Moving to a new country has many challenges.  Especially, when you don’t know the language.  Just shopping for groceries becomes a whole new experience, never mind having a meaningful conversation with anyone.

You feel as though you’ve regressed to being a small child, you need someone to help you do most things, speak for you and take you where you need to go.

This process is both humbling and frustrating. I have developed a whole new appreciation for those thousands of immigrants new to Canada, struggling with all the same things.

About an hour before we had to take the only other english speaking people here at the mission to the airport for their three month furlough, something happened that would change our lives here in Brazil.

As you may remember a number of months ago I wrote about the very generous donation we received after speaking at our church.  With it, along with others we were able to purchase a 2012, gently used VW Kombi here in Marabá from a friend of the church.

We’ve already used it for a number of things, including picking up some very excited kids on their way home from school, moving a stove for one of our neighbours from one house to another, carrying building materials and taking a tiny baby just a few days old for a hearing test.

This past Sunday we took two loads of youth to the streets to sell car flags and T-shirts as a fundraiser for the church.  It was loud and fun and we’re going to do it again next week!

This vehicle changes our lives, helps the mission and will allow us to begin to spread out and explore, help our neighbours and eventually move in to the community or to another base.

We are incredibly grateful!

Go to Source

Sao Luis (Saint Louis) is on the North East coast of Brasil. It’s a large city of about one million inhabitants.

One of the small villages we passed through

Ivanildo & Jackiline

World Cup Fever

Sao Luis seems to have three faces.  The face where Jackiline and her friends and family live looks a bit like Marabá.  The other side is has tall apartment buildings, restaurants and office buildings.  As they say here in Brazil it’s ‘chici chici’ or what we would call ‘ritzy’ looking. The central part of the city is the historical part with old tiled buildings and a colonial feel to it.

Joao Philipe, Joao Pedro & Joao Lucas

We visited with one of Jackiline’s friends in her apartment above a store.  Her husband and adorable little girl were resting from the days intense heat in a hammock or rede (pronounced hedgie) swinging above the bed.  Jackiline explained to her why we were visiting Sao Luis and it was clear by her reaction, although I couldn’t understand her words, that she had some strong opinions about the church.  The part of the conversation I did understand was that in the past she has felt very judged, for her clothing or her life, when at church.  She was visibly agitated.

Ivanildo & I

Ivanildo (who thankfully speaks clearly and slowly) explained that our church, the Vineyard, isn’t about religion.  It’s about relationship with Jesus, and that the Bible clearly says it’s not our job to judge.  He also explained the second most important commandment in the Bible aside from loving our God with everything we have, is to love others and that God doesn’t care about your clothes he cares about your heart.  We believe that it’s important not to get your life in order and then give your heart to the Lord, but to give Him your heart and then let him transform you.

We’ve been fortunate enough to see this happen many time in our own lives and in the lives of others.

There are lots of churches in Brazil, people here are no stranger to religion.  What we want to introduce to people is the very personal, very real, relationship with a living God.  A God who loves us far beyond our clothes, has the power to heal wounds so deep they physically hurt, and who has a plan for our lives bigger and better than we could imagine.

The plan is to visit Sao Luis with a team monthly, developing a small group there and possibly using Alpha has the spring board.  These are early days and first steps towards something new.  It’s exciting to be a part of it!

A View of The ‘chici’ part of Sao Luis and the Ocean

Futebol (a.k.a soccer)

Go to Source

Thought for the Day

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” NIV.

Pastor Gary at the Abbotsford Vineyard gave a sermon on forgiveness today. He started by outlining some things that forgiveness is not. 

Click here for a list of 8 things that are NOT forgiveness.

I have learned the following three truths about forgiveness this year.

1. We forgive others for our own benefit. (THIS IS A GIFT I GIVE MYSELF.)

a) This is the only way that we ourselves are forgiven, that we can pursue happiness, contentment, joy, and all that God offers.

b) Remember the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18, we are forgiven as we forgive others.

2. We ask forgiveness from others for our own benefit. (THIS IS A GIFT I GIVE MYSELF.)

a)  This is the only way to be released from legitimate guilt.

b) We do this so our gifts to God have value. Matthew 6:14 Gifts that have no value are worthless.

