Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Oh I will never be doing that . . . .
I don't know about the rest of you, but I have said that phrase a number of times with all the intentions in the world of it being the truth. I remember saying as I graduated High School that I would never be going on for more school. I was done, I had had enough, but sure enough in the end I have completed 2 advanced degrees and am still working towards a third. I remember saying as a child that I would never spank my kids, but yet I had a discussion the other day where I affirmed that spanking is sometimes a necessity as a form of discipline sometimes required to curb certain behaviors. Well most recently I remember talking to several students in a preaching class that this would not be used much in my life as I never intended to become a preacher, and yet low and behold here I am about to finish my sixth week behind the pulpit, but not just any pulpit, but one in another country being translated into a different language to a different culture. I sit and wonder how this has happened. So many times in life it seems the God leads us into those things that we fear or dislike to teach us that we need to rely upon Him more than our own abilities. It is like anytime I say that is something I will never do God says ok well you just wait and see. While I am sure that I have not yet learned my lesson I think I am closer to not tempting God to help me work on any more fears or dislikes that I may have. all those areas that I do not feel gifted for or that I dislike always seem to be the areas that God sends me into. I remember just before I came on this missions internship if I was planning on becoming a full time missionary, and my response was, I really don't think so, but I believe that I will be working with missionaries in a support role of some sort. And yet again after almost four months on the field I can feel a direct guiding of God that someday in the maybe not so far future I will be heading out raising support (one of the most hideous of all tasks) to hit the field someowhere around the world to serve as His ambassador for the Kingdom. Just one more thing that I decided I would not do that God has decided is where He wants me to go. So to all of you back home and reading my babbling through my times here keep me in your prayers as I try to discern God's ultimate plan, or maybe just His near future plans for my life. that I would be open to anything that He has for me and I would listen closely to His directions. Thanks and may His great blessings be upon all of you.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Writers Block
Did you ever get the feeling when you are studying scripture for a purpose that maybe there is something in there you are supposed to find or that is relevant to your life that you just can't quite make out? I have been trying to prepare and write my sermon for Sunday evening on Ephesians 5:15-21 and after 3 days of trying to get it out on paper I have only about 1/3 of what I need to fill the time. And getting that far has been like trying to walk through runny mud with brick shoes. I know that I am not a polished or experienced preacher by any stretch of imagination, but this is even odd for me. I have been studying and praying the entire week about this and have just been left high and dry on a sand bar without rescue in sight, and my time is running short as I got about 27 hours till I have to stand up and give God's word to His people. So I guess what I am looking for is some willing friends to join my in prayer for this that God's will is made evident to me so I can present His truth to those needing to hear it. thanks.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Dunes II
Ok well it was a success for most of the night. The kids had a blast out running the dunes and experiencing things many of them had only dreamed of doing before last night.
There were a total of 14 students out of the 18 that attend youth group that were able to attend and all of them did. They had to meet certain requirements to be eligible for the trip. The first was that they had to have attended at least 7 of the 11 meetings of the youth group to this point. Next it cost them 12 reais (about $6). The last was they had to receive permission from their parents. While there were a few bumps along the way, and I don't just mean in the roads, the evening did what we hoped it would.
We got the fire up and going to roast the hot dogs (cachorro-quente), we had long sticks for them to roast their own on (which i must say I think was one of the highlights of the night). And through the process not one dog was lost into the coals, which given the jockeying for position that ensued during the cooking process was surprising. 
We then took advantage of the night and position close to the ocean, with a multitude of stars over head to talk about the creation. Reading through the Biblical account of creation and talking about what they have been taught in school and what many others believe about how we came to be. It went a little slow as I tried to represent creation with sand water and kiddy toys, borrowed from Ron's children, as the verses where read in Portuguese aloud.
Never realized just how complicated creation was until I tried to do it looking for the proper prompts in a language I do not understand all that well just yet. I also know that I am not God, not that I had any thought that I was, because I forgot to "create" the creatures of the sea in the proper order ooppss. The birds of the air went on by themselves without the creatures of the sea until after the beasts of the Earth when I remembered that I forgot the fishies. So now that I have cleared up in my head that I am not God we finished up with the culmination of God's creation with Adam and Eve. Created in His image and not the spawn of mutated primates.
