Scary Night

Hello Friends and Family at Home!

As you may have already heard, last week, my house was robbed while I was sleeping. It happened at around 4:00am. I woke up and saw a man taking both my computer and my cell phone from a table on the side of my bed. I jumped up and lunged toward him. I grabbed him but I couldn´t hold him and he ran away. I tried to run after him but fell. I was still half a sleep, and didn´t really have time to react. I stood up and could see that both my front door and the gate were wide open. There was a hole in my window screen. The shirt and the sandals of the robber were laying on the ground.
I immediately went back inside to get dressed and go to the police station, which is very close to my house. It was closed with no one there. I wanted to contact friends but without a phone, that was not possible. I could do nothing but wait until the morning.
Finally, morning came and Ronã and Richie helped me with the details. We went to the police to file a report and also tried to reconstruct how the thieves had entered. My neighbors told me that they saw everything happen as two guys were trying to pry open the gate and one was standing off to the side with a gun. They were too afraid to intervene.
The next day, a friend of ours said that he had found my bike. He had been driving around his neighborhood and saw it at someone´s house. He stopped and confronted the guy, taking the bike from him. We immediately went to tell the police of the discovery.
Over the past week, the police have asked our friend several times to retell his story, but they have yet to confront the guy with the bike. They tell us that they are waiting to find him on the street because they are afraid that if they go to his house, he will try to hide the items somewhere else. Then, they may be even harder to find later. I´m not sure if I believe them, but I don´t really have another choice.
I´ve heard from others friends that the robbers are trying to sell the computer, but nobody wants to buy it! It´s an Apple and it´s in English, so no one here (at least the drug dealers) don´t know quite what to do with it! I guess this is a cause for hope!
Luckily as well, I have everything from my phone and my computer backed up to a hardrive and the internet, so I am not going to lose any information. But of course, now I am without both. Please, pray that the police are able to get at least the computer back soon.
As you can imagine, this was a pretty tramatic event for me. I wasn´t afraid at the moment it was happening, but the after-effects have been difficult. I spent a few days sleeping at another missionary´s house, Patty Fultz. She helped me recover and gave me a safe place to rest. I am back home now, but I will not live in fear. All I can do is try to make my house safer, which I have already done. The rest is in God´s hands.
Our classes are going well as Ronã is teaching both the Kids and Beginner classes. His students are really enjoying having him as a teacher. I am teaching the Advanced class, and I am really impressed with my students. The classes are being held in my house.
Our church is also doing well with steady growth. Richie has just started building our future church building. We are all excited about the progress.
I wish I could give you a better report of what is going on here, but it has been a crazy time for me. Again, your prayers are so necessary. Thank you for all of your love and support and prayers. They sustain me.

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Love, Allison

Lost in the Light

Hello Faithful Friends and Supporters!

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying a mild winter. Honestly, I would love to be cold right now—not freezing—but cold sounds great. I would wear a scarf and a sweater and curl up my hands in the sleeves and drink hot tea. I would watch the early evening light lower between the tall, naked trees. I would listen to the quiet of crisp air, and I would be still in my very soul.

But instead, I am here in Portel where the heat often feel like a smothering lover. You long for space and a refuge from it. A sacred place, but none exists.

I will take this opportunity to be unusually candid with you. This can be a hard place to live. There are so many demands coming from so many different directions, and you never feel “on top of it”. It is always on top of you.

I was asking the Lord last night, “Are you sure you picked the right person for this? Am I really cut out for this?” And he took me to a passage in 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 where Paul states, “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”

The truth is that I’m not the best missionary. I’m not like the ones you read about in books. I only have a cup of water to give away. I am not feeding the masses. I am not saving thousands in orphanages. The Holy Spirit doesn’t bring everyone to their knees when I walk in the room. My service is simple and incomplete. I still have to fight with myself. I don’t live in the place of perfect peace and perfect trust in God. I get just as impatient waiting in line as the next person. I have nothing to offer God. I came here in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.

