Our boat pulled up to the cement school in the village of Chita. I remember it being extra hot that day, the kind of heat that zips you in like the footie pajamas you used to where as a kid. The Amazon air has a way of clinging to you like no other place on earth.

We arrived with our myriad soccer balls, blowup animals and colorful crafts, all of which the kids couldn’t wait to kick, bend, glue and whatever else kids do while squealing and fluttering around like hummingbirds. At one strategic point in our visit, we gathered all the children and moms together for our official program which consists of a ‘rousing’ puppet show, a few songs led by me in my lousy Portuguese, some words from a team member about how God’s love tangibly collided with his or her life, and a time of prayer led by my Dad. Pretty straightforward stuff if you grew up anywhere near Christendom.

Gloria, our Brazilian spitfire, closed our time by explaining to the 30 or so moms and kids that if anyone needed prayer to come forward where a few of us were ready to pray over the needs. Before she’d completed her sentence, a four year-old boy sprung from his chair, clutched his mother’s arm and determinedly led her to the front. Yanno was so little that I was certain he didn’t understand what was happening. I was thinking faithless thoughts like, maybe he thinks we asked for kids to come forward for candy.

He shyly explained that his family had lost its home and barely had any food. He said his mom Mara was sad, words she confirmed with slight nods and a hopeless gaze. We prayed for their physical needs and committed to helping them however we could. My Dad explained the beauty of the gospel, how forgiveness through Jesus would forever change them. Mara and Yanno welcomed this Savior into their lives that day.

When Jesus makes an entrance in the middle of standard, Christian camp fare, I don’t know why I’m so jaw-dropping shocked. I couldn’t fathom that a boy so young could understand that God was his Answer. How guilty I am of motioning through the mechanics of a program, misplacing my expectation on the process rather than the Person of Jesus who said, “Let the little children come unto me.” Of course a four year-old could get it!

As we made our way toward the boat for the next village, I hated to say goodbye to Yanno. I felt a strong sense that he needed to be blessed, unofficial as anything I could bring him seemed. So I placed my hand on the top of his prickly-haired  wigs head and prayed a blessing over him – it was just the two of us. He must have been wondering what this shockingly white woman was doing with her hand on his head and why her speech was so strange and unrecognizable. I asked God to set Yanno apart like King David. I don’t know why that specific plea, though my urgency for him to be blessed has now become clear:

A few days ago I received an email from Gloria entitled, “Yanno, The Boy From Chita.” She relayed to us some tragic news that while Yanno was in his new house with his Mom and baby brother, Mara was struck by lightening in front of him. After vainly trying to shake his mother awake, he picked up the baby and waded through the river until he found a fisherman who could help.

Yanno is seven years-old. Mara would not be revived.

Gloria has since discovered that Mara was baptized weeks before the lightening struck her. She had gotten back with her husband and the family was attending a jungle church in the village. These expressions are powerless in and of themselves, yet when attached to Jesus they are vibrant signs of a heart transformed by Him. Mara knew Jesus and He welcomed her into His presence that day.

I’m not writing to saddle you with despair or sadness, we have enough coming at us from countless streams. I’m writing out of the discovery that comes from a story like Yanno’s that is still being told. I have no idea why if God had the power to lead us to this boy, He wouldn’t use that same power to thwart the lightening that struck his mother. Without a satisfying answer, I believe that the Spirit who led that little boy to the front of the room for prayer three years ago, was the same One who knew what Yanno would one day face. When God whispered in my heart, “Put your hand on that child’s head and pray for him because he’s special” I didn’t know why I was praying, but God knew.

And now I know too.

Yanno and his family will need our support over the coming years. I pray I will be able to see him when I return to the Amazon this June. I pray His experience of Christ and His church will be ever sufficient in the midst of unspeakable tragedy.

Dear Father, thank you for sending us ahead of such loss. And as we now come behind it, may Christ and His church be the filling Yanno and his family desperately need. Amen.

*A few friends snapped family photos backdrops that day in Chita. This is probably the only picture Yanno will possess of his mother and him. A gift Gloria will bring to him on her next visit.

I just returned from the first ever Abundance Event in Houston, TX. Next stop: Minneapolis, MN on April 27-28. I’m taking a moment to write about it because it was that awesome. Because I’m hoping you’ll be able to gather with us for one of the remaining three Abundance Events of the year (Event Info and Video Here). First off, it was amazing to be out on a “work” weekend with friends: Angie Smith, Lisa Harper, Tammie Head, Jen Hatmaker, Angela Thomas, Travis Cottrell, Jennifer Rothschild, Keely Scott (Compassion), Melanie Shankle (BigMama Blog), you get the idea. It was like summer camp without the smores, although we did sneak Tex-Mex in there.

What I loved most was that the event provided an amazing blend of highlighting the abundance God came to give with the call to give our abundance away. There was opportunity to give in big and small ways, especially since many local ministries unique to Houston were represented. Since Christ called us to be co-laborers with Him and not just spectators, Abundance offered a tangible way for us to be involved with international and local ministries. Oh, and if you came on dead-empty, there was no pressure to do anything but simply receive the abundance of Christ’s love. Brilliant.

