What's happening?

This is the "what's happening" page. Here I will post updates about the goings-on in my life; where I am, what I'm doing, how I'm doing, etc. Check in from time to time to keep abreast!

I will also post current prayer requests and items of praise for you to take before our Father in Heaven.

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December 19, 2011

As Christmas approaches and we prepare to celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus, it often saddens me how much the world has commercialized this holiday and changed its message from one of hope and salvation to one of greed and commercialism. Here is link to a song that I just got from a friend, that reminds us in a rather unique way about putting things in perspective. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

"Where's the Line to see Jesus?"

Merry Christmas!

November 13, 2011

A couple of weeks ago, 48 netbook computers were delivered to our office in Anápolis. These computers are destined for a course to be held in January-February for training indigenous Bible translators in the basic principles of translation. Now this course will not be held here, and these machines were originally destined for another city in the state of Mato Grosso. But due to "policies" of the delivery company, they all came here. At first I was concerned about this, that it would be a major inconvenience, since all of these computers ultimately need to be delivered to another destination. However, I soon came to realize that God causes all things to work together for good.

Before these computers can be given to the students, every one of them has to be set up, with software, configuration, and Windows updates. This has turned out to be a process taking several hours for each computer. I have set up a "production line" where I can do two at a time (limited because of needing to have them connected to the Internet during the process). If the machines had been delivered to their original destination as planned (only two were supposed to come to me), it would have been impossible to get them all set up in time to be used by the students.

Please be praying as I work to set these machines up. Pray that none of them turn out to be defective. Pray that I will be able to get all of them truly ready for the students. Give thanks that I was able to create a system-level keyboard usable in all indigenous languages here in Brazil. And also pray for me as I format Genesis and Jonah in another indigenous language; both are ready for publication, and this is the Word of God for these people.

August 7, 2011

A little over a week ago I finally got Internet access at home. The following day I set up my desktop computer, installing the latest version of Ubuntu Linux and copying data files over from the laptop that I had been using for most of the past two years, ever since going on furlough in November of 2009. Two providers that I had wanted to use turned out to not be available in this neighborhood, and so I went with a third. A couple of colleagues at the SIL office had indicated that they had problems with this provider, but I had little choice. So far, however, the service appears to be quite good, and the cost is reasonable.

A couple of posts ago I had mentioned meeting a prospective teacher in Green Bay, whom we were all hoping would soon join us here in Brazil. Unfortunately, her visa request was rejected a couple of weeks ago, after a long and often frustrating wait. Everything that I have heard seems to indicate that there is no possibility of getting this decision reversed. However, after praying about it (visas are "close to my heart", given some of my own experiences more than a decade ago!), I became convinced that God really does want her to come. At this point it will take a miracle—but maybe that is where God wants us to be, because if this door really does open up after all, it will be totally to His credit and glory, not ours.

So please give thanks for finally getting Internet service at home and getting my desktop computer set up. Also, please be praying for this prospective teacher and her visa. God does work miracles, even in this day and age. I believe that He wants to do another one here.

June 5, 2011

During the past week, we held our (now annual) Conference. It used to be called "Branch Conference", but since SIL Brazil is no longer an independent Branch, but a part of the Americas Group, we no longer use that term. There was some sadness at the end of an era, but at the same time, we recognize that God is restructuring us in order to make us more effective in bringing His Word to the indigenous people of Brazil. This is why we are here in the first place.

One nice thing about Conference now is that we no longer spend hours and hours in business meetings. Instead, we are able to focus on a time of spiritual renewal, listen to reports from translators about progress in their programs, and spend more time with the people that live elsewhere in this large country and that we do not see very often. And on Wednesday morning we had a special time where we all invited our local pastors to hear reports from our national and indigenous brethren about their part in Bible translation.

