a total moron.) Anyway, I hated school growing up. I was suspended so many times that it’s not even funny. I can remember being suspended from middle school in Florida and my Mom having the awesome idea that if she sent me to a “christian school” that I would do so much better. Well, they actually kicked me out of the christian school too because when they took our class picture (of the entire school at the same time) I thought it would be a great idea to flip a bird during the photo. You know, the middle finger. The problem is that they didn’t catch it until after the yearbook came back from the printer. And there was little Jimmy Dunn giving his version of “our school’s #1!” haha! They weren’t amused and they had to go through every yearbook and take a black magic marker and scratch out my little hand gesture before they gave them out. That was what it was like for me and school... never a good partnership.

That’s when our family moved to Georgia and I kept the streak alive by getting kicked out of school there too. I was more interested in partying than I was being “normal” and actually getting an education. I was so bad that they actually banned me from coming on the school property. It’s like I had behavioral leprosy and couldn’t interact with the rest of society (at public school). I guess they thought I might contaminate someone with my idiotic shenanigans. So I was banished to the dark world of “night school.” Where all the rejects were. It was horrible but I deserved it.

That was over 30 years ago (and all before Jesus). A lot has happened since then too. Fast forward to today. Today we had all the high school and middle school teachers and administrators at the camp. Yep, you heard me correctly... 30 years ago I was despised by teachers and today I was hanging out with every middle and high school teacher from our community! Ha! Who would’ve thunk it? God definitely has a way of turning things (and people) around, huh?

Anyway, let me tell you why they were here. One of the things that we feel like God wants us to do is use the camp to leverage the Gospel. So we’re offering the use of the camp (to the school ) as an incentive for the students to improve on their grades and increase attendance. It’ll work like this:

The students who have good attendance and maintain good grades will be brought out to the camp and get to experience all the stuff we have to offer from a activities standpoint . We’ll also have food, live music and stuff like that (kinda like a mini-christian camp). Then we’ll honor them for their achievement and during the presentation we’ll also share the Gospel with them. It’s definitely a win-win. The students win, the teachers win and the Kingdom wins. So I guess it’s actually a win-win-win. Cool, huh? We’re very excited about the opportunity to partner with them. So please pray that God is glorified and that Jesus is lifted up as we endeavor to serve God and the people of our city.

Back at School,

Jim

PS- The pics up top are of the 45-50 teachers, administrators and faculty of the Middle and High School in Terra Boa as they visited with us at the camp. They were pumped to hear and see what we had to offer. It was a great day: )

PSS-And if you (or somebody you know) has a student who may appear to be a blight on society and never do anything but be a problem... don’t stop praying for them. Because that’s the exactly the person that God is looking for to do something in that nobody else could even attempt to take credit for (I Cor. 1:26-31) just like He did with me.

Hey Guys!

Hey Guys!

Well, it's been a week since our last blog. We were finishing-up a few construction projects and then we had a 4 day camp that just ended yesterday. The projects got finished and camp went great. Thanks to everyone who supports us and who pray for us, because it was because of you that we were able to do everything we did this past week (and the past 5 months we've been here). The camp that was here consisted of 3 different churches (combined) that spent Carnival Weekend with us. It allowed us to connect with 3 more churches and pastors that are wanting to partner with us as we reach the children in their particular villages with the Gospel. I'll post more specific stuff on just how we'll be doing that as things progress.

One little side note on the camp though... one of the things we feel strongly about is that we're to provide our camp to kids from the slums and orphanages at no cost. That's right... absolutely free. And we're able to do that because of our generous supporters. Well, one of the churches that came this weekend brought 5 kids from the slums near their church and they were able to stay for the entire 4 days and be ministered to (for free, thanks guys!). When we were talking to the pastor that brought them they pointed out one of the little boys and said, "you see that boy? His mother is the called the Queen of Cocaine in our village." She's one of the main dealers and her son was with us for 4 days being exposed to the Gospel and being loved on by Christ Followers. What a privilege and an honor. As tough as it is here, that kind of stuff makes it worth it for sure.

