Trip to Brazil

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>     Bro. Van Norman,
>
>          Welcome to higher-fire.  It's great to have you.  I pulled
>          up your home page last night and looked at a lot of your
>          pictures from Brazil.  It looks like you had a great time.
>          I noticed that you helped in the Bible school.  What was it
>          like?  Did you teach?  I'm good friends with the Howard
>          family (they were missionaries to Brazil for many years) and
>          have heard a lot about it.

I was there to work with their, the Walmers, computers.  I linked all the 
computers for a small network, and also upgraded a couple of their 
machines.  I did teach about computers, to Pastor Walmers staff, himself, 
his wife, and some of the people he is working with.  I had my first 
opportunity to preach, it was on my birthday also.  I had the wonderful 
experience of traveling all over Rio Grande Do Sul.  I met hundreds of 
people.  I even had people ask me if I would be willing to let them find me 
a wife that would be waiting for me the next time I came to Brazil.  (This 
was a shock for me, since I've never even had a girlfriend.)  Brazil is 
wonderful.  The people are warm and friendly.  They are ready to hear the 
gospel.  There are so many people, and so few missionaries.  There are 
approximately 8 million people in Porto Alegre, and only one missionary and 
a few nationals.  That is one of the reasons the wanted me to marry a 
Brazilian, then I would have to live in Brazil and be a missionary. :-) I 
want to return, and if I had $3,000 extra, I would go this summer, probably 
not for two and a half months, but maybe for a month or so.

>          I really love missions.  I was blessed to go to Zambia,
>          Africa last year to help pray with people to receive the
>          Holy Ghost at their annual conference.  Two thousand two
>          hundred and fifty people received the gift of the Holy Ghost
>          in a two week period.  Most of those received the Holy Ghost
>          in three days of that two week period.  It was incredible!
>          I don't believe that I had ever been as tired and ready to
>          go home as I was after that conference.  Going to a foreign
>          field and seeing that the Holy Ghost is just the same there
>          as it is in America really strengthened me.  I feel that I
>          have a treasure that no one can ever take from me.  I have
>          seen God work in another land.  I think that it is the
>          stability of knowing that wherever I go the Holy Spirit
>          moves in the same way.  It's sort of like knowing that
>          wherever I go in the world the law of gravity will work the
>          same.

Sounds great!!!!

>          I'm glad your here!
>
>                                                  Bro. Ben Kimbrell
>
>          P.S.  I'm also involved in a campus ministry.  How is yours
>                going?

It isn't a oneness organization, but it does give me some friends that at 
least believe some of the Bible and in having morals.  Our campus is known 
as a place where people can come and get drunk.  We have a brewery right 
here in town.  The group I am involved with is associated with Campus 
Crusade for Christ.  We are running between 80 and 120 each week with about 
140 - 150 in Bible studies.  I'm on prayer committee, it challenges me to 
spend time praying for our campus, and also praying that God will reach 
these people with the whole truth.  I will never be allowed to teach a 
Bible study, but I can talk to the people one on one and tell them the 
truth.  I haven't been able to lead anyone to the point of receiving the 
Holy Spirit into their lives yet, but I have made some think and reevaluate 
what and why they believe what they believe.  God has a plan for me, I just 
need to be receptive to it.  I would love to meet some other oneness people 
here at UWSP, but I don't have any expectations of that happening.

God is Great.

In Christ,

John Van Norman
jvannorm@health1.uwsp.edu
http://wellness.uwsp.edu/authors/jvn/