Happy Hallelujahween-fall-harvest-trunk-or-treet-festival

This is the water racing down the hill during a rain storm a few weeks ago that dumped over 5" of  rain in only 1 hour.

OK, now that the holiday has officially passed, I just needed to say something (oh yeah, if you couldn’t figure it out, the holiday I’m talking about is Halloween). It’s funny to hear all the names that we as christians have labeled this particular holiday (just to make it more christian-user-friendly at our churches). It’s the same holiday, just a different name. Although varied somewhat, it’s celebrated pretty much the same as the way this celtic pagan holiday originated, but with a different name. So call it what you want.

Now before you start thinking that I’m bashing anyone who celebrated it, I’m not. At the  church that I served at for almost 10 years, I annually planned and organized what we called “Fall Festival.” We leveraged the holiday as a way of trying to expose our community to the Gospel. We promoted it as a free, fun and safe alternative for the families who lived in our community. It started out with about a hundred people but swelled into an event that drew 3-4,000 people each year. It was amazing. Amidst all the games, candy, prizes and such, we had Gospel music as well as Gospel centered ministry that happened from the main stage throughout the night. Over the years we had several hundreds of people accept Christ at this annual event. It was pretty amazing, actually. 

So, I’m not against trying to flip a pagan holiday by trying to use the day as a way to reach people who would never step onto the church property any other way. But, having said that, I noticed something different this year. What I noticed was that there were a lot of people (christians) on social media trying to defend the fact that the holiday (Halloween) was harmless and that it was actually a family friendly holiday that everyone should participate in- because it promoted family.

The thing that bothers me about that, is that it seemed like it was trying to persuade people to violate their conscience. Because let’s face it, some people have different convictions about things that are stricter than what yours or mine (our consciences) might be convicting us of. And it’s easy to try and defend ourselves by saying stuff to make us seem right and them seem wrong. Or worse, make fun of them, because they seem too ‘holier than thou’ and need to ‘get with the 21st century.’ But we can’t do that. It’s not biblical.

I’m not judging the people who were posting stuff because I’ve been just as guilty. I can remember several years ago a friend of ours had watched a DVD on the roots of Christmas and where it originated. After he watched it he got rid of his Christmas tree and replaced it with a ‘Christmas Cross!’ For real. It was a Christmas tree that was in the shape of a cross. It still had all the decorations and lights on it, it was just ‘cross shaped.’ It was hilarious. And rather than respecting his convictions I kinda made fun of him. Not nice, I know. But I did. I was such an idiot. But that was the old Jim, lol!

As the Apostle Paul was reaching the end of his ministry (at one of his trials and at the beginning of being in prison a couple years) he said in Acts 24:16, “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.” He also told Timothy (1 Timothy 1:18-19) to, “wage a good warfare, by holding faith and a good conscience because by rejecting this some people have made shipwreck of their faith.” I could give several more examples about how important keeping a clear conscience is because the bible actually has a lot to say about it. It’s actually a critical part of being able to hear and see God (having a clear conscience).

So here’s my whole point... if my conscience isn’t convicting me of something then that’s good. I just need to walk in the revelation of what God has revealed to me through my conscience. But if someone else has different convictions, I need to respect that and let them walk their walk with God. I don’t need to try to change their minds by defending my position on whatever it is we see differently. So whether it’s celebrating Halloween, putting up a Christmas tree or letting my kids watch Twilight (heaven forbid, haha), I’ve got to follow my conscience and I’ve got to let my fellow brother or sister in Christ follow theirs. Because let’s face it, we could all come up with scriptures to defend whatever position we hold on whatever subject we come up with (that could defend both sides). But, when it boils down to it, we have to be led by our conscience as the Holy Spirit speaks to us individually. Because when we stand before Jesus one day, it’s just me and Him. And I’ll be rewarded for what I’ve done (what He’s asked me personally) whether good or evil (2 Cor. 5:10). So I have enough to worry about on my own rather than spending time trying to convince you to celebrate whatever holiday it is the same way that I do: )

Happy Holidays! (can I still say that?),

Jim

Professional Cock Fighters

Here's a shot of some of the neighborhood kids our kids on the front row during the last youth service at the pavilion.

OK. I slept pretty good Friday Night (unless you take into account having to get up every 2 hrs to use the bathroom... what’s up w/that?) only to be awakened early Saturday morning by MJ saying, “I really can’t understand what he’s trying to say but I think our kids killed his chickens or eggs or something!?”

She was referring to our neighbor who just came over to tell us that our kids had come onto his property while he was in Curitiba and committed some type of poultry crime. What? Seriously?

MJ could understand a little bit of what he said but not everything. So she got Me and Matthew up (Matthew- for his Portuguese, Me- so I could share in the embarrassment of what our kids had supposedly done). So, we got dressed and went to our next door neighbor’s house with proverbial hat in hand.

