It's here...

Well, it is currently 3:07 AM [early] Friday morning. My plane leaves Houston in about 9.5 hours. I won't be back on United States soil until July 2012. How crazy is that! I don't even know how to feel or what to say. I have no clue what my life will look like in a week. What I eat and where I eat, who I hang out with and how much we'll be able to communicate, where I'll go during the day and what I'll do. I'm trying to have as few expectations as possible so as not to be disappointed when what I thought would happen doesn't happen. Blessed are the flexible for they will not break, right? Well, we'll see. All I know is that I am super excited about living in a different place. I know it will be difficult at times, but it's an adventure and it's where God has called me, so I'm going.

I've been getting quite a few questions about the immediate future and what I'll be doing, so here is a rough outline of where I'll be and when.

- For the first month I'm there I will be just hanging out in Manaus. I'll get a head start on language and maybe do a little traveling with my supervisor on the river. I should have internet during this time so I'll try to update this blog and do some facebooking, but no promises on anything.

- In mid-November I start formal language training. I'll be living in a house of sorts in Manaus and a tutor will come to me each day. I assume he will be there in the mornings and early afternoon and then I will go out and practice what I am learning in the late afternoon and evening. This will last a little less than 3 months.

- At the beginning of next February I start jungle survival training. I don't really know what this will look like, but I do know that it sounds really cool and really intense! I will be learning how to live in the Amazon Basin, which I assume means learning which plants to eat or not eat, which bugs to eat, which plants are good for medication, how to make a shelter, how to fish Amazon-style, how to avoid mosquitoes, etc.

- Then [finally], next May I believe I will for the first time go to a people in need of the Gospel. And that starts my 3 months in and 2 weeks out process.

Hopefully that clears some gray area so you know where I'll be and what I'll be doing.

Prayer! So, here are some ways that you can be praying. I'm sure these requests are elsewhere on the blog, but these are the ones that I think are most important at this time.

Pray for safe travel.

Pray for an open mind that understands a new culture instead of deeming it 'wrong.'

Pray that God would give me His grace in learning a new language as quick as possible.

Pray that God would lead me to young Christian men in the city of Manaus that I could grow close to and depend on through the transition of moving to a new place.

Pray that my eyes would be open to the lostness in Manaus and that wherever I am I would be a light shining in darkness that causes others to give glory to God.

Pray that I just fall in love with the country and the people.

Pray for safety.

Pray for strength.

Pray that I would remain rooted in the Word of God. That I would look to Him as my rock, my shelter, my fortress, and my foundation. Pray that He would be my source.

Pray for the people of Manaus. That God would open up their eyes and their hearts to the truth of who He is and His grace.

Thank you all!

God is Faithful

As I reflect over my time at Field Personnel Orientation (I'm back at home as of September 23rd), I can think of one verse in particular and one theme that we find throughout the entirety of Scripture. This verse is 2 Corinthians 2:14, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere." As I prepare to leave a week from tomorrow I am constantly reminded of how inadequate I am. I am not worthy to be a missionary. It is humbling that God has chosen to use me. What is encouraging in the face of this is the fact that God leads us in triumphal procession. It's not about me going and telling people about Christ, it's about me following God where he has led me and worshiping him through missions. It is not about what I can do for the kingdom of heaven, but about taking part in God's story and his work that has already begun in the Amazon basin. I'm not perfect and I'm not worthy and, really, I'm not capable. But God is! God leads us in triumphal procession. And God spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of himself everywhere. Praise God! He does use us, as the verse says, but it's him spreading the fragrance through me; it's not about my own strength and my own words, it's God's!

We see this same theme through Scripture:

Genesis 14:20 tells us that God delivered Abraham's enemies into his hands.

Exodus 14:30-31 tell of God's mighty power to save the Israelites from the Egyptians.

Deuteronomy 31:8 tells us that God goes before us and he will always be with us.

Joshua 23:3 tells us that all the victories of the Israelites in Canaan under Joshua were because God fought for them.

