Debrief

Hey y'all! I'm back home in Texas now; it's bittersweet. Brazil will always have a piece of my heart. However, I am glad to be home with my family before heading off to Florida once again. Being reunited with them was sweet food to my soul. As I was preparing to leave Brazil, I wrote out some questions that help me debrief and sift through all that happened this summer in the Amazon. So here are a few of those I wrote:

1. (Here's the broadest question of them all.) How was the internship?

It was wonderful. Working in the AVM office during the semester gave me a better understanding of what it looks like to run a mission-sending agency. Doing things such as calling team leaders, writing an article here and there for AVM's newsletters, getting out information about the ministry, and building a database gave me administrative experience that will help me in the future. Also, representing AVM at booths during a pastor's conference and my school's missions conference taught me to articulate clearly what a ministry's vision, activity, and operation is. There were also multiple benefits of simply being in the office with the AVM president as he met with chairmen, helped team members register for visas, informed people about what AVM does, skyped the Brazilian side of AVM, and more.
The international leg of this internship continued this learning experience. Living with AVM's mission coordinator for the first week involved doing many tasks in preparation for an American short-term team that was to come in. We did everything from grocery shopping and buying Bibles to meeting with accountants and boat managers. I enjoyed being somewhat of a helpful shadow to her as she shared with me what it is she does for AVM. Going through these tasks submerged to a good degree in Portuguese and the Brazilian culture opened my eyes to what's involved in the field-side of running a missions sending agency.

Then, of course, there was actually being on the boats with the teams, engaged first-hand in the actual efforts of AVM. This truly captured my heart. We held Bible studies with local pastors, village leaders, and villagers. We had the privilege of working alongside Brazilian pastors who invest their lives into the villages we worked in. VBS-type children's ministry, soccer, games, and house-to-house visits were also part of the agenda. The relationships built through these efforts were life-changing. One of the trips held a medical clinic as well. This allowed me to see hundreds of villagers helped physically through a clinic of two nurses and two translators. With limited resources, AVM was able to provide medical care for many lives along with sharing the gospel with their patients. The Brazilians as well as the American teams that came in taught me daily about what missions is: glorifying God in all nations.

2. What were some things you learned about missions/missions sending agencies (such as AVM)?

• There's much more that goes into it than meets the eye. There is considerable preparation needed for a single team to come in and get onto the river. Grocery shopping, boat and dock arrangements, cook and crew, village permission to visit, flights, transportation, translators, interviews, team training, boat manager, scheduling, etc.
  
• There are always more people to reach. I learned that even with all of the efforts of AVM and similar mission organizations, there are still 2 to 3 times more villages than what we've visited that are not reached with the gospel. The work's not over!
• I learned more about follow-up and working with local Christians to reach people in a long-term manner. Supporting the existing church.
• This lesson was reiterated: ministry is people. That means different personalities, problems, needs, attitudes, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

3. What are some things you learned about leadership in missions?

• The name(s) of the game: Intentionality! Investing in people. Teaching. Serving. Communication. Servant leadership. Edification.
• I learned to count ministry as a joy and not a task. I saw many examples of how to have this attitude and how this demeanor naturally infuses into the team.
• Another reiterated lesson was the importance of knowing how to handle conflict in an appropriate, humble, prayerful manner.

4. What were some activities you did in children's ministry? What were some topics studied in Bible studies with local Christians in the villages?

• In children's ministry we played many games with the kids, including duck duck goose, tag, jump ropes, frisbee, American football, soccer, and more. We presented the gospel to them, sometimes using the E-Cube or crafts such as making bracelets with colored beads that each stood for something in the gospel. Face-painting accompanied story-telling to illustrate Biblical lessons. The children participated in role playing and skits of Biblical stories such as the creation of the world, the fall of man, Jesus' sacrifice, Jonah and the whale, and more. We also did a lot of singing praises in Portuguese, as well as some in English. Testimonies of team members were also sometimes given to tell the kids how Jesus has changed their lives. One team even had VBS material to teach the children from, which went really well.
• Some topics that were studied in Bible studies throughout the summer were: salvation through faith in Jesus alone, having assurance of salvation, baptism, marriage, the roles of the church and the government, an entire outline of Scripture-Old Testament to New, church doctrinal confusion, daily Bible intake, prayer, accountability, putting off the old self and putting on the new, and more.

5. Summarize your experience in Brazil in three words.

• Learning. Endurance. Refining.