It’s as complex as it looks!

With some degree of risk I took this photo inside one of the biggest, most dangerous and complicated slums I’ve ever been in. I was “hiding” when I snapped this shot because camera-carrying Gringos are not necessarily trusted or welcomed in this world where police seldom drive through.

Last week with part of our MC team, we utilized public transportation to get an inside look at this slum community where city officials estimate up to 160,000 people survive everyday.

It was complicated trying to wrap my brain around living conditions that are surrounded by opposing gangs, sewerless streets, windows without glass and doors that maybe shouldn’t be called doors. Bouncing inside the bus while trying to reconcile with my brain and emotions what my eyes so clearly saw, I wondered how in the world could I effectively describe this to you?

For Master’s Commission Brasil, this world is our classroom. From this difficult reality are we working to help transform the lives of young adults willing to learn about themselves, about our amazing God and a global responsibility to love and serve people living in unbelievable conditions as reflected in this photo.

The reason why I’m attempting to describe what is undoubtedly impossible to describe, is simply because it is your financial support and prayer that makes Master's Commission Brasil work. Without you we’ll be heading back to the suburbs.

Thanks for helping us stay here doing what we do. You and your loved ones are very welcomed to visit. We’ll make sure that you do the bus ride that we believe will change your life.

Some missionaries do their own laundry

My mom should probably get all of the credit for my ability to do my own laundry, especially since it was her idea when we were growing up as children; and that includes teaching us how to iron, sew and cook too. Thanks mom!

So if any of you who think we’re living an easy life, think twice! – But then again, maybe some people are thinking we had to go down to the river to do our laundry. If that were the case, there definitely wouldn’t be a photo of me doing it.

Now, if any of you feel bad that we've got to do our laundry by hand, would you also feel bad enough to prayerfully consider helping us replace the washing machine that recently broke down. Then we won't have to do it by hand anymore! Simple, huh?

Saying Goodbye, Goodbye and Goodbye

Saying Goodbye again doesn’t get any easier the second time, we recently learned after visiting family and friends in the United States. And it certainly wasn’t any easier saying Goodbye to Rebekah, daughter number three, who we left behind for her first year of college.

It had been exactly two years since we had all of our precious children together in one place, and after enjoying a few days visiting Washington, D.C., we said Goodbye to our oldest daughter Randi who is on a serious job hunt after graduating in June with her masters in Sociology. She stayed. The rest of the family said Goodbye to her and traveled on to California.

Jocelyn and I feel fortunate to have spent three wonderful days in San Diego with daughter number two, Aravis, who recently graduated with degrees in Journalism and English Literature. Because she enjoys the climate and culture of San Diego, we were forced to say yet another difficult Goodbye.

And in order to say Goodbye again, we spent the evening before our departure at my mom and dad's house with family and friends. Jocelyn's mom was there for another opportunity for us to say Goodbye again. There were lots of warm embraces and Goodbyes that evening.

Also traveling with us was our granddaughter Sadye who is growing and changing faster than we can comprehend. – We had to say our Goodbyes to her with Rebekah at the airport. And speaking of Goodbyes, just moments before we boarded our flight, my mom raced to the terminal with a fresh batch of homemade cookies. Yummy! But again, more Goodbyes... these Goodbyes came with tears.

We are learning by experience that saying Goodbye will probably never be a cherished word in our vocabulary. Not in English, nor in our second language, Portuguese, “Tchau”. – There’s something about saying Goodbye that just doesn’t fit right. Goodbye. Geez… that word doesn’t have a warm-touchy-feely feel, does it? Goodbye.

And although it wasn’t our final Goodbye, we also said Goodbye to Gustavo, 20, a former street boy who spent his teenage years living in a house for ex-street children in Belo Horizonte. Gustavo entered Master’s Commission Brasil in the same month that we arrived and has matured to a point which enable him to travel with our family. Because he has worked hard to learn enough English to effectively communicate in most circumstances, he was able to enjoy an extra three weeks in the USA with former Master’s Commission students who have previously traveled to Brazil with us. – That was a great Goodbye!