1 Samuel 17:37 is David saying that just as God delivered him from a bear and a lion God will also deliver him from Goliath.

2 Kings19:35 tells of God striking down many enemies to defend Judah on behalf of his great name.

All through the pages of the Bible we see men who are faithful to God being led by God as he is faithful to them. How refreshing to know that God works for us and in us and through us for himself. As I leave not too long from now, I know that God is guiding me and that he has already prepared the way. "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere." Thanks be to God!

Prayer & People

First off I wanted to say thank you to everyone for your prayers. Prayers for me. Prayers for Brazil. Prayers for the specific people on the Amazon that I will be working with. I could not say thank you enough. I don't want it to be a one way street though. As I have said before, God has been teaching me a lot about prayer; therefore, my own personal prayer life has been growing. So, if any of you reading this blog have some prayer requests that you would like for me to be lifting up please e-mail them to amazongreg@gmail.com. I would really like to know how I can be lifting you up before our Creator and Savior.

I have to give a 10 minute presentation on my people group tomorrow. In researching for this I have learned a lot about their history, culture, daily life, and religion. So, I figured I would put on here what I have found out so that you can be praying a little more specific for these people.

They are called the Ribeirinhos (hee-bear-a-nyos) - which literally means 'riverine' in Portuguese. They are the river dwellers. The majority of them have settled along the Amazon from other parts of Brazil. One wave of them came during the Industrial Revolution. With a growing need for rubber to make the assembly lines and products, men were drawn to the rainforest to tap rubber, hoping to get rich quick. The process was hard, and conditions difficult. Money was hard to come by, so many were never able to make it out of the Amazon. The next wave of people came to settle the Amazon during World War II. With a need for rubber in the war, men in Brazil were told to either fight in Italy or go tap rubber in the Amazon. They, again, were promised wealth and prosperity in going to be rubber tappers, or Rubber Soldiers as they were called. Just as before, the work ended up being harder than expected, money was scarce, and returning home became impossible. Also, these men were in danger of sickness and death caused by malaria and yellow fever, wild animal bites, and malnutrition. They, along with the men from the first wave, ended up marrying local (often times indigenous) women, and lived permanently on the Amazon.

Most likely, the people in the community that I am going to will be descendants of these former rubber tappers. Most make livings from fishing, rubber tapping, or fruit collecting. The people themselves are diverse. Because of their history, some have blonde hair, blue eyes, and light skin while others (descendants of former slaves) have dark hair, brown eyes and dark skin. There are between 2,000,000 and 6,500,000 Ribeirinhos spread out into 30,000 communities of 50 - 300 people each. Their culture varies due to their mixes of Amazonian, European, and African peoples. They are apparently extremely hospitable. However, they face very difficult lives. One man who visited Ribeirinhos said that every house he came across had at least one person with malaria in it. The same man said that not a single house had anyone who had been formally educated for at least a year. There is often resentment and sometimes violence between indigenous groups and Ribeirinhos over who gets to fish on what parts of the river. Also, because of commercial fishing, it has become harder to catch fish at all on parts of the river. One Ribeirinho said that as a teenager he could catch some lunch in 5 minutes and get on with the day. Now it takes him a full hour to find some fish. Not to mention the same problems mentioned earlier that the Rubber Soldiers had when they originally came. Pray for their physical well-being, that God would heal them and protect them. Pray that God would send people out to proclaim the Gospel to these Ribeirinhos that they might not die having never heard the truth of a Creator God who loves us and gave His Son for us.

And lastly the religion. According to one website they are 87% Christian. This sounds good, but in reality very, very few of them are practicing, Bible-believing, born again Christians. Many of them say they are Catholic, though this is most often mixed with an African tribal religion called Orixa. They believe in a god, Oludamare, who created the world. Then they believe in other lesser deities called Orixas. Each individual has his own Orixa that controls their destiny and protects them. They mix these religions by calling Oludamare "God" and by worshipping the Orixas as "saints" and “ancestors.” In fact many of them wear crosses and worship in cathedrals though the Catholic subtleties are covers for this Orixa. From some websites I read they even justify the worship of these Orixas and God by saying that Jesus is the Son of God and He is the only way to the Father - they say that these Orixas are lesser deities; therefore can be worshipped in addition to Jesus. Pray that they would see that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the only mediator between us and God. There are no other deities and no other ways to eternal life but following Him and Him alone. Pray that God would open their eyes to this fact.

