Bud Simon

Some Reflections on Grace and Forgiveness…

A few years ago, an interesting situation happened to our family. We had a dear friend who was in our home all of the time, watching our kids, helping out, and just being around. One day, we noticed there was money disappearing from the house. Large amounts of money. Brazil, being a cash based society, makes it common to keep a lot of cash on hand. So we hid some video cameras, using our computer. And, there our friend was on video, going the desk drawers and file cabinet, looking for money. We felt terribly betrayed and deceived.

The one phrase that sticks with me from the Lord’s Prayer is “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”.

Maintaining a life of forgiveness is a constant struggle. Forgiveness extends grace and mercy to others. Forgiveness is Gracious. Understand. A spirit of reconciliation. Kindness. Bridging differences. Love. Compassion. Consideration. Honoring others, even in their weakness.

The catch is that we receive as we give. Life in the Kingdom of God is an exchange, a giving and receiving. It is always true. Planting and reaping. Reaching out and having others reach out to us. The Kingdom works in the supernatural. I can forgive here and receive grace and forgiveness from some other person that I never imagined.

Is there something more powerful than giving forgiveness when forgiveness is not expected nor deserved? Forgiveness surprises, forgiveness delights, forgiveness humbles.

That is how I received forgiveness. And it had the power to change my life. And it still is changing my life today. The foundations of the Kingdom of God are built on His Grace. I want to extend grace as well as receive it.

Earlier this year, I read two books in tandem. “Free of Charge”, which is an exploration in the theology of giving and forgiving and “The Shack”, which is a fictional account of one man’s struggle to forgive. The two books together provided a powerful insight into ministry of forgiveness, moving both my heart and my mind. I would highly recommend both of these books.

Forgiveness is understood as it is applied. Giving forgiveness releases in us a more mature understanding of forgiveness.

Put forgiveness into action we enter into this season of Christmas. God is calling us to a higher place.

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

FIEL

Sunrise on the Xingu River near Belo Monte

Early morning worship on top of the boat during the weekend intensive

Leadership Fundamentals (which makes the acronym "FIEL" in Portuguese) , this is always a blast, and getting better. 

This last weekend we did an outing in a small community call "Belo Monte".  This community has a couple thousand people.  It is where the TransAmazon crosses the Xingu River. 

The goals of FIEL are to provide teaching, training, and practical experience for the students in a weekend intensive.  As a secondary goal, FIEL provides the opportunity to make initial contact with community or to give encouragement to a rural church. 

The response on both sides has been extremely positive. 

The recent outing to Belo Monte was on of the most positive to date.  The students had the opportunity to spend time training in the morning in one of several areas, including evangelism, children's ministry, drama, and worship.  Then, in the afternoon, the whole team did an outreach event targeted at the children in the community.  There was a positive response and many of the children came out to the event.  It was a great moment and one of the girls on the team shared how she accepted Christ when she was seven years old and the positive impact it had on her life. 

In the evening, we had an outreach event in the small, multisport facility in the community.  There was an excellent response with people giving their lives to the Lord. 

The time made a positive impression on the students and it was wonderful to see everyone working together! Personally, this is something I really enjoy.  It is a great place to give students the freedom to practice things in a learning environment. 

If you are interested in supporting FIEL, please make a donation and earmark it for "Training". 

Thanks and God Bless!

Children reacting to the presentations that the FIEL students offered

Denise is the Coordinator for the FIEL training.  23 years old and single, she spent two years at Bible School and has been a tremendous asset to the local church and in helping reproduce training in others.  Here she is with one of the children from the weekend. 


I had the chance to take two of my children along, Caleb and Anna.  They both had a ball!  Caleb sits in on the training for the drama group. 

A Word of Testimony

 
My wife, Suzanne, had a chance to serve and minister this last weekend at a New Believer's retreat.

Let me share one of the powerful testimonies that she told me from her time there.

A certain lady who was attending the retreat as a new believer shared that she was experiencing a very difficult season in her life.  Several weeks ago, she had a moment when she was frustrated and disillusioned and ready to give up on church as well as her plans to attend the retreat. 

At that moment, she saw a vision.  It was an image in her mind of a woman praying for her and talking with her.  Except that she did not recognize the other lady.  She took it as an encouragement and pressed on through her difficulties.   She ended up attending the New Believer's Retreat. 

When she arrived there, she realized that it was the place that God had for her and she was delighted that she had made the effort to attend.  At the end of the first session, during the ministry time, a woman she had never met before came up to pray for her.

