For those of you who are still basking in the brevity of last week’s shorten email, I hate to burst your bubble but you may want to pour another cup of coffee, sit back and settle in for one of my more typical emails of length, with very little meaningful content or relative importance.

Labor Day weekend proved to a busy one, if not for the church, for me. We had three young (early twenties) guys stay with us for a week. They had gone to a Bible college in Campo Grande, Brazil a year or two ago and were just spending some youthful energy traveling around Brazil. So for better or worse I had some unexpected roommates for the week. Not too bad, I survived and they slept most of the time they were here. Youth can wear a person out.

The kicker to my week was on Friday night, 9/4, I was out for dinner with Hudson, Russel, Aline and the Americans and after we had finished and were walking out of the restaurant, Elder (that’s his name not a position in the church) was waiting outside for me. I was a bit surprised to see him, he was getting married on Saturday so I figured he would have other things to do the night before his wedding. What he needed was to drop some things off at the church. No problem. I hopped in his car and as we were driving back to the church he mentioned, in passing, that thirty members of his family would be arriving at 6am, via a bus, on Saturday morning from Sao Vicente (9 hours away). They would need to use the church to rest, eat lunch and clean up for the 4pm wedding. Obviously, or not so obvious, I knew of the wedding but that was the first time anyone had told me of his family needing to use the church. Again no big thing, so at 11pm I had to clean the church and set up 20 army cots, which are used for missionary groups when they come through. So for period of time on Saturday there were 34 (including the traveling Americans) of us sharing two small bathrooms, a kitchen and whatever available floor space that wasn’t taken up by the cots or exhausted travelers. Plus I had to leave early to set up the audio equipment for the wedding. The ceremony and reception was across the bay in Niteroi. That’s the third wedding in the church since I have been here. For my sake I hope it’s not contagious.

I have been going to the Alpha class on Wednesday nights. Alpha is very straight forward non aggressive presentation of Christianity giving you some solid practical and factual information to build a firm foundation to base your beliefs on. The class is being held at someone house, in a very nice part of Rio alongside a lake. We have small dinner, watch the DVD and then discuss the video. It’s group of about 15 people, most are members from the Anglican Church, varied backgrounds and ages. I was exposed to members of the Anglican Church when I was in Canada while volunteering at the Food bank. All good and successful people but I am genuinely surprised by their lack of understanding or exposure to the Bible. In fact, the facilitator of our group, in her own words said that she wasn’t quite sure where she was in her walk with Jesus. It was very interesting to sit and listen them discuss the DVD. There was a women, in her mid sixties, thought that Christianity had messed up the world and said if she had a little more self discipline she would be a Buddhist. Wow, I was taken back at first and didn’t want to cause any conflicts but now I know why I am in this group. In God’s timing and prompting I will try to present and represent the truth of the Gospel to these people over the next 8 weeks.

One good thing did come out of the Alpha class, Jezzele and Dave, the Brazilian women and her English husband, were there as well. As you may recall they were the couple (mid twenties) that came to our Thursday night Bible study two weeks ago. She’s a believer and is very excited about connecting with a church. He wasn’t quite there as a believer just yet but very open to the Gospel and had some questions. During the Alpha class he was sitting in the back and listening very intensely to the DVD. Afterwards we went to a corner in the room and he asked me a lot of questions about the video and the Bible. We stayed and talked for quite a while. Well last Thursday night while talking with Jezzele in the privacy of their apartment he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. She was so thrilled and could hardly wait to tell me the exciting news when we had lunch on Sunday. They came to the Sunday Night service, thoroughly enjoyed themselves and she also brought a friend. It was a great night of worshipping.

Not to confuse you but another couple, out of the blue, came to our Bible study last Thursday night. Again the woman is Brazilian but this time her husband was from Texas. (I hope you’re writing this stuff down.) He said he had gone to Calvary Chapel in Houston and was surprised and excited to see one in Rio. They too came to last night’s service. He’s an English teacher but also plays the drums and wants to be part of our Worship team, which right now consists of about 4 people. So God keeps drawing his people to our church while adding to his flock.

Also I got a great email from Dr. Hasse, and any of you who know me know of Dr. Hasse, he’s the Veterinarian in Florida that led me to Christ. I admit when I give my testimony I sometimes say that Midnight (my dog) led me to Christ, but it was actually Dr. Hasse who introduced me to the love that Jesus has for me. He’s the best Christian I know and I consider him my best friend. Well the Doctor sold his clinic and is getting ready to take on new challenges for God’s glory. He’s talking about going to Mongolia as part of for a veterinary mission’s team. It will be neat to see how God will use this humble and devoted man. My only question is what he is going do with the sign that says “Dave was saved here.” Maybe put it on EBay or donate to the Smithsonian. (Just kidding there’s no sign.) But Dr. Hasse has been alongside me, encouraging, disciplining and supporting me for my entire journey as I have tried to serve an awesome God. I know it’s been a bigger challenge for him than for me at times but I can’t thank him enough for being there that day when God reached out to me. Thank you.

