Continent Care Connection

         Continent of Great Cities has a great service for missionaries called Continent Care Connection, in which they invite ministers from South America for a week of spiritual renewal in São Paulo. It is amazing how we, sharing the Gospel with others, end up pushing aside our own spiritual needs and become depleted.
          I confess that I was needing this reconnection with God more than I realized, and it took stopping everything for a week and a lot of reflection and encouragement from a special group of men who volunteered to serve us and take care of us. I feel like I have tools to proceed in the work in a healthier way for myself and for my family.
          Hundreds of people made this encounter possible and I pray that God will bless each one of them as much as He has blessed me through their effort.

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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!

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...

Walking With A Holy God

I was invited to teach a youth class in Recife, a city about 2 hours south of João Pessoa. I have been focusing my time and attention on teaching and training Christians in Paraíba. This would take one of my weekends away from Paraíba. Besides the time away and focus off the state, the subject I was asked to teach on also brought some discomfort: "Masturbation: A Sin Against Holiness." This is not a subject you just bring up in a casual conversation with young people who you do not know. I decided to accept the invitation so that I could better prepare myself to help other young men deal with this problem, and I do confess, I had already been thinking about how to talk to my own sons about this subject. Thankfully, they is not ready yet, but unfortunately, I'm sure it will not be too far off. ...

McKinney Report

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