A Breath of Fresh Air

I first traveled to Alagoinha, over 15 years ago. I have been going back every once in a while to visit the church that began in the year 2001. Antônio Germano is a very zealous man for God's Word and His Will. His zeal for others to do God's Will causes him to overreact in some situations and ends up pushing people away. He is a very decent and good person that has a hard time getting along with others. He is also 75 years old and has Parkinson's disease.

I went to visit the church again last night. This was the first time that I remember meeting with the church without Antônio. Antônio was in João Pessoa taking care of his sister who had surgery. I was able to see the church in a new light. I do not believe that it is a good thing for Antônio not to be at the worship but it did allow me to talk with the members in a way that I had not been able to before. I saw the other man in the congregation, Zezito, stepping up for the first time and taking on responsibility, not just in the worship service but being active over the last couple of weeks and planning for the future of the church.

Please pray:

· That Antônio and the church will be able to get along better with one another;

· That God may continue to work with Zezito, who some of us have been praying for off and on for years, to assume more responsibilities;

· That God will mature all five members of this congregation, who at one time had 15 and growing, years ago.

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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.

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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.

McKinney Report

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