As the head of the computer department, my main job was to run a couple of machines that we set up to use in our sessions. On the first day, even before the first session, we burned out a video card and the computer interface for our projector because of a grounding mismatch in the two different outlets we were using. Afterward, we rearranged everything to come out of a single outlet. One of our members provided another projector (the group machine will need to be taken in for repair), and I was able to reconfigure the computer to use a different video card. All through Conference, we had "little issues", but nothing that we were unable to deal with. This is a normal part of living in an imperfect world. The true measure of life is not whether or not it proceeds error-free, but rather, how we deal with problems when they arise.

The food was good and plentiful. Lodging (we held the Conference at a local hotel) was adequate (although I still prefer to sleep in my own bed!), and the surroundings peaceful and quiet. We had an excellent guest speaker who came from the U.S. and delivered a series of challenging messages. As Conferences go, this was one of the best ones that I have experienced.

And now, back to work. People are still waiting for God's Word…

April 21, 2011

Back in Brazil!

After nearly a year and a half, I am finally back on the field in Brazil. I left Tucson nearly two weeks ago, driving to Wisconsin and visiting friends along the way. Once I got to Wisconsin, I spent several days with my sister and brother-in-law, and also went and visited an old friend from Tucson in Oshkosh, and went to Green Bay to meet with a new teacher who is planning to come down to Brazil. We had an enjoyable and encouraging visit, and I am looking forward to seeing her down here when she finally gets her visa.

Last Monday, on April 18th, I boarded a Delta flight in Appleton, WI, and flew to New York. The connecting flight out of Detroit was delayed three hours, but because they have an agreement with TAM Brazilian Airlines, they were able to check my bags all the way to Rio de Janeiro, so that I did not have to pick them up in New York. That saved a lot of time when I arrived, so that I was able to quickly get checked in for the flight to Brazil. Once I arrived in Rio, I was actually able to get an earlier flight to Brasília, and after spending a few hours there to help a colleague, I took a bus to Anápolis.

Although I definitely miss the good friends that I made this furlough in Tucson, I am nevertheless very glad to be back on the field and able to get back to work. I have already arranged a house to live in, which is very close to the office. A lot of little details remain before I will be able to consider myself fully "moved in", but by the grace of God I will manage to remember all of them and get them done.

Please keep praying for me! Just because I finally made it to the field does not mean that the battle is over. On the contrary, it has only really just begun. The economy is in lousy shape, which makes it difficult for all of us. There is tremendous spiritual opposition to the work. But we must all remember that this is not a "career" or other me-centered way of looking at things. I and the rest of us came in obedience to God's call to bring His Word to the indigenous people of Brazil. As long as this is His plan and we obey, He will make it possible. But we have to keep praying. That's an important part of how He does things.

Meanwhile, it's time to get to work…

March 18, 2011

On the Road Again

Earlier this week I finally received permission to return to Brazil! One month from today, on April 18th, I will head to New York and fly from there down to Rio de Janeiro and then on to Brasília. From there I will catch a bus over to Anápolis, where I normally live and work. Before then, I have to finish up any business here in Tucson, pack up my stuff and drive to Wisconsin, stopping along the way to visit friends. And although I am definitely looking forward to getting back, I admit that I will miss life and friends here in Arizona.

So please be praying during this final month of preparation. Pray that I will not forget anything, and that all of the little details will work out. Pray also that I will find a good place to live in Anápolis, since the house where I lived before is no longer available. I do trust that the LORD already has a place set aside, but I have to discover where it is!

I would like to thank every one of you who has prayed and stood by during this time of waiting. It has not been wasted; God has used it to deal with some issues in my life that needed dealing with. He has His perfect timing!

November 9, 2010

I was going to post this yesterday, but the Internet connection was not working. However, everything is back up and running today, so I can share about the experiences of the past week. And they were wonderful.

Sunday, October 31 through Sunday, November 7 was Global Outreach Week at my home church, Casas Church in Tucson, AZ. On the first day, we had what was called a Street Fair, where all of us who work overseas hosted booths which members of the congregation came and visited between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM. During that time, I was able to share with many people about the work of Bible translation down in Brazil, and the other workers were likewise able to share about their ministries. The weather was perfect, and it was a wonderful morning where the work of God was lifted up for all to see.

