Owsleys in Brazil Blog

The Sweetness of God's "No"

Several years ago I received a call from a Brazilian friend who had been trying to get a visa to come to the United States.  She hoped to work or study here so that she could improve her English.  She kept me informed about various oppor-tunities and asked me to pray that the Lord would show her which to choose.

Finally, I received a call telling me that all the doors had closed and that she would be staying in Brazil. But instead of despair, I heard joy in Deborah's voice.  She surprised me further by saying, "God's no is as sweet to me as His yes."  I thought about that phrase for days.  Would I ever come to the place where God's perfect will was so much in line with my own that I would love His no as much as his yes?

Now I find myself pondering her words anew.  We have been in the States for over a year and we are homesick for our life and ministry in São Paulo.  But as we seek the Lord's will for our return, He seems to be delaying us yet again.  Can we doubt that His plan for us is perfect?  Of course, not!  We are learning that when He says no, it's because of His great love for us.  It's His goodness that "delays" us until His purposes can be fulfilled in His perfect timing. 

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

 

Prayer & Therapy

My friend just had knee replacement surgery and I went to visit her in a rehabilitation center.  I arrived just as she was going into therapy and was invited to sit with her until her therapist was ready.  She told me how hard it has been to do therapy each day and that the various workers have pushed her until she was in extreme pain.  She laughingly called the dark haired one “the black witch”.   To the patients, the health workers were “out to get them.”  Yet as I looked around the room I saw half a dozen physical therapists patiently and tenderly working with each person.   

Today another friend shared with me that she was seeing a counselor to help her face some painful issues from her past.  She was not enjoying it, but knew it was necessary to help her achieve healing and freedom. 

Often the Lord works with us to straighten out the broken parts of our lives and we cry out for mercy, thinking He’s oblivious to our feelings.  But instead of being oblivious, He’s absolutely cognizant of what we are going through and of what we really need.  In our darkest hour He knows what we are experiencing and tenderly enables us to make it through.   As we trust and pray, we are learning “knee placement” therapy. 

 

Decide to Abide

I was in Wal-Mart the other day and saw them removing the Christmas decorations and replacing them with exercise equipment.  Next to those items were boxes of gum, the kind that helps you quit smoking.  Obviously, retailers are appealing to America’s love affair with New Year’s resolutions.

In Brazil we rarely hear of such things.  In a culture where financial success is elusive, most folks have pretty basic goals:  to get through the year without debt and without illness.   Never-theless year-end customs do exist.   Some believe that wearing white clothing will usher in a year of good luck.  Others think that eating lentil soup on Dec 31^st will bring them wealth.  And if someone is particularly superstitious, they may go to Rio de Janeiro on New Year’s Eve to light candles on the beach to Yemanja, the goddess of water, in the hope that she will grant their requests for the coming year.

But the best custom of all takes place in evangelical churches.  Many of them have a late night prayer meeting followed by a potluck supper.  We can’t think of a better way to welcome in the New Year than by praying together as a church body.  It’s wonderful to put our faith in the true and living God rather than in clothing, soup, or candles!  He alone knows what the New Year will hold and we can trust Him unequivocally to do what is best.

 

 

He Hears!

El Roi ("God sees") is one of the best known names for God in the Old Testament.  It appears in Genesis 16 along with another name that is often overlooked.  Ishmael's name means "God hears". The biblical concept of hearing is not mere recognition of sounds uttered, but an active response to those words.  It enriches my prayer life knowing that God is listening in this way (whether or not I see "results").

All year I’ve been praying for a Jackson City policeman whose name I picked through our church’s “Adopt-a-Cop” program.  I’ve been praying that if he didn’t know Jesus that he would find him. I’ve prayed for his safety, etc.  Of course, I’'d never met him so I didn’t know if he was old or young, single or married.  But I kept praying knowing the Lord would take care of his needs. Two Sundays ago I attended the baptism which our church holds each year at Lime Lake.  A long row of people was waiting to be baptized and each person was giving a brief testimony.  When the last man in line stood up and gave his name, I practically shot out of my lawn chair. Could it possibly be “my” policeman?  How many men in the world could have such an unusual name?