And sometimes, I feel so spoiled. Maybe it’s just complete apathy, but the people I see everyday do not seem to be nearly as up in arms as I am about their circumstances. They live in the same harsh world that I do, except that often, their plight is much worse than mine. And of course, they have nothing else to compare it to. I, unfortunately, do. I have a whole world of luxury to juxtapose my daily experiences. And these lost comforts call me, and I want to listen.

But I didn’t come here to be comfortable. I can spend eternity being comfortable. I gave up comfort for a simple dream. I wanted to see the Kingdom of Heaven. I wanted to watch God work and move in the Earth. I wanted to see a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. But do I have enough strength to let go of myself long enough to see it?

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” 1Corinthians 1:27-29

I am a foolish and small and weak thing, so I guess I’m qualified. My only hope is that in all this emptiness, God would reveal himself. I can’t tell you how much my heart aches daily to see the Lord. I long to see him move tangibly in the lives of those around me. I long to see them overwhelmed and overtaken by the true lover of their souls. I long to watch them fall in love. It is this desire that has so directly positioned me in the place of weakness and fear.

Won’t you come with me? Won’t you enter into the place of your own heart to find the darkness there? Won’t you allow the light of a new hope to shine in there? Only when all other lights are dimmed can we see the One that shines the brightest…. 

We die a thousand times

And then you bring us back to life.

We die a thousand times

And then you bring us back to life.

Dig our bodies from the grave

Take us from the sweat and mud

Cleanse us with your refreshing blood

Wipe the lies from our eyes

And we see for the first time

Though we rested in the belly of destruction

You birthed us again, naked with redemption

What mystery is this that we could tell the story again?

What path is this that we could share what we have learned?

Only you and I know

Only our feet walked it together

I cannot walk it for another

Take them down the road

Lead them into the lonely wilderness

Let them smell the fiery smokes of hell

Let them taste the decay of their flesh

Let them hear the whisper of your tenderness

Let them feel the hint of your breath

Let them sense the weight of your presence

Take them into your arms again

Pick them up from the miry pit

All is new all over again

All is new all over again.

Breathe, veins pump blood.

Rich again, well again, free for the very first time.

We die a thousand times

And then you bring us back to life.

Love, Allison

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Welcome to the New Year

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I must admit, seeing pictures of my family gathered around the cozy living room opening presents made me a little homesick. Something about being in 90 degree weather makes it hard to get into the Christmas spirit. It's just not the same.
I'm sorry that it's been so long since you heard from me last. Last month was very busy, and I have a lot of news to tell you!
First of all, and most importantly, I AM ENGAGED!!!! Ronã asked me to marry him on November 23rd, 2015, and as you can guess, I said yes. We are both very happy and excited about our new life to come. We have already set a date for our wedding in Altamira for April 23, 2016. We will have a small ceremony with our friends and family here in Brazil. Our hope is to visit the States sometime at the end of 2016 and have a celebration there with all of you! We will keep you posted as more details come. Please pray for us as our plans move forward and that God will continue to bless our relationship.

The night of our engagement...

During the holidays, Ronã came to Portel in order to start settling into his new life there. We are currently in Altamira where we will gather his things to shortly move him there. During his visit, he spent time looking for a job and a place to live until we get married. In part, he will be working as a teacher for CDR, and hopefully, he will be able to get another teaching job. Richie was kind enough to allow Ronã to live on the boat with Ramon (our worship leader) for the short time before we get married. This will help us to save money as we plan for the future. Please pray for Ronã as he continues the job search in Portel.

Ronã playing soccer at the Mission

As you may remember from my last blog, we had decided to close CDR (the english school) for the time being because of the situation with the location. After spending some time in Altamira, I went back to Portel to continue to look for options for a location. What I decided was to turn one of the bedrooms in my house into a classroom. I painted the walls and had an air conditioner installed. I organized it with chairs and a desk and shelves for storage. It is a little small, but it will work for our purposes until we can complete our building on the mission property.
During our trip, both Ronã and I were very busy. For Christmas, we helped the kids learn a song to present for our Christmas service. It was a bit of a mess, but everybody had a lot of fun. For New Year's Eve, we also had activities for the kids in the evening. The kids in our neighborhood are very poor and are often under very little supervision. Having events and activities for them can often be very challenging, but it is also well worth it. Ronã has a special gift with children, and as we worked together, it was clear that God wants to use us to be a blessing in their lives.

