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Spring ’09, #32

At the suggestion of one recipient, I’m going to experiment with a format change in our letters. At the end you will find a Prayers’ Digest version where you can get the goodies without the blah-blah-blah. Let me know what you think.

Spring-time greetings:

Once again, our return to the US has surprised us with changes, though not as many as I expected after 5 years. As foreign missionaries, we are uniquely qualified to perceive the subtle drift in American churches since large blocks of time pass between visits. It is much like when you notice how much our kids have grown or I have aged (not we, Michele hasn’t changed). Yet as outsiders, we are uniquely disqualified from doing much about it. Never the less, I am deeply concerned about the chruch’s complacency and complicity with the world. I’d better stop because I feel a sermon coming on, but rest assured, I pray for you.
When we first returned it was fun to watch the boys’ reaction to the US. Greyson, the youngest, was only 4 last time he was here so it was newest to him. He was surprised the cemetery didn't have a protective wall around it. They also thought the brick houses weren't finished because they hadn't been plastered and painted. Some restaurants now have high-speed hand blow dryers. The other day I was at the counter ordering when I heard the blower kick on. Moments later I heard screams and Greyson yelling "Shut it off! Shut it off!" I could just imagine him hanging on to the sink for dear life, his feet fluttering in the breeze. They all three love looking at the cool cars here.
Speaking of cars, one of my long time dreams was fulfilled this furlough when a friend loaned us a minivan. For years I’ve eyeballed them and now I drive one. It’s great for those longer trips with the boys. It’s got a lot of fancy features that we aren’t used to. There’s this neat mirror above the windshield so you can see who’s behind you (or the kids), the windows open and you can even open the doors from inside the car! When you turn a corner the blinker turns off by itself and the headlights don’t work just in the daytime. It is lacking a few things, though. For example, the wipers don’t stop where I want them to, they run back down to the bottom and hide when I turn them off. And if you spill something it doesn’t automatically drain through the floorboard. You have to mop it up yourself. Oh, well! You can’t have everything.
It’s not just the cars that are fancy here. Even the houses are high tech. Our mission house is equipped with a special buzzer on the ceiling to automatically let us know when supper’s ready. In Brazil we have to wait until we can smell the smoke ourselves.
We’ve had some fine meals at others’ houses, too. Pulling into the house for one of these visits I saw some wild turkeys and thought, "I wonder what they taste like"? I found out the answer is "they taste good!" because that’s what they served. We were given some venison, too, which the boys really like. It broke their hearts to think of those cute little deer with big brown eyes. They would ask "Can we have Bambi-burgers today?"
The cold weather kind of put a chill on things, but I learned the art of layering. It was great for traveling. I didn’t have carry a suitcase, I just wore all my clothes at the same time. Then as the outer clothes got dirty I just rotated my layers. I could even mix-and-match. Just rotate the shirts three layers forward and the pants one layer backwards and I had a whole new outfit.
People often ask if we aren’t afraid of snakes and piranhas and head-hunters (we both reply "no, my mother-in-law stays in the US"). Ironically, our oldest came all the way back to America to get snake bit. It was just an old rat snake, but hopefully a lesson was learned about watching when stomping around the woods in springtime.
Our time here in the US is quickly running out. We accepted a "special assignment" this summer. Camp has always been important to us and both Michele and I have a special place in out hearts for Springs of Life in Patrick Springs VA. Having experience in camp in Brazil, (which is a whole other beast) I was asked to be the temporary director this summer. I have gone up there a lot trying to get things ready. One special benefit is that I have gotten to know and appreciate our home church pastor better than any since I was a child. Pray for us as camp will make return preparations a bit more complex and that we would serve well. Pray for the camp season that there will be much fruit from the labor and for the camp that He grant wisdom to the leadership that it might be around for many years if that be His will.
News from home is mixed: some good, some bad. The individual Bible lessons with kids continue and our replacement is going to try to repeat last year’s free kids retreat using help from the seminary. Pray that the Lord would work in the hearts of both campers and counselors.
Many years ago I offered an electronic version of our letter. At that time only 5 people expressed interest – most relatives. Maybe it’s time to try again. If you would like to receive an e-mail version of this letter (whether you personally receive it now or not), send us an e-mail at bwaii@yahoo.com from the address you’d like it to go to. If there is enough interest I’ll start it up in addition to the printed letter. I have no intention of eliminating the printed version.
One last tidbit for now, we were looking at tickets and found an incredible deal. We will be able to get to within an hour of our house for about $450 each. We have tickets for Aug. 22, only a week after our replacement at the church in Brazil leaves. There are some retreats scheduled shortly after our arrival, so it will be a little rough. We wouldn’t want to get bored, now would we?
This letter has been longer than usual and longer than it should be, but there is so much to share. Part of my intent in writing each letter is not just to give a business report, but for you to know us, and to some degree "experience" missions first hand, if only vicariously.