After the lesson and a little discussion we proceeded on to a game which had the kids traipsing all over dunes and valleys in search of signs in the dark with instructions on them for the next target. While there was a bit of confusion and a few becoming lost in the darkness. In the end all where found and the kids found their way back with the guiding light of Ron's 2mil candle power spot light which cut through the night across the tops of several dunes to show the way home to those lost sheep (it worked really good for the sun during the creation narrative as well).
We ended the night tired and covered with sand and smiles as everything was loaded back up into the vehicles and we head for home. We ended the night in Ken's yard with some cookies, juice and some talk about the evening. There were some weary eyes and tired legs, but not a frown in the bunch. I am told the next outing (at the end of another 11 weeks) will be an overnight camping trip close by.
I am saddened that I will not be around for this as my time here ends in just a short 7 more weeks. While I must admit that the heat and the intense sun has been a burden to me after coming out of the frozen tundra that was Omaha the beginning of March when I arrived here. I am going to miss so many things when I have to board that plane heading back to a similar heat in Omaha. The people here, though I am not able to communicate effectively on my own, have welcomed me into their homes, churches, and lives with eagerness. They have been patient with me as I tried to absorb some of their language and have constantly encouraged me in the process of learning their culture and customs. It has also been a great blessing to reconnect with many of the people and places I was blessed to see on my first time down in 2005. I was amazed at how many people here still remember the time we spent here, though it was a short 12 days 5 years ago.
Well, I pray that all of you are well, and that the blessings of God have been abundant in your lives. I should get back and do a little prep before church this evening where I am again filling the pulpit for week number 4. To all of you who may do this week to week you have my most sincere admiration. It is a difficult thing to stand before the word of God weekly. To sit and read His word seeking out truth and application that He wants presented to His people. Knowing that in doing so you are placing yourself under the acute and discerning eye of God every time you come before man and teach His word. James 3:1 "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." It is a great burden that each carries when He brings the Word of God before man, and for all who do regularly you have my prayers and envy. Because it is a burden I do not feel I am capable of bearing for any extended period of time, and it is only through His great mercies that I will prevail in this task now. So if you have someone in your life who consistently and honestly teaches you from God's word give them a bit of encouragement for their labors on your behalf. 1 Timothy 5:17 "The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching."
There were a total of 14 students out of the 18 that attend youth group that were able to attend and all of them did. They had to meet certain requirements to be eligible for the trip. The first was that they had to have attended at least 7 of the 11 meetings of the youth group to this point. Next it cost them 12 reais (about $6). The last was they had to receive permission from their parents. While there were a few bumps along the way, and I don't just mean in the roads, the evening did what we hoped it would.
We got the fire up and going to roast the hot dogs (cachorro-quente), we had long sticks for them to roast their own on (which i must say I think was one of the highlights of the night). And through the process not one dog was lost into the coals, which given the jockeying for position that ensued during the cooking process was surprising. 
We then took advantage of the night and position close to the ocean, with a multitude of stars over head to talk about the creation. Reading through the Biblical account of creation and talking about what they have been taught in school and what many others believe about how we came to be. It went a little slow as I tried to represent creation with sand water and kiddy toys, borrowed from Ron's children, as the verses where read in Portuguese aloud.Never realized just how complicated creation was until I tried to do it looking for the proper prompts in a language I do not understand all that well just yet. I also know that I am not God, not that I had any thought that I was, because I forgot to "create" the creatures of the sea in the proper order ooppss. The birds of the air went on by themselves without the creatures of the sea until after the beasts of the Earth when I remembered that I forgot the fishies. So now that I have cleared up in my head that I am not God we finished up with the culmination of God's creation with Adam and Eve. Created in His image and not the spawn of mutated primates.
After the lesson and a little discussion we proceeded on to a game which had the kids traipsing all over dunes and valleys in search of signs in the dark with instructions on them for the next target. While there was a bit of confusion and a few becoming lost in the darkness. In the end all where found and the kids found their way back with the guiding light of Ron's 2mil candle power spot light which cut through the night across the tops of several dunes to show the way home to those lost sheep (it worked really good for the sun during the creation narrative as well).
