Bud Simon

Iriri River Trip

Bud and a couple of his new friends on the Iriri River

I just spent last week on a great trip - two days driving and three days on the river.  It was rewarding to share the Gospel in new places, to travel new roads, and to see some new potential sites for churches.  I just posted some photos and I hope to post some complete stories in the near future. 

  Bud baptizing a new believer in the river

Another friend from the river - this woman is 85 years old and has lived along the river all her life. 

 Clyde Bergquist, a missionary from Oregon, and I relax  in the shallows of the river during the heat of the day

A New Blog

Those are the faces of the various Xingu Mission missionaries in Altamira. 

And, there is a new blog that shares a more rounded version of what is going on in Altamira and all of her church plants.  Every week, a different missionary shares a story, testimony, or whatever is on their heart that represents the work here. 

It is at http://www.xingu-mission-altamira.blogspot.com/

The goal of the new blog is to provide a broader view of all that happens in the work here.  it is hard to gather the scope, but here are a few of the things that happen (in no particular order):

• Teaching English to the under privileged
• Teaching computer skills to the under privileged
• Training new missionaries
• New Believers Retreats
• Church Planting
• A Variety of leadership training platforms
• Team building experiences
• Travel adventures
• Short term missionary events
• Missionary kinships
• Teams
• Church construction
• Boat trips
• Motorcycle trips
• Church Celebrations
• A school of more than 200 students (TESL and computer literacy)
• 50 churches and church starts in our region
• six mission boats in our region
• six motorcycles doing ministry
• "Jesus"film outreaches and other film outreaches
• Youth outreach events
• Conferences
• 12 missionaries and 11 missionary kids
• and alot more also

With all that is happening, and the fact that the blog is updated weekly, you will want to check it out on a regular basis. 

So,please read the ALTAMIRA BLOG .  It will help give a broader and deeper view of what the Lord is doing in this corner of the world. 

(L to R) Pastor Naldo, Keith Wilson, and Josh Pflederer on a road trip to church in the interior

Boat Trip

Daniel, jumping off the top of the boat on a river trip

This is the delight of being able to share some time along the river with my kids.  We had a fun time swimming and playing as we went out to visit a river community. 

My niece, Tami, and Lydia, our new friend, are here and it has been fun to be able to show her around.  The stay has been too short - it would be good to have them around for longer!

Books

I am an avid reader. 

I enjoy reading but I also read as a discipline. 

The discipline of reading helps to provide different perspectives and insights that shape and form my thinking and actions. 

Here are a few of the books that I have read in the first six months of 2009 ( in no particular order). 

Know What You Don't Know: How Great Leaders Prevent Problems Before They Happen
This book is an insightful and helps me to think in a new way about problems and issues that arise.  It helps to move from a reactive place to a proactive place.  The book is written from a business perspective.  The priciples are sound and practical for pretty much any forum of life.  A quick and easy read and I highly recommend it for those that want to think differently about problem solving. 

The Message Bible Large Print Burg Lthr Lk: Large Print Edition
This is a new Bible I purchased.  I love it.  The Message, of course, is a paraphrase Bible.  But, the print for my 45 year old eyes is fantastic.  I also have always preferred the single, wide column filling the page as opposed to multiply columns on a page.  It makes the reading quick and easy.  The Bible is high also well made, being of a good quality.  I recommend this for those that enjoy the Message Bible. 

Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers
A wonderful book by Eugene Peterson.  In it, he explains the parables that are unique in the Gospel of Luke as well as the prayers of Christ.  I know, it may not sound too exciting.  However, it is eminently practical and applicable to daily life.  I have enjoed the book immensely for reflective reading and highly recommend it. 

Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication
An excellent book for those that speak on a regular basis, especially as teachers or preachers.  It will help to improve your communications by focusing your thinking.  It is an easy read and very practical. 

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
This was written by a couple of professors.  They explain in the book why some ideas and thoughts are easy to remember.  This is a must read for anyone that communicates or presents in any context.  If you are interested in people remembering what you say:)  I highly recommend this.  Funny, interesting and practical. 

