Saturday, June 18, 2005
Prainha, Friday June 17, 2005
After going to Minas Gerais with Fernando, Cleber and Rafael for the 2nd Reformed Baptist Congress, we have been wanting to work harder at maintaining fellowship and links of encouragement with these three Bible Baptists from our own town. One way was to combine our own Friday night meeting from time to time with their meeting in the Prainha, the favela on the island where Cleber lives, and where the Forquilhinhas Bible Baptist Church has a congregation. This we did last night. We were a somewhat reduced group – Cora having just completed three days of exams was quite exhausted, and Alberto has just started a short course affecting Friday nights. Marquito and Anna were also unavailable. But I went with Alex and Sara, Timóteo and Lídia, and Ronaldo. Fernando asked me to speak, which I did from Eph 2:1-10. A good time. Many, many children – typical of work in a favela in any part of Brazil. As ever, food and drink and chat “after” the meeting are actually a very important part of the meeting. As was much hi-jinking in the street outside with the children.
After going to Minas Gerais with Fernando, Cleber and Rafael for the 2nd Reformed Baptist Congress, we have been wanting to work harder at maintaining fellowship and links of encouragement with these three Bible Baptists from our own town. One way was to combine our own Friday night meeting from time to time with their meeting in the Prainha, the favela on the island where Cleber lives, and where the Forquilhinhas Bible Baptist Church has a congregation. This we did last night. We were a somewhat reduced group – Cora having just completed three days of exams was quite exhausted, and Alberto has just started a short course affecting Friday nights. Marquito and Anna were also unavailable. But I went with Alex and Sara, Timóteo and Lídia, and Ronaldo. Fernando asked me to speak, which I did from Eph 2:1-10. A good time. Many, many children – typical of work in a favela in any part of Brazil. As ever, food and drink and chat “after” the meeting are actually a very important part of the meeting. As was much hi-jinking in the street outside with the children.
The Prainha has one of the best views of the town centre and the bridges.
The meeting place used to be a bar - now converted, it is a very useful, though simple, space.
The meeting was packed - until the children and their teachers went out!
Great excitement - someone had found a dead rat. Given that we had seen a large live one while leaving our own home a few hours earlier, it didn't seem anything to write home about, but here I am writing home about it. It seemed to produce a great deal of joy for the kids.
Children, completely addicted to having their picture taken
Fernando, Cleber and Rafael, with kids, by street light
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Belo Horizonte 8-13 June 2005
The few days in Belo Horizonte were all that I had hoped and more. The expository training with the pastors of the church was well-organised by Rodrigo: a small group, showing good commitment to being present at all the sessions. The fact of working in only one book, 1 Peter, helped to give continuity to the five minute expositions, and the generally tight goal of thinking about the exposition of the epistles, with the prospect of other encounters to look at other genres, made for a very focussed two days. We had about 8 class-room hours each day.
We have been surprised by the specific impact of the ministry amongst young people, and this weekend in BH had been arranged in part to coincide with the anniversary of the teenage work. Preaching on Friday night, a meal on the Saturday and teaching in the teenage and youth classes on Sunday morning gave opportunity for good contact with the young people of the church. They are a great bunch, and hungry for the word.
But perhaps the best part for me was to preach to the main congregation on Sunday morning and evening. Once again the fact was demonstrated that it is more important to hear preaching than to hear talks about preaching. To put it another way, there is little point in talking about expository preaching if people don’t know what you are talking about. On Sunday morning I took a passage from 1 Peter, so as to provide continuity for the guys in the training group, and in the evening, Luke 14. A happy day.
The other great aspect was a deepened friendship with Rodrigo and Lívia, my hosts for the week. We had many good and deep talks, and they were impressed by living at close quarters with an Englishman. “You really do drink tea all the time, don’t you?!”
The few days in Belo Horizonte were all that I had hoped and more. The expository training with the pastors of the church was well-organised by Rodrigo: a small group, showing good commitment to being present at all the sessions. The fact of working in only one book, 1 Peter, helped to give continuity to the five minute expositions, and the generally tight goal of thinking about the exposition of the epistles, with the prospect of other encounters to look at other genres, made for a very focussed two days. We had about 8 class-room hours each day.
We have been surprised by the specific impact of the ministry amongst young people, and this weekend in BH had been arranged in part to coincide with the anniversary of the teenage work. Preaching on Friday night, a meal on the Saturday and teaching in the teenage and youth classes on Sunday morning gave opportunity for good contact with the young people of the church. They are a great bunch, and hungry for the word.