3. We explain to others when they have sinned against us for their benefit. (THIS IS A GIFT I GIVE TO OTHERS.)

a) This is a selfless act of service. It is like offering an olive branch to people who have sinned against us. We are offering them a chance to ask forgiveness, to release themselves from legitimate guilt.

b) “So watch yourselves. ‘If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them’” (Luke 17:3, NIV). See also Matthew 18:15.

c) Explaining to others when they have sinned against us can only be done effectively when it is done in love. We cannot do this well when we are angry, or when we are still reacting poorly to what was done to us.

d) This one is for me the most difficult because:

i) I would rather forget the matter, and hope it will just go away. The problem with this is that some situations do not just go away.

ii) The other person may not realize they have sinned against me, or they may not agree that they have sinned against me. The conversation may be awkward. After courageously talking to the other person, I may see things differently. This has the potential to put the relationship back on a healing track.

iii) The other person may think they have a right to sin against me, and it may feel to me like they are standing their with their emotional arms crossed. It may feel like I am asking them to say sorry to me for my benefit, instead of the real truth that I am extending to them an olive branch so they can be freed from legitimate guilt. This has the potential to be awkward. Of course, the other person may ask genuine forgiveness, which I may have trouble to give, because of the deepness of the wound.

iv) A real danger here is that the other person may ask forgiveness without really agreeing that they did something wrong, just to make the immediate conversation go away. This is the same as lying, even though both parties may have good intentions. In this case the sin will probably be intentionally repeated, with both parties feeling they are right. Deceiving one another is not nearly as helpful as having courageous conversations until both parties feel completely understood.

v) If this goes well, this is the first step to rebuilding trust. Trust can only be rebuilt when both sides agree that trust was broken. Then both sides can start taking steps towards reconciliation.

Conclusion: We cannot control other peoples actions and reactions. Our responsibility before God is to (1) Forgive everyone completely, (2) ask forgiveness if we know someone has something against us, and (3) to let others know when they have sinned against us. 

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” Romans 12:18 NIV.



I am curious about your experiences or thoughts about this.

Sincerely,

Rick Bergen.

Go to Source

On June 6, 2014, Pastor Gary Stephens at the Abbotsford Vineyard Church talked about forgiveness, which included the following assumptions about what forgiveness is not.

• Forgiveness is not making excuses for what was done to you.
• Forgiveness is not pretending it never happened.
• Forgiveness is not waiting for an apology.
• Forgiveness is not pretending it doesn’t hurt.
• Forgiveness is not a one-time event.
• Forgiveness is not overlooking justice.
• Forgiveness is not trusting.
• Forgiveness is not restoration.

Posted with permission.

Rick Bergen.

Go to Source

After thirteen months, the loss of my Dad, surgery to remove my gallbladder, a health scare for myself and my kids we are finally back in Brazil.  It feels really, really good to be here.

Our travel down was long, as it always is, and full of emotions-like a tossed salad.  One minute our kids were so excited they looked as though they might burst and the next there were tears of grief at the thought of leaving Canada.  They are two years older than they were when we came here in 2012, and they’ve been through a lot, we all have.

When we landed in Maraba, I looked at Faith and she had tears in her eyes.
“Are you ok? Are those sad tears or happy tears?” I asked.
“Happy tears Mommy, we’re finally back in Brazil!”

Later that evening as we were starting to unpack there was a knock at the door, four girls stood with beaming smiles at our door to welcome us back.  One had tears in her eyes as she hugged us.  She was our first friend here, she bravely came to our house for dinner when we could speak barely a word of Portuguese.

‘I missed you guys so much!’ she said.

Another knock at the door and this time a gaggle of boys, all a little taller and a little more like men than they were a year ago.  We chatted briefly and I listened hard, trying to reactivate the Portuguese part of my brain.

It was a wonderful welcome, considering we had been gone almost twice as long as we were here it was good to know we hadn’t been forgotten, because we certainly hadn’t forgotten them.

While we were in Canada, two things weighed heavily on my mind.  One, my portuguese.  I had made some great progress learning the language and I prayed that the Lord would preserve it.  I am an extrovert, so not being able to connect with people is very difficult for me. My prayers have not only been answered but it seems that somehow I can understand better than I could before and I can say more, have more confidence.  What a blessing!

The other prayer was for my daughter, Faith.  Like her mother she is a social butterfly and without people to play with she wilts.    Since we’ve been back she has already made a great connection with a few of the girls, lots of them remember her and have been asking for her.  She has also been able to share her gift of art with the kids and started face painting.  One of the Mom’s has already asked her if she would do some face painting at her daughters birthday party in October.  Faith is so excited!