Can Squirrels have high blood pressure?

It’s at least 5am and I am sitting on the edge of a bed in Washington, D.C. watching a squirrel dance from limb to limb with effortless ease in an ancient oak tree. As I observe his squirrely antics, I wondered to myself, “What’s that little guy thinking about while he bounces about with what appears to be a gentle grin on its face,reflecting the joy of the Lord?” – I wonder, do little guys like my friend the squirrel inherit stuff like mental disorders or high blood pressure, because from the window I’m looking through, a squirrel’s life looks a lot easier than mine.

As for me and my siblings, high blood pressure was a condition that was genetically and generously passed on at birth…. for us there was no need to work hard for it to show up; it’s always been there like a shark circling in the waters waiting for its moment to strike its prey.

And so here I sit on the edge of a bed at the crack of dawn with my blood pressure slightly elevated, staring out the window at a squirrel and wondering if he or she knows it has high blood pressure. – Thankfully my family does NOT have a history of mental disorders.

But on the serious side (and the bit about the squirrel was definitely serious), I do suspect that at this moment my blood pressure is elevated most likely because I was laying awake trying to work my way through what feels like a gazillion details for continuing the growth and expansion of Master’s Commission in Brazil. There’s no doubt it’s a daunting project and thankfully in the two years since arriving we have experienced wonderful and exciting progress. But, there is still so much more that needs to be done. Yet, in contrast to the enormous needs, we can also remember the many people whose lives we can point to as proof positive that good things are happening. The favor of the Lord has indeed been with us.

Finally, in the physical realm I must continue to effectively manage this curse of high blood pressure, and unfortunately it’s deciding to stay with me. And in the spiritual realm with the continued prayers and sacrificial financial support from family and friends, we are going to continue our efforts to express the love of God to as many people as we can…. and hopefully we can do it with a similar sense of ease as my friend the squirrel.

Please read Matthew 6:19-34

3 Moore Graduations

If you’ve not heard much from us in the last few weeks, it’s because Jocelyn and I have been very busy celebrating 3 Moore graduations in 3 different cities. – We are tremendously grateful for the Lord’s help and provision for our oldest three daughters, Randi, Aravis and Rebekah.

Randi, who will be 25 in July, just graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Masters degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Women’s Studies. Immediately following her graduation, she and our soon to be seven year old granddaughter, Sadye moved to Washington, D.C. where Randi is pursuing opportunities for writing public policy concerning international rights for women and children. Randi’s long-term goal is to return to South Africa and study for her doctorate in the same discipline.

Aravis, 22, graduated Magnum Cum Laude from the Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego with a dual major in Journalism and English Literature. For almost the first time in her life, Aravis is experiencing the freedoms of life after college. She called me the other day and said, “Dad, this is the weirdest feeling having the afternoon completely free with nothing to do.” I encouraged her to enjoy it while it lasts, because life won''t often slow down anymore.

Aravis and her three college roommates have all agreed to hang around San Diego for the time being and moved into the cutest 2-bedroom apartment only two-minutes from downtown. With the current job market already flooded with last year’s graduates, Aravis is wisely choosing to carefully survey her options before moving too far away from San Diego. For later in the year and beyond, she is considering relocating to New York or Washington, D.C. where she could better apply her trade in writing, as well as being closer to her sisters and niece, Sadye.

And finally there is Rebekah, 18, who graduated also with honors and as the Citizen of the Year by the Escola Americana Campinas. We are very proud of our “Bubba” who finished very strong in spite of changing horses in the middle of the stream (transitioning to an international school) without breaking stride. As parents we were obviously concerned especially for Rebekah who left Elk Grove in the middle of her high school experience. The Lord has certainly proven Himself more than able to meet our children’s needs.

Rebekah has accepted a tremendous scholarship to the American University in Washington, D. C. (there seems to be a “theme” for D.C.) where she will major in Communications and Film. One of her personal goals is to document with film the plight of Meninos da Rua (street children) in Brasil. Rebekah voluntarily added to her college application a short documentary on the life of one of her friends, Gustavo, a former Menino da Rua, titled “One Country – Two Worlds”. Her goal for majoring in Communications and Film is to create documentaries for Christian organizations around the world that are trying to bring to light the incredible social injustices especially to children and women.