We ended the night tired and covered with sand and smiles as everything was loaded back up into the vehicles and we head for home. We ended the night in Ken's yard with some cookies, juice and some talk about the evening. There were some weary eyes and tired legs, but not a frown in the bunch. I am told the next outing (at the end of another 11 weeks) will be an overnight camping trip close by.
I am saddened that I will not be around for this as my time here ends in just a short 7 more weeks. While I must admit that the heat and the intense sun has been a burden to me after coming out of the frozen tundra that was Omaha the beginning of March when I arrived here. I am going to miss so many things when I have to board that plane heading back to a similar heat in Omaha. The people here, though I am not able to communicate effectively on my own, have welcomed me into their homes, churches, and lives with eagerness. They have been patient with me as I tried to absorb some of their language and have constantly encouraged me in the process of learning their culture and customs. It has also been a great blessing to reconnect with many of the people and places I was blessed to see on my first time down in 2005. I was amazed at how many people here still remember the time we spent here, though it was a short 12 days 5 years ago.
Well, I pray that all of you are well, and that the blessings of God have been abundant in your lives. I should get back and do a little prep before church this evening where I am again filling the pulpit for week number 4. To all of you who may do this week to week you have my most sincere admiration. It is a difficult thing to stand before the word of God weekly. To sit and read His word seeking out truth and application that He wants presented to His people. Knowing that in doing so you are placing yourself under the acute and discerning eye of God every time you come before man and teach His word. James 3:1 "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." It is a great burden that each carries when He brings the Word of God before man, and for all who do regularly you have my prayers and envy. Because it is a burden I do not feel I am capable of bearing for any extended period of time, and it is only through His great mercies that I will prevail in this task now. So if you have someone in your life who consistently and honestly teaches you from God's word give them a bit of encouragement for their labors on your behalf. 1 Timothy 5:17 "The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching."
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Dunes
Hey everyone I hope that the summer adventures in America are beginning and the distress of end of the year is over for all my student friends out there. Here in Brazil it is just getting near the middle of the second quarter. The school year begins in Jan and goes through June then they have off the month of July, and then back to school through November, and off for December. I guess the up side of it is they only go to school for about 4 hours a day. But they also start at 18 months to 2 years old and have four grades of kindergarten. So i guess every system has ups and downs.
To my surprise down here the directors (what most schools call the Principle in the states) of the schools are elected by popular vote of teachers and students. Imagine if that were the case in the states. You don't have to have any special qualification or degrees. If the people you work with and teach like you more than the other people available you get elected. As you would rightly guess this does not lead to a well organized or efficient means of placing administration. And more often than not those placed in the position are unqualified or unequipped to handle the tasks and demands of the job. so it also seems to be an inefficient means of running a school as well with little consistency from year to year. But then again I have not really seen much in the public system here that does.
ok sorry about that I intended to write about the youth group trip we are taking out to the dunes down at the beach and got caught up in the schools. Well . . so . . the youth group is taking the first trip of the year down to the sand dunes at the beach. For many of these kids it will be the first time they are actually going to get out of their neighborhoods, much less the city. Many of these kids have rarly been farther from their house than they could walk or bike in a few minutes, so it is a big deal for them to be heading down to the beach. Even though it is only a 45 min drive most of the kids have never seen the ocean. So tonight out on the sand dunes with a bonfire and wiener roast will be an unusual treat for many of them. I felt it was also a great opportunity being so far away from the city and light pollution (from the lights not the level of pollution) to see all the stars and talk about biblical creation. Just like in America the schools here are filled with the teachings of evolution and Darwinism.
So while the kids are going to be soaking up all the new sights sounds and experiences that this trip is offering I am going to try and take advantage of their open mind and pour in some truth about where we all came from. So with the sound of the ocean crashing against the beach and a canopy of unbelievable stars over head we are going to look back at how it all began. So it is noon right now in Mossoro, Brazil and at about 8pm we will begin teaching so if you have a couple moments and would like to pray for these kids and that their hearts would be open to the Word of God and the leading of the Spirit tonight. And that this trip would be a way of opening them up to more of the truth that God is offering to them.
