Week 48
* Two weeks ago we had our Men's Seminar. The topic was "Serving God in the Working Place." The number of attendants decreased this year, but on the other hand the interaction and fellowship among the brethren was greater than before! Praise God.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Bio.Zugzwang/MenSSeminar2009#
* This last weekend Mozart, some brothers from São Lourenço, and I visited four churches in the interior of the state. It was a fantastic trip. It was so edifying visiting those brothers. In spite of their church sizes and challenges, they showed much hospitality and love towards us.
May the Lord bless bless their efforts to grow and reach out.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Bio.Zugzwang/Missons_Interior_Nov09#
- QDBV -
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Week 47
Yesterday I spoke at a funeral. but this time it was different. The deceased woman was the mother of one our brothers at São Lourenço. As soon as Dayse and I got at the cemetery, we noticed there were many children. I counted ten children one time. There were present four generations. We questioned to ourselves, should children attend funerals? Should we expose them to the concept of mortality at the age of 10?
On one hand, we thought that was a too traumatic to see the corpse of a loved one that wouldn't ever come back. On the other hand, death as tragic at it is is part of life. Until when should we hide this reality from our children? At what age are they capable of assimilating that this beautiful life, full of beautiful people is yet not so beautiful, and it has an end for us all? Is this a healthy existential experience for such an early age? Too many questions, I know. I admit I don't an answer. I don't have a stance. The children though I saw yesterday screamed aloud. Their screams even left the adults disturbed and uneasy. The moments the casket was closed and finally when it covered with sand were so strong. They screamed, "Don't do it [throw sand]!" "Please, come back!" "Don't do this to her." Of course their understanding of death was still so attached to the physical world. No conception of supernaturalism or spirituality.
When it was all over, funeral and children's commotion, I noticed two boys who were so serene, standing next to me. Like angels. These were the boys of our brother in Christ. They faithfully attend church.
Yesterday I spoke at a funeral. but this time it was different. The deceased woman was the mother of one our brothers at São Lourenço. As soon as Dayse and I got at the cemetery, we noticed there were many children. I counted ten children one time. There were present four generations. We questioned to ourselves, should children attend funerals? Should we expose them to the concept of mortality at the age of 10?
On one hand, we thought that was a too traumatic to see the corpse of a loved one that wouldn't ever come back. On the other hand, death as tragic at it is is part of life. Until when should we hide this reality from our children? At what age are they capable of assimilating that this beautiful life, full of beautiful people is yet not so beautiful, and it has an end for us all? Is this a healthy existential experience for such an early age? Too many questions, I know. I admit I don't an answer. I don't have a stance. The children though I saw yesterday screamed aloud. Their screams even left the adults disturbed and uneasy. The moments the casket was closed and finally when it covered with sand were so strong. They screamed, "Don't do it [throw sand]!" "Please, come back!" "Don't do this to her." Of course their understanding of death was still so attached to the physical world. No conception of supernaturalism or spirituality.
When it was all over, funeral and children's commotion, I noticed two boys who were so serene, standing next to me. Like angels. These were the boys of our brother in Christ. They faithfully attend church.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Week 45
Dara is now allergy free!
Yesterday she drank her first cup of milk, a small portion though. Today she ate milk made cookies. All the tests showed her body overcame her allergy to milk protein and now she can start a slow process of milk intake diet.
We are all so jubilant! Please, thank our God for Dara, that she can now go to parties, eat cookies, have an ice cream, etc. just any other child.
- Thank you for your prayers thorough these years. See Dara with her last special milk cans.
Yesterday she drank her first cup of milk, a small portion though. Today she ate milk made cookies. All the tests showed her body overcame her allergy to milk protein and now she can start a slow process of milk intake diet.
We are all so jubilant! Please, thank our God for Dara, that she can now go to parties, eat cookies, have an ice cream, etc. just any other child.
- Thank you for your prayers thorough these years. See Dara with her last special milk cans.
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We say we want to know everything, but we can't know everything. We can't, because first of all our senses are imperfect, second our storage capacity is limited. Of course, some people have sharper and keener senses than others, and a larger memory capacity; but we're still limited.
I realized how this is true when I observed an architectonic feature of this church building below. It has been there for centuries, but only now I could observe the way it is designed in the back---it has three shaped triangles, see?. I lived in this neighborhood until I was 22, but never noticed this obvious feature.Maybe this is a good argument and reminder that we need to read our Bible versions as often as we can. Have you ever had one of those discovery verses reading your Bible? You wonder, "I have never noticed this verse here! I read this book several times." Well, it has been there for centuries. We need to always reread our Bibles, in different versions, in different languages, and when we think we have known it all, read it again in the originals!
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