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.

5,800 Miles later

My whirlwind tour of South America has finally come to an end and I am happy to be back in São Paulo, my trip left me with much to think about and excited for the future that God has in store for me. In total my trip covered three countries (and I saw a 4th one), metros in four different cities, city buses in five cities, a little over 90 hours in a bus, about 7 hours in a plane and a one hour boat ride. I started the trip with my friend and college roommate with a Christmas party on the 24th that lasted till about midnight, then an early wake up to get to the airport, fly to Rio de Janeiro, take a 3 hour bus to another beach town called Buzios, we stayed there a few days and enjoyed the beautiful diversity of beaches and the small town feel to the place before heading back to Rio. After passing 4 or so days in Rio, with visits to the famous Christ statue, the famous Maracanã stadium and New Years on Copacabana beach we got up early on the first to fly back to São Paulo, stop at my house for 20 minutes for a quick shower and luggage pickup before heading to the bus station for our 18 hour bus ride to Foz do Iguaçu, the famous waterfalls on the border of Argentina, Paraguay and Brasil. There we arrived at about 8am and spent the day there rushing around, visiting both the Brasilian and Argentinean side and marveling in the beauty of God’s creation. It was really an amazing place and I wish I could have had more than 8 hours to spend there. But after some hurried pictures we grabbed a taxi back to the bus station for our 20 hour ride to Buenos Aires. It should have been quicker, but we had a delay on the border b/c of someone else’s visa problems and then had a flat tire later on in Argentina. Finally we arrived in Buenos Aires, spent 4 days there and then took a one hour boat across the Rio Plata for Uruguay. There we rented mopeds in a small beach town and spent the day just riding around on the mopeds and stopping at different beaches and interesting places (probably the most fun day of the trip). Then we caught a bus to Montevideo (about 3 hours), we ate a Big Mac at the McDonalds in the bus station (making it the 7th country where I’ve eaten a Big Mac! (USA, México, Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala, Uruguay, and Brasil) and I caught the last seat on a bus to Porto Alegre and said goodbye to Ariel. After a 12 hour or so bus ride I was back in Brasil and spent the day looking for a hotel that was cheaper than $50 but didn’t rent by the hour and after a long search finally found one and was grateful for a simple room with air-conditioning and a little TV. I woke up the next morning caught the metro to the airport and flew to Salvador, Bahia where I met a team of Americans from a seminary in Alabama and caught a bus to a small town about 2 hours from Salvador. There I took part in a two week trip called Promiservos which is sponsored by my Brasilian missions agency (Misão Servos). To my surprise I found myself simultaneously translating all the messages and talks from Portuguese to English and was pleasantly surprised at my ability to do so. I enjoyed the week of building relationships and even came to enjoy our door to door religious surveys and evangelism. While going door to door I met three guys that especially left an impact on me Sianey, Alessandro and Lucas. I would ask for prayer for the three of them, the first two prayed to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives after we talked about struggles, sin, life and God. I asked Alessandro if Jesus was the Lord of his life and he admitted he wasn’t, I read them John 3 and then went back to Numbers and read the story of Moses, I told them Jesus was waiting for them and all they had to do was look to him and be healed. They said that maybe some other time they would accept God, but for now they wanted to have fun and not worry about God. I told them the story of my friend Wesley (street kid) who wouldn’t give up his glue sniffing to come to the Christmas party and said that is how God looks at us and the little sins we hold onto that don’t compare to the party He has for us. Then I saw something connect in Sianey’s eyes and he said I want to pray now, I want to enter the party and Alessandro agreed. I prayed with them and went through a discipleship manual several days with them before hopefully handing them off to the local church. Pray for them! Lucas, was another guy who I went into his house and he was very receptive to the gospel and a Bible study, he told me he used to be a Christian but wasn’t any more and wasn’t sure why. He said he wanted to know more about the Bible, so I did a little Bible study with him right there in his house and asked him if he’d close the study with prayer. He looked at me puzzled and asked if he was allowed to pray b/c he didn’t go to church anymore. I told him how Jesus goes after 1 sheep and leaves the 99 when it is lost and how Jesus was coming after him, how Jesus loved him and I saw a smile come upon his face as he prayed. We continued the Bible study throughout the week and he came to church our last Sunday there. At times the week was frustrating, sleeping on the floor of a classroom in an old school with way too many people in one room that was way too hot. Sharing one small bathroom that often didn’t have water and working with a church that wasn’t very cooperative, but the whole week was worthwhile because of those 3 guys, pray for them. As the week ended we spent the last two days relaxing on a beach and then touring Salvador before starting the 36 hour bus ride home. Being home in São Paulo was great to come into my house and just hang out with my housemates and feel like I was back with my family. I miss you all very much and thank you for all your emails, prayers and support. Know that God I using you to be an encouragement to me. I praise God for my friends and family I have all over the Americas and look forward to the day when we will all be together. Much love and God bless.

Home again (São Paulo)

Finally back home, long trip, will write more later.