The kids singing a Christmas song..

We also began work on starting the classes again in February. We will continue the classes that were put on hold last year and also open up a few more terms. When we go back to Portel at the end of the month, we will continue to focus on signing up students for the next semester.
Like I said, we have a lot of new things happening, and we are very excited about all of them. We will be experiencing many new changes in our lives over the next year, and we would really like your prayers. We long for God's grace and guidance over us as we make decisions and minister together. We pray for patience as we learn to integrate our lives together. I was recently reading a book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Bonhoeffer is quoting as saying this about marriage,
"As God today adds his "Yes" to your "Yes", as he confirms your will with his will, and as he allows you, and approves of, your triumph and rejoicing and pride, he makes you at the same time instruments of his will and purpose both for yourselves and for others. In his unfathomable condescension God does add his "Yes" to yours, but by doing so, he creates out of your love something quite new--the holy estate of matrimony."
We would hope that our decision and future marriage be about the work God wants to do in the Earth. That we are his instruments, and that our covenant reveals a glimpse of the love of Heaven.
God bless you all in this new year. Whether the coming year looks dim or bright, remember that God is the one who walks you through it. He is the God of all seasons. May you know him in every season.

Love,
Allison

Holiday Pictures
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Decisions

Hello to all my Supporters!

I want to thank you all for all your prayers and encouraging messages you sent last month concerning the situation with the school. For those of you who are unaware, last month we had a problem with the location where we were having our classes. We had been having our classes at another school, renting a room from them. That school had some financial problems, and the owner of the building decided to close it. Therefore, we lost our space. We were hoping that we could make some arrangement directly with the building owner, but that also did not work out. I found a smaller school that allowed us to rent a room for the afternoon, so our kids class was able to continue. However, I had no other options for our evening classes, so for a week, we met in my house. I set up a make-shift classroom in my kitchen, but between the heat and the mosquitoes, it was miserable. I spent that week trying to find another place, but nothing materialized.

This situation was quickly becoming more than I could handle. I spoke with my leaders about what would be the next action to take, and regrettably, we decided that it would be best to close down all the classes for the time being. It was a difficult decision, but we do believe that it was the best under the circumstances.

We also decided that it would be best if I went back to Altamira for a time. I was there for a few weeks, and just recently came back to Portel to take care of a few things. I will be leaving again at the end of this week to spend another few weeks in Altamira. I plan to use this week here in Portel to continue looking for a place for our school with the hopes that we can reopen again next semester. Please, pray that I am successful.

On a good note, my time in Altamira has been enjoyable. Ronã and I have been spending a lot of time together, which has been great (except that he eats all my cookies!!...lol) I had the privilege of helping Steve Dolan (another missionary) paint his house! I wanted to make sure I was still busy there. I was also able to help Art and Cyndi Rae with their Living Waters group one night.

This distance from my work in Portel has made it even more clear to me how, despite much difficultly, I very much want to move forward with everything I am doing there. I love our church. I love the English school. I love my small group. All these things are purposes that God has made for me. I long to keep watching them grow and develop as God uses us to bring about his Kingdom here on the Earth.

Again, thank you all so much for your prayers, and I ask that you continue to pray for our school and God’s plans for it’s future. Pray against any way in which the enemy is trying to impede the work of the Lord.

And I also pray for you. I pray that the hand of God hovers over you. I pray that you know him in a deeper and more profound way. I pray that you experience his protection and provision in every area of your life. Don’t give up hope, and don’t become weary in doing good. We endure so much suffering here on this Earth, but we will spend an eternity surrounded by the blessings of our God.

Love Always,

Allison

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Urgent Prayer Request

Hello to all my very faithful supporters!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST:
I hope I haven't alarmed you too much, but I do currently have a situation that needs immediate attention. This past weekend, while I was traveling, the school building in which we have our CDR English classes was closed by the owner. Though I don't know all the details, what I understand is the director of Uniasselvi, which is the school we were renting a room from, was not paying the rent for the building. Therefore, the owner locked up the building with all of our supplies and materials inside. I have been in the process of trying to speak directly to the owner in order to at least get our materials out and possibly, continue to have our classes there. However, in the meantime, I am having to find another solution. Yesterday, I was able to find another school that allowed us to rent a room for the kids class held in the afternoon. My evenings classes, I am going to hold in my house.
My prayer is that this situation is resolved quickly, and that we can be allowed to enter into the building again to have access to our things and also have our classes there again. Please pray with me about this situation.