Okay back to serving while always looking up and giving God all the glory.

Dave

The situation in southern Sudan remains difficult for believers which the Theisens hoped to serve before medical problems forced them to return home last fall.

Their push north from Uganda into the Sudan to begin a new work remains unfinished, and the situation calls for concerted prayer. The Theisens had returned to Africa in 2003 to assist the Ma’di Baptist Church planting effort around Kampala, Uganda in discipleship and community development. They now work in missions coaching.

Sudan’s problems draw considerable international media attention, U.N. and Africa Union peacekeeping forces, but much work remains undone, and there are signs the region may be returning to greater lawlessness.

Last month, two female aid workers (one Irish, one African) were kidnapped. Some news agencies report they may be released during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, which began Aug. 22.

Earlier this year, the Hague-based International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for crimes against humanity. The Sudanese government-backed violence against those in Darfur has left some 300,000 dead and nearly 3 million displaced from their homes.

In the south, the Ugandan rebel group Lord’s Resistance Army has recently launched a wave of reprisal attacks against the southern Sudanese in response to a U.S.-backed attempt last December to bring LRA leader Joseph Kony to justice. Since late July more than 180 people have been killed. Some 25,000 of 230,000 displaced people from area wars have entered southern Sudan, seeking refuge. Food supplies remain a problem, affected by drought.

Dozens of rebel groups operate in the country and tribalism causes groups to engage in cattle rustling and to dispute water rights. Please pray for the church in Sudan and the Theisens as they transition to new work in Portland. (See http://sudanpartnership.org/wordpress/)

Ramadan Muslim prayer focus — The Guhayna people of Sudan

Nomads wandering Central Sudan, the Guhayna trace their heritage to Bedouins who trekked across the deserts of Saudi Arabia centuries ago. Numbering some 1.3 million, the Guhayna embrace rigid codes of honor, loyalty and hospitality; strong men’s roles, the value of children, subservient women and adherence to the five pillars of Islam. Confessing Christ as Lord has serious consequences. No one is actively reaching out to the Guhayna for Christ. (Taken from 30 Days Muslim Prayer Focus.)

The world just got a whole lot smaller this week.

Last week I gave you a brief history about the church losing their first Pastor due to Visa problems. Well unknown to me at the writing of that email that the pastor was actually coming to Rio for a visit. Not really a gift of prophecy on my part but guess who he is? This is where the small world part comes in, especially for Rolly and Chuck. He knows you guys. He’s been a pastor with Calvary Chapel in Mobile, Alabama for the past four years. He’s also a graduate of Oregon State. Go Beavers! Still not connecting? Well he use to be with Campus Crusade in Corvallis and was a disciple of Alex Kettle and worked with Jeff Harris. His wife was a secretary at a church. Oh yeah, the church was First Baptist. His name is Jason Eisenweise. He spent the week here and preached on Sunday night. So the leak between First Baptist and Calvary Chapel in Corvallis with the church in Rio continues to grow even stronger. Amazing how God connects all the dots.

Okay the big ticket item for this week was that on Saturday we went to Xerem, but not for a bible study. This time we took large pickup truck loaded with donated clothing, shoes, toys and other stuff that the church had been collecting for the past 6-12 months. The purpose of the donations was to hold a giant yard sale to raise money to help support the school. But the extra neat twist was that last week we gave the kids, who attend the school, some Calvary Chapel monopoly-type of money which they could use to buy things. The kids took their purchasing power very seriously inspecting all the merchandise while weighing their decisions and were extremely thrifty with how they spent their money. The rest of the villagers had to use real currency to buy things.

All items were marked at bargain basement prices, with most things going for 25 centavos (cents) to 8 reals (dollars) and even at those low prices negotiating was the rule of the day. It started off a little slow but after about a half an hour, word of mouth spread throughout the village and we were swamped. Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s never saw such a crowd. We stayed until almost every item was sold or given away, raising over $400 for school supplies. But the overwhelming look of pure joy and appreciation on Euciene’s face was priceless.

The rest of my week consisted of basic repairs around the church. Painting the office area plus an accent wall in the sanctuary. I did hang a new microwave on the kitchen wall, which meant I needed to move and re-arrange several cupboards as well. Nothing is ever simple. Thank you Larry for bringing my hammer drill. My painting talents also went beyond the church walls as I helped a member of the church paint his new apartment.

