McKinney Report

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!

 Adriano and Karol Freire have worked in João Pessoa since 2018. Adriano ministers to the Mangabeira church of Christ; teaches in the AME program; heads up the Cantares Program, that teaches congregations to sing in harmony, and has set up a studio at the Luna church building for recording acappella training CDs. He loves what he is doing for the Lord. We had supper with them and their sweet children, Benjamin and Lia. We spent the evening talking with them about their recovery from Covid over the holidays, about 2021, about trusting in God about support, and about proposals for work in other places. We pray for guidance and wisdom from the Lord, to whom the Kingdom belongs.

 I asked the men of the congregation to stick around after the Luna church of Christ meeting. We had a lot of heavy blocks that needed to be loaded in a dumpster. But unfortunately several were traveling and two others had to rush off to deal with illness in their families. So women and one child volunteered to take their places and help the remaining men. The job, under a hot, summer sun, took a lot longer to do, but I am so thankful for people who are willing to serve. May God be praised!

 The wall around the Luna church building is probably over 50 years old. Some of the heavy concrete tiles are coming loose and falling, definitely a safety issue. Six of us spent our morning today, ripping them off the walls and toting them away. There is still a lot of work to do to make our wall elegant and inviting to visitors. Several blisters on our hands later though, we have made a good start.     May the Gospel of Jesus Christ weigh in heavy on people's heads and not falling concrete from the wall of our building!

The men of the Luna church of Christ have a weekly meeting for the purpose of edification and planning God's work in the congregation. Some are going strong, others have family problems, and we all want to grew in God's purpose for our lives.  Last night's meeting included a discussion of what really happened on the cross, on resting in Lord in the Psalms. We made plans about the upcoming Carnaval (Mardi Gras) retreat, and talked about the need to do some manual labor on our building.  Though the group was smaller this week, there is a hunger to serve. Five out of the six committed spending Wednesday ripping up a big wall that needs to be redone. Whether leading, studying, admonishing, evangelizing, or tearing up a wall, let God use us to His glory!

We thank God for our children. Lydia is on a mission of peace for the US army in the country of East Timor, Asia. Samuel was on the mission field in Guatemala, and then finishing his AIM service in Lubbock, TX. Lucas is a Senior at White House High School, living with my sister in TN. We had an empty nest for about our four months in 2020 - don't care for it! But then Samuel came and spent five months in João Pessoa, helping with the mission work, and Lucas, even with all the craziness of schooling and traveling in a pandemic, got to come spend Christmas and New Year's with us. As the Brazilians say, we got to "matar a saudade" (kill the longing) for a little while. We also had an extra treat: Samuel's girlfriend, Sydney, came and spent two weeks with us. We think the world of her. 2021 came and took the boys away: Lucas back to TN and Samuel to Michigan to be closer to Sydney. We are empty nesters again.Tough, especially for moms.

Beliza Patricia is an amazing young lady. When she decided to follow Christ as a teenager, it was for good - no matter what! She entered our AME program and worked as a missionary in Bahia for a year. She spent months in the hospital caring for her mother with terminal cancer. She took on the responsibility of providing for her and her sister with tutoring when her mother was gone. They adopted their ten-year old brother, the son of her mother's previous husband, Kauã (no blood relation). She has visited several countries in South America and Europe, and speaks four languages. All this before the age of twenty-three. Recently she just graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering. She loves teaching children about Jesus, having organized our VBS's the years after Lori Hagewood and Monica Newlin left João Pessoa. She also is the organizer and teacher of our FBS (Fun Bible School) on Sundays. When the pandemic hit, the children's classes stopped, but Fun Bible School contin

I have taught a weekly class online since May 2020, called Bíblia Cantada (Singing the Bible). Today's was the 35th passage: João 8:12, "I am the light of the world." I have been putting melody to the Portuguese Bible since 1996. It became a hobby because I found that for me the best way to memorize scripture is singing it.  Today's Cristian may not feel the need to memorize the Word because most carry several versions of the Bible and even a concordance on their cell phones, but I have found that my cell phone has so much information on it, so much so that the important things easily get lost. And when I face life, or others, or even the enemy, nothing does better than having the sword in my head.  The pandemic finally gave me time and a way to start sharing the Bible text songs so others can memorize the Bible, using my melodies. Our class starts with about fifteen minutes of singing, followed by a twenty-minute lesson on the day's passage, ending with comments

Our M.O. of evangelism and edification has concentrated on neighborhood Bible Study groups. Nothing can substitute the face-to-face telling and living the Gospel in small groups. In this same way, many churches were birthed through a Christian, inviting friends and neighbors to study God's Word in their home, bringing about a community of believers in the same part of town. But a lot of times people don't live in the same neighborhood, and sometimes brothers and sisters in Christ move to other cities, even other countries, possibly finding themselves alone in their quest to live for Jesus. Till 2020, we let geographical barriers keep us from fellow-shipping regularly with those far away. Because of the pandemic we started our virtual small Bible groups in April 2020. Mine began with four members, but after a while, people started inviting others, others from other cities, and countries. In addition to Edda and me, there are Julian and Bel, Ana Paula, Lucila, Maria do Socorro,

 Carlos and Mara invited the young people of the church to their house just to hang out, play some games, and spend time with Samuel and Lucas before they travel. Young people need to experience togetherness in good Christian fun, so different from that of the world. The one builds wholesome relationships; the other tends to destroy them.