Skip to main content

Traveling Joe And Me

By

            Traveling?  You get excited just thinking about going on a trip to a different place, sleeping in a different bed, eating different foods, and meeting different people.  To tell you the truth, I don't like to travel without my family.  I don't like spending nights away from home when my family is not with me, although I was not alone. Joe McKinney is a great traveling buddy and a great Christian example.  We had fun, but by the end of the trip, we were ready to go home.  But some things just have to get done.
            I went on this trip to renew interest in PORmissões (Organic Missions Plan), the state-wide plan to evangelize Paraíba.  This plan is working and producing fruit throughout the state, especially in its four major cities.  Now, it is time to build up these congregations and revive their vision for reaching out to other cities.  My main focus was the congregation in Patos.
We left Friday morning, traveled 2 ½ hours to Areial, a city of around 10,000.  If you remember, about a month ago, I traveled to Areial not to visit but to bury a sister in Christ.  This time Joe and I went to visit the two Christian ladies that live in this small town.  One of them is having doubts about God and His goodness.  Her sister died after many, many people prayed for her recovery.  Does God care?  Does prayer make a difference?  I talked with her and she seemed relieved to know that it is okay to have doubts.  I told her the best way to resolve her problem was to talk to the person with whom she felt disillusioned, God.
We left for Patos.  Slept.  Visited a family.  Left for Pombal.  We visited the four Christians in this city of close to 60,000 people.  What an exciting visit!  We did not get to spend much time with them though because we had a class scheduled in Patos.  After Joe's class, evangelists from Patos and Emas and I discussed the state-wide plan and the need to stimulate each Christian to evangelism.  What an exciting impromptu meeting!  The very reason I went.  Now it is time to get to work: to set-up a meeting for all the congregations in Paraíba and help them recapture God's vision.
Sunday, we met with the church in Patos in the morning and with both the Emas and Caatingueira congregations together at night.  We met in a house, in an overcrowded small room, one person sitting in the door.  I was greatly encouraged by their joy of being together.   
Monday we left for home.  We stopped in Campina Grande only for a short visit, long enough to hear that the campaign results have been good: class has started, also some Bible studies, and if faith is found, new lives will begin.
Please pray for all of these cities.


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

For the Kids, Part III

By
    In the USA, there are two special days during the year that children love: birthday and Christmas. Brazil adds one more: Children's Day. On this day, children receive a present and since it coincides with Our Lady of Appeared Conception, Brazil's patron saint, it is also a national holiday.     Each week we get kids from the Castelo Branco neighborhood together at the square in front of Dona Terezinha's house to talk about Jesus. For Children's Day, we invited the parents to watch the kids perform a play of the "Prodigal Son," then each kid receives his or her fill of cotton candy, cake, and a sack full of goodies. The parents who came received a Today's Portuguese New Testament and an invitation to the weekly Bible study at Terezinha's.     Lori Hagewood has organized this activity for three year with the help from Terezinha, Joseph, and Michel (from the China Taiwan restaurant). Michael, Ashton, and Tif...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekend VBS

By
           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...
Post a Comment
Read more