But my real adventure came on Monday as Pastor Alex called and wanted me to take the bus from the church to his house, no problem. I have taken the bus a half dozen times from his house back to the church. I know his immediate neighborhood quite well so I didn’t think much about it. Alex lives about 15-20 minutes from the church and the way in which the bus drivers fly down the streets that equates to about 100 miles away. Maybe a slight exaggeration but only slight. When taking the bus to Alex’s there is a fork in the road and the bus goes up a one way street which parallels Alex’s street. A street I have never been on. So all the shops, I thought I would recognize weren’t there. When I got off the bus I ended up walking in the wrong direction. Lost in Rio. Obviously being a man I didn’t ask anyone for help. Finally, an hour later Alex had to come and pick me up. Not sure where I was or how far I had gone but I think I may have seen the Argentine border crossing.

The lady whom Alex and I prayed with a couple of weeks ago returned again last night to the services and brought two friends. She seemed to be in a far better mood than when she first crossed our doorway.

My Portuguese is slowly getting better but they still talk way too fast and they have a different word for everything. The Hostel is pretty loud at nights, the back-packing travelers seem to enjoy themselves in Rio. I would compare it to living above a college Frat house during pledge week. So l could use a good night sleep and a real shower. No I am not going to tell you about the ordeal of taking a shower.

This week looks to be even busier. I am heading to Sao Vicente on Friday to attend another wedding (oh boy) and I am looking forward to seeing another part of Brazil. It’s about 8 hours from Rio. Not sure if I am riding down with someone or taking a bus. The adventure continues.

Again thanks to all of you for your prayers, thoughts and support. Emails would also be appreciated.

Time is whizzing by fast but I am still looking up and giving God all the glory.

Dave

Maputo, the capital of Mozambique is a beautiful city. Situated on the coast of the Indian Ocean, it has a feel as if on the Mediterranean. This is due to the influence of the Portuguese when Mozambique was a Portuguese colony.

During our visit to explore future ministry opportunities with Community Uplift Ministries (Circle of Light), I was amazed at the beauty of the country in the South. As we drove north from Maputo to Xia-Xia, about four hours, I could not believe how beautiful the coastline and ocean views were. As we drove past small villages and towns, I also noticed how different it appeared than other African countries I had traveled to…

Read more on Mike’s blog

Hi everyone!

Praise God, our sattelite modems are up and running again. The company that runs the modems changed how they work without warning and everyone that used this type of sattelite modem was stuck trying to figure out what to do. The normal answer would be to go online and get the solution, but that doesn’t work too well when you need the modem to get online! We all (most missionaries in this area) needed new SIM cards so our provider sent them via DHL and a friend dropped them off in the village on Friday.

On Saturday Jeremy, Mindie and Marci worked at transplanting oil palm trees from our backyard to Kelifa’s farm. Though we had some rather cool days the past couple of weeks, today was a real roaster! Even so, we got 90 trees planted. There are twenty holes left designated for orange trees. Please pray for this plantation endeavor to be successful. If it works as planned, it will make Kelifa (a leprosy victim and local pastor) self sufficient. The initial cost has been more than expected due to the need to protect the palms from the local cattle.

We just had a great meeting with the government doctor and some village elders to discuss Mindie’s medical role in the village. Please pray for wisdom as we set out boundries and as Mindie takes on certain areas of healthcare. We are excited to start introducing a new way to prepare leaves from a tree called “moringa” to the village in order to help stop malnutrition in the area. Pray for wisdom as we search out economical ways to plant the trees and find ways to teach how to use the tree.

Our truck has given some major issues for us to deal with. We needed to change out all of the tires and care for some other normal maintenance issues. Another problem relates to some mice that decided to make their home in the truck. We noticed that the carpet floors have remained completely soaked for several weeks, creating a major mold problem. Jeremy completely took apart the dash and found water coming out at a fast rate from around one of the air conditioner parts (probably a line chewed by a mouse). He also took all of the seats out and removed the carpet and insulation, showing all of the mouse potty areas, mixed in with big puddles of water! This has been a time consuming project to clean and repair and is not yet completed.

Jeremy and colleague Bruce Cluckie will be travelling to Grand Kondebun (a village where teammates are moving) this week to continue the missionary housing project there. They will probably spend 2-3 nights there before returning home. Pray for the wives and children to not have any major problems while the men are gone (the generator is currently misbehaving, but still running).

Love to all!

The Tices

Kicking the Cardboard Habit

For 11 years Daryl and I have had been going to friend’s houses for nice, pleasant dinners, and then it happens. I notice the cardboard box. Outwardly we’re chatting away and all is seemingly normal. But inwardly I’m thinking “Hmm… that box looks really sturdy, reinforced corners, …we could really use that.” I think this box hoarding has become an addiction. But I’d like to announce that I’ve finally kicked the habit, and last week we gave away our last stack of …

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