The whole gathering meant a lot to me after spending the better part of last year in the book of Nehemiah where Nehemiah himself left the abundance of his prestigious palace to serve his brothers and sisters in the broken down city of Jerusalem; It meant a lot to me after spending some time in the Amazon regions of Brazil where I’ve encountered a great deal of poverty. But, here’s what’s cool – it meant a lot to me this week when I had a pile of unexpected expenses, some plumbing problems, mice in the house (I’m still recovering from the assault on my hygienic sense of well-being), a fleeting health concern, etc. I came back encouraged and strengthened by the speakers, singers, testimony givers, and dynamic women in attendance. I’m not alone. You’re not alone.

The weekend made me grateful for LifeWay and their persistence in seeing this event off the ground, not for their/our abundance but so the abundance of Christ can be shared in very tangible ways that include US as participants. So, my encouragement to you is if you have the ability to make it to Minneapolis, Atlanta or Greenville, SC for one of the remaining Abundance Events, put it on your calendar! I’m telling you, this is a special one. Oh, and if you’re particularly weary and empty and feel like you’ve got nothing to give, definitely come.

Houston Abundance Event Recap Video.

On Feb 1st, my 3rd bible study releases,Nehemiah: A Heart That Can Break. On Feb 3rd, I leave for the Amazon jungles of Brazil for the 2nd Annual Jungle Pastor’s Conference that several dear friends and family launched last year with Ray of Hope. Without being overly dramatic I feel attached to Joshua’s words to the Israelites before they were to cross the Jordan, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” This is a sacred time as I look back over a year of studying and writing about Nehemiah, with two trips to the Amazon thrown in. It is not lost on me that 3 days after this study releases I will have the privilege of meeting up with 65 modern-day Nehemiahs, 40 of them pastors and 25 of them pastor’s wives. We will gather together for the 2nd time in jungle history to study, worship, fellowship, catch piranha and eat a lot of tapioca. (I am personally packing Kind Bars this year.)

I can’t describe in a blog post the impact that last year’s conference had on me, though I am contemplating writing a book about my adventures. More on that when I recover from the pounding I took from Nehemiah (half-grin). In the meantime, it would mean so much to me if you think to cover our time in prayer. Essentially my dad will be doing the lion’s share of the teaching, while I and a few others will be teaching the wives – okay, in reality they will be teaching us by their very presence, it’s just how it works over there. Many of these Brazilians will leave several days ahead of time because it will take them that long by boat to get to where we’ll be. On my side of the equator I just don’t know this level of zeal for God, His Word and His people. Like I said, they will be teaching me.

On another note, please, please join us for tomorrow’s (Feb 1st) free webcast that begins at 11 AM (CST). I hear Beth Moore, Lisa Harper and a couple other surprise guests will be dropping by to say hello. I can’t wait to share with you in person what this book has meant to me, and the word is we’ll be doing a little cooking on the “show” as well. Rumor has it that Lisa Harper will be showing up with onion goggles. What more needs to be said.

As some of you know I spent all of last year studying and writing about the book of Nehemiah. Well, I did other things like eat and sleep and complain about how “hard” this all was. I traveled some and cooked as many meals as time would allow. I spoke a lot and met a lot of people which was fun, but I discovered after all these years that I might be a bit of an introvert. I realized, while sitting in the midst of my bible, commentaries, laptop, and utter silence, that this space made me very happy. More than all these little joys however, steeping myself in Nehemiah has changed me, and I hope it will do the same for you. The study and videos release on Feb 1st, but more about all this in the next few days…

In addition to what I’ve been writing, I want to share with you what I’ve been reading. *First, a little disclaimer. Throughout 2012 I really want to share with you the books I come across and love, even if I don’t mesh with every word. So, in the spirit of “Hey, we may not all agree on every page or idea, but the overall message is absolutely riveting and I understand the author to be sincerely biblical,” here are two must-reads:

First up, 7 by my friend Jen Hatmaker. I say friend because we’ve talked maybe twice since we met 6 years ago while at an event where we may have conversed for all of 10 minutes. I say friend because I follow her on Twitter and now FB and we occasionally write warm and/or sarcastic notes to each other. Mostly, I say friend because Jen is the wife of a pastor, has adopted two children from Africa, written a book about mission and sacrifice, and has done so because of Jesus. See? She and I are tight.

I highly recommend this read. It will stretch, challenge, and prayerfully sculpt you more closely into the image of Christ. And, her writing is so full of humor you may find yourself laughing while all this gut wrenching conviction is taking place. She’s sneaky, that Jen. To find out more about 7 click here and/or to check out her hilarious and extremely challenging blog click here. If you read and love it, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Next Up: Mark Batterson’s The Circle Maker. This is a book on prayer that I haven’t even finished yet, but I can’t possibly recommend it more highly. His stories of what God has accomplished through the church he pastors, National Community Church in Washington, D.C., are utterly mind blowing. God has been teaching me more and more about prayer over the past couple years and this book reminds me that we haven’t yet scratched the surface of what God desires to do in our lives when we petition, throw ourselves before Him and seek His face. Mark is a down to earth, accessible writer, though his stories are anything but ordinary. This is a great book to start off your new year. You can check out The Circle Maker by clicking here. I think it’s already on The New York Times Best Seller List.