Comes The Dawn

Waiting and living, Living and waiting

2011-02-14T15:27:00.001-03:00

Funny how I usually write on here when I'm a little moody. Well, anyway, here goes...

Life is mostly well. I'm wating for an answer from an interview process at Allegheny General Hospital for an Ambulatory Technician (medical assistant) job. I guess if God wants me to have it, he'll give it to me, and if not, not. That's a very comforting thought, given that I'm nervous about either option. hehe. I've never particularly wanted to work in a hospital, but this seems like a really good opportunity.

My boyfriend, Mike, and I had a great February 13th. Haha. We weren't going to be able to see each other on the 14th so spent yesterday (Sunday) afternoon and evening together. Also, on the 12th we completed two months of dating, so it seemed appropriate to sort of celebrate both at once. We're actually not going out for a nice "Valentine's Day" dinner til next weekend, due to some time and energy constraints yesterday. It means we get to celebrate twice, so to speak :). Can't really complain.

Life with my family is good. Sometimes they drive me crazy, living just downstairs and knowing more about my life than any parents have the right to know about a 25-year-old daughter, but for the most part I really enjoy the fellowship with them and we get along well. I like living with my sister, Valerie, but she's gone most of the time, as she's in a year full-time intensive BSN work. She should be officially licensed as a nurse by the end of 2011.

Church is really good. I love Ascension. Its such a good church and the more I get to know the people and understand the worship style, the more I love it. We're starting to gear up for their second mission's trip to Brazil (specifically João Pessoa) in July. I'll be going along as a translator and can't wait to feel the hot sun on my face and shoulders and the white sands under my feet. I've never been to JP, but have been to the main cities both north (Natal) and south (Recife) of there, and seen pictures, so have a good sense of how beautiful it must be. Good thing we're going in the winter, since its VERY close to the equator and therefore almost unbearably hot and humid in January.

I guess in a lot of ways I feel like I am in a waiting period... waiting to see what's going to happen with this job, waiting to see how my relationship with my boyfriend develops, waiting for the trip to Brazil, waiting for a special prayer time I'm supposed to have at church on Friday, waiting for my parents to find a house and move and wondering how that'll change my life (especially because I'll be looking for a new roommate), waiting to get my college loan's paid off, waiting to start a masters (either part-time this August, or, maybe full-time in August 2012), waiting for my life to develop into something stable, solid and dependable, which it does not feel to be right now.

Waiting... thank you Lord, for the periods of waiting that tell us who we are and what is truly important to us. Thank you, also and more importantly for your solid presence when all else is liquid.

Loving you, Jesus!

Rachel

Random Thoughts

2011-01-16T02:15:00.000-03:00

I find I use this blog for overflow thoughts. When life is occupying all my mental energy, I don't write much. But when I feel restless and want somewhere to go that might - someday - be read by someone, well, here I am. Ten months since I last wrote. Well... if anyone's still out there with the heart to listen, read on.

I'm dating this wonderful guy, Mike. I'm really glad the Lord has brought him into my life. Wow, such a change since 10 months ago, feeling overburdened in Brazil. Life still has its challenges, but I'm so overflowed with joy and abundant grace that they don't seem so heavy just now. Thank you, Jesus, for that.

He's given me a wonderful church community at Ascension in Pittsburgh. Thank you, Lord, for that. The 100-year-old building in which we meet may be but a symbol of the richness of the fellowship, but somehow, the place seems hallowed... sanctified by its many years of worshipers, by the countless prayers whispered within its walls, by the many tears and abundant laughs that it has seen. I can't thank God enough for Church of the Ascension. Through its rich community He has provided for my every need and more. Thank you, Jesus.

Yet life seems a little hollow right now... because... well... because Karis is still not well. Oh, she's better than she has been in weeks. Yet... we're just waiting for the next disaster. What a terrible attitude, yes? One that has been honed by far too many disappointments. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, you speak to me and tell me that my identity is not in this, my calling and career are not to be hindered by this. May I live into that release, Lord, that freedom, that sense of you in me calling me outward and inward.

Blessed be your name... in the land that is plentiful.

2010-03-25T09:14:00.000-04:00

Sometimes troubles come like stones dropped in your path... small annoyances to be noticed, just so you don't step on them and trip or hurt yourself. Sometimes they come as boulders - more significant barriers that cause you to alter your path somewhat and must be taken seriously. But sometimes they come like avalanches. Sometimes you jump back just in time and though you are not hurt, you look in dismay at what once was your path forward and now is a wicked mass of dirt, boulders and stones 3 meters high. Other times, it comes at you from behind, carrying you none too gently several meters forward, leaving you shocked, stunned and unsure what hit you or how to get your mind around it, covered with aches and pains from various bruises and cuts. Finally, are the worst times - when the avalanche comes down right on top of you and buries you utterly, so that at first you can't even move. You are left - hopefully - with the superntaural help of God and the essential aid of friends - to try to figure out how to dig yourself out again. Its much more difficult if you have a crushed arm or leg or some injury from the circumstances more significant than bruises. Even an accumulation of surface scratches can make life feel decidedly unbearable. So what do we do? We cry out for mercy to the one who always hears and always sees, even when we are buried deepest of all.

The Lord has answered several prayers of mine in hugely significant ways recently - several bolders far too big for me have been removed from my personal avalanche. He provided me once again with a loving family with which to live, wonderful counselers and friendships that had turned difficult are now figuring themselves out. Praise God. Looking back at my last post, I've progressed enormously - maybe I'm finally seeing the light of day through the cracks in this particular avalanche. But this morning, it felt like a second smaller avalanche threatened to bury me all over again. I'm sure my mom feels this way constantly, but that doesn't make it any more fun for me. Several friends are going through very difficult things and I happened to hear from two of them in some detail unexpectedly this morning. Life is life. Life is hard. Life is difficult. Life is a mess. Things are not as they should be. I know that's not the reality for everyone. But it seems to be the reality for far too many. Lord, help us out here. We could use a BIG helping hand. Thank you.

Lord, thank you that this is a phase. It will not last forever. It is possible to actually feel in control of where things are going and how - sometimes. :) Thank you for that. Be with us in this and thank you for your reassurance that you are taking us through. Be with my dear friends who are going through such difficult things, in some ways so similar to my own. Be with them and bless them. Give them the light at the end of the tunnel that you have given me... that is... at least it seems real enough! Thank you for that. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Just need sometimes

2010-02-23T09:33:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I just have a need to pour out what's inside me. And sometimes it's not always pretty. This morning I woke up feeling vengeful, hateful, angry, upset, wimpy, grumpy, unhappy... no, none of this is normal for me. And when those feelings do appear they are usually pretty easily dismissed or "moved-on-from". This morning... I felt more in touch with my flesh than I had in a long time. What happened? Well... nothing much... the neighborhood Bible study I had planned for last night got cancelled due to rain (more significant of an issue if most participants don't have cars and the rain comes at you from enough directions that umbrellas are basically pointless) and communication difficulties, so I spent the evening watching part of the second season of House (and getting increasingly upset with his snobbish, selfish attitude toward people), reading about George MacDonald's "wee sir Gibbie" and talking with a neighbor who came by (unfortunately, right in the middle of an upsetting House moment). None of that really explains anything, though. On a normal day those small "imprevistos" (Portuguese for unexpected turns of events) would hardly make a dent in my basic enjoyment of life. What does - maybe - a little - is that I'm home alone again. I had an incredibly delightful week of my Dad's company last week and his leaving again made me feel... empty... angry... alone... forsaken... un-cared-for. And I'm so tired of asking people for help. Ah - yes - I think that's the main issue. I'm feeling extremely, uncomfortably needy and don't know what to do about it. I had a wonderful prayer time this morning - the Lord reminded of His love, care, concern. All of that is indispensable, but sometimes I also need... people. Flesh and blood. A hug. A look of concern. Someone asking how I am and actually wanting to know. Someone who can stand the fact that my life has regular periods of significant emotional pain due to family circumstances that are outside anyone's control. Pain is not a bad thing necessarily - we grow, learn, expand our lives, hearts, feelings because of it. We become more compassionate, understanding, caring. We are able to identify with others in their difficulties and respond with listening ears, open hearts, few words but ones that hold meaning instead of empty Job-friend soliloquys. This is grace. This is power. This is joy in the Lord. But... when pain starts becoming incapacitating instead of an instrument of goodness... well... something has to be done. Whether or not I am correctly interpreting my closer friend's tiredness in dealing with exactly these things, whether or not I should just find a shoulder to cry on (but who?), whether or not... well... I'm just tired. Of having to be constantly pro-active in finding the help I need. Of never (seemingly) having it come out of the blue - easily, naturally. Despite all my attempts to be part of small groups, etc that should be looking out for me. Father... (yes, the one in heaven), where do I go from here? Keep me from sinking into self-pity! And give me grace to over-come one more time the near-incapacitating tiredness of wanting but not knowing how/where to ask for help. I trust in your grace, Father - you have never abandoned me before and I know you will not now. You are good. And that is a breath of fresh air in the midst of everthing else. Thank you.

What DOES God promise us?

2010-01-28T11:09:00.000-03:00

Friends,

What a joy it is to serve our Lord and King! Wow! What a privilege to be His daughter, His princess, in these difficult times – to know that we have a security that comes not from the changing ways and times of men, not from peace in our countries or economic upturns, but from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

However, many times I have asked the question, “what is this security?” What is it that God promises us? Freedom from suffering? Freedom from unjust pain? Freedom from hunger, nakedness, sword? From persecution for doing what is right? From death? From poverty? In our human eyes, freedom from these things is a great liberation. But these are not the promises of our God. At times he does free us from these things. But just as often he does not. So what IS it that God promises us?

In the words of the Message version of Romans 8 (emphasis mine):

“With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us – who was raised to life for us! – is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.

We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us.”

Here are God’s promises, brothers and sisters:

We will suffer – after all, we are in this world (John 16)
If we live rightly, we will suffer BECAUSE of living rightly. In fact, there is great possibility of us facing: hunger, danger, war, homelessness, hatred, hard times, backstabbing and death for the cause of Christ (Luke 6; Romans 8; etc).
No matter WHAT we go through – God is there.
No matter WHAT we suffer, God is with us and loves us profoundly.
No matter WHO gets in our way or mistreats us, God sticks up for us, giving us the grace to treat that person with grace (Luke 6)
In EVERYTHING God works to make us more like Christ (Romans 8)
God frees us from: bitterness, hatred, anger, resentment, lack of forgiveness – the diseases that eat man alive from within. He frees us also from addictions to the things of this world that destroy our lives, peace, homes and security. In short, from SIN!
He frees us from the lies and destructive work of the devil and gives us the freedom of truth and the confidence of hope. He is forever constructing, building up, renewing, rebuilding, restoring, making whole.
We WILL one day live in a perfect place that he is preparing for us. ONE DAY we will live out God’s perfect dream that we suffer no more.
He understands and comforts us in all our troubles, giving us power to comfort others in the same way (2 Cor. 1)
We have the eternal privilege of being lights in this world – of helping to bring His Kingdom here and now (see the Lord’s prayer) – bringing truth, hope, light, life, forgiveness, joy, love even to those who abuse us and seeing lives transformed as a result of His Spirit. We get to be His agents as long as we live according to His ways!
Although outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are renewed day by day.
We have been removed from the Kingdom of Darkness and made part of the Kingdom of Light.

I could go on and on… the fruit of the Spirit provides a great summary. For those who live for Christ experience…

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Goodness

Kindness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-Control

Coming from God Himself and in every increasing degrees. Is it worth the very real sacrifices? I say YES!

Blessings and love,

Rachel

The last few days

2009-12-18T02:34:00.000-03:00

So, I'm sitting here quietly in the minutes before I head to bed and realize that it is the perfect moment to write on my blog. My aunt, uncle and cousin Sarah have all gone to bed, one of their dogs (Possum) is curled up beside me under a blanket, and Chiaki-san and Kiesa (the other canine members of the family - Sarah's chiwuawa that, thank God - and I mean that literally - she has trained not to yip, although it does lick hands rather convulsively if given the chance, and a medium sized dog whose breed I cannot specify, although I know it has one - i.e. it is not merely a mutt. Possum is a grayhound - the miniature kind) are also already asleep. In the background, a soloist sings, "I need thee, oh, I need thee... every hour I need thee" and I find myself in a rather dreamy mood. Therefore, this will not be the much-anticipated (haha - did anyone even read it?) continuation of the last post, but instead a more quietly reflective and probably/possibly less controversial piece. In fact one thing I would like to do is capture the last few days for immortality because they were truly lovely, love-filled and joyful.

I arrived in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) airport Monday morning around 8:00 Central Standard Time (noon São Paulo time) and was promptly swept up and taken to breakfast by my aunt - Jennie Kornfield (formerly Brown). After wandering around a mall (unsuccessfully) looking for exciting Christmas gifts for my cousin Claire, we headed back to get Sarah from DFW, as she was coming in from an early end to her semester up at U of Penn, where she is getting a doctorate in comm - specifically gender roles in the media; a fascinating area of study about which we've had many delightful conversations recently. Eventually we headed home in time for a lovely walk with the dogs and a nap before heading to a bee-keepers convention dinner that evening (my aunt is spasmic about bee derivatives - i.e. honey and wax - and their many uses and my cousin is a walking encyclopedia on the topic - if you're curious how that came about, ask her sometime). After a delightful 11 or so hours of sleep (it is very difficult to sleep on the overnight plane ride from Brazil), I spent a day being utterly lazy. I needed it. It was so bad, I didn't even change out of my pjs (this was also occasioned by the glass aquarium I attempted to transport to the US for my sister Karis, which promptly broke on the way here, covering my clothing with miniature - but nonetheless cutting - bitsies and pieces of glass. Oh well... sorry Karis. Maybe next time!).

Three days later, we have not only shaken out and washed my clothes to assure that they are free of glass, but we've also managed to remove the slight mold smell that accompanied them from my wardrobe in São Paulo. It turns out I'm alergic to mold, so it was delightful to be coughing, sneezing and snuffling a good deal less. Not to mention the watery and itchy eyes. Thank you A. Jennie!

So, in the last days, I have also had a delightful time watching sit coms that include both a male and female main character and that Sarah is analyzing for her doctorate, chatting with my aunt about her nursing work (she has been recently been examining and scolding a bunch of firemen), hearing about my cousin Claire's enjoyment of her work as a speech-language therapist and thoughts of doing a doctorate in philosophy, in part to get away from a nasty headmaster at one of her schools, and bike-riding and hanging out with my Uncle Bill, my dad's quieter, less ambitious and insightful younger brother and Kiesa (the bike-riding part. Well, she was on 4 paws but generally kept me going about as fast as I was up for!).

Today I also managed to get some left-over work done on the MAPI site - go me! Tomorrow I'll hopefully send out the first MAPI e-news letter in Portuguese, after my Dad has time to make corrections. So much progress... hopefully to soon cease as I plunge into vacation full force.

This delightful paradise of good food, good laughs, delightful insights and meaningful conversations, well shift to a different set of mouths as I head north to Pittsburgh on Saturday. My sister Val gets there the day before I do (Dec. 18th) and my brother flys in on Christmas Eve. Everyone else is already there. Hurray for family! What would we ever do without them?

Love and blessings,

Rachel

After All, How Involved IS God?

2009-12-12T13:43:00.002-03:00

So... wise and intelligent people like Benjamin Franklin considered themselves deists - believers in the existence of a single god, but not in his direct involvement in our world. Such a belief can spring from the perception of the non-action of a divine being in teenage years and/or adulthood, while simultaneously feeling impossibilitated, by teachings from one's childhood and the natural and scientific evidence of order and law in the universe, as well as its hard-to-explain beginning, that a creative god must exist, must be a god of order and some level of goodness, but a god utterly distant, a god to whom it does no good to pray and with whom there is no direct relationship - the most we can gain spiritually is an ever-deeper intimate connection with his created beings, human and otherwise. This person might believe on some level in Gen. 1-2, or at the very least Gen. 1:1, but dismisses all the rest of the Bible as imaginary.

On the other extreme are those who believe in a god or gods that are involved in absolutely everything and are more or less subject to our control - from this belief in an all-encompassing spiritual reality springs numerous religions. In fact, perhaps the true extreme on this other end is the belief that everything IS god or at least a part of god and god IS everything. Within the Christian spectrum, the most extreme belief that I know of - and a very common one - is found in some fundamentalist or pentecostal traditions which claim that anything and everything is possible through faith - healing of any sickness or pain at any time; wealth that springs from nowhere or anywhere; freedom from spiritual attack independent of lifestyle; etc. "If you only have faith", these people claim, "your friend/sister/brother/mother/father/child/etc will be healed". Naturally if they are not, then its your fault. After all, it can't be God's, now can it? Few realize that while rejoicing in God's tremendous power and ability, these people nonetheless subject Him to little more than a slave, available whenever wanted to do their wishes as long as you know how to pull the string of faith and summon him. The concept of God having a will of His own that does not coincide with ours, and that sometimes it is not bad to experience pain, is either rejected or never imagined until a true experience with God or of unmitigated suffering DESPITE faith sadly knocks down this house of cards.

Thousands if not millions of people are caught in this network of lies, impeded by their beliefs from experiencing the freedom and joy of walking with the Lord who gives peace and strength to make it through suffering and even, in certain cases, embrace it. These Christ-following groups believe themselves "Biblical" in the sense that they are constantly reciting bits and pieces of the Scriptures. However, they generally come from the less educated half of the world's population and neither they nor their leaders realize that the words they claim so prayerfully are taken out of context and that the original inspired authors generally intended to communicate something very different than they understand. It often takes a significant level of theological education for this perception to sink in.

Human experience demonstrates the falsehood of both extremes: if any intelligent and educated group of researchers started to investigate all the nooks and crannies of claims of God's intervention in people's lives, they would probably be astonished at what they would find. Despite all the fictitious, spurious and fanciful tales of miraculous intervention in the world, the number of documentable real cases is overwhelming once you start to notice it. In fact, just about any Christian biography will tell of impossible things happening as the protagonist seeks to follow the will of God. In order to dismiss them, you would have to call thousands of men and women who have contributed invaluably to human well-being in societies across the world, not only liars bur potentially lunatic. Interestingly, though, the tales of miracles are not limited only to those with a conscious faith in Christ. Similar difficult-to-deny tales exist throughout the history of almost any religious belief system. So although this does not prove what invisible force(s) is (are) at work, it provides evidence upon evidence that SOMETHING spiritual really goes on in our world, whether people are alone or together, Muslims, Hindus, believers in Vudu or Satanists, born-again Christians, philosophers, psychologists, poets, artists or musicians, the illiterate or among the academic elite, wealthy south-Asians or poverty-stricken Americans.

