Harbinger Journal


Brazil Mission Trip, August 2004

This log covers our work on a mission trip back to Brasil in August of 2004:

2004 Aug 11–We’ve arrived at last!

After over 24 hours of waiting for planes and flying, we have finally touched down at the international airport in Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. We had no problems with the flights or delays of any significance. The boys were able to expend some of their energy at the various connection points, so we had no problems other than the normal cramped sleeping in an upright position.

At the airport in Porto Alegre, several friends were there to meet us, including Evie and her parents, our former pastor, and three couples from the church. After dropping off luggage at the home of one family, we went out to a good Brasilian buffet for lunch before heading off to the camp near Santa Maria (4 hours by car). They boys crashed in the car after getting in their hugs, hellos, and a good number of Brasilian cheese bread “muffins.”

Our surprise on arriving at the camp was that a former missionary colleague family was staying there on vacation in a cabin next to us. It was good to renew our contact with them, and the boys had a great time reconnecting with their youngest sons.

Chris spoke to the youth from the Colégio Batista (Baptist School) that night on having a purpose in life that was worth dying for, looking at the passage in Daniel 3, on Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego. They paid pretty good attention, and the concept of establishing a worthwhile direction for their lives seemed to hit home.

2004 Aug 12–Camp in Santa Maria!

On Thursday, Jonathan was up at the crack of dawn, got dressed and went out to look for friends and food. He got into the dining hall before I had a chance to follow him out the door, got his own plate and sat down with the “big kids” like he was one of them. He was finished with breakfast before I managed to finish a conversation with a couple of seminary students and get into the dining hall with them.

The camp was a gift to Baptists in Rio Grande do Sul from retiring missionaries some fifty years back. They had purchased some land in the mountains, not too far from where they lived, as a getaway spot. Over the years, it has been developed little by little. Many of the buildings are not in the greatest of condition, but there is a North American Baptist Convention group coming next month to do some further work on some of the cabins. For the students here from Porto Alegre, it is the first experience they have had in a nature setting. It is a big change from the bustle of life in Porto Alegre (3.5 million in an area the size of Richmond).

That afternoon, Chris took some time to work on his lecture for the seminary, while Karen and the boys went on a trail hike with the youth and seminary student counselors. They had quite an experience. The hike leader had not been on the trail in quite some time, and then when the ground had been dry. The spring along the path had been overflowing for a while, and there was mud all along the way. A one-hour hike turned into three-and-a-half hours. Jonathan and Joshua ended up being carried a good portion of the way, on the most perilous stretches. While many aspects of the trip were not well planned, it was a good experience for cohesion among the group.

That night, Chris spoke again to the youth, this time on the gospel as an outward focus on the needs of others in contrast to a self-centered focus on life. Using Luke 12 for background, they looked at greed as touching essentially on our egocentric perspective on life. Reflecting on last night’s study on having a purpose, they talked about how a purpose focusing on others has longer lasting value than a focus on helping ourselves.

2004 Aug 13–Returning to Porto Alegre!

The boys slept in a little later this morning, and we followed their lead without much hesitation. The cows awakened us during the night, munching on the vegetation in the flower beds just outside the cabin door. They had been cleaned out yesterday afternoon, so the cows were able to get to the juicier parts of the plants more easily... Karen tried to get a picture of their midnight feeding, but there wasn’t much light.

After breakfast, we talked with several of the youth and seminary students on various topics, while the boys enjoyed the playground and their friends among the youth. One of the girls is determined to take the boys home with her. Joshua decided that she would have to move in with us. He is not speaking Portuguese yet, and she could not understand his English, but that has not stopped them from building a friendship and his talking non-stop to her about anything and everything.

We drove Pr. Samuel’s car back into Porto Alegre after lunch, dropping a seminary student off in Novo Hamburgo, one of the outlying towns of Greater Porto Alegre. We met Orlando, a member of our former church, at the hotel about 9pm, getting the luggage we had left at his home. Karen felt that we should go by the Center for Gaúcho Traditionalism where we had worked during our last year in Porto Alegre.

After getting the boys’ beds made and getting some of our “stuff” arranged, we headed out again, but did not tell the boys where we were going. It was late, but the boys were excited when we drove up. Jonathan piped up as we were parking, “The CTG! I remember this place! Yeah!”

We had emailed one of the folks, letting them know of our arrival plans, but not having mentioned that we would be there tonight. One couple had brought supper for us and told everyone to expect us at the CTG tonight, since we were getting back to Porto Alegre and this was home for us. We had a good time catching up, eating supper with friends, and watching the boys interact with the other children and youth as though they could converse. Joshua came up to us a couple of times to ask how to say something or other in Portuguese. Mostly, they played with smiles, gestures, and non-understood words.

Before managing to leave around 11:30pm, we were told we would participate with them tomorrow night at a dance class graduation some were planning to attend. We have also been invited for a party on Sunday afternoon, but we are not sure yet how that one will work with our other ministry plans.

2004 Aug 14–Settling in at the Hotel!

We are staying in an apartment hotel. We have a tiny kitchen, one bedroom, a sitting room, bath, and a small utility area with a washboard sink (14x11"). The whole apartment would fit inside our living room at the parsonage. It comes with a dorm-size refrigerator, tiny gas stove, and a 11-inch TV. They boys are on a trundle-bed sofa. For us it is tiny, though sufficient for a month’s stay. It is about the size of apartment that most people here in Porto Alegre live in. Pr. Cabral’s apartment has one bedroom more than this, while Pr. Samuel’s has two more.

