The Coming of Jesus

    We have been in contact with Roseli for years, ever since there was a weekly neighborhood Bible study at Irene’s, taught by Hunter and Jeremy. Since then a lot of water has gone under the bridge, including her husband leaving her and other crises of life. And all that she has been through has brought her to seek Jesus and to meet with the congregation at Irene’s house.
    Irene and I studied the Bible her and could see more and more that she is placing her faith in Jesus and her hope in the things above. The only thing she lacked was baptism, which, she would say, is a very serious step. But when it became obvious that baptism in her mind was so serious that she wasn’t getting any closer to making the decision, I asked her, “What would happen if Jesus came back tonight?”
    That question shocked her into thinking that the return of Christ is a reality to contend with someday, but that baptism is the yielding to Jesus and bringing Him into her life now. She decided she couldn’t wait any longer. We were all at camp, so we went down to the stream that crosses the property, God's family standing on the slanted shore, singing praises, encouraging Roseli with words and hugs. She confessed Christ before all, and we waded into the brown waters to a spot where the sunlight shone down on us through the trees, and right then Christ came to Roseli, making her into a new creation.

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The Planting, the Watering, and the Increase

Emesson started coming to Bible Club over a year ago, when Neil Schultz and Cait Beckloff, our AIM team, were teaching it. For several months, they planted the seed in his and his sister's hearts. Unfortunately Neil and Cait's time in João Pessoa ended. In 2014 Bible Club received a boon when Erick and Jenny Paddy, former AIMers, returned to the field and picked up teaching the Bible Study for English speakers. They watered the sprouting seed in Emesson's life until God's Word became more important for him than just practicing his English. Last Wednesday night, God gave the increase, adding Emesson to the Family of Christ. Sometimes things don't happen when we think they should, but God is in control; His time is best, and we must thank Him for playing a small part in His plan.

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...

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

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