The other extreme becomes hard to sustain for various reasons:
1. If god is everything and everything is god, than god must includes all good and all evil and it is hard to explain god inflicting suffering on god. It also seems to follow that we would know we were gods, as would butterflies and fishies and that we would be far less vulnerable to the apparent winds of fate.
2. Of all the beliefs alternate to monotheism, the idea of various gods external to the physical world with various levels of power and divergent desires and whims seems the most logical. After all, doesn't it sometimes feel like SOMETHING out there is mad at you and causing everything to go wrong one day, while the next two you float through on a dream before having a so-so one? The problem is, almost every such belief system that has existed has been shown to be little more than superstition - it can be proved that most attempts to placate the "gods" do very little or nothing in actuality, that what they do accomplish are statistically more coincidental than causal. But is this always the case? Undoubtedly not - in some cases it is, once again, very evident that spiritual forces ARE at work in response to religious processes - or at least human senses so indicate. People work a spell and someone DOES fall sick, a counter-spell is used and they mysteriously get better. This is most evident in traditional African religious contexts and in places that have been influenced by them, like Brazil. However, does that mean certain "gods" are real? How DO we gain a sense of what spiritual forces are at work in the end?

Hmm, I'm out of time. My lunch break is over and I have a lot to do. I'll have to continue this one later.

Love and blessings,

Rachel

2009-12-10T13:14:00.000-03:00

So I haven't written on here for... what... a whole couple of days! And when I did it wasn't very personal. Like my parents were saying yesterday on the phone - my life has been incredibly intense recently and it makes it feel like a lot more time is going by than actually is! As they also point out, it makes me hard to keep up with.

I'm definitely ready for vacation. And even MORE ready to be with my family. Yay Pittsburgh! Here we come!

And that's all I have time for at the moment! :D Time to work on packing.

love and blessings,

Rachel

Part of "Mr. God, This is Anna" - the last bit.

2009-12-08T23:51:00.001-03:00

Really the whole book is too precious to miss, but this is just the last bit:

I had been given a bundle of books some time previously, but I hadn't bothered to undo them. There didn't seem to be much point. It was one of those idle moments; I didn't know what to do with myself. [The war years] had made my eyes tired with looking and my ears ache with listening. Some sign, some vision, just for a moment. I picked up the books. They didn't seem all that interesting. Nothing seemed very interesting. I flipped through the pages. It wasn't until my eyes fell upon the name Coleridge that I stopped the pages of the book slipping through my fingers. For me Coleridge is at the top of the heap. I began to read:

'I adopt with full faith the theory of Aristotle that poetry as poetry is essentially ideal, that it avoids and excludes all accident, that its...'

I turned back a few pages and began to read again. ...

'The process by which the poetic imagintation works is illustrated by Coleridge from the following lines of Sir John Davies:

"Thus doth she, when from individual states
She doth abstract the individual kinds,
Which then reclothed in divers name and fates
Steal access thro' our senses to our minds." '

.... A few lines further on my eyes caught one word, 'violence'.

"The young poet', says Goethe, 'must do some sort of violence to himself to get out of the mere general idea. No doubt this is difficult, but it is the very art of living.'

It slowly began to make sense, the bits began to fall into place. Something was happening and it made me cry; for the first time in a long, long time I cried. I went out into the night and stayed out. The clouds seemed to be rolling back. It kept nagging at the back of my mind. Anna's life hadn't been cut short; far from it, it had been full, completely fulfilled.

The next day I headed back to the cemetery. It took me a long time to find Anna's grave. It was tucked away at the back of the cemetery. I knew that it had no headstone, just a simple wooden cross with the name on it, 'Anna.' I found it after about an hour.

I had gone there with a this feeling of peace inside me, as if the book had been closed, as if the story had been one of triumph, but I hadn't expected this. I stopped and gasped. This was it. The little cross leaned drunkenly, its paint peeling off, and there was the name ANNA.

I wanted to laugh, but you don't laugh in a cemetery, do you? Not only did I want to laugh, I had to laugh. It wouldn't stay bottled up. I laughted till the tears ran down my face. I pulled up the little cross and threw it into a thicket.

'Ok, Mister God', I laughed, 'I'm convinced. Good old Mister God. You might be a bit slow at times, but you certainly make it all right in the end.'

Anna's grave was a brilliant red carpet of poppies. Lupins stood gard in the background. A couple of trees whispered to each other whilst a family of little mice scurried backwards and forwards through the uncut grass. Anna was truly home. She didn't need a marker. You couldn't better this with a squillion tons of marble. I stayed for a little while and said goodbye to her for the first time in five years.

As I made my way back to the main gates I passed by hordes of little marble cherubs, angels and pearly gates. I stopped in front of the twelve-foot angel, still trying to lay down its bunch of marble flowers after God knows how many years.

'Hi, chum', I said, saluting the angel, 'you'll never make it, you know.'

I swung on the iron gates as I yelled back into the cemetery.

'The answer is, "In my middle".'

A finger of thrill went down my spine and I thought I heard a voice saying, 'What's that the answer to, Fynn?'

'That's easy. The question is "Where's Anna?" '

I had found her again - found her in my middle.

I felt sure that somewhere Anna and Mister God were laughing.

(By Fynn, Fontana/Collins, London, England 1974)

... And a little child shall lead them...

Written to a good friend

2009-12-05T11:37:00.000-03:00

Dear good friend,

I read the following thoughts by John Eldredge recently and thought of you, as he argues convincingly about something that troubled me in your attitude toward yourself. I don't know what you think of John Eldredge personally, and I myself think he is over the top on some things, but in this particular text I think he is right on the button. Parts in bold are my special emphasis and parts in [ ] are comments of mine.

No Good Thing?

Excerpts from pages 74-79 of Waking the Dead

In an attempt to explain the biblical doctrine of sine, we've let something else creep in. You'll hear it come up almost automatically whenever Christians talk about themselves: "I'm just a sinner, saved by grace." "I'm just clothes for God to put on." "There sure isn't any good thing in me." It's so common this mind-set, this idea that we are no-good wretches, ready to sin at a moment's notice, incapable of goodness, and certainly far from glory.

It's also unbiblical.

The passage people think they are referring to is Romans 7:18, where Paul says, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing" (KJV). Notice the distinctino he makes. He does not say, "There is nothing good in me. Period." What he says is that "in my flesh dwelleth no good thing." The flesh is the old nature, the old life, crucified with Christ. The flesh is the very thing God removed from out hearts when he circumcised them by his Spirit. In Galations Paul goes on to explain, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful nature [the flesh] with its passions and desires" (5:24). He does not say, "I am incapable of good." He says, "In my flesh dwelleth no good thing." In fact, just a few moments later, he discovers that 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2, KJV).

...

And listen to the way he [Paul] talks about us: "You shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life" (Phil. 2:15-16). As Shawn Mullins sings, "We're born to shimmer; we're born to shine." You are supposed to shimmer. "Let your light shine before men" (Matt 5:16). All of this groveling and self-depreciation done by Christians is often just shame masquerading as humility. Shame says, "I'm nothing to look at. I'm incapable of goodness." Humility says, "I bear a glory for sure, but it is a reflected glory. A grace given to me." Your story does not begin with sin. It begins with a glory bestowed upon you by God. It does not start in Genesis 3; it starts in Genesis 1. First things first, as they say.

... It was only after [God] made you that he said, "It is very good" (Gen. 1:31).

[this part will be especially useful to you guys in your relationships with the female sex, although I know only too well that women are not the only ones who obsess uncertainly about their looks]

... A woman wants to know that she is truly a woman, that she is beautiful; she longs to know that she is captivating; and all her life she wonders, "Do I have a beauty to offer?" The poet Yeats wrote,

If I make the lashes dark
And the eyes more bright

And the lips more scarlet

Or ask if all be right

From mirror after mirror

No vanity's displayed:

I'm looking for the face I had

Before the world was made.

("Before the World was Made" from the poem "A Woman Young and Old")

Yes, that's it. When you take a second glance in the mirror, when you pause to look again at a photograph, you are looking for a glory you know you were meant to have, if only because you know you long to have it. You remember faintly that you were once more than what you have become. Your story didn't start with sin, and thank God, it does not end with sin. It ends with glory restored: "Those he justified, he also glorified" (Rom. 8:30). And "in the meantime," you have been transformed, and you are being transformed. You've been given a new heart. Now God is restoring your glory. He is bringing you fully alive. Because the glory of God is you fully alive."

Well... now its me, Rachel, again. Wow, right? I recommend the whole book, but that's the section that especially made me think of you. The phrase, "the glory of god is man fully alive" actually comes from Saint Iranaeus in the second century (REALLY near the beginning :D ). I would just add a couple more Biblical passages, which I am putting almost in their entirety because they are SO good and thanks to the ease provided by Biblegateway.com. Emphasis mine, of course.

2 Corinthians 3

1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? ...

4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 4

Treasures in Jars of Clay

1 Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. ... 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

2 Corinthians is my current favorite book of the Bible.

Love and blessings,

Rachel

Life is good

2009-12-05T10:50:00.001-03:00

Life is good right now. :D

Thank you, Oswald Chambers, for the following encouraging thoughts:

(from a book called "The Quotable Oswald Chambers", which is pretty much everything he's ever written, separated out by topics)

On the topic of "Broken Bread/Poured Out Wine"

"Just as my Lord was made broken bread and poured-out wine for me, so I must be made broken bread and poured-out wine in His hands for others. What is meant by 'in His hands' is seen in the kind of things that bruise me - tyrannic powers, misunderstanding people, things that ordinarily I would have resented and said, 'No, I can't allow that.' Is there being produced in me, through the crushing of His disguised feet, the wine that is a real quickening of other lives? A yielded life to God becomes a doormat for men. He leaves us here to be trampled on." (which sounds unloving unless you truly know the heart of the ultimate trampler :D ).

On the topic of "Call of God"

"God can break or bend or mould, just as He chooses. You do not know why He is doing it; He is doing it for One purpose only, that He may be able to say, 'This is My man, My woman.' Never choose to be a worker, but when once God has put His call on you, woe be to you if you turn to the right or to the left. God will do with you what He never did with you before the call came; He will do with you what He is not doing with other people. Let Him have His way."

"Is He going to help Himself to your life, or are you taken up with your conception of what you are going to do? God is responsible for our lives, and the one great keynote is reckless reliance upon Him."

And get this one:

"The call of God embarrasses us because of two things - it presents us with sealed orders, and urges us to a vast venture."

To be honest, I feel I have been given 'sealed orders' on the Center of Hope thing. Just pray I can withstand nobly the crushing involved and not run away from it.

Love and blessings,

Rachel

Prayer

2009-12-05T00:38:00.001-03:00

Lord, you know better than anyone what it is to groan under a burden. Help me to bear this well and rightly. In Jesus' name, Amen

Wow, so many amazing Christmas songs

2009-12-05T00:16:00.000-03:00

Here's another one, sung by Steve Green:

Good news...

Good news

An angel brings good news

Close your eyes

And fold your hands

For a moment, let your sorrow fade

Why, why are you afraid

Has this world stripped you of your faith

Close your eyes and on bended knee

Listen to an angel pray

And once again prepare the way

So you see a gift that's given

Behold a time of joy

Behold a baby boy

Good news

An angel brings good news

Good news

I leave you with good news

Bow your heard and speak not a word

Let the silence take you far from here

The spirit of a child dry a tear

And may your doubts thus dissapear

Bow your head and on bended knee

Hear the story once again

A child will learn to wear a cross

A child will love to pledge a life

Behold a time of joy

Behold Christ a baby boy

Good news

An angel brings good news

Good news

I leave you with good news

Good news...

" ⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ... ¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Cor. 4:7-9, 16-18). Maybe not all burdens are a bad thing. Lord, thank you for where I am right now, even though the burden seems unusually crushing. Thank you that by your grace, I will not be crushed, only molded, shaped, re-shaped, polished, refined. You are good.

Come thou long expected Jesus

Born to set thy people free

From our fears and sins release us

Let us find our rest in thee

Israel's strength and consolation

Hope of all the Earth thou art

Deep desire of every nation

Joy of every longing heart

Born thy people to deliver

Born a child and yet a King

Born to reign in us forever

Now thy gracious Kingdom bring

By thy own eternal Spirit

Rule in all our hearts alone

By thy own sufficient merit

Raise us to thy glorious throne.

Come, Lord Jesus

Come quickly Lord

Come...

Thank you, Lord, that nothing I can do can make me more deserving of you and of grace. You are good... by YOUR OWN SUFFICIENT merit... thank you.

By your grace,

Rachel

What IF??? the end of all things continued

2009-12-03T15:26:00.000-03:00

So... I'm back

It started raining as I was about to leave the house, thankfully in time for me to decide to drive. My friend is safely here and ensconced in her homework, so I'm back to work. The big problem with writing too many blog updates, other than the fact that no one ever has time to read them all, is that it takes away from the other things I'm supposed to be doing... like updating the MAPI site. Oops. Sorry Dad! I will get to it, I promise. In fact, I'll work on this particular update only when I'm waiting for the internet to catch up with my updates on the site. How's that?

Isn't it fun when things in the Bible that were pretty much complete mysteries all of a sudden click into place, forming a bigger picture that makes sense? I'm excited - FINALLY the book of Revelation makes some sense to me! Woohoo!

At the end of my last blog I was talking about the anti-Christ and whether there are prophesied one or many. Many seem to be indicated also by Christ in Matthew 24 (v. 5) - "For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ' [the Savior] and will deceive many." Hmm, maybe Marx does fit in the anti-Christ category after all. He certainly thought himself a savior of mankind. Or just a describer of the eventual salvation of mankind? Its fascinating how much his final conclusion looks like heaven. Natural means leading atheistic men to true results. Kind of like the urbana article I put up recently.

Matthew 24: "^{15 '}So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ... ²¹For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. ... ²³At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. ²⁴For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. ²⁵See, I have told you ahead of time."

"See I have told you ahead of time". Because in our times of distress we are most likely to look to false hope. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.

... "³⁰At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³²"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁴I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24 cont).

The meaning of "this generation" is interesting to speculate on, since Christ obviously did not return before the deaths of the apostles, but I'll leave that for another time. Its interesting also that he tells us to be sure to keep our eyes open for the signs of the coming of this time while also saying that it is impossible for us to know exactly when it will happen. So we can have a general knowledge that its coming soon, just not a specific knowledge of the moment.

³⁶"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ... ⁴²"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (Matthew 24 cont).

The idea that the timing of Christ's return depends in part on our decisions - how long we continue to follow God correctly and keep hope in this world, keep on giving Him reason to be patient - would explain why not even Christ knows the time of his coming! How very typical of God. And COOL!

Keep watch... you DON'T know... keep watch. Yes, Lord, may we indeed have our lamps ready and full of oil when you come.

Back to the book of Revelation, chapter 14.

Chapter 14 - "Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb" (v. 1) - hurray!!! In this chapter the saints overcome Babylon the great and all becomes beautiful again! All that is evil is destroyed.

Chapter 15 and 16 - God's judgement against evil is described.

Chapters 17 and 18 - The fall of Babylon continues. God certainly isn't in a hurry, is he?

Chapter 19 - "¹After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

"Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
²for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants." ³And again they shouted:
"Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever."

⁴The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
"Amen, Hallelujah!""

Judgement is both just and over. Christ and His saints are clothed in white and celebrated in victory!

Chapter 20 - " ¹And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ²He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time."

Hmm, so apparently the culmination of evil does come first, THEN the millenia. Too bad. But not entirely surprising, given the state of our world.

^"7When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
"10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

So, people are given the chance to see clearly and obviously the full goodness of God in the millenia and THEN when they still rebel they are sen to the lake of fire. Poor people. I shudder at the thought.

Rev. 21 - the new Jerusalem! Once all who choose to rebel against God are judged, the rest are taken to a place without pain. Wow.

Rev. 22 - the conclusion. Jesus declares, "'Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.'" And after a book about judgement, John ends with the following significant and important words: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen."

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. In the proper time. But meanwhile, come always and continuously and more and more, in our hearts, minds, souls, homes, relationships, jobs and every other aspect of who we are, what we think, what we do... BE! Make us Frodos... Sams... Merrys... Pippins... Gimlis... Legolases... Gandalfs... Aragorns... each according to our particular characteristics. Or, not to leave out the important females in the story... Eowyns, Galadriels and Arwens. In Jesus' name, Amen

P.S. Other than the movie version of "The Return of the King" which partially inspired this and the previous blog, another excellent movie I saw recently, although it only spells out the salvation of one family instead of a whole age of the world, is called "I'll Be There". I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.

What IF??? the end of all things

2009-12-03T13:31:00.000-03:00

Wow, I'm really grateful for blogs. They're a great way of processing a mash of thoughts in a way that makes them open to the feedback of the world. SO much fun. I wanted to create a place like this way back in college, but at that point I was afraid of having my thoughts open to just about anyone (I had not yet developed a tough and sympathetic skin) and so I wanted one I could open to just a handful. Which actually can be done with blogs, which I didn't realize at the time, but now I don't even need to. Which is nice. Yay for growth.

So now for the subject of this blog. WHAT IF? Wow, I'm so excited. Get this idea:

What if Christ has not returned yet BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS DOING SUCH A GOOD JOB? What if... what in the world do I mean? Ok, think about it this way.

The end of all things ("I'm glad to be here with you, Sam, at the end of all things") will come, I think, when the world can no longer bear its own weight. When the O-zone is so depleted, global warming has reached such a state, etc, etc, etc that the world starts to fall apart... destroyed by earthquakes and fire, as Revelation indicates. When the ring bearer DOESN'T make it to Mount Doom with the ring of power OR the ring overwhelms him and he truly becomes corrupt. However, before that happens, before the final judgement is brought about not so much by God's desire but by our own dreadful, deathly mistakes, or by the end of His patience (if THAT'S what it depends on, no WONDER its taking several thousand years post-Christ), WE have to become totally degenerate. The O-zone won't deplete if we follow God's initial command to take care of our world and God won't run out of patience if we keep doing what we're supposed to. After all, who is to say what would have happened if Frodo had kept the ring? If Gollum HAD been killed earlier and hadn't been there to interfere? Would the eye have been more powerful than the bearer of its own ring? There probably would have been a terrible war between two forces of evil. Hitler and Stalin. IF Frodo had won, which seems unlikely, it would have been much like the lady of the forest said - she would have become the great goddess; Frodo would have become the diminutive and dreadful giant and set up towers and gates of his own, because that's the way the ring works. If Mordor had won... will... the rest is history. We all know that TRULY would have been the end of all things good. Although, in point of fact, good takes an awefully long time to die and keeps on springing up when you least expect it. Like the coming of the eagles in that final battle.

That reminds me. Where are the dwarves in the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy? Other than good old Gimli, they seem to dissapear after the Hobbit. Why? They may have been another source of rescue for men if it had come to that. ANYWAY...