But perhaps the best part for me was to preach to the main congregation on Sunday morning and evening. Once again the fact was demonstrated that it is more important to hear preaching than to hear talks about preaching. To put it another way, there is little point in talking about expository preaching if people don’t know what you are talking about. On Sunday morning I took a passage from 1 Peter, so as to provide continuity for the guys in the training group, and in the evening, Luke 14. A happy day.
The other great aspect was a deepened friendship with Rodrigo and Lívia, my hosts for the week. We had many good and deep talks, and they were impressed by living at close quarters with an Englishman. “You really do drink tea all the time, don’t you?!”
Little TAM Fokker 100 for the flight to Congonhas, São Paulo. I never entered the airport - direct transfer on the tarmac to the Airbus for the flight to Belo Horizonte.
First Presbyterian Church, Belo Horizonte. BH is the capital of presbyterianism in Brazil, with many many churches. First is not the largest, but it is strong, with many ministries reaching all classes and ages. We visited while on holiday in 2003, but the contact in terms of ministry began this Easter, with the Family Retreat. The church looks set to be a key link for ministry over the coming years.
Rodrigo and Lívia, my hosts, with Heather Wilson, our colleague from UFM and MICEBRA who is working with favela children in Belo Horizonte. A meal out with Heather on the evening of my arrival was the first time we have met in Brazil since 1998. It was great to see her again, hear a little of her work, and struggle with envy of her totally excellent portuguese.
Marcia, Camila, Nelson and Andre Salviano - a family who we met in the UK while they were studying at All Nations and then the Cornhill Training Course, based at Bishop Hannington Church in Hove. We met on Thursday night, spending some time chatting in their home before going out for a meal together. Nelson is setting up a ministry for the training and equipping of leaders in the Belo Horizonte region. It was very good to meet and talk for the first time on Brazilian soil, to compare notes and talk over possible avenues for future cooperation. For more information on Nelson's work, see http://www.escaleministries.org/
In the classroom for the expository training - around 16 hours of teaching in two days - an excellent group.
Rodrigo in full flow in his 5 minute preaching slot - 1 Peter 3:13-18a
A large part of the congregation at "Sexta Jovem" - a meeting for praise and teaching aimed at teenagers on a Friday night. In a sequence of Fridays looking at books of the OT, I was given Malachi, with the aim of introducing the book as a whole, before focussing on one passage. 2:17 - 3:5 took me to Mark 1 and Mark 11-13. If what Malachi said about Jesus and John the Baptist came true, and if what Jesus said about the fall of the temple came true, hadn't we better take heed of what they both say about the Final Day? Despite the tiredness of two days of teaching, the careful attention of a (very different!) audience and the strength that the Lord provides lifted my spirits for a good evening.
The Brazilian equivalent of Valentine's day is the Dia dos Namorados - celebrated on the 12th of June, and throughout the month. The weekend was also the anniversary of the UPA - Presbyterian Union of Adolescents - the Presbyterian ministry with teenagers, so after my work with the preachers, the ministry was focussed on the young people. The youth group at First Presbyterian had a banquet to which I was invited and at which I was required to sing. Fortunately no recordings are available.
Young people's banquet - Dia dos Namorados 2 - Arrivals
Everyone wrote out "What I am looking for in a boy / girlfriend" and the papers were then read, to considerable audience response.
Friends at my table - Camila, Ludmila and Clovis
Members of the Saturday night band - Pastor Davi
Ambrosio's Grill, Belo Horizonte - a memorable lunch venue. Minas Gerais is the state of Brazil most famed for its food. It has its own traditional cuisine, but, for me, is also characterised by the care and excellence put into other national and international dishes, and the characteristic delight that the Mineiros show in giving the visitor a VERY good meal.
The best pre-churrasco buffet I have ever seen - from quails' eggs to sushi, sun-dried tomatoes to salmon cooked with mango.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Prayer Requests
After a spate of catching up on past work on the Blog, a few requests for the next few days and weeks.
Tomorrow, 8 June, Andrew will fly to Belo Horizonte for what is hoped to be the first of a regular series of training sessions on exposition with a small group of young pastors. The schedule is intensive, with the workshop on Thursday and Friday throughout the day, and Saturday morning. The theme for this encounter is "Preaching the Epistles" and all the workshop texts are taken from 1 Peter. The weekend is also the anniversary of the Presbyterian Church's youth ministry, and Andrew is also due to preach on Friday night, Sunday morning and Sunday night. He flies back on Monday - to take his class at IBE in the evening.
For both of us, we are now at the stage of the semester when the pile of "things to do" seems to mount up faster than the pace of doing them. Marking and other bureaucratic stuff at IBE takes its toll, and the work in the church is now a real factor. Please pray for stamina to keep going, and discipline and joy in the work.