Parking last night was fun. I had to drive between the wall of the apartment building and the property wall to get to the parking area. To get out, I had to back the car out. I had about four inches of clearance on either side of the car. I was glad that was not the first time I have had to drive like that!

We have to give up Pr. Samuel’s car today, as he was to arrive back last night as well. I hope to be able to send this out when I meet him this morning at the Colégio Batista. I have not had a chance to download pictures into the computer yet, so that will have to wait. We will post some as soon as possible.

Tonight we lead a couple’s meeting at Igreja Batista do Passo D’Areia (Sandy Pass Baptist Church), where we were members. Tomorrow we have lunch at Orlando Kommer’s home with some others from church. I preach at Passo D’Areia tomorrow night, and am to preach at their mission church on Monday evening. Monday morning, we begin our contact with the students at the Baptist school. Jonathan and Joshua will be at their former school that morning, then will go to the Baptist school for the afternoon session.

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf. It has been refreshing for us as a family simply to be back in our old environment and have the opportunity to renew contact, establish some new friendships, and be able to make some small new contribution of ministry here again. They boys are in their element, even though they have lost most of their Portuguese. They will be speaking again before the month is out, we’re sure.

We pray daily for our Rocks Baptist Church family, and are looking forward to being able to check our email soon. We did not realize how long it was going to take to be able to make an internet connection.

The phone number here at the Hotel is 011-55-51-3219-3360, but that is not direct to our room. We are in room 303 (tray-zehn-toes-trays), though we get the impression that we will not be here very much at all! Currently, Chris is scheduled to speak in six churches while we are here, as well as teach one night at the seminary. We are not sure what that means for Karen yet, as her ministry opportunities will not be as visible or public in the churches. During the day, we will both work with students at the Colégio. We will be spending several evenings at the CTG, mostly Tuesdays and Fridays.

2004 Aug 15–Back at our Former Church!

After being out late attending a dance class graduation with friends from the Gaúcho traditional center, we slept in a little later than normal. Most churches here in Brazil have only one service on Sunday, and that is at night. Felipe, Orlando’s son, came by to pick us up and take us to their home for lunch with friends from church at noon. We had a good visit with the three families that were there with us. We also took advantage of the chance to wash clothes in Dirlei’s washing machine instead of having to do them by hand! When it was finally time to leave, Felipe dropped us off at the hotel for a few minutes before another friend came by to take us to the worship service.

Back at Passo D’Areia, we were greeted by numerous friends. Several former seminary students are now working at Passo D’Areia, and several members we knew are now at the seminary as well. One of Chris’ former students brought his fiancée to meet us and hear Chris preach. Amélia, another friend, had gone to another church soon after we left Porto Alegre. She reported that God had told her it was time to go back to Passo D’Areia and was thrilled that Chris was there to preach on her first night back.

The biggest surprise for us was finding Sara at church. Sara was a member of the Gaúcho traditional center we had attended. We had no idea that anyone from our center had gone to church, although we had been sharing with the consistently while we were there and had left them with Gospels of John that had the churches address on them.

Passo D’Areia has grown over the last couple of years. In 2000, they had just moved into their newly constructed sanctuary, with seating for about 150. Attendance was at about 100. Tonight, the sanctuary was full, and chairs had to be brought in and placed in the aisles. Chris preached to a packed house on living the message of the Sermon on the Mount.

It was very refreshing for us all to be reunited with so many friends and be able to minister among them once again.

2004 Aug 16–Amiguinhos and New Congregation!

This morning was the boys’ first time back at their old preschool. They were thrilled to be back, remembering things from two years ago that we would never have imagined possible. On our arrival, we found a bulletin board at the school full of pictures that looked familiar. When we went over to inspect it, we found that every picture on it was a part of church resource kit items that we had left with the school two years ago. The bulletin board was in celebration of Brazilian father’s day, and was filled with pictures showing families reading the Bible together. Because the preschool is a Montessori school and the last year of the school is the American equivalent of first grade, and they are at the end of the school year, the school psychologist suggested that we leave the boys all day instead of taking them to the Baptist school in the afternoon. Since the teachers are used to working with children at all different levels, we decided with her that this would be the best thing to do. Patricia, Jonathan’s teacher, had already tested Jonathan in reading and was astounded at his ability to read in Portuguese. We were amazed also, since we didn’t have any idea that he would be able to read in Portuguese!

At the Colégio Batista, Chris taught a couple of the religious education classes for a former student. We then went over to the Christian bookstore across the street to talk with David, another former student, who is now managing the store. He scheduled Chris to speak in his 7:30am class the next morning.

We weren’t yet sure what we were going to do about transportation, having ridden by taxi so far. The former student Chris was teaching with today has loaned us his car to use during the week. We are now driving it to and from our various appointments. On the weekends, we will be at the mercy of whatever church has invited us to speak.

After picking up the boys from their preschool in the evening, we met Pr. Cabral to go to the church’s congregation in Gravataí. We were to have a snack supper with a church member there and then Chris was to speak at the service. We had supper with Alcina’s family, then went to the congregation. They are meeting in very rustic quarters, but are not able to make any changes at this point, since it is rental property. They hope to be able to buy the land, but at this point it is not for sale.

