An Incredible Story

"Your word is a lamp to my feet
    and a light to my path." - Psalm 119:105 ESV

We want to share with you an incredible story of the power of God's incredible Word!

An incredible gift.

Kids loved receiving their new Action Bibles, donated by ChildHope. We loved being able to put those Bibles in their hands. It did not take very long for us to hear testimonies:

• Kids from the school near the notorious Palmasola prison showed up to church with their new Bibles so they could learn how to use them.
• A high school student from that same school was in the hospital to undergo tuberculosis tests. He had his mom bring his new Bible to help him pass the time.

The Bible, God's Word, is an incredible gift. And receiving God’s Word is always a blessing.

An incredible visit.

God opened the door for us to enter the Palmasola prison, where a number of kids sponsored through ChildHope used to live, and where a number of sponsored kids’ parents still do.

We went in to talk to some students' fathers. The school was able to share report cards and important information with the dads. A pastor friend was able to share from God's Word. Then, we were able to hand each of them a copy of God's Word so they could read it for themselves. We gave them each one of the same Bibles we had recently given their kids. They were excited. We were excited.

An incredible opportunity.

On the way out of the prison, we were given the unlikely opportunity to visit Mery. She is mother to a couple kids sponsored by ChildHope at the school in Samaria. She had been imprisoned shortly before our visit. She would later be proven innocent of her charges. However, that was not much consolation in that moment. A mom behind bars. Her boys left with her parents. During our visit, we gave her one of the Bibles. She is a Christian, and we wanted to encourage her.

Mery has since been released from the prison. She is now back at home with her kids. That is where I recently had the chance to visit her. I asked her about the Bible, and that is when she shared the following beautiful testimony with me.

An incredible testimony.

Mery brought her Bible to an office where she was working within the prison. It became a community Bible. Other ladies began reading God's Word too. Ladies who had never read the Bible before. A friend commented to her about how she had never understood the Bible so clearly as she did then.

When Mery left the prison, her friends asked her to let the Bible stay behind so they could continue reading it. She did. Mery still visits her friends in prison. They recently asked her to bring a notebook and pen with her, because they have been copying Scriptures from the Bible she left for them to read in their cells. They are so hungry for God's Word!

The incredible God!

We never know all that God has in store when we follow the steps of His plan for our lives. But we do know that, whatever it is, it will be incredible, because God is incredible!

In this case, what began as a project from ChildHope to put God's Word into the hands of kids at partnering schools throughout Latin America turned into an opportunity to leave copies of the Bible in a notorious Bolivian prison. As people read these Bibles, God continues to speak His incredible Living Word!

Taking Aim at the Target

[UPDATED 08/31/17 09:43am]

Well, September is almost here. Our target has been to leave for Bolivia in September for quite some time. One big question looms: Will we hit the target?

We believe that the answer to that question is, "Yes!" That answer is based on the fact that we believe that God is able! We also believe that we need to bring our needs and desires to the Lord in prayer. This is why we are sharing this prayer guide with you, so that you can agree with us for God to move in some specific areas as we take aim at the target. We ask you to agree regularly as God leads us through these areas. We are also specifically focusing on prayer this Friday, September 1st as it is the first day of our target month. Perhaps you may consider taking a little extra time to focus on prayer for us and these needs on that day.

Clearance

We must receive clearance in a number of areas prior to departure for Bolivia. Of those, these prayers are focused on 2: visa clearance and financial clearance.

1. Visa

Polly and I already have our temporary visas necessary to arrive in Bolivia. The kids still need theirs, however. We also need to have all necessary documentation for temporary residency legalized by the Bolivian consulate in New York City prior to departure. Please pray for:

• [UPDATED] Favor as we send in applications for Genevieve and Jonah's visa to the Bolivian consulate in New York City
• All the documents we need to apply for temporary residency to arrive quickly
• Favor as these documents are certified
• The officials at the Bolivian consulate to accept and legalize all the documents (there is one in particular that could be an issue, though we are believing it won't be; thankfully a new plan B option would not affect our time frame)