Thanks for your prayers and time in reading my ramblings. May His hand be upon you in everything you do in His name.
To my surprise down here the directors (what most schools call the Principle in the states) of the schools are elected by popular vote of teachers and students. Imagine if that were the case in the states. You don't have to have any special qualification or degrees. If the people you work with and teach like you more than the other people available you get elected. As you would rightly guess this does not lead to a well organized or efficient means of placing administration. And more often than not those placed in the position are unqualified or unequipped to handle the tasks and demands of the job. so it also seems to be an inefficient means of running a school as well with little consistency from year to year. But then again I have not really seen much in the public system here that does.
ok sorry about that I intended to write about the youth group trip we are taking out to the dunes down at the beach and got caught up in the schools. Well . . so . . the youth group is taking the first trip of the year down to the sand dunes at the beach. For many of these kids it will be the first time they are actually going to get out of their neighborhoods, much less the city. Many of these kids have rarly been farther from their house than they could walk or bike in a few minutes, so it is a big deal for them to be heading down to the beach. Even though it is only a 45 min drive most of the kids have never seen the ocean. So tonight out on the sand dunes with a bonfire and wiener roast will be an unusual treat for many of them. I felt it was also a great opportunity being so far away from the city and light pollution (from the lights not the level of pollution) to see all the stars and talk about biblical creation. Just like in America the schools here are filled with the teachings of evolution and Darwinism.
So while the kids are going to be soaking up all the new sights sounds and experiences that this trip is offering I am going to try and take advantage of their open mind and pour in some truth about where we all came from. So with the sound of the ocean crashing against the beach and a canopy of unbelievable stars over head we are going to look back at how it all began. So it is noon right now in Mossoro, Brazil and at about 8pm we will begin teaching so if you have a couple moments and would like to pray for these kids and that their hearts would be open to the Word of God and the leading of the Spirit tonight. And that this trip would be a way of opening them up to more of the truth that God is offering to them.
Thanks for your prayers and time in reading my ramblings. May His hand be upon you in everything you do in His name.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Unknown
Have you ever had someone tell you something about yourself that truly shocked you? Well I must say I just had that experience tonight. I was talking with someone and they told me that they were truly afraid of me. They felt that I could or would physically harm them. And I must say that this really hit my hard. I do not consider myself to be a violent person, or even have the intent or desire to harm anyone. I understand that I am a big person compared to some other people, but by no means have I ever considered myself an imposing figure. So I was in a state of shock a bit when I was told this. It was not a joke, I could see real fear in their eyes when they said it. I have to admit that I am struggling with this a little bit. The thought that I am capable of striking real and deep fear into the heart of someone really has taken me aback. I am just not sure what to do with that. I feel as if my character has been shaken a bit with this. I am even at a loss of words to really describe how this makes me feel at the moment other than a bit hurt. I know that the intent of this person was not to hurt me but I do not know how else to describe it. I . . . I just really do not know what to do with this. I am not sure how I should feel about this. Or if there is something I should be doing with it at the moment. It is just kinda stuck in my head and spinning there. I mean I believe that anyone is capable of causing harm on another in situations that may arise. I do not believe that there is a person alive now in the past or the future to come that is beyond the reach of violence if the right set of circumstances arise in their life. But to be confronted with this possibility in myself at this moment has just thrown me for a loop and has sent my head and heart reeling. I guess I really should not be surprised that it is true, but I just never have thought of myself in that way. As someone who could intentionally and with premeditation cause harm upon another person. So for all of you out there in the electronic world I would like to hear your thoughts, and if you have ever had feelings or thoughts like this about me I would really like to know. I do not want to the guy walking around that people are afraid of but doesn't seem to notice or care, or maybe even likes it. I want to be approachable and available to people and not have them be frightened of me for any reason if I can help it. so here is your invitation to help me out and maybe find a way to keep from that happening. please post on this or if you want email me at ericl.townsend@gmail.com . thanks.
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