Keep us in your prayers,

The Athas in Brazil

Prayer’s Digest
Prayer:
· Churches in America, the foundation of American foreign missions
· Summer camp: fruit, preservation
· Return – safety, preparations, adjustments
· Church plant and kid’s camp
Praise:
· Furlough transportation, housing, and fellowship,
· Protection from "new" dangers,
· Cheap tickets back to the field on a good date

The Athas in Brazil


	At the suggestion of one recipient, I’m going to experiment with a format change in our letters. At the end you will find a Prayers’ Digest version where you can get the goodies without the blah-blah-blah. Let me know what you think. Spring-time greetings: Once again, our return to the US has surprised us with changes, though not as many as I expected after 5 years. As foreign missionaries, we are uniquely qualified to perceive the subtle drift in American churches since large blocks of time pass between visits. It is much like when you notice how much our kids have grown or I have aged (not we, Michele hasn’t changed). Yet as outsiders, we are uniquely disqualified from doing much about it. Never the less, I am deeply concerned about the chruch’s complacency and complicity with the world. I’d better stop because I feel a sermon coming on, but rest assured, I pray for you. When we first returned it was fun to watch the boys’ reaction to the US. Greyson, the youngest, was only 4 last time he was here so it was newest to him. He was surprised the cemetery didn't have a protective wall around it. They also thought the brick houses weren't finished because they hadn't been plastered and painted. Some restaurants now have high-speed hand blow dryers. The other day I was at the counter ordering when I heard the blower kick on. Moments later I heard screams and Greyson yelling "Shut it off! Shut it off!" I could just imagine him hanging on to the sink for dear life, his feet fluttering in the breeze. They all three love looking at the cool cars here. Speaking of cars, one of my long time dreams was fulfilled this furlough when a friend loaned us a minivan. For years I’ve eyeballed them and now I drive one. It’s great for those longer trips with the boys. It’s got a lot of fancy features that we aren’t used to. There’s this neat mirror above the windshield so you can see who’s behind you (or the kids), the windows open and you can even open the doors from inside the car! When you turn a corner the blinker turns off by itself and the headlights don’t work just in the daytime. It is lacking a few things, though. For example, the wipers don’t stop where I want them to, they run back down to the bottom and hide when I turn them off. And if you spill something it doesn’t automatically drain through the floorboard. You have to mop it up yourself. Oh, well! You can’t have everything. It’s not just the cars that are fancy here. Even the houses are high tech. Our mission house is equipped with a special buzzer on the ceiling to automatically let us know when supper’s ready. In Brazil we have to wait until we can smell the smoke ourselves. We’ve had some fine meals at others’ houses, too. Pulling into the house for one of these visits I saw some wild turkeys and thought, "I wonder what they taste like"? I found out the answer is "they taste good!" because that’s what they served. We were given some venison, too, which the boys really like. It broke their hearts to think of those cute little deer with big brown eyes. They would ask "Can we have Bambi-burgers today?" The cold weather kind of put a chill on things, but I learned the art of layering. It was great for traveling. I didn’t have carry a suitcase, I just wore all my clothes at the same time. Then as the outer clothes got dirty I just rotated my layers. I could even mix-and-match. Just rotate the shirts three layers forward and the pants one layer backwards and I had a whole new outfit. People often ask if we aren’t afraid of snakes and piranhas and head-hunters (we both reply "no, my mother-in-law stays in the US"). Ironically, our oldest came all the way back to America to get snake bit. It was just an old rat snake, but hopefully a lesson was learned about watching when stomping around the woods in springtime. Our time here in the US is quickly running out. We accepted a "special assignment" this summer. Camp has always been important to us and both Michele and I have a special place in out hearts for Springs of Life in Patrick Springs VA. Having experience in camp in Brazil, (which is a whole other beast) I was asked to be the temporary director this summer. I have gone up there a lot trying to get things ready. One special benefit is that I have gotten to know and appreciate our home church pastor better than any since I was a child. Pray for us as camp will make return preparations a bit more complex and that we would serve well. Pray for the camp season that there will be much fruit from the labor and for the camp that He grant wisdom to the leadership that it might be around for many years if that be His will. News from home is mixed: some good, some bad. The individual Bible lessons with kids continue and our replacement is going to try to repeat last year’s free kids retreat using help from the seminary. Pray that the Lord would work in the hearts of both campers and counselors. Many years ago I offered an electronic version of our letter. At that time only 5 people expressed interest – most relatives. Maybe it’s time to try again. If you would like to receive an e-mail version of this letter (whether you personally receive it now or not), send us an e-mail at bwaii@yahoo.com from the address you’d like it to go to. If there is enough interest I’ll start it up in addition to the printed letter. I have no intention of eliminating the printed version. One last tidbit for now, we were looking at tickets and found an incredible deal. We will be able to get to within an hour of our house for about $450 each. We have tickets for Aug. 22, only a week after our replacement at the church in Brazil leaves. There are some retreats scheduled shortly after our arrival, so it will be a little rough. We wouldn’t want to get bored, now would we? This letter has been longer than usual and longer than it should be, but there is so much to share. Part of my intent in writing each letter is not just to give a business report, but for you to know us, and to some degree "experience" missions first hand, if only vicariously. Keep us in your prayers, The Athas in Brazil Prayer’s Digest Prayer: · Churches in America, the foundation of American foreign missions · Summer camp: fruit, preservation · Return – safety, preparations, adjustments · Church plant and kid’s camp Praise: · Furlough transportation, housing, and fellowship, · Protection from "new" dangers, · Cheap tickets back to the field on a good date The Athas in Brazil