Owsleys in Brazil Blog

V. M. Church Still Growing

   
     When Dan was in Sao Paulo recently he spoke at the Vila Mariana FMC. You may remember that in 2008 we had the privilege of being part of that church plant. It began with a dozen faithful participants and preaching was supplied by four of the leading men on a rotation basis.   Initially there was no Sunday school, but I taught Bible stories to four children during the services.

    During our time away from Brazil the church continued to grow and moved to a new location for more space. Sunday school classes began. Now that there are sixty regular attendees, they are looking for an even larger place to meet.

    Interestingly, the director of a private school has asked them to meet in her school. Not only would she like them to use the class rooms for Sunday worship services, but she has also asked that they give Bible classes to the students during the week. What an opportunity!

    Praise the Lord for opening this door. Pray, also, that the Lord will supply a permanent pastor for this growing congregation.

Brazil Trip

    Dan heads to Brazil tomorrow to renew his visa and tie up a few loose ends before our return in June.  Of course, I'm insanely jealous, but I know that my turn will be coming soon.  After a few days in Sao Paulo he'll head over to Lima, Peru where we'll be gathering with other missionaries to talk, pray and strategize about future ministry opportunities in Latin America.  Would you please pray that our travels will go smoothly and that the Holy Spirit will direct our meetings?  May we hear His voice above all others.

 

Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue; God's voice is its most essential part. --Andrew Murray

 

Job Descriptions

Oswald Chambers wrote that our first job is to know God and all other tasks fall into place after that.  You’d think that after all these years of walking with Jesus that I’d have that figured out. 

Most people have a vague idea what missionaries do.  They live in another country, sharing the love of Christ through preaching and teaching, and then come home every four years for a furlough.  The word “furlough” was misunder-stood to mean vacation so a few years ago the term was changed to “home assignment” to convey the reality that the missionary is still on full-time duty. 

Clearly, when we are in Brazil, we are doing our job and, clearly, when we are on home assignment we are doing it too.  But what about the year we were “on hold” while recuperating from a stressful time on the field.  If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know that this time of inactivity was a challenge.  How could we write ministry newsletters when we weren’t “doing” anything?   But as often as I asked the Lord that question, He sent words of affirmation from prayer partners or through devotional books we were reading.

The most recent encouragement comes from Priscilla Shirer’s book on Jonah.  She writes that what we consider to be an interruption to our plans is often just a new assignment.  Shirer says, “God graciously gives divine interruptions to His children.  He presents them an opportunity to partner with Him in purposes they could never conceive.  A life interrupted by a holy God is a privilege.” (p. 16)

So in between our field and home assignment was another one, just as surely a divine appointment as the other two.  He called us who were weary and burdened to come to Him and find rest.  And, yes, it has been privilege.

 

Stop Minding Your Own Business!

Pastor Mark Van Valin often says that our personal stories only make sense in the context of a much bigger story.  I caught a hint of that while watching The Christmas Carol last week.  When the ghost of Scrooge’s old partner appears, he is heavily chained.  As he explains that he is being punished for past sins, Scrooge interrupts, “But, Marley, you were a good business man!” And Marley snaps back, “But my business should have been MANKIND!” 

I heard about a woman living in Southern Brazil whose neighborhood was plagued by robberies.   Her own house had been broken into several times and she was fed up and anxious to leave.    The Lord began to change her heart and instead of moving, she invited poor children into her home for afternoon activities.  She helped them with their school work and fed them.  As she switched her focus from her own well-being to caring about the needs of others, the robberies stopped.  Her reputation as someone who loved the neighborhood kids influenced the local thugs so that they not only stopped robbing her, they prevented others from doing so!

She made mankind her business and found a new purpose.  Her story was transformed in the context of God’s story.  May the Lord keep us from being so focused on our own lives that we miss the bigger picture.