So let's say Frodo brandishes the ring. A terrible battle ensues. The outcome, in the end, would probably depend on more Frodo-like characters. Small, seeminlgy insignificant creatures who have life-changing roles to play. Like you and me :). Not so insignificant after all, right?

In other words... the fellowship - the Church, the true church of Christ - might be the true reason this world hasn't ended yet. Because there is still SO MUCH hope in this real world, infinitely more than in the Lord of the Rings where Gandalf says, "there never was much hope. Only a fool's hope". Instead, we get to see good ALL around us ALL the time if we choose to notice it. So much fun! And we have so much opportunity! Because we don't have just a Gandalf. WE have the Holy Spirit, the very presence of Christ in us, guiding us each step of the way! WE have a counselor who will NEVER abandon us, can never be pulled into the abyss by the demon-like creature (what's it called again) or stuck on the top of Saramun's tower and who can actually be right within us at the same time he is with and within every single other good person in the world. There's SO much chance to make this world more the way it is supposed to be - because His Kingdom IS still coming on Earth as it is in heaven. WOW.

When hope truly disappears, when we can no longer do anything more, even with His help, when all goodness on this Earth is gone and the very saints are being put to death because they are no longer tolerated ANYWHERE anymore, THEN I think Christ will return. And a glorious day it will be. But until then, let's keep on hoping it will take a VERY long time, as does our Lord himself:

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9, NIV, emphasis mine).

If the world could become heaven before it becomes hell, our Lord would be infinitely pleased. Maybe THAT's the meaning of the millenia. MAYBE we ARE progressing, as Marx liked to think. Maybe this place WILL become truly wondeful - the whole ALL of it under the invisible leadership of our Lord. And maybe at THAT point Jesus WILL com and walk among us physically once again. Wow. Wouldn't that be something. And wouldn't it be worth it to have all of that happen BEFORE the end? While we still live on this beautiful Earth He created, BEFORE the new heavens and the new Earth? That would be really cool.

So maybe that's where we are in history... we're heading for the millenia, recognizing our wrongs, making this world a better place, banishing our Hitler's, criticizing our genocides, becoming more tolerant of differences, learning to take care of our natural environment... and learning to show Christ to the world in a whole new way. Maybe... if the Lord wills it... our children or grandchildren will get to see Christ walk this world once again in the flesh. Now that is worth living for. Wow.

Because all the suffering in all the world is worth it if flowers continue to grow.

Maybe that's why the book of Revelation starts with the letters to all the churches that can't quite get it right - because when the church can no longer get it right and all the ones who do are dieing, than the judgments of Revelation will begin. Scary thought.

"After this [the letters] I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.' At once... [I saw God on his throne]" (Rev. 4:1-2).

Then (chapter 5)... the lamb opens the scroll...

Chapter 6 - terrible suffering - famine - is decreed on the Earth

Chapter 7 - 144,000 (a remnant - isn't that just like God) are sealed with protection; tribulation is decreed

Chapter 8 - the seventh seal is opened. There is SILENCE in heaven for half an hour. Something that surely hasn't happened since the fall. Hope fails ... then... the silence is broken: "¹³As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth" (last verse of chapter 8)

Chapter 9 - locusts and other plagues are sent by God as judgement but cannot touch the elect (sound familiar?). What God has done for Israel he will do for the church...

Chapter 10 - "Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." (v. 11). THAT'S not going to be any fun. Talk about leading to suffering... a prophet is never welcome in his own home (on his own Earth).

Chatper 11- God realizes the above and sends two prophets from heaven to help us out. But they too are killed by the creature from the abyss in the end. Gandalf-like.

Then - hope! " ¹A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head." (Rev. 12:1) ... "And there was war in heaven" (v. 7)... Satan is hurled to Earth; the woman gives birth to her Son... "¹⁷Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

Chapter 13 - the rise of the anti-Christ(s?). "This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666" (v. 18) Could it be that their are actually 666 anti-Christ's that have lived and will live throughout time, not one? Each of them men led astray and inhabited by the beast - Satan? I can think of a few... Mohammad (sorry, Karis), Hitler and Stalin (I WOULD NOT include Marx or Nietzsche in their number, believe it or not. But that's a conversation for another time. They only spoke the truths of their time - they did not create it) among them. People who caused thousands of others to deviate from the truth of Christ. Not irreparably, but nonetheless, deviate. It could be nonetheless, that there will be one final anti-Christ that will trump all the rest. Not unlikely. We'll see.

Uh oh, I have to go pick up a teenager who is spending the night with me from school. More later!

Love and hope,

Rachel

Worth reading, from Urbana.org Least of These section

2009-12-03T12:50:00.001-03:00

Can We Change the World Without God?

Posted At : November 25, 2009 12:23 AM
Related Categories: Atheism

(From Urbana.org Least of These section)

When you survey the wondrous and tragic history of the human drama on planet earth, it is overwhelming to recount all of the individuals who have contributed positively to human advance. Agriculture, music, engineering, art, political science, mathematics, medicine, genetics, zoology, literature … they each have their own very large “halls of fame” filled with people from different continents and eras and coming from different faiths, worldviews and cultures. Daniel Boorstin in his books, The Creators and The Discoverers writes sweeping accounts of the thousands of years and the hundreds of persons who have contributed to our life together as humans.

It is interesting to consider what part faith in Jesus Christ makes, if any, in bringing about positive change for humanity. Are the contributions of Einstein, Edison, Benjamin Franklin or Freud rendered null because they were atheists or agnostics? I don’t know about you, but I still love the effect of flipping on a light switch along with the various forms of energy harnessed because of atheists like these. The above list represents just a few modern, western atheistic inventors, and says nothing of the Arab, Asian, Latin American or African creators and discoverers who added something to human flourishing without a belief in Christ as savior.

Of course the list of contributors motivated by their Christian faith is quite impressive as well: Michael Faraday (speaking of electric energy), Louis Pasteur, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., William Wilberforce, not to mention the Arab (i.e. Charles Malik), Asian (i.e. Watchman Nee), Latin American (i.e. Oscar Romero) or African (i.e. Desmond Tutu) followers of Jesus who have added to human flourishing.

Because every human bears the marks of a Creator who infused us with ingenuity, artistry, imagination, governance and creativity – whether they believe in him or not – the propensity for humans to contribute to their own flourishing is simply a reflection of the fact that we were made in the image of a God who loves to make things which flourish. We have much to gain from atheists like Pavlov or Hawking, and I am thankful for the myriad clever, compassionate, God-hating (or sometimes just Church-hating) men and women who give themselves to serve to the poor and marginalized or advance the general well-being of our planet and her inhabitants.

So is there any benefit in knowing Jesus as friend, master, and teacher when bringing about global change?

The Hope Catalyst: One of the most pernicious scourges of humanity, especially among the poor, is despair. Despair is a spiritual condition, and its primary manifestation is apathy towards ones own welfare and the welfare of others. Hope is the only cure for despair and requires something more than wishful thinking. Hope must be grounded in truth. For me the truth of God’s love, incarnate in the man Jesus, and God’s promise to be with us in our trials and sufferings makes a difference. Aligning ourselves with the Creator brings power to confront evil and to right wrongs. Hope – a conviction about God’s love and a future of redemption – is the catalytic power behind a change agent.

The Ear of God and the Mind of Christ: There is something about communion that positively infects the Christian thinker, artist, writer, scientist and aid worker. I’m not necessarily talking about the Eucharist, though this is a picture of what I mean. I am talking about that place of intimacy with the Divine. That God invites us into fellowship, that Christ calls us to consume him, that each believer is possessed by the Holy Spirit – these things make the Christian more than flesh and bone. We have God’s ear in this Divine – human romance, and access to a kind of wisdom that confounds human wisdom. There is a mystical beauty in being united to God which bodies like the UN or people like Stephen Hawking do not understand and it affects how we interact with the world and expands what we have to offer an ailing humanity.

The Perseverance of Faith: I know Christians who have reached places of burnout or become jaded … I’ve danced pretty close to that line myself. But there is something about the believer’s access to Sabbath rest that I often do not see in the lives of others. Some studies suggest that half of returning NGO workers suffer pretty serious burnout, depression or post traumatic stress disorder. For Mother Teresa and the Sisters of Charity and for the New Friars whom I hang with, there is a qualitative difference in their devotional focus which gives many of them staying power in some pretty awful situations. It has something to do with their ability to get alone with Jesus, allowing him to replenish them. It is as if there is a kind of water available in Christ that quenches a thirst for justice and righteousness and satisfies a tired soul.

Can we change the world without Jesus? Yes. Can we bring the kingdom without the King? No. The kind of change I want to see involves giving hope to the hopeless. It requires the sort of thinking and problem solving that rises out of meekness and divine wisdom. It requires the power to stay with a difficult situation without growing weary. Many good things have come from God’s image bearers who do not believe he exists. But true transformation must have a spiritual dimension – and as someone who believes in a singular, intelligent Creator who made a way for the world to climb out of our mess through his Son, I do not see real transformation coming from anywhere else but him.

Brazilian Culture Compared

2009-12-03T11:39:00.000-03:00

So... where do I start? Comparing two cultures is a little like comparing a windshield in the rain and a bucket of water. They have common denominators - beyond the obvious fact of including water (i.e. people), you just have to find them before you can move on. However the most in-common factor is simply that - they include people. And people, no matter where they are, have a lot in common. They eat, they sleep, they think, they feel, they desire, they dream, they move, they understand, they have needs - including that of deep and consistent relationships - and they seek to have those needs met in a variety of ways, some good, some not-so-good. And etc. But people are also as varied as a kaleidoscope and need to be understood that way. Especially when you're looking ACROSS culture lines.

So what do the US and Brazil have in common beyond being made up of people? A lot, it turns out. They're both democracies with nationally elected presidents and three branches of government that keep each other somewhat in check; they use a lot of the same technology and are both increasingly moving into an electronic, computer-based and single-family-home world. They include a huge amount of variety across their almost-identically-sized expanses - from hill billies (called sertanejos - seirt-an-edge-oos - in Brazil) to yuppies (hmm... not quite sure there is a single-word translation for this one, other than saying someone is from the capital of any given state. Brazil does a much better job of having its biggest cities also be its capital cities than the US does) - and a variety of cultures (from other countries as well as from their own expansive corners). But the differences are also significant and go far beyond the cuisine and the most common skin color (a pleasant apple-butter brown in Brazil instead of white, almost opaque like I am. Not that there aren't plenty of white Brazilians too - they're just one of the many minorities and have the unfortunate problem of having to use a lot more sun-screen than most of the rest). Although the idea that dark skin saves you from skin cancer is a great folklore.

Anyway... what else is common between the US and Brazil? Some aspects of its history - both are part of the Americas, influenced indirectly by the Incas and Aztecs, despite themselves, and discovered by Europeans who were only-too-willing to take over due to superior arms and carrying deathly viruses and bacteria and slavery to their none-too-willing "discovered" peoples. Brazil has as many or more Native tribes still in existence than the US, most of them on reserves, although some have the fortunate (?) situation of continuing to be cannibalistic or child-killers in the semi-hidden corners of the Amazon rain forest. Of course being cannibalistic makes a lot more sense when you think you're honoring the person you are eating by making them part of yourself and killing deformed infants makes total sense if you think they have no soul and are there to curse your tribe and yourself with sickness and death. But that's a totally different set of cross-cultural situations that I don't intend to get into in depth right now. It'll have to wait for another occasion.

I've long held the theory (also held, it turns out, by many well-known anthropologists) that weather and geography irrevocably shape culture. Have you ever noticed that the warmer a climate the "warmer" people are to one another and vice versa? This is obviously true even in the environs of Chicago and Pittsburgh, the cities I know the best in the US, where in the winter people hurry to and fro, hardly giving each other the time of day, but in the summer a whole different level of community thrives. Its easy to understand why, in a country that has warm weather all year round, people would be constantly more relate-to-able than in a country that is generally in the freezing range. For one thing, they don't have to hurry to get inside merely to survive. For another, they have a whole lot more freedom to dress, speak, and spend their time in a huge variety of ways including beaches, street corners, front porches and gates, etc without the restriction of having to wear countless layers of clothing. So... weather makes a difference.

São Paulo is in the medium range as far as weather is concerned - it gets as cold as the 50s, unlike most tropical areas, but spends most of its time in the 70s and up. It seldom but occasionally has days around 100 or over, kind of like Chicago (I think the hottest days of my life were when Chicago steadied out around 104 when I was living there one summer. The coldest were near-by in Wheaton when the weather hit a windchill of negative... 15? Or was it worse. WHO CARES when its that cold?) Lol. Once you're below 0 its pretty much all the same, as far as I'm concerned: absolutely miserable. Stay out of it unless you ABSOLUTELY HAVE to go to class. hehe.

Americans have the very positive quality of their participation in events not depending on the weather nearly as much as Brazilians, who are often discouraged from going to a non-essential commitment simply by the sight of rain clouds. Of course, Americans also drive almost everywhere and have very comfortable inside-of-building temperatures. Brazilians rarely drive and getting a bus in the rain can be anywhere from semi-unpleasant to downright miserable, depending on how hard the rain is, what angle its coming at (DOES an umbrella do ANY GOOD or not?), how long its been raining (are the sewers over-flowing yet) and how long the bus takes to come (invariably rain slows everything down in São Paulo - traffic is worse, there are more accidents, vehicles break-down more, etc). If for some reason it all of a sudden decided to reach 31 degrees Fahrenheit in SP, half the population - or more - would likely freeze to death, including some who are very wealthy. Who says there's any heating systems in buildings, even if they do occasionally include air conditioning? 50 degrees can all of a sudden seem very cold if you're IN the 50 degree weather 24/7 and if its unpleasantly laced with humidity that makes it sink seemingly irrevocably right into your pours no matter how much tea, coffee and hot chocolate you drink. Anyway, enough on that unpleasant topic :D. I greatly prefer heat, even when it is near-suffocating. Although 104 is DEFINITELY over the top. Definitely as miserable as 0 degree weather, but not as common or as deadly. I did have many fun moments at Wheaton playing broomball and throwing snow. Everything has its upsides. Thankfully. Have I ranted on weather enough? There's actually a REASON that its a much more common topic of conversation in Chicago than in São Paulo - in good old northern US of A its actually a factor of life or death!

Topography makes a HUGE difference not only because it effects weather but because it effects vegetation which effects commerce, trade, local economy and local eating habits. Topography also near-determines tourism or lack-there-of. Good luck taking tourists to somewhere downright un-interesting to look at or ugly. Not that there are many such places in the world - most places have their own type of beauty - but the flatlands of the midwest US just about qualify. Thankfully they are good for many other things, such as producing Chicago-ans and bread. No offense intended to small-town mid-westerners, many of who are very good friends of mine. Oh yes, that particular area of the US also produced Wheaton College, which pretty much made my grandparents and parents, and resultingly myself, much of who we are and the prairie path which is downright beautiful. So thank God for that and enough on that.

Back to Brazil... um... what else do you want to know? Maybe you can tell me and I can answer your questions, since I could go on about this for several hours... or... whatever you want... let me know. Possible topics include food, relational patters within families, dating patterns, church tendencies, why-people-relate-so-differently-generally-beyond-what-is-caused-by-the-weather, why Brazilians often find Americans shallow and Americans often find Brazilians over-whelming, why the gospel is currently finding much riper soil here than there, other than the poverty level, the reason for the difference in poverty level, in economies, in politics, in corruption and why Brazil has experimented with just about every type of government possible except communism. So... like I said, let me know what you're interested in and I'd enjoy sharing.

Later!

Love and blessings,

Rachel

Future and present and what do we do when we are lonely?

2009-12-02T23:02:00.000-03:00

So what will the future bring? Who can say? Sorrow, joy or pain? Pleasure, patience, strength, wisdom beyond our years, from the throne on high? All of this and so much more, undoubtedly. Yet our Savior says, "Do not worry..." How not, Lord? When there is so much in this world about which to be worried? How not when tomorrow is so uncertain and we do not know what decisions will be made even by those to whom we are closest and love the most? Even by you, our Lord and Savior? Help us trust you, Lord. God, give us grace. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ have mercy.

And I identify so much with this Christmas song that happens to be playing on my Itunes at the moment...

"I have travelled

Many moonless nights

Cold and weary

With a baby inside

And I wonder what I've done

Holy Father, you have come

And chosen me now

To carry your Son.

I am breathing

In a silent prayer

I am frightened

By the load I bear

In a world as cold as stone

Must I walk this path alone?

Be with me now

Breath of heaven

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Light in my darkness

Pour over me your wholeness

For you're holy

Breath of heaven

Do you wonder

As you watch my face

If a wiser woman

Should have had my place

But I offer all I am

For the mercy of your plan

Help me be strong

Help me be

Help me

Breath of heaven

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Light in my darkness

Pour over me your wholeness

For you're holy

Breath of heaven

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Light in my darkness

Pour over me your wholeness

For you're holy

Breath of heaven...

Breath of heaven.

(Breath of Heaven, sung by Nicol Smith or one of her company on a cd of otherwise mostly well known hymns called "25 Christmas Songs You Love to Sing" )

Not that our challenges actually compare all that well with what Mary faced in bearing your very own most precious Son, Lord. That would be overwhelming for any woman. Thank you for choosing someone with the childlike faith that would bear her through and for giving her Joseph to walk with her. Thank you for the dear family, friends, companions, protectors and spiritual mentors you give to us also. Yet, in many ways you have given us the same challenge of Mary: to bear the image of your Son to this world. To show them you in a new and fresh way, your closeness, your nearness! What a joy to share the story of Christmas with four entranced children and one very eager mother tonight, in a way they had never heard before! How much fun to bring it alive for their young and not-so-young ears! May I do that more often - bringing you to life for those around me through my words. The greater challenge, though, Lord, is to bring you to life through my actions - through patience, perserverance, long-suffering in love. That is difficult, Lord, so much more so than telling a story that is beautiful and breathtaking and awe-inspiring in and of itself. The other great challenge - although also my greatest joy beyond my relationship with you - is to bring to life the "baby" - the plan, the dream, the vision - that the Holy Spirit has inspired in me. Please give me appropriate companions to walk with me. You know I cannot do it alone. And I long for, depend on and desperately suck in your strength. Thank you - breath of heaven - for your closeness. Thank you that the plan, the dream, the vision, is ultimately yours not mine. That YOU are the one who will give it success. May I not get in its way. Do your will in me, Lord. PLEASE do your will in me.

And a song of Joseph (to complement that of Mary, above):

How could it be?

This baby in my arms

Sleeping now

So peacefully

The son of God

The angel said

How could it be?

Lord, I know

He's not my own

Not of my flesh

Not of mine born

Still Father let

This baby be

The son of my love

Father, show me where I fit into this plan of yours

How can a man be father to the son of God?

