October 30, 2008

“God´s kingdom is like yeast...”

Dear Friends,

We have been back in Florianópolis since the beginning of July. In October, we had the privilege of attending the Fifth Brazilian Mission Conference in Águas de Lindóia, where we met old friends and many Brazilian missionaries who have been working around the world. 

Carlos and Marizete (left), missionaries in Ireland, with Marta and Tim.

It was a joy to hear about the ministry of our former students, José Carlos and Marizete, who are pastoring a church in Ireland. We also met a medical doctor, José Rocha Jr., who works in Senegal and first decided to be a medical missionary at a conference we held many years ago in Viçosa. We are thankful to God for their lives and witness. We left this gathering with a renewed desire to serve the Brazilian missionary movement.

While Tim took off to Viçosa, Bahia, and Fortaleza where he would speak at a meeting of alumni, preach at a conference, and teach mission-related courses at the seminary, I went to São Paulo to meet a group from Charlotte, Canton, Indianapolis, and Spring City. They were received by the leadership of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil before visiting the Gaucho Project in Rio Grande do Sul. 

In São Paulo for orientation from our partners from Charlotte, Canton, Indianapolis, and Spring City. 

During the orientation, the moderator of General Assembly, the Reverend Assir Pereira, prayed for our denomination in this time of economic crisis and also for God´s direction in the presidential elections. The following day we traveled to the southernmost state in Brazil where we experienced the gaucho hospitality, eating great churrasco, the Brazilian barbecue, many times. We worshipped at one of two churches in that state, the church in Porto Alegre, on Sunday and throughout the week we heard from six missionaries and pastors about their efforts to start churches in that area.

One outstanding characteristic of their work is their vision: even as they are beginning a church they look out for opportunities to start new congregations elsewhere. That is especially evident in Passo Fundo and Santa Maria.

Another principle they have adopted is always to include a social project together with church planting. We visited a school where they promote education for the preservation of the environment, worked on the grounds of a second school, and also got to know a school for native Brazilian Indians, where they helped plant trees and which they visit regularly. 

Other social projects we saw include a music school where 50 students were learning to play different instruments and how to run a recycling plant. Everywhere we went we were well received because of the positive impact of their participation in these projects.

Some of the difficulties that the Brazilian church leaders shared about their work were the migrant population in southern Brazil and the generalized syncretism that makes the gauchos more accepting of other religions and less committed to change. The visiting group had the opportunity to make suggestions and to learn from the Brazilian church. 

We finished our time together with the Lord´s Supper, a reminder that we are one in Christ and should support one another in love. This week was encouraging to all of us: We witnessed the excitement of brothers and sisters who are proclaiming the love of God in word and deed. We heard about their challenges, and we want to invite you to pray with us for the establishment of the first  presbytery of the IPIB in Rio Grande do Sul.

Tim and Marta Carriker

See my 2009 calendar here!

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 276