When we got there, he took us to the back of his property and pulled a huge rooster out of one of the numerous chicken coups that he had. This thing looked like it had gotten the crap beat out of it. Then he pulled another one out of another cage... and this one looked just as bad as the first one! He then explained (in Portuguese to Matthew) that while he was out of town a couple of my kids had come into his yard and let 2 of his roosters out so that they could fight each other. Say what?! My kids? You must be thinking about some other kids or something because my kids would never... oh, wait a minute. That does sound like something they could possibly do: (

So I sat there and listened to how the person who watches his property when he’s away heard roosters fighting and went to investigate. And, as he arrived just in time to separate the badly beaten and bloody roosters from each other, he witnessed 2 of my little precious boys running off in the distance.

The whole time I’m standing there in disbelief. Am I on an episode out of the twilight zone or something? I’m being told (in Portuguese) that my 7, 9 and 11 year old boys have begun a career in cock fighting and that they were able to escape the scene of the crime before they got busted. They’re just little kids. How would they even know that the roosters would fight? We don’t have roosters. We’re not from some backwoods town in West Virginia or something. We’re city folk.

So I apologized to my neighbor and hung my head in shame as we walked back to the house. What else can you do? Who would’ve ever thought that I would have to tell my kids, “no cockfighting kids! It’s not nice.” This is crazy.

They, of course, denied it. And to be honest with you I kinda believe them. Because as crazy as they are, to go onto someone else’s property is a little out of character for them. But who knows? It seems like there’s something new every day with them.

Anyway, this is one of those blogs with no spiritual meaning or message. I just wanted to write this down so that I could remember it later on down the road. With all the crazy stuff that happens to us, if I don’t write about it, it’ll be forgotten. Too much stuff to keep up with: )

Bewildered,

Jim

I Quit!

Gabriel thought it would be a good idea to put a zip-tie on his thumb as tight as he could.
Don't worry, even though it was turning purple I was able to cut it off (after I snapped a pic of course, haha!).
This is only a small glimpse of what we deal with on a daily basis: )

“That’s it, I quit! I’ve had enough and I can’t take it anymore!” OK. I feel better now that I’ve said it out loud. But deep inside I know that I can’t (quit, that is).

Quitting is always a temptation when things are tough and you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. You can’t imagine how many times we’ve wanted to quit over the last few years. It’s so difficult living in a foreign country where the culture is so much different than ours. Then, add to that, the fact that we live in the jungle where even most of our brazilian friends have told us that they wouldn’t even want to live (they all live in the city). And when I think about how inconvenient everything in our life is... from dirty/parasite infested water to sporadic electricity, from no phone to no internet, to no exterminators (or chemicals) to kill all the bugs in my house, to having to weed eat 110acres of property because they don’t make lawnmowers here, to having a car that’s literally falling apart because of the brutal roads we live on, to not being able to go somewhere as a family for over 2 years because our vehicle can’t fit the whole family at the same time, to not being able to go and meet with a friend once in a while for encouragement because you’re here by yourself, to freezing our butts off all winter (inside our house) because we don’t have heat in our house (or in our car), to not being able to get the help we need for our adopted kids in this country (psychological, speech therapy, educational assistance, etc.) and we feel like they’ve digressed since moving back to Brazil, and the list could go on and on. Quitting? Heck yeah, we’ve thought about it. And to say that plan “b” hasn’t come-up would be a lie, because we’ve considered it several times. 

When there’s difficulty the natural response is to throw in the towel and find something else that’s easier and more convenient. I’ve got to admit, I’m the farthest person from a person who quits anything. Actually to a fault sometimes. I’d rather die than let something or somebody beat me. But since we’ve been here in Brazil quitting is always lingering in my mind.

But as a follower of Christ we can’t do it. We’ve been given promises that we can’t forget. He promised that in this world we’d have trouble (John 16:33 ). He also said that the road that leads to life is hard (Matthew 7:14 ). He said to count it all joy when, not if, I faced various trials (James 1:2 ), and the list could go on and on.

So, with that in mind, quitting (or changing what I’m doing) can NEVER be done solely because of being in a difficult situation. It needs to happen when and only when the Spirit of God says, “it’s time to go.” Now don’t get me wrong- sometimes when things are tough He’ll say, “you need to go.” But difficulty can’t be the only determining factor for leaving somewhere (just as staying somewhere can't be the determining factor to stay- just because it’s easy). We’ve always got to listen for His voice.

So how about you? Are you walking through a difficult situation right now that you’re trying to escape? If so, I’d encourage you to listen for His voice before you make a move. It may not be comfortable, but it’s better to be uncomfortable ‘in the will of God’ rather than being comfortable ‘outside His will.’ So hang in there until He says, “Go.” You (and me) will be glad we did.

