Bud Simon

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

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

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. 

"It" & Kindle

Craig Groeschel, founder and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv in Oklahoma, wrote a great book called "It" .

The book is addresses the ability and lack of ability of churches (as well as other institutions) to get " it" , keep " it"  or lose " it" .

The guy knows what he is talking about, both from experience and from the contacts that he has.  He uses many practical examples and illustrations as well as making them relevant to those that want to apply them in their lives and ministry. 

He moves through a series of characteristics that help contribute to " it" , that intangible benefit of growth.  He speaks about vision, divine focus, camaraderie, innovation, risk taking, outward focus, & Kingdom mindedness. 

He also speaks about the ability to gain, produce, transfer, and maintain " it" . 

So, bottom line?

A little hard to read because of the abstract sense.  If you can deal with that and make it work for you, it is an excellent and practical book on putting into place things that will help your ministry grow and multiply. 

I highly recommend this book.  I recommend the book because it is a different perspective on a common subject and the writer is a productive practitioner of that which he writes about.

ABOUT KINDLE...

I am curious if anyone uses the Kindle reader from Amazon.com?  How does it work?  Are you happy with it?

I am wondering if it is worth trying.  Give me your feed back, I would love to hear what you think.

Reality meets vision

This is a family with five kids, all under seven years old.  There are many children that live in the interior of the Brazilian Amazon with no current access to a local church. 

Recently I had the opportunity to travel out to several of the communities along the Iriri River where we currently are working to plant churches.

Our vision is to plant churches and training leaders. 

But reality is that many of these people are functionally illiterate.  They do not own any books and many do not have the desire to learn to read.  The daily work of making a real and long term impact is much harder than simply making a verbal statement. 

In one village, we held a service as we often do. The people were animated, worshiping freely, and enjoying the time together.  Some in the village have already made a decision to follow Christ and every person in the village was in attendance.  They listened attentively to the Word and two men gave their lives to the Lord. 

They are totally willing to make a commitment, but the difficulty is that there are many hurdles in the path to making a full decision to a vibrant life in Christ.  Our goal is to take those hurdles out of the way for them and smooth the pathway for them to having a relationship with our Lord. 

We were able to help them bind together a team effort so that they can share in the joy of church life on a regular basis within their current reality.  The local patriarch took responsibility for organizing the meeting and making sure that people attend.  One of the young ladies in the village knows how to read and is willing to read the Scriptures in the public meeting.  I love this act, the "Public reading of the Scriptures" (1 Tim 4:13), something which does not exist in Western societies. 

And so, I ask for your prayers.  Prayers for people who are trying to fan into a flame the small flicker of faith that they possess.  Prayers for  us that we can empower them to succeed.  And prayers that they will have victory in the Spiritual battle that lays in front of them. 

More than 80 years of life along the river

One of the many smiling faces to greet us as we visited the villages

Life along the river includes using the river water for bathing, washing clothes, and drinking

On the River

Pastor Antonio and one of his children stand in front of the mission boat used for church planting.  Pastor Antonio is the regional leader for Gurupa. 

On a recent trip down the river, I was able to spend a few days in and around the town of Gurupá.  One of the places where we were able to stop on the trip was near the mouth of the Xingu River.  The work there is relatively new and there is a freshness in the interest of the people. 

Recently there were baptisms for the first time and on this trip we celebrated communion with the new members of the church.  It was great to be able to have the privilege of being there for the simple event that marks a positive turning point in the growth of the church. 

The meeting was amazingly simple.  It was held on the beach, near some trees.  There were about 60 to 70 people. People kept arriving during the entire meeting.

The people expressed a heartfelt desire to hear the Gospel.  The sincerity and simplicity of the people is what opens my eyes.  They want to know and they want to be part of what God is doing at this moment in time.  They open their hearts to His presence, to let Him make a positive difference in their lives and the life of their community. 

It was great to have another one of our missionaries along, Dr Tim Kubacki.  He was able to hold a clinic in a community which has probably never had a doctor visit.  Often the needs are simple, but the positive influence and the practical demonstration of care and concern are powerful.  Dr Tim helps communicate in the minds of the people the love of God through Tim's desire to help in any way.  Tim also takes the time to pray with each and every patient to whom he provides care.  This is a clear way to point to God as the Great Physician.  It was alot of fun to have the company of another missionary along and it was great to see God using him in positive ways!