Chris preached on seeing Jesus for who He really is, looking at the disciples amazement when Jesus calmed the storm from the Matthew passage. After the service, we had a birthday party for a couple of the members. Chris had a counseling session while most of that was going on. We managed to leave with Pr. Cabral around 10pm, getting to the hotel around 11. Chris was to be at the school at 7:30 in the morning.

2004 Aug 17–Colégio Batista and Former Students

Today we began our activities with the students at the Baptist school. Chris taught a couple of classes today and will be teaching several others this week. In between teaching responsibilities, he has been working on translating his seminary lecture notes into Portuguese. Working in the teacher’s lounge makes for lots of interruptions. The translation work is slow, but there are many opportunities for renewing contact with former and current seminary students, planning for classes, and witnessing to non-Christian teachers at the school.

This evening, Chris was asked to lead a devotional for the teachers at the Colégio Batista just before their faculty meeting. We had to pick up the boys from their school and bring them to the Colégio Batista. They entertained a couple of the seminary students while Chris led the devotional.

After the devotional time with the teachers, we went to the Gaúcho Traditional Center with Tiago, a seminary student. The boys played with friends there, while we introduced Tiago around and talked with folks. As a natural part of conversation there, Chris talked with a couple of the men regarding Baptist polity and the recognition that each individual is responsible before God, having no one to answer for us. They were trying to understand issues of local church autonomy, as they are used to hierarchical church structures.

We returned to the hotel late, getting in around 11pm.

2004 Aug 18–Karen at the Colégio Batista

Today Karen began her teaching schedule in the English classes at the school. She spent most of the afternoon and a couple of morning periods with the younger classes. Tomorrow she will be working with some of the other classes as well. She has been asked by the boys’ school to plan a teaching session with the parents of all the children at the school. The date has not been set, but she is starting on the planning for a parent’s class on using Montessori teaching in the home. This will be a Saturday event at the school.

We headed back to the hotel earlier tonight, hoping to catch up on some much needed rest.

2004 Aug 19–Vila Nova

On leaving the Colégio Batista for lunch today, we ran into Pr. Magioli, who asked Chris to preach at his congregation tonight. Checking out our calendar openings, Chris accepted.

After our responsibilities at the Colégio, we picked up the boys and went to the hotel. Chris took a taxi to meet Pr. Magioli, and they went on to the congregation in Vila Nova, in the southern part of Greater Porto Alegre. The group there meets in the extended front of a shack in a 12x15 unfinished room with concrete slab floor. All the plastic chairs were filled with about 12 adults, four youth, and fifteen children.

After the music and scripture reading, Chris was invited to preach, sharing a message on allowing Jesus to be who He really is, even when it may frighten us to recognize His authority over the winds and waves. Having Jesus in the boat with us does not mean that the waves do not exist, but that we may rest assured of His presence in the midst of the storm.

Pr. Magioli had not known that we had been fired by the IMB two years ago. When Chris realized that in conversation en route to the congregation, he had to share the basics of the story, in order to allow Pr. Magioli to revisit the invitation to preach. As we had known each other and had been members of the same church at one time, there was no problem with Chris’ participation and preaching at the mission, but he had lots of questions about our leaving the mission field and being fired by the IMB.

On the way back to the hotel after the service, Pr. Magioli reviewed all that had happened with us in relation to the IMB and our termination. Though he had been a trustee of the seminary in Porto Alegre, he had somehow never gotten word that we had been fired. It was hard for him to comprehend why we would be fired, as he had never heard anything that would have lent itself toward our being accused of heresy.

2004 Aug 20–Birthday Party and CTG

On Friday, we took the boys back to school and returned to the Colégio Batista as normal. Chris taught two classes, as did Karen, then Karen participated in a seminar on religious instruction, interacting with teachers from various schools in the area while Chris worked on the seminary lecture.

Jonathan had a birthday party to attend, as one of his classmates had invited the class from school (it is normal here to invite one’s entire class). As Joshua had been in her class two years ago, he was invited as well. We met them at the mall, where the children were playing at the McDonald’s party area. We arrived a little early to be able to interact with some of the parents arriving to pick up their children as well. Most of the parents still remembered us from two years ago, though we were having trouble with names.

From there we went to the Gaúcho Traditional Center (CTG), where we were to have dinner with friends from the seminary as well as our non-Christian friends at the CTG. Tiago, Vinicius, and Edna were waiting for us when we arrived. We were able to introduce them around and help them establish the beginnings of a relationship there. It is our prayer that they will be able to continue the witness that we had begun at the CTG. After dinner (meat grilled over a charcoal fire) and lots of fellowship and discussion of numerous things including theology, culture, life in the US, and Baptist polity, we managed to get away and take the boys back to the hotel for a short night’s sleep.

2004 Aug 21–Vanusa, Jonathan and Joshua

On Saturday morning, we took the boys to the Colégio Batista to meet Vanusa. She is now a seminary student, but she and her sister had kept the boys for us several times when we had night activities. She was leading children’s activities at a church in the valley section of Greater Porto Alegre, where her brother-in-law is pastoring, and wanted to take the boys with her. They left on the bus to go to Matias Velho, and had a good time with the other children there.

While they were gone, Chris and Karen had a chance to catch a breath, get clothing washed and taken to dry (at a laundry facility near the hotel) before going back to pick them up. Chris finished up the translation of the seminary notes while Karen did some cleaning.

When we got back to pick up the boys, Joshua was running a slight fever and not feeling well. We got them back and put him to bed. He woke up several times during the night, and we decided that he needed to stay at the hotel on Sunday while Jonathan went with Chris to the congregation in Alvorada where he was to preach.