That's it for today, we're trying to re-coop from the weekend and so we'll be posting regular blogs beginning tomorrow. We love you guys!

Love Ya,

Jim and MJ

PS - the pics are just a few from the weekend. The group shot is mostly of the leaders... the kids were all over the place and weren't there for the group photo: ). Imagine that... kids that won't sit still? That's weird. lol!

I’m Not The Best Example

Our kids have been home schooled for pretty much their whole lives. Not because we’re afraid of “the world” or we wanted to make sure that they could sew their own clothes and churn their own butter either. (Don’t laugh because that’s the picture that comes into most people’s minds when they hear the term “home schooled,” right? And no, my kids can’t sew or churn butter, just in case you’re wondering.) The reason we chose to home school is because we were in full-time ministry and with the schedule we had it’s what worked best for our family. We didn’t have to wake up at 5am just to get our kids to 3 different schools after being up late the night before at church or at an event. It worked and it was great. But now that we’re here in Brazil on the mission field and we’re beginning ministry in the schools it only makes sense that our kids are in the public schools as well. The faculty that we’ve met with are great and seem to be pumped that our kids are there and that we want to partner with them in the classroom. Brad was teaching English last year in the Elementary School and he’s probably going to start in the High School this year. I’m suppose to start teaching P.E. (still funny to me) in a few weeks (the Principle wants to let the kids get a few weeks under their belt before we start doing anything). We’re very excited about being a part of the community like this.
Maryssa was pulled out of her class yesterday (she’s in 10th grade) and was asked to come speak to another class that was learning English there in the high school. (For those of you who know her, you know she hated this. She’s a behind-the-scenes kind of girl. lol!) She stood at the front of the class and talked and answered their questions. They asked her things about the U.S. and where she was from... stuff like that. The teacher asked her what her dad did and she didn’t know if they’d understand “a missionary” so she said, “he’s a pastor.” Which, from the back of the room, a couple people replied, “amen.” Now that’s funny! You’d have to hear Maryssa tell the story to get the full effect though.
At the end of the class the teacher asked if anyone had any more questions for Maryssa and 1 kid raised their hand and asked how old she was and if she had a boyfriend. I’ll go ahead and answer that... 15 and back off before I physically harm you! Really, I will, so don’t even try it. Sorry, she’s my princess and that’s just the “Dad” rising-up in me.

In the elementary school, from what we’ve seen, the kids are a little rough. There’s a lot of fighting and bullying that happens. Any time I’ve been at the school it seems like the kids are always throwing punches, pushing and fighting. So, since I have 3 boys (6,7 and 9 years old) there at that school, we all sat down and went over the rules:

Rule # 1
Never, under any circumstance, punch, push or kick anybody... unless you’re in danger or if someone else hits you first.

Rule #2
Never let anyone hit or be mean to one of your brothers, sisters or cousins. We’re family and we stick together no matter what.

That was my conversation with the 3 youngest boys the day before school. Later that day MJ said Robert (our youngest, he’s 6) was walking around the house saying, “I want to see somebody hit me” then he was pounding his fist into his palm while he was shaking his head back and forth and making this clicking noise with his mouth. It was funny at first. But then when I thought about it I started second guessing my rules. Am I being a good example? I don’t want the kids just being set on the ready for fighting... just waiting for someone to throw the first punch so they can retaliate. Because even though I don’t want my kids to be picked on and run over I want them to be an example for Christ more than anything. We actually spent a lot of time talking with all the kids about the real purpose that they’re in school... to represent Jesus and share the Gospel with a bunch of kids who, unless something happens and they make Jesus Lord, are going to Hell. Sounds harsh but it’s true nonetheless.
So where’s the balance? Or is there a balance? I know somebody is saying, ‘but Jesus said if somebody strikes you to turn the other cheek.” Yes He did, but actually the word He used for strike is the Greek word rhapizo which means to slap with an open hand. This was meant to be insulting more than it was an attempt to beat somebody up. He was telling them that if someone insults you like that, then just turn the other cheek. He was telling them not to respond to an insult (like being slapped), He wasn’t saying that they needed to just sit back and let someone beat them down. Jesus wasn’t against self-defense.
So where do we draw the line? What about war? Do we pull the conscientious objector card and not defend our country? What about if someone enters your home and is going to harm your family? Do you just sit back and say, “Jesus loves you and so do I” or do you defend your family? For me, I lean more towards the “christians aren’t wimpy doormats that need to lay down for everyone to walk on them” philosophy and put the beatdown on somebody. I want to share the love of Christ with everyone but I don’t think we need to allow physical abuse to happen towards us or our family either. But that’s just my opinion. What do you think? Where do you stand? I know this isn’t the typical “christian blog” topic but I’m curious where you stand. I know people are all over the map on this subject but I was just wondering.
As for our little son Robert... I spoke with him again and discouraged his attitude of just looking for someone to “step out of line” so he could retaliate. That’s not the attitude that we want to portray in our family. He’s made it through a whole week now and no incidents at school (other than just being hyper-active and crazy). Sometimes I feel like I’m being a good example to my kids but then other times (like on this whole defending yourself issue)... well, I’m just not sure.

