McKinney Report

            I received a call from Antônio Germano, a Christian who lives in Alagoinha.   He told me that there were three women who wanted to be baptized and that they were waiting for me to come and baptize them.   What great news!!!   I had met all of them before but I did not study the Bible with any of them.                   I traveled the two hours to get to the city of 13,000 residents.   I sat down with the ladies and asked them some questions to see if they understood what they were doing, why they were being baptized and if they realized what it would mean for the rest of their lives.   After a couple of hours of conversing,   I received the privilege of watching God work a miracle of re-birth in three lives.                   If you would like to say something to your new sisters in Christ, you can e-mail me your message and I will translate it for them.             Please pray that Maria, Antônia da Paz and Graça, as well as the church in Alagoinha may: ·       

      Areial, a city 2 ½ hours away from João Pessoa with three Christians is the city I visited Sunday. Two adult women and one teenager are the only Christians in this city of 10,000 inhabitants. I began visiting this city about 10 years ago with Joseph and David.           A woman named Sônia, born and raised in Areial, had gone to work in São Paulo. She also began her life in Christ in the third largest city in the World when Ricardo Sobral baptized her into Christ. Sônia moved back to her home town of Areial and our team heard about her new life in Christ from Ricardo so we began visiting her. She was the only Christian in town at the time.           Sônia is a faithful follower of Christ to this day. Her two sons, Jalmir and Elmir, were baptized. One is faithful; the other does not like to even talk about God, right now. The son who is faithful to Christ is now living in another state while the son who left the Church still lives with her. Sônia evangelized her sister

  Lena McKinney - we call her Granny - has completed her mission on this earth. The Lord took her yesterday after she had a heart attack.     She was 95 years old, and that may sound like a lot, but it is too short! For people like Granny TOO SHORT! In the forty years with her as my grandmother, including the four years I lived with her while going to college, all my memories are good, wholesome, life-giving, God-glorifying, fun experiences. This rotten world needs more people like Granny. Two hundred years wouldn't have been enough.     And that is why Heaven is so right. Thank God this is NOT the end. I am so thankful for the privilege of being her grandson, of learning the meaning of God's grace from her, for the years of her loving service to generation after generation, and the glory, wondrous glory, she is experiencing right now.     Edda told our youngest son Lucas. He was sad, but he brightened up when he thought of

            I traveled to Patos, on Thursday and arrived back in João Pessoa the following Wednesday night.  Here is a summary of what happened: I went to teach a 15 hour class to the members on "Letters To Asia Minor" (Galatians, Ephisians and Colossians).  The class went well and was encouraging.  We visited several members of the church in Patos.  We also visited family members of Michel's co-workers who live in Patos and Santa Terezinha, a small town about 30 minutes outside of Patos.  Michel is a Christian who works at a Chinese restaurant in João Pessoa and he was on vacation.  We visited three families in Pombal, about an hour from Patos and held a worship service in the home of the two Christians (father and daughter) that live in this city of 60,000.  We drove another hour to Cajazeiras to visit the church and the evangelist that works with the Right Step Program (soccer school for young tee