Not in Lake Jackson

As I go through my days here in Virginia I am reminded constantly that I am not in Lake Jackson anymore. We don't have nearly as many mosquitos up here, though there are ticks. There are hills! And not just hills but mountains. Yesterday a group of us went and hiked Old Rag Mountain (http://www.hikingupward.com/SNP/OldRag/ scroll down for pictures). I seriously don't think I've gone hiking on a mountain since Jr. High, and it was so much fun. For the most part there is a lot less humidity up here, though we have had some pretty humid days. It gets fairly hot during the afternoons, but cools down big time at night. Sometimes leaving the gym in a sweaty shirt at night makes for a really cold walk to the dorm. There are the inside jokes and Hot Rod quotes that I turn to say sometimes that I then remember no one will get. Sometimes I just want to go to the beach, but it's 3 hours away. A movie ticket costs 10 bucks! It was $4.50 in College Station and $5 in Lake Jackson. Not to mention missing the friends and family. The food is pretty good here too, but it's nothing like mom's home coooking! It's definitely been a fun month of getting to live in a different location, and it's hard to believe that it's half-way over. I'll be back home this time next month getting ready to move a lot farther away then Virginia!

I know I put this on just about every blog, but it's been incredible what all God has done in my time up here. It's a combination of some really awesome people coming to speak to us all day every day and an environment where there are few distractions and reading the Bible and prayer is a priority. The Bible is full of hidden jewels and I think that my understanding of God, His love, His grace, His glory, His righteousness, and His Word have changed quite a bit since I got here a little more than a month ago. Look up the Hebrew meaning of the word "worm" in Psalm 22:6 and it'll give you a bigger appreciation for God's creation. Watch this video http://vimeo.com/5428141 to get a slightly different perspective on the stories of the Bible. Read this article http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1995/1541_Did_Christ_Die_for_Us_or_for_God/ by John Piper and I think it may shift some thoughts about who man is and who God is and what salvation is all about.

All in all my time here has been filled with sweet time spent in group fellowship and personal devotion before my God. I hope that regardless of what distractions may come my way, when I leave in 4 weeks, my walk with God will be my source and my strength.

Planting a Church

It's crazy to think that my time at training is already a fourth of the way over. I overheard someone saying this the other day, and thought it to be very true: I came here thinking I was ready for the mission field, once I got here I realized how unprepared I really was. This last week was wonderful. We started the week talking about different cultures and the real importance of learning the culture and the language in order to communicate within their context. So please be praying that I can pick up Portuguese and a Brazilian lifestyle quickly. Toward the end of the week we focused on the actual process of church planting. My view of my position as a missionary totally changed these past couple of days.

At first I thought I would be doing a ton of evangelizing, I mean, that's what missionaries do, right? And I will be doing evangelism, but the real goal is to plant a healthy, self-supporting and self-governed church that then reaches out to the community around it. We looked a lot this last week at the book of Acts and studied how Paul and his partners went into cities and associated with the people. My job will be to find people interested in the Gospel and teach them the stories of the Bible. Assuming they believe and become Christians we start a church. Then my job will be focused more on equipping them to go out and spread the Gospel to their neighboring comunities who then will go out and spread the Gospel to their neighboring communities and so on. So pray not just for people in my future community to become Christians, but to become Disciples of Christ. Pray that they would take ownership, and that by the end of my two years in Brazil they would be a church with no need of an outsider from the USA. Sounds a bit ambitious, and really, really big, God big.