Beatin’ People Up for Jesus (jk),
Jim


PS - The picture at the top is of Robert and MJ in their Carnival masks that Robert made in class. Carnival is a huge event/holiday here in Brazil and it’s next week. We've got a large youth group that's going to be here at the camp with us for it, so please pray for us and the students. We want them to leave changed by the presence of God : )

Well, That Didn’t Work!

I’ve had high blood pressure for a couple of years now. I started taking medication for it about a year and a half ago. For some reason this past week it really spiked and I couldn’t get it (my blood pressure) to go down. So I went into panic mode. I quadrupled the amount of blood pressure medication I was taking (self prescribed... stupid, I know). And I started (yesterday) lowering my salt intake and caffeine consumption. I sat still and listened to soft worship music. MJ had me start taking garlic pills and fish oil tablets. Then my brother-in-law told me that I needed to start drinking a little bit of vinegar every day so I tried to do a shot (about 1/4 cup) all at once but it was so strong that I immediately choked and did the whole “spit-take” (like they’d do in old comedies) and it came back out like it was being shot out of a cannon. Yuk! That stuff is nasty. I’m still on the fence about exercising every day but I know that it’s inevitable. Because when your blood pressure goes-up to 170 over 112 it’s time to start making some life changes, right? I was able to get my blood pressure down to the low 140’s over 90. It’s like I was trippin’ and trying everything I could to lower my BP before I died. I was actually a little concerned... no, I was a lot concerned! I didn’t want to go out like that. Dying on the mission field would be awesome but not like that. It would be cool getting attacked and killed in the jungle by some kind of wild beast or being gunned down by some of the locals who were mad that we were sharing the Gospel... but to die of high blood pressure? Talk about ending on a low note! I really feel like God has so much for us to do in Brazil and we’re just getting started, so to stroke-out or die of something like that wasn’t my idea of finishing my course and finishing my life strong. That’s not the story I want my kids to have of their father either. So it’s time for action fatty (fatty being me)
and I can’t wait any longer!
But here’s the million dollar question: “Why do we always wait until there’s a crisis before we give attention to different areas of our lives?” Why do we wait until there’s a crisis in our marriage before we equip ourselves with more knowledge on how to be a better spouse (like reading a book on relationships or going to a marriage conference)? Why do we wait until someone in our family has an issue with pornography before we set-up safeguards for the computer in our home? Why do we wait until there’s a crisis in our lives before we spend some time in prayer (because we need God to bail us out)?
We need to do preventative maintenance on ourselves (physically, relationally and spiritually) instead of solely doing repair work or scurrying to do damage control of something that already broke. It just makes more sense. So, today I’m gonna sit down and make a list of all the areas of my life that are important to me. Then I’m gonna make sure that I’m giving attention to those areas so that I can be proactive instead of reactive.
What areas of your life hold the most value to you? Are you giving any attention to them in the “quiet times” when there’s no drama or do you treat them the way I’ve treated my health (only making changes because not doing anything means death)? Because believe me... neglecting those areas until there’s a problem isn’t the best scenario: )

