April Newsletter

Season of Sickness

When I published my last newsletter, I was just getting over dengue fever. The dengue epidemic has continued to worsen across Brazil and other countries. With school back in session, there has also been an increase in flu viruses, especially among children. In our local church, most of our church leaders have either been sick or have been taking care of sick family members. We may have our whole worship team together this Sunday for the first time since January. We are extremely grateful that no one in our congregation had a dangerous/deadly case of dengue, and that everyone seems to be healthy or healthier this week.

Since I got sick first, I had the privilege of serving in areas I usually don't, including running worship practices for several weeks and preaching three Sundays in a row. Although they were very unfortunate circumstances, it was also a great time of learning and growing for me and others who had to step up. I usually preach once or twice a quarter, and over the last two years I've been growing in my preaching style, preparation, and confidence preaching in Portuguese. I felt all of my work and God's work in me pay off on Palm Sunday when I found out I would need to preach in the service that day with just four hours' notice. It went really well, and I didn't even freak out too much :)

Discipleship

Our discipleship track begins with what we call a cell study that goes over Bible basics and focuses on our relationship with God. We look specifically at Bible stories about interactions between God and people that show God's character and purposes, but especially His grace, love, and patience with broken people. We can adjust the study based on what the participant needs depending on their own relationship with God and their religious/spiritual background. Which was kind of difficult to figure out with Leticia. 

Leticia has been a member of four different churches in the last ten years, all with extremely different beliefs. When we started the cell study, I had a hard time getting a read on her. She has been attending our church for a while, and asked to start discipleship with me. But when we actually start it was like she was just politely listening, almost going through the motions, like she already knew everything but didn't feel like it applied to her life. I invited Bia, the pastors' daughter, to participate with us, but even then trying to get any conversation was like pulling teeth. 

Finally the Holy Spirit nudged me toward taking a page out of the Paul Clark playbook. If you attend Lewiston First, you know that a couple times in the last year Pastor Paul has used an interactive comprehension strategy in his sermons. It includes telling a story, having participants retell the story in their own words, and then asking a series of discussion questions. We looked at the story of the woman at the well, and I was shocked at how Bia and Leticia responded to the new format. They freely offered ideas, responded to each other, and took turns recording their answers on a piece of paper. One of the discussion prompts is if they have any questions about the text. They started with the text, but things soon got delightfully off topic. Why did she have five husbands? Why didn't the disciples say anything when they saw her with Jesus? Why wasn't she stoned like the woman caught in adultery? Why were the Samaritans more open to Jesus than the Pharisees? Why were Stephen and Paul stoned? What's a heretic? How did Paul survive being stoned? It was truly a teacher/pastor's dream come true. They made so many connections, suggesting answers to each others' questions, referring back to previous discussions. I am so excited to continue working with these young women and seeing God open their hearts to the riches of the scriptures. 

Prayer Requests

• Brazil's dengue fever epidemic. Here in central Brazil, we are starting our dry season and most of the mosquito population will die off. Other regions of Brazil, however, have rain and mosquitos year round. 
• That my roommate, Aline, and I would have more opportunities to talk and share Jesus with our neighbors.
• Several of our church leaders are going through heavy difficulties in their families and personal lives. Pray that we would have wisdom to guide them and that they would find balance in self-care and serving others. 

Judges 6

One of the first stories we use in our cell study is the story of Gideon. You may know that God used Gideon to free the Israelites from the oppressive Midianites with only 300 soldiers. If you've seen Pixar's A Bug's Life, it's basically the same premise. When God calls Gideon to save Israel, He doesn't immediately talk about war strategy or soldier training. God takes time to treat two issues in Gideon's personal life first: his sense of identity (verses 12-16) and his faith in God (verses 25-26). 

Identity: Why do I need to consider my own identity? Shouldn't I just focus on God's identity and priority in my life? Unfortunately, many of us see ourselves primarily as servants, workers, or citizens in God's kingdom. When we do not fully understand and live our identity as children of God, we insist on having a type of relationship with God that He does not desire.

Faith: God was calling Gideon to do a big thing, and God knew there would be several challenges along the way. The last thing God needed was for Gideon to bail in the middle of the process and try to seek help from other pagan gods or idols. In our challenges, we might bail and try to get help from a quick fix, worldly wisdom, addictions, or our own desires. But God wants us to always come back to Him. He wants to help and guide and walk with us through every challenge and phase of our own journeys.

Brazilian Culture - Easter

About 50% of Brazilians are Catholic, but the whole Brazilian culture is heavily influenced by the Catholic church. During the whole season of lent, grocery stores and restaurants offer a variety of fish options, especially on Fridays. Schools have off Wednesday through Friday before Easter and Good Friday is a federal holiday. Everyone enjoys the time off from work on Friday by getting together with family, and then it's back to work on Saturday. Sunday is almost a secondary holiday with special church services and presentations. 

There are no Easter egg hunts here, but chocolate eggs are a big deal. They are kind of like our Easter baskets, sold everywhere and ranging from simple to extravagant. I bought simple ones for Aline, Bia, Isabela, and Alice. They were hollow chocolate eggs with a cartoon tattoo, and they were a big hit. The fanciest eggs come with different chocolate fillings or presents inside.