2004 Aug 22–Salomé and Alvorada

On Sunday morning, Chris and Jonathan got ready and left for church with a couple from Alvorada who took them to the Salomé congregation. They brought their Volkswagen Kombi (van) to pick us up, not having gotten the word that Karen and Joshua would not be coming.

At the congregation, Jonathan was anxiously awaiting the arrival of other boys for him to play with. He was disappointed. The congregation at Salomé is very needy, and many families are not able to come every week due to work needs and problems with transportation. As the busses don’t always run on schedule on Sundays, they often do not come if they are going to be half-an-hour late due to a bus not coming.

The pastor at Salomé cannot survive on the church’s income, so he teaches at a local university (Ph.D. in agronomy), since the church’s income is insufficient to pay him as little as $200 a month. They are trying to finish off part of a building in the back so that they would be able to use the area for a head-start style program that would be funded by the local government.

Jonathan’s Sunday school class moved out of the room it was in, since he was shivering with cold that morning. He had on three layers of clothing, but could not manage to stay warm.

After church and Sunday school, Chris and Jonathan were taken by the mother church to meet up with the pastor there and go out for lunch. They went to a churrascaria in Alvorada (all-you-can-eat grilled meats with salad/vegetable bar). Jonathan had been missing churrascaria food and had at least nine different meats, telling the waiters as they came around that he wanted them to come back with more later. (They come around to the tables with meat on spits fresh from the fire, slicing pieces off onto one’s plate.) He was trying to make up for lost time, but finally had to stop when he could hold no more.

From the restaurant, Chris and Jonathan went back to the pastor’s home. Jonathan played with their daughter while the pastor and Chris went over the translation of Chris’ seminary notes. When that was done, Chris borrowed the pastor’s car to take Jonathan back to the hotel. After going out again to buy Joshua some Tylenol, it was time to leave to go back to Alvorada. Joshua’s fever had come down some, and he had slept most of the day.

Back in Alvorada, Chris preached to a number of former students in the congregation, stressing the relationship between the Sermon on the Mount and our presentation of the gospel of salvation. The church complained that Karen and the boys were not present, but were glad to hear that they would be present on Saturday during the missions conference the church was hosting.

Chris was driven back to the hotel by the family that had picked him up in the morning. The boys had long been in bed by that time, but Joshua had slept so much during the day that he was often awake during the night.

Aug 23–Back to School, Copies

On Monday morning, Joshua was back in shape and ready to go. In accord with the norms here, we took him on back to school. We found that several other children had been sick the week before. We dropped him off with Tylenol and contact information, but none was needed.

We thought we would be using Pr. Mauro’s car again this week, but it had developed some electrical problems, and is in the shop. It was to be fixed this evening, but that was not to happen. Thankfully, taxis are not very expensive here (by US standards), though when there are many trips to be made, it adds up.

Back at the Colégio, Chris worked on getting copies of his lecture notes made. There was a problem with the school’s copier, making the footnotes unreadable, so we had to take the material elsewhere. As there are copy services around, we walked down the main street in front of the school to get the copies made and then to find some lunch.

We dropped off the copies and walked downtown in search of a restaurant. The place we were looking for had closed for repairs, but we found what we needed at one of the many buffet options in town (all-you-can-eat salads, vegetables, and meats on a buffet). We had plans for the evening, but the family we were to meet had to cancel. Instead of going to their home, we picked the boys up and went back to the hotel to get them in bed for some still much-needed rest.

Aug 24–Ana, André, Gabriel, and Lucas

Today we had planned to take the day off from the Colégio Batista to renew contact with a family from the boys’ school. We took the boys with us to Ana and André’s apartment this morning. They had kept their two sons out of school to spend the day with Jonathan and Joshua. We took our laundry to make use of their washer and dryer while we were there.

Lucas and Gabriel were very unsure of interacting with Jonathan and Joshua, since they had gotten word that they were not speaking Portuguese anymore. This made it interesting at first. After lunch, André had to go into town, so he dropped Chris off at the Colégio Batista to pick up his class materials and drop them off at the seminary. Pr. Mauro’s car was not back from the shop yet, so Pr. Samuel loaned his car for some errands.

Chris returned to Ana and André’s apartment on foot after finishing his errands, finding only André home. Ana, Karen and the boys had gone out to a park to play. André began asking a series of questions regarding church history, Reformation, theology, Judaism, and such. Well into that discussion, Ana, Karen and the boys returned, after a fun afternoon of playing together.

Later in the evening, we had Brasilian pizza (André owns our favorite pizza delivery restaurant in town), and Ana brought in a chocolate pizza with a candle lit for Karen’s birthday. Much later, Andre took us back to the hotel for the night.

Aug 25–Seminary Lecture, Birthday

Chris left early this morning, dropping the boys off at school en route to the Colégio Batista for a planning meeting with Pr. Samuel. While waiting for Karen to arrive at the school, one of our church friends came by to wish her a happy birthday. The phone rang several times in Pr. Samuel’s office with birthday wishes for Karen. She had trouble leaving the hotel to arrive at the Colégio because of birthday calls.

Pr. Samuel and Chris had been scheduled to speak on world missions at the missions conference in Alvorada this next weekend. As plans were made for the event, it was decided that Karen should participate as well, so we are now working on a three-part presentation on world missions this Saturday at the church in Alvorada. The plan is for Pr. Samuel to present a sermon from Mark 5:1-20, emphasizing local and trans-cultural missions, as well as looking at the need to look beyond our current institutional structures of church work. We will be “interrupting” with specific application in missionary context. We will be developing the idea more this week in preparation for the event.

