We’ve already spent a week in North Carolina with Sarah and Kiffer and Beth-Anne. Sarah’s job occasionally involves driving children on field trips in the city of Brevard. She works for the Boys and Girls Club of America. While all 3 are busy taking summer courses and working, we thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with them as time allowed. We cheered on Brazil through 2 World Cup games.
Hello from the States!
Jesus taught us to expect life in the Kingdom of God to be different than any other religious or secular tradition.
How do you evaluate your spirituality today on the spectrum of “cannot” and “have-to” on the one side, and “freedom” and “can I do that too?” on the other side.
If you are not happy with where you placed your spiritual life on this spectrum, today is a good day to start a series of conversations with God to find out how you can change this.
Jesus promises freedom, and abundant life. Awhile ago I was sitting with my friend on the porch of his million dollar house, and we were talking about how we live in one of most privileged times in history. Many people around the world are able to sit on their front porches without fear of marauders, which reminded us of this prophecy in the Old Testament.
Micah 4:4 Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken.
Still, many Christians and non-Christians, wealthy and not-wealthy, are unhappy.
Think for a minute: “What would it take to make me truly happy, right now?” Once you have the answer, read on.
In my experience, and the Bible backs this up, we can only be really happy, and really content, when we are doing our best to walk with God on this earth. We can be eating grapes on our own porch, or we could be going through a dark night of the soul, or both. True happiness doesn’t really have to do with that. It has to do with walking in the destiny God has prepared for us. Maybe it is helpful to think of God holding a flashlight. As long as we are close to Him it is easy to see where to step next, and that really feels good. RGB.
Hello to all my Followers and Faithful Supporters!
I hope all is going well for you! I know that the Spring has finally arrived in Ohio, and I’m sure all of you are especially thankful for it this year! In Brazil, the rainy season is ending, which means it will be hotter and there will be a lot of dust. Here in Altamira, they are working on a project to add a new sewage/water system and have systematically torn up almost every street in the city. The streets weren’t that great to begin with, and now, they have more holes than they have paved parts. As you can imagine, it makes driving a bit of a nightmare and the dust is 10 times worse! Needless to say, I already miss the rain.
Also at this time, CDR classes are ending. This will be my last semester teaching at the CDR in Altamira. It causes me to reflect on what has taken place over the past 2 years. When I arrived here, I had no teaching experience, nor did I speak any Portuguese, and I got thrown into the mix. I had to learn fast how things worked. Luckily, I had some great people around me who taught me a lot, as well as some really great students who were patient with me. I learned that I actually really enjoyed teaching, and that I was pretty good at it. I have learned a lot of new methods on how to really engage the students, and hopefully, get them excited about learning, too. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to God for positioning me here in Brazil, doing something that I love. You too, have been a big part in making that happen, and I am very thankful.
The next few months marks the conclusion to my time here in Altamira, and it is bittersweet. I will miss my friends here so much, but I am also looking forward to my new adventure in Portel. I will spend this time working on my final preparations to move, as well as enjoying my last moments with all those I have grown to love so much. Just to name a few that I am leaving behind, there is Cleide, whom I have already told you so much about. She has been like family to me. There is Gustavo and Marcelino, who both have spent so much time making me laugh. There is Steve and Elba, who have guided me through all the rough patches and helped me to continue. There is Cyndi and Art, who have delighted in me and also listened to my struggles. And many, many more. Leaving people behind is definitely one of the hardest parts about being a missionary.
I am also going to use this time to continue working on my classes for VI. I am currently taking a class called Assimilation. It is about the importance and use of church systems, and how to use them to make your church grow. I am excited about learning these things, and hopefully, putting them into practice in the future. After this class, I only have one more, and then, I will graduate. It will be nice to have that under my belt.
As usual, I will add a link to my pictures below. This past month, we had our CDR project, which involved us going to a local elementary school. This time, we taught about “Safe Touch”. It’s a program that helps kids recognize abuse and how to deal with it if it’s happening. I also included some pictures of my students from our last days together. And finally, there are a few pictures of our Alpha group, which will be concluding in a few weeks. Going through the Alpha program has been a great experience for our church. They are hoping to do another one in the future.
I, of course, want to thank all of you for your continued and faithful support. I have been so blessed and honored by all of you. I appreciate all your comments of support through facebook and on the blog. Knowing that you guys believe in me greatly encourages me. And I want you to be encouraged, too. I pray that God continues to give back to you what you have given. That he blesses you, spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally with refreshment and rest. I pray that he takes away your fear and worry with his constant love. Bless you all.
On a side note, my back has been hurting me a lot lately. Please pray that God will heal it. Thank you!
Love, Allison
“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
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| Praying for a woman in our Alpha Group |
Today I had coffee with a friend I have not seen in twenty-six years. As we talked of missions, God, and our families, he relayed the following story.“Sometimes our friends in church mention that they wish their teen-agers wanted to sit with them, as ours do. While these parents would like to have a better relationship with their children, they do not see the bigger picture. They do not choose to organize their lives so they can eat together as a family, and spend quality time together. Sitting together on Sunday is the tip of the ice-burg, the fruit of many years of choosing to do things together with our children, even if we would rather be doing other things”.