"I have said these things to you so that you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

                        Jesus (John 16:33)

Hangin’ Tough (aka, not giving up),

Jim and MJ

What Did You Do Today That You Weren’t Suppose To?

Robert, Diogo and Gabriel when they got home from school today. They definitely keep us on our toes: )

What did you do today that you weren’t suppose to? That’s the question I asked my boys tonight. Wait a minute, let me back-up a little bit...

Late this afternoon I heard a big hound dog barking out in the jungle behind our house. The way that our property is situated (it sits in a valley in between 3 mountains) the sound really echoes. You can hear everything. So, when I initially heard the dog, I could tell it was running through the jungle (howling/barking like hound dogs do) and getting closer and closer to the part of our property that all our ducks live on. So I asked the boys to go and scare it off so that it didn’t eat any of our ducks. The boys took off and they disappeared into the jungle. I could hear them for a little while and then I could hear the dog howling and going away in the opposite direction and off of our property. Good job boys: )

But then I didn’t hear the boys coming back home. So I waited a few minutes and then I had Ana yell out into the jungle for them to come home. A few minutes later they all came running back telling me all about their brush with death as they barely escaped the rabid demon dog... they tend to over-exaggerate (always!) so I just told them, “good job” and thanked them for handling the situation.

At the end of the day Robert (our 7 year old) got out of the shower, got dressed and then walked up to me and said, “Dad, we did something today that we we’re suppose to.” And I said, “really? What was that?” And he said, “we climbed a tree.” Really? 

You see, this is a rule we have in our house- no climbing trees. Now before you go gettin’ all judgmental on me, let me explain. We live in the jungle where there are millions of trees. Big trees too. And if we let the boys climb trees unsupervised, they’d climb the biggest one they could find because they have no restraint and no fear. They’d try and jump from tree top to tree top (it’s that no fear thing). I’ve see it before (before we had the rule). And if... no, when someone falls, then what? We live way out in the middle of nowhere. The closest hospital is 30-40 minutes away on a good day. And then you have to wait God knows how long to get taken care of. Then add to that the fact that there’s soooo many tree snakes out there. They’ve been attacked (actually chased) by them before and for some reason the tree snakes aren’t afraid of humans like some of the other snakes are here. So not climbing trees is a good rule: )

So anyway, I sent Robert upstairs and when Diogo and Gabriel finished taking showers I asked them the question of the day, “what did you do today that you weren’t suppose to?” They both stood there and you could literally see the wheels turning. Gabriel said, “let me think for a minute.” Diogo said, “oh... we jumped in the trashcans.” It seems as though they used the 30 gallon Rubbermade trashcans, that we shipped here in our container from the US, as shuttles by jumping around inside of them like you would if you were jumping in a sack race. As innocent as that sounds, that’s not good. If they break them, we can’t replace them! They don’t have trashcans that big in this country and if they did they’d probably cost $1,000,000! Then Gabriel said, “oh, we went off the property.” And I said, No that’s not it.” Then Diogo said, “oh, we_________.”  Then Gabriel said, “oh, we_______.” And again, I said, “no, that’s not it either.” 

This went on for at least 5-10 minutes (them listing off all the things they did wrong today) and it got to the point that I finally had to say, “stop!” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How many things do they do wrong every day that I never even find out about? This is crazy. And the bad part is that they knew that they were wrong when they were doing all that stuff. They didn’t do things accidentally- they did it purposely. I just sent them upstairs and told them that we’d talk about it in the morning.

But as I sat there, I started thinking... “are there things in my life that I do that are wrong  (and just because God doesn’t immediately chastise me) that I think I’m getting away with them? Because unlike me, He sees everything. He knows every thought, every bad attitude, every offense, every sin... there’s nothing hidden from His sight.

So having come to the realization that I’m not perfect either and that I do things wrong too, it helped me parent them from a different perspective. The perspective that we’re all broken and tempted to try and “get away with stuff.” And rather than getting so frustrated and angry, it allows me to love them and discipline them with more grace and with more mercy. Now don’t get me wrong, I still give good ole spankins’. If I don’t discipline them it means I don’t love them. But even then it’s with a heart of “we’re all people who need Jesus.” Even my kids: )

Love Ya,

Jim

PS- they explained to me that the reason that they climbed the tree was to wait until the dog walked by so they could jump on it... really.

So, on the "no climbing trees rule"... I rest my case: )

Coming Out of Hibernation

This is a picture of MJ's cactus garden next to our house. It's raining and
you can also see the water coming down the pavilion hill in the background.

Well we made it through another Winter here in Brazil. I haven’t blogged that much at all, sorry. To be honest with you, two things took place. 

Number One: I didn’t have it in me. 

