Relationships are fundamental!

In 1966, a program called Reading Is Fundamental was created. The program was founded on the principle that reading was foundational for a literate society.

In missions we would make a very similar statement. We would say that relationships are fundamental. Relationships are the key to ministry because they provide us with the ability to interact and socialize with others. While many training and seminary programs focus on theology, missiology and other "ologies," not much focus is placed on the importance of learning how to relate to others. The result is a group of men and women who are intellectually capable, but who are unable to connect with others on day-to-day, seemingly mundane matters. 

But it is in the reality of day-to-day where most people live, not in the stratosphere of ideology.  One learns this sitting in the home of a immigrant housewife who has just lost her husband. Or counseling an adolescent unsure of his future.  Or comforting a farmer who has lost his crop to a flood or to drought. These real life situations are where the rubber meets the road, as it were.
 
I'm grateful for my recent visit to the city of Belėm, in the Amazonian rainforest of northern Brazil. To meet and talk with students about their hopes and dreams for the future.

I am grateful for the opportunity to visit a farming colony called Tomé Açu, founded by Japanese immigrants in 1926.  To meet with the first Sansei president of the Japanese Association and to listen to his plans for the colony in the years ahead.

Also in Tomé Açu, it was a blessing to see continued the rich legacy left by Hitoshi and Kathy Yamada, UFM (MICEB) missionaries. I was invited to share a Bible study, where I selected the theme of righteousness using 1 Peter 1 and the illustrations of a Japanese kanji.



As much as Tomé Açu seemed like the end of the earth, we had the opportunity to go 40 kilometers even closer to the ends of the earth to a very remote farming colony called Jamic. There we met immigrant families whose closest neighbors were three kilometers away, and for whom grocery shopping means a two-hour drive on dirt roads when dry, and impassable when raining.  



Boarding a balsa ferry to cross the river on the road to Tomé Açu.



Crossing a curiously engineered bridge traveling from Tomé Açu to Jamic




Home visit in Jamic





What does a home visit look like?






And forget wifi or 3G! Even telephonic communication required a super tall antenna! 



The art of relationship begins here. Listening, comforting, encouraging.  This is what people yearn to experience before opening their hearts to the gospel. Relationship-building is fundamental! 

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I love small groups!

Click to enlarge photo

Questions and answers. Reflection and laughter. The intimacy of a small group. 

I enjoy teaching the Bible. While preaching is generally the medium for reaching larger groups, I enjoy the dynamics of discussing scripture around the table, in a circle of chairs or in the comfort of a living room.  

Jesus used both environments, speaking to thousands on a mountain or to hundreds along the shore of a lake. He also met people in their homes, reclining at table over a meal, or simply instructing the twelve disciples. 

I'm grateful for the flexibility of a format best suited to the needs of the groups to whom I serve. 

Because preaching doesn't generally encourage interaction, frankly, you get the most interesting comments and questions in the context of small group study.  Like the question I received last week about the practice of bigamy.  Sometimes the conversation can go off the rails here, but it provides a good opportunity to be stretched and to test my understanding of God's Word, his nature and his purpose for our lives.

September 15 - mid-term update

It's my privilege and honor to be able to convey the message of God's word. In Argentina, Paraguay or Brazil; whether to adults or to youth and children; in English, Spanish or Portuguese, it is a great joy for me. None of this would be possible without the partnership of local churches and pastors who make their pulpits and classrooms available for me to share. 

Today marks the month and a half point in my ministry in South America. I'm grateful for your ongoing prayers and financial support of my ministry. I still have a ways to go before I can begin to turn my heart toward home.

Tomorrow I leave for Brazil's northernmost state in the Amazon River basin. I will be serving in two cities: the capital city of Belém in Pará state, and a Japanese colony about six hours distant called Tomé Açu. I will be in that region for about a week.

Your gifts make this possible! Please make a gift this week! http://JEMS.org/onlinegiving

Post-COPANI Get-together in Buenos Aires

It's super amazing that in just two short years, through the support of organizations like Centro Nikkei Argentino and COPANI, we've been able to develop friendships with young people from the Nikkei community here in Argentina. I love these guys!! 

 

Es una cosa muy impresionante como nosotros nos volvimos amigos tan rápido! Agradezco mucho el apoyo del Centro Nikkei Argentino y los organizadores de COPANI por su colaboración en ayudar en el conocimiento de los jóvenes de la colectividad Nikkei em BAires. Gracias!