Adventures in Missions

Jenny, Nyasha, Michael, Tiffany, Ashton, and Erick.

The João Pessoa church has benefited from the AIM program at the Sunset Institute in Lubbock, TX, since 2005. The first team that came down (Sabrina, Melissa, and Janae) was a joy to work with. (Melissa is now on a mission team in Belém, Brazil).

Then one after another, three young men from here joined the program, first, Diego, then Renato, both serving in Mexico, and now Marcus Paulo, who is currently in New Zealand.

Young people sharing their faith in Jesus in a different culture, that's what our second AIM team is doing. They arrived four months ago, and with daily Portuguese classes are already able to communicate. But they didn't let the language become a barrier. They have taken on Let's Talking Students, become involved in Bible Club, have had Bible study groups in their apartments, door-knocked, helped with the children's program at Cabo Branco square, etc.

May God use them well during their time here in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil!

Comments

"What About Baptism?"

Edda and I went to a nearby city to study the Bible with a family, Genilda (who is already a Christian), Ana, Mariana, Luiza, and Jefferson. While we were reading God's Word, Ana's husband, Silva, came in and sat down, and then blurted out: "What about baptism?" It took me by surprise because he has barely studied with us, but, most certainly, is already thinking about spiritual matters. Our Bible study then took a lot of detours, answering this question or that. Silva said he still has a lot of questions, and we pray that the Lord will use us to answer them, bringing him to understand the Good News!

One More Goodbye

This year has been rough for Borges's family. They lost a pillar in their family, his wife's mother in February. Now her brother has passed, buried today. He was diagnosed with prostrate cancer 18 months ago. A policeman, used to taking care of the family, he had to settle with being taken care of by the family as his body gradually shut down when the cancer metastasized to his bones. Borges and Geilza have spent every free moment taking care of Demilson's needs, and it has been torture watching him slowly wear away. His colleagues in the Military Police carried his casket, played taps on a trumpet, presented his family with a Paraiba flag, and thanked his family for supporting him in defending society for nearly thirty years. It was a nice gesture, but the event that gives us believers hope in the face of death is Jesus winning over the grave. He is our certainty that a grave is not the end.

For the Kids, Part III

In the USA, there are two special days during the year that children love: birthday and Christmas. Brazil adds one more: Children's Day. On this day, children receive a present and since it coincides with Our Lady of Appeared Conception, Brazil's patron saint, it is also a national holiday. Each week we get kids from the Castelo Branco neighborhood together at the square in front of Dona Terezinha's house to talk about Jesus. For Children's Day, we invited the parents to watch the kids perform a play of the "Prodigal Son," then each kid receives his or her fill of cotton candy, cake, and a sack full of goodies. The parents who came received a Today's Portuguese New Testament and an invitation to the weekly Bible study at Terezinha's. Lori Hagewood has organized this activity for three year with the help from Terezinha, Joseph, and Michel (from the China Taiwan restaurant). Michael, Ashton, and Tif...

McKinney Report

Search This Blog