Chris was asked to make a presentation to the pastors on Friday afternoon in regard to the fundamentalist movement in the United States, the changes it has made in the SBC, and what Brazilian Baptists can expect as a consequence of the changes in the SBC. That presentation is to be a more practical application of tonight’s more theological presentation at the seminary.

After taking an afternoon off, we picked the boys up and went back to the hotel, getting them ready for bed. Evie came to take care of them while Pr. Samuel took us to the seminary. The 25th anniversary celebration was underway when we arrived. Chris was to speak from 8:45 until 9:45, with half-an-hour of discussion to follow his presentation. Chris had ordered a birthday basket with goodies for Karen, and presented it to her there. The students and others present for the lecture sang happy birthday to Karen after Chris was introduced to speak.

The presentation went well, Chris speaking first about fundamentalism as a philosophical stance, rather than a theological position. After addressing some of the overall concepts that define fundamentalism and help to understand the mindset, we then looked at some of the specific characteristics of fundamentalism within the Southern Baptist Convention. The group was very receptive and had many very good questions to ask at the end. Time ran out before our discussion ended, but all seemed to have benefitted from the discussion.

It was good to see and visit with many former students and pastors in the area. They were appreciative and supportive of our being here. We got many questions about returning to stay, but told tell them that God has simply not given us leave to return to stay in Brazil.

Pr. Samuel took us back to the hotel to pick up Evie and take her home. The boys had enjoyed their time with her and were fast asleep. Karen had a chance to look through her basket of goodies before turning in for the night. The day was long, but seemingly profitable.

Aug 26–Churrasco

The boys woke up this morning complaining that Evie had not played with them the night before, since she had only arrived at bedtime. Joshua insisted that she has to come back and play with them. She was thrilled to hear of their demands!

After taking the boys to school, we went on to the Colégio Batista. Chris needed to go by the state convention office to see about getting copies of his material for the pastors' meeting tomorrow. We talked for a while with the secretary to arrange the details, as well as talking with the president of the pastors' council by phone. We left her making the copies for tomorrow's meeting and went on to lunch.

When we left for lunch, we stopped first to look for a storefront where we used to buy juice, re-establishing contact there with the folks. We ordered what we needed for now, and went on to lunch. It is strange to have made so many contacts during our time in Porto Alegre, so that buying juice in a city of 1.3 million is cause for re-establishing friendships from years before.

Tonight we were to meet Tiago, Vinicius and Edna along with some of their traditionalist Christian friends for a churrasco (meat cooked on spits over an open fire). We picked up a cake at a bakery near the Colégio to take with us, as in part it was to be a celebration of Karen's birthday. Pr. Samuel loaned us his car to pick up the boys, go by the hotel and come back for supper with former students. We made it back to our engagement a little past the set time.

Tiago had built a piquete (rustic lean-to) on the grounds of Central Baptist Church, honoring Gaúcho culture. This was part of an attempt to motivate Christians to reach out to the Traditionalists around them. The group at the piquete tonight were dressed in the Gaúcho outfits, except for the women, as their dress is much more complicated for day-to-day wear. We had a good time with a lot of joking around, good food, and fellowship. After a couple of hours of "ice-breaking," the theology discussions began. This group is rather ecumenical, including Baptist, Presbyterian, and Assembly of God backgrounds, all discussing theology together, arguing and yet respecting each other’s differing points of view. Most of the theological conversation went on after Karen left with the boys at 10pm to go back to the hotel.

We were invited to lunch with Tiago, Edna, Regis, and Roxanna for leftover meat cooked with rice (carreteiro). The main idea was to continue the theology discussion over another meal. Chris finally made it back to the hotel around midnight.

Aug 27–Pastors’ Council

We dropped the boys off this morning and walked toward the Colégio, stopping at the Pão do Porto (bakery) to check in with friends we had not yet seen. We were partly hoping to work off some of last night’s calories... We had lived one block away from this bakery during our first term in Porto Alegre. The owners and several off the staff are evangelical Christians, and we had made good friendships with them. After our visit with them, we headed on to the Colégio to check in and meet Tiago for lunch with Regis.

Over lunch, we continued last night’s theology discussion and enjoyed the fellowship with the group. Regis and Roxanna hope to move to Japan (where they originally met) after he finishes his studies at one of the local universities. After lunch with Tiago and friends, we went over to the convention office to meet with the Pastor’s council.

We arrived a few minutes before the meeting was to start, and had a chance to talk briefly with several pastors we had known before. There were several new faces in the group as well. A couple had come across town just to ask a questions regarding the proposed topic of Fundamentalism in the SBC. They were worried about Fundamentalism coming to Brazil through the influence of Baptists from the United States, including IMB missionaries.

Chris presented his material briefly, stressing that Fundamentalism is not so much a theology as a rigidity of stance that does not allow for contrary opinion. After his introduction of the topic, he was peppered with questions they had brought to the meeting: How would Fundamentalism likely be exported to Brazil? Why are IMB missionaries were no longer cooperating with Brazilian Baptists as partners? How did Fundamentalists take control of the SBC? Why did the SBC cut its ties with the Baptist World Alliance? Why did Southern Baptists allow for such to happen?