It was the same woman she had seen in her vision.  Identical.  And, as they began to converse, it came out that they both had struggled with the same issue in their childhood.  The one woman had come to share and pray at a critical time in the life of the other woman.  She shared how she had passed through the same problems and struggles and come out victorious.  The tears flowed freely and the joy of being part of what God is doing in this moment was apparent. 

God delights in sharing his plans with his children.  He shares things in ways that we understand and in ways that will encourage us.  What an awesome thing to be a part of His family and a part of His plan. 

Thanks for your prayers and support. 

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

ON LINE DONATIONS

Finances and Missionary Life (aka - 5 Principles of Missionary Living - Part 4)

This is the fourth installment in a series on missionary living.  This has been several months in the sharing.  I say in the sharing because the article has been written for a long time.  Talking about finances is always a tough topic, and even tougher in these difficult economic times.

Here are links to previous topics in the series.  I encourage you to take a look.

 Part 1 - Calling

Part 2 - Convience

Part 3 - Uncertainity

Finances

There is never a good time financially in a person’s life to be a missionary.  At this moment, every single missionary that is on our team could be making more money back in North America.  Everyone.  Every missionary has taken from 50% to 90% pay cuts from their earnings potential by choosing to serve on the mission field.  A missionary couple currently needs $2000 monthly to live in our corner of Brazil.  When you consider that two people each work a minimum of 40 hours a week, that adds up to 320 working hours for the month as a minimum.  Or, $6.25 an hour.  Less than minimum wage.  Nope, there is nothing really financially great about serving on the mission field. 

 One of the biggest hindrances for people that want to become missionaries and support missionaries is the “American Consumerism” mentality.  This drives so many people into debt.   And then, they wait to pay off their debt, but they do not know how to fend off the monster.  School debt, credit card debt, car debt, house debt.  Personally, I have seen how a commitment to “debt avoidance” has been a huge help in achieving freedom to do ministry.  First, it made it possible for me to minister in the States for more than a decade in unpaid positions before I came to the mission field.  Then it smoothed the pathway while here on the mission field.  More than 20 years ago I made a commitment to God to take no debt.  This was while I was still a student at Arizona State University.  When I married Suzanne 16 years ago, she took up that commitment with me.  No debt for anything.  What an immense freedom to serve and not be restrained by the concerns that normally come along with a debt.

 It is difficult to “get rich” or fulfill financial dreams for those that serve on the mission field.  It should be clear that if someone is seeking temporal security (in finances) and wanting to go to the mission field, the two will probably not coexist.  The need for security is a strong pull in our lives.  We often let that desire be the rudder that steers the direction of our lives.  Scripture is pretty clear that there is much more to finding out what God wants for our lives than a simple financial formula. 

Where We Need to Go

I like C.S. Lewis.  I always have.  From the first time I picked "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" back in Middle School to this present moment. 

I always amazed at how relevant and thought provoking his books are. 

 

"A Year With C.S. Lewis" is mind stretching and spirit stretching.  It takes me where I need to go.  After getting there, I am glad that Lewis provoked my thoughts to travel in a new direction or reexamine a half forgotten line of thinking.  The book is a 365 day devotion, with snippets from most of Lewis' books.  The readings are short and concise, but this is the way Lewis wrote. 

Profoundness is the ability to concisely say what needs to be said.  Lewis understood this clearly.  Many mistakenly believe that by say more and saying it loudly, that we strengthen our arguments.  Quite the contrary. 

There are books that make us uncomfortable because we do not like the way an author treats a subject.  And there are other books that make us uncomfortable because we need to think, ponder and reconsider some of the ideas and images we have in our head.  Lewis' writings clearly fall into the second category. 

Lewis' book is a wonderful challenge on a daily basis.  It is a delightful departure from most of the easy reading that is so common.  And the relevance transcends cultures and eras.  This is a mark of a great writer. 

Take the time to enjoy this book.  The pleasure is that there is a morsel of insight every day.  The book just may turn into a long term companion on your bookshelf. 

Outreach Conference

Preaching during the conference - the venue was one of the municipal stadiums

The worship band ... and the video guy aka "Josh"

Recently we had the delight of having an outreach conference in our city of Altamira.  It was a great time to see the effort of the local church to make the event a success.  There were alot of people who came. 

A few of the highlights of the two day event were to see how much everyone in the local church poured into the event.  There was an effort on the part of everyone to really see that everything went successfully and ran smoothly.  I was extremely glad in that I was pretty much just an observer.  It was great to go and hang out and not really have any significant role.  I like that. 

The one thing that jumped out at me was to see the church having the desire to make it all happen.  It is great to recognize the church honoring a strong evangelistic outreach as part of their genetic code.  This, to me, shows the growth of the local church. 

Worship through dance during the conference