Prepared, Assessed and Positioned

2014 was an atypical year in many ways for the Elam fam. We met some new challenges, downshifted a bit to regain some perspective and energy, and now are headed your way for a support-raising season to get positioned for the next season of life and ministry in Brazil.

PREPARED: We called it a "semi-sabbatical". A kind of part-time rhythm for Jon and Tathiana in terms of our ministry responsibilities in order to focus on health: physical, emotional, marital, spiritual and with our growing family. It lasted from January to August of 2014. In a much-to-oversimplfied summary, it was REALLY GOOD FOR US. 

ASSESSED: Then came a sort of evaluation of our job and how we fit into what we are doing. Recently these types of Assessments within Campus Outreach have been more proactive, wanting to evaluate before any burnout comes sneaking in. Three Assessors from CO came to visit us, and also a Brazilian psychologist who has worked with several members of out team recently filled up about 4 days of meetings and read a gazillion pages of diagnostics and reports that we had previously filled out. Tathiana and I were excited about really thinking through our role, our calling and our future. Admittedly anxious to receive feedback indicating something we weren't expecting. 

What a joy it was to hear from my director and the other assessors words like "right-fit", "influential couple", "a lot of personal growth", and "leaders." 

POSITIONED: With this, we made a decision spend a few months in the US to get positioned financially for the next season. We have lost some support over the past years, and have some specific goals we would like to reach for our family. We will spend the end of December with family for Christmas in Chattanooga, then spend January through March raising new long-term support for an extended investment in what God is doing in and through the CO ministry in Belo Horizonte and possibly new cities in the near future! More info coming in 2015.

See you soon!

Conference & Contributions

October 2014 is going to meet me with some drastic climate changes. I will bid a brief farewell to Brazil's dry season finale and its 95º dry-heat and brushfire-smokey air. Then, I will say hello to a brisk Fall in the Southern US. Then, I will close out October with a return to Southeastern Brazil's arrival of its monsoon-like rainy season. These rushed travels do have TWO good reasons; not one of them having anything to do with the weather.

I'll start with the second, but most pressing, reason. During my time in the US I will be meeting with some support contacts and churches in Chattanooga and Nashville to try and raise $6500 in one-time donations. Over the past 2 years, Tathiana and I have had an above-average loss of support for various reasons, and we now need to raise a lump-sum in order to finish the year in the black. If any of my monthly and annual supporters desire to give beyond their pledge, it would be graciously appreciated.

Now, continuing the reverse order, the first reason is that I will participate for the first time in an annual conference of all the Campus Outreach administrative directors in Atlanta, GA. We call ourselves Resource Directors because we want to be administrative teams that are a resource to the front-line work of evangelism and discipleship on the college campus. These meetings bring together conversations and meetings about best practices, networking, vision for the future as a ministry and fellowship between us Resource Directors. In my almost 4 years as Resource Director in Belo Horizonte, I have not been able to participate in person because, well… I live on another continent.

I will be leaving Brazil on October 4th, spending some days with my extended family in Tennessee, then a trip to Nashville sometime in the middle, and finishing up with the conference in Atlanta, where I fly out of on Oct 30th.

Hope to see as many people as I can, and raise as much support as God allows me to.

Death, Divorce and Despair...

This morning I hugged a mother at the funeral of her son who was murdered because of his involvement with drug trafficking. Last week I heard an old friend say he had no hope for his marriage and was going forward with a divorce. This week, also, brought word that a little girl we have been praying for to be healed from cancer is terminal, and the doctors are ceasing treatment.

This is not a shock-effect opening of a blog post that quickly turns your attention to another issue. This is the issue. In recent months I feel that it has been a bombardment of hard and bad news. We have been counseling some young married couples, one facing an impending divorce and another on their way to the same fate. Our years around the families of students on campus now leads us to witness the end of one girl’s life, and to witness others face shutteringly painful treatments of complicated diseases with little hope of recovery. Death, also, has been present; both natural and premature, anticipated and unsettlingly unexpected, from afar and from very close by.

In many years in Brazil relating to young, healthy and capable students from the campus ministry, I admit this is one of the first times we have faced such, well…harsh reality. Of course, here and there, there has been sorrow, bridges burned, passing away of loved ones, and hard times to help people seek God when life doesn’t make sense. This time, it has been an onslaught of such apparent withholding of God’s mercy that I am feeling it weigh me down a bit – and am not sure how to help the ones who are facing these difficult times.

