I am Entering into my last week on the continent of South America. All and All it has been a great time. From the team life, to the church life, getting to know our church members, to traveling, the teaching and preaching, it has been alot of action in a short period of time. I am so surprised with how fast my time has gone. I thought 4 months in a completely new place with new people would seem much longer, but that was not the case. The time flew. The first couple weeks felt long then after that time just started clicking by. We had our last day of Bible college today. The students were awesome all semester long. They work all week, (they work long hours down here) then give up there Sat. and Sun. to be in classes and church services. God really blessed our times because of there decisions that they made to be committed. I am seeing how God will bless when people make decisions by faith to live for him. It is amazing to see how God will pour out his life his word fellowship and unity when people have simple pure faith to get to know him. People that have no motives but just want Gods will in there lives. In Mk 7 the beginning of the chapter Christ blasts the Pharisees because they are raising the question of why his disciples are eating with out washing there hands. Christ responds by telling them that outer things dont defile a man but defilement comes from within, from there heart. That there hearts were stony, unable to be penetrated. So all they could live in was ridiculous rituals that there fathers had come up with. They had no spiritual life so they had to make something up to make them look like they were spiritual. But immediately after this portion there comes a Syro Phonenician woman that has a need. She wants Christ to heal her daughter. She comes with simple simple faith, and transparency before Christ. What does he do, he calls her a dog. This doesnt stop her from responding to him asking again to heal her daughter. Christ loves her faith and he heals her daughter. Its an awesome example of a simple woman that had faith. No other options but to believe that Christ was the only answer to her problem. I was thinking about all the people in the world that are not anything to the worlds standards. Maybe people that are not the most talented, gifted, powerful, popular people in there circles of life. They maybe are looked down upon. They are not the ones who are drawing a crowd around them, people are not interested in them. BUT they have a new heart. They have Gods Spirit, they have a new mind. They have Faith. They have the ability to make a decision of faith towards God. They walk by faith, pray by faith. They say "God I am poor and needy" I need you to touch me. I need a relationship. I need a word. I need life. I need an answer. I need, I need. And we know God answers. These our people that dont need recognition from the world, they don't need fleshly fulfillments because they have a relationship with the Living God who satisfies there deepest needs. They have transparency before God with simple faith and God honors them. Its amazing that God is not complicated in answering mans wants and needs.
The best part of my time here has been when we have been with a group of people that have hearts that are wanting only God to speak to them. They have no motive but to hear Gods voice and have his presence in our midst. And it happens. God speaks, he anoints. His word is preached and he is in it. It is amazing. It is real. We sit in the midst of a group of people that have this heart and we dont have to say anything. We just enjoy being in the presence of God. this is what its all about. God takes care of his people....
These people are hero's in the Kingdom of Heaven. I think of all the people in Heaven that our giants and nobody even knew it on earth. Maybe they were in the mountains of Asia. The jungles of South America, the deserts of Africa. They had nothing. They were despised, rejected, they were nobody's in the eyes of men. But they were Soldiers in the Kingdom of God. They were prayer warriors. They were as Enoch was, a man or woman that walked with God. Believing and honoring God in there decisions. Loving with a pure heart. Wanting a relationship and having one with the living God. They didn't receive any recognition until they entered into Heaven. I think of these people not even wanting recognition because they only saw there life on earth as an oppurtunity to have a relationship with God. When men and women are not recognized by the world, God almighty says "I recognize you as my child". Wow. that is awesome..... These our Gods people. It says in Hebrews 11:37-38 that "Gods people have been tortured, stoned, sawn asunder, despised but the world is not worthy to be compared to them." These our real people that knew the living God, and they didnt care for anything other then honoring and Living there lives for God and his calling.... This isn't some life of my gain. Some ridicoulous message like Joel Olstein. (I heard a interview the other day with him on the Larry King show, it was absurd. Total nonsenses. Making the Bible and Christianity into some sort of cute little package to sell people to make them more successful. How about Christ, God almighty , being rejected. A man of sorrows. John the Baptist a wild man in the wilderness paving the way eating locusts and honey. I dont think a seat would be saved for the baptist in the Astrodom. Olstein would probably have him ousted before he made his entrance into the dome to recite his nonsense.) This is about people who lose there life for Gods life. They don't care about there own wills, they want to hear from God. Its amazing to think of what people have given up and gone through with great joy in there hearts because they know that they are gaining so much more. They have found the secret and nothing else matters. Recognition, money, popularity, power, my own will, HA. who needs that when I have Gods presence, his word, his life, his fellowship, his power, his ear open to me, His Recognition. To be apart of this is amazing. Who are we to have this life. Isaiah 57:15 "Thus says the High and lofty one who inhabits eternity, I dwell on high and holy place with him who has a contrite and humble spirit."