Sometimes being away from somewhere can make it difficult to settle back in, but we are grateful that is not the case here. It feels almost as though we never left, just pressed the pause button.  We are grateful for so many things, our safe return, the kids joy at being back here and excited to see what God has next for us in this new chapter.

Stay tuned!

To see a collection of photos click here

Go to Source

Hello to all my Friends and Family!

I miss you all, and hope everything is going well for you.
It’s been an exciting month here in Altamira, as we celebrated the marriage of Christopher and Denise. It was an incredible wedding. When Denise starting walking down the aisle, everybody started crying, including Christopher and Denise! I took some pictures for all of you to see with a link below. It was a truly beautiful day, and I was so happy to watch my two friends give their lives to each other.
Another amazing thing that also happened on the wedding day is my friend, Cleide, had a new baby girl named Liah! She is so beautiful, of course, and I got to spend some time with them in the hospital the day after. We are lucky to have so much to celebrate on the same day!

Things here have been pretty routine. I’ve been teaching at night, and working on developing my lesson plan for when I get to Portel. I still have a lot to learn about teaching English. It can be difficult to explain when you don’t fully understand the other language, like Portuguese. It’s always a work in progress, but I’m excited to be on the journey. I’m also trying to learn as much as I can about how the school functions, and what I will need to do to make it a success.
 I have been talking with Manoela, and it sounds like she is making the decision to come with me to Portel. She will probably come in March, when the school starts its first semester. I am very excited about this, and I know that it will be a great opportunity for both of us. 

Our church has also started doing the Alpha Course every Friday night. So far, it has been a great experience, and some of the people from our small group have been attending. I love the simplicity of the Alpha Program, as it offers a place for relationship as well as curiosity about following Jesus.

We have also been continuing our ministry to the homeless. Once a month, we take food and basic supplies to various places around the city and offer to pray for the people we find there. It was been a privilege to serve these men and women and bless their lives. Our team will be meeting this month to discuss other ways that we can begin helping serve the poor in our city.

I also want to mention to all of you that since I came back from my visit to the States, I have seen a great increase in my level of support every month. This is a huge encouragement to me. Having the funds I need to do the work I am doing here is a major relief. I also feel greatly loved and supported by all of you because you have chosen to invest in what I am doing in Brazil. I believe in the work here, and I know that you do, too. Thank you all so much for your sacrifice.

 I am very grateful to have you all on my team. Bless all of you! Enjoy the pictures.

Love, Allison

Christopher and Denise’s Wedding
Go to Source

Go to Source

Worship and teaching early in the morning during our weekend training

What happens when you plant churches?  One of the byproducts is that some thought needs to be put into how to care for those churches.  Six years ago I started a training program that focuses on this aspect of the work that we do.  One of the key elements of Latin American culture is that relationship is primary.  When we plant churches in the interior, away from the cities, they are built on relationship and the strategy focuses on relationships.  However, what happens is that when or two people are doing the bulk of that outreach, things quickly become bottle-necked. 

One way to resolve that is to train people capable of that unique type of outreach.  These people need to be comfortable living is close quarters with many others, at ease in primitive conditions, satisfied with the most basic of foods, capable of teaching others, working with children, and showing compassion.  The list could go on, but I think you get the idea. 

By far the best way to train these people is to get them out of the class room and into the field where they can experience these things.  They need to opportunity to learn from their mistakes, build memories of unique experiences and share in the excitement of seeing God work in real life situations through their lives.  This still needs to be anchored by disciplined teaching from the Bible.  The training provides opportunities for student-leadership training across the spectrum of development. 

The results after six years are that through this training, a group of people who relate well to the people outside the city has been raised up.  God has used them and the relationships that they have built over the years to continue to grow the work.  It has been great to see God provide a vision from within the church for continuing to reach out to those who live where there are no churches.  Sharing the vision, passing it from one generation to another, that is what helps to make our faith enduring.  It is great to see God continuing that process.  

Support the Simon Family

Support National Church Planting

A beautiful rainbow graces the sky above the Xingu River

A storm gathers over the river

(You can find part 1 and part 2 via the links) We arose bright and early.  The previous day, after realizing that things beyond my control had pushed our trip back, the day to leave was finally here.  We packed up, excited to go.  I was taking along my two youngest kids so I went through their things, making sure they had what they would need for four or five days on the river.  It is always an adventure going on a boat trip and I was looking forward to going together with them.  Our team had several people that dropped out and one late addition, so there were seven of us going altogether. These additions and subtractions were all taken in stride. 

