On a journey...

Sometimes beauty can be so incredibly life giving. At the end of the day we drove to the beach to see the sunset, remembering only when we got there that we’re facing east and the sun sets in the west. Still, the sky was spectacular and the colours of the sky, the clouds, and the sea merged together painted a picture no artist can do justice. And then the moon appeared. As it was getting darker the moon shone brighter and it was stunning. We just sat there and watched it for the longest of times. It was almost as if the clouds were playing a game with the moon as they drifted past it to veil its light, only to allow it to appear again. The reflection of light in the sea and the colours were indescribable. I tried to take a few photos, but a simple Canon 8.0 megapixels isn’t exactly equipped to capture it... and I doubt any photo, even with the fanciest of cameras, would be able to match the beauty of seeing it live. It was surely a long moment of beauty at the end of...

It’s late morning, but still feels quite early as we got back late last night. My laundry is done and is hanging in the soft warm breeze accompanied by sunshine. The perfect conditions for a quick dry. It’s Saturday and time for a break from the busy weekly routine. I already had my cup of strong coffee with milk and I am sitting here writing while the fan keeps me from starting to melt in the heat. The beach awaits later, but for now I thought I’d take time to jot down a few reflections and experiences from the past weeks. Sometimes it feels like I’m collecting moments. Funny moments, sad moments, moments I don’t understand, moments that require choices and decisions, moment that are, were and will not return Often it’s hard to capture the moments in words and yet I don’t want them to become as if they never were. I love the process of life, even if I sometimes wish there was more clarity of where I am headed to. Transition while in the midst of the now can be a challenge. ...

I opened my eyes, and in the corner one of my friends had her hand on the head of a little girl. She was probably 4 or 5 years old. As my friend prayed for her, the little girl’s head was bowed and hand stretched out. It was a beautiful picture of Jesus encountering the little ones in His presence. Encountering a little girl who is full of joy and life and who loves to shout to her friends from the balcony of the prayer room. And yet the prayer room means more to her than simply hanging out with people who treat her well. The prayer room also represents a place where people love God as they love her. It’s the perfect place for a prayer house to be located; in the midst of a community where children are so in need of love and encouragement. And what better place to teach them the way they should go. As we were leaving the prayer house, having asked for God’s presence to bring transformation to a community full of violence, we greeted several ones that we passed along the ...

We had a funny moment yesterday. Sitting together with a group of friends, suddenly the girl next to me points out that there is a flock (or is it herd?) of cows leisurely strolling in through the gate and coming into the property. A random trail of thoughts passed through my mind including, “that’s interesting... maybe the local cow-herder has an agreement that he can bring the cows in to graze on the football field...” However, my thoughts were quickly interrupted (and proven wrong) by a couple of the guys jumping out of their chairs when they realized what was happening and running outside to shoo the cows back out using palm branches. I was amazed at the speed of their reaction (the guys, not the cows- they seemed in no hurry to leave, although they did eventually make their way out the gate again). It was what you could call and amusing interruption.

One in Amsterdam. One in Fortaleza. Two interactions which marked my life; one full of hope and new life. The other void of future and dreams. I was driving back from the city centre last after praying with a team that was heading out to evangelise on the beach front. Driving along my thoughts wandered to two beautiful women I’ve had the privilege to get to know on my journey in ministry, and how meeting with them on the beach front meant such different things. The first was Anna . When I first got to know her she was a bubbly 12-soon-to-be-13 year old who came to our open house for street children in Fortaleza around 2003. She quickly connected with us, and we celebrated her 13 th birthday during one of our times. A few months later I remember the same girl come to our door in quite a different state. Her hair bleached blond and tangled, and her body bruised. I remember sitting in the office listening to her story of finding herself in a taxi on her way to a client, decidi...

It’s only been a week since I got here, and yet it feels like so much time has gone by. I have gotten into a nice rhythm and am (mostly) managing to not stress. I get up early in the morning and sit outside and get to feel the sun slowly warm up the air. Although rainy season arrived with me, so some mornings it’s more a matter of not getting drenched as I walk between buildings here on base. I have drunk maracujá juice (passion fruit), eaten mousse de limão (lemon mousse), eaten açaí na tigela com granola e banana (açai pulp with granola and banana)- to which my friend after eating it for the first time exclaimed: “it’s...it’s like.. chocolate!!!... I mean, not like chocolate, but good like chocolate.” We laughed. I have braved driving in Brazilian traffic (this city has been at the top of the list of worst traffic in Brazil for 10 years in a row someone said the other day) and driven to the shopping centre and shopped at Lojas Americanas. I have been to the beach.... oh, how ...

The breeze is rustling the palm branches, and even in the shade I feel the heat of the day. I am sat writing this on the sofa on the porch of the hospitality house here on the base. The same sofa we had at the restoration farm which brings back good memories from those years ago. After a shower in unheated water (which isn’t really necessary anyways because of the climate) I had a papaya for breakfast. There is nothing like eating fruit in a tropical country where it was probably picked closer to the matured stage than when it needs to be exported for many hours before it reaches the super market. It was delicious. My flight was uneventful. I had a couple of free seats next to me which was lovely in a pretty  packed plane. On arrival good friends greeted me at the airport and we drove to the base in the cooler (read: 27 degrees Celsius) evening air in the kombi. After finally managing to sleep, I slept well, feeling the air of the fan and the occasional mosquito biting m...