Lord, for all my life I've been a simple carpenter

How can I raise a king?

He looks so small

His face and hands so fair

And when he cries the sun just seems to dissapear

But when he laughs it shines again

How could it be?

Father, show me where I fit into this plan of yours

How can a man be father to the son of God?

Lord, for all my life I've been a simple carpenter

How can I raise a king?

How could it be?

This baby in my arms

Sleeping now

So peacefully

The son of God

The angel said

How could it be?

(Breath of Heaven, sung by a male member of Nicol Smith's company, also on "25 Christmas Songs You Love to Sing" )

Indeed... how could it be?

That we are chosen for the work of God?

Mystery and delight.

Thank you, Lord.

In Jesus' name, Amen

Part II... And what do we do when we are lonely? Lord, how do we handle loneliness? "I will bring relief." Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen

Plants, God and Salsa

2009-11-30T14:30:00.001-03:00

I was doing some gardening today (a rare activity in a home which, like most Brazilian homes, contains no green yard space) which in our house takes the form of cutting dead leaves and small branches from potted plants and watering them. My mom and I love green things, so we have probably about three dozen potted growing things in our home and tiled yard space. As I worked, I was reminded of the passage in John 15 where Jesus says,

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ... If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."

Some of the plants I was tending were healthy and had no dead leaves or unnecessary branches. Others had not had appropriate care for a while and were in rather a sad state, though not beyond saving. The most challenging was a large fern at the back of our outside corridor. A whole bottom layer of fronds had turned brown and dry while fresh bright green ones grew higher up and weeds flourished in the surrounding soil. The thing with this kind of fern is that there are tiny thorns all over the frond stems, making them difficult to handle. I tried cutting them off with the kitchen scissors, but found the thick stalks needed something stronger. I headed for our tool box and found some old shears that had not been used for... years. After some effort sharpening them I found they did the trick, although it ended up being easier to use them to completely tear each frond from the main stalk than to cut them off. Finally, only fresh, green leaves remained, I had removed most of the clover-like wees and I got on with other things.

So now for the analogy part: how many "dead" or "dieing" parts exist in our lives? Things that need to be pruned so the rest of the plant continues to grow strong, healthy and beautiful? Has the Lord been indicating anything in your (or my) life recently that needs to be cleared away? Are we resistent to that? I've found that one kind of "pruning" the Lord does is helping me stop activities that are not essential to what he is calling me to do in order to focus more on the main tasks and "bear more fruit". What activities do you need to stop this next year? On what ones should you spend even more time?

How about sin? Do we have sins that we are hesitant to have removed, torn from the very place where they connect to the stalk, where they suck life out of an otherwise vibrant creation of our Lord's? Or are we eager to have the undergrowth cleared away so we can more freely "run... the race marked out for us" (Heb. 12:1)? Recently there have often been torrential rains here in São Paulo, sometimes upsetting carefully laid plans, increasing traffic and causing destruction to structures that are not well enough built. However, they are also the reason for the fresh, green fronds on my fern and that residents of São Paulo will not have to worry about water shortage for a very long time (the reservoir down the hill from my home is filled to over-flowing). How is God using unwelcome challenges to bring new growth in our lives, to bring life where things were dieing?

As I got done with my version of gardening, it was about time for lunch. However, it was too hot to want the beans, rice and chicken I had ready in the fridge and I was out of sandwich bread. I procrastinated for a while until inspiration hit. I had recently discovered tortillas for sale at the grocery store near my home! Brazilians have been very slow warming up to Mexican food (they're not so into spicy, avocadoes are DEFINITELY meant to be eaten sweet and whats this idea of smothering wonderful white rice in tomatoe sauce and mashing perfectly good beans into mush?) but they might finally be getting used to the idea - or at least some of it.

After making some delicious quesadillas especially spiced from a container claiming to contain "alho, cebola e salsa" (garlic, onion and... salsa? After tasting it I came to the conclusion that it must mean salsinha, a green Brazilian herb... like I said Brazilians are not into spicy, with the exception of the Northeast of Brazil and the contents of this container was definitely green not red) I finished up with an apple and peanut butter. After this most-satisfying mixture of Brazilian, American and Mexican tastes that no self-respecting Brazilian, American or Mexican would probably ever come up with, I decided to leave my sink-full of dishes for another time and headed back to my computer to work. Sometimes its so much fun being multi-cultural. Other times its a complete drag, like when I don't get the joke in the US or in Brazil, but at least that's happening less and less as I grow older and get to know both cultures better. I have never been to Mexico but plan to get there as soon as possible. I can claim to know something of genuine Mexican food from having a mom who spent 8th grade there (and grades 1-7 in Guatemala, where the cuisine is fairly similar. Also, she and all of her siblings started learning to cook as soon as they could walk), an aunt who lives there and a Mexican roommate in college who cooked for us fairly frequently. Btw, Veronica, you were the one that taught me to actually like spicy on some occasions! Congratulations!

Love and blessings,

Rachel

The Friday after Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T14:16:00.000-03:00

(this was actually written on Friday, Nov. 27, even though it didn't get posted until today, Mon, Nov. 30. I wasn't on my comp much over the long weekend, thankfully!)

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and today I am doing Spring cleaning. Only in the southern hemisphere. The weather is down to a pleasant 79 degrees, after being quite hot yesterday. Thankfully the humidity is also down to bearable. It can’t quite decide if its going to rain today.

Its strange doing Spring cleaning in my parent’s house without my mom around. So many things I’d like to ask her, remember with her, tell her. Oh well… sometime. Thank God for e-mails.

So far, I haven’t found much in the “give away” or “throw away” categories. This must be due to the impressive amount of organizing my mom did before leaving (again) for the US a couple of years ago. I have found a LOT in “oh, fun, wonderful memories! I can’t believe she kept that but I’m so glad she did” category. Thanks, Mom J. Once again there are kids in our house a lot (i.e. the five munchkins descended from Geogea) so its fun figuring out how many toys we still have around and making them available to the five, each according to their age and capabilities. Most of what we have is in very good shape, despite sitting in closets for 10 or 15 years. I’m getting old. Childhood is getting further away, but I’m having fun re-living it with these new friends and companions.

The “getting old” sense was aggravated yesterday when at my Thanksgiving feast yesterday I saw that a friend I remembered as a 2^nd grader is now a Senior in highschool (for those familiar with the PACA – Pan American Christian Academy – community, I’m referring to Tommy Long. Along with the Longs, other celebrants were the Carpenters, Val Gill and friends, the Davises and the Lamps, who hosted it). I must say we did ourselves proud with Thanksgiving dinner (eaten around 6 PM) and pie (four different kinds – mincemeat, pecan, pumpkin and chocolate-banana – eaten as soon after dinner as our stomachs could handle). I’m not sure how much meat was left over, but I plan to head back up to the Lamp’s house tomorrow to find out (they are away at the beach for today). Maybe I can scrounge some. Lol. Well see.

Well, among other fun things, I found Val and my blankies from our childhoods, Karis’ huge “Karis hug me” doll, various folders of memorabilia of Dan’s, a huge binder of notes my Dad was once taking, possibly for a book, on the topic of healthy male and female sexuality, and a variety of Christmas decorations. The latter will come in very handy as my Brazilian church small group is getting together for a Christmas party tomorrow night and they needed decorations. Lol – I’m going to have another HUGE feast two days after Thanksgiving. Maybe I won’t eat today at all. Lol. Oh, I also found a HUGE garbage bag full of lego pieces as well as a pile of dismounted boxes and instructions for different lego vehicles, scenes and structures! Hurray!

Well, enough babbling for now. Although I missed my family yesterday with an internal ache, I hope that your holiday season is as pleasant and joyful as mine is turning out to be. And I’ll be with the five other Dave Kornfields in just 22 days!

2009-11-23T16:57:00.000-03:00

For every time I'm harsh

With lack of dicipline

I hope I'm gentle ten

Bringing healing gaze and then

Helping, molding, shaping

With gentle hands and true

Hearts that cry with anguish

Thoughts that burst and slew

thoughts across the world

and cries that can be heard

Listen!

There they are

In pain let me bring rest

Help people to know you

Gentle, healing Savior

Faithful, ever true

Hope of all the world

Lord of all that's true.

Blessings,

Rachel

Culinary

2009-11-23T15:55:00.000-03:00

Brazilian food is wonderful. So is Mexican, Chinese, Korean, Indian, Thai... if you have any good recipes you are interested in sending my way, please do. I'm very interested in trying new dishes, though I might not make them right the first time. One interested Brazilian side dish is called "farofa" - basically flavored manioc flour. There's "dry farofa" (just flavored manioc flour, possibly rough ground with flakes) or "wet farofa" (often includes raisins or bits of other fruits to keep it moist). Delicious! I'm happy to send recipes to anyone who is interested, also, but what you should REALLY do is come to Brazil, visit me and taste the real stuff.

Love you guys!

Rachel

Lunch time... finally!

2009-11-23T13:41:00.000-03:00

Alarm goes off - 8AM. I got 8 hours of sleep but I'm still getting over a cold. Decide to sleep another half hour.

Alarm goes off - 8:30AM. I actually feel awake! Hurray!

8:35 AM - breakfast and devos. Inspiration. I rush to my computer

Around 12:00 - I actually get dressed. More inspiration. More typing.

2:45PM - My stomach has been rumbling for two hours but do I care? Yes. Time for lunch!

P.S. I only slightly burned my Delicious Brazilian Steak (yes, that's all caps) writing this. Other parts of it are still raw. Kitchens and blogging do not mix well. Also, its a good thing there are no smoke detectors in Brazil, otherwise mine would be going wild.

And my soul prays...

2009-11-23T10:45:00.000-03:00

This is from this morning's journal entry (and then I need to get on with my REAL work ... hehe):

Lord, in Jeremiah 9:20 you say, "Listen, you women to the words of the Lord. Teach your daughters to wail, teach one another how to lament." Am I refusing to lament real losses like Karis not being able to be a consistently active part of my life? Oh Lord, I groan under this burden. Bring healing to my family, Lord. We worship you for you make the desert bloom with roses... but if it is your will, bring this desert to an end. Give Karis back her health. For a year even. Allow us to recover our strength. But, Lord, you know what is truly best. Help me to trust, to believe and leave the burden in your hands. Thank you that is is not something I'm meant to carry, but you are willing to carry it for me. Yes, Lord, please do so! I thank you, Lord. I worship you! You are so good! I place in your hands the suffering, the pain, the uncertainty that feels like blow after blow to the stomach, leaving me gasping for breath. The unhappiness of not having my family close to me and the anger at what SEEMS like such an unnecessary waste of a lovely, loving famiy. Oh Lord, does it really have to be this way? Protect me from the evil one who I sense slinking in behind that question. Thank you, Lord. Help me to accept your goodness even in the midst of all this! Help me to honor and respect the needs of my family in this next year. And please provide the funds for this new project according to your will. I love you too, Jesus, so much. Lord, help me make this project exactly what you want it to be - a true place of healing for your people. Please, Jesus, do what you want to do, however you want to do it.

Potential timeline:

Today - call the carpenter and the construction worker for the repairs on the house; e-mail Jasiel and Ivone and Marquinhos about spending some time with them learning how their camp and seminary ministry works.

Before I leave for the US Dec. 13th - get reforms done on house; write application for the new "Center of Hope"

When I get back in January - move my things to the back house bedroom, make the upstairs ready for a family of seven.

February and March - family of seven who will be my main helpers move in; I spend those two months visiting any and all ministries I can find in São Paulo that do something like what I want to do in my home by creating the "Center of Hope"; learn from them as much as possible.

April - officially structure the project

May - go to Val K's graduation from Notre Dame; when I get back (if I'm ready) officially open the "Center of Hope"; Geogia's family moves out.

Shape and change this plan according to your will, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Websites

2009-11-23T10:36:00.000-03:00

Some important websites for you to be aware of:

www.pastoringofpastors.org - anything you could want to know about pastoring of pastors, administered by yours truly.

www.manhattandelcaration.org - if you haven't signed it and you believe in Christ, you should.

www.g-pact.com - Gastroparesis Patient Association for Cures and Treatment - make intestinal transplants less necessary.

www.goodshop.com - do your Christmas shopping from home this year, avoid the rush and donate to a worthwhile cause, such as G-Pact.

www.kayak.com - the most amazing travel website ever

www.worldvisionacts.org - seeking social justice while on college campuses

And of course, www.rach-comesthedawn.com!

Love,

Rachel

Article on Social Justice in Latin America

2009-11-23T10:18:00.000-03:00

I found this article on Urbana.org and thought it worth sharing.

Love,

Rachel

Social Justice (1964)

Fourth of five panel talks on the topic
by Ruben Lores

The Manhattan Declaration

2009-11-23T08:48:00.000-03:00

If you haven't seen the Manhattan Declaration (http://manhattandeclaration.org/) yet, here it is in full.

I signed it. How about you?

Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience

Drafted on October 20, 2009

Released on November 20, 2009

Preamble 

Christians are heirs of a 2,000-year tradition of proclaiming God's word, seeking justice in our societies, resisting tyranny, and reaching out with compassion to the poor, oppressed and suffering.

While fully acknowledging the imperfections and shortcomings of Christian institutions and communities in all ages, we claim the heritage of those Christians who defended innocent life by rescuing discarded babies from trash heaps in Roman cities and publicly denouncing the Empire's sanctioning of infanticide. We remember with reverence those believers who sacrificed their lives by remaining in Roman cities to tend the sick and dying during the plagues, and who died bravely in the coliseums rather than deny their Lord.

After the barbarian tribes overran Europe, Christian monasteries preserved not only the Bible but also the literature and art of Western culture. It was Christians who combated the evil of slavery: Papal edicts in the 16^th and 17^th centuries decried the practice of slavery and first excommunicated anyone involved in the slave trade; evangelical Christians in England, led by John Wesley and William Wilberforce, put an end to the slave trade in that country. Christians under Wilberforce's leadership also formed hundreds of societies for helping the poor, the imprisoned, and child laborers chained to machines.

In Europe, Christians challenged the divine claims of kings and successfully fought to establish the rule of law and balance of governmental powers, which made modern democracy possible. And in America, Christian women stood at the vanguard of the suffrage movement. The great civil rights crusades of the 1950s and 60s were led by Christians claiming the Scriptures and asserting the glory of the image of God in every human being regardless of race, religion, age or class.

This same devotion to human dignity has led Christians in the last decade to work to end the dehumanizing scourge of human trafficking and sexual slavery, bring compassionate care to AIDS sufferers in Africa, and assist in a myriad of other human rights causes - from providing clean water in developing nations to providing homes for tens of thousands of children orphaned by war, disease and gender discrimination.

Like those who have gone before us in the faith, Christians today are called to proclaim the Gospel of costly grace, to protect the intrinsic dignity of the human person and to stand for the common good. In being true to its own calling, the call to discipleship, the church through service to others can make a profound contribution to the public good.

Declaration

We, as Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical Christians, have gathered, beginning in New York on September 28, 2009, to make the following declaration, which we sign as individuals, not on behalf of our organizations, but speaking to and from our communities. We act together in obedience to the one true God, the triune God of holiness and love, who has laid total claim on our lives and by that claim calls us with believers in all ages and all nations to seek and defend the good of all who bear his image. We set forth this declaration in light of the truth that is grounded in Holy Scripture, in natural human reason (which is itself, in our view, the gift of a beneficent God), and in the very nature of the human person. We call upon all people of goodwill, believers and non-believers alike, to consider carefully and reflect critically on the issues we here address as we, with St. Paul, commend this appeal to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, claims our attention, we are especially troubled that in our nation today the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are severely threatened; that the institution of marriage, already buffeted by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is in jeopardy of being redefined to accommodate fashionable ideologies; that freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized by those who would use the instruments of coercion to compel persons of faith to compromise their deepest convictions.

Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense. In this declaration we affirm: 1) the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life; 2) marriage as a conjugal union of man and woman, ordained by God from the creation, and historically understood by believers and non-believers alike, to be the most basic institution in society and; 3) religious liberty, which is grounded in the character of God, the example of Christ, and the inherent freedom and dignity of human beings created in the divine image.

We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right - and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation - to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty.

Life
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

Although public sentiment has moved in a pro-life direction, we note with sadness that pro-abortion ideology prevails today in our government. The present administration is led and staffed by those who want to make abortions legal at any stage of fetal development, and who want to provide abortions at taxpayer expense. Majorities in both houses of Congress hold pro-abortion views. The Supreme Court, whose infamous 1973 decision inRoe v. Wade stripped the unborn of legal protection, continues to treat elective abortion as a fundamental constitutional right, though it has upheld as constitutionally permissible some limited restrictions on abortion. The President says that he wants to reduce the "need" for abortion - a commendable goal. But he has also pledged to make abortion more easily and widely available by eliminating laws prohibiting government funding, requiring waiting periods for women seeking abortions, and parental notification for abortions performed on minors. The elimination of these important and effective pro-life laws cannot reasonably be expected to do other than significantly increase the number of elective abortions by which the lives of countless children are snuffed out prior to birth. Our commitment to the sanctity of life is not a matter of partisan loyalty, for we recognize that in the thirty-six years since Roe v. Wade, elected officials and appointees of both major political parties have been complicit in giving legal sanction to what Pope John Paul II described as "the culture of death." We call on all officials in our country, elected and appointed, to protect and serve every member of our society, including the most marginalized, voiceless, and vulnerable among us.

A culture of death inevitably cheapens life in all its stages and conditions by promoting the belief that lives that are imperfect, immature or inconvenient are discardable. As predicted by many prescient persons, the cheapening of life that began with abortion has now metastasized. For example, human embryo-destructive research and its public funding are promoted in the name of science and in the cause of developing treatments and cures for diseases and injuries. The President and many in Congress favor the expansion of embryo-research to include the taxpayer funding of so-called "therapeutic cloning." This would result in the industrial mass production of human embryos to be killed for the purpose of producing genetically customized stem cell lines and tissues. At the other end of life, an increasingly powerful movement to promote assisted suicide and "voluntary" euthanasia threatens the lives of vulnerable elderly and disabled persons. Eugenic notions such as the doctrine of lebensunwertes Leben ("life unworthy of life") were first advanced in the 1920s by intellectuals in the elite salons of America and Europe. Long buried in ignominy after the horrors of the mid-20^th century, they have returned from the grave. The only difference is that now the doctrines of the eugenicists are dressed up in the language of "liberty," "autonomy," and "choice."

We will be united and untiring in our efforts to roll back the license to kill that began with the abandonment of the unborn to abortion. We will work, as we have always worked, to bring assistance, comfort, and care to pregnant women in need and to those who have been victimized by abortion, even as we stand resolutely against the corrupt and degrading notion that it can somehow be in the best interests of women to submit to the deliberate killing of their unborn children. Our message is, and ever shall be, that the just, humane, and truly Christian answer to problem pregnancies is for all of us to love and care for mother and child alike.