It has been a great experience being with people like this. That have lost there lives to have a new one. To see Gods work. To see the word of God growing and multiplying in S. America and excited to see it continue. We want to see this message continue to go into all the world and to be part of what is going on down here has been such a fun time. Its happening down here with the vision, the people and Bible college. The Bible college is key. These are the guys who are going to be planting the churches in this country and others around us. Be praying for these students, Cause we know the Devil doesn't want this work to continue... God Bless
Justin
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
AROUND THE SOUTH AMERICAN HORN IN 14 DAYS
What a time we had on our trip. We did a few thousand miles in a mere 14 days, and man was it good. We started it off in Floredenopolis Brazil for a conference for 3 days. We met up with my Dad, P. Stambo, P. Drew, P. Mike Stevens who is in Ecquador, and P. Lamos from Argentina. We had a great time with the small church there in Brazil. We then headed out for a 28 hr. bus ride south to Argentina to be with P. Lamos his sixteen kids and the church. This ride was quite an experience. It is actually not as bad as it sounds. The bus is pretty comfortable and spacious and it makes frequent stops at bus depots. At a few of these depots I had some very interesting experiences. The first experience was embarrassing, the second was frightening.
Know if you have been in a foreign country it is possible this may have happened to you. In all my days of travel this has yet to happen until that fateful afternoon at the largest bus stop on the trip... I have been very close to making this mistake before but I have always been saved by the last quick glance at the door to survey for the universal "Top Hat" on the door or the popular "Little boy" on the pot. Or I have been rescued by a native speaker that would yell out last second with a snicker "wrong one". But at this time in my journey I was about to become one of those guys that has done the universal, NO NO. Now I know you may be thinking, "well its only a small bus station that is not very busy, it probably went unnoticed"...... Well your wrong.. I am talking this bathroom had about 30 stalls, 15 sinks and a woman at the door re-stocking the paper situation at a rapid pace and still couldnt keep up with the demand. This was no ordinary bathroom, this was grand central station of bathrooms..
So I am moving through the bus depot to find the nearest bathroom when I see a young man (which I was wrong about. It turned out to be a young short haired Brazilian girl) enter into the large entranced bathroom. I think "PERFECT".. I walk in completly innocent of any wrong doing. But as I head to one of the stalls I pass a few stalls and notice up on the shelf above one stall a purse. But I quickly throw out the idea that I have entered the opposing teams locker room. This was Inconcievable. Mabey men in Brazil like caring "Man Purses", you never know these days, anything goes.. I proceed to my designated stall. As I come out of the stall I am met with about 5 woman at the sink looking at me as though I am committing armed robbery. At this point reality has set in it. It has happened, So soon in my young cross cultural missionary career...
They all begin to laugh at me and at this point. I have nothing to do but stare at the ground and dry my hands under the electrical hand drier while laughing along. Then the "bathroom attendant" enjoying it herself, realized that this was enough shananigans for one day, began to give me the "get moving fella, dry your hands outside" hand motion. Where I quickly complied. It definatley was embarrissing, but could have been worse. When I got on the bus, I began to tell the story to stambo where he just shook his head and replied with a chuckle, " With you that doesnt surprise me"... We got a good laugh...
The second Bus Depot dilemma happened at about 2 in the morning in the hometown of one the best soccer players in the world the great "Ronoldinho" ( This is what are waiter tells us). Now we have been on a stretch with out stopping on the bus at this point for about 4 hrs. total trip time mabey 15 hrs. On these bus trips they are not serving any food. The only thing they serve you is the "New Rambo " movie over and over again in Portuguese. Actually a good flick but not one you want to watch numerous times. For some sick reason one of the bus drivers (there are 4 on the trip that rotate every 6 hrs.) could not get enough stalone. He was loving Stalone blowing people to shreds. He needed Stalone hour after hour and so thats just what we got..
