The Coming of Jesus

    We have been in contact with Roseli for years, ever since there was a weekly neighborhood Bible study at Irene’s, taught by Hunter and Jeremy. Since then a lot of water has gone under the bridge, including her husband leaving her and other crises of life. And all that she has been through has brought her to seek Jesus and to meet with the congregation at Irene’s house.
    Irene and I studied the Bible her and could see more and more that she is placing her faith in Jesus and her hope in the things above. The only thing she lacked was baptism, which, she would say, is a very serious step. But when it became obvious that baptism in her mind was so serious that she wasn’t getting any closer to making the decision, I asked her, “What would happen if Jesus came back tonight?”
    That question shocked her into thinking that the return of Christ is a reality to contend with someday, but that baptism is the yielding to Jesus and bringing Him into her life now. She decided she couldn’t wait any longer. We were all at camp, so we went down to the stream that crosses the property, God's family standing on the slanted shore, singing praises, encouraging Roseli with words and hugs. She confessed Christ before all, and we waded into the brown waters to a spot where the sunlight shone down on us through the trees, and right then Christ came to Roseli, making her into a new creation.

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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. ...

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