On a happier note, last week was a great time for our missionary team. A while ago, the team decided that we would start trying to have a Missionary Care Retreat once a year. We all had the pleasure of going to a lovely beach resort located in a city off the coast called Salinas. It is just a few hours away from Belem. While there, we also had the privilege of having the company of Craig and Linda Heselton who are pastors from the Columbus Vineyard. Craig gave us a seminar on Emotional Intelligence. It was encouraging and helpful, and it was great to get to know them better. It was wonderful for all of the missionaries to get to spend some time together away from the work setting. We had a lot of fun, and I believe we grew closer together as a team.

Some of the members of our team

Denise and I enjoying the pool

After the retreat, I visited Altamira for the weekend to spend some much needed time with Ronã. As always, we had a great time together. Please continue to pray for us as we walk out our relationship.

Out to dinner...

 
The next few months are going to be challenging for me. My friend Jennifer, recently went back to the States, and Richie's family just left to go back on furlough to Canada until February. That means I am alone here in Portel. As I am sure you have already perceived, life can be pretty unpredictable here. Please pray that God takes special care of me in this season.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. They mean so much to me. I pray that you and your family experience peace. I pray that God is near to your heart and that you hear him calling your name. I pray that you know in the deepest place of your soul that he always sees you.

"Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." Psalm 139:12
  
Love,
Allison

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2 Pennies

Hello to all my Faithful Supporters!

I hope my last blog gave you a better understanding of life here in Brazil. I'm not sure what you imagine missionary life to be like, but maybe you now realize that it is not a paradise! Though, I would like to tell you that everyday, I am saving souls and seeing limbs grow, things are much more mundane in reality.
But I think this reality is normal for most of us. Our days are rarely filled with adventure and excitement teeming with a clear purpose. We ask the question, "Is my life meaningful?" So much of our time can sometimes be filled with seemingly meaningless tasks. We wonder if we are really making head way. Is it amounting to anything?
The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I realize that I need to find meaning in the mundane. I need to become more aware, everyday, of the subtle and unique way in which the presence of God is entering into my life and the lives of those around me.
A few weeks ago, I was at church and saw that many of the children had an eye infection. These children are poor and their parents, possibly out of ignorance, seem to pay little attention to their needs. I found the medication that they needed, and a few days later, I went to Portelinha to find the children I had seen. I gave their parents the medication and explained how to use it.
I'm not telling you this story to make you think I am a good person. The truth is that when I look at these children, I see a mountain of need that I have no power to attend to. I feel helpless. The medication is such a small gesture, such a temporary fix. I don't have what they need, and it weighs on me.
I could tell you other stories like this one, and my feelings would be the same about all of them. No matter how much we give, it never seems to be enough. It is a drop in the ocean.
But I have learned to take delight in this drop. I have learned to accept that God takes our little cup of water and turns it into more than we could ever have imagined. I believe he takes these small, precious moments that come along throughout our mundane lives and touches them with his glory.
And so I pray for those children that our simple gifts of love will one day awaken their hearts to the ultimate love that is our God.
It's easy for us to forget that our physical acts have spiritual significance. For better or worse, each day we change the world with little gestures. My hope is that for all of you who give to this ministry whether a lot or a little, whether through finances or prayer, that you would grasp the significance of your efforts. It is not of your own power, but with the backing of the Spirit of Power that works through us. We have a mission together, a journey taken in short steps. But we are never alone, and the desire of our hearts is always seen. God sees that we wish it were more. God sees our 2 pennies placed in the offering.
Thank you for opening your heart. Whatever little help I can give here, it is possible because of you. You are just as much apart of this as anyone here working in the field. Please, believe that. God bless you.