A truly prophetic Christian witness will insistently call on those who have been entrusted with temporal power to fulfill the first responsibility of government: to protect the weak and vulnerable against violent attack, and to do so with no favoritism, partiality, or discrimination. The Bible enjoins us to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to speak for those who cannot themselves speak. And so we defend and speak for the unborn, the disabled, and the dependent. What the Bible and the light of reason make clear, we must make clear. We must be willing to defend, even at risk and cost to ourselves and our institutions, the lives of our brothers and sisters at every stage of development and in every condition.

Our concern is not confined to our own nation. Around the globe, we are witnessing cases of genocide and "ethnic cleansing," the failure to assist those who are suffering as innocent victims of war, the neglect and abuse of children, the exploitation of vulnerable laborers, the sexual trafficking of girls and young women, the abandonment of the aged, racial oppression and discrimination, the persecution of believers of all faiths, and the failure to take steps necessary to halt the spread of preventable diseases like AIDS. We see these travesties as flowing from the same loss of the sense of the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life that drives the abortion industry and the movements for assisted suicide, euthanasia, and human cloning for biomedical research. And so ours is, as it must be, a truly consistent ethic of love and life for all humans in all circumstances.

Marriage
The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Genesis 2:23-24

This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:32-33

In Scripture, the creation of man and woman, and their one-flesh union as husband and wife, is the crowning achievement of God’s creation. In the transmission of life and the nurturing of children, men and women joined as spouses are given the great honor of being partners with God Himself. Marriage then, is the first institution of human society - indeed it is the institution on which all other human institutions have their foundation. In the Christian tradition we refer to marriage as "holy matrimony" to signal the fact that it is an institution ordained by God, and blessed by Christ in his participation at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. In the Bible, God Himself blesses and holds marriage in the highest esteem.

Vast human experience confirms that marriage is the original and most important institution for sustaining the health, education, and welfare of all persons in a society. Where marriage is honored, and where there is a flourishing marriage culture, everyone benefits - the spouses themselves, their children, the communities and societies in which they live. Where the marriage culture begins to erode, social pathologies of every sort quickly manifest themselves. Unfortunately, we have witnessed over the course of the past several decades a serious erosion of the marriage culture in our own country. Perhaps the most telling - and alarming - indicator is the out-of-wedlock birth rate. Less than fifty years ago, it was under 5 percent. Today it is over 40 percent. Our society - and particularly its poorest and most vulnerable sectors, where the out-of-wedlock birth rate is much higher even than the national average - is paying a huge price in delinquency, drug abuse, crime, incarceration, hopelessness, and despair. Other indicators are widespread non-marital sexual cohabitation and a devastatingly high rate of divorce.

We confess with sadness that Christians and our institutions have too often scandalously failed to uphold the institution of marriage and to model for the world the true meaning of marriage. Insofar as we have too easily embraced the culture of divorce and remained silent about social practices that undermine the dignity of marriage we repent, and call upon all Christians to do the same.

To strengthen families, we must stop glamorizing promiscuity and infidelity and restore among our people a sense of the profound beauty, mystery, and holiness of faithful marital love. We must reform ill-advised policies that contribute to the weakening of the institution of marriage, including the discredited idea of unilateral divorce. We must work in the legal, cultural, and religious domains to instill in young people a sound understanding of what marriage is, what it requires, and why it is worth the commitment and sacrifices that faithful spouses make.

The impulse to redefine marriage in order to recognize same-sex and multiple partner relationships is a symptom, rather than the cause, of the erosion of the marriage culture. It reflects a loss of understanding of the meaning of marriage as embodied in our civil and religious law and in the philosophical tradition that contributed to shaping the law. Yet it is critical that the impulse be resisted, for yielding to it would mean abandoning the possibility of restoring a sound understanding of marriage and, with it, the hope of rebuilding a healthy marriage culture. It would lock into place the false and destructive belief that marriage is all about romance and other adult satisfactions, and not, in any intrinsic way, about procreation and the unique character and value of acts and relationships whose meaning is shaped by their aptness for the generation, promotion and protection of life. In spousal communion and the rearing of children (who, as gifts of God, are the fruit of their parents’ marital love), we discover the profound reasons for and benefits of the marriage covenant.

We acknowledge that there are those who are disposed towards homosexual and polyamorous conduct and relationships, just as there are those who are disposed towards other forms of immoral conduct. We have compassion for those so disposed; we respect them as human beings possessing profound, inherent, and equal dignity; and we pay tribute to the men and women who strive, often with little assistance, to resist the temptation to yield to desires that they, no less than we, regard as wayward. We stand with them, even when they falter. We, no less than they, are sinners who have fallen short of God's intention for our lives. We, no less than they, are in constant need of God’s patience, love and forgiveness. We call on the entire Christian community to resist sexual immorality, and at the same time refrain from disdainful condemnation of those who yield to it. Our rejection of sin, though resolute, must never become the rejection of sinners. For every sinner, regardless of the sin, is loved by God, who seeks not our destruction but rather the conversion of our hearts. Jesus calls all who wander from the path of virtue to "a more excellent way." As his disciples we will reach out in love to assist all who hear the call and wish to answer it.

We further acknowledge that there are sincere people who disagree with us, and with the teaching of the Bible and Christian tradition, on questions of sexual morality and the nature of marriage. Some who enter into same-sex and polyamorous relationships no doubt regard their unions as truly marital. They fail to understand, however, that marriage is made possible by the sexual complementarity of man and woman, and that the comprehensive, multi-level sharing of life that marriage is includes bodily unity of the sort that unites husband and wife biologically as a reproductive unit. This is because the body is no mere extrinsic instrument of the human person, but truly part of the personal reality of the human being. Human beings are not merely centers of consciousness or emotion, or minds, or spirits, inhabiting non-personal bodies. The human person is a dynamic unity of body, mind, and spirit. Marriage is what one man and one woman establish when, forsaking all others and pledging lifelong commitment, they found a sharing of life at every level of being - the biological, the emotional, the dispositional, the rational, the spiritual - on a commitment that is sealed, completed and actualized by loving sexual intercourse in which the spouses become one flesh, not in some merely metaphorical sense, but by fulfilling together the behavioral conditions of procreation. That is why in the Christian tradition, and historically in Western law, consummated marriages are not dissoluble or annullable on the ground of infertility, even though the nature of the marital relationship is shaped and structured by its intrinsic orientation to the great good of procreation.

We understand that many of our fellow citizens, including some Christians, believe that the historic definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman is a denial of equality or civil rights. They wonder what to say in reply to the argument that asserts that no harm would be done to them or to anyone if the law of the community were to confer upon two men or two women who are living together in a sexual partnership the status of being "married." It would not, after all, affect their own marriages, would it? On inspection, however, the argument that laws governing one kind of marriage will not affect another cannot stand. Were it to prove anything, it would prove far too much: the assumption that the legal status of one set of marriage relationships affects no other would not only argue for same sex partnerships; it could be asserted with equal validity for polyamorous partnerships, polygamous households, even adult brothers, sisters, or brothers and sisters living in incestuous relationships. Should these, as a matter of equality or civil rights, be recognized as lawful marriages, and would they have no effects on other relationships? No. The truth is that marriage is not something abstract or neutral that the law may legitimately define and re-define to please those who are powerful and influential.

No one has a civil right to have a non-marital relationship treated as a marriage. Marriage is an objective reality - a covenantal union of husband and wife - that it is the duty of the law to recognize and support for the sake of justice and the common good. If it fails to do so, genuine social harms follow. First, the religious liberty of those for whom this is a matter of conscience is jeopardized. Second, the rights of parents are abused as family life and sex education programs in schools are used to teach children that an enlightened understanding recognizes as "marriages" sexual partnerships that many parents believe are intrinsically non-marital and immoral. Third, the common good of civil society is damaged when the law itself, in its critical pedagogical function, becomes a tool for eroding a sound understanding of marriage on which the flourishing of the marriage culture in any society vitally depends. Sadly, we are today far from having a thriving marriage culture. But if we are to begin the critically important process of reforming our laws and mores to rebuild such a culture, the last thing we can afford to do is to re-define marriage in such a way as to embody in our laws a false proclamation about what marriage is.

And so it is out of love (not "animus") and prudent concern for the common good (not "prejudice"), that we pledge to labor ceaselessly to preserve the legal definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman and to rebuild the marriage culture. How could we, as Christians, do otherwise? The Bible teaches us that marriage is a central part of God's creation covenant. Indeed, the union of husband and wife mirrors the bond between Christ and his church. And so just as Christ was willing, out of love, to give Himself up for the church in a complete sacrifice, we are willing, lovingly, to make whatever sacrifices are required of us for the sake of the inestimable treasure that is marriage.

Religious Liberty
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. Isaiah 61:1

Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. Matthew 22:21

The struggle for religious liberty across the centuries has been long and arduous, but it is not a novel idea or recent development. The nature of religious liberty is grounded in the character of God Himself, the God who is most fully known in the life and work of Jesus Christ. Determined to follow Jesus faithfully in life and death, the early Christians appealed to the manner in which the Incarnation had taken place: "Did God send Christ, as some suppose, as a tyrant brandishing fear and terror? Not so, but in gentleness and meekness..., for compulsion is no attribute of God" (Epistle to Diognetus 7.3-4). Thus the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the example of Christ Himself and in the very dignity of the human person created in the image of God - a dignity, as our founders proclaimed, inherent in every human, and knowable by all in the exercise of right reason.

Christians confess that God alone is Lord of the conscience. Immunity from religious coercion is the cornerstone of an unconstrained conscience. No one should be compelled to embrace any religion against his will, nor should persons of faith be forbidden to worship God according to the dictates of conscience or to express freely and publicly their deeply held religious convictions. What is true for individuals applies to religious communities as well.

It is ironic that those who today assert a right to kill the unborn, aged and disabled and also a right to engage in immoral sexual practices, and even a right to have relationships integrated around these practices be recognized and blessed by law - such persons claiming these "rights" are very often in the vanguard of those who would trample upon the freedom of others to express their religious and moral commitments to the sanctity of life and to the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife.

We see this, for example, in the effort to weaken or eliminate conscience clauses, and therefore to compel pro-life institutions (including religiously affiliated hospitals and clinics), and pro-life physicians, surgeons, nurses, and other health care professionals, to refer for abortions and, in certain cases, even to perform or participate in abortions. We see it in the use of anti-discrimination statutes to force religious institutions, businesses, and service providers of various sorts to comply with activities they judge to be deeply immoral or go out of business. After the judicial imposition of "same-sex marriage" in Massachusetts, for example, Catholic Charities chose with great reluctance to end its century-long work of helping to place orphaned children in good homes rather than comply with a legal mandate that it place children in same-sex households in violation of Catholic moral teaching. In New Jersey, after the establishment of a quasi-marital "civil unions" scheme, a Methodist institution was stripped of its tax exempt status when it declined, as a matter of religious conscience, to permit a facility it owned and operated to be used for ceremonies blessing homosexual unions. In Canada and some European nations, Christian clergy have been prosecuted for preaching Biblical norms against the practice of homosexuality. New hate-crime laws in America raise the specter of the same practice here.

In recent decades a growing body of case law has paralleled the decline in respect for religious values in the media, the academy and political leadership, resulting in restrictions on the free exercise of religion. We view this as an ominous development, not only because of its threat to the individual liberty guaranteed to every person, regardless of his or her faith, but because the trend also threatens the common welfare and the culture of freedom on which our system of republican government is founded. Restrictions on the freedom of conscience or the ability to hire people of one's own faith or conscientious moral convictions for religious institutions, for example, undermines the viability of the intermediate structures of society, the essential buffer against the overweening authority of the state, resulting in the soft despotism Tocqueville so prophetically warned of.¹ Disintegration of civil society is a prelude to tyranny.

As Christians, we take seriously the Biblical admonition to respect and obey those in authority. We believe in law and in the rule of law. We recognize the duty to comply with laws whether we happen to like them or not, unless the laws are gravely unjust or require those subject to them to do something unjust or otherwise immoral. The biblical purpose of law is to preserve order and serve justice and the common good; yet laws that are unjust - and especially laws that purport to compel citizens to do what is unjust - undermine the common good, rather than serve it.

Going back to the earliest days of the church, Christians have refused to compromise their proclamation of the gospel. In Acts 4, Peter and John were ordered to stop preaching. Their answer was, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." Through the centuries, Christianity has taught that civil disobedience is not only permitted, but sometimes required. There is no more eloquent defense of the rights and duties of religious conscience than the one offered by Martin Luther King, Jr., in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Writing from an explicitly Christian perspective, and citing Christian writers such as Augustine and Aquinas, King taught that just laws elevate and ennoble human beings because they are rooted in the moral law whose ultimate source is God Himself. Unjust laws degrade human beings. Inasmuch as they can claim no authority beyond sheer human will, they lack any power to bind in conscience. King's willingness to go to jail, rather than comply with legal injustice, was exemplary and inspiring.

Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God's.

¹Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Drafting Committee

Robert George
Professor, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University
Timothy George
Professor, Beeson Divinity School, Samford  University
Chuck Colson
Founder, The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview (Lansdowne, Va.)

Signers (as of November 19, 2009)

