Feb. 7, 2006 - EBF

******************Cliffnotes available at post bottom***********************

O que ta rolando? It's a question we answer many times a day, and a free bit of Brazilian slang for those of you who don't know. It means: "how's it going?" Things here are going very well, and we continue to be amazed how God keeps providing. Anyway, on a totally different thought, a month or two ago I had promised a story about a funny cultural difference. I apologize for the delay but have not forgotten my example.
In the united state, especially in Oregon, we come from a very politically correct culture. Especially when it comes to race and ethnicity. I mean in America culture we have people represented from all over the world, and we call them all "American." In fact, many times to call them anything else would be offensive. It's not like that here. Oh they have every color and every shade represented here as well, but if you see a guy on the street that looks Japanese, and you want to get his attention you just yell "hey Japanese." Or "hey German," or hey what ever. Even friends use this all the time. The first time we encountered this was at a church pool party where a little girl followed a little boy around calling him "Japanese" all day. And no one seemed to care. Of course it's a cultural thing. Everybody here understands it. But it when cultures collide that is when funny things happen. One of my good friends here was studying English at the same place Marla and I had studied Portuguese, when a group of Americans came on a mission trip. One of the young men in the group was of Asian decent, and my friend Luke as just trying to start up a conversation. So trying to get his attention, Luke yells across a crowded room in perfect English "hey Japanese." This poor guy didn't no what to think, and Luke didn't know why he didn't respond, so he yells again in perfect English "what's the matter Japanese can't you understand what I'm saying?" This time the poor guy, horribly offended, turns his back on Luke who was wondering if his pronunciation was off. It's not really a big thing, and it happens all the time, it just makes me laugh a little each time.
Anyway, Our VBS went exceptionally well. Thank you all for your prayers. We had made our plans expecting around 70 kids, so it surprised us quite a bit when over 120 showed up the first day. Snacks had to be re-thought, games had to be redesigned, and we filled every available chair from the church, from our house and from Diogo's house. It was "organized" chaos at first, but eventually we got a handle on things and had a really great time. I worked with Diogo and the adolescents, leading games most of the days and the lesson another. Marla took pictures (over 500 in 4 days) and assisted another lady who was teaching the 9-11 year olds. Marla and I had fun introducing such games as shufflebuns and a balloon stomp that went over so well we did it again with the adults this past Saturday. The theme was Navigating with Jesus, and each of the daily lessons led up the invitation to accept Christ on the last day. In our group of 30 teenagers, 6 of them accepted Christ for the first time. I wish you all could have seen that group all on their knees in a small circle on our front porch (for lack of space at the church) repeating a prayer that Diogo prayed. I can tell you there was much rejoicing in heaven that day. And it was neat to be a part of it. And as you sit and read these words I hope that you can feel the part you played as well. Not just in the people that responded, but in the seeds that were sown.
The final event was a Saturday night service where the kids were to invite their parents to watch them receive their certificate. Needless to say the church was packed again, and Diogo preached another salvation message before handing out the certificates. The crowning moment of the night came when we showed a video at the end that used many of the 500 pictures Marla had been taking through out the week. It was set to music, and by the time the video ended you could hear all the kids as they watched in the dark singing along to the familiar songs. We ended the night all hands joined in a crowded circle the stretched from wall to wall, singing a worship song the kids had learned during the week. It was pretty special.
Since then, church attendance has been up from 50 and 60 to over 80. There are a lot of new faces sitting beside their children, and a lot of kids who we first met at VBS that keep coming back. Another side effect of being the Americans up front of 120 kids is that now we don't know if we should know the names of the scores of neighborhood kids that we pass everyday. It's been challenging and yet a bit fun at the same time.
This week marks the last week of summer vacation for the schools here in Brazil, and it has been hot. We've had several days over 100, with no A/C, and high humidity. But it is the nights that we feel it the most. Our house retains a lot of heat, and has one little window in the bedroom. The temperature around midnight has been around 80 with our room being at least 10 degrees warmer...needless to say, we find ourselves drinking a lot of water, and dreaming of a night when we'll actually use covers.
A few weeks ago marked the half way point for our stay here in Brazil, and as we try to look into the future and decipher God's plan for us, we have the confidence that God knows what He's doing, and His plans are best (sometimes this confidence seems like all we have, but He has been good, giving us no more than we can bear). Our hearts have had peace, and he has starting to focus our thinking as to what the next few years with OMS might hold. And though we try not to focus on the amount of time we have left here, it is a fact that is definatly on our friends’ minds. Last week just about everyday somebody made a comment about our upcoming departure. So I guess we would request just for the peace of God to rest on everybody that will be affected in the plans for our future. Another prayer request is for Marla. This week she has been asked to share something at the monthly women's meeting. It will be the first time for her to teach in Portuguese, and unlike me, she won't have the advantage of using Diogo (being that he's a guy and all) to translate when she gets in a jam. So please pray for understanding and communications, that God would loose her tongue and open her ears and God’s word to these ladies would be wonderful.
Other than that, please continue to pray for our health, as we keep hearing stories how the enemy is attacking this area with many other missionaries. Please continue to pray for my guys group, and then of course for the details that surround our next step.
You all are loved and appreciated,
in Him,
Micah and Marla
**********************Cliffnotes: "EBF" ***********************
EBF is Brasilian for VBS, or vacation bible study. It was a week long event that was held for the kids of the neighborhood. This email, discussed the events and reflections of a week of Brazilian summer