As I spoke to him afterwards I was thrilled to hear how the Lord had been working in his life.  What an encouragement to both of us to know that truly the Lord hears and answers.  

Prayer for the New Year

Dear Lord, I look back on last year with some regrets.  Thank you for a fresh start in 2010.  I’m grateful that you make all things new.  I’m glad, too, that you bring beauty out of ashes.  In spite of setbacks, we sensed Your presence and goodness always.   You alone made it possible for us to live in Spring Arbor, to be near our college age sons, for me to be involved with various ministries at the university, and for Dan to start feeling better.   I look forward to this coming year and all the opportunities that we’ll have to grow and learn.  

The biggest things on my mind right now are our future, our ministry, and our children.  Please don’t let any of them become so central to my thinking that they become idols.  Don’t let me become downcast, but help me to place my hope firmly in You.   Lord, I make it my goal to please You.  Amen

The Forgotten Key

At the beginning of January I put a prayer request on our blog, practically begging people to pray for me because I was overwhelmed with a particular translation project.  Almost as soon as I posted the request I decided I’d better get to work.  I went to my desk and opened the folder and as I leafed through the applications I saw that almost all of them were invalid for some reason or another.  The huge project that I’d been worrying about and avoiding for two months was, in fact, a non-project.  Nothing in that folder needed to be translated and it left me feeling pretty foolish over all that needless anxiety!

 

It reminded me of the chapter in Pilgrim’s Progress where Christian and his friend are in the giant’s dungeon at “Doubting Castle” They are convinced that death is imminent when suddenly one of them remembers that the key to get the out of the dungeon is the promises of God.  The key had been in their pockets all the time, but they’d forgotten about it.  A classic hymn says it well:

 

Oh, what peace we often forfeit

Oh, what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer.

 

Thank you to those who lift us up in prayer.  Pray that we’ll be faithful to trust the promises of God for our lives.  He’s never failed us yet!

 

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.

 

Dumb Prayers

Since I am a high risk for skin cancer and live in the tropics, dermatologists through the years have ordered (not suggested) that I wear sunscreen every day.  I´m okay with that.  The only problem is that good sunscreen is expensive here and the cheaper brands all make you smell like you are headed out to the beach!  A few years ago my neighbor in Cuiabá introduced me to a product that was both economical and odor-free.  The only hitch was that it was not sold in stores.  It had to be purchased through personal vendors (somewhat like Avon ladies).  Informal chats with friends led easily to a nearby Natura saleslady.

Fast forward to Sao Paulo where we moved in July and hardly know anybody.  One morning during devotions I said to the Lord, "You know all my needs.  I´m out of sunscreen and I don´t know where to get it."  Dumb prayer? You bet!  That afternoon Andrew and I walked to the stationary store to buy school supplies.  As we passed a tiny, dingy gift store Andrew begged to go in and look for a present for his brother´s upcoming birthday.  Unwillingly I followed him in.  As we entered the door we saw a huge sign on the left wall, "WE SELL NATURA PRODUCTS".  Quickly I approached the store owner and explained what I needed.  She pulled it right off the shelf and handed it to me. (Usually you have to order it a wait a week.)

I know there are people who say you shouldn´t bother God with prayers for unimportant stuff.  But I tend to agree with a friend who said, "If it´s big enough to worry about, it´s big enough to pray about."  For me prayer is not as much about GETTING things from God as it is about RELEASING my worries ("casting all my cares upon him") and about growing in intimacy with Him as I wait for His perfect answers.  I´m glad he hears ALL of our prayers, even the dumb ones.

The Fruit of Prayer

In recent months several of our churches have held prayer campaigns that have involved praying and/or fasting for set periods of time. The Altos da Glória church was one of those churches.  They had several strong families, but just couldn’t seem to grow. Pastor Peterson challenged the congregation to spend extra time in prayer for 40 days. Now there are four new couples attending the church!

Pastor Marinho of the Central FMC has been holding various prayer campaigns since the beginning of the year. There have been early morning prayer meetings (6 to 7 a.m.) at the church as well as weekend prayer vigils. Last Sunday one woman shared that SEVEN people had come to the Lord at a recent home Bible study. We praise the Lord for His transforming power and for the privilege we have of fulfilling His purposes through prayer. How much more would He do if we only prayed?