Dr. Daniel Akin
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Wake Forest, N.C.)
Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola
Primate, Anglican Church of Nigeria (Abika, Nigeria)
Randy Alcorn
Founder and Director, Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM) (Sandy, Ore.)
Rt. Rev. David Anderson
President and CEO, American Anglican Council (Atlanta)
Leith Anderson
President of National Association of Evangelicals (Washington, D.C.)
Charlotte K. Ardizzone
TV Show Host and Speaker, INSP Television (Charlotte, N.C.)
Kay Arthur
CEO and Co-founder, Precept Ministries International (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Dr. Mark L. Bailey
President, Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas)
Most Rev. Craig W. Bates
Archbishop, International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (Malverne, N.Y.)
Gary Bauer
President, American Values; Chairman, Campaign for Working Families
His Grace, The Right Reverend Bishop Basil Essey
The Right Reverend Bishop of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America (Wichita, Kan.)
Joel Belz
Founder, World Magazine (Asheville, N.C.)
Rev. Michael L. Beresford
Managing Director of Church Relations, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (Charlotte, N.C.)
Ken Boa
President, Reflections Ministries (Atlanta)
Joseph Bottum
Editor of First Things (New York)
Pastor Randy & Sarah Brannon
Senior Pastor, Grace Community Church (Madera, Calif.)
Steve Brown
National Radio Broadcaster, Key Life (Maitland, Fla.)
Dr. Robert C. Cannada, Jr.
Chancellor and CEO, Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando, Fla.)
Galen Carey
Director of Government Affairs, National Association of Evangelicals (Washington, D.C.)
Dr. Bryan Chapell
President, Covenant Theological Seminary (St. Louis)
Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput
Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver
Timothy Clinton
President, American Association of Christian Counselors (Forest, Va.)
Chuck Colson
Founder, The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview (Lansdowne, Va.)
Most Rev. Salvatore Joseph Cordileone
Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, Calif.
Dr. Gary Culpepper
Associate Professor, Providence College (Providence, R.I.)
Jim Daly
President and CEO, Focus on the Family (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Marjorie Dannenfelser
President, Susan B. Anthony List (Arlington, Va.)
Rev. Daniel Delgado
Board of Directors, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Pastor, Third Day Missions Church (Staten Island, N.Y.)
Patrick J. Deneen
Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis Associate Professor and Director, The Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy, Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.)
Dr. James Dobson
Founder, Focus on the Family (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Dr. David Dockery
President, Union University (Jackson, Tenn.)
Most Rev. Timothy Dolan
Archbishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of New York, N.Y.
Dr. William Donohue
President, Catholic League (New York)
Dr. James T. Draper, Jr.
President Emeritus, LifeWay (Nashville, Tenn.)
Dinesh D'Souza
Writer and Speaker (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)
Most Rev. Robert Wm. Duncan
Archbishop and Primate, Anglican Church in North America (Ambridge, Pa. )
Dr. Michael Easley
President Emeritus, Moody Bible Institute (Chicago)
Dr. William Edgar
Professor, Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia)
Brett Elder
Executive Director, Stewardship Council (Grand Rapids, Mich.
Rev. Joel Elowsky
Drew University (Madison, N.J.)
Stuart Epperson
Co-Founder and Chariman of the Board, Salem Communications Corporation (Camarillo, Calif.)
Rev. Jonathan Falwell
Senior Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church (Lynchburg, Va.)
William J. Federer
President, Amerisearch, Inc. (St. Louis)
Fr. Joseph D. Fessio
Founder and Editor, Ignatius Press (Ft. Collins, Colo.)
Carmen Fowler
President and Executive Editor, Presbyterian Lay Committee (Lenoir, N.C.)
Maggie Gallagher
President, National Organization for Marriage (Manassas, Va.)
Dr. Jim Garlow
Senior Pastor, Skyline Church (La Mesa, Calif.)
Steven Garofalo
Senior Consultant, Search and Assessment Services (Charlotte, N.C.)
Dr. Robert P. George
McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University (Princeton, N.J.)
Dr. Timothy George
Dean and Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School at Samford University (Birmingham, Ala.)
Thomas Gilson
Director of Strategic Processes, Campus Crusade for Christ International (Norfolk, Va.)
Dr. Jack Graham
Pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church (Plano, Texas)
Dr. Wayne Grudem
Research Professor of Theological and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary (Phoenix)
Dr. Cornell "Corkie" Haan
National Facilitator of Spiritual Unity, The Mission America Coalition (Palm Desert, Calif.)
Fr. Chad Hatfield
Chancellor, CEO and Archpriest, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Yonkers, N.Y.)
Dr. Dennis Hollinger
President and Professor of Christian Ethics, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton, Mass.)
Dr. Jeanette Hsieh
Executive Vice President and Provost, Trinity International University (Deerfield, Ill.)
Dr. John A. Huffman, Jr.
Senior Pastor, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church (Newport Beach, Calif.); Chairman of the Board, Christianity Today International (Carol Stream, Ill.)
Rev. Ken Hutcherson
Pastor, Antioch Bible Church (Kirkland, Wash.)
Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr.
Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church (Beltsville, Md.)
Fr. Johannes L. Jacobse
President, American Orthodox Institute; Editor, OrthodoxyToday.org (Naples, Fla.)
Jerry Jenkins
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Moody Bible Institute (Black Forest, Colo.)
Camille Kampouris
Editorial Board, Kairos Journal
Emmanuel A. Kampouris
Publisher, Kairos Journal
Rev. Tim Keller
Senior Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York)
Dr. Peter Kreeft
Professor of Philosophy, Boston College (Mass.) and at the Kings College (N.Y.)
Most Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz
Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky.
Jim Kushiner
Editor, Touchstone (Chicago)
Dr. Richard Land
President, The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC (Washington, D.C.)
Jim Law
Senior Associate Pastor, First Baptist Church (Woodstock, Ga.)
Dr. Matthew Levering
Associate Professor of Theology, Ave Maria University (Naples, Fla.)
Dr. Peter Lillback
President, The Providence Forum (West Conshohocken, Pa.)
Dr. Duane Litfin
President, Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.)
Rev. Herb Lusk
Pastor, Greater Exodus Baptist Church (Philadelphia)
His Eminence Adam Cardinal Maida
Archbishop Emeritus, Roman Catholic Diocese of Detroit
Most Rev. Richard J. Malone
Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Maine
Rev. Francis Martin
Professor of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Heart Major Seminary (Detroit)
Dr. Joseph Mattera
Bishop and Senior Pastor, Resurrection Church (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Phil Maxwell
Pastor, Gateway Church (Bridgewater, N.J.)
Josh McDowell
Founder, Josh McDowell Ministries (Plano, Texas)
Alex McFarland
President, Southern Evangelical Seminary (Charlotte, N.C.)
Most Rev. George Dallas McKinney
Bishop, Founder and Pastor, St. Stephen's Church of God in Christ (San Diego)
Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns
Missionary Bishop, Convocation of Anglicans of North America (Herndon, Va.)
Dr. C. Ben Mitchell
Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University (Jackson, Tenn.)
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Ky.)
Dr. Russell D. Moore
Senior Vice President for Academic Administration and Dean of the School of Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Ky.)
Most Rev. John J. Myers
Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, N.J.
Most Rev. Joseph F. Naumann
Archbishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City, Kan.
David Neff
Editor-in-Chief, Christianity Today (Carol Stream, Ill.)
Tom Nelson
Senior Pastor, Christ Community Evangelical Free Church (Leawood, Kan.)
Niel Nielson
President, Covenant College (Lookout Mt., Ga.)
Most Rev. John Nienstedt
Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Dr. Tom Oden
Theologian, United Methodist Minister; Professor, Drew University (Madison, N.J.)
Marvin Olasky
Editor-in-Chief, World Magazine; Provost, The Kings College (New York)
Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted
Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix
Rev. William Owens
Chairman, Coalition of African-American Pastors (Memphis, Tenn.)
Dr. J.I. Packer
Board of Governors' Professor of Theology, Regent College (Canada)
Metr. Jonah Paffhausen
Primate, Orthodox Church in America (Syosset, N.Y.)
Tony Perkins
President, Family Research Council (Washington, D.C.)
Eric M. Pillmore
CEO, Pillmore Consulting LLC (Doylestown, Pa.)
Dr. Everett Piper
President, Oklahoma Wesleyan University (Bartlesville, Okla.)
Todd Pitner
President, Rev Increase
Dr. Cornelius Plantinga
President, Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Dr. David Platt
Pastor, Church at Brook Hills (Birmingham, Ala.)
Rev. Jim Pocock
Pastor, Trinitarian Congregational Church (Wayland, Mass.)
Fred Potter
Executive Director and CEO, Christian Legal Society (Springfield, Va.)
Dennis Rainey
President, CEO, and Co-Founder, FamilyLife (Little Rock, Ark.)
Fr. Patrick Reardon
Pastor, All Saints' Antiochian Orthodox Church (Chicago)
Bob Reccord
Founder, Total Life Impact, Inc. (Suwanee, Ga.)
His Eminence Justin Cardinal Rigali
Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Frank Schubert
President, Schubert Flint Public Affairs (Sacramento, Calif.)
David Schuringa
President, Crossroads Bible Institute (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Tricia Scribner
Author (Harrisburg, N.C.)
Dr. Dave Seaford
Senior Pastor, Community Fellowship Church (Matthews, N.C.)
Alan Sears
President, CEO, and General Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Randy Setzer
Senior Pastor, Macedonia Baptist Church (Lincolnton, N.C.)
Most Rev. Michael J. Sheridan
Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Dr. Ron Sider
Director, Evangelicals for Social Action (Wynnewood, Pa.)
Fr. Robert Sirico
Founder, Acton Institute (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Dr. Robert Sloan
President, Houston Baptist University (Houston)
Charles Stetson
Chairman of the Board, Bible Literacy Project (New York)
Dr. David Stevens
CEO, Christian Medical and Dental Association (Bristol, Tenn.)
John Stonestreet
Executive Director, Summit Ministries (Manitou Springs, Colo.)
Dr. Joseph Stowell
President, Cornerstone University (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
Dr. Sarah Sumner
Professor of Theology and Ministry, Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, Calif.)
Dr. Glenn Sunshine
Chairman of the History Department, Central Connecticut State University (New Britain, Conn.)
Joni Eareckson Tada
Founder and CEO, Joni and Friends International Disability Center (Agoura Hills, Calif.)
Luiz Tellez
President, The Witherspoon Institute (Princeton, N.J.)
Dr. Timothy C. Tennent
President, Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, Ky.)
Michael Timmis
Chairman, Prison Fellowship and Prison Fellowship International (Naples, Fla.)
Mark Tooley
President, Institute for Religion and Democracy (Washington, D.C.)
H. James Towey
President, St. Vincent College (Latrobe, Pa.)
Juan Valdes
Middle and High School Chaplain, Florida Christian School (Miami, Fla.)
Todd Wagner
Pastor, WaterMark Community Church (Dallas)
Dr. Graham Walker
President, Patrick Henry College (Purcellville, Va.)
Fr. Alexander F. C. Webster, Ph.D.
Archpriest, Orthodox Church in America; Professorial Lecturer, The George Washington University (Ashburn, Va.)
George Weigel
Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center (Washington, D.C.)
David Welch
Houston Area Pastor Council Executive Director, US Pastors Council (Houston)
Dr. James Emery White
Founding and Senior Pastor, Mecklenburg Community Church (Charlotte, N.C.)
Dr. Hayes Wicker
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church (Naples, Fla.)
Mark Williamson
Founder and President, Foundation Restoration Ministries/Federal Intercessors (Katy, Texas)
Parker T. Williamson
Editor Emeritus and Senior Correspondent, Presbyterian Lay Committee
Dr. Craig Williford
President, Trinity International University (Deerfield, Ill.)
Dr. John Woodbridge
Research Professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, Ill.)
Don M. Woodside
Performance Matters Associates (Matthews, N.C.)
Dr. Frank Wright
President, National Religious Broadcasters (Manassas, Va.)
Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl
Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
Paul Young
COO and Executive Vice President, Christian Research Institute (Charlotte, N.C.)
Dr. Michael Youssef
President, Leading the Way (Atlanta)
Ravi Zacharias
Founder and Chairman of the Board, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (Norcross, Ga.)
Most Rev. David A. Zubik
Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
James R. Thobaben, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor, Bioethics and Social Ethics, Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, Ky.)

Relived

2009-11-19T12:15:00.000-03:00

I’m amazed

Astonished

Overwhelmed

At the love of God

Redeeming love

Rewarding love

Reuniting love

Filling love

Overflowing love

Releasing love

Returning love

Rebuilding love

Renewing love

Fulfilling love

I’m amazed

At the love of God

Expressed in the story Divine by Karen Kingsbury – a true story if I ever heard one. A true story of the miracles of God and his true presence in the life of people that may not be real but represent a million, a billion, a trillion real ones.

Thank you, Lord. For this book. And for Karen Kingsbury. For redeeming her. And for showing me what you want to do through me, in me, what you have for me – the greatest adventure of all – this next year.

The main character of the book, Mary Madison, has been through unspeakable horrors, something like Mary Magdalene must have once gone through. And like Mary Magdalene, a real woman, and all the other woman in Christ’s story, she found the redeeming, renewing, releasing, reliving love of Christ. The only one that can set any of us free. That’s what I want to do. I want to introduce people to this love, the love of Christ. The love that sets us all free.

I am going to set up a home. A shelter. For anyone who needs it. Anyone who is beat, broken, damaged, unloved. Anyone who wants a place, who needs a loving context, somewhere to heal. I am overwhelmed. This work will be draining, but rich. Richer than anything else I could do and more fulfilling. I will wait with open arms for anyone who needs to come. And through me, Christ will show his love and the glory of a heart fully alive. Through me, He will show who He is and how He came to set people free. I am so excited. What better dream, thought, plan, could I have. I knew somehow, deep in my heart, ever since the Lord spoke to me during the Sepal retreat at the end of October, that he had something more for me than a secular job – something deeper, richer, fuller. “Rachel”, he asked me, “Will you do absolutely anything I ask?” Yes, Lord, yes I will. With joy, with pleasure. Because you are the only one who can and does set me free. Thank you, Jesus, for the privilege of serving you. For the privilege of being part of your plan. For the privilege of working in other people’s lives the way you work in mine.

And meanwhile… I can’t recommend this book highly enough to anyone who wants to find a new sense of purpose and fulfillment: Divine by Karen Kingsbury.

Love you all.

Rachel

P.S. If you want to join me in this work, through prayer, power, giving and grace, it will be more than welcome. I need all the help I can get.

P.S.S. It looks like I won’t be leaving Sepal anytime too soon after all.

Thank you for all your love and giving and all of you who have believed in me. In love and grace, Rachel

I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed

2009-11-12T10:28:00.001-03:00

This poem was quoted a lot when I was a teenager, but I have not heard it recently and its worth ressurrecting:

I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit
Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has
been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow
down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight
walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,
mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted,
or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of
mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed
up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop,
preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My
colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)

By Dr. Bob Moorehead

An hour and 25 minutes in the Kornfield-Brazil household

2009-11-09T13:47:00.000-03:00

1:45PM - I'm hungry. Time for lunch. Dad isn't eating lunch today because he had breakfast, which he doesn't usually do. I usually eat around 1:00, but I had breakfast late, so here I am. I finish a couple e-mails, send a couple of chat messages to friends who have gotten in touch letting them know I'm leaving for a bit, glance at my messy desk. The blue-glass cross I bought at a friend's garage sale yesterday is waiting to go up in the guest room. I go to look for nails. Find that the place I want to put it is hard cement and my feeble attempts with a hammer aren't going to cut it. Call my Dad. He says we'll have to use the electric drill to make the holes. I offer to have the pedreiro (Brazilian construction professional who usually works independently and is contracted and paid informally) do it next time he's here (he has several jobs pending for us). My dad sighs with relief. I just need to remember to call Manoel, the pedreiro, and find out where he's been. Lunch! I head to the kitchen. 2:15

I pop some left-overs in the microwave. While its heating, I start putting Brazilian tea bags in the "new" tea box I got at the garage sale. They don't have names on them individually, so I cut out pieces of the boxes in which they came to identify each kind. Food's hot. Just need to run to the bathroom and get my novel from upstairs. Reading during lunch sounds nice - relaxing. There are a bunch of things from the garage sale waiting on the stairs to be taken up, though. I grab an armful on the way and put them away in their respectful spots. Then, having taken care of my other business, I head back downstairs. Food's cold. 2:23.

I turn on the microwave again and remember I wanted to ask my dad if he's up for paying for fixing a couple of pieces of wooden furniture in our house that have fallen into disrepair. "Sure!" he says. I just need to remember to go up to the top of the street sometime and ask someone from the carpenter shop to give me a quote. Of course, all my neighbors say that shop is ridiculously expensive. Maybe they'll give me a break... besides, I don't know any other wood-workers. Of course, my neighbors probably do. If the people at the top of the street are expensive, I'll have to ask around. Geogea (the lady from down the street who comes to clean once a week, a good friend who is spiritually hungry and has started going to church with me, also the mother of 5 darlings ages 11 months to 11 years that continually bring me great joy) might know someone.

Meanwhile, my dad is counting his book stores (he constantly takes his books, my mom's books and other books he especially likes from Christian editors with which he has partnerships to sell at events). I remember that I've pulled several books out of the "books for sale" bookshelf in the family room (near the office) because people were asking me about them and I wanted to provide details. I go and get them. My dad sighs - he'll have to change some of his numbers. "Rachel, didn't we have more of this one?" "Yes, they're in a row behind the one's you're looking at." "No they're not, I don't see them!" "Yes they are, they're just lying down so that they could hold other's up." "Well, you can't put them lying down, I can't see them that way." "OK, Dad, next time I won't." Back to the kitchen. 2:28. Hungry! Miraculously the food is still hot. Yum. Finished off with delicious Brazilian coffee. 2:42. Time to go write the post I made up in my head during lunch. That novel never got opened. 3:10 PM, Monday, Nov. 9th.

Wonderful Christian paradoxes

2009-11-06T10:44:00.001-03:00

Have you ever found it refreshing to just sit down and write about wondeful things? Well, here's a few I've been thinking about recently :).

Wonderful Christian paradoxes:

Unchanging mercy that is new every morning

Sovereign God who knows exactly what is best for me and gives me complete freedom to do His will :)

Love that never changes, that is angry at injustice and intolerant of sinful pride

Truth-telling humility that is more bold than any anger, obstinacy, obsession or haughtiness.

A beautiful God of anger, of love and of truth.

Discovery and bewilderment hand in hand - love.

One hundred percent concern for the here and now and for the hereafter.

Dealing with day to day details while focusing on the splendor and eternity of Christ and his coming.

What else... add your own!

Love,

Rachel

2009-10-02T08:03:00.000-04:00

Wow... its been almost a year since I posted. I've discovered that if I don't do it right when the inspiration hits, no matter how much else is happening, it doesn't happen. Well, the current inspiration is that of two songs by Keith and Kristyn Getty that have meant a lot to me recently. I wonder if its possible to attach MP3s here? Hmm, not that I can figure out. If anyone knows how, I'd love to learn!

Don't Let Me Lose My Wonder

I've seen days melt into nights in circles of lights,
I've watched a spider spin a star between the window box flowers,
I've heard you laugh and cry in a single sigh, and a story form within.

Don't let me lose my wonder.
Don't let me lose my wonder.

I saw her broken dreams inside but helping others fly,
I saw his eyes without a doubt though other lights faded out,
And though her calling roared such graciousness flowed
From the vision of her soul.

A baby cried through the dark beneath a jeweled spark,
I knew Your voice upon the hill and heard my lostness still,
I found my home in the light where wrong was made right
And You rose like the morning star.

Ah, the one below exists on youtube, although the recording on the "In Christ Alone" CD is better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fodnd3fE4mQ

Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer

Jesus draw me ever nearer

As I labour through the storm.
You have called me to this passage,
and I'll follow, though I'm worn.

May this journey bring a blessing,
May I rise on wings of faith;
And at the end of my heart's testing,
With Your likeness let me wake.

Jesus guide me through the tempest;
Keep my spirit staid and sure.
When the midnight meets the morning,
Let me love You even more.

Let the treasures of the trial
Form within me as I go -
And at the end of this long passage,
Let me leave them at Your throne.

Keith and Kristyn Getty are also the authors of "In Christ Alone" and countless other beautiful and faith-building songs which I highly recommend.

Blessings,

Rachel

2008-12-02T23:38:00.000-03:00

Karis got out of the hospital today! Hurray!!! So much new life.

2008-11-26T14:12:00.000-03:00

Gosh. I'm exhausted. in an odd way. emotionally, i suppose. not so much that i can't deal with what is going on in my family. just enough that i can't deal with much else. i guess i have to accept that for now. later, everyone.

2008-09-26T17:22:00.000-04:00

Hey folks!

Since I've started sending out monthly prayer/news letters by e-mail, I'm going to start using this blog for more of what most people use blogs for - thoughts, prayers, feelings, recollections - and not so much just for ministry stuff. If you are interested in receiving my prayer letters, though, please let me know at rachel.kornfield@gmail.com.

Right now, I'm feeling a little tired. Pretty soon I need to go get dinner ready because 5 people from my dad's ministry team are visiting this weekend for a retreat. It's been a good day, a lot going on, good conv. w/ my mom. It's been hard recently finding time to get together with my discipleship/mentoring group. I need to work on that. I've also been working on getting a doctor's apointment scheduled... I haven't been to a doctor for... um... years and my mentoring group has been getting after me about getting a general check-up. Nothing's wrong as far as I can tell, but I suppose it's a good thing to do occasionally.

It's funny how fun and tiring it is at the same time to have my dad's ministry team here. I love them - they're wonderful people - but it's a lot of work hosting them... although I shouldn't complain, I haven't done hardly any of the cooking or cleaning these last days - we've paid someone to help. Maybe it's just the fact that it is a lot of people :). Sometimes I'm such an intravert, but I also don't like living alone. Go figure...

Anyway, this is short, just to get me going on blogging again.

Love,

Rachel

2008-07-30T11:03:00.000-04:00

Dear friends,

I'm sorry it has been so long since I have written! Things here in Brazil are pretty crazy buzy, but going well! Many of you received the intercessors e-mail I sent out, letting you know I was preparing for another Promifé (for more information about what that is, see my January post)! Well I'm back! Here's the news:

It was a wonderful week. It is always exciting to see a group of people passionately seeking God and His will together. With a record 215 participants, we were able, for the first time, to create three distinct evangelism groups, focusing on different sections of the city of Santa Rita do Passa Quatro. I had the privilege of co-leading one of these groups.

The city of Santa Rita has a population of about 26,000 residents. We quickly discovered some of the challenges the town faces: strong Spiritist and Catholic populations; high rates of drug and alcohol addiction; and one of the highest suicide rates in Brazil today. According to Moody Bible Institute, Spiritism is the, “science, philosophy and religion of continuous life, based upon the demonstrated fact of communication, by means of mediumship, with those who live by the spirit world.”[i] As Christians, we know that there are only three type of spirits active in our world: angels, demons, and God’s Holy Spirit. Brazilian spiritism, one of the most prevalent religions in this country, opens people directly to be possessed, oppressed and used by demons. I believe it is due to the prominence of this religion, more than anything else, that spiritual warfare is such a blatant part of Brazilian reality. Unfortunately, Brazilian Catholicism has merged with Spiritism to the point where involvement with one often signifies involvement with the other. Santa Rita contains one of the largest Spiritist centers of Brazil, which is visited by people seeking help from the world-over. Visible spiritual warfare occurred during our week there, but God used the situation to reassure us of His power and strengthen our dedication to Him.

So what did God accomplish through our week in Santa Rita?

1) We were able to have significant conversations with adults and young people in 353 different homes in the city, bringing words of hope and purpose through the Gospel. As a result of this door to door work and the mass evangelism in the evening, 356 people accepted Christ. Many more were prayed for and encouraged in their spiritual walk.
2) We organized a VBS that reached 475 children, 425 of which accepted Christ.
3) The evangelical churches of Santa Rita grew in unity through our example (the 215 Promifé participants represent at least 15 churches and 4 denominations), thus being strengthened and equipped to better face the challenges of their city.
4) Twenty-seven evangelical pastors and leaders from the town received encouragement and strengthening twice during the week through afternoons of leadership training.
5)A council of pastors from 7 different churches in the town agreed to participate in the follow-up work with those who were saved or were considering a decision.
6) Over-all around 2000 people heard the Gospel, and 781 children and adults accepted Christ!!!
This is such a tiny summary of what God did, but unfortunately, to tell you about all of it would take weeks! Thank you for your prayers, and praise God for His good works! I would be happy to answer any questions - just write me at rachel.kornfield@gmail.com.