So we pull into on of these Bus Depots and they tell us before we get off we have 30 min. to eat use the restroom and ect. (there really are not any other amenities then those two). So in my mind I am thinking "a half hour that is forever". This bus depot was top notch. Mabey the greatest selection of food to choose from then any other Depot at this point.. Fully stocked Salad Bar, Chicken, Pasta, Fruit Bar, the works. So I start moseying around thinking I have plenty of time to make a decision. But for some reason I took like 20 min. to make a decision. But I didnt decide on a simple chicken sandwich I could take to go, or a slice of pizza that i could wolf down in a couple bites.... No, what do I decide on, I decide on a full 17 course buffett that costs a arm and a leg. I rationalize in mind during this 20 min. that its a perfect decision to blow half my money for the trip on a buffet that probably has been sitting under these heat lamps since last tuesday. That at 2 in the morning on a 28 hr bus ride I should put BBQ Ribs, Mac and Cheese and a Bananna split in my belly within 7 min. That this is rationally the best decision. To me it made perfect sense. So I gave the waiter the nod, telling him that I am entering into the buffet arena, and he handed me my first plate to start the night off.. Steak, potatoes, ribs, fruit, the works, a pure shmogersberg and really suprisingly it was thoroughly delicious...
At this point the other guys on the trip are wondering the rationality behind my decision as they settled for the easy chicken sandwich chips and coke (which was wisdom). So at this point I am racing against the clock. I am looking over at the bus drivers, who were a few tables away, every bite. Thinking that every little move that they made was meaning that my "buffet Party" was over. It was killing me. Pure Anxiety. Now in my mind If I didnt get a solid 4 plates in, it was not worth my money, so I was shoveling like a man in a sinking boat. At a pace that made my traveling companions shiver. I was like that Korean "Nathans Hot Dog" eating champ. My eyes are moving from the bus drivers, to my chicken parm to the clock on the wall. I knew a was racing against the time. And then it happened, the heavy set bus drivers teatered off there chairs toward the door. Then they gave the shout "3min and we are moving out". 3 min. I thought "Plenty of time" At this point I am only on plate numero 3. I need at least 1 more to meet my quota for the night. So i went straight for an easy food to chow through, Watermelon. I hit up a quick plate of melon in about 1 min and a half. Plenty of time for another, which i did. The only problem was that I forget about the whole thing with paying with credit card in these countries, especially this place... So I run to the regester to pay quick and then get on the bus. I take a glance out the window to see the Driver fidgeting around in his seat trying to get the perfect position for the next stretch. The last few passengers puffing on there cigs getting that nicoten in wright outside the bus. My traveling companions are long gone on the bus getting ready for the next showing of "Rambo" for the 7th time.
So I give the girl at the regester my visa, and a "Hurry it up sister" look. She gave the usual snicker as she looked at me then the picture on the front of my visa card of me looking as though I am 7 yrs. old then finally she swiped it. Denied. She Swiped again. Denied.. At this point I am getting nervous because these buses run on a tight schedule and there is no question that they will leave you behind if your not on aboard. Its the passengers responsibility to be in your seat at the required time the bus leaves or you get stuck in the rural parts of Brazil with no idea how to get out of there. There is no bus driver running in to find the missing passengers, or beeping of the horn to get your attention to get aboard. Its more like they move out and they give you a wave good-bye as they wiggle in there chairs for the 17th showing of "Rambo". So I give an anxious look out the window again and I see the last min. smokers hopping on board... She swipes again, I heard the internet connection, and yes it goes through. But it doesnt go through at the normal pace, Its slow motion speed. Each second felt as though it was 10 min. Finally I hear the printer set off and my receipt pops out. A quick signature and off I go. The only problem is that I have unbelievably sticky fingers at this point from the BBQ wings and the watermelon. I come again to another critical cross road. Do I risk missing the bus to make a quick stop in the bathroom to clean the hands or do go for the sure thing of getting on the bus but with unconceivably sticky hands that I would half to put up with for the next 4 hrs. I know that it would be excruciatingly painful for me to do this. Being on the bus with these sticky mits would annoy the heck out of me for every bit of the next 4 hrs. So I made a quick right hand turn and sprinted for the bath room. I ran as though I was going for gold. Washed the hands scrubbing all the sauce off then sprinted at world record speed for the bus.. As I headed to the bus I was thinking, "What Idiot gets a buffet at a Bus Depot at 2 in the morning in Brazil", I do.... As I turn the corner I am met by my main man stambo. Who looks at me and says "Pirates code" (which is a term we used the entire trip, courtesy of P. Drew, for some one who gets left behind.. Its actually from a movie, but we took all rights to it). You are going to get left behind , get moving. If it wasnt for Stambo I would have been sleeping in Southern Brazil. Then who knows what I would be doing. Probably I would have ended up doing dishes to pay for my lunch buffet the next day because the first buffet cleaned out my wallet.... Stambo had them wait as he ran into to grab the "Straggling Buffet Eater" that was trying to get his monies worth..... The moral of the story for me.. Choose the pre-wrapped Chicken Salad from now on.....The rest of the trip on the road was smooth sailing. I gained wisdom from depot to depot..
