Brazil (MNN) — What happens when missionaries go home on leave? Work usually stops until they get back, right?
New Tribes Mission found a way around this in Brazil.
Using a computer program called VSee, New Tribes missionary Barry Spor in Wisconsin can create Bible lessons in the Guanano language with a co-worker in Brazil.
"It's as though he's sitting at my side, or I'm sitting at his side," Spor says.
VSee is a computer video call program that's similar to Skype, but it allows for file sharing. Spor and his cohort are able to talk about the lesson and make changes that they can both see. Using this technology, Spor can continue his field work, even though he's on leave.
Why work from home?
"We are church planters, which is not just seeing people come to Christ: we want to see the baby grow up to be a mature adult that can handle life in a responsible way. So spiritually, that's what we're looking for," Spor explains.
Barry and his wife, Denise, work with New Tribes to plant churches among the Guanano people in Brazil. A Guanano man named Gustavo recently came alongside Barry to help develop Bible lessons in his heart language.
Gustavo says his understanding of Bible truths grows as he works on Bible lessons from Romans, and as he helps Barry translate lessons from the book of Ephesians.
He notes an interesting comparison.
"When we make new trails in the dense undergrowth of the jungle, we move quickly, just breaking branches as we go so we can find our way back. Someone trying to follow that path of broken branches can get lost pretty easily," states Gustavo. "When I heard Romans teaching for the first time, it was like making a broken-branch trail in the jungle.
"But since working on these Bible lessons, and carefully thinking about expressing God's truth in my language, I feel like we are clearing a wide and straight path through the jungle. Anyone who desires to come after us can easily follow."
Pray that the Bible lessons Barry and Gustavo are working on will help others grow as Christ-followers.
To learn more about New Tribes, or the work Spor and his wife do in Brazil, click here to view their blog.
As Barry is encouraged by this new program, he sees a growing need for someone to be in Brazil physically. He says, “We need people willing to be career missionaries: willing to give their lives, not just for short term, but for life.”
Ask God to instill passion in the lives of many to become career missionaries.