Blessings,
Rachel

[i] Taken from the pamphlet The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error, compiled by Keith L. Brooks and revised by Irvine Robertson; published by Moody Bible Institute in 1976.

2008-05-30T17:03:00.000-04:00

Hi friends!

I'm safely back in São Paulo after an eventful three weeks in the US. During that time, I got to:

1. See several friends graduate from Wheaton College
2. Celebrate my sister Karis' graduation from Notre Dame
3. See my mom and sisters' summer apartment in Pittsburgh
4. See my brother's new job location and apartment in DC, and hang out with his girlfriend (whom I hadn't met before)
5. Hang out with various friends and supporters in the Chicago area
6. Do a "Brazil Night" - an evening of sharing about my ministry, and providing yummy Brazilian snacks - in the Chicago area. If you're interested in seeing the power point I presented at this even - with lots of pictures - please let me know! rachel.kornfield@gmail.com Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to attach it to this blog.

Thanks to all of you who contributed to this special time!

Monday my dad and I leave for his yearly "dream team retreat."

Blessings to you all!

Rachel

Plans for these next few months

2008-04-10T12:33:00.000-04:00

So... I just wrote an update about this last week (if you haven't read it, you should!), and now I should write one about the future, because a lot is coming up!

This month is the calm before the storm, although it's not feeling very calm. Being gone from daily activities for a week leaves one with a lot to catch up on!

Here's my schedule for the next few months (TAKE A DEEP BREATH... and plunge):

May 5-8 - helping put on the Sepal Annual Congress - an event that serves over 1000 Brazilian pastors and leaders
May 9-29 - in the US for Karis' graduation and support raising! I'd love to see any of you who live in the Wheaton, South Bend, or DC area!
June 2-6 - participating in a major MAPI planning retreat known as the "Retreat of Dreams"
July 12-20 - Promifé!
July 22 -Aug. 8 - back in the US with my family (probably. My parents will both be there living with Karis and Val in Pittsburgh while Karis recuperates from hip replacement surgery. Our house in São Paulo becomes a lonely place with them gone!)
Aug. 9 - 16 - in Guatemala to celebrate the publication of the Ixil New Testament, the completion of my grandfather's life project
The rest of Aug - not sure yet whether I'll be in the US or Brazil
September - if all goes according to plan, back in Brazil for another 10 months of missionary service - pray with me about continuing to support me during that time!

Meanwhile, back here in São Paulo, my involvement with ministry continues... even from afar I will be:

Writing studies for the teenagers' small group for my church
Working on the MAPI website
Working for the Sepal digital department

Technology does amazing things. Unfortunately, while I'm away I will not be able to:

Actually participate in the teenagers' small group
Participate in CEVAP
Participate in the structuring of the youth ministry at my church

God has already begun to provide people to take my place in these ministries while I'm gone. Pray that he would continue to provide and consolidate their participation. Pray also for his grace amidst a rather hectic and crazy schedule - that I might truly be able to enjoy and be fully present at each place while I am there. In the end, of course, we can make whatever plans we want, but God decides what will actually happen! I trust him to guide me day by day, week by week, and month by month.

God bless each of you!

Rachel

Last week in a São Paulo slum

2008-04-10T11:47:00.000-04:00

Hi friends!

I figured I should tell you about last week, because it was a pretty unusual, big event! I spent Mon-Fri in the Northern end of my city (about an hour and a half drive from where I live in the Southern end) helping to translate for a short-term mission's team from South Dakota! The trip was organized by one of my Sepal team members, Val Gill. It was a cool experience - seeing the way God is working through a church/preschool in one of the poorest neighborhood's in São Paulo, and being able to contribute to something that was blessing them! The church (which is actually still in the construction phase) looks out over a slum and a group of government high rises that were built several years ago to replace a lot of the slum shacks. It was sad and sobering to get to know more about people's lives in that area, but here are some things God has been doing:

1. When the church opened the preschool in 2000, there was an average of three shoot-outs a day in the immediate vicinity. Kids and parents would often barely escape them on the way to or from the school. The church began to pray that God would bring "peace that passes all understanding" to the neighborhood, and one day a whole set of undercover police men showed up and managed to take away most of the gang members. Since then, the whole area has been much safer.

2. A huge fire destroyed most of the slum a few years ago. Hundreds of people were left homeless, and the church provided them with food, shelter, and hope. As a result of that occurrence, and the continual services the church/preschool provide to the area, all those involved are held in high respect in a neighborhood where respect even for your own family is relatively rare.

3. The preschool was originally happening in three small houses on a plot of land donated by a friend of the pastor's. However, the buildings were barely functional. Through old business associates, the pastor has gained grant after grant allowing them to tear down the old buildings and create new church and classroom space. They went into the project without a cent to their name, and God has already provided several million reais (Brazilian currency - currently a real is worth about 50 cents). And get this - none of the donators are Christians! While we were there, the vice-consul of the Japanese embassy here in São Paulo visited to see what the project was like and make a final decision about whether to donate all of the furniture necessary for the church and school, including a couple rooms of triple bunkbeds for visitors.

4. The leadership of the project discovered that if they provided full scholarships for kids to go to the pre-school, people did not respect what they were being offered. But if they charged SOMETHING - be it R$ (reais) 50, or some labor at the school or on the construction project, each month, people began to take what they were offering seriously and really appreciate it. This has once again created relationships of dignity and respect between those who work at the school/church and the neighborhood.

5. A little boy at the preschool was born with a huge head and a tiny, malfunctioning body. One day, God told one of the workers at the school that he wanted to heal the boy. They prayed for him, and he was completely healed. I got to meet and play with the little boy. If you saw him today you would never know there had ever been anything wrong with him.

These are just a FEW of the miraculous stories we heard about the way God is working in that neighborhood. As I studied sociology at Wheaton, we talked often about how the coming of God's Kingdom transforms not only individuals, but the context in which they live. I never before had seen this reality in such dramatic, clear ways as I did last week. May God's name be ever praised, His will be done, His Kingdom come.

I pray that all of us would turn to God when circumstances are beyond us, and as a result, be able to rejoice in the work He does.

This last weekend

2008-03-23T19:44:00.000-04:00

Oh, here's a little piece about how I spent my weekend:

Friday (a national holiday because it was Good Friday) the youth group from my church headed to a small city (Atibaia) about an hour and a half away to hang out with the youth from a church there for a couple days. We scaled a huge hill (1450 meters high... um... just over 4757 feet) up to the top of a huge rock (known as Pedra Grande in Portuguese) and went rapelling! It was a first for most of the teenagers, and it was fun to be there to take pictures, and remind them that they weren't going to die in the process of trying it (I could speak with some confidence because I've been once before - about six years ago, down a waterfall)! I went again of course... although as I started stepping over the edge of the rock I wondered if I it was such a good idea after all... but I couldn't not do it after the confidence I had shown for everyone else!

After a slippery course down the mountain, we spent Friday night and the day Saturday with the Atibaia youth at a small, beautiful campground that included a swimming pool, a soccer field, a small zoo, and amazing food! It was tons of fun, although after hiking most of the day the day Friday, I was rather exhausted by half-way through Saturday! We had a lovely Saturday night service at the campgrounds before heading home that evening.

And that takes me into my reflections on Easter, which are in the next post!

He is risen!

2008-03-23T18:40:00.000-04:00

It's a calm Sunday night, and I figured I'd write a post for those of you who enjoy the more rambly pieces over the more official "this is what's going on with the ministry" news.

My mom is home, and I'm enjoying it immensely - only praying it will last. Karis is doing ok (well, sort of), other than the continual struggle of keeping up with school work and the increasing pain in her hip. I'm chatting with Valerie on-line in between writing this, and listening to some music from a cd that three college friends of hers sang for - http://cdbaby.com/cd/ypjfvc3 - it's good stuff! She got to be a part of a small invitation-only audience that heard it recorded live this weekend. Dan is doing well at his new job and learning a lot, as well as being supportive of his girlfriend's horse training profession.

It's Easter folks! How strange to spend Easter in a Baptist church who celebrates it through nothing more than special sermons on Sunday, after spending my last few Easters in Anglican churches that go all out to make it the spiritual highlight of the year! During college, I got into starting my spiritual preparation 40 days earlier with Ash Wednesday, and then doing special services for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday! At my home church of the last few years - Rez - the Easter service is 4 hours long - full of choreography and incredible worship and celebration! I kept up with it all a little through doing the readings in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, but it's not at all the same as celebrating it with a church body!

We did get to go to a really good service at Calvary International Church here in São Paulo this morning that definitely took me into a deeper and more real appreciation of Christ's death and ressurrection - they managed to combine Good Friday and Easter Sunday into one powerful service. The service was full of beautiful worship written by Keith and Krystin Getty, the authors of In Christ Alone, as well as other songs that really brought Christ's sacrifice and victory to life! I was deeply reminded today that God is in control and knows what he is doing during this difficult time with my family... that Good Fridays in our lives are always followed with Easter Sundays that far outshine them! our present suffering is not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us! (Rom. 8:17). Praise God for his victorious grace!

Anyway, regardless of church denomination, etc, He is risen! And that is the best news on the face of the Earth!

News, March 13, 2008

2008-03-13T14:34:00.000-04:00

Dear ones,

Here’s an update about what God is doing here in Brazil which I sent to many of you by e-mail. If you didn’t receive it by e-mail and would like to receive further updates that way, let me know!

In the teenager’s small group I am co-leading on Thursday nights, our biggest problem has been having too many participants! My job has been to come up with ice-breakers and write questions for the Bible studies. We have stressed commitment and joint responsibility, and several of them are taking on important responsabilities within the group. We are studying what it means to be the body of Christ, based on 1 Cor. 12, and it has been a blessing to see them grow.

Starting this month, I will be having three different roles in my church’s Saturday program for slum kids: leading the 4-6 year olds in a Bible lesson and related activity; giving the teenagers English lessons; helping individual kids talk about traumas and find God’s healing through a system of story-sharing and prayer.

I spent two days in the Sepal digital team office a couple weeks ago, and have really enjoyed it! Since then, I have been working with them about 5 hours a week, translating interesting articles from a site called allaboutgod.com (I encourage you to check it out!), helping monitor the discussion forum, and doing a few other things. It is exciting to see this ministry grow!

The MAPI (acronym in Portuguese for Support Ministry for Pastors and Churches) website that I administer is undergoing a time of transition, with the possibility of changing from a static website to an sql-based interactive portal. This requires a lot of work, thinking and attention, and I request your prayers that the process go smoothly. If it all works out, the website has the potential to reach countless new Brazilian pastors and leaders.

Unfortunately, even as these exciting ministry options have been arising, my support level has dipped significantly. I would like to request that you pray about renewing or commencing a partnership with me so that this work in the Kingdom of God can go forward. If you would like to contribute financially, you can do so on-line at www.onechallenge.org (just click “donate” in the left-hand column and follow the directions) or send checks to OC International, P.O. Box 36900, Colorado Springs, CO 80936-6900, with a note letting them know to whom the support is directed. If you would like to partner with me in prayer, which is just as important, please let me know at rachel.kornfield@gmail.com so I can keep you more directly informed about what is going on here. You can also find regular news about me here on my blog: rach-comesthedawn.blogspot.com.

My biggest prayer request at this time is my family: my mom has been in the US for the last month, helping Karis handle the pressures of continuing health struggles and getting through her last semester of college. It has been hard on me to have my mom away, but if all goes well, she flies back this Tuesday, March 18th! I request your prayers that nothing will keep her from being able to come and that the rest of Karis’ semester will go smoothly. You can find out more at www.karisblog.com. I also request your prayers as to whether I should renew my commitment to OC for one more semester or year, as my initial commitment to them expires this August.

Thank you so much! May the wonderful blessings of the Lord be upon you!

Rachel Kornfield

Plans for the New Year

2008-02-08T14:06:00.000-03:00

Dear friends,

I am MAJORLY owing you an update. A lot has happened in the last few weeks! I am very excited about what God has been up to and the privilege of being a part of it here in São Paulo, Brazil. January is the main vacation month here, since this is summertime (we have, nonetheless, had some unseasonably cold weather... ), but in contrast, February is one of the busiest months of the year! Here's what I'll be up to these next days and months:

1. CEVAP - this is the name used for the Compassion International project at my church here in SP. It's an acronym for "CEnter for VAlueing the PErson," - one that amazinginly enough works in both languages! It's pronounced se-va-py. I will be helping out there every Saturday morning, doing two things:
A. Giving English classes to 12-14 year olds (knowing English greatly increases your possibility of getting a good job here in São Paulo, and so hopefully will be very useful to them in their futures)
B. Ministering through the "Projeto Calçada" or Sidewalk Project, which uses Bible stories to help kids talk about and overcome emotional traumas, leading them to greater intimacy with Jesus (if you want to know more, let me know! I'm really excited about it!). The director of Cevap, a good friend of mine, has seen some incredible transformation in kids' lives through this method, but has so much on her plate that she has been unable to keep up with it. I will be ministering to one kid each Saturday morning, as it is an individualized program that usually takes about an hour.

2. Co-leading the teenager's small group at my church - last semester, I helped out with this group informally, but now I will be doing a lot more! I will be developing weekly practical studies for the main leader to minister in the small group, starting with one on 1 Cor. 12 - finding our place in the body. The group includes about 20 young people from ages 12-18, so developing studies that are relevant and interesting to the full age range is quite a challenge! I will also be planning and leading weekly ice-breakers, and helping mentor the worship leaders.

3. Sepal digital department - my work with the Sepal digital department will officially start on Feb. 18th. I will be facilitating an active internet discussion group on various church/theology related topics, doing some translation work, and various and other sundry things! One huge prayer request is for wisdom in whether to change my flight to the States this May to the 9th instead of the 1st so I can help out the digital team at the yearly Sepal Congress May 5-9. Over 1000 Brazilian pastors and church leaders participate in this Congress (this year the number looks like it could reach as many as 1500 people), and the digital department is responsible for filming the whole event, as well as dealing with various technical difficulties that always crop up. It would be a huge learning experience for me, as I have never worked with that kind of thing before, but they desperately need people who are willing to learn. On the other hand, I was planning to use that time to visit those of you who are living in the Chicago area, and was greatly looking forward to it! I do not know when I will be back in the US after this May, since I am planning to continue living here indefinitely, either as a missionary, or with a normal 8 to 5 job. If you have any insight into the issue, I would be glad to hear it!

4. MAPI website - the MAPI website is growing, and with it the amount of work to be done is also increasing! I am dreadfully behind on updating the English site, so I apologize to any of you who have glanced at it recently. Pray that I find the necessary time for this ministry amidst everything else I am up to.

5. Hospitality - we have always used our good-sized house in Brazil to house small pastor's retreats, to deepen relationships through having people over for dinner, and for other ministry purposes. I was surprised last semester at how much of my time ended up being used in food-making and dish-washing! However, this semester provides new challenges in that area. My mom was called to the US unexpectedly by some complications in my sister's health situation (Karis went through an intestinal transplant last year), and will probably be gone at least through the end of February. That leaves me in charge of hospitality for my dad's executive team of 8 people (other than him) who will be sleeping, eating, and meeting here next week! On Thursday night, we will be joined by the MAPI missionaries, bringing the group up to around 18. Thankfully, we were able to enlist the aid of two wonderful Brazilian cooks for some of the lunches and suppers, but I will still have plenty to do! I would appreciate your prayers that all would go smoothly, and that I don't burn the food! I also will be hosting the young adults small group I participated in last semester every Friday night.

I am extremely grateful to see ministry relationships I cultivated during the second half of last year flourish into new opportunities, and excited at these chances to be involved in what God is doing! Nonetheless, coordinating my time between all of these different activities is a challenge. Pray that I would continue to be open and sensitive to what the Holy Spirit has for me at each moment, instead of getting too caught up in the rush to listen! Pray also that my relationship with him would continue to be my first priority.

Thank you so much for your love and support! Without you, I would not be able to be involved in all I am doing.

Rachel

Promifé

2008-01-22T14:26:00.000-03:00

Promifé - I guess I'll try to put this eight day mission's trip into words, though some things are near impossible to describe. But I guess I should begin with the beginning and explain what Promifé is.

In the early 80s some Christian young people in São Paulo decided that they wanted to spend more time focusing on evangelism. They developed a plan to spend a week of their next vacation month sharing Christ door to door in their neighborhood. An American missionary named Ken Flurry liked the idea and took it back to the youth in his city, Riberão Preto. In July of 1983, Promifé - PROjeto MIssionário de FÉrias, or Vacation Missionary Project - began. Today, Promifé reaches out to people in small towns in the state of São Paulo twice a year - one week in January and one week in July - seeking to share the love of Christ and partner in His transforming work. Around 140 participants come from the cities of Riberão Preto, São Paulo, Campinas, and several other smaller towns in the state of São Paulo, as well as from the United States. I got involved in the project in July of 2000 when two teachers from my highschool, who had fallen in love with the project the previous January, invited students to join them for the next one. At the time, my sister Karis and I were the only ones to take them up on their offer, and almost all the other 15 or so participants came from Riberão Preto. The project had been placed the previous year under the leadership of American missionary Ric Sturtz, who had invited Brazilian Paulinho to be his co-leader. It was a transformational week for me. My soul had been longing for what Anne Shirley calls "kindred spirits" and I found them in the participants of Promifé, and especially a certain three: Alex, Geraldo, and Yara. I went back the next January, and every January and July afterwards that I could. During those weeks, God worked powerfully in my life not only through providing me with special friends, but through teaching me how to share the gospel in a simple way with Brazilian strangers (I think methods have to vary according to culture), experience Him deeply through intense times of prayer, walk in greater dependance on Him, understand more closely how His body works together, and develop gifts of leadership and administration. They were extremely formative times for me, to say the least. I was so passionate for the project, that several friends from church joined me for my second time, and several more for the third, and so forth. Friends also started sharing with friends from other churches, and the passion grew and spread. Today there are at least half a dozen São Paulo churches involved, including a Chinese-Brazilian one that sends over thirty members each time. This Chinese-Brazilian church, known as Pão da Vida (Bread of Life) has been an extra blessing as they have taught us even more about the move of the Spirit and having a servant's heart. They have also reached out to other Asian believers in the city of São Paulo, so that this last time the project included a member from a Brazilian-Korean Presbiterian church, as well as a Japanese-Brazilian believer. Several years ago, Pr. Ric passed off the main leadership to Paulinho, who has been passing it on to young Brazilian leaders. As he told me a few days ago, one of the main goals of the project is to form leaders among its participants. In this sense, as well as others, it has certainly been successful! This July, the project will be celebrating 25 years of existence. Paulinho is hoping to bring together about 250 young people (almost twice the normal number) for a "super-Promifé," including about fifty from the United States! If you have any interest in getting to know Brazil a little and participating in a work of God, feel free to come along! The project will be happening from the 12th to the 20th.