 The church service on the beach near the mouth of the Xingu River

Riding in the close quarters of the boat.  Dr Tim is on the left and the other members are part of the team along with their families

Dr Tim doing a consultation in a classic setting.  People gather around to hear and to see what is happening.  Tim spent years as an Emergency Room Doctor in Ohio.  The Lord has called Tim to use his talents in an amazing new way. 

Dealing with Uncertainity on the Mission Field (aka 5 Principles of Missionary Living -Part 3)

 I have previously shared some thoughts on missionary living in prior posts.  This is the third part in that series.  The series has been awhile in development and delayed with other events.  I encourage you to check out the other posts.  Here they are:

Part 1 - Calling

Part 2 - Convenience

A major adjustment in dealing with life on the mission field (and living in third world countries in general)  is dealing with the lack of certainty.  We, as North Americans, love certainty.  We embrace and celebrate it.  We really do.  We recognize it and reward it.  We want things and people to be on time.  Our culture awards consistency.

We like knowing that the car will start in the morning, that the store will be open when you go there, that the store will have what they said they would have, that they will deliver things when they say they will, and that the bank machine will give money out when we use our debit card.  But, reality in the third world is that certainty is a scarce commodity.  Things that are normal and things that we are accustomed to as being reliable, consistent and certain in the context of a North American culture, just are not in many other parts of the world.  We come to take for granted that type of dependability and it becomes glaringly obvious when it is lacking. 

Or, think of it from a different angle.  Like, I am certain I will need patience, that things will not go exactly as I plan, that I will be delayed, that other people will mess up my plans, and that circumstances will make things difficult.  Most everything here has a lack of certainty that provides for a greater dependence on God, and not our own abilities or ingenuity.  On the mission field, there is a degree and element of uncertainty virtually every day and in most events.  Things like having consistent water and electricity, getting the mail, the gas station having gas, the phones working, cell phones working - the list goes on and on.

And there is an effect that comes into play when these simple tasks become complex, uncertain, and unreliable.  It is the principle of compounding inefficiencies.  The effort of dealing with all the uncertainty can become overwhelming. 

It can seem that all of life is consumed in dealing with and resolving in innovative ways all of these situations that do not even exist in the context of the North American culture.  Many simple things need contingency plans built into the thinking and planning. 

And this is where we can see God revealed in our living.  Do we have the strength of character to deal with these issues?  Are we focused on how things delay and inconvenience us, or are we focused on what God is doing in each and every situation?  On what do we set our eyes?  Or maybe it is better to ask, on whom?  The lack of certainty is an obvious reality of life on the mission field and may be one of the most difficult adjustments to make. 

Books

I changed most of the selections on my sidebar of "recently read books".  Take a look there to see some of what I have been reading.  Let me highlight a few.

Two books stayed on, Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels.  I find this is a book that I refer to time and time again.  Great book.

The other book is more unique - Flabbergasted by Ray Blackston.  This is probably the funniest story I have ever read on being single and the struggles and desires that are faced AND wanting to be a missionary.  Totally unique.  The first of a trilogy, I recommend all three of these books.

Another book, not on the list, is "Band of Brothers" an excellent book.  I also watched the DVD movie series with my wife and it was wonderful.

I have been listening to some CDs, "Church Planting, God's Heart for Expansion".  This is a series of teaching by John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard movement.  He lays out clear principles for church planting and church growth.  The material is relevant and practical.  Great stuff. 

The one book I have read these last six months that has most impacted my life is Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson.  It is a life changer.  It is a book that has transformed the way I think of the Bible, the way I read the Bible, and the way I communicate the Bible. 

Eugene Peterson wrote the Bible paraphrase, "The Message".  He also discussed his approach and the birth of that project. 

I recommend this book for a better perspective and understanding of the Bible.  I will be reading this again in the near future. 

An Emerging Missional Church

This book is funny.  But the humor flows from a transparent heart and a man who isn't afraid to talk about his mistakes. 

This is the first book in a long time that made me laugh out loud.  I mean really laugh (the last was a Dave Barry book).  I can totally relate as a former youth pastor, as someone who plants churches, and as a guy. 

Driscoll talks openly about his life, his struggles and his successes.  He is direct and clear and has some great insights into what God is doing and why. 

He also clearly delineates some of the thoughts and strategies that he discerns from Scripture. 

He is also a man who is polarizing.  There is not alot of room for middle ground.  It is all black and white. 

A quick and easy read.  If you are interested in church planting, church growth, strategies, and contemporary issues, I recommend this book.