Outliers: The Story of Success
Fascinating.  It covers a wide range of subjects and provides for a much wider perspective into all kinds of subjects.  It provides a creative way to perceive things that intuitively you understand as correct.  It will widen your understanding and insight.  Gladwell is an excellent writer. 

Adventures of a Bystander
This is the closest thing to an autobiography of Peter Drucker that you will find.  He tells dozens of stories from his life and interactions with famous and not so famous individuals through the years.  He shares the lessons and insights gained from those times.  A great book, if you know who Drucker is and want something that provides a totally different perspective. 

Take a look at the links to Amazon.com for more indepth reviews and information.  I got a load of other books also, but these are just a few that I found interesting and insightful. 

Good reading!

Rio - A Different Kind of Trip

Clenildo, Angelita, Steve, Elba, and Thiago - Clenildo and Elba are part of the Leadership Team for the Brazilian churches and Thiago is our new friend who drove us everywhere in Rio!

I had the opportunity to travel to Rio de Janeiro last week.  Yes, a little outside my normal travel schedule here in Brazil. 

However, I did have a blast!! 

I went there with the leadership team from our region and we were able to have a great time.  There were meetings for the Vineyard church planting movement in all of Brazil.  I was along as a supporter and encourager for the church planting here in Brazil. 

It would have been great to be able to take my family along - but we are in that season of life when it is  expensive and inconvenient to travel as a family! 

There was a couple of days of meetings for the leadership team and then a church planting conference (InterVinha) on the weekend.  It was great to meet with others and have alot of informal time to meet and converse.  The time flew by!

The whole time was really an excellent way to build relationships and reinforce our values.  It is also encouraging to see others who are facing some of the same challenges in other parts of the country. 

The trip was well worth the time it took for helping the relationships develop and mature.  it was great to make some new friends and deepen the old friendships!

Clenildo, Elba, Roger from Claifornia, and Milton from Baura - São Paulo during a leadership meeting

Rick Bergen, Celso from Belo Horizante - Minas Gerais, and Mark Fields, head of Vineyard Mission - USA. 

When You Can Not Read

Chico, Community Leader in Vila Nova, Maribel

Chico can not read.

Chico is not deterred. 

Chico wants to know the Bible and help out in his local church. 

Through the sharing of the Gospel in the remote area where Chico lives, he gave his life to the Lord.  He had struggled since then because he never learned to read.  The desire was there, but he never had the opportunity to learn. 

Then we were able to provide him with a "Proclaimer". 

A Proclaimer is a small electronic device with a dedicated memory.  On the memory is a copy of the Bible in Portuguese.  The controls on the device allow the user to find book, chapter, and verse and to move there with relative speed and ease once the user learns to use the controls. 

The Proclaimer, a small device that enable people that can not read to hear the Gospel on a regular basis

The Proclaimer is power in a number of ways:  by an A/C power adapter, by a hand crank that powers a battery, or by a small solar panel. 

Here is the really wonderful part of the story. 

When I was in Chico's community during a recent trip, I listened as Chico stood up and spoke before the group.  In his sharing, he quoted several verses verbatim.  I was amazed and grateful.  Here was a man who had never read, but was able to quote Scripture. 

My heart was touched.  It was wonderful to see that even such an obvious barrier as not being able to read was able to be overcome by the persistence of one man to share the Gospel with his community. 

Thanks for your prayers!!

The church community where Chico ministers

If you would like to help out Chico and other national leaders like him, please donate to:

Altamira Region (on line)

Or earmark for "the Altamira Region" and send to:

Xingu Mission
PO Box 340785
Columbus, Ohio 43234
USA

Videos

Here are a couple of videos that are well worth watching. If you wonder what life is like riding your motorcycle through the jungle, well take a look at this video of a recent ministry trip put together by Josh Pflederer, a fellow missionary here. First, there is a video of our time visiting the remote region of Maribel along the Iriri River. Remote means remote - like it is quicker to get from where ever your reading this to Altamira than it is for people to get from Maribel to Altamira. Then, after spending several days there and visiting the communities, we spent three days returning 200 miles. Yes, we averaged 67 miles a day for three days on motorcycles. The mileage was especially impressive when on day two we covered about 22 miles in 9 hours. Ouch. It made for an unforgettable trip and it made for a lot of new friendships along the way.

