Prayer Kick-starters

Praying is a discipline that is an up and down for me. You are probably thinking, “but David you are a missionary, and are perfect, and follow in the footsteps of others in ministry who had so much to do that they had to wake up earlier so they could pray more.” Well, no. I am very in and out and was appalled the other day when someone said something about me being a prayer warrior. I did not respond or correct them though I knew it to be far from the truth. The reality is that I am pretty random. My strides to be consistent in the morning have failed often due to wandering thoughts, wandering tasks and most of all, wandering children. But there have been many times in my life when my prayer life has been kick-started and I thought I would list just a few:

1. Tribulation: Probably the number one kick-starter for a good prayer life is a good tribulation. Something goes wrong. The baby is sick. A close friend has cancer. Persecution looms. Difficulties are inevitable in life and we all pass through them; (yes, even those in churches who have the promise of a prosperous life for their faithful). Once we hit them we realize that only God can solve the problems and we tend to be more serious about our prayer life.
2. Financial Needs: A financial difficulty could also be under the classification of a tribulation, but I separated it here because people are pretty close to their financial needs. When there is no bread, the Lord’s prayer is there to ask for the daily bread. We are building a house but have not found a good loan yet and that has caused us to pray more. We need God to answer; otherwise we don’t receive what we want (and prayer helps us realize that maybe we do not need what we want).
3. A good prayer book: There are some great prayer books out there. Jim Cymbala, Mark Batterson, AW Tozer, (I am guessing Kay Arthur and Beth Moore both have written on the topic), E.M. Bounds and maybe even Bruce Wilkinson (although some would say that book brought in the Prosperity Gospel). I read Circle Maker by Mark Batterson last year and it made a huge difference in my prayer life. I grew in my prayer life during that time. 
4. Deliberate morning worship: After going to some prayer services where we sang and then prayed I decided to include singing in my prayer time. If you go to my youtube channel I have my favorite praise and worship songs separated out so that I can go through them and think about the love of God, majesty of God and worship Him through music. Worship is part of prayer and has made a difference when I realize that the better part of prayer is concentrating on God rather than on my needs and wants. 
5. Hanging around a prayer warrior: Growing up in church we had a man in a wheelchair named Brother Jack. He would ask you to help him “practice” praying. I know he prayed more than he did anything else (besides maybe smiling). Although the thought of such people is sometimes overwhelming because we know we could never be like them, it does help us to pray just a little bit more. 
6. Prayer education: Learning that you do not have to close your eyes and bow your head to pray has helped me quite a bit. Prayer is a conversation throughout the day that includes many small prayers that do not start with a reverent “Heavenly Father” or end with an emphatic “Amen.” God knows when we are talking to Him and prefers the relationship. The “written off by theologians” book The Shack taught me that God wants us as part of the trinity in terms of our fellowship. The Trinity has a close interpersonal relationship and God wants the same fellowship with us. Every aspect in our life intertwining around Him. 

I know that there are many more kick-starters in our prayer life and I also know that we should not need a kick-start! Prayer should be consistent in our lives, but for all you people like me that are unholy and lack in your prayer life, I hope these help. What kick-starters are on your list?

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?

Bits from Brasil April

Yesterday I went to Teen Challenge located right here in Arcoverde. The director is a Pastor that attends our Pastor’s group and has been excited about our project here in the Outback. I was able to talk to him more about the ministry as we added up receipts to be sent to the government in hope for money for their project. He told me about the land being donated several years ago and how God has supplied their needs. I asked him how he received his salary; to which he replied; I don’t receive a salary. “But how do things run?” I asked. “By faith” was his reply. 

Many people have stories of when their bank account was empty and they lived by faith to receive their daily bread. Sarah and I do not have those stories and it is because for some reason God has chosen to supply our needs before they are dire. Praise Him for that and for supporters like you all. Last night I again had the chance to tell a soccer buddy about our awesome job and how people like you are on the other end allowing us to be here. Thank you!

This month has been a month of developing friendships and even starting Bible studies. Dhiego has heard a summed up version of the Bible by using the Roots of Faith images as well as watching a DVD called the Hope. I believe he understands there is a decision to be made. Pray for him as we continue to study.