The Promifé schedule looks something like this:

Arrive on a Saturday (in the case of this next one, July 12), unpack, and get set up.
On Sunday-Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday:
Breakfast at 8:00
Worship, teaching, and training in evangelism from 9:00 to 12:00
Prayer and afternoon instructions around 2:00, and then door-to-door evangelism in groups of 2 or 3, as well as a simultaneous VBS.
Get back to the school (we sleep in the emptied-out classrooms of a public school) around 5:30 (sometimes later) to shower and eat.
Gather around 7:45 to pray and then head out for the evening activity: showing the film "Jesus" in a public place, and sharing the message of salvation with the people who come to it.
Get back to the school between 1o:30 and 11:30, have a snack, and head to bed.

Wednesday's our day off. We often go to a rural hotel type place to swim, play sports, eat barbecue, rest, and hang out.

On our final night (Saturday), instead of showing the movie, we have a service celebrating what God has done during the week. All the people from the town are invited. We present the results of our time there to the local church that has been supporting us and working with us throughout the week, as well as records of each home we visited, so that the church can do follow-up and discipleship with those that accepted Jesus. This January the "numbers" were the following:

In a town of 7500 residents:

250 children reached through the VBS
480 decisions for Christ in the homes and at the movie
Around 1300 people reached with the message of the Gospel

Sunday morning, we pack up, clean the school we stayed at, and head back to our respective homes to make up for lost sleep, knowing we have been changed in beautiful ways through seeing the Kingdom of God grow and experiencing the love of those around us. One preoccupation of mine is always whether the work really will be carried on by the local churches after we leave. At least this last time, one of the pastors had eight new Christians agree to come visit his Sunday service even before we had left! I know he is passionate about discipling those who came to know Christ, and am excited to see what God will continue to do in the town of Ibiraci. This next July, we will be working with three churches in a town known as Santa Rita do Passo Quatro.

Christmas News!

2007-12-19T09:22:00.000-03:00

In case any of you are wondering what I'll be doing this Christmas vacation, here's the news:

Th, Dec. 20 - Dan Kornfield arrives in Brazil! We go by a government office to renew his permanent residency. I imagine he might want to sleep a good deal of the rest of the day after being on the plane all night.

Fri, Dec. 21 - Karis and Val Kornfield arrive in Brazil! They'll probably want a good sleep too :). Fri. night is the last meeting of my small group until Feb. We're putting together a huge dinner that Val and I will probably go to, because Val used to be a part of this small group too.

Small note on why my small group won't be meeting again until February - Brazilians have their longer vacation now, because it's summer here!!! December is also the end of the Brazilian school year. School vacations will last until after Carnaval this year, since Carnaval happens the first week of Feb. Otherwise, they'd have to take off for the five day Carnaval holiday before they had barely started. When it happens in early March, of course, they have to start beforehand. Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that January is always vacation month here. Pretty much everything stops. My church will go on having Sunday night services (that's when the main service happens in most Brazilian Protestant churches), but that's about it.

Small note on Carnaval (make sure you roll your "r" and put the stress on the last syllable ;) ) - in case any of you are wondering why Carnaval happens at different times different years, or what in the world Carnaval is, here's an explanation. Carnaval starts every year 4 days before Ash Wednesday (which is 40 days before Easter). So it happens at different times each year because Easter happens at different times each year. Why that is, I have no idea. My mom just informed me it's connected to the phases of the moon. Go figure. Anyway, Carnaval is a crazy celebration where you're supposed to staunch the needs of all your carnal appetites before going solemn and sacrificial for lent. It's known as Marti Graw in other contexts. People dress up in exotic costumes, and put on all kinds of fancy parades, which most of you have probably seen pictures of. The celebrating happens especially in Rio and other beach-side towns. São Paulo pretty much empties out for the occasion, since we're not on the beach (we're an hour away).

On one hand, Carnaval is a beautiful display of Brazilian music, dance and creativity. On the other hand, people throw all their sexual mores (and a lot of other otherwise generally followed moral beliefs) out the window. Crime and sexual abuse rates sky rocket during those days. Drunken revelry is commonplace and it's extremely dangerous to be on the streets. The Protestant church here strictly condemns Carnaval, but enjoys the days off of school and work. The Catholic church... well, I don't think they like it too much either, but I've never heard an official position on the issue. Feel free to inform me if you know what it is :). Anyway, rewinding two months back to Christmas...

Sat. Dec. 22 - we'll probably sleep in, and then just hang out and enjoy during the day. The six of us Kornfields (all six - hurray!) will go to the Lemos's for dinner. Weston and Carrie Lemos are a couple from our mission that I'll probably be working closely with next semester. However, there's an extra special reason for this particular visit: the Limpics will be there too!! Ted and Claudia Limpic have been a part of Sepal (OC in Brazil) since before we got here 17 years ago, but left in 2006 to join OC in Spain. They're wonderful family friends who we haven't seen for a while. It's been even longer since we've seen their two grown sons, Jeremy and Joel, who will be with them this time.

Sun. Dec. 23 - officially "Christmas" in the Kornfield household. Since we're leaving on the 24th for a family vacation in the Northeast of Brazil we'll be celebrating as a family a little early. Tradition dictates a scrumptuous breakfast, family devotions, present opening around the tree, and a Thanksgiving-like dinner with turkey and mashed potatoes. This year our celebration of the Lord's birth will culminate in the Christmas service at church that evening.

Mon. Dec. 24 - we leave for Salvador, Bahia, a city in the Northeast of Brazil (the southernmost city in the orange area of the Brazil map linked at the bottom of the column at the right). It's been a family dream for several years now to visit the Northeast (or Nordeste as we call it here), and my mom got discounted tickets for travelling on Christmas Eve. One of my dad's long-time ministry partners, Enizete, has carefully planned our three days in "her" city so that we can get the most possible out of it! That night we'll probably celebrate Christmas Brazilian style, which means getting together with Enizete's family around 9 or 10 at night, hanging out until midnight, when everyone will get up and cheer and exchange hugs and Christmas greetings, and then having a big feast which will probably last until 2 or 3 in the morning. Not surprisingly, the program for morning of the 25th itself is to sleep :). We'll be in Salvador until the 27th.

Th, Dec. 27 - leave Salvador around 1 in the morning for Natal. Once again, we were going for cheap prices over convenience on our flight times. If you look at the map again, Natal is the city on the farthest East point of the continent, right on the north of the orange area curve). The name of the city literally means "Christmas". Hehe. Anyway, we'll be spending another three days there, enjoying beaches that we're told are some of the most beautiful in Brazil (which is saying a lot).

Mon, Dec. 31 - We arrive back in São Paulo during the AM, and rest up for the celebrations that evening. My church will be having a New Year's service which will end in the New Year's "ceia" - a feast that will start around midnight. Then, home to bed! Unless we decide to be rowdy and stay up all night or something crazy like that.

New Years Day - nothing particular planned until 5 PM. Then we're having an open-house for friends and neighbors who want a chance to come say hi to Dan, Karis, and Val while they're here.

Wed, Jan. 2, 2008 - enjoying our final day with Dan before he leaves that evening (sniff sniff).

Th, Jan. 3 - Fri, Jan. 11 - hang out with the sistas!

Sat., Jan. 12 - I leave in the morning for an 8 day missions trip with youth from my church. Karis and Val leave that evening :(.

Sun, Jan. 20 - I get back to SP, and rest up. Then life gets back to normal... maybe.

I hope you all have a blessed celebration of Christ's birth, and a happy New Year!

News, Nov. 30, 2007

2007-11-30T14:13:00.000-03:00

Hi friends!

As I write this blog, I'm listening to Brazilian Christian children's songs in preparation for working with the slum-kid project at my church tomorrow (Saturday) morning. This project is a branch of Compassion International in partnership with a ministry that has existed in my church for a long time known as "CEVAP" (Portuguese acronym for "Center for Valuing the Person" - i.e. kid). Each week, they serve over 100 kids from low-income homes, providing them with two meals per day, Bible teaching, tutoring, and fun activities. Many of these kids would simply be loose on the streets if it were not for CEVAP/Compassion. Lately, on Saturday mornings, they've created a partnership with Ambassadors to do a soccer championship with the kids. However the 4-6 year olds are too young to participate. Some friends and I are in charge of providing fun activities for these little ones for three hours on Saturday morning. It's been challenging and a learning experience. I'll be involved tomorrow and next week with the soccer club, and then the next Saturday (Dec. 15) is their Christmas party, which I'll probably also participate in. It ends just in time, because my siblings will be here the next weekend for Christmas vacation!

It's hard to believe how quickly the last months have gone by. These last few days my dad has had his executive (national) team here for a retreat, and it's been fun hanging out with them. It's amazing how much work it is to provide meals for seven people for three days, and clean up after them! My mom and I did a lot of it together, which cut down on the work for any one person considerably and made it much more enjoyable.

Last week I spent a day with SEPAL's digital department, getting to know their work and how I could be involved. Monday I'll go into the SEPAL office to get to know the events department. If I work with the events department, I'll have to be here for the main SEPAL event May 5-9, when I had been planning on being in the US. We'll see how it goes :).

The MAPI website in Portuguese continues to progress. I recently made some changes to the homepage that made me feel much better about the site in general. There's a lot to be done, but I'm enjoying it! I'm hoping to get in some time on the English site as well in the next weeks before my sibs get here. If all goes well, Dan will arrive Dec. 20, and Karis and Val on the 21st. It'll be the first time all six of us (us four kids and my parents) are together in Brazil for two and a half years! We're planning on going up to the Northeast of Brazil for a few days for a vacation, as well as hanging out at home and enjoying ourselves.

I hope you are all well!

God bless!

Rachel

Thanksgiving

2007-11-29T09:42:00.000-03:00

So, I'm a week late, but I still wanted to take the opportunity to express some motives of Thanksgiving in my life:

1. For all of you who read my blog, care about me, support me financially or in your prayers, and who have sustained me through your friendships during the last years!
2. For my family who has encouraged me, stretched me, and cared for me despite the challenges.
3. For Brazil and the US, and the significant ways each has shaped me.
4. For the fun of sharing Thanksgiving dinner with Brazilians in my mission - most of them had never eaten stuffing before!

And of course, most of all, for God, who is forever faithful, who guides us through all the ups and downs of life, who is always there to care for us tenderly when we are willing to open ourselves to Him, and who creates beautiful people like all of you!

Thank you and God bless!

Rachel

A thought for your day

2007-11-20T11:27:00.001-03:00

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)

The 12 Steps

2007-11-20T11:16:00.000-03:00

Oh, I forgot to include the 12 steps at the end of my last blog!

Here they are:

The 12 Steps as used by REVER:

1. We admitted we were powerless in the face of the harm caused by our separation from God and that we had lost control of our lives.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The 12 Steps as used by Alocoholics Anonymous (the only differences are in steps 1 and 12):

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

News, Nov. 9, 2007

2007-11-09T09:01:00.000-03:00

Hi friends!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I sent news! A lot has happened in the last few weeks - here's an overview!

On the evening of Sunday, October 19th, I travelled to Florianópolis, a sea-side city about a ten hour drive south of São Paulo, to help with the administration of the biannual REVER national congress. REVER, which means to "re-see", is also an acronym in Portuguese for "Restoring Lives, Equipping Restorers". This ministry is a modification for a church setting and for children of dysfunctional homes of any type of the twelve step Alcoholus Anonymous rehabilitation program (if you're interested, the twelve steps as used by REVER are listed at the end of this blog). My parents started REVER in 1997 (we just celebrated it's tenth birthday!), but it has been under national leadership for several years now, although it continues to be a branch of MAPI. I participated in several REVER events during my highschool years and was always deeply blessed by them. This time, I went not just as a participant, but to offer administrative support. I arrived several days early to help out with the prep and then stayed on through the congress. It was a blessing to me to be able to offer specific and practical help to this ministry, and I also enjoyed the opportunity to strengthen my relationships with the wonderful people that make up the REVER national leadership. The congress itself was extremely worthwhile. The topic this year was "sanctifying our minds" and the main speaker was a Brazilian psychologist and pastor named Fábio Damasceno. He did an incredible job of integrating psychology and theology (to use language familiar to you Wheaton types :) ) in practical and wise teaching about having our minds - with all their psychological complexity - fully consecrated to the Lord.

After an exhausting post-congress two days of working through some financial complications with the hotel, Luciene (the REVER national leader), Paula (the main administrator for the congress), and I stayed on a couple more days just to relax and enjoy the beach. It was a lot of fun. On Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 29, we headed back to Joinville (a town about three hours north of Florianópolis, where Lu and Paula live), where I got to hang out with Lu and her family for another day and see the sights. The next afternoon, I took a bus another couple hours north to Curitiba, Paraná for the yearly Sepal retreat. (If you're interested, see http://p.vtourist.com/223212-Brasil_map-Brazil.gif for a map of Brazil that includes São Paulo - in the yellow region - and Florianópolis and Curitiba - in the red region. Joinville is half-way in between Florianópolis and Curitiba.)

I've participated in Sepal retreats since I was 5, but this was the first time I was going as an "adult" instead of a MK. It was an interesting juncture of the familiar and the novel. As always, the adults had meetings in the mornings and evenings, while the kids hung out all day and had fun. Afternoons for everyone were devoted to rest, leisure, and fellowship. For the first time I actually participated intensively in the meetings! They were a good time of solidifying our identity and commitments as a team. We also had a great time of sight-seeing in Curitiba one of the afternoons. Nonetheless, I admit that by the time the end of the retreat came around on Sunday afternoon, after two weeks away, I was ready to head home to my own bed and familiar food. The first night I slept for twelve hours!

Monday morning dawned ... I mean... ahem... afternoon... I slept until 1:45PM! That day and the next few were spent getting rested up from the trips, catching up with things here, and getting back into the rhythm of life in general. Yesterday, Thursday, Nov. 8, and today are normal work days for me - which mainly means working on the MAPI website, which I had neglected for two weeks, and a few odds and ends related to research. Unfortunately, the woman in charge of the Sepal research department was told by her doctor to take a four month medical leave (if you remember, please pray for her. She is a wonderful Brazilian woman named Eunice, who was just overworked and overwhelmed and needed some time for rest), which mainly curtails my work in that area. The one aspect of it I am able to continue doing is typing the results of a survey my dad is doing, for later analysis. I will probably start working with a different Sepal department in the next couple weeks - most likely either events administration or digital support. Tomorrow morning I'm going to be helping out with some activities at my church's outreach program for slum kids.

God bless you all!

Rachel

My weekend at Casa Abba

2007-10-13T18:04:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!

I realized I never wrote about my weekend helping out with the 5 boys at Lar Eloim (one of the Casa Abba homes). It was quite an adventure! Most of the two days I spent enjoying getting to know the rhythm of the home, and trying to figure out which way was up between mischievous smiles and jokes, full-on charm, pouting and sulking, shrek-pussy like eyes when there was danger of getting in trouble, and over all really liking the boys. Nevertheless, I admit that spending 20 hours in one weekend with 5 energetic boys between 7 and 13 years of age, who are still learning what it is like to follow the rules of a home, was exhausting. I think in the future, I might help out just on Saturdays, to preserve my sanity a little bit more :). Anyway, pray that I have wisdom in relating to them, and can be firm about the boundaries that need to be in place. I'm not sure I'm always very good about being authoritative!

God bless!

Rachel

Hi friends

2007-10-05T16:44:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends,

I haven't written in a while. Today has been a lazy day. Lol. Well, actually it's been a lazy day for the last 30 minutes or so :). I recently did a puzzle while listening to Jars of Clay... some of their best music. It was lovely. Anyway, the rest of today has been busy. I got up early in the morning (6ish) to get a ride with a friend to the nearest metro/el/subway/whatever-you-call-it-in-your-city station. It's about 40 minutes away by car. Then I took the metro/el/whatever downtown so that I could get a Brazilian social security number, so I can open a bank account. :).

I hadn't been in the actual historic part of São Paulo for a long time. Many of the old, narrow cobblestone streets have been left intact, but made into pedestrian thoroughfares that run between the paved, busy traffic-filled lanes. Both weave in and out of a combination of old-fashioned (1800s) large, yellowish buildings (I currently don't know what they are made of) and occasional more modern ones. I took a convoluted route to the "poupa-tempo," or "time-saver" building, a huge government complex that provides the public with a variety of services. On the way back, I discovered that if I had done it slightly differently, it would have been a straight-forward block away! However, I managed to get thoroughly lost on the way there, and asked the assistance of a smiling woman about my age waiting to cross the street I had been directed to by the previous direction-giver (a middle-aged man). She said "oh, I'm going there too, just follow me!" So I did!

We passed numerous people trying to convince us that if we took our pictures for the government documents with them, it would be cheaper than the next guy, and eventually ran into a woman with a shirt that read "information." I was guided to the "green plaza" and from there to the "yellow desk" and from there down a corridor to a government official who looked at my identification and paperclipped an approval paper to it. He then sent me back the way I came to the "red wing" where they took my paper clipped documents and told me to have a seat. Several minutes later, I was called to the desk, and given a social security on a normal looking white paper. I was told I would get the official card in the mail within the next 60 days! Whew, the bureaucracy! Thankfully the lines weren't long, and I was out of there within about 20 minutes. The "time-saver" is accurately named... if only it didn't take me an hour and a half to get there!

Anyway, skipping over the adventures on the metro and bus on the way home, I arrived around 11:00AM to discover my computer was being dysfunctional. I did a variety of things around the house while waiting to see if it was going to decide to be alive, and finally decided the only way to get it out of its neutral state half-way through the shut-down process was to pull the battery on it. This proved quite affective, and it was up and running in a matter of minutes. As a result, I got four good hours of work in on my dad's website in the afternoon. I took a break about an hour ago, and did the dishes that have been piling up in the kitchen the last few days, before sitting down for a lovely half-hour with Jars of Clay and a puzzle. Which put me in a lovely, lazy mood, thus the beginning of this blog.

Now I better go pull my laundry out of our gas-powered dryer, before the gas fills the house so much it gets dangerous. I hope your day was as enjoyable as mine!

God bless!

Rachel

2007-09-25T15:04:00.001-04:00

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

News, Sept. 25, 2007

2007-09-25T14:24:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-25T14:22:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-24T10:41:00.000-04:00

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!