The presentation and answers were well received and seemed to resonate with what the pastors were hearing from local IMB leadership and reports from other areas. They were interested in finding that another state convention in Brazil was cutting its partnership ties with the IMB, preferring to work directly with Virginia Baptists.

A couple of the pastors asked to talk with us later to go deeper into some of the issues plaguing the SBC. We proposed returning next week to talk with them at the convention offices. They were very appreciative of our participation and sharing with them. They were especially concerned with Baptist World Alliance issues and changes in the way IMB missionaries are currently relating to Baptists in Brazil.

After a few other conversations with pastors and other leaders, we picked up the boys from school and headed back to the hotel. We had planned to go to the Gaúcho traditional center this evening, but were too tired.

Aug 28–Evie's Birthday, Pr. Samuel and Alvorada Missions Conference

We ran some errands this morning, picking up clothing that had been dropped off for mending and getting Jonathan’s boots we had ordered and getting needed haircuts. Pr. Samuel picked us up for lunch with his family and Evie’s birthday celebration. They boys were ecstatic about seeing their big sister and singing happy birthday to her.

From there, Pr. Samuel took us to the Colégio to catch our ride out to Alvorada. The church was holding a missions conference this weekend, and we were to participate in their missions fair this afternoon and speak with Pr. Samuel tonight. The boys wore their Traditionalist clothing and enjoyed the fair. They had opened the church yard up to the community to offer hair-cutting, dental hygiene instruction, face painting, music, and such, as well as booths set up to share about missions in different parts of the state. The idea was to combine speaking about missions and simultaneously getting the church involved in outreach.

Pr. Geneci from Rosário do Sul presented a session on hospital chaplaincy, a new style of ministry among Baptists in the state. After his session, we had the major evening service, in which Chris and Karen shared the time with Pr. Samuel. He preached on Mark 5, while we added practical application vignettes of cross-cultural missions experience with work among the Traditionalist Gaúchos, and other peoples around the world. The presentation was designed to stress the need to include all peoples and segments of societies in our efforts to share the love of God for all.

After the service, another family took us back to the hotel, arriving after 11pm.

29–Esteio, Sapucaia do Sul

This morning we went back to Passo D’Areia for Sunday School. Karen went on into the women’s class, while Chris was called to speak to the young couples' class and the men’s class. The women had planned a birthday party for Ana Paula, the pastor’s wife as well as for Karen. They had wanted us to come on Wednesday evening to have a party for Karen, but we had to be at the seminary.

After church, we went on to one of the churrascaria restaurants that we had often eaten at before. The managers and waiters still remembered us from before, asking if we were back to stay now, or if we were just back to visit. They were upset that "our" table was not available, since we had not called ahead of time to let them know we were coming.

We left to meet a family from Jonathan’s class at the state fair (the largest in Latin America), but by the time we arrived the family had left. We visited the animal exposition, in the time we had, as well as visiting with a seminary student friend we happened to meet up with. The park was very crowded. Latter reports detailed over 720,000 people visited the fair over the week it was open.

Pr. Samuel picked us up outside the fairgrounds to take us on to the church in Sapucaia do Sul where we were to preach. We had been at this church once before on a cold winter's night. Tonight was very warm, even though it was supposed to be mid-winter. The congregation in Sapucaia faces a great challenge, as evangelical Christians comprise only about 1 percent of the population in Sapucaia do Sul, a city of 125,000.

Chris preached on the Gideon story, detailing that God calls us not to accomplish great things, but to allow Him to accomplish much through us. Karen shared several stories to aid in applying the points of Chris' sermon. In part she spoke of her own call to serve God, putting barriers in the way of accepting God's plan as Gideon had done. We challenged them to allow God to work through them, not because of what they could accomplish, but what God could do if they made themselves available.

Pr. Samuel took us back to the hotel after the service, arriving there well after 10pm.

Aug 31–Permission to Travel

Edna made plans for us to eat lunch out with her today. We walked with her to a restaurant near the Colégio. We had spent part of the morning trying to get clothing washed and hung up to dry at the seminary dorm. After lunch, we needed to go back and get the clothing down.

We borrowed Pr. Samuel's car to go by the airport this afternoon to get Karen permission to travel with the boys. In Brasil, a parent cannot take Brasilian minors on an international trip without special permission to travel being given by the other parent. We went to the proper office at the airport and got the necessary permission for Karen to travel alone with the boys. After taking care of that, we took the clothing back to the hotel, and returned to the Colégio Batista to deliver Pr. Samuel's car. It was later than normal when we picked up the boys to go back to the hotel to rest, but much earlier than the many nights we were out with friends. We had planned to go to the Traditionalist Center tonight, but we were all too tired.

Sep 01–Júnior, Passo D’Areia

This morning, we were to be at the Colégio for an 8:20 English class. We had had several complaints by folks who wanted to see the boys, making it basically a command performance to bring them with us to the Colégio. After the English class, we took the boys for Jonathan to get a needed vaccine before taking them to their school. After dropping them off, we headed back to the Colégio Batista.

Júnior, one of the seminary students, went with us to eat lunch. Karen had responsibilities back at the Colégio with English classes. Júnior spent the afternoon with Chris discussing theology and running errands downtown. We needed a cable to be able to make a VHS copy of Chris' seminary lecture to leave in the seminary library. All of the stores were sold out of VHS tapes due to the Olympics, but Pr. Samuel's son, Felipe, who was to make the tape for us had one at home.

