Skip to main content

Sunny Sunday

On a sunny Sunday, I took a carload to Alagoinha, my two sons, Nicholas and Dylan, Joseph and Edda's son, Samuel, and a sister from church, Lucia de Fátima. We visited only one family in the city before meeting with the church.
This family was the first family I met in the city about 13 years ago. The father was an alcoholic, a daughter told me that if I was trying to make her leave the Catholic church that I could forget it. I told her that I was not trying to make her leave anything, I just wanted to study God's Word with her. This visit, though, they all mentioned how thankful they were to God that I came and taught them God's Word. The father no longer drinks. The daughter told me that she loves to see me and my family when we visit. The mother and one of the other daughters were both baptized years ago, but neither meet with the church anymore. The entire family goes to a denomination, but I am not giving up. I continue to visit and study God's Word with them. 
The visit to the church in Alagoinha was, in a word, joyful. We studied how Jesus tells us to carry our cross and to love him more than any family members or even ourselves. Then from Hebrews 10:19-25, we discussed the privilege of being in God's presence and the importance of encouraging one another towards love and good works. We all know this is true, but in Alagoinha, there is a man whose zeal for God, His Word and His church seems, at times, to overshadow the feelings and difficulties of the other members. 
The result of the study was a physical change in their body posture and on their faces. They seemed relieved and happier. The spiritual results I hope to see in the very near future. Please pray for the church in Alagoinha.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Planting, the Watering, and the Increase

Emesson started coming to Bible Club over a year ago, when Neil Schultz and Cait Beckloff, our AIM team, were teaching it. For several months, they planted the seed in his and his sister's hearts. Unfortunately Neil and Cait's time in João Pessoa ended. In 2014 Bible Club received a boon when Erick and Jenny Paddy, former AIMers, returned to the field and picked up teaching the Bible Study for English speakers. They watered the sprouting seed in Emesson's life until God's Word became more important for him than just practicing his English. Last Wednesday night, God gave the increase, adding Emesson to the Family of Christ. Sometimes things don't happen when we think they should, but God is in control; His time is best, and we must thank Him for playing a small part in His plan. 

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...

Weekend VBS

           The end of April, my wife, Monica, traveled to Patos with the AME (Adventures in Evangelistic Missions) group to have VBS with the church there.  It was the first VBS for the AME class and for the church in Patos, the first one in about 10 years.              Monica said that there were 24 children on the first day and 26 on the second.  It was a weekend VBS, Saturday morning, afternoon and Sunday morning.              They also did a campaign around the church building inviting people to the VBS, the church meeting, and an adult class on Friday night.  They also had a couples meeting as well as a youth group meetings happening in between other activities.              Needless to say, they were pretty busy.  They all came back exci...