After a spate of catching up on past work on the Blog, a few requests for the next few days and weeks.
Tomorrow, 8 June, Andrew will fly to Belo Horizonte for what is hoped to be the first of a regular series of training sessions on exposition with a small group of young pastors. The schedule is intensive, with the workshop on Thursday and Friday throughout the day, and Saturday morning. The theme for this encounter is "Preaching the Epistles" and all the workshop texts are taken from 1 Peter. The weekend is also the anniversary of the Presbyterian Church's youth ministry, and Andrew is also due to preach on Friday night, Sunday morning and Sunday night. He flies back on Monday - to take his class at IBE in the evening.
For both of us, we are now at the stage of the semester when the pile of "things to do" seems to mount up faster than the pace of doing them. Marking and other bureaucratic stuff at IBE takes its toll, and the work in the church is now a real factor. Please pray for stamina to keep going, and discipline and joy in the work.
Monday, June 06, 2005
A Igreja dos Peregrinos
Time to give a brief update on church here. We had a great day yesterday - the blessings of being a small, informal fellowship! Marquito invited us down to his family beach house near Pântano do Sul, and the day was gorgeous. Winter here can be just about as warm as a British summer, when the sun really goes for it. A good lunch, and time to walk and talk on the beach, followed by a very serious and joyful study of Romans 5 made a wonderful day. New faces in the group are a great encouragement too - growth is starting to happen. Cora's "Romanos Kids" group (simultaneous with the main teaching, on the same passage)is also going really well.
Time to give a brief update on church here. We had a great day yesterday - the blessings of being a small, informal fellowship! Marquito invited us down to his family beach house near Pântano do Sul, and the day was gorgeous. Winter here can be just about as warm as a British summer, when the sun really goes for it. A good lunch, and time to walk and talk on the beach, followed by a very serious and joyful study of Romans 5 made a wonderful day. New faces in the group are a great encouragement too - growth is starting to happen. Cora's "Romanos Kids" group (simultaneous with the main teaching, on the same passage)is also going really well.
Another bicycle on the beach. Fishermen come by bike at this time of year, and just stand on the sand with their circular nets, waiting for the migrating tainha to show their presence.
L�dia and Tim�teo arrive at the beach - walking and touch rugby
Uno is a firm fixture amongst the younger element.
Panorama of our meeting - most people visible. The study in Romans 5 went really well.
Second Reformed Baptist Congress, Conselheiro Lafaiete, MG 25-28 May 2005
Our visit to Minas Gerais for the second CRBB congress was an adventure and a blessing, in many ways. While Cora flew, Andrew travelled by car, a round trip of nearly 3000 km, including terrible rain in São Paulo, car problems, and a lethal, pot-holed road in Minas. Our group for Florianópolis consisted of 8 - representing 5 churches, of four Baptist denominations. The fellowship in the travelling was a conference in itself - and lasted longer than the congress! We visited the Baptist Church of Mionte Verde on the way, and the Grace Baptist Church in São José dos campos on the way back, where I preached on the Lord's day.
The theme this year was the Confession of Faith. Talks explored the importance and use of Confessions, as well as the pit-falls of an exagerated confessionalism. The group is still small, but more representative this year, and the congress had some very memorable moments. The CRBB web-site, http://www.crbb.org.br/, has more information, including pages in English.
Our visit to Minas Gerais for the second CRBB congress was an adventure and a blessing, in many ways. While Cora flew, Andrew travelled by car, a round trip of nearly 3000 km, including terrible rain in São Paulo, car problems, and a lethal, pot-holed road in Minas. Our group for Florianópolis consisted of 8 - representing 5 churches, of four Baptist denominations. The fellowship in the travelling was a conference in itself - and lasted longer than the congress! We visited the Baptist Church of Mionte Verde on the way, and the Grace Baptist Church in São José dos campos on the way back, where I preached on the Lord's day.
The theme this year was the Confession of Faith. Talks explored the importance and use of Confessions, as well as the pit-falls of an exagerated confessionalism. The group is still small, but more representative this year, and the congress had some very memorable moments. The CRBB web-site, http://www.crbb.org.br/, has more information, including pages in English.
The hills around Monte Verde, where we spent a night en route to Conselheiro Lafaiete
Our (car) party with the wonderful group from Monte Verde who cared for us over night, after an exhausting first day on the road.
President Lula, this road is killing people. How long?
Evening congregation - Second Congress of the Comunh�o Reformada Batista Brasileira
