MISSIONS NEWS:

From the August edition of the On Line Fellowship...
We received this report from Judy King, RE missionary in Brazil, about the visit of the short term missions team:
It has been a long time since writing and so much has happened.
The last time I wrote I was in the middle of getting ready for a group to come to build the church. The group was delightful and a lot of fun. Besides that I have never seen a group so motivated to work and work they did. "Up in the morning, out on the job, worked like the devil for no pay, but that lucky ole sun, has nothing to do but roll around heaven all day." Well, I changed the lyrics a bit but the group did work and they worked very hard, in the very, very hot sun. Their pay. well, that is something that they have stored up. They worked with all their heart and whatever their hand found to do, they did it. The Lord richly Blessed myself and the Indians as I saw them with the children, and others in the evenings and after work. The children were permanently attached to the group. In spite of a hard work, the team still had energy to play with the kids, swim, do hair, Frisbee etc. The walls got up, windows in and it is a dream come true for the folks. The Indians worked on the roof and remaining structure, mixed cement and the walls went up. So everyone worked together, in spite of malaria that was in the area. Our folks did well health wise. Under the circumstances, very few stomach problems. But the heat was a killer, but they pressed on with the goal of getting the job done. The Indians were amazed, not only by the finished product but by the grit with which our people jumped into the work and by the fact that they came at all. The Indians were amazed at both young and old that came ready to do what they could. Ready to just be there with them just by being there.
The last night, we had church in the church, with the men processing in their festive way singing with palms in their hands. The church resounded with praise. We had the preaching of the Word, the Lord's Supper, and time to share. They processed out and then the party began with Indians giving the folks a taste of what Apurina style dancing and singing is like and the group sang a few songs. Then the meat on a stick and also marshmallows on a stick were in order. I counted one kid with 10 marshmallows on one stick. Now that is Apurina way of doing marshmallows. This one by one thing isn't good enough. So a good time was had by all. Food was supplied to all the workers families and the Indians brought more paca than our group could take. The Lord supplied meat and one hunt brought in 9 pigs. Don't worry folks there is more out there. For any of the group that wants, maybe I can preserve a bit of paca for you all.
We got back to Manaus a little early which gave the team a chance to see the famous Opera House and other things here in the city. We even got caught in the middle of a bus strike and had to walk the rest of the way to the Opera House. The rule is walk on the shady side of the street and you can do double what you think you can do. There are still many other places to go to here in Manaus and hopefully the team will return for a second round. Manaus is a walk-in sauna. People in the north pay a lot for the temperatures and humidity the team had here. But that was at least one freebie.
While the team was still here I was out getting a tire changed and walked up the street and heard a loud meowing. I looked and there was movement in a garbage bag. So I gave it a poke and ripped it open and there was a dirty, white kitten. I pulled her out and went into a store and bought a cloth wrap her in. Took her home and the team gave her a bath and started feeding her. She not only had one mommy, she had 12 snapping pictures of this little thing. She is still with us but we are looking for the best home in Manaus or in the states. Any takers?? We called her Lixeira (garbage can) but have changed her name to Grace. She was dirty, unwanted, but was washed, made clean and has many care takers. She is waiting for the best home possible. She? Probably he? What is the masculine of Grace?
After the team left, all went well, until I had a bout of malaria a couple days afterwards. They didn't find it right away, so it went on for 2 extra days before I got a positive blood result. By then I was washed up. They put me in the hospital for 3 days. I am still recovering but gaining strength very slowly this time. The heat continues which doesn't help and no rain in August and September makes everything hot. It hardly cools down at night this time of the year.
Pray for the Indians, after we left 60 people came down with malaria, 34 with Falciparum malaria, the worst kind. The government is in there trying to get the situation under control. But as long as the water is going down the problem will persist. So pray. So many children have been affected. Getting food is hard when you are as weak as malaria can leave you. So pray. Pray for the team that none of them will come down with malaria. It could appear for sometime after the exposure. They were all on a prophylaxis and hopefully that will do its' job.
Getting ready to go back to the village is slow right now but soon will be on my way, if I can get this body going at 100%. I do ask you to pray that both Cathie and I will know when the right time is.
Thanks for all your prayers and giving from the team, myself and more especially from the Apurina.
 

Food for Thought:

Without charity external work is of no value, but anything done in charity, be it ever so small and trivial, is entirely fruitful inasmuch as God weighs the love with which a person acts rather than the deed itself. Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

But it must be noted that God is shepherd only of those who are conscious of their own needs and weakness, and who feel the necessity of his guidance; for it is they who willingly remain in his flock and submit themselves to his leading. David, who excelled in power and possessions, acknowledged freely that he was a sheep, so that he might have God for his shepherd. What then would become of us, whose floundering proves our wretchedness, if we did not remain under the guidance of this same Shepherd? John Calvin, Calvin's Biblical Commentaries

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Luke 16:9 NIV

A wealthy man died and went to heaven. An angle was escorting him to his eternal home. As they walked, they came to an impressive palace. The man turned and started to walk up to the mansion when the angel grabbed his arm and said, "That one is not yours." They finally came to a one-room shanty. "This is your place," the angel soberly directed. "Why am I living in such a small shed?" inquired the shocked man. "Well, if you would have sent us better materials," replied the celestial host, "we could have built you a better home."
How are you set for your eternal "digs"? If you want to prepare for a suitable heavenly home, make sure you begin now. What you do in this world will matter in eternity. Invest in God's Kingdom.
The poorest man is the person whose only wealth is money!

PRAYER
An elderly gentleman passed his granddaughter's room one night and overheard her repeating the alphabet in an oddly reverent way.
What on earth are you up to?" he asked.
"I'm saying my prayers," explained the little girl.
"But I can't think of exactly the right words tonight, so I'm just saying all the letters. God will put them together for me, because He knows what I'm thinking."

SOUNDS OF THE NIGHT
A man is driving down the road and breaks down near a monastery. He goes to the monastery, knocks on the door, and says, "My car broke down. Do you think I could stay the night?"
The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, and even fixed his car. As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound. The next morning, he asks the monks what the sound was, but they say, "We can't tell you. You're not a monk."
The man is disappointed but thanks them anyway and goes about his merry way.
Some years later, the same man breaks down in front of the same monastery. The monks accept him, feed him, and fixed his car. That night, he hears the same strange noise that he had heard years earlier. The next morning, he asks what it is, but the monks reply, "We can't tell you. You're not a monk."
The man says, "All right, all right. I'm dying to know. If the only way I can find out what that sound was is to become a monk, how do I become a monk?"
The monks reply, "You must travel the earth and tell us how many blades of grass there are and the exact number of sand pebbles. When you find these numbers, you will become a monk."
The man sets about his task. Forty-five years later, he returns and knocks on the door of the monastery. He says, "I have traveled the earth and have found what you have asked for. There are 145,236,284,232 blades of grass and 231,281,219,999,129,382 sand pebbles on the earth."
The monks reply, "Congratulations. You are now a monk. We shall now show you the way to the sound."
The monks lead the man to a wooden door, where the head monk says, "The sound is right behind that door."
The man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked. He says, "Real funny, may I have the key?"
The monks give him the key, and he opens the door. Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone. The man demands the key to the stone door. The monks give him the key, and he opens it, only to find a door made of ruby.
He demands another key from the monks, who provide it. Behind that door is another door, this one made of sapphire. So it went until the man had gone through doors of emerald, silver, topaz, amethyst...
Finally, the monks say, "This is the last key to the last door."
The man is relieved to no end. He unlocks the door, turns the knob, and behind that door he is amazed to find the source of that strange sound.
But I can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk.

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