Bits from Brasil May

This month we have launched into having a Bible study at our apartment. We have had four meetings so far and plenty of different faces. We are studying the Story of Hope on Wednesday nights and have heard four different testimonies as well. People seem to enjoy the study and we are seeing who will be the faithful attendees. We have had good discussions and we can see them learning. We have had fun too. I started the first week telling them that they were the reason we would be staying in Arcoverde for longer and that their friendship meant a lot to us. They have made this transition to a new place much easier on us.

(Our good friend Francisco the fireman in front of the truck he drives at his work)

The English conversation group has had some good discussions. We have some more people interested in having conversations. At some point we would like to have an English camp in Arcoverde with a short term mission group from somewhere. Let me know if you are interested. If you can read this without google translate you qualify! 

The last couple of days (Friday and Saturday) I taught an Old Testament module class in Recife at our partner church, Koinonia (No, that is not portuguese, it is greek for “fellowship”) Baptist Church. The class went really well and both teacher and students are excited for the continuation of the class by email and for the next module in July. We will probably finish the class in August and move on to New Testament. Our colleague Roger Smith will be teaching them a Devotional Life class on Friday nights for a couple months. They have 25 students doing these courses. Praise the Lord for this “mother church” that will be assisting us in planting the church in Arcoverde. 

(The girls on the rock pile with the excited Carlos in the background)

Another big event this month was buying land and starting to build. Right now one of our outside walls is going up, but soon there will be a wall around the lot and soon after construction will start on the house. Fortunately Carlos, the missionary/Pastor that has been in the Outback for over 20 years doing mission work is also an entrepreneur and is our “contractor.” He has a lot of experience and we have been able to leave both the tough and tedious work for him. 

(Standing on our property with the side wall behind us)

The World Cup is coming up in the next couple of weeks. We are not sure what will happen at this time. It could bring great opportunities to share the gospel, it could bring riots or we could lose friends if the US beats Brasil (they are not scheduled to play and it would be unlikely) (and I am just joking about losing friends). But please pray that we can be profitable for the kingdom during this time. We might be able to do some soccer tournaments during this time as well. 

Your prayers sustain us! God bless you.

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and our ballet girl dedicated to learn portuguese and to read, and my little teething monkey that is climbing everything

Using our resources

I am all about making sense and making cents. One way we can do both of these together is by using ABWE Foundation as your charity when you are shopping on Amazon.com. I am pretty sure most of us shop there anyway and with this program .5% of the total goes toward ABWE. Now this may not be too much (unless you are buying a car online), it all adds up and missionaries know that every penny counts.

One long term project/goal I have had for a long time is to have a fund that will creatively multiply our missions' dollars to offset missionary's costs. This is a good step in the right direction that could potentially accomplish just that. Missionaries are blessed by so much giving and yet there are still needs out there. Helping us out with this just makes sense!

So how can you make ABWE Foundation your charity? You must enter the Amazon website as follows:www.smile.amazon.com in order to have your purchase count into our account.  You must also choose your charity (ABWE Foundation) upon first entering the site from this path.  The charity will remain the same until you would possibly change it.

Goals, dreams and a book by Stephen Covey

I have been excited about the book I am reading right now. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey has been a popular book since it was written when I was six years old. It has a lot to do with prioritizing and looking to your future. It is easy to live from day to day without planning what is supposed to happen in our future. Most of us do not even think about our future, much less try to change it.

What do you want to do with your life? What will be in your eulogy? What can you accomplish with your life? It is easy to get married, have kids, and just think about surviving from paycheck to paycheck; but highly effective people will have a plan. So how do you reach those high aspirations?

First, you must decide that you want to be proactive about your life. You want to change what you can change. You want to make a difference. You decide to chase your dream (that the Dream-giver gave you- in case you wanted to hear from a different book as well). Decide you will take the necessary steps and be disciplined enough to go for it.

Then start with the end in mind. What will these goals look like in the end and what are the necessary steps to reaching those goals.

Then put those goals into your calendar or schedule. Each week should include steps in your schedule that will help you attain these goals. If you do not prioritize them into your week, then you will be too busy to work on the important tasks and settle for the non-important urgent tasks.

Personally speaking, I have some main goals I would like to accomplish in life that are very long-term goals. One has to do with church planting. We would love to plant multiple churches and be involved in a big church planting network; (specifically at this point in Northeast Brazil). I would also love to be part of an innovative means to multiplying our missions dollars. Both are lofty goals, but I can start dreaming and being proactive about reaching these goals.

What about you? What are your dreams and what goals do they involve? Are you just dreaming about them or are you taking action towards reaching them?