empty

Jul, '04 #18

Greetings from Brazil

When I started this letter it was a bit early, now it’s a little bit late. Some of the prayer requests are already answered and others have appeared. Our Internet provider had a problem and it never was resolved so we changed. The yahoo address remains in effect as always. A helper who was important, especially to our transition to the camp moved away and then come back again. We have also made 2 long trips on bad roads and returned safely. A replacement generator was acquired, but then found to be defective, taken to mainland and back for repair but it’s still not right. But just because you did not know the specifics, or even of the need, it does not cease to be an answer to your prayers as you lifted us up before the throne of the Almighty.

Camp has been somewhat disappointing. Some retreats were canceled because it might rain, others because it was raining and others because it had rained. In light of the record downpour and current road conditions* the concerns are not totally unwarranted. A group of interested people is working through setting up a committee to promote and organize retreats in the local churches with the hope of monthly financial participation for the first time. A special camp for spiritually mature church youth is planned for Sept. 4-7. Please pray.

I have invested a lot in the boat in routine maintenance and comfort improvements and am working on getting it re-painted. We also changed the prop* for one with a more efficient design, but I should have waited until I became a better pilot. Navigating an 18 meter (yard) boat in a 14 meter canal* in a cross wind is tricky and twice we beached. The good news is there were no passengers to be bothered by the delay . . . the bad news is there were no passengers to help push it off the shallows. One late night lake crossing was particularly rough due to wind and waves and a barrel with 18 gallons of diesel was "lost at sea". I started after it until I realized that even if I found it in the dark I could never lift it onto the boat alone - especially in the high waves. The GPS I bought has been a great asset. I found a place that makes kayaks and plan to buy a couple. I also "happened" on a used sailboat that I’ve been trying to buy. It’s the only real one I’ve seen around here and the price seems reasonable. I also bought a horse for camp to complement the donkey and cart*.

Michele was wandering around the island and saw a rattler* but it didn’t rattle ‘er. On another trip she got a rather nasty dog bite. The incident resulted in a mild case of food poisoning . . . but the dog is much better now. The boys went fishing twice recently, but fortunately they didn’t get a single bite. This is a GOOD thing since they were catching piranhas.*

No matter how long you live somewhere else, you never quite get used to some things: waiting 45 minutes in a bank line to pay a bill, 1 month to renew a driver’s license, etc. Sometimes you think you’ve seen it all and then someone pops a new one on you. We are used to people hoeing the yard instead of mowing. With the rains the weeds around town grew up and we were told that later the city would mow. We were quite surprised to see them mowing . . . with a road grader, scraping off the weeds and 2 inches of top soil.

Then again, I never get used to the beauty and variety of life here either. We traveled south a couple of days and I enjoyed seeing the mountains, water falls, enormous stands of bamboo, and a kind of tree with a purple flower so beautiful that I decided to not post the pictures I tried to take because they don’t do the flower justice. It was also interesting to see miles and miles of eucalyptus trees* - though I didn’t particularly enjoy seeing them for 3 hours at 20 miles per hour on a muddy dirt road. We tried to travel cheap and paid $2.45 per person most nights. Even that was over-priced for one place. Adding to the joy was the presence of an 80 year old senior missionary who traveled with us. I planned to take a newer, larger van but ended up taking our old truck which is now 32. Our companion was more than a bit skeptical as I rushed to fix a couple of things I’d been putting off, but "Big Red" did us right - as long as I remembered to buy fuel.

We often talk of that which is different from there because that is what is interesting to hear about. Many of those differences are negative and even the prayer requests are needs or problems. Don’t let that leave the wrong impression. Living in a small town is sometimes a hassle, but we are very content. In fact, the other day I was thinking I must be out of God’s will because things are too good. I’m supposed to be suffering. Proverbs 10:22 says that if the Lord is blessing you are rich and He doesn’t give sorrow. Somehow we have the idea that to serve God our life must be miserable, but in reality He promises the desires of our heart. This doesn’t justify making our own happiness the main goal of our existence - rather it is a side effect of seeking His will.

Please pray for our area. At almost the same time Sunday, 3 churches became pastorless. That means I am the only pastor in a band of 150 miles. One missionary is returning to the dorm in Fortaleza leaving the deaf church with out a pastor, one resigned in a rough business meeting and another was asked to make good his plan to leave. The other good-sized church is still recovering from the death of the former pastor and another will install a new pastor in a few weeks. The other missionary does not pastor in a single work but assists several. I try to think of ways to fill the voids, but distance and my recent arrival here limit what I have to offer.

