Something I’ll Never Forget

They finally graded and added asphalt to the big hill near our house! WooHoo! We're almost like city folks again: )

Sometimes I question what we do here in Brazil. Is it really making a difference in the kids’ lives that we try to minister to? Are we making any kind of impact at all or are we just entertaining them with all of our activities? Actually, I question our ministry all the time. I don’t want to just stay busy doing ‘stuff' and, in our busyness, not really be making an eternal impact in the lives of the ones we’re trying to reach.

Looking back over the years I can see that there were so many times that we did things (i.e., programs at church) that kept us busy but that’s all it was- us staying busy. There was no real eternal significance to the program other than just having something scheduled and going on. It’s like we equated busyness with effectiveness. If you’ve been in church for any amount of time at all you know exactly what I’m talking about, right? It’s something that just happens.

Well, here in Brazil I feel like we’re literally 'pouring out our lives’ doing what we do. And I’m not meaning that to sound like something that’s admirable either. I mean I literally feel like we’re pouring out our life. It’s like I feel older and more beat-up with each passing day. It’s pretty pathetic, actually. Over the last couple of years I really can’t remember waking-up in the morning thinking- “man, I feel refreshed!” No, I just consistently wake-up feeling tired, sore and covered in bug bites. 

Actually, just to give you a typical occurrence in our life, the other night MJ woke me up around 4am saying that she just got bit by something. I flipped on the light only to see that her entire body was red, swollen and covered in little bumps. She had been bitten by some kind of spider. 

No, these aren't goosebumps. This is day 2 and even though most of the sweeping was gone,
MJ's body was still covered in these little red bumps caused by the spider bite.

She’s OK now but it was touch and go for a few days. So, to think that we could ever just be ‘staying busy and that’s all?’… no thank you!  It’s not worth it. 

So, having said that, I’m always evaluating and re-evaluating what we do to make sure that what we do really matters for eternity. I’m always questioning our programs to make sure that they're not just ‘fun events’ but rather events that are pointing people toward Jesus. 

Here recently I was doing that again (questioning our real effectiveness) and as soon as I start asking The Lord if what we’re doing is really working, it’s like He’ll pulled back the curtain and let me see something that really encouraged us to keep doing what we’re doing. 

We had just finished a church service at one of the orphanages that we minister at regularly. The Lord really ministered to the kids- you could tell. Then, after service, everyone left except one little girl. This particular girl is one of the wilder ones too. She came over to me at the soundboard as I was breaking everything down and asked me to put on a worship song (that’s in Portuguese) for her. We went through my playlist together and found one that she liked.

Right then MJ walked up to ask me a question and this little girl asked her to sit with her on the front row and listen to the song with her. It was really unusual for this little girl to ask for something like this because she’s typically running around and not sitting still. So, MJ said OK and they sat down as I hit play.

MJ put her arm around her and this little girl buried her face in MJ’s chest, closed her eyes and they began singing this song (in Portuguese) together. After the first verse I looked over and they were both sitting there, both with their eyes closed, crying and singing this song. It’s at that point I could tell that God was doing something special and that this little girl was getting it ('it' being’ the thing that we’ve been proclaiming to her over the last few years- which is The Gospel). 

Even though nobody else even knew that it happened- it was probably one of the most fulfilling things that that I’ve ever experienced in our 18+years of ministry. To think that God cares so much for this one little orphan girl that He sent a family from another culture, to another country, just so she could hear the Gospel and experience His love- it’s overwhelming to think about.   

As long as I live I’ll never forget that picture in my mind of that day. My wife, that little girl, their tears, the way they were holding each other and that song. Oh yeah, that song. It wasn't some cutesy kids song either. It’s a song that we actually sang/sing back in the States. It think it was written in 2007 and You’ve probably heard it before. But think about these lyrics being sung in Portuguese by a little Brazilian orphan girl as she's sitting alone in a room with an American missionary, weeping and singing to The Lord. Think about what’s being sung and you’ll see why I knew she was getting what we’ve been telling her and why it impacted me so much. Here’s the song:

To the cross I look

To the cross I cling

Of it's suffering I do drink

Of it's work I do sing

For on it my Savior 

both bruised and crushed

Showed that God is love

And God is just

At the cross You beckon me

You draw me gently to my knees

and I am lost for words 

so lost in love

I’m sweetly broken

wholly surrendered

What a priceless gift, undeserved life

Have I been given

Through Christ crucified

You’ve called me out of death

You’ve called me into life

And I was under Your wrath

Now through the cross I’m reconciled

In awe of the cross 

I must confess

How wondrous 

Your redeeming love and

How great is Your faithfulness

At the cross You beckon me

You draw me gently to my knees

and I am lost for words 

so lost in love

I’m sweetly broken

wholly surrendered

Love You Guys!

Jim and MJ