The Return to Brazil

The McKinneys and Newlins are back after report visits in the USA.
Actually we have been back a month and a half. Getting settled in with
new schools and new work routines, a process that should have taken a
max of a couple of weeks has dragged on for what seems like forever. We
have had some mishaps.
But first we want to thank everybody who made our trip to the States a
blessing from God. We are sad that we didn't get to spend time with
everybody, but I hope to on our next report visit.
Our first accident: Edda fell off a ladder and broke her toe. The
ladder was old and rusted and came apart under her. Poor Edda had a list
of 101 things that had to be done, but she couldn't walk well or drive.
She hobbled around too much for it to heal properly so even after a
month it is still swelling up.
Our second accident: Edda spilled boiling water on her hand, a second
degree burn that hurt so much that she couldn't stand to keep it out of
cool water. Fourteen hours later at 4 am either it felt better or she
was too tired to let it keep her awake, and she got some sleep. Her hand
looked awful for a couple of weeks.
Our third accident: well, I'll share that one in a future email.
The Newlins have struggled with their kids' school. Nicholas and Dylan
are in limbo while the Education Department decides whether to send them
to the next grade or hold them back because of all the bureaucracy that
they require just because the boys went to a US school for a half year.
Life doesn't always work out as we plan. Thank you all who have prayed
for us.

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"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.

Prayers and Fasting for our Families

One of the most devastating attacks of the enemy against God's people is when he invests in our families. We pray for protection for our loved ones, but we live in a world that never tires of trying to divide our families, constantly pulling and poking at our faith to find a vulnerable spot. The congregation in João Pessoa, in the face of one difficult situation after another, has taken a whole Sunday this month to stay together in prayer and fasting for our families. We are praying for couples in the church losing hope of solving their differences, Christian wives tearfully bearing the responsibility of maintaining the marriage with non-Christian husbands, mothers and daughters in unrelenting tugs of war, unemployment and financial strains, and the most shocking of all, one of our teenager, who is barely beyond childhood, confessed to the church that she is 8 months pregnant (her own mother only found out a week before). It g...

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