Chris was to speak at Passo D'Areia again tonight, for their prayer meeting. We got some wires crossed about the date, but things worked out. Prior to church, we were to visit with Beto and Márcia. We had scheduled that once before, but a conflict caused us to need to reschedule for this evening. We picked up their son, João Henrique, from the Colégio and took him with us to get the boys from Amiguinhos on our way to their house. The boys went directly into João's room to play while we visited with Márcia and Beto. They boys were too busy to worry with food, but we enjoyed the fare and fellowship.

Chris left Karen and the boys and walked down to the church (about five blocks) to speak. We had thought the family was all going, but Beto's back was giving him a lot of problems and Márcia does not generally go on week nights. We planned to meet back at the hotel.

Chris preached during the prayer service on unity, dealing with the text of Titus 2-3. As this was his third time preaching at Passo D'Areia on this trip, he tied this sermon into the others on intimacy with God and the Sermon on the Mount as Jesus' central presentation of the gospel. He stressed the unity of the body of Christ as the best measure of success for the church.

Friends dropped Chris off at Beto and Marcia's, as Karen had called saying she had not managed to leave yet. We left for the hotel just after 10pm.

Sep 02–Vinicius and Edna

On arriving at the Colégio this morning, I got word from Felipe that we needed to borrow a transcoder to make the video tape from our US camera onto a Brasilian VCR. Pr. Samuel sent us to pick up the transcoder at the First Baptist Church. While we were there, we stopped by to speak to the couple heading up a feeding ministry with the very poor island population in the area. We had received info from a group out of Lynchburg that were supposedly working with FBC Porto Alegre on this project, linking it with a church planting effort. In talking with the couple, we found that the Lynchburg folks had indeed come down and gotten much information and filmed many aspects of the feeding program, but that they had not had any further contact with them beyond that visit two months ago.

We had an appointment to meet a friend from Butiá who makes our Traditionalist clothing. We walked to lunch and then went on toward the bus station to meet her. On the way we realized that we would be walking by the Bible Society where we had registered years ago as colporters. Chris used to take Bibles and theological resources with him when he would travel to churches in the interior of the state. We stopped in to get some New Testaments to leave with the hotel staff when we checked out of the hotel. We made our purchases and asked to leave them while we went on to the bus station. We met our friend, got Chris' and Jonathan's new clothing from her and headed back. After getting our Bible purchases, we headed on back to the Colégio.

We were to have dinner this evening with Vinicius and Edna at the Seminary dorm, which is located on the campus of the Colégio. Since Edna does not get off until 7pm, dinner preparations started around 7:30. Jonathan was not feeling well after having gotten a vaccine yesterday. He took a nap before supper and during most of the meal.

During the meal preparations, we had ample time for lots of discussion of missiology and plans for work among Traditionalist Gaúchos. We were able to share with them in more detail the reasons we had started work the way we had and what we were trying to achieve through our contacts among the Traditionalists. Vinicius and Edna are really interested in following up on what we had begun. He is to travel to São Paulo next week with his pastor for them to make a presentation to the Presbyterian leadership about Traditionalist Gaúchos and the need for work among them.

It was after 10pm before we managed to leave with the boys. Jonathan was still asleep until we got into the taxi heading to the hotel.

Sep 03–Gilmar, Zete, Noemir, Seide

We had a debriefing meeting this morning with Pr. Samuel before heading out for lunch and taking care of some last minute business details. Before the meeting, we went in to check our email and got the unexpected news that Claiborne had passed away the night before. We had a chance then to call and talk briefly with Etta. Etta would not hear of my changing my travel plans to come back early.

After our meeting with Pr. Samuel, we went to lunch and met a friend who used to wait tables at another restaurant. He was excited to see us and brought us up-to-date briefly on his life and his mother's health. We had wondered where we would be able to find him and knew it would be impossible. He asked us to come by when he got off for lunch. Chris went back and they talked for a little while.

We then headed over to the hotel to get some packing done, as the weekend was to be pretty full and would not give time to get things together for Chris to leave on Monday. We then went over to pick up the boys from school.

Tonight we were to be at Seide's for a light meal. Zete had wanted to have us over for dinner, as had Seide, but time was running out. They decided to share us for the evening. We picked up the boys and headed over to Seide's. Gilmar had been delayed on getting back into town, so we visited with Seide and Noemir for an hour or so before Zete and Gilmar arrived. The boys walked into the apartment and asked to play on the computer. Jonathan told them, "We like the Mickey Mouse game." Karen thought he had seen something in the room, but then we realized that he remembered playing that particular game once at their apartment over two years ago!

Noemir shared with us how God had been working with him about going to seminary and he had finally given in and started this year. This was a decision that they had been putting off for several years, but had finally recognized that he needed to get on with answering God's call. Seide is just beginning a new job in the next couple of months. We had helped her get started a few years back as she began doing some baking from home as a source of income. We had helped her get some needed pans and other items she needed. She shared how God was changing her direction, giving her a job at a new clothing store.

When Zete and Gilmar arrived, they had lots of questions for us about our leaving Brasil, God's provision and direction amid all the turmoil we went through. The reason for their questions had to do with God's leading them out of the comfort of their life in Porto Alegre and at Passo D'Areia. The are moving next week to a house on the coast about 60 miles away. At this point, they will have to seek new sources of income and start life over, but feel that God has been guiding them there to serve in some capacity, either at the struggling mission there, or beginning new work in the area. This move had been in the making for some time, but they had been resisting until God took away their current income sources and they felt forced to make the transition. Now that they have made the decision, they are exuding relief as God continues to open all the necessary doors and make all the needed arrangements fall into place.