The visits we had in the churches were fantastic times. P. Drew preached and teached day and night. In Argentina we had service every night. P. Stan called on me and stambo to preach usually every other night. The part that i enjoyed was that we didnt usually get the word that we would be preaching until usually during the song service. I am learning that you have to be prepaired to share at any time. That we live prepaired lives ready to share a word in season at any time. It was fun because I would head to the pulpit with a simple thought and God would bring the direction and thought of the message during the message. Its amazing if we prepair daily in our living, God will bring things back to our memory. A thought we had months before, will come back clear as anything. God is totally behind what we are doing. Its so much fun....We were in Argentina for 5 days with the Lamos family and church then headed for the Andes mts. of Chile to be with P. Christian and the church. This was another 24 hr. bus ride through the beautiful snow capped mts.. What a Ride and what a feeling to finally get there.. We were with the body there for 5 days. Another phenominal time with the people.. The Lord gave us awesome themes and fellowship... P. Christian is in a city about an hour south of the capital San Tiago. We spent the last day in the capital with a group of belivers that are from the original GGWO church from the 80s. At this point there is no church in San Tiago, but these dear believers want a pastor and Greater Grace church there. So we are praying for something to happen there because if so there would be great church there with great potential. We will see what the Lord does.... All in All, the trip was alot of fun and definatly profitable.. It was good to be back in Lima and in the flow of the ministry here..
We only have 2 more weeks of class left which is mind boggling. Then we are having a retreat up in the mts. with P. Hadley for a few days. Should be good.. I cant believe how fast the time has gone. I heading back to the states in a little less then 3 weeks.. Back to the mother land... I am definatly going to miss it here over the summer..
I know the majority of this blog was about the bus depots but its all good. I never know how these are going to turn out, thats the beauty of them I just type until I dont feel like typing any more, which is right now... God Bless
Justin
Know if you have been in a foreign country it is possible this may have happened to you. In all my days of travel this has yet to happen until that fateful afternoon at the largest bus stop on the trip... I have been very close to making this mistake before but I have always been saved by the last quick glance at the door to survey for the universal "Top Hat" on the door or the popular "Little boy" on the pot. Or I have been rescued by a native speaker that would yell out last second with a snicker "wrong one". But at this time in my journey I was about to become one of those guys that has done the universal, NO NO. Now I know you may be thinking, "well its only a small bus station that is not very busy, it probably went unnoticed"...... Well your wrong.. I am talking this bathroom had about 30 stalls, 15 sinks and a woman at the door re-stocking the paper situation at a rapid pace and still couldnt keep up with the demand. This was no ordinary bathroom, this was grand central station of bathrooms..
So I am moving through the bus depot to find the nearest bathroom when I see a young man (which I was wrong about. It turned out to be a young short haired Brazilian girl) enter into the large entranced bathroom. I think "PERFECT".. I walk in completly innocent of any wrong doing. But as I head to one of the stalls I pass a few stalls and notice up on the shelf above one stall a purse. But I quickly throw out the idea that I have entered the opposing teams locker room. This was Inconcievable. Mabey men in Brazil like caring "Man Purses", you never know these days, anything goes.. I proceed to my designated stall. As I come out of the stall I am met with about 5 woman at the sink looking at me as though I am committing armed robbery. At this point reality has set in it. It has happened, So soon in my young cross cultural missionary career...