Taking Inventory,
Jim

PS - There's a lady (Vera) who drives around on a motorcycle here on the mountain. She works for the government and checks on people and monitors their health because most people don’t have cars. The pic up top is of her taking my blood pressure in our dining room 3 months ago. She told me it was high and that I needed to go see the doctor. I guess I should’ve listened back then by I’m a little slow on the uptake sometimes: )
I actually went to the doctor today and got checked out. He checked my BP and said it was high. Then he told me to change my diet and start exercising. He also changed my BP medication. I’m home now and just checked my BP... it’s 121 over 66. Go figure?

Free at Last, Free at Last!

No, I’m not quoting Dr. King from that famous “I Have a Dream” speech that he gave on August 28, 1963 either. I’m talking about Me and MJ today... Monday February 13, 2012. You see, today is the first day in our 22 years of marriage that we’ve had the whole house to ourselves (here in Brazil or back in the US) because all the kids were in school. We’ve always had at least one kid home while the others were at school or all of them home because we were home schooling... but today we’re all alone! Yesss! Free at Last, Free at Last. Thank God Almighty, We’re Free at Last: ) Now, we can eat breakfast in peace and quiet and do what we want when we want and run around the house in our underwear... well, the running around in our underwear thing was my idea but MJ shot that down. Oh well, I tried anyway: (

Last week the 3 younger kids started elementary school and today our 4 older kids started middle school and high school. It was weird watching them all walk down our long driveway together as they were making their way off the property to the bus stop. Oldest to youngest, all walking together with backpacks and school supplies in hand. Even our little guy, Robert. Wow. Doesn’t even seem real. I was happy at first but now that it’s been quiet for a little over an hour, it doesn’t seem right. My body doesn’t know how to react to the quietness that it’s experiencing. I haven’t yelled at anyone this morning or threatened anyone either. I’m actually sitting here at my computer putting some stuff together for a mission team (that’ll be here in a little over 6 weeks), I’ve got some soft worship music playing in the background, and I can actually think. Who even knew this was possible? So, that’s what quiet sounds like... quiet. Huh? (reflective pause).

OK. where is everyone? Is school out yet? It’s been 1 hour and 17 minutes and I’m just about done with this whole quiet thing. I need some action and excitement! I need to break up a fight or settle a dispute. I’d even settle for having to put someone in their room because they did the same thing wrong that they got in trouble for yesterday. Anything!

It’s funny how you look forward to something for so long then when it finally arrives it doesn’t give the satisfaction you thought it would. I thought that having the house all to ourselves would be amazingly awesome but it’s actually kind of lonely. It just goes to prove (once again) that everything will fall short of expectations and disappoint. Now, I’m sure, that as time goes by, that we’ll get use to the quietness of our home in the mornings. I’m sure that we’ll capitalize on the few hours we have each morning without kids. But, for me, today it’s just a reminder that the only thing in my life that will ALWAYS satisfy and NEVER disappoint is Jesus. I’m not just trying to “reach” to find a way to segue into something spiritual for the blog either. I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve gone to Jesus and come away feeling let down because He didn’t measure up to my expectations. For real. And if you think about it either have you. The new __________ or the trip to ____________ or the relationship with ______________ although great and fun for the moment will never truly fulfill and satisfy like our relationship with Jesus. That’s because our lives were never meant to terminate on anything other than Him. We can enjoy everything He’s blessed us with materially, physically or even relationally but to expect anything else to truly fulfill?... just won’t happen. So, I’m gonna enjoy the quietness for the moment but realize that it’s only fleeting and keep pressing in to Jesus so I can really rest. How bout you? Have you ever noticed that nothing truly fulfills like Jesus?

Listening to Myself Think,

Jim

PS - We posted pics of the little ones Last wee as they went off to school. The ones here today are of our middle school kids and our high school kids. The other ones are of all the kids walking down our driveway to the bus stop leaving Me and MJ behind. Weird, huh?