Which is why prayer is absolutely needed in every little bit of where I'm going and what I'll be doing. Just as God went before the Israelites and won all of their battles if they'd obey, so I need Him to go before me and prepare hearts and win spiritual battles for any of the river community people to know Him. Here is a verse where Paul has the same mindset, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledfe of him everywhere." (2 Corinthians 2:14)

So please do pray that God would open the eyes of the people to whom I am going. Pray that God would raise up men and women to take the Gospel to the surrounding communities. Pray that I would be an obedient messenger accurately proclaiming the truth that they need to hear. Pray that I would be able to teach these men and women about the character of God, and pray that I would be able to equip them and prepare them to do ministry of their own. But pray most of all that God's hand would be in this. He alone can bring people unto Himself, and He alone can send people out with their faith on a solid foundation. So pray, beg (like the persistent widow of Luke 18) that He would already begin preparing people for His Gospel. Thanks.

Evangelism

This should not be news to anybody, myself included, considering that I am here to be trained as a missionary, but there is a big push for evangelism. We have to 'evangelize' to someone at least three times per week. We are in class all day (which the classes by the way are great!) and then in the evenings I've been able to focus on digging into the Word, praying, and of course playing some basketball/frisbee/soccer. Because most of us stay on campus Monday through Friday, they allow us to evangelize to other people that are here for training. It's kind of funny in and of itself to be sharing the Gospel with those who are called to go out and share the Gospel full time, but it's for the purpose of allowing thoughts to move from the brain into words out of the mouth. Anywho, Saturday we had an opportunity to go out and share the Word. We went to a Caribbean music festival downtown. Armed with Bible tracts and partners we walked around looking for people to talk to. My partner and I quickly split up thinking that it would be best to cover more ground. For me personally I'd rather engage in conversation by myself rather than having someone else looming over my shoulder... a little less aggressive I'd say.

In the hour and a half I was there I talked to three people in particular. One guy I talked to was named Donny. He and his family were Christians and we ended up talking for about 20 minutes. I told them about what I was soon to be doing in Brazil and they told me they'd be praying for me, then they told me all about their involvement in their church and how they share the Gospel in their workplaces. It was a real good conversation. The next man I talked to was named Charles. He and his wife run one of the little shops there in the town square where the music festival was being held at. We ended up talking for about 40 minutes- mainly about the history of the city and all the sights to see before I leave. To try and make things a bit more spiritual, I asked him if he attended church anywhere in the area. He told me that he attended a Baptist church on the west end of town, but then he stumbled over his words trying to remember the name of the church. He said that he doesn't know the name of the church because he has been going for so long that he just doesn't bother to look at the signs anymore! I took it to mean that he seldom goes, so I told him that I'd be going to Brazil and emphasized the fact that I was going to be teaching that Jesus is the only way to the Father and therefore the only way into heaven. He knodded his head, then started talking more about historic downtown. Having had a nice conversation I wished the man and his wife well and proceeded to walk around for a couple minutes. Then I met Lawrence, a city worker. Lawrence informed me that he grew up Baptist, but he hated how they made you put money in the offering plate. And he especially did not like the fact that most Baptist preachers drive nicer cars and own nicer clothes than the people in their congregation. I tried convincing him that that was not always the case, but then we moved onto more serious things. When he was 16 he became a Jehovah's Witness. Not really knowing too much about Jehovah's Witnesses, I asked him a few questions about his beliefs - about salvation, about heaven, about Jesus. Unfortunately I couldn't talk to him for too long because we were meeting to leave at a certain time. I feel like we made some progress, and I left him with a tract explaining salvation and eternity.

