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Winter Wonderland greetings,
I'm rushing around to get things wrapped up, but not with paper. The family went ahead mid December (and my copy
editor, so pardon the mistakes) and I will follow mid January when the ticket prices go back down a little. I felt
I needed to stay through the New Year's retreat to help with the transition because it is usually a big retreat.
I will then run the deaf retreat as my "sub" has a conference. The deaf retreat will be a record big
one which is a lot of responsibility. We let them do everything the hearing do, but we have to be their ears.
I have been especially appreciative of the Lord's protection lately. I never really thought about all the potential
dangers of the camp work. Then one day the 19,000 lb., 60' steel boat (Noé 2) fell on me as we were trying
to put it on stands to paint the hull. The space I was crouched in was reduced to 17 inches. I am tempted to tell
of the courage and calm exhibited in my hour of crisis but am constrained, not by modesty, but because I've sworn
off lying since the accident. I thought I was trapped, but was able to roll out and suffered only some nasty scratches
and a badly "sprained" ankle. When someone asked recently about my leg, I commented that it was almost
fully healed, but that it wasn't quite up to a 20 year old's. I think he mumbled something about putting new wine
into OLD BAGS! In any event, a few weeks later we had to pull the boat out again to paint it. It was rather difficult
to convince my helper that it was safe to crawl under it.
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Well, it looks like I made it to the U.S. before this letter. When I got on the plane in Brazil it was around
90 and when I got off in DC it was around 9. What a difference a zero makes. I have only been able to schedule
meetings with about 20% of our supporters, so pray that I'll be able to catch up with the others and work it out
with all the busy schedules.
I do want to share just one more thing with you. You may remember the free kids retreat we had back in July. Forty
kids, most un-churched, attended and were surprisingly well behaved. There were a couple of visible professions
during the retreat. Since then, almost all of the campers have done Source of Light courses and invited friends
until we have around 60 doing the lessons. I have been disappointed because, except for a couple of early visits,
neither kids nor parents have attended church, even for a special video night to show pictures from camp. Then
the after Michele left, on Dec. 17th, one of the campers, 11-year-old Natanael, fell off a truck and was run over
and killed by the rear wheel. He had just finished the first series of lessons. I decided to look on his test for
the questions "Have you ever accepted Christ as your Savior? When?", and found the answers "Yes,
at Treasure Island camp". I don't know what other decisions were made that week, but that alone made the retreat
worthwhile. Pray for his family.
Looking forward to seeing you again,
The Athas in Brazil
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