Getting Caught up.

Getting Caught up.

It’s Monday morning!

I’m so sorry I’ve not been able to bring updates on a regular basis. It’s been difficult to get time to do more than some facebook stuff from my phone.

Here’s what’s been on our itinerary since Wednesday.

Thursday morning we had time to go visit the two main sights of Rio. The first was Sugar Loaf Mountain which is basically a 1200 ft. rock sticking out of the ocean. You take 2 cable car rides up to the top. There were Incredible views of the ocean & city.

The other excursion was up the mountain to see the famous Christ the Redeemer statue. Having seen this in pictures so many times, it was awesome to see it up close.

At 5:00 we went to a church in a rough neighborhood of town. This one was broadcast live online so I know some of you were able to catch it. I just checked and you can still navigate to the video cam of the evening. It is at www.batistadomeier.org.br/inicio.html
Click on “culto ao vivo” That will get you to the most recent live service post, you will need to scroll to the right to July8th service. I shared a brief testimony in this one which had some problems w/ Silas, one of our translators. ☺

On Friday & Saturday we took part in a conference of church musicians. I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was just like being home (with the exception of not speaking the same language). Ministers & musicians here are having the same challenges and struggles as those in America.

The first thing I was asked to do was teach a guitar class... This had a few challenges: 1. No translator 2. No curriculum 3. I don’t play guitar (even though I know “how”) This was a great time though. It all went very well until the last few minutes when they all began to chant in English “you play... you play... you play...” the look of disappointment in their face was priceless. ☺

There are 3 other full-time church musician leaders on the trip. Two orchestra directors (one from Phoenix First Assembly, and the other from a church near Tampa Bay) and a music pastor from an independent church in Ohio. Three of us did a Q & A session with all of the individuals from the conference. Here’s where it really felt SO similar to the challenges of ministry in the US. It was wonderful to be able to encourage them & let them know they are not alone in their struggles.

Then it was another guitar class, we played a concert, a short break, then we sight read an entire musical production with a GREAT choir. There was full orchestration, and we were a trombone & flute choir... So some trombones were reading French horn parts, trumpet parts, sax, etc... I was asked to play the cello for this. It was fun. But I lived up to the saying that someone put on my facebook: “What do lightning and a cellist’s fingers have in common: they never strike the same place twice.” I’m really glad there was no mic on me, but it was a GREAT time with a very good Brazilian conductor.

Saturday we returned to the same location and taught more classes & Q&A sessions. And did a couple concerts. We also had a combined service in the evening which included the worship team from Wednesday night. A choir that performed a Bach Cantata and the Hallelujah Chorus. All that was so great, and when we finished with the contemporary worship, I thought we were gonna blow the roof off the place. It was great!

That night we went out to a Brazilian steakhouse (of course here it’s just a steakhouse). It’s similar in function to Sabor (in Milwaukee), but more middle class in style. It was very good.

Sunday morning we played in a traditional Baptist church. The presence of God was incredible during that service. I often talk about a “pile of rocks” moment where God does something that we need to build an altar of remembrance. This church will always have a “pile of rocks” About half way through the service I could not help from weeping.

If I had to define what the Lord was speaking to me, it would be: “When you capture my heart for people, it CHANGES you.” It felt like my DNA was being changed. Following the service we had an hour drive to the “hippy fair” in Ipanema. My time with the Lord continued in the back of the bus and I just wept as the Lord continued working in my heart.

It’s really indescribable what happens when you go on a missions trip. For the vast majority of our team, this is their first trip. Each one would tell you the same as those who’ve been on a trip before. It changes you. Getting away from our culture and our routine gives God the opportunity to speak to us in a new and real way.

That’s all I’ve got time to type right now... there’s just not enough time to express what a blessing it is to do this.