Sapé - A Beginning

      Since October I have been making monthly visits to the interior city of Sapé (about an hour from João Pessoa), studying the Bible with Vera Lúcia and several of her neighbors. Vera is Severina's and Dalva's
sister, and when they became Christians, she started asking questions. We studied with her, she studied on her own, Severina spent a weekend studying with her, and she decided for Christ and asked to be baptized,
the first of 2012 in Paraiba.
     The first church meeting in Sapé was held in Vera's house on the second Sunday of January. Along with some neighbors and a carload from João Pessoa, Dona Bel participated, an elderly Christian who has just
moved to Sapé from Recife. I had hoped that Bel could help this new babe in Christ in the walk of light, but she is dealing with several physical ailments and emotional hurt: she lost her only son suddenly to a heart
attack.
    Whatever the way, I am certain that our Father has plans for this city, starting with Vera's open house and open heart to serve Him and to share her newfound light.

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.

Weekend VBS

The end of April, my wife, Monica, traveled to Patos with the AME (Adventures in Evangelistic Missions) group to have VBS with the church there. It was the first VBS for the AME class and for the church in Patos, the first one in about 10 years. Monica said that there were 24 children on the first day and 26 on the second. It was a weekend VBS, Saturday morning, afternoon and Sunday morning. They also did a campaign around the church building inviting people to the VBS, the church meeting, and an adult class on Friday night. They also had a couples meeting as well as a youth group meetings happening in between other activities. Needless to say, they were pretty busy. They all came back exci...

McKinney Report

Search This Blog