2. Financial

Praise God that we have reached 90% of our monthly budget raised which allows us to deal with our visas and, upon their approval, purchase our plane tickets. Please pray for:

• The remaining 10% of our monthly budget to come in as we cannot leave until we are at 100%
• Blessings upon those who have partnered with us already
• God to speak to the hearts of the church leaders and individuals who will become a part of our sending team through finances moving forward
• Favor in all remaining itineration services, meetings and conversations

Preparation

Clearances are critical, but they are not the only thing requiring our attention. We have other things to focus on in preparation for our impending departure to Bolivia. Please pray for:

• God to give us wisdom and guidance with what to pack and what to leave behind, sell, give away, throw away, etc.
• Us to be able to acquire things we still need
• Decisions regarding Genevieve's schooling in Bolivia
• Strength through all the impending goodbyes
• Favor in upcoming medical, dental and eye exams
• Favor and wisdom as we prepare to purchase plane tickets
• Traveling mercies as we travel a lot during our final month here
• Strength to work through a busy schedule
• God to help us navigate the emotions that come with transition
• Any loose ends that need to be tied up
• Favor and wisdom as friends help us look for housing in Bolivia

Of course, you can pray for us in any other area as you feel impressed on your heart by the Holy Spirit. Especially considering that these are items prior to our departure. There will be many prayers needed when we arrive and while we serve there as well. Thank you for praying with us. Please feel free to Facebook message us (facebook.com/mikeandpollybrown) or email us (mikeandpollybrown@gmail.com with anything that we can be praying for you about or with anything you feel the Lord puts on your heart regarding us as you pray. Thank you!

Our Sweet, Precious Genevieve

Of the many things that blessed me this weekend, one was a little more personal and closer to my heart than the others. It had to do with Genevieve. There are 3 things which really stand out with regard to her.

1. The Missionary Kid

The church who hosted the children's ministry retreat we helped with this past weekend is the same church where Genevieve shared the story of David and Goliath in Spanish in front of the who church back in April. If you missed that, you can view the video here.

At the end of the video she says, "No importa si es pequeño porque Dios es grande y nos ayuda." This translates to, "It doesn't matter if you are small because God is big and He helps us." The children's ministry leader was there that morning and heard that mini sermon. She said that she felt like God used that to come up with the motto for the retreat this year, which was, "Soy pequeño pero camino con Jesús." In English this says, "I am small but I walk with Jesus."

Knowing that God used our little 4 year old MK (missionary kid) to speak into the heart of a leader showed/reminded me of something important: a missionary kid is not necessarily simply a kid of a missionary but a missionary who is a kid. When God called our family to Costa Rica, He had Genevieve and Jonah in mind too. They are such a blessing, generally bringing a smile to people's faces but in this case, God used her through her words when she shared. We are so proud of her and humbled by her all at the same time.

2. The Kid

During a special prayer time at the church on the night before the retreat, God really impressed Genevieve on my heart. It struck me that she had such an opportunity to participate as one of the kids. As much as she is a missionary kid, during this retreat she was allowed to just be one of the kids. She was going to be ministered to in the same way the rest of the kids were. The last time she was at this church she shared as a missionary. This time she participated as a kid.

Polly and I were praying that God would do a work in her heart and life this past weekend. We prayed that she would have a genuine encounter with God and be anointed/empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We don't know how much impact the weekend had on her. We know that she listened to at least some of it and that she prayed and that she was prayed over. I believe it was a positive experience for her. We are so grateful that this church thought of her and invited her to be a kid who got to participate.

3. The Big Kid

Genevieve is growing up so fast. The fact that she was comfortable leaving us (even though we were at the same campground) and staying with her group and even sleeping in a room with her friends reminded us how big she's getting. She's not a little baby anymore. We loved watching her having fun and making new friends. We loved watching her take little steps of independence which will serve her well in the future...a LONG, LONG time from now.