Our church is struggling, too. It seems most of our members are "playing church". Visitors see 5 huddled in a corner of an auditorium for 150 and feel uncomfortable. The turmoil in the area churches will impact the camp ministry and may kill a planned effort to bring a group in from the mother church to help here. On the bright side, 2 are preparing for baptism - one of them our oldest son. We gave him opportunities to ask, but never hinted, much less pressured him. The middle son also asked but I don’t think he’s ready yet. It’s hard to know what is lack of evidence and what is being a boy.

Let me close with a nature story. After we were somewhat settled in we made arrangements to get our dog: whose full name is Blackie-with-the-the-one-white-spot*. Shortly before he was to be delivered, Michele went out to buy some bread and saw him on the corner close to where we were staying but far from the house where he was being kept. He came when she called and was very excited to see her and even more happy to see the boys. He must have been very thirsty from his long trip as he drank 3 bowls of water. We have often read stories of dogs crossing great distances to re-unite with families but to this day we have not figured out how he could find us at a place he’d never been before.

Later that same day the guard called to say we had visitors. I went down to find an older man with a young girl waiting to see me. He said his grand-daughter’s dog had gotten away that morning and neighbors had seen my wife dragging it this direction. He said it was a medium sized black dog with a small white spot and a collar that matched the leash in his hand. I wished I’d had a picture of our dog because the man didn’t look very convinced by my explanations of how much his dog looked like our dog (except the collar that matched the leash in his hand). For a long time most of us laughed at the day Mama went out for a "pão" (bread) and came back with a "cão" (dog).

Be sure to check out the pictures of the items with a * and more on our website: www.theathas.org.

Yours for Brazil,

The Athas
Byron, Michele, William, Dalton, and Greyson

THIS JUST IN!! A family in Fortaleza has agreed to run the dorm this upcoming year freeing the missionary pastor of the deaf church to continue. This will greatly help that work and others, but will involve change and sacrifice on the part of the other family.