Obviously we are extremely proud of our children and their hard work and determination, especially since we have relocated to the missions field. This has been both a very difficult, and at the same time, a very exciting season of our lives. Difficult in that Jocelyn and I have not been able to help our children as much as we have always thought we would, and exciting for being able to experience the faithfulness of God to our family. The Lord has sustained us in many ways, and in many of those ways He has used your life to bless the Moore Family. Thank you. – By the way, there are 3 Moore’s to go! Adriana, Sean and Chris. We most certainly still need you for “Moore”.

What? – A Segregated English Class?

We are ever learning the realities of living within a nation divided by distinctions of social-economic and racial class. It's a complicated reality where most Brasilian citizens seem to easily avoid confusing the invisible boundary lines. Here in Brasil we have discovered the subject of social class distinctions are easily out maneuvered, because somehow every one seemingly accepts their assigned class positions, regardless the benefits or lack thereof.

For reasons we yet don't fully understand, we live on a street that has an unusual mix of both social-economic classes, which is actually kind of weird because judging by their homes and professions we are very curious as to how some of these families have escaped the nearby slum neighborhood. In the context of social-economic class segregation, what on earth are they doing living on "our" street?

In the meantime, while we look for opportunities to discover how they've escaped from the slums, we thought it a brilliant idea to offer all of the kids on our street free English lessons (our way of being good neighbors). Great idea! Right? … we thought so too, especially since we know people are willing to pay premium fees for native English speakers; and especially for the eight displaced slum children whose parents are barely able to put enough food on the table. English lessons for these children could be their ticket out of the lowest social class bracket.

But sadly we've learned that our generous offering for free English lessons won't work for all of the children on our street. – Why not? Why can't all of the children on our street attend the weekly class? – Because it will require us to conduct two completely segregated classes mirroring the social-economic class realities of Brasil. And it seems we may be the only people who care.

So for now, because teaching segregated English lessons are impossible to our minds, we will continue offering free lessons for whichever children come first. Fortunately for them, the children whose parents recycle trash showed up first, and by default the unspoken societal rules means they own the class. And without the slightest hint of objection the middle and upper class kids have completely disappeared. Go figure!

While some of our Brasileiro friends either admire our efforts, others giggle at our naivety. Although we refuse to feel stupid for even trying, we are saddened by such harsh realities in the year 2009. – To live and die without enjoying the benefits of the most basic of equal opportunities is a horrible reality for any child born into poverty. – Because of your prayer and financial support we know of at least eight children on our street that will be given an opportunity to learn English. Your money really does matter.

Being Alone With God

Being at a place, remaining in a season, living a lifestyle of “Aloneness” with God sounds incredibly spiritual, excitingly amazing and totally awesome… but that’s only until a person actually begins to engage the reality of such a lifestyle. It’s then that we realize the degrees to which our flesh and self-will can cry out in stubborn opposition. Our flesh and human nature wishes absolutely nothing to do with “Aloneness” with God because that is exactly the place where we must engage submission and death to self-will.

Our self-will and human nature (our carnality) violently fights without surrender for the control in our lives. Similar to the starving piranhas in the Amazon … they all fight to be fed first. – On the other hand, being alone with God will bring us to brokenness, humility, confession and awe at His majesty… and that’s because the road that leads us into aloneness with God will bring us directly and immediately to the cross of Jesus. There is no other path that leads us to God. – Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

It’s only in the context of God’s sovereign presence can we accurately sense and gauge our human wickedness. And it is entirely by His patience; grace and mercy are we even able to remain alone with Him. And to think that He actually desires to bring us into fellowship and communion is altogether an amazingly mind-boggling thought in itself. – ONLY GOD!

