Baptized In Salt Water: Becoming Salt To The World

I visited Sônia and Beta in Areial about a month and a half ago to talk to Beta about questions she had concerning her faith in God. After her sister Simone died leaving a six year old daughter behind Beta doubted God's love. We talked and she seemed relieved but still needed to "work things out" with God.

Sônia told me while I was there that she and her son were planning on coming to João Pessoa in June to spend some time at the beach and relax. I received a call on Wednesday, June 22, that she would arrive on Sunday along with Beta and her daughters. Sônia also informed me that Beatriz, Beta's daughter, wanted to be baptized. What a great surprise! They all arrived on Sunday as planned, and Beatriz was baptized for the forgiveness of her sins and now has God's seal of the Holy Spirit in her.

It seems as if Beta worked through her doubts and is more confident than ever that God is love even though we do not understand everything He does or allows.

Please pray for Beatriz and her new life in Christ in a city of around 10,000 inhabitants and only three Christians. Please pray that God will open up people's hearts in this small town so that God may save them.

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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

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Every Tuesday night for the last month we have been getting together to study God's Word. The subject is controversial but needed because it affects relationships and families in the church, and we as spiritual leaders will be more effective if we are united in teaching Jesus' will on marriage and divorce. Just like Jesus, we want to go back to beginning and uphold God's ideal when He created marriage: “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:4-6

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