Photos from Maribel (Iriri River) Trip - May

Mountain and jungle mist on the road home from Maribel - this is outside the house where we slept as we waited for flood waters to subside

Fellow travelers along the road - we gave them a ride to the nearest town after crossing three flooded rivers

A bridge that had been washed out along the road (Josh Pflederer center)

Faces along the road - we stopped at this home to visit and pray for the family

Bud and motorcycle

First impressions - mud, water, mud, water, motorcycles, motorcycles, mud, water and friendly people. 

We stopped and visited many people along the road.  It was Great!!!  We prayed for many families and received many invites to return.  It really renewed my heart towards the thought that God is always at work. 

God is always at work. 

God is always at work.

Leadership Fundementals

The Students and Teachers from the Leadership Training Intensive

We just had a great weekend out on the river. 

We were able to take a group of students out to have a wonderful time doing a leadership training intensive. 

the topic this month was focused on evangelism.  This was the second in our series of leadership training modules.  We met at a community on the river and 32 students took part in the training. 

It is great to see the passion and the sincerity that pulse from the lives of the students.  The goal is to teach in a series of weekend intensives through out the year.  These intensives will help equip the students with the skills they need to step up to a new level in their churches.  It is exciting to see the students embracing the teaching and the opportunities to share. 

One of the most energizing things is when the students are engaged and both sides can see the urgency and relevance of what is being transmitted. 

Thanks for each of you that has been praying for us. 

If you would like to help support leadership training for the Brazilians, you can do that by giving to: 

Altamira Leadership Training

Please earmark the donation for "leadership training" or e-mail me and let me know. 

Anna, four years old, who went along with me to "help out" on the trip.  We had a great time together!

Anna, my four year old, also went on the trip with me.  We had a blast together and it is always good to have my kids along.  It makes it more work and more effort, but I love including them when I can.  She is a delight and enjoys doing what she can to help out. 

Thanks for your prayers for our family!

Why Plant Churches?

Kids along the beach in a river village

Boats serve as the major transportation along the river.  Here they "dock" at the door of a partially completed church building as the service is ready to start. 

Why plant churches?  In fact, what does that even mean? 

For the vast majority of us, there is no frame of reference for the concept of "planting a church". 

Allow me to introduce the concept with some thoughts that can hopefully clarify this concept.  We are familiar with the idea of when we are traveling on the road and we drive through a small town or approach one of those many off ramps along an Interstate.  As we look around we see nothing familiar.  And the thought floats through our minds and often passes from our lips, "This place needs a __________ (McDonald's, Taco Bell, Starbuck's, Tim Horton's, or whatever fills in your blank.)"  By casual observation, we realize that there is something missing that would improve the moment and the location. 

Now move that awareness into the spiritual realm.  Consider that there are places that have no church.  The thought process is similar when we consider the need that exists here in the Xingu region of the Amazon.  As we step back and consider the three dimensions of human life - physical, emotional, and spiritual - there is an awareness of a tremendous gap in the lives of these people.  The church is the only institution that tries to meet needs in all three of these dimensions. 

But often, we can not even imagine a place where there are no churches.  Literally, our imagination fails us.  Why? Because almost anywhere we drive in North America, we pass dozens of churches.  It defies our thought process to consider that there are corners of this world in which there is no church.   Or the thought of walking hours or paddling a canoe hours to go to church.  We are outside of our box, we are out of range of our reality. 

Of course, just because we struggle to imagine something does not make it less real.  This is where our faith moves into action.  We step out with the intention of helping change the story and reality of these people. 

That is one of the reasons that we plant churches here and why we need help working towards this goal that God has set before us. 

Angles - the lines of the boat come together

Storm clouds gather over a river community

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