They all begin to laugh at me and at this point. I have nothing to do but stare at the ground and dry my hands under the electrical hand drier while laughing along. Then the "bathroom attendant" enjoying it herself, realized that this was enough shananigans for one day, began to give me the "get moving fella, dry your hands outside" hand motion. Where I quickly complied. It definatley was embarrissing, but could have been worse. When I got on the bus, I began to tell the story to stambo where he just shook his head and replied with a chuckle, " With you that doesnt surprise me"... We got a good laugh...
The second Bus Depot dilemma happened at about 2 in the morning in the hometown of one the best soccer players in the world the great "Ronoldinho" ( This is what are waiter tells us). Now we have been on a stretch with out stopping on the bus at this point for about 4 hrs. total trip time mabey 15 hrs. On these bus trips they are not serving any food. The only thing they serve you is the "New Rambo " movie over and over again in Portuguese. Actually a good flick but not one you want to watch numerous times. For some sick reason one of the bus drivers (there are 4 on the trip that rotate every 6 hrs.) could not get enough stalone. He was loving Stalone blowing people to shreds. He needed Stalone hour after hour and so thats just what we got..
So we pull into on of these Bus Depots and they tell us before we get off we have 30 min. to eat use the restroom and ect. (there really are not any other amenities then those two). So in my mind I am thinking "a half hour that is forever". This bus depot was top notch. Mabey the greatest selection of food to choose from then any other Depot at this point.. Fully stocked Salad Bar, Chicken, Pasta, Fruit Bar, the works. So I start moseying around thinking I have plenty of time to make a decision. But for some reason I took like 20 min. to make a decision. But I didnt decide on a simple chicken sandwich I could take to go, or a slice of pizza that i could wolf down in a couple bites.... No, what do I decide on, I decide on a full 17 course buffett that costs a arm and a leg. I rationalize in mind during this 20 min. that its a perfect decision to blow half my money for the trip on a buffet that probably has been sitting under these heat lamps since last tuesday. That at 2 in the morning on a 28 hr bus ride I should put BBQ Ribs, Mac and Cheese and a Bananna split in my belly within 7 min. That this is rationally the best decision. To me it made perfect sense. So I gave the waiter the nod, telling him that I am entering into the buffet arena, and he handed me my first plate to start the night off.. Steak, potatoes, ribs, fruit, the works, a pure shmogersberg and really suprisingly it was thoroughly delicious...
At this point the other guys on the trip are wondering the rationality behind my decision as they settled for the easy chicken sandwich chips and coke (which was wisdom). So at this point I am racing against the clock. I am looking over at the bus drivers, who were a few tables away, every bite. Thinking that every little move that they made was meaning that my "buffet Party" was over. It was killing me. Pure Anxiety. Now in my mind If I didnt get a solid 4 plates in, it was not worth my money, so I was shoveling like a man in a sinking boat. At a pace that made my traveling companions shiver. I was like that Korean "Nathans Hot Dog" eating champ. My eyes are moving from the bus drivers, to my chicken parm to the clock on the wall. I knew a was racing against the time. And then it happened, the heavy set bus drivers teatered off there chairs toward the door. Then they gave the shout "3min and we are moving out". 3 min. I thought "Plenty of time" At this point I am only on plate numero 3. I need at least 1 more to meet my quota for the night. So i went straight for an easy food to chow through, Watermelon. I hit up a quick plate of melon in about 1 min and a half. Plenty of time for another, which i did. The only problem was that I forget about the whole thing with paying with credit card in these countries, especially this place... So I run to the regester to pay quick and then get on the bus. I take a glance out the window to see the Driver fidgeting around in his seat trying to get the perfect position for the next stretch. The last few passengers puffing on there cigs getting that nicoten in wright outside the bus. My traveling companions are long gone on the bus getting ready for the next showing of "Rambo" for the 7th time.
