Sou pequeno demais, me da sua paz...

Today I was hoping that my visit to the chiropractor would result in more or less immediate results, but unfortunately they didn't. I know have 48 hours to hope and pray that my back gets better, which would mean my problems all stemmed from the now back in place vertebrae. If not I will have to get an MRI and figure out what my more serious problem is, please continue to pray for my back and just for patience and faith in this time of trial for me. Also, I'll be leaving Brasil for Colombia in less than two weeks and pray for the transition as well as that my back would be able to withstand the move. Thanks for all your concerns and prayers. I love you and miss you all.

Sou pequeno demais, me da sua paz...

Today I was hoping that my visit to the chiropractor would result in more or less immediate results, but unfortunately they didn't. I know have 48 hours to hope and pray that my back gets better, which would mean my problems all stemmed from the now back in place vertebrae. If not I will have to get an MRI and figure out what my more serious problem is, please continue to pray for my back and just for patience and faith in this time of trial for me. Also, I'll be leaving Brasil for Colombia in less than two weeks and pray for the transition as well as that my back would be able to withstand the move. Thanks for all your concerns and prayers. I love you and miss you all.

Survival Camp

Hey all, my time has been flying by here in Brasil and I can’t believe that I now have less than 3 weeks to be here and am starting to become sad when I think of having to leave my new friends and family here, but at the same time am excited for the opportunities I will have in Colombia as well as my return to Mexico City. I will be leaving for Colombia on March 17th and then off to Mexico the second week of May. This past weekend was carnaval here in Brasil, a most famous holiday, more famous in Rio than here in São Paulo, but nonetheless a big party. We took a group of 16 adolescents on a camping retreat a little outside of the city. We called it survival training, although it wasn’t that rustic. We did camp, build outside bathrooms and even make a shower and did some of our cooking in the fire. We spent the four days looking at the life of Joseph. We talked about how Joseph had a dream (literal dream) from God and how because of this dream and his faith in God to fulfill the dream he was able to survive and suffer all he did because his eyes were fixed on God and on the dream. We tried to encourage the kids to have dreams, not short term dreams of buying this or that, but long term dreams of where God might have them in 10 years. I felt challenged and continue to pray for God to reveal such a dream for me. I feel like in my life when I have put my mind to something I have almost always accomplished it and currently feel a bit frustrated by feeling like God hasn’t shown me a vision or a dream in the long term. I praise God for the dreams he has given me to this point and for allowing me to fulfill so many of them. I remember about 5 years ago setting forth some goals that I wanted to accomplish by the time I turned 25. I don’t remember all of them, but I know one of them was to be trilingual and to have served God in another country and I praise God for those two dreams being fulfilled. My prayer request for you would be that God would continue to mold and shape my dreams for the future and help me to see his plan/dream for my life. Getting back to the camp, the next day we talked about temptation with the story of Potiphar’s wife and I had the chance for the first time to share the main message of the day. I shared a bit about my testimony and ways I had overcome temptation in my life and challenged the group especially in the area of sexual purity imploring them to trust and wait for God’s plan for sex. We continued in Joseph’s story and talked about reconciliation, relating it to Joseph being reconciled to his brothers. His was an especially important theme as the kids all seemed on edge which exploded in a rather violent fight between one of the girls and one of the guys after the guy called the girl ugly and she started throwing punches. I think in the end though it was a good amp and helped them to realize that there is a world outside of the favela and continue to encourage them to dream and imagine the life God might have for them. I would ask for special prayers for Junior, one of the adolescents who shared at the closing campfire that God had really touched his heart at the camp and that he wants to continue knowing God more. I would also ask for prayer for Danilo, Wesley, Pedro and Afonso, these guys have really become like family for me, the little brothers I never had and I will miss them so much. Also pray for Vicente, I don’t remember if I mentioned him before but he just recently became a Christian, is 23 years old and single and perhaps the only guy his age in the whole favela outside of my house that would call themselves a Christian and have a positive testimony. It has been amazing to see the change in his life, to see the work that God has done in his heart and to see his hunger and thirst for righteousness and for God.
I continue to be frustrated in my lack of mobility as my back continues to bother me significantly. Some days I can barely get out of bed, others I feel a little better, but it has been over a month now with significant back pains and I am definitely ready to not have them. I am going for a second visit to a sort of chiropractor who says that he will be able to put my dislocated vertebrae back in place tomorrow. He says it will hurt quite a bit and that I’ll be in a lot of pain, but that after a week or so of recovery I should be back to normal. I pray for that, I am ready to run again, to kick a soccer ball around, and return to my regular ministry schedule to take full advantage of my last weeks here.

