This Sunday was the second time that I have been to Cedar Ridge. It was a lot easier than the first time because I already knew some of the guys and asked them about their week. One of the guys was very discouraged the first week. He didn't talk much and had a subdued look on his face. He didn't want to be there. His family didn't come visit him and he said that he didn't get along very well with his dad. This week he was different. He was friendly and upbeat. In the morning he went to a church called the Rock House and later showed interest in reading the "Stranger on the Road to Emmaus" when I was showing it to someone. I talked to a young guy that had been there the week before. He came from a rough family situation, but he doesn't want to continue to be like them. He also had been to church and was able to tell me a few points from the sermon. I asked him if he read the Bible for himself and he replied that he would if he had one. He was pleased when, later on, I gave him a New Testament.
Going into it, I wasn't sure whether I was allowed to give out reading materials, but I bought a couple of New Testaments anyway. When I found out it was ok, I gave them out. "Can I have one?" the long haired patient asked. I was surprised. He is an agnostic with a very postmodern way of thinking. He will be gone by the time I go again, so I sent "By this Name" and a Bible to him with my classmate, Ryan. Because the book approaches the truth in a way that is relevant to postmodern worldviews, it seemed like a good option. Ryan said that this guy was very thankful to get the book and wished us the best in our endeavors of 'spreading the word'. Please pray with me for these guys to understand the truth of God's Word. Pray that God will use me to be His earthen vessel.
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As part of our training, we are required to be a part of a local church and be involved in reaching out to the community. Ever since arriving, I have been attending First Family Church. On Wednesday night, over 100 kids occupied the auditorium for youth group. It was my first time being at youth group, so I mostly just observed what was going on. After some lively worship, a guest speaker gave a message about prayer. Since lately we have been studying about teaching, it was hard to not notice things like his nice powerpoint presentation with stylish font and that he involved the kids a lot by asking questions.
As is typical in this church (and probably in the ‘Bible belt’ in general), there was an invitation to salvation. Four kids went forward to pray with the leaders at the front and other kids gathered around them in support. It was a good experience. Since they are low on adult leaders, I plan on helping out where I can. It looks like people are getting saved. If they come forward thinking they need to keep ‘giving their life to Christ’, I want to help them understand salvation and the believer’s eternal security. I often wonder what is communicated by our Christianese phrases. They might mean something to us, but to an unbeliever, what does it mean to ‘give your life to Christ’ or ‘repent’? Although I have never ‘led someone to Christ’, I hope to communicate clearly to anyone who asks me to pray with them. Another weekly activity began for me on Sunday. I volunteered to go to a place called Cedar Ridge for 4 hours on Sundays. It is a drug and alcohol rehab treatment center, a safe place where men can go when they struggle with addictions. Although the center keeps the clients busy with meetings and requires them to surrender their cell phones, it does have an open door policy. They are free to leave if they want. My job there is not strictly defined, so I hang out with the guys and sit in on their meetings. Because the center receives government funding, I am not allowed to ‘proselytize’, but I am free to talk about my beliefs if they ask. That was the first time I have ever been to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Maybe a more proper name is ‘Addictions Anonymous’. A couple of the guys had devastating things happen in their lives, so they turned to drugs. Needless to say, addictions didn't solve their problems. The session talked about God or a higher power and even closed with the Lord’s prayer. I pray that God will make Himself known to these guys through me so they won’t continue on in futility, but become children of God. Those who belong to God have hope. Thank you for praying! |
AuthorWe are normal people who believe that God would have us serve Him in Brazil. We are saddened by the existence of people who do not have access to the gospel due to their location and language. We want to live among such a people group and plant a church among them, shepherding the believers as they grow to maturity. Archives
November 2019
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