Skip to main content

12 Noon In The City Of Patos

            That was the time set for us to meet.  I was nervous about meeting with the Brazilian evangelists from different congregations in the interior of the state.  We were, or better said, I wanted them to name a city that they would all begin focusing on to establish a new congregation or build-up a struggling one.
            The meeting a couple of weeks before was not an easy one.  Some of the men argued back and forth about how to spread God's Word.  It took them around 10 minutes to agree on a date for the next meeting.  I did not want them to be discouraged and do nothing after this meeting.
            I went as prepared as I could and asked God for His direction and blessing on these men and His church.  Time was short.  We had 2 ½ to 3 hours tops to decide on a city and a beginning strategy to execute until our next meeting in October. 
            Representatives from five different congregations were present.  The meeting went very smoothly.  God blessed us and His church. 
            Pombal, a city of just over 32,000 with only three Christians is the focus of these seven congregations evangelistic effort.  Our goal is to establish a congregation that can meet on its own without any outside help by August 2012.
            I was 30 minutes late for my 12 noon deadline.  I underestimated the volume of traffic on the road.  I know that I am underestimating what God can and will do because He is able to do more than I could ever ask or imagine.  This is an exciting time for the church in Paraíba.  Please pray that God may bless our efforts to spread His Word.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"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!

For the Kids, Part III

    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...

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.