Skip to main content

Sula

By

                João Pessoa seems to be a nice, calm city, but lately on lisst of violent cities in Brazil and the world, it has climbed close to the top. Now that doesn't seem to affect us much because, as brother Ricardo (a policeman) explains the most dangerous demographic bracket to be in is black youth between the age 16 to 22, involved in illegal drug trafficking.

                But sometimes tragedy strikes closer to home. Our dear sister Sula received the worst birthday present anyone could ever receive, her youngest son (22 years old) was murdered in the street in front of her house, shot three times. Sula's sole dream in life is for her children to belong to Christ, but little by little the chances of it being fulfilled are being chipped away. Her oldest son was killed in Recife four years ago, just when he was getting his life on track and even visiting the church.

                The family knows who killed this second son and why (debt-related not drug-related), but an inefficient judicial system leaves them scared for their lives instead of confident to seek to bring the criminal to justice.

                As for Sula, having suffered more than her amount in this lifetime, she says that the only thing that keeps her going is Jesus; she's hanging on to him with everything she got. At the funeral, she cried out loud a prayer to God, for him to bring her other kids and grand-kids to Jesus and eternity before it is too late.  Resurrection in Christ would change everything, even in burying a child; desperate agony would become a hopeful sadness.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Planting, the Watering, and the Increase

By
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. 
Post a Comment
Read more

"What About Baptism?"

By
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!
Post a Comment
Read more

Samuel McKinney's New Life in Christ

By
It has been only three days since Samuel gave his life to Christ, but it is so exciting to see my young son exercising his faith, like getting upset when his history teacher at school taught that miracles in the book of Exodus can be explained by natural phenomena: low and high tides in the crossing of the sea, natural disasters for the plagues, etc. The day after his baptism, Samuel went on a trip with his school and received a new nickname: the boy who reads the Bible. He read 1 Samuel, chapters 1 through 6, out loud for the whole bus to hear. His eagerness to take the Lord's Supper for the first time was refreshing. May our Father bless all our families with life changing faith.
Post a Comment
Read more