Southern Hills Church of Christ

What a lofty name for a small beginning! Colinas do Sul (Southern Hills) is a very poor neighborhood on the outskirts of João Pessoa. Naldo and his wife Lena were converted in the interior of Paraíba and, after moving around the country, finally settled in Colinas. They met for a while with the João Pessoa congregation, even though the long bus ride would always make one of their kids throw up. But, with the purpose of reaching this distant housing project, they started meeting in their home in April of this year.

We did a pamphlet campaign on his and a neighboring street during two months, during which we visited each house and left a Bible message. From this effort, four or five Bible studies were initiated.

Naldo built a garage in front of his house; other congregations helped put a roof on it. Two months ago it was inaugurated with chairs discarded from a school. Elias and Roberto have helped Naldo with the Bible studies. Joseph has taught a weekly School of the Bible course in the garage on When Everything Seems Lost, and David has helped with the Sunday meetings and planning. Several other brothers and sisters have door knocked and visited. It's a small start in a ghetto of João Pessoa, but God's people are coming together and cooperating to bring light to the darkness, the good news to the lost.

Pray for Naldo and Lena and for everyone who needs Christ in Colinas do Sul.

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!

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...

Walking With A Holy God

I was invited to teach a youth class in Recife, a city about 2 hours south of João Pessoa. I have been focusing my time and attention on teaching and training Christians in Paraíba. This would take one of my weekends away from Paraíba. Besides the time away and focus off the state, the subject I was asked to teach on also brought some discomfort: "Masturbation: A Sin Against Holiness." This is not a subject you just bring up in a casual conversation with young people who you do not know. I decided to accept the invitation so that I could better prepare myself to help other young men deal with this problem, and I do confess, I had already been thinking about how to talk to my own sons about this subject. Thankfully, they is not ready yet, but unfortunately, I'm sure it will not be too far off. ...

McKinney Report

Search This Blog