Beyond Borders

My first memories of TV are in black and white. Like many Latin American children, I loved to watch North American programs. I learned very interesting things about North America. There were strange humans, such as The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, and Man from Atlantis. Cartoons showed us mice, birds, cats, and dogs who could speak.

My mother became a Christian when I was five years old. She then joined the Mennonite Brethren Church in Linz and started to take me along to Sunday school. So I basically grew up in this church and have considered myself a Mennonite as far back as I remember.

The ultimate goal of a disciple is both internal – to grow into the image of Christ – and external – to make disciples of all the nations. I became a believer of Jesus Christ in 1979 by reading the Word of God. King David’s words in 2 Samuel 18:33, “If only I had died instead of you,” spoken on the death of Absalom, his rebellious son, provided illumination for me.

In the 16th century, one of the causes of the radical reform in Zurich was infant baptism, which Conrad Grebel and the early Anabaptists opposed. In the public debates of the day, the issue of a child’s faith for baptism was troublesome.

When it comes to missions, what comes to mind for most people is the evangelism of aboriginal peoples, followers of other religions or sects, and people living in remote areas. But for a person like me, who was born and always lived in a metropolis like São Paulo, Brazil, God had another call – to be pastor in this jungle of stones, to do urban mission.