Love, Allison

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A Day in the Life

Hello to All,

Well, my time in the States flew by as you can imagine. I am already back here in Portel, and classes started this week. I am so grateful that I got a chance to have lunch or dinner with some of you and just check up. I regret all those of you that I didn't get to see. I really hope we get a chance the next time I'm in town. I also want to thank all of you who generously helped me in one way or another while I was there. Your support made the trip the refreshment that I needed.
While I was there, many of you asked the same question, "What is life like in Brazil?". It's a question that can be hard to answer, so I decided to do a little project. This week, I wrote down everything I did for one day. Although this one day is not all inclusive about my life here, it is a good representation of what my life can look like from day to day....

Thursday, August 13th, 2015

I get up around 8am and make coffee. I drink my coffee and pray and look at facebook. My friend Laudiane stops by around 8:30am to use the internet and stays for about a half an hour. The internet is working well this morning, so I decide to try and watch this sermon on youtube.  I listen to the sermon and eat breakfast. At around 10am, I work out. 

At about 10:30am, Ramon sends me a message saying he will stop by my house this morning to give me the projector and drop off his documents to sign up for the English class. I hop in the shower and start getting dressed. I need to go pay my energy bill and go to the TV Station to do some advertising for the classes by noon, before everything shuts down for lunch. Ramon still hasn’t come but sends a message saying he is going to be late. I tell him I have to go and that he can come by during lunch. 

I get on my bicycle and head to the center of the city around 11am. The first place I normally go to pay my bills is closed, so I go the post office. There is a note on my door saying, “Our System is down”. I ask the guy inside where else I can go to pay my bill, and he says the bank. I arrive at the bank around 11:30am and take a number. The bank is one of the few places that is open during lunch. I wait in line for about an hour to pay the bill.

At 12:30, I leave and stop by the grocery store to pick up a few things. When I come out, I realize my back tire is flat. I walk the bike about a quarter mile to a tire shop, but it is already closed. I lock my bike in front of the tire shop, and wait for a motortaxi. In the afternoon, I will need to go the TV Station to do the advertisement, and hopefully fill up the tire on my bike. I arrive at home around 1:15. I heat up the soup and rice I made yesterday for lunch. The internet is still working well, so I continue watching a movie I started yesterday on Netflix. The drinking water tank is almost empty, so I take it outside to the filter to fill it up again. I finish watching the movie. At about 2:15, I get online to start working on a survey that each of the missionaries have to do. At around 3, Ramon stops by to drop off the projector and give me his documents for the class. It starts to rain, so he hangs out for a little while. 

I go to check on the water, and it is yellow because I haven’t used the filter in a month. I pour it out and start over. The rain stops, and Ramon leaves. I go to take a shower. During the shower, the water runs out, so I hop out and turn on the pump. I get back in the shower, and then start getting ready. I organize my stuff for class tonight, shut up all the windows and leave around 4. 

I get a motortaxi and go to the TV station. I order the advertisement and then start walking about a quarter mile to the place where my bike is. I see Jennifer on the way, and she walks with me. When I get there, the guy has already taken my tire off to start fixing it. I stand and talk to him for a while as he continues working on my bike. 

At about 4:45, my bike is done and I walk across the street to print out some copies of documents I need for class. At around 5, I arrive at the school, and start getting things organized for the class. Several people stop by to pay the monthly fee or to sign up for the course starting tonight. Around 6pm, the students start arriving. It’s the first night, so we need to give them their books and take their deposits. Fabrício is teaching while I handle the money and books. 

At just before 8pm, the class ends and I ride my bike home. I heat up the soup and rice again for dinner. I spray my room with buy spray, and put some repellent on my legs for while I’m eating. The rainy season is almost over, so the mosquitoes are not so bad as before but I still at least a few.

I go get the water from outside. It’s not yellow this time, so I take it in. After dinner, I call Ronã and we talk for about half an hour. At about 9:15, I start watching a show I downloaded on my computer. I go to bed around 10pm. 

I hope that gives you a little better idea of what I do. 

Thank you all again for your support while I was in the States. I always would love to hear from you guys if you have any more questions or just want to check in with me. God bless all of you! I love you!

Allison