After our meal and visit, Noemir took us by the Parque Harmonia to check in with our Traditionalist friends there. It was much later than we had planned to leave, but God's timing does not work by our understanding. We arrived at the park where much of the Traditionalist community was camped out. They will stay here for about three weeks, many of them spending the night in the lean-to's that they have erected. We found the group of our contacts and spent a few minutes with them before heading back to meet with Noemir to go to the hotel. We did not manage to stay very long, but got back to the hotel around 11pm.

Sep 04–Morro Reuter

Júnior had called a North American Baptist missionary to ask about our using her car today, as we were needing to leave Porto Alegre to visit with the family of Jonathan's best friend, Nicolá. Chris went over early to pick up the car and come back so we could drive up to Morro Reuter. The boys were still asleep when he got back with the car, but woke up as we began making breakfast preparations. Once we were all ready, we piled into the car for the day trip up to the foothills. Morro Reuter is a German settlement on the edge of the small mountain range just north of Greater Porto Alegre.

Nicolá's father is French and used to work with the Alliance Française. He is now self-employed as a magician. They moved out of Porto Alegre a few months before we left in 2002. We had been to their new house once while it was still in the initial stages of construction. They have been in it now for a little over a year. As we left Brasil, Elizabete inherited most of our plants, including the pear tree that we had just purchased a couple of months before. She took great pleasure in showing us how all of our plants were doing well in their new setting.

The house is not completely finished, but in Brazil it is normal to take years to build one's home, since interest rates on loans are generally over 20 percent a year if one even qualifies. They showed us around the house and the property. The boys disappeared with Nicolá and his sister Milena for most of the day, checking in with us only for meals, a walk around the property, and for milking time. Jonathan and Joshua had milked a cow before, but Nicolá had never milked his own. The boys had a great time getting Nicolá into the milking.

After dinner, Eric, did a couple of tricks for Jonathan and gave him a book that he had recently authored. The last time we had seen them, he was just getting into using his magician skills professionally. We had had conversations about illusion and how it at times helped us to understand reality better. Eric had asked us not to leave Brasil, but to stay and begin a Baptist church in Morro Reuter where they are now living. That discussion came back up as we talked. Even though they are not baptized believers, they are interested in issues of faith and learning to trust God as we have tried to live faith before them.

After a good day, we said our good-bye's and headed back into Porto Alegre. Chris dropped the family off and went to return the car.

Sep 05–Delmize, Harmonia, Floresta

Delmize had insisted we have lunch with them today. We had planned to go to a different church this morning. After getting in last night after 11pm, we were moving too slowly to manage that. We stopped briefly by the artisan park on the way to lunch with Delmize and Zé. We saw a group of the Indians with whom Delmize is beginning work. They sit at the park on Sunday mornings to sell their woven and wooden articles.

We had a good lunch and fellowship with the family. Delmize and Zé had been Traditionalists prior to accepting the gospel. They had been told they would have to leave all that behind in order to accept Christ. A couple of years later, they had met us at Passo D'Areia and were ecstatic that we were trying to reach the Traditionalists with the gospel. We had hoped that they would join us in our efforts to reach out to the Traditionalists, but God had other plans for them. In the process, however, they had become some of our best support, offering encouragement and guidance as needed. Delmize made sure that we knew she was praying that God would send us back to Brazil to work with her people.

While Delimize left for a meeting at church, Zé took us to Parque Harmonia where we were to meet our Traditionalist friends again. We saw some we had not had a chance to speak to before. We did not have a lot of time to be at the park with them, since Chris was scheduled to preach at another church tonight. We talked with several folks for a couple of hours and Chris said his good-bye's before heading off to Floresta.

Floresta was the church we had been members of when Jonathan was born. They now have a new pastor who has just recently come back to Porto Alegre after serving for several years as the head of the Brazilian Baptist Home Mission Board. Floresta is a struggling congregation with a large facility built in years past with help from Baptists in the US. As Chris preached on the unity of the body of Christ being more than a bond of brotherhood, a family of friends came in.

Sep 06–Boots, Theology, Airport

After taking the boys to school this morning, we needed to go pick up a pair of boots that Chris had dropped off to be repaired. In the course of conversation with the owner of the boot shop, the topic turned to church and Chris had the opportunity to present a summary of last night's sermon on unity of the body of Christ. As it turns out, the owner of the boot shop is spiritist (in this case following the teachings of Alan Kardec), not for theological reasons, so much as distrust of organized religion. He had questions about unity among Baptists and whether we were having the type of scandals as were being reported in the news of church leaders absconding with funds. We had the chance to witness to him briefly before having to end our conversation.

Back at the hotel, it was time to finalize packing for Chris' return while Karen did some grocery shopping. We took a break and went to lunch. Pr. Samuel was scheduled to arrive later to take us to pick up the boys on the way to the airport. He dropped us off with Chris' luggage and went to pick up Mary and Evie. Orlando came to the airport to see Chris off, as did a couple of others, although they got there too late due to work schedules.

After good-byes, Chris boarded the plane for São Paulo, while Karen headed back to the hotel with the boys. Karen and the boys were to spend tomorrow, Brazil's Independence Day, with Vanusa.

—©Copyright 2004 Christopher B. Harbin

Back to Harbinger Journal Index


The Baptist Top 1000 Bible Top 1000