We have had some down time with our Internet, and I will be out of town for the next 2 weeks.  Sorry if there have been delays with email, but I will try to catch up on email upon my return.

Thank you for all of your support for us and for the "river people".

tim

I saw perhaps fifty people today for health concerns and we delivered about 25 water filters to individual homes.  We are deep into the interior, north of the Amazon River, on the river Paru.  We visited many houses, ranging from incredibly simple and broken down ("shacks") to simple but well cared-for.  Almost without exception, the people were warm, welcoming, friendly, hospitable, and grateful.  I've heard it said that people and cultures have two "hurdles" to climb over to reach "relationship".  Most have one short hurdle (easily scaled) and one tall hurdle (more difficult to traverse).  The people of this culture have an incredibly short first hurdle, as they are so warm and inviting initially.  Their second hurdle, to gain real trust and friendship, is taller as the relationship will tend to remain warm but superficial without effort.  Some people and cultures have a tall first hurdle, appearing cold and aloof initially, but once "invited in" to relationship, after some effort and time, it is but a short second hurdle to intimacy.  A fascinating observation of cultures that I think has some merit.

After delivering the filters and ministering to the peoples' concerns, it occurred to me that we will likely not "see" the fruit of our labor here.  I listen, examine, diagnose, and treat each person.  I pray with each, for God to resolve their problem, that they would seek Him, they would hear His voice and really know His affection for them.  We deliver filters, conversing and praying with the recipients.  Then we leave, and with the geography in which we work and the slowness of travel, we likely won't be back for a while. We are forced to trust our Father's continued pursuit of each person to the point of a real response to Him. It is such a part of our human nature to desire to see the fruit of our labor.  We seek to justify our work by measuring and analyzing results (fruit).  But in this work, the real fruit will be measured by our Father, and from His perspective, not ours.

Trusting God is so much a part of missionary work.  We can seek certain measurable results (converts, people saying a prayer, immediate healing, etc) or we can do what we hear God ask us to do and take our eyes off of the "fruit".  I think it would be reliable to say that the more we seek and value measurable results, the less we are focused on taking instructions from our Father, and vice versa. 

We westerners have a tendency to think linearly, such as "a+b=c".  We can be so shortsighted.  Nothing in life is so simple.  It is more like a+g+q+w+k+s+u+b+z+m+l+r+t = c.  Our part ("a") in any equation is small.  Each contributes a little, but each part is used by the Designer to produce fruit ("c").  How often have you seen a person contribute "t" to the equation and take credit for "c", simply because they are the last contributor or appear to be a significant factor?  I see this in health care and in the church all the time.  Many factors (circumstances, microbes, one's general health, etc) are involved in causing depression or infection, and many factors will be involved in the resolution of the same.  In the Kingdom, God uses many factors to open our eyes to who He is and who we are, and He uses many factors and people to lead us to Him.  We err in simplifying life to understand and in relying heavily on our shortsighted perspective.  Seeking instant gratification from our work (even good work), in fruit that we can measure, can lead one directly away from our Father's will for us.

Also, prosperity and knowledge can create an "illusion of control" that is common in the U.S. and fascinatingly absent in the river people here.  Here they know that there is so much in their lives that is beyond their control.  Trust is such a huge part of their lives; trust in others and trust in a God that they know little about though they easily recognize His reality and their need for His kind intervention. 

We must remember to trust the One who creates and measures the fruit.  We must remember that we are but one small factor in a large equation (a person's journey).  Like a child, we can operate in response to His delight in us, playing whatever part He gives us, and leaving the rest of the equation, and final result (fruit), up to our Father.  Indifference to results and the fruit of our labor is very healthy when replaced by listening ears and availability for what small role that our Father is asking us to play.

What small part of someone's "equation" is God asking you to play today?  What "fruit" is He asking you to trust Him with?

The "proverbs" posted previously were a partial list.  If anyone would like to read a more complete list of my "observations of life", please email me at kubacki6@msn.com.  I would be glad to send you a copy in either English or Portuguese!

tim

Attitude is everything.  How many times we've all heard it.  I met a living example last night.  This incredible couple, in their late seventies, live about eight hours from any form of civilization, in a very simple house with no electricity or running water.  They live on the Jaurucu River and own only a canoe for transportation, hitching rides with others when needing to go into "the city".  They've lived in this same area all their lives.  Their kids have moved away and visit from time to time.

Our visit was the third time that our mission team has visited them.  The first two were to deliver and follow up on a water filter for their home.  We stopped in with some of the VCDC team and it was like their favorite people in the world were stopping in to see them.  They invited us in, made coffee, and talked and talked and talked.  Their conversation was full of joy, animation and gratitude.  There was much laughter.  It was obvious that they loved each other, loved life, loved this region, and loved our presence in their home.

What made their attitude so incredible was the setting.  Not only are the conditions in which they live so simple and difficult, but the disabilities that their age and their health problems create do not lend to an atmosphere that would typically yield their joyful attitude.  Neither have but a couple teeth (dentures haven't "arrived" on the rivers yet), she has severe arthritis in multiple joints with marked swelling, to the point of not being able to even take a step without severe pain.  Her one knee, in particular, was markedly swollen and was quite deformed from the many years of this arthritis.  He had fallen off of their dock three years ago and broken his hip.  He didn't have it repaired because, though the surgery would be covered in their government health system, they couldn't afford for him to be away from home for so long.  His affected leg is essentially withered and any movement causes pain.  He walks with the aid of a crude wooden crutch, tolerating pain with every movement.  He has severe sciatica, likely from his markedly altered gait, which also causes pain with every movement.

They live day to day, without ability to store food.  Today's work yields today's meal, whether fish, fruit, or meat.  Rice and beans are their staple (typical among the river folks), mainly because this can be stored dry without going bad.  If anyone has the right to gripe!  They hurt with every movement, they have to work for every meal, and there is no hope for change.

Well, we sat and talked with them for about two hours.  We talked about many things, laughed and mainly listened.  I injected her knee and we left them some simple pain medicine.  As a group, we prayed for both of them, individually and together.  As we were leaving, they said that this was the most special day they've had in a very long time.  They were so grateful and so humbly appreciated our presence, our encouragement and our praying for them.  They are so obviously our brother and sister and their love for Jesus in the midst of their circumstances greatly encouraged all of us.  They were a striking example of the beauty of humility and contentment with little.  A striking example!

They then showed up for our service that night, paddling in their dugout canoe fifteen minutes in the dark with a dull flashlight and arriving early (arriving early never happens in the Amazon!).  They were so full of joy and when asked by Kate, a member of the team, how she could pray for them, they went on and on about God's goodness to them and what a beautiful day they'd had.

God's Kingdom is a very different place.  A place where such joy can be present in the midst of pain and very difficult circumstances, where one can have treasure in the midst of "trash", where gratitude and grace reign in darkness, where the power of the unseen triumphs the seen, and where love rules over bitterness.

We tend to think that God is glorified most by victory, healing, and happiness in His people.  But I think that God is glorified most when people "witness" to His love while suffering and to His power while weak, trusting Him when they don't understand, and joyfully worshipping Him when confronted with despairing darkness.  A little Light continues today to be most visible in complete darkness.  We are called to be light in the darkness rather than to change the darkness to light.  This beautiful couple is light in a dark, religious, lost culture and the contrast is "glorifying".