First trip 1993
Greensboro Airport June 14, 1997 with Pastor Mike Swoffard
Moving to Brazil and my family there to see me off June 14, 1997...
It is with great difficulty and sadness that I leave this Country…
So many dreams and the greatest love of my life: My two children I leave behind…
“If you have such a great love and a great calling why would you leave?”
It seems almost unanswerable, and I could try to create a list, that list would mean one thing to me and another to the world, the church and my children, so I will not make it public. I owe two little lives... To you Shalom & Theo:
Shalom... I am so sorry to leave you when I wish I could be with you to love you and play with you and watch you turn into a woman... To tell you how beautiful you are as each day passes. To be there when you need to hug or cry or play with...
Theo, I wish a thousand times over that I could be there for you to love you and comfort you when you need me. To play with you and let you know how proud I am that you are my son! To take you out for "father & Son" moments. To give you some advice about girls, (or maybe to ask you for some...) You are too young to have to be so strong. I am so sorry, and I will miss you and love you and Shalom as long as I live!
Recently, I read an article about a famous person that left
“The tabloids can pretty much write anything they want, and you have to sue to get them to take it back. I don’t need a retraction anymore. I don’t need to set the record straight. I’ve given up trying to explain myself, trying to get people to understand what I’m really like as a man, outside of my acting. I could talk for a whole year and people wouldn’t be that much closer to knowing who I am…”
(Amen Bruce! or is that Mr.Willis?)
One thing I can tell you, my love for Missions and for Jesus does not end here and it does not die here. I am sure I will soon be irritating some church or finding some Brazilian or Hispanic church to ease my burden for Missions…
Please, this one thing I ask… Don’t judge me too harshly, cause I have had the time of my life!
I’ve spent, not exactly a lifetime, but I’ve seen children become adults, brides, grooms, and parents, new life and death!
I have met some of the most beautiful human beings this side of heaven from many Nations, and I am thankful for what they added to my life! I’ve also met a few I’d like to forget…
When I arrived here, I was told that I wouldn’t last 2 weeks by a certain Evangelist… I now step away 13 years later from this place, and 17 years participating in missions in Brazil! Is it a better place because I came? I guess it depends who you ask, but if you were to ask Raquel, Leandro, Samuel, and maybe some kids out in a small village called “Waterfall of Souls”… Maybe there are some lives of people who will never know my name, but because of a group that came that I had the privilege and honor to help chaperone over the years… For their sake and for my children, it was worth the effort!
Thank you Three for showing me true friendship during my time in Brazil! I love you, and I am proud to call you my friends. I will never forget you. Each one of you have taught me about life in so many ways and I am thankful for knowing you.
The combined years of
Thank you for all your interest, and stay tuned here as I give an update from time to time to let you know how the process is going…
God Bless!
FAREWELL!
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