Monday, June 02, 2008
Sorry!
May 2008 support letter
*You!
*Thank you for supporting me through prayer and donations over these last five and a half months.
*My orientation with Latin America MIssion in Miami, January 20 to February 1
*Although it was a jammed packed 10 days of orientation, I felt like I was coming home.
*I made some lasting friendships with the LAM staff and the other candidates.
*Through prayer and interviews, I've decdided to go to Brazil. I will be working with an organization called Valley of Blessing, City for Children. I never through I would be going to Brazil...NEVER say never!!
*The reslults of my MRI for my left knee
*I don't need surgery! Since my physiotherapy and exercises, I've had minimal pain.
*My exploration trip to Brazil, March 31 to April 8
*After letting worry consume me as I prepared to travel to Brazil, I learned that even though it doesn't look like it, God is fully in control and I MUST leave the worrying up to Him. Even though I wasn't sleeping, God sustained me and took care of me through work and commitments, flights and customs, airport navigation and finding lost luggage until I was safely in Aracariguama (an hour and a half from Sao Paulo).
*I spent a few days at Valley of Blessing, City for Children meeting the staff and hanging out with the kids. The ministry is about 20 yeears old and was started by two pastors. There are home for children 0-18 yrs, a church, a school, cafeteria, Bible college, dorms, prayer center and beautiful gardens. The kids are usualy sent to live there by the courts since they are lacking basic needs at home.
*I will be workiing primarily with City for Children filling inthe gaps in the Christian education system to meet public education standards. Through this, I'm hoping I'll be able to disciple some of the kids as well as learn about at risk kids. In the future LAM and I will disscuss the possibilities of using horses to reach at risk kids.
*Even though I didn't speak Portuguese, I figured out how to say "What is this?". Although I was saying it wrong, Lucas (see picture) clued in and taught me colors, parts of the body and how to count.
*I then visited the language school in Vianopolis. It's not set in stone that I'll be attending the school; it all depends when I leave. The first semester begins each August. If I leave earlier, then the plan is to receive tutoring in Anapolis. Both of these cities are in the state of Goias which is about an hour flight north of Sao Paulo.
*I spent the rest of my time visiting LAM missionaries who work with Christian Camping International Brazil. There three couples train Brazilians in every related to camp ministry.
*I loved Brazil! Even though it does have Latin influence, the country also has European influences since it was colonized by Portugal. It was normal to see fair skinned and dark skinned people. I'm excited for my return.
*My continued application process with Latin America Mission
*I'm learning more about myself and God as I am being stretched through the application process. God is in control. As much as I would like to leave by January, that may or may not happen. I can't focus on the how, but only on God. He will take care of the details.
Please pray that I won't get down thinking baout the length of time the process is taking (it's normal!), but that I'll use this as a chance to get to know myself and God better. My ministry can't be strong if my relationship with God is weak.
If you would like to contact me, please send me a message. Since this is a public board, I don't want to leave my contact information. Thanks for reading!
"For I know the plan I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Blessings,
Julie Clausen
Evangelism Never Stands Alone...
"Alone, evangelism is vulnerable to distortion or suffocation--it often becomes either an unworthy kind of proselytism, or is easily snuffed out in favor of other priorities. But when evangelism is a part of the the total mission of the church, surrounded by compassion and service and training for life, then it is vital and enduring."
"It is meant to be a part--not the total--of the Christian task. Look at the imperatives that always accompany the Great Commission: baptizing, teaching, discipling, healing. Look at the example of Jesus and his disciples. I agree. Evangelism is the priority mission of the Body of Christ. But it cannot, must, should not stand alone."
"To me, Kenneth, Mother's life says that for the Body [of Christ] to be able to evangelize, it needs supporting ministries, like the Bible institute, the radio station and publications. And wherever human need appears, the Body's automatic function is to respond. It is the very nature of the gospel to respond to the demands that a sin-sick world makes upon its resources. Such a response gives it credibility. This is what we are also discovering in the 'Caravans' (rural assistance) ministry in which I am currently involved. People give themselves to Jesus naturally in that kind of an environment."
-taken from, "One Step Ahead", The Innovative Strachans and the Birth of the Latin America Mission by W. Dayton Roberts (pgs. 183-184)
I like how Susan Strachans' daughter Grace, describes evangelism as a whole.