During the week we had three days of meetings (we had Monday and Tuesday free because of the election), where all of us who work overseas got to meet and get to know one another better. For me, this was the first time that I had the chance to "put faces to names" for many of them. We had devotional meetings, opportunities to pray and interact, and even some fun outings. On Thursday, all of the men went and did "indoor skydiving" in a vertical wind tunnel—we got to fly like Superman!

The final Sunday was the highlight of the week. At all three services, our entire group was presented in front of the whole congregation, and we were anointed and prayed for. Two of the pastors interviewed a special guest who came all the way from her home country in order to meet us and thank us for the work we do there. All in all, it was a very powerful time, and my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will use that Sunday service to inspire the entire congregation to greater participation in the ministry of reaching people for Christ around the world.

If you would like to see a video recording of the November 7 service, click here.

Meanwhile, I ask every one of you to continue praying with me that I will be able to return to Brazil as soon as possible. God is at work around the world!

August 9, 2010

After traveling around the country for the summer, I am finally back in Tucson. I arrived last Thursday and have been settling back into the home where I am staying. Getting used to the desert heat is taking a bit of time, given that I had been accustomed to temps twenty degrees or more cooler.

During this summer I visited friends in several states and one Canadian province, spoke in three churches about my work in Brazil, attended the wedding of two people that I have known since they were little kids, and took some time for personal refreshment camping in the mountains. But now it is time to return to my regular life.

At this point, I will be staying here in Tucson until I am able to return to Brazil. I am still looking for more opportunities to share about my work; in churches, Bible studies and other groups. I have been appointed as the contact person for my Sunday School class for my home church's Missions Fair at the end of October. And I am continuing to help our SIL Brazil folk remotely.

So please be praying with me as I look for these opportunities to share, and that God would provide everything needed so that I can return to the work He has called me to do down in Brazil.

June 3, 2010

This is a bit late, but better than never. I arrived in Wisconsin nearly a week ago after a somewhat eventful trip from Tucson. I should have posted this back then, but I was quite busy with odds and ends. Now that I am preparing to continue my voyage tomorrow, I thought I would bring everything up to date.

I left Tucson on the 24th of May and spent that night in a campground in New Mexico. The next day, while still on back roads, my tailpipe all but fell off, courtesy of a bad mounting job by Midas. I was able to secure it with a rope until I arrived at my friends' place in Colorado, where I exchanged the rope for several loops of wire in three places. After that, it was solidly secured. Unfortunately, the muffler itself was damaged, and had to be replaced.

After a couple more days on the road, including a misunderstanding on Wednesday night that left me sleeping in my car, I arrived in Wisconsin. I was able to get the car fixed at a local Midas (they honored the warranty and did a much better mounting job). There was a question for a while whether or not my car would be driveable, due to possible fuel system problems, but that seemed to resolve itself (prayer, perhaps?). Anyway, I am now ready to continue.

So thanks everyone for all your prayers, and please keep on praying. I still have thousands of miles to go before I return to Tucson in August!

April 12, 2010

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend a half-hour sharing about my work in Brazil in the Sunday morning Bible fellowship class I attend at my home church. When I was first given this time, I wondered how I could possibly manage to fill up thirty minutes. And when the class leadership finished the worship and prayer time early—giving me nearly thirty-seven minutes—I really began to sweat a bit. Nevertheless, I grinned and got up and started to speak—beginning with a demonstration using an indigenous New Testament from Brazil—and before I knew it the thirty-seven minutes were over and I still had more to say!

I was able to end the presentation by asking for prayer about my financial needs for returning to Brazil, and handing out prayer cards. Then the class sat me down in a chair in front and everyone prayed over me. I really sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit during this time. May He continue to bless these wonderful people and their commitment to Him and His Kingdom.