	Greetings from Brazil When I started this letter it was a bit early, now it’s a little bit late. Some of the prayer requests are already answered and others have appeared. Our Internet provider had a problem and it never was resolved so we changed. The yahoo address remains in effect as always. A helper who was important, especially to our transition to the camp moved away and then come back again. We have also made 2 long trips on bad roads and returned safely. A replacement generator was acquired, but then found to be defective, taken to mainland and back for repair but it’s still not right. But just because you did not know the specifics, or even of the need, it does not cease to be an answer to your prayers as you lifted us up before the throne of the Almighty. Camp has been somewhat disappointing. Some retreats were canceled because it might rain, others because it was raining and others because it had rained. In light of the record downpour and current road conditions* the concerns are not totally unwarranted. A group of interested people is working through setting up a committee to promote and organize retreats in the local churches with the hope of monthly financial participation for the first time. A special camp for spiritually mature church youth is planned for Sept. 4-7. Please pray. I have invested a lot in the boat in routine maintenance and comfort improvements and am working on getting it re-painted. We also changed the prop* for one with a more efficient design, but I should have waited until I became a better pilot. Navigating an 18 meter (yard) boat in a 14 meter canal* in a cross wind is tricky and twice we beached. The good news is there were no passengers to be bothered by the delay . . . the bad news is there were no passengers to help push it off the shallows. One late night lake crossing was particularly rough due to wind and waves and a barrel with 18 gallons of diesel was "lost at sea". I started after it until I realized that even if I found it in the dark I could never lift it onto the boat alone - especially in the high waves. The GPS I bought has been a great asset. I found a place that makes kayaks and plan to buy a couple. I also "happened" on a used sailboat that I’ve been trying to buy. It’s the only real one I’ve seen around here and the price seems reasonable. I also bought a horse for camp to complement the donkey and cart. Michele was wandering around the island and saw a rattler but it didn’t rattle ‘er. On another trip she got a rather nasty dog bite. The incident resulted in a mild case of food poisoning . . . but the dog is much better now. The boys went fishing twice recently, but fortunately they didn’t get a single bite. This is a GOOD thing since they were catching piranhas.* No matter how long you live somewhere else, you never quite get used to some things: waiting 45 minutes in a bank line to pay a bill, 1 month to renew a driver’s license, etc. Sometimes you think you’ve seen it all and then someone pops a new one on you. We are used to people hoeing the yard instead of mowing. With the rains the weeds around town grew up and we were told that later the city would mow. We were quite surprised to see them mowing . . . with a road grader, scraping off the weeds and 2 inches of top soil. Then again, I never get used to the beauty and variety of life here either. We traveled south a couple of days and I enjoyed seeing the mountains, water falls, enormous stands of bamboo, and a kind of tree with a purple flower so beautiful that I decided to not post the pictures I tried to take because they don’t do the flower justice. It was also interesting to see miles and miles of eucalyptus trees* - though I didn’t particularly enjoy seeing them for 3 hours at 20 miles per hour on a muddy dirt road. We tried to travel cheap and paid $2.45 per person most nights. Even that was over-priced for one place. Adding to the joy was the presence of an 80 year old senior missionary who traveled with us. I planned to take a newer, larger van but ended up taking our old truck which is now 32. Our companion was more than a bit skeptical as I rushed to fix a couple of things I’d been putting off, but "Big Red" did us right - as long as I remembered to buy fuel. We often talk of that which is different from there because that is what is interesting to hear about. Many of those differences are negative and even the prayer requests are needs or problems. Don’t let that leave the wrong impression. Living in a small town is sometimes a hassle, but we are very content. In fact, the other day I was thinking I must be out of God’s will because things are too good. I’m supposed to be suffering. Proverbs 10:22 says that if the Lord is blessing you are rich and He doesn’t give sorrow. Somehow we have the idea that to serve God our life must be miserable, but in reality He promises the desires of our heart. This doesn’t justify making our own happiness the main goal of our existence - rather it is a side effect of seeking His will. Please pray for our area. At almost the same time Sunday, 3 churches became pastorless. That means I am the only pastor in a band of 150 miles. One missionary is returning to the dorm in Fortaleza leaving the deaf church with out a pastor, one resigned in a rough business meeting and another was asked to make good his plan to leave. The other good-sized church is still recovering from the death of the former pastor and another will install a new pastor in a few weeks. The other missionary does not pastor in a single work but assists several. I try to think of ways to fill the voids, but distance and my recent arrival here limit what I have to offer. Our church is struggling, too. It seems most of our members are "playing church". Visitors see 5 huddled in a corner of an auditorium for 150 and feel uncomfortable. The turmoil in the area churches will impact the camp ministry and may kill a planned effort to bring a group in from the mother church to help here. On the bright side, 2 are preparing for baptism - one of them our oldest son. We gave him opportunities to ask, but never hinted, much less pressured him. The middle son also asked but I don’t think he’s ready yet. It’s hard to know what is lack of evidence and what is being a boy. Let me close with a nature story. After we were somewhat settled in we made arrangements to get our dog: whose full name is Blackie-with-the-the-one-white-spot. Shortly before he was to be delivered, Michele went out to buy some bread and saw him on the corner close to where we were staying but far from the house where he was being kept. He came when she called and was very excited to see her and even more happy to see the boys. He must have been very thirsty from his long trip as he drank 3 bowls of water. We have often read stories of dogs crossing great distances to re-unite with families but to this day we have not figured out how he could find us at a place he’d never been before. Later that same day the guard called to say we had visitors. I went down to find an older man with a young girl waiting to see me. He said his grand-daughter’s dog had gotten away that morning and neighbors had seen my wife dragging it this direction. He said it was a medium sized black dog with a small white spot and a collar that matched the leash in his hand. I wished I’d had a picture of our dog because the man didn’t look very convinced by my explanations of how much his dog looked like our dog (except the collar that matched the leash in his hand). For a long time most of us laughed at the day Mama went out for a "pão" (bread) and came back with a "cão" (dog). Be sure to check out the pictures of the items with a and more on our website: www.theathas.org. Yours for Brazil, The Athas Byron, Michele, William, Dalton, and Greyson THIS JUST IN!! A family in Fortaleza has agreed to run the dorm this upcoming year freeing the missionary pastor of the deaf church to continue. This will greatly help that work and others, but will involve change and sacrifice on the part of the other family.