Don’t look past the person in front of you

In our discipleship ministry, Master's Commission Brasil, we believe that change begins now, here, and together with you! With your monthly sponsorship, every young person engaged by our discipleship training is a divine appointment where we have an opportunity to instill confidence that someone cares what they do with their lives. Every day we are working to create as many alternatives as possible to gang involvement, violence, sexual experiences, and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.

We have seen many times over how a life can be altered with as simple as a single phrase, an encouraging word, or an act of kindness. – All of our staff and interns have personally realized the blessings of having someone enter our lives by a divine appointment, if only for a moment, to make a lasting impression for the rest of our lives.

For me, I can remember my fifth grade teacher, old Mrs. Barton. Every student on campus was convinced that she was the nastiest old woman on the planet and would hide in the teacher's parking lot to witness her daily landing on her broomstick. – But I knew a different Mrs. Barton. The Mrs. Barton I knew was as tender as she was tough and would spend her lunch and after school to help me and others with homework or just let a boy trying to become a man simply hang around. I can't tell you everything she said to me, although I do distinctly remember something about her "whoopin my behind"; yet there was never a visit where I didn't walk away convinced that I could conquer the world. Mrs. Savannah Barton believed in me before I ever believed in myself, and her thumbprint remains on my life to this very day.

And then there's the vice principle Mr. Sagers. Thinking about it now, and although it was never said then, I am convinced this man had a deep and intimate love for Jesus. There was something about him. I suppose just because he was the vice-principle in charge of discipline everybody was afraid of him, (it's funny how I seemed to always end up in his office), but there was something really special about Mr. Sagers. – Aside from telling you it was a "divine appointment", I can't explain why out of the entire school he asked my brother Philip and me to work for him on weekends, pulling weeds, and painting and picking up trash at an apartment complex he owned. I clearly remember how well paid we were as preteens in the late 60's. Geepers, that dude paid us some serious cash! – But more important to that, was how without saying a single word, there was something he gave us that even then I knew was more valuable than cash… he showed us a dignity and respect that I don't remember ever receiving from an adult. And it felt good too!

Mrs. Barton and Mr. Sagers may not know until we get into heaven how their acts of kindness have changed two lives. (My brother Philip is the superintendent of high schools in Sacramento; and a darned good one too! I wonder how much influence Mr. Sagers had on him.) Their unselfish kindness has made a defining impact on our lives.

As well, we are here in Brasil on a special assignment to influence and impact the lives of as many people possible; but without you it'll be tough. With your monthly support you are deciding to join us in as many intersections of life that we can get into; to be instruments of grace and unconditional love and acceptance… if only for a brief moment. And for as many as we can enroll in our discipleship program, you will be working together with us to interrupt dysfunction, launch a life in Christ or restore and heal with tenderness and words of kindness. I seriously doubt Mrs. Barton and Mr. Sagers knew what the outcomes would be for our lives, but we're wonderfully blessed that they didn't drive through our intersections without stopping. – Will you pull over to the curb and become a monthly sponsor?

A Wasted Christian Life

Having recently journeyed through eleven USA states, I've noticed that even in the midst of our economic collapse it appears that a significant number of Christians have yet to engage God through a genuine brokenness, repentance, and humility. It's almost as though they are living in total denial that their "In God We Trust" fortunes are vanishing live vapor… which leads me to conclude that one of the saddest sights of this world is a wasted Christian life.

As unbelieving as this may seem, there continues to be a preoccupation with building what I affectionately call, "Tribute to God" fortunes and an unyielding pursuit for the things of this world… namely wealth, homes, cars and comfort. For example, it can be arguably discussed that the recent surge in church attendance has come more as a direct result of a fear of losing jobs, homes and investment accounts instead of from a genuine need of God.

The litmus test is really simple; where were these same people before the crisis? Why wasn't God good enough then? Please don't misunderstand; I am in no way questioning any believer's salvation. Nope! Not at all. It's only by the grace of God that any of us have any chance of hope. However, there are two distinctly different kinds of Christians: those who walk by faith and those who walk by sight. The Bible clearly tells us that those believers whose lives are more dictated by sight are ultimately wasting an otherwise supernatural Christian life.

