| I want to thank everyone for their prayers during carnaval (Mardi Gras). As far as I know, everyone had a safe and peaceful trip to their respective retreats around Brazil. In Patos we had a wonderful time of fellowship (staying up till 2 or 3 a.m. with the young people) talking about love, salvation and evangelism. The food was plentiful and very good. The lessons we heard made us reflect on our decisions, their consequences and opened our eyes to see God at work in the World. I asked some people what was their favorite part of the retreat; Dylan said, "the offering" (collection). What a surprising and wonderful answer. Another person was lamenting that they did not spend a lot of time with most of the people at the retreat. She spent most of her time getting to know one of the members from another congregation. Nicholas said, "sometimes it is time better spent getting to know one person more intimately than talking with a lot of people and speaking on a superficial level." God is maturing His Church. The retreat was a great way to start off the year in fellowship. Thank you once again for your prayers. |
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...
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