Bud Simon

A Powerful Reminder

Sky and water blend together at the horizon along the Xingu River

You ever wonder why you are doing what you do?

This week I had a wonderful reminder of why I am doing the work that I do. 

We had the delight of having visitors from the Cleveland area this last week.  It was great to visit a variety of communities along the river with them.  There was an awesome sense of the presence of the Lord and a simple sincerity in seeing the Spirit move among us. 

It was wonderful to worship together, pray together, fellowship together and laugh together. 

For me, the defining moment of the trip took place under the setting sun in a small community.  The meeting took place outside, in the shade of several large fruit trees.  The worship was uncomplicated.  The people were simple and genuine.  The message was clear. 

And the response was profound.  In the meeting of about 50 people, 12 came forward to give their lives to the Lord.  It was in some ways similar to "you and your family will be saved" (Acts 16).  Many were members of the same families and extended families.  The power of God fell on that place in that moment.  His touch was irresistible. 

It brought me back to the reason I came here years ago.  There are people that have never heard the simple message of the Gospel. "How will they hear if no one tells them?" (Romans 10).  I love that God moment, when a person's face lights up for the first time with the joy of salvation.  There is nothing sweeter.  I thank God for letting me partake in His work in this place. 

Wading across the mud flats at the edge of the river

Fishing Trip

 Daniel and Caleb in the boat on our fishing trip

Daniel stretches out in his hammock as we get ready to turn in at night

I had a great trip out with Daniel and Caleb and Diné, a friend of ours from the church.  We went up to visit some of our friends along the river and spend the night there with them.  The boys were excited to try out their new fishing poles and also to use their masks for diving. 

We left on our trip in the afternoon, fishing and swimming and eating all of the nutrious stuff (chips and cookies) that guys like to eat on these outings.  We pulled in to a place along the river where we have a church and some friends of our live.  It was fun setting up for the night and having our meal by the light of an oil lantern. 

The next day, we were up before dawn, just like good fisherman everywhere.  We went out with rods and reels and spearguns and masks and had a great time.  We also got burnt to a red (beyind rosy) crisp.  Yes, Dad was wayyyy to spars on the sun screen for the boys and they were delighting in the pleasure of playing on beaches and jumping off of rocks into the river.  Dang, it was a good time.

The fun thing is seeing the boys grow up and mature and start to take interest in an ever expanding world.  It is great to be able to share the experiences with them and enjoy the time together.  Have a base of common experiences builds bonds that last. 

Please remember to pray for our family and for the safety and health of our children.

Thanks!

Daniel & Caleb with our friend Diné in the as the sun comes up over the river.  Ready for a day of fishing. 
  

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

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. 

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. 

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.

Assurini

Senor Antonio looks on as Pastor Clenildo serves himself some " Abacaba".  Abacaba is a regional fruit that is made into a juice.  Antonio is a new believer. 

I returned from a short trip yesterday - hot, muddy, sweaty, tired - it was great. 

Let me share a personal reflections about my trip...

I had some time to think and ponder during my short time in the Assurini.  First, a note of clarification.  The " Assurini"  is a region across the river from Altamira.  Assurini is the name of an Indian tribe that had inhabited the area years ago.  Today, it is a region of jungle, interlaced with miles and miles of trails and roads.  There are thousands of settlers that live alone and in small communities in these backwoods.  It is reached by crossing the river on a ferry. 

There is also a tremendous need for the Gospel.  After spending part of the afternoon helping build a church in a local community, I sat in the meeting in the evening.  I was moved by simple thoughts.  30 months ago, there were no Christians in this community.  There was no sense of God, of His presence, of His plan, or of His purpose. 

And there has been a change that has an eternal impact.  It is wonderful to observe men and women undergo a transformation, a softening of hard edges and hard hearts. 

And I thought to myself, this is why I keep going back.  Things aren't easy, things aren't always going well or right, but when they do, like they are in this place, it is a charge of electricity that brightens my day and lightens my load. 

And that is what makes it worth the time. 

Working on building a church out in the bush.  I am the guy behind the camera:)

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

Looking through the Lens

 

Looking at the world through experienced eyes

A young child looks out from the door of the wooden house on stilts.  She is one of thousands that live along the Amazon and the tributaries, waiting for the Good News of Christ.

I love the eyes and the fact that she is able to smile in spite of the poverty she survives

As we enter 2009, there is always a moment of reflection inside ourselves as we stand on the threshold of a new year.  For me, one of the questions I ask myself is "Why am I in my current occupation?" or more specifically to me, "Why am I a missionary here in the Brazilian Amazon?"

The photos answer the biggest part of the question.  There are still a 1000 villages, with young and old, people of every type of diversity, living in within reach of Altamira. 

And I want them to have an opportunity to hear the Gospel.  At least once.

I want them to see love in action.

I want them to know and understand that there is a God who created them.  Who died for them.  Who rose again from the dead so that they can have a new life.  And who loves them with a never ending love. 

I want them to know the simple Good News of Jesus Christ.  The news that their life can change.  And change for the better.  Transformation - for an eternity.

I want them to know, out in the farthest and remotest corners of the jungle, that all of this only depends on their heart, their choice, and the grace of a generous God.  No strings attached.  No frills needed.  No luxury, no stain glass, just a cathedral of the jungle for some of them to worship. 

Simple.  Salvation.  Transformation.  Forever.  Love.  Grace.  Goodness.  Mercy. 

I want them to know these things. 

And those are just some of the reasons I still hang around Altamira.  The best is yet to come!

Please consider being a part of this with your prayers, with your presence, and with your giving.  We need more partners.  It is about being a team to change the story of the people in this region. 

Listening to a Gospel presentation during an open air meeting in a village

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.