Abraham

Consider Abraham who is called the father of our faith who demonstrated through his life that the more he knew God, the less he was interested in the world and its offerings. With a simple study of his life we will discover that over the course of his life, little by little, he was being separated unto God. The catalyst that worked in his life is the same principle always at work in our lives that demonstrates becoming separate "to" something will also always require separation "from" something. A wasted Christian life is the life that fails to become separate from the world and to God.

I'm wondering if maybe this entire economic crisis has been God ordained to jump start the separation process? If we live out our days here on earth without effectively being separated to God, will that not be a wasted Christian life or what? "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." 1 Corinthians 6:17

An Economic Tsunami

With the global economic crisis systematically impacting every nation on the planet as though it were a tsunami, as believers we somehow must maintain a sure and confident trust that our God is still in control. And with that confidence comes the requirement to express our trust through our actions. And believe me, as a ministry that relies on the generous and sacrificial giving of others, that is way easier to say than it is to do day in and day out.

Our FAITH is EVIDENCED by our ACTIONS
Speaking of faith, we are reminded in James chapter two; "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. .... You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did."

As the economic crisis continues to unravel the world, our faith in God must be evidenced in our actions that prove we know Who it is we believe. - Even with everything going on.... He is still God! And we are thankful for the wonderful friends who express their faith through their generous actions of love, support and encouragement.

Finding the “emotional” override button

(Especially for Pr. Josh, Bruce, Margaret, Janel, Jamie and Yinka)

"We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These disciples prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem." – Acts 21:4

The phrase "through the Spirit" actually means that the disciples knew through the Spirit that Paul would suffer when he returned to Jerusalem; therefore as a result being (emotionally) concerned for his safety they tried to dissuade him from going. – It's a frustrating reality to admit that difficult and challenging experiences in life are always being processed (non-stop) and filtered through our emotional sensors, which directly affects our ability to engage and activate faith and obedience. Lots of fun, huh?

I've seen this way too often even in my own life. It isn't helped by the fact that we live in a religious culture with incredibly low thresholds for difficulty. Strap on its twin, "the prosperity movement", and we get a zero tolerance for any degree of difficulty. As a result, at the first sign of trouble every possible measure to avoid difficulty is engaged, except of course for being still, realizing that God is still.... God.

We all have that normal tendency to refuse to believe God could or even would allow such things to occur in a person's life. No way! Most "believers" have never heard of such a thing before…. certainly not at church. But if that's true, how then can we account for Romans 5:3 where the Apostle Paul tells us that we can glory in our tribulations?

Obviously there is an upside to our emotions that play greatly in our day to day relationships, i.e. marriage, family, birth, death, loved ones, etc. Our emotions being created by God, are essential to our day to day living, but when it's not very much fun, the apparent "OVERRIDE" factor comes from our ability to directly hear the voice of God speaking to our hearts.

The OVERRIDE Button

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." – Philippians 4:7 clearly indicates that our feelings (emotions) are subject (subordinate) to the Spirit of God living within us, but also to the will of God. – Now having said all of that, the entire process for obtaining visas is beyond frustrating. Emotionally it is incredibly draining finding ways to keep young people who believe they trust and are following God from becoming emotionally overwhelmed and end up quitting. It has already happened more than I care to re-visit.

At moments my own emotions encourage me, "Quit! Forget it! It's not going to happen!", but then I see them working hard to hear God's voice, to activate real expressions of faith and obedience and they are convinced that God has spoken to their hearts as they continue to stand strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. – Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is totally not possible to please God, and that God rewards those people who are diligently seeking Him. As for my crew that is still waiting for the visas, my question to God is, "Are they not diligently seeking You?" - I've just pressed my "emotional" override button!

Prosperity: "A Key to Wealth"

“… where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.” – Acts 14:22 NLT

What we see here is that the discipleship training given by Paul and Barnabas very specifically included some rather harsh realities that we don’t often hear about in our post modern Christianity. There is no doubt whatsoever that their preaching embraced a message of prosperity and blessing; the difference however, is that their message of prosperity was accurately founded in the context of eternity, opposed to what so many “believers” are being fed these days, “prosperity in the context of birth and death while living on this planet.