I am doing an English conversation group on Saturdays. The first week we had two; second week we had 5; and I think it will continue to grow as they seemed to really enjoy their time. 

Next Wednesday night we are starting an open home Bible study. Our friends have promised they will be there and are excited about it. We will be starting in Genesis and going through the Bible so that they can get a full understanding of God’s redemption plan. Most of them have at least a Catholic background, but are unchurched right now. 

Evelyn is starting to be courageous with learning Portuguese. She has enjoyed her ballet classes with her best friend Alice. We have spent a lot of time with her family (Francisco and Bia are her parents). They are a lot of fun to hang out with and we are blessed to call them friends. 

Last week our administrators Cal and Carol Clark came for a visit. They have been a huge blessing to us in our decision making and encouragement. (If you have ever seen my blog posts on whether or not to use mission boards; they are a huge reason I advocate having one). We went to Afogados da Ingazeira to check that out as that city will most likely be our next step. Then we talked about what our goals are for the future. Looking at the big picture (20-30 years ahead) can help you decide what to focus on in the present. We decided that it would be good to have a strong church in Arcoverde to support the work in the central of the Outback. One year will not be enough time to start a strong church and so we decided it would be good for us to stay in Arcoverde for 3-5 more years. We will have more contact with colleagues until we have recruited more for the interior. 

God has been so good to us in sending us here and in supplying a great home team that prays and supports us regularly. When the guy asked me last night why we were here when we could be there I wanted to ramble forever about the blessing it is to be a missionary. Thank you all so much for making that possible. Pray for fruit that remains!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, my chatter-box ballet story-teller and my big one year old (turned one on April 6) who eats so well and wants to talk so badly!

Rejection

Rejection is tough to handle. I remember taking my basketball to school one day during elementary school and at recess we went to play outside. They excluded me when they picked teams even though they used my ball. I sat over next to the wall feeling rejected. It must not have been a good feeling if I still remember it over 20 years later.

Rejection does not feel good and few like to be left out of the crowd. Good Friday is a day when Jesus was rejected by us. He was not just left off the team, but was disgracefully expelled from society. With a beating, spitting and mockery He went to the cross.

Jesus understood God's sovereign plan for His life. He understood that it would mean rejection and He accepted that and did not react negatively to the plan.

We will all feel rejection at some point in our lives. We can react negatively or accept it as part of God's sovereign plan and have a proactive response. Jesus reacted with forgiveness not revenge and our reaction should be similar.

As in the rejection of Jesus we receive the gospel, so in our rejections we have a chance to display the gospel.

PFR

This morning on facebook I posted about our water situation and I thought I would explain a little more here. Since being in Arcoverde we have never been without water, although we have been without running water over half of our days here. We arrived in the middle of the drought season and thankfully it is about to be over (according to everyone we have talked to).

Lack of water, especially running water, seems to complicate things quite a bit. For example, cleaning is difficult. Any kind of cleaning; washing dishes, laundry, ourselves, our hands, vegetables, the floor, etc... We do not usually think about how water affects our every day lives. In order to flush the toilet we need to fill up a bucket of water, lift the lid off the toilet and pour it in. When we are without running water we usually ask around the house who has to go to the bathroom so we can all go around the same time and use one flush. Yeah, that sounds gross...that is because it is gross. So naturally we do not feel very clean. Especially since we all take a bath in the same 8 liters of water every night.

But the thing is; we do have drinking water and we do have water. We can usually buy water pretty easily (besides yesterday and today). We have a Planet Earth DVD on water that shows people traveling 3-4 days in the desert trying to find water. We are not even close, not even anywhere near that desperate. Plus we have money to buy water, lots of water. If we really wanted (and I don't), we could spend the $3 it costs for 20 liters of drinking water and use that water all the time. We are very blessed.

God is using this time (hopefully short time) without water in our lives to better understand the people in this region. We can live as they live and see the value of their lives. Just as starting with the weather is an easy conversation starter so is using the water situation.

We know that God has reasons for this time in our life and we are doing fine. Our family has grown very closer the last couple of months and we have learned to appreciate so many benefits that we have in life.