From Therapy to Everything

Flávia sought Adriana McKinney for therapy, for help in dealing with years of an unhealthy marital situation. In addition to therapy, she started coming to our Wednesday prayer meeting and immediately felt welcomed and at home in the midst of God’s family. David McKinney invited her to study the Bible, and even though she had gone through a denomination’s conversion process, when she asked about baptism, she accepted unconditionally everything the Bible teaches about it: the forgiveness, the burial with Christ, the rebirth to new life, the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and she wanted it all, right then. David called us all to witness her baptism on a Thursday. And Flávia received everything that God promised us.

And she told us: I don’t want to be a bench-warming Christian; I want to work, to serve, to do everything I can to help, and she is doing just that: volunteering to work at Grande Ceia, giving people rides, Bible Bowl, events, visits, teaching Sunday School, etc.

“Flávia, can you help with--”

“Yes! With what?”

God bless Flávia and her family in her new walk with Christ!

Comments

"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

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.

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...

McKinney Report

Search This Blog