Big Macs, mopeds, climbing through windows and a great trip

Hey all, so i was supposed to spend today relaxing in Montevideowith Ariel as a kinda last hurrah, but due to bus problems (all the buses were sold out for like the next week to get back to the city in Brasil where I fly out of to go to the north for the two week missions trip. All they had available was the very last seat in the bus that was to leave in just a few minutes after we finally made it to Montevideo. I helped Ariel find a hotel, grabbed a last meal with him at McDonald´s (my seventh country where I´ve eaten a Big Mac (US, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Brasil, Argentina, Uruguay). Then I went back to his hotel room to take a shower, with about 5 minutes before I had to leave I found myself locked in the bathroom as the door handle had broken and wouldn´t let me out, panic was setting in a bit before I made for the window that was maybe at most a foot tall and maybe two feet wide. It was pretty high too and I though there was no chance I´d make it through, but with the adreniline running I managed to jump up to it squeeze myself through and not hurt myself on the exit. I then got to the bus station for the 11 hour trip back to Brasil. I was sad to leave Ariel and Montevideo early and thus find myself currently wandering around Porto Alegre, Brasil trying to figure out what to do and killing time till I can get a hotel room. Yesterday I started the day in Buenos Aires, took a boat to Colonia, Uruguay which took about an hour. Spent the day there riding around in little mopeds which was maybe the coolest thing we did on our whole trip. Paid $15 to rent them for the day and explored the whole little city and found some trails in the woods which were really pretty. Just riding through the woods with the smell of pine trees, fresh air and no care in the world was just what I needed after two weeks of fun, but also craziness. It seemed nearly every day we woke up in a new place, someone would ask when we arrived at the city we were in and we rarely could remember when, sometimes i would say yesterday, when actually we had arrived that day. I had such a good time though with Ariel, we met a lot of cool people, and visited some beautiful and interesting places. I will write up a post when I get back from Salvador in two weeks with more details and pictures (although my camera is broken and so there will be no more pictures :( ) It was nice to have a bit of home come here and now as I am left again by myself I can´t help but feel a bit sad. I still don´t know what I am doing with my life and feel like I am starting to get tired of not having one place to call home. I thank you all for your love and support. I love you all so very much and it means so much to me to know I have people that love and care for me. I will take off for Salvador, Bahia tomorrow morning to meet up with an American team there that will be on a missions trip there for two weeks. I will be helping them as a translator and working as part of the team.

Big Macs, sold out bus tickets, bathroom windows and early goodbyes

Hey all, so i was supposed to spend today relaxing in Montevideowith Ariel as a kinda last hurrah, but due to bus problems (all the buses were sold out for like the next week to get back to the city in Brasil where I fly out of to go to the north for the two week missions trip. All they had available was the very last seat in the bus that was to leave in just a few minutes after we finally made it to Montevideo. I helped Ariel find a hotel, grabbed a last meal with him at McDonald´s (my seventh country where I´ve eaten a Big Mac (US, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Brasil, Argentina, Uruguay). Then I went back to his hotel room to take a shower, with about 5 minutes before I had to leave I found myself locked in the bathroom as the door handle had broken and wouldn´t let me out, panic was setting in a bit before I made for the window that was maybe at most a foot tall and maybe two feet wide. It was pretty high too and I though there was no chance I´d make it through, but with the adreniline running I managed to jump up to it squeeze myself through and not hurt myself on the exit. I then got to the bus station for the 11 hour trip back to Brasil. I was sad to leave Ariel and Montevideo early and thus find myself currently wandering around Porto Alegre, Brasil trying to figure out what to do and killing time till I can get a hotel room. Yesterday I started the day in Buenos Aires, took a boat to Colonia, Uruguay which took about an hour. Spent the day there riding around in little mopeds which was maybe the coolest thing we did on our whole trip. Paid $15 to rent them for the day and explored the whole little city and found some trails in the woods which were really pretty. Just riding through the woods with the smell of pine trees, fresh air and no care in the world was just what I needed after two weeks of fun, but also craziness. It seemed nearly every day we woke up in a new place, someone would ask when we arrived at the city we were in and we rarely could remember when, sometimes i would say yesterday, when actually we had arrived that day. I had such a good time though with Ariel, we met a lot of cool people, and visited some beautiful and interesting places. It was nice to have a bit of home come here and now as I am left again by myself I can´t help but feel a bit sad. I still don´t know what I am doing with my life and feel like I am starting to get tired of not having one place to call home. I thank you all for your love and support. I love you all so very much and it means so much to me to know I have people that love and care for me. I will take off for Salvador, Bahia tomorrow morning to meet up with an American team there that will be on a missions trip there for two weeks. I will be helping them as a translator and working as part of the team.

Buenos Aires

Well after a fun new years at Copacabana (with many thousands of other people, probably the biggest crowd i´ve ever been in) we took a 1 hour flight back to Sao Paulo, then a 16 hour bus ride to the waterfalls at Iguaçu, 8 hours walking around the breath taking waterfalls of Iguassu and 20 hours more in a bus Ariel and I have arrived in Buenos Aires, tired, but in one piece. Its been great to see more of Latin America and continue to expand my knowledge and understanding of a part of the world I have come to love so much. Its been fun to be one of few people in all the places I´ve gone to be able to speak English, Portuguese and Spanish. Much love to all of you and God bless. Happy new year!! hopefully pictures to come...