 

Life Margins

I’ve written before about our busy ministry schedule and how the Lord slows us down at times.   Ironically, now that we are in the U.S. for rest, I am having a harder time than ever saying no to many wonderful opportunities.  The Spring Arbor community offers a plethora of prayer meetings, bible studies and fellowship groups.   Not only do I want to “take in” and grow, I want to “give out” and minister to others.   How do I balance that with teaching a class and caring for my family’s needs?

While sorting out various options my son Steven sent an e-mail asking if I’d be “floor mom” in one of the men’s’ dorms.  “You wouldn’t have to do much,” he said. “Just pray and bake cookies.  And besides, these guys are all my best friends and will probably stand up with me at my wedding”.  Talk about an offer that was hard to refuse! (But refuse it, I did.)

Joyce Meyers says that our relationships are nurtured in the margin of our lives.  If we are too busy our relationships begin to unravel (or they never happen in the first place!).   That nugget of wisdom has helped me to say no to requests like Steven’s because time is precious and I want to save it for interacting with loved ones, especially my MOST loved one, the Lord Himself.

"Wet and Mild"

In Brazil if you want to say someone is in limbo you might use a laundry term.  Because Brazilian washing machines do not use hot water and because detergents are not very effective, clothing that is extra dirty must first be scrubbed and left "de molho" (i.e. to soak).  If a person would like to be doing a particular thing that circumstances do not allow, he is said to be "soaking". 

 

When we arrived in Sao Paulo last July I was "de molho" for the first few months.  Dan's role was clearly defined as seminary teacher and co-leader of a new church plant, but I was on hold as far as ministry was concerned.  This was partly by choice because I wanted to set up the house and be around to help the boys as they adjusted to their new school.  Though my heart's desire was to lead a women's Bible study, I knew I'd have to be patient before I had enough contacts to get one started.

 

Daily I put my dream into the Lord's hands, knowing that His plans and timing are best.  While I was waiting, some interesting opportunities arose.  A missionary friend asked me to edit his Christian novel.  I helped to get a children's Sunday school class started at a church plant.  I did some substitute teaching at the American school.  In February when I was asked to teach the women's Bible study class at the Vila Moraes FMC, I jumped at the chance.  Meeting with that precious group of ladies is now the highlight of my week.

 

Nobody likes the soaking process, but I can see how the Lord uses it to make His followers "cleaner".  It teaches us to walk more humbly and obediently before Him.  And it teaches us to put our faith, not in our dreams, but in the only One who can make them come true.

 

  

Christmas Outreach

Those who follow this blog may remember that the Santa Cruz church plant began in mid September.  Dan and I have had the privilege of working with the core members of this group.  Through the months we have had wonderful times of teaching and fellowship, but many have expressed disappointment that friends and guests who were invited never showed up.

 

Two months ago we began a weekly prayer meeting expressly for the purpose of asking the Lord to send new people.  Of course, we prayed for other things, but the focus was on asking the Lord to soften the hearts of those who were invited so that they would take the plunge and come to the services.  We kept planning and praying and trusting the Lord for the outcome.

 

On December 21st the Santa Cruz church held its outreach service and Christmas dinner.  About twenty-five regular attendees were there as the visitors came trickling in.  What a joy to look around during the service and see that we had as many visitors as members!  Only the Lord could have done that and we praise Him for His faithfulness.  Now we are praying that these newcomers will want to make the church their regular place of worship.  We are believing the Lord for great things in 2009!

 

Although Dan and I are saddened that we won't be able to watch the church grow, we are looking forward to the new challenges the Lord has for us at the Vila Morais FMC.  Please keep us in your prayers as we make the transition this coming week.  It will be especially hard on the boys to switch churches one more time.

 

The Thrill of Adventure

    In recent years there has been a boom in radical sports.  I remember reading the testimony of one Christian who realized he was addicted to the adrenalin rush he got from participating in such sports and gave them up because he wanted his highest passion to be Jesus Christ.

    Did he give up the thrills to settle down to a ho-hum Christian life?  I certainly hope not.  The Christian life is the most exciting life there is.  What could possibly be more radical and risky than handing your life completely over to another person and telling Him He can do whatever He chooses with it?

