Here's a thought to take with you throughout your day:

"Sound Bible exposition is an imperative MUST in the Church of the Living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of the term. But exposition may be carried on in such a way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not the mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth."

-A.W. Tozer, 1948, "The Pursuit of God" (in the preface; Christian Publications, Inc 1982)

News, Sept. 25, 2007

Hi friends!

The prayer letter in the previous post was written on Sept. 13, and should have been sent out then, but life got away with me. Since it is now almost two weeks later, I have a few updates on that news!

I think life is settling into a rhythm. I have decided to help out with the ministry that provides homes for street children once or twice a month. The ministry is known as Casa Abba (or House Abba, in English). It includes four "lares," or homes, for street children, two of which are within walking distance of where I live. Lar Eloim currently provides a place for five boys, and Lar Nova Esperança (New Hope) for four girls. This weekend, I will be helping at Eloim, but there is a great possibility I will help at Nova Esperança also in the future. They depend greatly on volunteers to supplement their staff.

Most days, I spend most of my time at home, working on the MAPI website and Sepal research. Once a month, Wednesdays are taken up with Sepal team meetings. Monday and Thursday afternoons I tutor a PACA (that's the school where I went growing up - Pan American Christian Academy) 5th grader in Portuguese. On Thursday evenings, I help out with a small group for teenagers at my church, and on Friday evenings I go to a small group for young adults. This Saturday and Sunday I'll be gone all day at Lar Eloim, but most weekends are more relaxed. On Saturdays, I sometimes help with the recycling campaign at my church. I also get together with some young people for a "Grupo de Crescimento Espiritual" (Spiritual Growth Group) in the late afternoon. Sunday mornings I participate in the "Restoring Lives, Equipping Restorers" (inner healing) Sunday School class, and Sunday nights I go to the main worship service.

One nice thing about having a flexible work schedule during weekdays is that I have had some really deep times in the Word and in other Christian literature, as well as ample times of journaling and praying. The Lord has been using these times greatly. I also go running three times a week, and am brushing up on my Portuguese grammar. I have relished wonderful moments of conversation with my parents. I'm deeply enjoying having them near-by :). We also frequently pull out a Rook and Settlers games in the evenings. Over-all, I am deeply grateful for the things God is doing in my life, and for the opportunities he is sending my way. Thank you for your prayers!

One specific prayer request is for security in the area where I live. There have been two kidnapping, two rapes, and several robberies in the area near my home in the last couple of months, and it has everyone pretty freaked out. São Paulo is generally a pretty dangerous city, but this is worse than usual. It has significantly diminished my ability to get around at night without inconveniencing other people, since it is dangerous to walk alone, and I do not yet have a Brazilian drivers license. I would greatly appreciate your prayers.

Thank you so much!

News, Sept. 13, 2007

Dear friends,

This is my first prayer letter I’m writing from São Paulo, Brazil! This first month has had its challenges, as I’ve transitioned back to a country and culture where I haven’t lived for four years, but overall it’s been really good. I find myself thriving on Brazilian affection and courtesy, and daily grateful for the opportunity to get up and have one more go at figuring out what God has for me here.

Three weeks ago I accompanied my parents to a consultation that brought together denominational leaders from all over Brazil to talk about pastoring of pastors. Not only did the consultation mark a turning point in my dad’s ministry, in which he began to bring the evangelical church together in a new way, but we got to celebrate 15 years of MAPI (Support Ministry for Pastors and Leaders, started by my dad in 1992. For more info, see www.mapi-sepal.org.br/english). During the trip, I got to translate for two men from South Africa. It was intriguing to learn more about that part of the world, and the challenges that are faced by church leaders there.

My dad shocked me on the last day of the conference by announcing that we’d have the conference materials up on the MAPI website by Sept. 10. Since I am currently the main person in charge of the website, I found this task rather daunting. Nonetheless, I did manage to get the main information up only two days late, by Wednesday, Sept. 12. I will probably continue to be the main MAPI website administrator, both for the English and the Portuguese, for the next year. We are also working toward getting a site up in Spanish, since MAPI has spread to Bolivia and leaders from other Spanish-speaking countries want more information.

The MAPI website generally takes about 10 hours of my time each week. I have also been engaged in conversations with the SEPAL (Brazilian branch of OCI) research team about working with them during my time here. They continually provide dependable research about varying aspects of church and spiritual realities here in Brazil. I will probably be investing about 20 hours a month in this area.

Other opportunities creep over the horizon: helping with a home for street children; teaching English at the slum ministry at my church; translating a booklet from English to Portuguese for a soccer outreach ministry (connected to Ambassadors; also at my church); helping out at the MK school where I grew up; co-leading a church small group for teenagers. In October I will travel to southern Brazil with my parents to help with the administration of a REVER (Restoring Lives, Equipping Restorers – an inner healing branch of MAPI) National Congress, and then from there to a SEPAL team retreat. I may also begin teaching English at a school for a few hours a week to help make up for the money I am lacking in support.

Pray for me that God would give me wisdom about where to invest my time in these coming weeks and months. There are a myriad of opportunities, but it is not yet clear to me where my gifts will be of the most use, and where I can best contribute to Kingdom growth. Thank you so much to all of you who help to make this time in Brazil possible!

In God’s care,

Rachel Kornfield

Intro

Hi supporters, friends, and family!

Thank you so much for taking this time to look at my blog! This will be the main source of news about me during the coming months.

What do you think of when you think of the dawn? I think of the sun rising over the lake not far from my house, causing the water to shine, illuminating multiple shades of green, as well as the red tile of my neighbors' roofs. I think of openness and light. I also think of the goodness of the Lord, demonstrated to us in the land of the living. No matter how dark the night, the sun always rises again. He has promised me to always be my sun, bringing hope and new life at the end of hard times. "Comes the Dawn" is a reminder of this promise. He will never fail to bring hope and light to his children, no matter how long and dark the night.

It is also extra appropriate, because Dawn happens to be my middle name. :).

God bless you deeply!