Now why do I tell you about this? First off, pray for Lawrence. He needs to know about Jesus. He needs to believe in the God of this universe and Jesus as his Son, who paid the sacrifice to forgive us of our sins. But I also tell you this because it's made me step back and think. Three weeks ago, if you would have asked me how to measure spiritual maturity in a person, I think it would largely have been based on Biblical knowledge. Criteria would have been quiet time length and how many times said person has read through the Bible. A good prayer life would have worked its way into the equation, as would theological perspective and backing. I probably never even would have asked about evangelism practices. But as I look through the pages of Scripture this is so opposite of what the Christian faith is all about. So many passages tell of God's love for the nations and His desire to see them be saved. Look at the very life of Jesus. Time with His Heavenly Father was very, very important to Him. I don't in any way intend to undermine quiet times. They are important and essential in becoming more Christlike. However, the New Testament is full of stories in which Jesus was telling others about the Kingdom of God. He was telling people about being born again, about the living water from which you will never thirst again, and about the need to give all you can for the sake of the Gospel. Once again, I'm not saying that evangelism is more important than daily time with God. Jesus spent long periods of time by himself in prayer. I'm saying that personal time with God and evangelism are two aspects of spiritual maturity that shouldn't be separated. Praying and meditating on Scripture is just as important as telling others the Good News of the saving grace of JesusChrist. The sad thing is that for so long I have overlooked this dimension of being a disciple of Jesus. I mean, what were Jesus' last statements? The last thing Jesus says in Matthew is, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." And in Acts we find Jesus' words to be somewhat similar, "...you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." As I look at these two passages that record some of the last words of Jesus I wonder how I could have lived so much of my life as a follower of the man who said these words with relatively no practice in these words.

So, I ask that you would pray that I may have boldness. I ask that you would pray that God would give me a heart for the lost people in Brazil as well as the lost people all around me. The church in Acts was marked by their boldness and they kept praying that they would be more and more bold. Pray that I may deny my flesh and walk in the Spirit. That I may do things out of my comfort zone for the sake of the One who sacrificed all.

Someone told us today a pretty good little saying. Paul knew only two days. He knew today. And he knew 'the day.' He knew the present, and he knew eternity. I pray that my today's would be lived in light of the end day, that God would welcome me into heaven saying, "Well done my good and faithful servant."

Refreshment

Psalm 16:11 says, "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." I think the main reason it's taken me so long to write anything on this blog is because we do so much here that I don't even know where to begin to communicate what God has been teaching me. So, if I in any way seem a little scatterbrained, just bear with me.

I read this verse in Psalms this morning, and I think it so wonderfully explains my time here so far. We've stayed pretty busy going in and out of classes from 8:00 - 5:00, but the evening times and morning times have been so full of what's important. I've been able to keep the main thing the main thing, and that's putting God first. And what a joy it is to put God first rather than letting the flesh try to compete with Him. It's just been refreshing. I've been able to spend so much time reading the scriptures, and it really does revive the soul. It makes me wonder why I didn't spend much time reading God's Word and Praying back at home. I think the answer is simple - Distractions. With the Internet, and TV, and Movies, and you name it right there at the house, it's easy to simply forget about God and give Him second place. While here, it's been so much easier to really focus on what's eternal. Peter, John, and Paul all called themselves bond-servants of Christ and the Bible says that we are the same. The Greek word there is Doulos. A definition of Doulos is one devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests; a slave. According to this definition, if we are followers of Christ, then we are slaves of Christ, and if slaves of Christ then we should be so devoted to obeying Christ in our lives that we disregard our own interests.

One of the weirdest things about this is that when we finally do give Jesus the reigns, there is no regret. At the surface level it doesn't sound fun to be anybody's slave. It's not exciting to forsake our own desires in order to follow someone else. But for some reason, when we stop holding on to our lives too tightly and follow Jesus every step of the way, there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Instead of watching SportsCenter I've been reading my Bible, instead of wasting time on facebook I've been praying. And I can tell you that it has been an incredible week, just sitting back letting God fill me with more and more of himself. There is no regret in living for Him.

If I could ask you to keep on praying though then I would greatly appreciate it. Keep on praying for the lost along the Amazon River where I will be going. Pray that God would begin opening their eyes to the Truth. Pray that when I get there God will have already been at work among them even if they don't realize it till I get there. Pray also for me. Pray that God would continue working on me, molding me into the obedient follower that I must be before He sends me out. Thank you all so much for your prayers, He does hear them!

"That times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord..." Acts 3:20