                We made the one hour drive from Altamira to Vitoria where we put our speedboat in the water.  Everything was loaded up, wrapping our luggage in a tarp, and everyone was seated so that the boat would be balanced.  We had a pray and shoved off.  The weather was scattered clouds and that means probable rain this time of year.  The boat ran well and as we headed through the islands, we saw a friend who was fishing in his wooden canoe.  He was just a couple of minutes from his fishing shack, a small place he keeps.  He will often spend four or five days a week fishing along the river.  He was delighted to see us and we shared a few minutes together with the promise to see each other again soon. 

                Then within a short time, we were in Souzel, where we tied the speedboat off to the back of a boat.  We had a quick lunch, bought some supplies for our trip, and headed out.  I was tired and quickly fell asleep in my hammock as the throbbing of the diesel motor and the motion of the boat lulled me to sleep. 

                After a couple hours, we stopped in a small village along the river’s edge.  The people living there were glad to receive our visit.  The man was the leader of the church in that community and we were glad to encouraged him at his home.  We planned a baptism for the next day as several of the church people there wanted to make that commitment in their lives.  For several hours, we sat and visited in the yard of the community leader.  We swapped stories as we sat under a tree drinking coffee.  The running narrative created its own dynamic among those present and the conversation jumped easily between the recent and distant past.  The oral tradition is strong, especially among those people that live along the river.  The conversation generates laughter, thoughtfulness, reflection, more questions, and more stories.  Every time my coffee cup empties, there is an offer of more.  I try to drink it more slowly but even then realize that I have passed my caffeine limit.  The late afternoon heat and humidity are mitigated by an afternoon breeze under the shade of a fruit tree and the decreasing intensity of the setting sun.  The conversation ebbs and surges as we move among topics.  The kids play on a shallow, sandy beach as we sit on our improvised benches in our discussion. 

                Finally, we look up and see that a storm is approaching.  It is time to leave, more as a question of safety than concern about keeping any type of schedule.  The wind starts to pick up and the waves form white caps.  We move away from shore with a promise to return the next day to have baptisms in the morning and celebrate with lunch together.  I think how many conversations is a soul worth?  How much time?  Is this incarnational living, being a friend to others, is it really this simple?  Isn’t this part of what Jesus modeled during his time on earth?   There is always something new to reflect on as I slow down and think about how God is acting in that moment…

 Support the Simon Family

Support National Church Planting

Drinking coffee together is synonymous with hospitality

A couple of friends, one old and one new.  This was taken while out visiting homes in a village community.  

(This post is part of series which starts here) Monday it was time to leave.  The plans for this trip had been made the previous month.  However, there was a glitch.  The parts that were needed to get the work done on the had taken longer to get than anticipated.  Everything was pushed back a day because of the delays. 

So here I was waiting.  I reluctantly made phone calls to the others that were planning to go along on the trip (all Brazilians) and told them that our trip would be delayed one day.  Here is where culture comes in… no one had any problem with that.  It was fine that we would leave later because the relationships involved were more important than the schedule that had been made. 

                After 19 years in Brazil, I still fret about the schedule and wonder if everyone is going to be good if things are off a bit.  And I am always refreshed by the fact that punctuality is rated beneath relationship.  It gives me pause to consider how we rank relationship, punctuality and other “values” in our scheme of life.  Is Western culture (primarily North America & Western Europe) or our own personal preferences based on Biblical values?  How far have we strayed from what Jesus modeled concerning relationship?  Or was he yielding to the cultural preferences of his time and place?

                I believe that many third world cultures align more closely with how God values relationship.  Why would I think that?  We quickly see that God prioritized relationship with humanity over many things, or should I risk saying, over everything?  Since He was willing to die for others because He wanted to have relationship with them, whether they even recognize what He did for them, won’t that draw relationship into the very center of what God is doing, and more importantly, into the center  of who He is? 

                So what are we about? Who are we in our essence?  How important are our plans, our “to do” lists, our expectations, and our doctrine?  How often do we usurp God’s purposes because we let other things trump relationship?  We need to ask our God where we can deepen our relationships in spite of our differences.  

Support the Simon Family

Support National Church Planting

A self portrait with a friend and fellow pastor