"Coincidentally", I had already been scheduled to bring snacks for the class that day, and I had already been planning to bring Brazilian pão de queijo (I can get the mix at a local international food store). It was nice to not only be able to share about my work in Brazil and what God is doing down there among the indigenous people, but to give everyone a literal "taste of Brazil" on top of that.

December 21, 2009

Sometimes it's just plain "the other guy's fault", and there's nothing a person can do. I found that out personally today when a car from Mexico pulled out directly in front of me while I was halfway through an intersection. I had the green light. Legally, you can turn right on red here in Arizona. But you are also supposed to turn into the right-hand lane. This guy didn't. He pulled straight over to the left lane, right in front of me. Still, I managed to slow down enough (skidding all the way) so that I only banged into him with a relative velocity between 5 and 10 miles per hour. Neither car was damaged and nobody was hurt. After I called the police, he did get a ticket.

"All things work together for good…" By God's grace—and in no small part because of some of the things the LORD has been teaching me lately—I managed not to lose my cool and scream at heaven. After the "incident", my brake pedal went straight to the floor and did nothing. Fluid puddled under the car, near the left front wheel. In the end I had to have the car towed to a Volkswagen shop, where the mechanic looked at it and told me that the line that had ruptured had been rusted and in bad shape. It could have blown at any time after a hard braking—and I might not have realized that I had no brakes until it was too late. All things work together for good? I would say that this was definitely the Hand of God protecting me from what could have been a major wreck some time in the future, by allowing this to happen and bringing this serious defect to my attention in a much safer manner.

God is good.

December 15, 2009

Today I arrived in Tucson, after five days on the road. They were not long days, and in the summer, with longer hours of daylight, I could have done it in four—or I could have done it in a couple of months, camping along the way. Either way, I am here. It's good to be home.

I left the snow behind the second day on the road, in Illinois. In Oklahoma, the temps were up near seventy, and I almost found myself wishing that the car had air-conditioning. It did cool off, though, when I got to New Mexico; when I got up this morning in Socorro, there was a thick layer of ice on the windshield. I suspect that the altitude had something to do with that.

Anyway, I am settling into my new home. It's a small efficiency house way up in the northwest part of town, actually outside the city limits. It is a somewhat remote place out in the desert, with few neighbors. But there is a large shopping complex only a mile or so away which is very convenient, including a Wal-Mart superstore.

I think I'm going to like this place…

December 9, 2009

"The best laid plans of mice and men…" Well, I won't be going to Badlands on this trip. The snow has started and upwards of a foot is predicted! This storm has already swept over South Dakota, dumping plenty of the white stuff and leaving temperatures below zero in its wake. I enjoy cool temperatures, but that is downright cold. So I will put off my departure for Arizona until this coming Friday, the 11th.

My car is essentially ready. I've started packing my stuff. One more laundry job tomorrow and I will finish up. Hope the car starts on Friday morning; it's expected to be below zero!

November 10, 2009

Yesterday, I boarded a TAM Airlines flight in Goiânia, which took me to São Paulo, where I caught a Japan Airlines flight to New York City. From there I flew to Green Bay, Wisconsin to begin my furlough, visiting with my sister and brother-in-law in Pulaski. The weather is quite a change from what I have been accustomed to in Brazil! Nevertheless, I am looking forward to enjoying some cooler temps.

I plan to spend about a month here. Around the second week in December I will pack up and head to Tucson, Arizona, where I will spend the majority of my time in the States. I hope to get in some camping and a visit to Badlands National Park. Meanwhile, Go Packers!

I also have a car waiting for me. A 1988 Volkswagen Fox station wagon is sitting outside, only needing a license plate. I plan to go into Green Bay tomorrow and have that taken care of. It needs a few little things done before I will be ready to drive it a couple of thousand miles to Arizona, but I will have "wheels".

September 16, 2009

On Monday, I returned from a four day trip to Brasília, where I helped our colleagues at ALEM—the Brazilian national Bible translation organization—move their network hub from its old location to a new room built specifically for that purpose. It was a busy time. Thursday and Friday we planned and prepared. Then on Saturday we got to work.