Today’s definition of Christian prosperity lands frighteningly close to the adage which proclaims, “He who dies with the most toys wins”, which if we’re honest, we know isn’t true at all. In fact, these two realities of “prosperity” are not even found in the same universe. So that’s probably why Paul and Barnabas were not in the least shy to stress to the new believer’s understanding, “they must enter into the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.” – Geepers! That doesn’t sound very nice at all. Why did they need to add such unwelcome news to the New Believers Class? Ouch!#@$!&^*! – Why didn’t they just come right out and say, “He who dies with the most toys just might end up loosing and become a likely candidate go to hell”? How’s that for being blunt?

But, let me briefly argue my point. I don’t think that it was so much that Paul and Barnabas were insisting that we must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations as a result of their own perverted reasons for wanting to see Christians suffer. Golly, that was hardly the case at all. What I suspect they were saying was that not only must we enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations, but that we should actually expect and anticipate tribulation and persecution as a normal and essential component in our journey of faith. – If anyone knew what they were talking about, certainly the Apostle Paul did.

The misnomer is caused as we have redefined the description of prosperity to mean; the condition of being successful or thriving; especially economic well-being; which works fine for those outside of the body of Christ, but creates enormous conflict for those of us trying to live for God. Prosperity defined in Paul and Barnabas’ new believer’s class actually had very little to do with a person’s title on their door, six-digit incomes, multimillion dollar suburban tents with large screen TV's and camels with turbo prop enginess strapped to the rear hump.

The prosperity taught by Paul and Barnabas was about intimacy with God and being aligned with His purposes and will for one’s life… and that included suffering, personal cost and sacrifice (aka: “many tribulations”). What we see in this passage is that Paul and Barnabas correctly taught that “kingdom people” will experience trials, suffering and not always an instant victory. God did not promise a life without struggle. In truth, this text reminds us that victory only comes through battle, and triumph only follows trials.

And “many tribulations” is not because God doesn’t want us to have stuff; Jesus already explained in Matthew 6:32 that God already knows about our need for stuff. But instead, in His sovereign will and wisdom, it has been so appointed that we enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations. The truth be told, there is no remedy for this appointment, the matter is already fixed and cannot be altered. It is a part of God’s sovereign plan that has already determined that for all who would live godly in Christ Jesus, would experience tribulation. But why? Why is that necessary? That’s probably the most essential question to be answered if the church in America has any hope to right its current course of self-absorbed preoccupation with none other than itself.

With the current message of prosperity, what’s being left out is the part about a disciple's responsibility to take up their cross daily. When we signed up to live for Christ these were the terms that we agreed on; when we sat down and counted the cost, it was a part of the deal. The difference is, Paul and Barnabas told their disciples up front about this requirement…. many Christians in the USA have yet to be told that their experience in Christ will by necessity include many tribulations.

And it doesn’t matter what rank you’re entitled to in the body of Christ, it is the reality of both leaders as well as the soldiers in Christ’s army to experience many tribulations in their journey through this earthly life. Paul even reminds us in his letter to the Thessalonians when he wrote: “so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.” 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4. – And, let us not forget that our own Savior did not expect from the apostles any harder service than what He himself experienced, and neither did the apostles expect from the early believers.

Concerning prosperity, the rest of the story that desperately needs to be told is that it is entirely true that we must count upon many tribulations, with the encouragement that proclaims we will get through it. A balanced view on prosperity will proclaim that our tribulations are a type of Red Sea, and that the Lord will open a way through it, for us to pass over.

Prosperity in the context of eternity allows for Christians to go down into trouble, but because of our God, we will come up again. We shall not only get through it, but get through it into the kingdom of God, which is of a much higher priority and value than merely being blessed in the abundance of material stuff, safety and comfort. – The truth is “many tribulations” have more to do with the reshaping and redefining of our character which determines the outcomes of our eternity. – I think from an eternal perspective, God actually knows what He’s doing by allowing us to experience “many tribulations”. Isn’t it about time we adjust our program to His?