We recently held our annual youth retreat outside of the city at a camp owned by the mission, called Monte Verde.  It went very well.  We had 120 youth and adults from the city meet around the theme from Isaiah, "Here I am, send me!"  The retreat was completely organized by the youth leaders of our local church and they put something together of great value that will be remembered by many for a long time. 

We had worship and a message each morning, free afternoons for play, and worship and a message each evening.  The only missionary involvement was a message by Richie on each of us having a call to minister and me sharing a message with the married couples.  All the messages were clear and challenging, there were several dramas that communicated powerful messages, the worship was beautiful and God-directed, and the free time was full of fun.

On the last day, we baptized 12 people who had recently given their lives to Jesus.  Among them was our 14 y/o Ellie.  It was a beautiful, sober time and all seemed to fully appreciate the significance of living with a real sense of forever being "washed" because of what Jesus had done for them.  It was such a joy to watch and participate in Ellie's baptism.  She is becoming such a beautiful young woman and it's becoming more and more apparent that her heart is to walk intimately with Jesus.  She seemed thrilled with the experience and the significance of her baptism.

There is an obvious maturity among many in the Vineyard church here in Porto de Moz and this is demonstrated by this outward focus, this desire to have an impact for the Kingdom on their community and beyond.  Many left this retreat motivated to love and to invite others freely and boldly into the Kingdom.  It was clearly a meeting that involved many potential leaders and it will be neat to watch these leaders walk out God's call on them.

As missionaries, we are more and more committed to the balance of pouring into these few while still continuing to cast the net for many.  Our hearts are being drawn especially to love, support, and equip the local people who will actually do the work of the Kingdom in this region.  Please pray for us for wisdom and power in this ministry.

The Resurrection. The knowledge of it and its reality changed my life. It took God from abstract philosophy to reality. To consider even the possibility was, one day many years ago, presented to me as a choice. Imagine encountering one dead, then several days later alive. It would shake one to its core. Wasn’t this the intention of God? He took on human form and did something that no one but deity could do; after dying, He came back to life.  This demonstration was motivated by kindness and the same love that brought Him here. We often struggle with doubt and, if you’re like me, you have asked God to make Himself clear, to eliminate doubt. He did. He did the one thing that could surpass all others in revealing His reality and eliminating doubt. He died and became alive again.

No matter when in history it occurred, only a handful of people could be eyewitnesses.  The rest would hear and be invited to believe what had happened.  The behavior of the eyewitnesses completely supports the occurrence. They supported the truth of this incredible fact with their lives. Their lives changed as dramatically as you would expect any to change when confronted with such a reality. Nothing else mattered. They encouraged others to believe the same but their assurance of the truth of the resurrection did not waver when confronted by many who refused to believe and called them fools for believing so. They left for us a legacy of faith, a demonstration of what it would be like to encounter such a circumstance and such a Man.

No longer could Jesus be described as a “good teacher”, or a “wise man”. No longer could God be an abstract unknown. We don’t have that liberty of choice after the resurrection. He put on skin, revealed a personality, and did what no mere “man” could do.

Either the whole thing is a lie, a scheme, a monumental deception that many men and women were willing to die for, or it is the truth. We have no other choices. Many speak of the difficulty in believing such a story. It is, however, quite a logical leap to believe that it was all concocted by simple men who gave their lives teaching about honesty and sincerity of belief. They were stoned, beaten, and lived lives without any earthly benefit for their belief. They did not gain any of the things that would typically motivate a lie. Paul spent years in prison and would have won his freedom by simply renouncing this “lie”. His writings in chains reveal a remarkable, unwavering, sincerity of belief, even writing to “rejoice always” because, in spite of all suffering, God was real and had demonstrated His reality in the resurrection. He suggested over and over that Jesus had demonstrated that God could be known, that He had a heart “for us” like that of a good father. He suggested that all doubts as to the nature of God had been settled in Jesus, and supported by the resurrection.

I remember my first encounter with this resurrection as a young adult and the choices that followed, leading me to begin a relationship that is still transforming me, with the one, Jesus, who still lives, still leads, still forgives and still loves all who come to Him, as they are (flawed, skeptical, doubting and needy).

It is so good to remember all of this today as we celebrate Easter.

We spent a week on vacation at the ocean, about 1000 km east of Porto de Moz.  We took a boat for two days to Belem and taxied the remaining three hours by road.  It was a very nice week.  One thing that is difficult in this part of Brazil is to find leisurely activities that everyone in the family can enjoy.  This vacation fit the bill.  The beach was nice, clean and quiet.  The hotel was nice, as well, and we met several good friends there and enjoyed the fellowship.  I'll try to get some pictures up this week.

We return to busy.  Bets spent a weekend on the river at a leader's retreat with leaders from Altamira and Porto de Moz.  I will head out on the river this week and be in Altamira the following week.  The kids had some time off school and are diving back in.  We are attempting to catch up on emails as our internet has been pretty lousy for the past three months.  It seems to be working well now.

Thank you for your support for this work.  Many people are blessed by your financial and prayer support.  We have a very real sense that we are entering a special season.  There has been some real maturing in many of our young leaders.  The church is packed each week with many new people.  The work on the rivers has seen many people touched by God's love in depth and in life-changing ways.  Whole communities have been impacted by God's Spirit during our visits.  We are seeking the Lord as to how to manage this harvest.  We are trusting His leading.  It is a nice time to be working in this region.  God is up to something and it is a joy to be in a position to participate.  We could not be here participating if you would not have chosen to participate, as well.  If you haven't "joined in" the work here yet, you can contact us, contact our Father, or send support to the address to the right.  Thank you.