We spent the entire day on Saturday—then the entire day on Sunday—getting the job done. In the end, we moved over thirty cables, and mounted the hub computers and Internet interface into a single nineteen-inch rack. I only stopped punching down wire connections on Saturday evening because it got too dark to tell the difference between orange and brown! Afterward, we rigged up a temporary power supply to the overhead light and continued after supper.

There were some incidents unrelated to our project. Another work crew was busy digging trenches to lay new pipe for their water system, and managed to cut two power lines and the entire bundle of phone cables. Now the power lines were quickly fixed, but the phone cables will have to be replaced. They were able to temporarily reconnect them, but they are underground, and during Rainy Season the ground becomes totally waterlogged.

Overall, the time was definitely worthwhile. ALEM is one of our partner organizations, and we are committed to facilitating their work as much as possible.

August 30, 2009

Last Friday, I returned from spending ten days near the northeastern city of Belém, here in Brazil. I was there to participate in a course and learn a program called Adapt It. Now I had heard of this piece of software before, but this was the first time I had actually seen it in operation. To put it mildly, I was impressed.

Adapt It is designed to allow a translator to quickly make an adaptation from one language to another, closely-related language. Unlike some other adaptation programs, this one is easy to use and fairly intuitive. And it is also cross-platform, meaning that it will run under Windows, Linux or Macintosh, which is a tremendous plus.

But probably the thing that impressed me the most was the way this program was received by the national colleagues who also took the course. When they arrived, they were like any other group of students. Each one of them was already working in a translation project, and they were curious about this new program, and probably at least a bit skeptical, but willing to try it out. By the end, every one of them was using it enthusiastically.

The instruction was done in English, with another SIL Brazil colleague translating into Portuguese (so I heard it twice!). In spite of the fact that the translator was not familiar with many of the technical terms, he quickly learned and was able to communicate what the instructor was saying quite clearly. I helped out where I could, and made sure that whatever questions I asked were asked bilingually, so that everyone would know what I was asking.

You might wonder what I—a support worker—was doing taking this course. The answer is quite simple: I will need to be able to support translators who use it. In addition, I was able to provide other technical support during my stay, and it was greatly appreciated. And I have already volunteered to finish translating the program interface into Portuguese, so that more national translators will be able to use it without the hindrance of a foreign language.

The accomodations were less than great—large holes in the screens allowed immense clouds of mosquitoes into the room at night (arrrrrrrrrrrgh!)—but the food was great and the people even better. All in all, it was a very worthwhile time.

June 26, 2009

Prayer Request

As you know, if you've followed my news for the past year, I have moved from our former SIL center in Cuiabá to the city of Anápolis, where our new office is located. I had mentioned in newsletters and in Current Billiard that my financial needs had gone up considerably. Since my furlough is coming up in November, I have felt the need to request prayer.

In order to return to Brazil after my furlough—hopefully in November of 2010—I will need to bring my support level up to around 50% more than it is currently. In addition, because of the loss of one of my supporting churches a year and a half ago, my actual needs are even greater.

In September, I will have another quota calculated for the cost of living in Anápolis. Due to fluctuations in the exchange rate, inflation and other factors, the actual figure my go up or down, although I do not anticipate a large change. Using current figures, my need for additional support comes to around $750 per month.

Now this may seem like a huge amount. However, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the diamonds in the middle of Jupiter, and all the petroleum reserves on Titan. For Him to provide this amount is utterly trivial. But we must pray. One of His principles is that He works in response to our petitions. I believe that this is to encourage us to have a relationship with Him; He actually already knows our needs before we even speak them. So let us seek that relationship with Him. Let us bring our requests before the Throne and see how He glorifies His Name as He works in our lives.