We do believe in our good God and His purpose… sometimes it just takes a lot to face a fallen world and also try to abide by Galatians 6:2, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Pray with us, and for us, please.

"What Moves You?" Recap 2014

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Last weekend, I had the privilege to travel 890 km (550 miles for the gringos) to another capital city, Goiânia, to take part in our annual weekend retreat with the CCP this year. Our investigation of Goiânia is fruit of many connections in and around Brazil, USA and the CO network, and of the FIFA World Cup making it difficult to have a CCP in Belo Horizonte this year.

Students from the Federal University of Goiás (UGF) and the Catholic University of Goiás (PUC-Goiás) and the Cross-Culutral Project (CCP) from Campus Outreach Atlanta took the weekend off to travel outside the city and continue the theme of their weekly discussion groups: "O Que Te Move?" in Português - "What Moves You?" in English. A group of 45 people made the trip, and I loved being a part of this weekend and seeing first-hand how the CCP has connected with students from Goiânia.

The theme "What Move You?" was used in 4 sessions with 2 extended discussion groups and the use of a movie Elysium. Alan Andrioni, our UFMG Campus Director in Belo Horizonte, did a great job weaving the idea of the underlying human desires for eternity and love through the storyline of Elysium, quotes from past philosophers, theologians, and from the Bible itself concerning how Jesus spoke of those exact same things. I served as translator for Alan and for the discussion groups.

Lastly, the CO staff from Belo Horizonte spent Sunday evening with the church that is receiving and helping our CCP during their stay in Goiânia, Igreja Presbiteriana Luz. It was privilege to be with them and hear their gratitude and excitement for what is going on at the universities of their city.

Colleague For A Few Months

I’d like everyone to meet Paulino Oliviera. He is the newest member of our team, but will also be one of the first to leave our team.

I met Paulino at PUC-Minas in 2009 while he studied Economics, and over his years in college he stayed connected with our ministry as he investigated about Jesus. Shortly before graduating became a Christian and joined our church.

I sought to hire Paulino, even for a short stint, because he is go-getter and has skills in everything financial. God’s timing was quite good, because Paulino had just quit his job at one of the largest banks in Brazil to dedicate time to pursue entrance into a Master’s Degree program.

Paulino will spend the next months helping us answer some pertinent finance and tax questions, with some accounting issues mixed in there. He has already shown his professionalism, humility in his work and excellence in getting the job done!

Paulino was accepted to participate in a Brazilian Federal Government program and in August of this year will move to New York City to begin his Master’s Degree in Financial Engineering at NYU Poly, Brooklyn. He will study right next to the Financial Center of NYC, and, well – the world. Such a great opportunity for him to speak of his Savior!

Home, Sweet Apartment!

There it is, the light at the end of the tunnel! It's the light reflecting off our new apartment keys. After a much desired and necessitated move, it is happening.

The saga is long and frustrating, but after 7 years in our first home as a family - most of them happy and good - we are leaving the first Elam abode because of problems in the apartment that neither the owner, rental agency nor building seem very eager to get resolved. So, to all those folks, we say, "Bye! Have fun with those leaky pipes!"

Now, the great news. We have our keys in hand, already sent the exterminator in to poison all the creatures of the INSECTA class, bought paint and set-up with our painter to GET THIS DONE! 

The new place is a bit larger, literally right around the corner from Tathiana's sister, Fabiana, still in the same neighborhood we really like, and, as we began to pray a while back, still within our budget. God does amazing things in even more amazing ways. Thank Him with us for grace - we do not deserve it.

Our guest bedroom is back, so here is an invite to come visit. 

Miles, Miles and More Miles

When you live overseas, you know some tricks about how to accumulate frequent flier miles. So we started counting our American Airlines miles. Combine the fact that not since 2010 have we been in the US for purely vacation and time with family. Lastly, Brazil has a week-long holiday and basic country shut-down for Carnaval (Mardi Gras to us gringos). So, all that cooks up a perfect storm to book our flights to the US.

We're coming into Chattanooga at the end of February and will be heading back to Brazil on March 20th. Our plans consist of family time in Chattanooga, one week in Pigeon Forge just Tathiana, Isaac and I, some good rest, coffee-shop mooching of free internet, sleeping in late while the grandparents take care of the munchkin and other vacation-ish types of things.

This post is basically a nice way of saying, "if we run into each other on the street, this is why." If we don't run into each other, we probably won't see much of each other. Hopefully everyone understands, we so appreciate your partnership, and thank you for helping us to have the time of rest and recuperation.