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Complexity Theory

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This week-end (in March 2015) we had our first TLC (Training Leaders of Communities) week-end. We have not done an event like this before so we decided to make it simple and to monitor the results. After identifying eight topics that center around church leadership we decided to make the meetings as interactive as possible, that each leader should make sure there were lots of good snacks, and to finish the week-end with a meal. Mostly, within this Complex Framework, things went really well.

In a Complex Framework there is a link between the cause and effect, but it can only be known after the fact because there are so many variables. Afterwards, when we evaluate what we did, we will identify what went well, and do more of that, and what did not go so well, and do less of that.

There are three other organizational frameworks. Each one is right for a certain setting, and each one requires a different type of leadership. And then there is the fifth area, known as the Difficult Framework. This is where we are most of our time as we are trying to identify which of the other four will best help us solve our current leadership challenges. (Our professor posted a Prezi, a type of slideshow, that explains the four organizational categories known as the Cynefin Framework. If you are a leader, you may find this helpful when your group encounters challenges. Click here to start the Prezi.)

The Worship Team Ministry

The Greeters and Servers Ministry
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A God-sized Challenge

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I was talking to a young fellow this week who wants to leave a life of crime. It is not easy. “I used to make R$150-R$200 a day. Now, if I can get one day’s work for R$50 I think that is really good. So how can I support my family?” A long-term solution may be to help families learn to help their children, but right now we young adults from dysfunctional families who would like to become responsible community citizens. This is a prayer request, and a complex problem for which we don’t have any really good ideas yet. If you have any good ideas or if God says anything to you, please let me know.

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Baked Bean Recipe

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If you come to visit us, and if you like hot food, I will make a batch of these baked beans. Here is how I cook them, and how you can make them where you are too. Note: I use our pizza oven, but I think this recipe will work with a slow cooker too.

1. Wash a kilo of black beans, and pull out all the not-good ones, and check for little rocks and pull them out too.

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2. Add a package of chili peppers, hot paprika, and half a package of pepper corns.
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3. Look in the cupboard to see what else you have, and add a generous amount.

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4. Add sausage or bacon.

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5. Mix it all up and add water.

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6. Let it bake by the fire all day, about eight hours or so. Add more water every couple of hours, when you add more firewood. Near the end of the day, do a taste check for salt. It is kind of hard to predict how much will come out of the bacon or sausage, so if it needs a bit more you can add it near the last hours of cooking.

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7. For supper, you can have a bowl of the best baked beans you have ever tasted.

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8. The next morning you can have refried beans, fried tomatos, and fried eggs. It’s a meal that will keep you going all the way till lunch time.

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Church Last Week

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Our church has a new enthusiasm since the Cristoval event. One of the powerful things that happened during this event was when Art and Cyndi Rae spoke to the young people. Even now, a month later, people are changing.

Deanna preaches at Igreja da Vinha in Marabá.
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Pond

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Our friend has a loader, so he came and worked for us for a few hours last week. As we get opportunities we make improvements to our property. In this case we have a pond in our field. We look forward to the day when this is part of a training and retreat center.

When we first moved here we planted bamboo on one side (top photo), to help prevent erosion.
Belem Sunset
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Puzzling Reflections

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I was at the neighbours this week, and the news was on. “This guy did this. Then this person did that.” While these might be the facts, they are not the whole story. Paul says that we see through a glass dimly. It is like we are looking in a mirror, and trying to discern what is happening. The gospels say that Jesus was motivated by compassion. This is the lens through which He saw people and situations. As we look at our family, neighbours, friends, and national events through the eyes of compassion, with faith, hope, and love, we can sometimes understand a little of what is going on, and how we can be helpful.
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Cor. 13:12 NET

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Marabá Leadership Team

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This photo of the Marabá leadership team was taken while Deanna was in Canada last Fall. We are very grateful that her health continues to be good.

In the meantime, we posted this leadership photo on the new Mission Website (thanks to Steve Dolan). We’ll retake the Maraba Leadership Team photo when Deanna gets here, so it will be complete.

To see the new Xingu Mission website, click here.


The Maraba Leadership Team photo (missing Deanna)

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The Leader’s of Tomorrow

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I just had coffee with a young fellow who was quite involved here for years, but had disappeared. “I had to get out of here before I ended up shot or in jail.” Then he started telling me of the sad stories of several young fellows his age, and the terrible experiences of friends who go to jail. Our neighbourhood has a bad reputation, which we are working to change. Not all of these young men and women make poor choices as teen-agers. Some of them stick with the church, and their Christian friends, and some of these now have happy marriages. The consequences of the two different paths seem so obvious when you can see them for a little distance.

Our hope is to find more ways to include teen-agers, so they can get past those difficult years, and onto a good path as adults.

Here are two photos of Bella teaching Sunday School. While I think she has been a helper all of her life, this was her first time actually responsible for the teaching. I am very proud of her! Thank you to everyone who supports this work, and enables us to live with and to help these people. We are so grateful.

Bella teaches Sunday School in Maraba.