Men's Christmas Party

All you can eat meat. That is what a Brazilian cookout is all about. There were a little over 20 men present for the men's Christmas party. The women had theirs about a week before ours. They decorated the auditorium, gave out presents to one another and had a nice meal. That is all nice and good but we men like things a little different. We had just a few vegetables because only one person remembered to bring them. We had some bread because we sent someone to buy bread after realizing we didn't have any. All that is o.k. and fine because we had meat, charcoal and grills. There were no presents, no decorations, only meat. What a day! Everyone went home satisfied.

Our boys, who are now teenagers, stood around the meat table like vultures waiting for another dead body to drop, only it was cooked. We finally had to tell them that one round was ours and the next theirs. In the not too distant past, they would eat two or three rounds and then go off to play. When we saw that things had changed, and they were not leaving we had to set some guidelines for these newbies to the man's world.

In the end, it all worked out great, and everyone cheered as others had to leave or got a call from the wife, asking "When are you coming home?" That is what a men's Christmas cookout is all about. Go home, my brother, thank you for sharing your part. It was all in good fun. And besides the meat, we did have a devo.

I wonder if that is why God told us men and husbands to "Love your wife as you love yourself" (Ephesians 5:33) because we do love ourselves well.

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