As much as I wanted to write, I just couldn’t. It was weird. It’s like I couldn’t get my brain to put-out anything of any value (in a literary sense, that is). Have you ever been so cold that every ounce of energy you could muster was used just trying to stay alive? If you haven’t then thank God because “it ain’t fun!” 

Number Two: when I did write a blog there wasn’t enough internet... 

(upload speed, that is) to post what I had written. And the only thing more discouraging than not being able to write, is to write and not be able to post. So I just gave up.

In case you didn’t know it, we don’t have heat in our house or in our car. So even though the daytime temps were typically in the 40-50’s, the night time temperatures were dipping down into the 20’s which meant that the temperature inside the house was only about 10 degrees different than what it was outside. And at the altitude we live at, everything is soooo wet and damp all the time. So add that to the cold temperatures and it’s spells m-i-s-e-r-a-b-l-e! But we made it. Now, I have relatives that live in Alaska that are probably mocking me right now but I’m not in Alaska, I’m in Brazil! It shouldn’t be that cold here, so there! 

I can tell that Spring has “sprung” because a few things have happened over the last few weeks. 

The first thing is that I’ve started getting bit regularly by spiders at night again (while I’m sleeping). I’ve also killed 2 tarantulas in the bathroom (that seems to typically be the hangout for the big ones). And speaking of spiders, I was grilling some meat outside the other night (by flashlight) and when I looked down there was a huge spider (not a tarantula but just as big) right at my feet. So I stepped on it to kill it and as I did at least 100 little teeny baby spiders jumped off of her (I assume it was a her) and started running everywhere! It was bizarre. 

And then I killed the largest snake that we’ve seen here, a few weeks ago, right in our back yard. And yes, it was poisonous. Thank you God: ) And then, if that wasn’t enough, I was informed that there was a large (about 4‘ tall) jungle cat at the obstacle course. Alimpio (the guy that works with us at the camp) walked up on it as he was walking out into the jungle in the morning. Awesome! 

But all that is just part of life here on the mountain. We’re just glad to be getting warmer temperatures. We’ll deal with all the other stuff- just keep the sunshine and warmth coming: )

We’ve got a few camps coming up within the next few weeks. We had a really good one a couple of weeks ago that I didn’t get a chance to blog about. It was a camp solely focused on discipleship. There were no games, no obstacle course, no zip line, no rope climbing... nothing but teaching and worship. And another thing that the camp didn’t have was “talking!” That’s right, the campers weren’t allowed to talk the entire weekend. It was actually pretty amazing. First Baptist Church of Curitiba is the group that sponsored it. All the guys and girls were separated from each other the entire weekend (except for times of worship). We had about 50 people at this camp. We’ve got another similar camp scheduled in 3 weeks with a different group of people so we’re very excited to have such focused discipleship taking place here at the camp. 

I’m gonna try and do a better job of blogging now that it’s warming-up (even if it’s just short ones) so that I can keep everyone updated on what’s going on here in Brazil. I’ll probably have to post several at a time whenever I go into town but we’ll just have to see: )

Love Ya!

Jim

Patrick's Place

First of all let me so, "sorry for not blogging for over 2 1/2 months." I've actually written several blogs but was unable to post them because of either a lack of internet or not enough upload speed to upload anything. It sounds lame, I know, but it is what it is. It's so frustrating writing something then not being able to publish it because the internet is so weak, but it's just the way it is here. Nothing is easy. Anyway, I'm trying to come up with a way of getting stuff on line so please bear with us: )

Any of you who have been here to Brazil or have followed us over the last 2 years have probably either been to or heard of a ministry I call "Patrick's Place." Actually the name of the ministry is Encontro com Deus (Encounter with God) and it's located in Curitiba. Patrick Reason is the founder and director of the ministry and has been doing an amazing work with the children in this extremely empoverished  community for 17+ years. He also has a couple of homes where he rescues and houses battered and abused mothers and their children. We've been partnering with Patrick for almost 4 years now and have been privileged to minister to the kids at this facility numerous times. We've brought several missions teams there as well as gone there with our ministry (Hope and Life Brazil) and it's always been great!

Two weeks ago we were able to go and bring a small group from our church (the i3C) along with us. We were able to do all the usual fun stuff (i.e., face painting, ballon animals, sidewalk art, temporary tattoos, games, etc.). Then at the end of the program we did what we really came for... "presenting the Gospel." Even though we knock it out of the park with our fun activities and our group games, presenting the Gospel is something that endeavor to do no matter what and it's something that's a priority to us. Otherwise we're just entertaining. So once again we were able to share another facet of the Gospel with these kids and for that we're grateful.

Here's some pic's of the day and some of the things that took place: )

We love you guys and a big "thanks" to all of our supporters who make it possible for us to be here!

Love Ya!

Jim and MJ