I do not sense in any way that God is leading me to leave SIL Brazil. I am more convinced than ever of the importance of Bible translation and partnership with other missions working toward the same goal. However, as I mentioned above, I have these financial needs that must be met before I can return. Therefore, I believe it is His will to provide them. So please be praying with me that God would do this work and lead me to the right people and places, and that He would put it on the hearts of those whom He has chosen to participate in this important task of bringing God's Word to the indigenous people of Brazil.

May 30, 2009

Last week I was in Brasília for a Wycliffe Americas Area conference on mobilization. Although the technical part was largely a disaster—lack of communication and proper coordination, and conflicting information—the actual conference itself was very good. The purpose was to discuss ideas as to how the local church in various countries of the Americas can be mobilized to participate more in the work of Bible translation.

This is very important. For years, the United States has been the primary contributor of personnel, along with other Western countries. These days, our culture is changing rapidly, and not for the better. The day may come sooner than we realize when the local church everywhere will have to take over the job of finishing the job of evangelization—including Bible translation—all over the world. The sooner we are able to "pass the torch", the better this will be able to be done.

And even if Western civilization does continue to be able to provide workers for the job, we foreigners still have to learn the language and culture of the country we work in, and the fact is that we never are able to "go completely native". It is always better when the people who know the culture best are the ones who work within it.

May 2, 2009

Earlier this week I spent a few days in Brasília, helping our partners at ALEM. The main purpose of my visit was to help set up a new system for network and Internet access and control, called eBox. For various reasons, they had become dissatisfied with another product—IPCop—and were wanting to try this new system. Based on Ubuntu Linux server, eBox offers a powerful assortment of tools, along with a relatively easy-to-use web-based interface.

At this point, we will simply have to wait and see how this works out. If it proves satisfactory, I may consider it at some point in the future as an option for us here in Anápolis.

Today (Saturday), we had a get-together with the folk who live down in Vianópolis, in order to bid farewell to one of our members who is leaving the field to finish out her years with SIL working in Dallas. She had already done a translation and held many important positions in the Branch, and will definitely be missed.

April 21, 2009

Last week I traveled to our center in Porto Velho to provide some technical assistance to our folk there. In recent years, our PVH center has been reduced to a quarter of its former size, and is currently only supporting 2-3 translation teams. Nevertheless, they are an important part of our work here.

On my way, I spent a night at the Laguna Plaza Hotel in Brasília. This is where Wycliffe Americas Area will hold a week of mobilization meetings at the end of May, and I am supposed to provide computer technical support. This visit gave me the opportunity to look over the facilities, which will help me to plan for the event.

Also, I took with me a computer that had been sent to me for repair following a lightning strike in December of last year. The aviation folk were glad to have that one back. While there, I also went over ideas with the Center Administrator on improving protection against lightning, since there is so much in the area.

All in all, it was a good trip, and a chance to serve the Branch somewhere else than here in Anápolis.

January 14, 2009

The past week and a half have been quite busy! First, we had our Branch Conference from the 3rd through the 11th. One whole week at a nice hotel north of town, with a chance to see folk from our other centers and outlying locations, as well as hear presentations by John Erwin, a gifted Bible teacher who also has a great sense of humor! Of course, we also had to conduct business—elect new leaders, discuss the future of the Branch, that sort of thing—but we also got to hear reports from the folk out actually doing Bible translation. Overall, it was a worthwhile experience.

Immediately after Conference we had a 3-day workshop for translators, where they discussed a number of different subjects. I was given nearly an hour to talk about FieldWorks, the new linguistic software that I learned about at CTC a couple of months earlier. Overall, it was well received, which made me happy, since I really believe this stuff can help our folk in their translation work, and that's what we're really here for, after all.

Oh, and today is the 4th anniversary of the Huygens landing on Titan, which was a great milestone in the exploration of our solar system.

December 16, 2008

Today I finally finished converting this entire website over to using CSS and text editing of HTML files. It's also got a new look! Hope you like it. Next job will be to finish the same thing with the Brazil Branch website, as well as checking out and updating some of the links on this site.