So I give the girl at the regester my visa, and a "Hurry it up sister" look. She gave the usual snicker as she looked at me then the picture on the front of my visa card of me looking as though I am 7 yrs. old then finally she swiped it. Denied. She Swiped again. Denied.. At this point I am getting nervous because these buses run on a tight schedule and there is no question that they will leave you behind if your not on aboard. Its the passengers responsibility to be in your seat at the required time the bus leaves or you get stuck in the rural parts of Brazil with no idea how to get out of there. There is no bus driver running in to find the missing passengers, or beeping of the horn to get your attention to get aboard. Its more like they move out and they give you a wave good-bye as they wiggle in there chairs for the 17th showing of "Rambo". So I give an anxious look out the window again and I see the last min. smokers hopping on board... She swipes again, I heard the internet connection, and yes it goes through. But it doesnt go through at the normal pace, Its slow motion speed. Each second felt as though it was 10 min. Finally I hear the printer set off and my receipt pops out. A quick signature and off I go. The only problem is that I have unbelievably sticky fingers at this point from the BBQ wings and the watermelon. I come again to another critical cross road. Do I risk missing the bus to make a quick stop in the bathroom to clean the hands or do go for the sure thing of getting on the bus but with unconceivably sticky hands that I would half to put up with for the next 4 hrs. I know that it would be excruciatingly painful for me to do this. Being on the bus with these sticky mits would annoy the heck out of me for every bit of the next 4 hrs. So I made a quick right hand turn and sprinted for the bath room. I ran as though I was going for gold. Washed the hands scrubbing all the sauce off then sprinted at world record speed for the bus.. As I headed to the bus I was thinking, "What Idiot gets a buffet at a Bus Depot at 2 in the morning in Brazil", I do.... As I turn the corner I am met by my main man stambo. Who looks at me and says "Pirates code" (which is a term we used the entire trip, courtesy of P. Drew, for some one who gets left behind.. Its actually from a movie, but we took all rights to it). You are going to get left behind , get moving. If it wasnt for Stambo I would have been sleeping in Southern Brazil. Then who knows what I would be doing. Probably I would have ended up doing dishes to pay for my lunch buffet the next day because the first buffet cleaned out my wallet.... Stambo had them wait as he ran into to grab the "Straggling Buffet Eater" that was trying to get his monies worth..... The moral of the story for me.. Choose the pre-wrapped Chicken Salad from now on.....The rest of the trip on the road was smooth sailing. I gained wisdom from depot to depot..
The visits we had in the churches were fantastic times. P. Drew preached and teached day and night. In Argentina we had service every night. P. Stan called on me and stambo to preach usually every other night. The part that i enjoyed was that we didnt usually get the word that we would be preaching until usually during the song service. I am learning that you have to be prepaired to share at any time. That we live prepaired lives ready to share a word in season at any time. It was fun because I would head to the pulpit with a simple thought and God would bring the direction and thought of the message during the message. Its amazing if we prepair daily in our living, God will bring things back to our memory. A thought we had months before, will come back clear as anything. God is totally behind what we are doing. Its so much fun....We were in Argentina for 5 days with the Lamos family and church then headed for the Andes mts. of Chile to be with P. Christian and the church. This was another 24 hr. bus ride through the beautiful snow capped mts.. What a Ride and what a feeling to finally get there.. We were with the body there for 5 days. Another phenominal time with the people.. The Lord gave us awesome themes and fellowship... P. Christian is in a city about an hour south of the capital San Tiago. We spent the last day in the capital with a group of belivers that are from the original GGWO church from the 80s. At this point there is no church in San Tiago, but these dear believers want a pastor and Greater Grace church there. So we are praying for something to happen there because if so there would be great church there with great potential. We will see what the Lord does.... All in All, the trip was alot of fun and definatly profitable.. It was good to be back in Lima and in the flow of the ministry here..
We only have 2 more weeks of class left which is mind boggling. Then we are having a retreat up in the mts. with P. Hadley for a few days. Should be good.. I cant believe how fast the time has gone. I heading back to the states in a little less then 3 weeks.. Back to the mother land... I am definatly going to miss it here over the summer..
I know the majority of this blog was about the bus depots but its all good. I never know how these are going to turn out, thats the beauty of them I just type until I dont feel like typing any more, which is right now... God Bless
Justin
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