I trust all is well and you are looking forward to some extra special time with people you love, and maybe some people who need your love. In Esther there is a story of temporal deliverance and how the people celebrated.

He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy. Esther 9:22 NLT

How much greater is God’s gift of eternal deliverance through Jesus?

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Advent Action

Look around you for a sign of God’s presence. When you find it, share it with someone.

Here are the last two of our Christmas Paintings for 2011.

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Here are three more of our set of nine 2011 Christmas paintings. RGB

A few weeks ago I had a coffee with Tony deWaal, the executive director of the Abbotsford Restorative Justice and Advocacy Program. Tony told me he took some very helpful courses at the Justice Institute of Canada .

Abbotsford Restorative Justice Tony deWaal

Our life in the Amazon is all about teamwork, communication and restoring relationships. This is more of an art than a science.  I am so grateful for this opportunity to study these puzzling issues from a slightly different perspective.

I enrolled in a Conflict Resolution program. Learning how to think about cultural and relational differences is very helpful. The professor of Conflict Resolution Theory, my first 3 day class, is one of my new heros. He has extensive experience among the Bosnians, Serbs and Croats in the 1990s, and more recently in Canadian “First Nations / Crown” issues. He advocates what he calls Transformative Mediation. “I do not go in with the primary goal of resolving interests. My primary goal is increasing understanding among the people involved and restoring relationships.”

Classes include theory, working out scenarios in small groups, and review. When we would share our professions in our small groups I had the distinct impression I was the first “missionary” many people had met, “No way! Really?” Maybe I will switch over to calling myself a LTCCW, a Long Term Cross Cultural Worker, like the leaders are recommending at the Vineyard Conference in Colorado. Apparently the word “missionary” has unhelpful baggage in some circles. I wonder what meanings my classmates put on the word? They are a cool group of people. One is the Red Cross co-ordinator for BC/Yukon. One is involved in city planning and community disputes for Vancouver. One is a head nurse. One is a lawyer. Some work with First Nations / Crown issues. What an honor to rub shoulders in a learning environment with these people.

This was a great week for me!

Here is an overview of the Justice Institute of British Columbia.

John 14:1-4 ¹ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Emma had a leading role in Around The World in 80 Days. She had to memorize over 300 lines. The drama was 2 hours long. We (her whole family) went both nights. It was excellent. Way to go Emma!

This week I heard two stories that remind me of our work in Brazil. City Life Church just celebrated their 50th birthday. Pastor Dave shared how for a long time the church just had 9 people. Other’s councilled him, “Just persevere!” Over and over he received this council. Now they are a community of 800 plus people pressing in to know and serve God. I was telling this story to my Uncle, who attends another really great church which already has two services and a growing community outreach. “I have been going here since before we had indoor plumbing. There was an outhouse out back.” These stories make me wonder if some of the leaders in the churches we are planting will ever tell stories like this when they are seniors, and if they will seem just as incredible. 

Elba and Steve were just in Marabá and spoke and encouraged the team. Here is a photo of a small group of leaders in the Marabá Church. I wonder if any will be around in 50 years, and if so, what will this church look like?

Last Sunday we spoke at a Senior’s Home chapel. Their pastor, Rudy Willms, was the pastor of the church where I attended with my family all through my childhood. About 70 seniors parked their strollers or walked in or rolled in on wheelchairs to participate. They want to know what God is doing in Brazil. Later we had to stay for coffee and snacks. There are so many interesting stories. This fellow in the photo below is 92 or 94 years old. He was a farmer in Saskatchewan until his wife died. Finally he moved to this home to be close to some family. What should he do with his time, now that he was off the farm? At 88 years old he started playing the violin. Now he often plays in the chapel services, and everyone says he plays really well. He started learning at 88! He also knits hats for poor people in the North Country, for MCC!