God Calls Kids Too

I don't remember how old I was when I first felt the call of God on my life. My earliest memory of feeling at least some semblance of that call was from back in the 90s. I believe I was 9 years old, but it's possible I was older. Missionaries Neil & Kathy Vanaria, who are now dear friends, came to my church one night to share about what God was doing in Papua New Guinea. I remember feeling like that's what I wanted to do. Even though I don't remember every specific and detail, the point remains the same: God can/does call children too (see the story of Samuel from 1 Samuel 3)! The theme from the weekend was "I'm small but I walk with Jesus" (I'll share more about that theme tomorrow).

Polly and I had the privilege of leading the teaching about missions/evangelism to all the kids. The leader Adriana put together the lesson but thought it would be nice/fitting for missionaries to teach it. We shared the importance of going and making disciples as mandated in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). After we were finished with the teaching, we had a special time of reflection and prayer. We gave each of the kids an electric candle and shared how we were to carry the light into the darkness.

Adriana had also mentioned the desire for us to have a specific call for those feeling a specific call on their lives, as she was called at the age of 8. After some time of general prayer for all who were ready to bring that light into their world around them, we made that call. Nobody came forward. We just let it be. If nobody was going to respond to that specific call, we were still going to have a nice time of prayer for the general call.

After some time, however, one girl came forward. Our missionary friend Caitlin had already been pouring into that girls life that day so we had her come up and pray over her. Then a group leader grabbed my attention as she came up with 3 little boys who said they were going to be pastors. One in particular seemed very sure about that and was more than ready to pray about it. Finally, Adriana brought me another girl who said she felt God's calling on her life. I prayed over her and really sensed that God had plans for her life.

It was a beautiful time of prayer as we were privileged to have the opportunity to pray over these children responding to the call of God on their lives. How awesome that this church saw the value in this and made it a priority! And we're grateful that they allowed us to be a small part of it.

God has some big plans in store for these kids lives. I can't wait to hear what they're doing years from now.

A Fatherly Embrace

God, Our Heavenly Father

During one of the teachings at the children's ministry retreat we were blessed to participate in this past weekend, Polly and I were asked to go with the 4-6 year olds during the prayer time. The lesson was on fatherhood. There were a number of kids at the retreat without a father so this was a very important and special lesson time. The kids were taught how God is the heavenly father and how He will never leave or abandon them. After the lesson was over, I prayed over a couple kids. I thought we were done, but I was then asked to do the sweetest thing I've ever been asked to do in my life.

A Fatherly Embrace

I was asked to give each precious kid a fatherly hug and pray over them. They brought me the first kid who was clearly touched by the lesson and he clung to me. I clung to him to. I hugged him and prayed over him as he held me tight and wept. I asked God to let him feel the loving embrace of his heavenly Father and that he was always know that God will never abandon him. After a few minutes of hugging and praying over him, the leaders tried to pull him away so they could bring another kid. He wouldn't let go of me. It was one of the most precious experiences of my life.

After that little boy finally let go, I continued to hug and pray over each of the kids, including Genevieve who was with this group. The last kid brought to me was a sweet little 3 (almost 4) year old boy who was brought to the retreat by his aunt and uncle who were helping. As soon as his aunt handed him to me, he clung to me and hugged me tight. I just stood there with him in my arms for a few minutes praying over him. Meanwhile his aunt immediately began to bawl after handing him to me. Polly had the opportunity to pray over her. Afterward I discovered that this adorable little boy was abandoned by his father very early on in life and struggles with it.

While I know that those little kids without fathers still went back to homes without fathers, I was still blessed with the privilege of hugging them as a father would. I didn't deserve that opportunity. More than that, I pray that they had a real encounter with their heavenly Father and that He continues to heal their hurts as they put their trust in Him.

Thankful

I am thankful that God is our heavenly Father and that He will never abandon us. Even as someone who grew up with my dad, I still need the warm embrace of my heavenly Father. And I need to teach my children the value of the same for their lives.

I am thankful that I have 2 precious little ones who I get to hug and pray over regularly. Reflecting back on this special moment, I am challenged to do this even more and to be the best dad that I can be to my children.

I am thankful that I grew up with both parents and didn't have to go through what so many children go through. I don't want to ever take this blessing for granted.