Being a Missionary vs Being on a Missions Trip

Someone (actually it was a former missionary) told me a few years ago that it was easier living on the mission field than it was living in the U.S. and I have one word for them... “liar!” Sure, you don’t have the pressure of keeping-up with the Jones’ but that’s the only thing that’s easier. Man, this is totally different than I thought it was going to be. It’s tough.
Whenever we came here (to Brazil) on missions trips everything was all a-buzz... with so many activities and ministry opportunities lined-up in advance. It’s like every moment was filled with an event that thrust the Gospel into the darkness. It was awesome.
But living here on the mission field (as opposed to being on a mission trip) is totally different. There aren’t a myriad of activities lined-up in advance so that every moment is filled with the events that you experience on a mission trip. Actually the fast pace of a mission trip has been replaced with the torturously slow pace of just trying to live (in the jungle). Everything moves sooooooo slow. It’s painful if you’re use to the fast pace of living in the U.S. where you’re constantly on the go. But on the other hand it allows us to have a deeper relationship with people and “do life” with them and it actually allows us to disciple them. That didn’t happen very much for me in the States. I was always on the go from one thing to the next, always going and going and going “doing ministry.”

Before we moved to the mission field last year I was on the pastoral staff at a church for almost 10 years. And we pretty much measured everything by the numbers. If a lot of people showed-up, then we were successful. If the event this year had a bigger turnout than the event the previous year... we were successful. If we were growing on Sunday Mornings and adding more services and putting extra chairs out each week... then we were successful. Now I realize growth is a good thing and things that are healthy grow. But numbers aren’t the only indicator of a something that’s healthy (especially spiritually). We can’t measure success solely by the numbers. If that was the case then Jesus didn’t have a successful ministry. Sure, large crowds followed Him but only a small group of men and women really “followed” Him. They were the ones who stuck with Him when He would talk about what it would cost (which is everything) to be His disciple. And He was left with hardly anyone at the end of His earthly ministry, they all abandoned Him, remember? So ministering to a crowd can’t be what we measure success against.

I have a lot of friends who are pastors and I know that this is something that they fight against constantly as well. And it’s hard not to measure our success in ministry by the numbers because we’re programed to think that way. With all the “Top 100 Fastest Growing or Top 100 Largest Churches Lists” and with FB, Twitter and the internet wherever we go (even here in the jungle) it’s hard not to get sucked-in to measuring yourself against somebody else's ministry. Or, how many times have you ever met with someone (especially when they’re in the ministry) and when you start talking about your church or a crusade one of the first questions they ask is “how many people you got” or something to that effect? It’s kinda sad actually. I’ve even done that. But what we’re doing right now, if it was being measured strictly by the numbers, wouldn’t seem worth it. I mean, right now we’re not ministering to thousands of people each week in our services. But that’s got to be OK. I’ve got to be faithful with who God has sent to us.
Back in the States if I said I was ministering to 100 people or less each week I don’t think anyone would be inviting me to speak at their conference and you definitely wouldn’t see my name on any “Top 100 List” for sure.
I’m trying to change my thinking because I’m so use to “big” but that can’t be my goal in ministry. The real question I need to ask myself (and the goal I need to set) is, “how am I doing ministering and discipling the people that God’s given me right now?” We can’t just look at the number of people, we’ve got to look at how we’re doing with who we have right now. It’s hard but the increase belongs to God. We’re only held accountable for how we steward what or who He’s given us, right?

So back to the beginning of the blog... being on a mission trip is totally different than living on the mission field. And that’s OK. We’re seeing lives changed,we’re doing what God’s called us to do, we’re believing for the Harvest... however big it is. How bout you?

Passionately Following Jesus,
Jim


PS - The pics at the top are of our 3 youngest kids. The 3 of them started school today. It was huge because up until now they’ve been home schooled. We really feel like, for us to have the biggest impact in the schools, we need to have our kids there in the classroom too. These were the pictures of their 1st day. There were no tears from them or us... everyone was excited. They were excited because they were going to school and we were excited, well... because they weren’t going to be in the house for a few hours. lol! Sorry, just being honest. All the rest of the kids start next week so please pray for us.