This thought about serving others came out in a different way during our family devotions this week. Bella brought to our attention how the important centurion humbled himself before Jesus so his servant would be healed. This army leader stepped out of his comfort zone to help his servant.
Matthew 8:5-6 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
God will give you opportunities to help others this week, but sometimes you will need to step out of your comfort zone…maybe way out. I am curious about your experiences or thoughts about this.
We are often amazed at the unfair, tragic stories of the people around us. The idea that a sinful lifestyle will make you happy, or that it is a person’s only option, passes naturally down the family lines. It takes divine intervention to stop the chain reactions of sin, and to start a new family story. Our church in Brazil allows our neighbours a chance to observe Christian families. For example, most of our neighbours still laugh when they hear that Deanna and I go out on Tuesdays for “date night”. They associate dating as something adults do outside of a marriage relationship. As these young people get married they need extra grace to figure out how to live in a godly relationship. Healthy ways of handling conflict have not been modelled for them. Stabbing, yelling, or going silent are no longer acceptable. Their children will have it easier, and their grandchildren easier yet…as long as each generation does their part to connect the next generation to God.
“…the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. Exodus 20:5b-6 NLT
For a school report Bella and I studied her family heritage. “All my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, and all my cousins, they are all Christians”. (36 people). Wow. Now how many others can we help to start their own Christian family heritage?
Our Mennonite Brethren Christian heritage goes back many generations. For this reason I am certain I have an easier time than many people around me. Often I think, “I’ll bet if I had been born into their family, I would be reacting exactly as they are reacting”. I am blessed in part because of the prayers and actions of people who lived long ago.
Here is Emma with my Dad and Mom, George and Margaret Bergen. 
There are great rewards as we work on our most important task in life, to do our best to pass on a Christian heritage to our children. What better way to do this than to include our families in helping other people start their own Christian heritage?
Emma has homeschooled from grades K-12, with the exception of Grade 10. High Road Academy allowed Emma to participate in the graduation ceremonies and celebrations along with all her friends she went to school with in 2011/2012. Then HCOS, the home school association with whom we have been registered these past several years, also hosted a graduation ceremony, banquet, and evening. This was an especially interesting event because this is the first time most of these grads met each other, even though they have worked together in forums and projects online for years. Emma graduated with honours, and we are very proud of her. The teachers chose Emma to give the 5 minute opening speech for this huge event. 
Emma was chosen to be the saladictorian, the student to give the opening speech and prayer.
Emma’s Uncle Darrell drove her to the graduation ceremonies. He puta chrome 400 hp chrome racing motors in the ’55 Chevy he rebuilt. “It was so much fun. When Uncle Darrell stepped on the gas pedal we all got pinned back in our seats. And every person we passed on the freeway looked over and nodded at us”.
Harold and Joan, Deanna’s parents, continue to do all they can to help us thrive in Brazil. We celebrated Harold’s 77th birthday yesterday.
Grief is a funny thing. If you’ve ever lost someone close to you you’ll know this. Some days you feel just fine, others grief tumbles over you like heavy waterfall, the force of the waters threatening to pull you under.
Today in Canada it’s Father’s Day. Although I think of my Dad every day, days like this are harder than others.
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| My brother Kevin-died June 2012 |
Before what I affectionately call the ‘tsunami’ of deaths in my life, I wondered how my faith would hold up if really put to the test. Would I hold onto the truths I have learned or would I shake an angry fist at God and run for the hills? Questioning all I had come to believe?
| I think this past year was a pretty good test of that. |
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| Nephew Craig died Oct 2012 |
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| Best friend Rob died Dec 2012 |
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| Dad, died Nov 2013 |
I have seen grief ruin people. The crushing weight of the pain of loss is something they just can’t seem to get out from under. I have also seen people bury it so deep in their hearts that the pain comes out in different ways, against other people, or needs to be quieted with numbing effects of drugs and alcohol. Some turn off all feelings towards others to protect themselves from being hurt again.
The truth is we will all face loss in our lives, it’s how we face it that can change our lives.
I’ve seen Christians turn away from God when suffering comes, feeling betrayed and hurt ‘Why would a God who loves me allow this to happen?’ They ask.
I can’t profess to have it figured out, not even close. I only know what I’ve learned through the storm in my own life.
Your faith is, was and will continue to be a choice.
This means that when you don’t understand why things are happening the way they do, you choose to believe anyway.
When the gripping pain of loss comes, as it inevitably will in this life, you choose to believe anyway.
When financial strain seems to crush you, you choose to believe anyway.
When nothing makes sense and you feel alone…..choose to believe anyway.
This has been my experience. In my darkest of days, when grief threatened to drown me, I chose to believe anyway.
What happens after you choose is where the incredible gift lies. When grief sits on my chest pushing the tears out of my eyes, there is someone there to give that pain to, to pour it out to….and incredibly, each and every time I do this, the pain lifts, I feel light and free and full of an inexplicable peace and hope.
I know the pain of grief without faith and it’s a dark place, a long road, a deep hole. I don’t want to stay there.
There is a faithful God who loves you more than you can imagine. In your pain, He is there, with you. He will redeem what is lost, restore what is broken, and help you to stand again.
But first you must choose to believe anyway.