    Since I took that step many years ago my life has been anything but boring.  Sure, there are plenty of unemotional days when we Christians walk in obedience and faith, doing what pleases Him no matter how we feel.  But then there are the times the Lord leads us down radically different paths from the ones we´d planned.  When that happens I´ve learned to buckle my seat belt and hang on till the ride´s over.  

    In our 20 years in Brazil He has led us into situations we would never have chosen for ourselves, but as we followed Him, He gave us the skills we needed (and the joy too!) to face each one.  It´s been the "ride of a lifetime".  Just recently Dan was asked to pastor a Brazilian church.  This one year assignment had not been a part of our plans.  Could we say, "No"?  Absolutely not!  We said, "yes" and then fastened our seat belts.  We can hardly wait to see what the Lord is going to do next!

Lord of the Harvest

    I do not have a green thumb.  In fact I dread it when people give me plants as gifts because I know that I will soon be reponsible for their demise by over (or under) watering them.  The house we are renting has a small flowerbed by the front door.  The previous owner planted impatiens, poinsettias, roses and a few flowers I don´t recognize.  Since the house had been empty for three months before we moved in and the flowers were still blooming when we arrived, I knew I was in luck.  This was definitely going to be a low-maintenance garden!

    Sure enough, with minimal weeding and watering it is thriving.  Guests to our house admire my horticultural skills and I´m not honest enough to tell them that I have very little to do with the beauty of that little plot of ground.  Somebody else did the hard work of choosing the plants, sowing the soil and cultivating them.  Their present prettiness is a reflection of their original Creator who now makes them grow through His gifts of sunshine and rain.  My part is really very small.

    As missionaries it seems we plant and water much more than we harvest.  That can be discouraging at times, but it also keeps us focused on the One who is really doing the work.  What a relief to know that it is not our effort, but the "power of the Gospel" that saves.  Just as my flower bed reminds me to be humble, so does our ministry.  Our efforts are miniscule in comparison to God´s part in the salvation equation.  But that doesn´t mean we can take our job lightly.  We plant and water and pray, knowing we are one hundred percent dependent on the Lord for the harvest.  Paul wrote in I Corinthians, chapter 3:7, " So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow."  May He receive the glory as the church in Brazil moves forward! 

Did I Miss My Calling?

Lately I’ve been asked to substitute teach at the American school.  There are few things I enjoy more than researching a topic and teaching on it so these have been happy days for me.  I sometimes wonder if I should have gotten my teaching certificate in college.   Without official certification I can’t “teach” at PACA on a full-time basis, but I’m acceptable in an emergency. 

 

Because I was painfully shy during my college years I was convinced I could never stand up in front of a classroom and thus pursued a degree in Literature on the “non-teaching” track.  During my freshman year a speech teacher saw potential in me.  When I almost flunked her class she invited me into her home and gave me a pep talk.  She made sure I didn’t quit and that I learned to speak to the class without being able to hide behind a podium or cue cards.  It was terrifying, yet somehow freeing.  After graduating from college I earned a Masters degree in Theology and Philosophy at Asbury Seminary.

 

When I arrived here 20 years ago, I  had one year to “get” the language before I was expected to teach theology.  I was mortified over the Portuguese mistakes I was making in my lectures.  As we worked in newly planted churches I was sometimes the one and only children’s teacher.  Year after year the Lord put me through His own teacher-training course and I began to discover that teaching His truth brought me a deeper joy than anything I had yet experienced in my missionary career. 

 

To borrow a phrase from Eric Liddell, “When I teach I feel His pleasure.”  It feels like what I was created to do.  When I’m tempted to think I missed my calling I’m reminded that God called me to TEACH which is not exactly the same thing as getting a teaching certificate.  I have had many, many opportunities to teach Bible and theology here.  Oswald Chambers constantly reminds us in his writings that our first calling is not to a place or thing, but to a Person, God Himself.  If we are faithful to walk daily with Him there is no way we can miss his secondary callings in our lives.  I’m living proof of that.