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

Sorry for the long time since my last entry, but it’s really been a rough two weeks. I've never felt so weak and incapable of doing anything as I have in these past few weeks. Most of which has been spent in my bed laying down and constantly moving trying to find a position that will minimize my back and leg pains. It has really been a battle to maintain patience as day after day I wake up hoping the pain will go away and day after day it remains. I have really been humbled in all this time to realize how little power I really have in my life, just a simple thing as a little problem in one disc in my back can essentially bring my life to a screeching halt. It’s a humbling realization of my own smallness and fragility, I always felt like I was young and active, ate pretty healthily, worked out and that I could pretty much do anything to my body and not get sick or hurt. How quickly that idea has ended and now I count it a victory if I can sit in a chair for five minutes without pain or find a position to sleep in that allows me to be without pain. I am currently taking anti-inflammatory pain killers (which are readily available without a prescription at the pharmacy) that were recommended by the doctor at the hospital. I have gained some more mobility as I can now get up and walk around a bit, but still with pretty strong pain from time to time. I have started to do some stretches recommended by various friends and hope that I am getting stronger and will one day soon return to full mobility. In the meantime it’s been a frustrating but growing time. I managed to read in these past two weeks Genesis through Esther in the Bible and found myself enthralled with each age in a way that the Old Testament especially has never been alive to me. I only started reading it because I didn’t have any other book in English and got bored of just laying in bed, but once I started I couldn’t stop, I was captivated by the God’s love story with his people. To be able to read so much in a short time I was able to see a larger picture of God’s workings here on earth and how he continues to work to make his name great. I even found Leviticus and Deuteronomy interesting, fascinated by the law and just the direct way God worked and communicated with his people. It is amazing to see God’s provision for his people and how so many times he rescues them from certain defeat. I also was struck by how much he controls everything, how he promises financial and physical prosperity if the nation of Israel will only follow his law and how he promises disease and hardship if they will not. I was struck too again by God’s heart for the poor as seen by various Old Testament laws including Jubilee. I like how God commanded Israel to let the fields rest every 7 years and before they even had time to complain promised that if they followed his laws and precepts that he would bless them and make their crops grow so abundantly in the 6th year that it would give them enough food for 3 years. I was also enthralled by the books of history (Samuels, Kings, Chronicles) and fascinated by all the kings, prophets and history and God’s continual faithfulness. I even found what now might be my favorite verse in 1 Chronicles 16:8-12 “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced.” I am trying to learn to do that, to give thanks, to call on his name, to make his name known, to sing to him, to tell others of his wonderful acts, to glory in his name, to rejoice, look to him, seek his face and remember all the wonderful things he has done. I am still in a fair amount of pain in both my upper legs and back, but encouraged and trying to figure out where God is taking me next and for the mean time enjoying the ride. Thanks for all your prayers and continued support. While in bed I have also been encouraged by lots of the young people from my neighborhood coming by for visits and just sitting and talking with them for hours at a time has been great. I miss you all, much love and God bless.

Public health care and a bad back

Well today I spent about 8 hours at the hospital waiting at least four times for over an hour to see doctors, but finally managed to get some x-rays and medicine. I went to the hospital (everything there is free, praise God for public health care)because I was suffering some pretty bad back and leg pains and spent a few days in bed before deciding I should go see someone, not to mention legs going numb. It was an interesting experience at a public hospital that I will tell later, but I just wanted to ask for prayers for my health and that I will be able to rest and not do much these next few days.