No More Complaining, by Jeremy Newlin

      As my departure from Brazil nears, I am doing the countdown on the state-wide meetings I will be attending. Just went to my next to the last. I feel like Paul, trying to think of all the right things to say before I go. We talked about what God has done to bring salvation to the world and how our lives should be different from that of those who are not in Christ.
      Each congregation gave a presentation of their growth in numbers and maturity, through such activities as visitation, campaigns, retreats, classes, and weekend seminars. While each congregation spoke the others were listening for opportunities to serve through visits, calls or other ways that they believe would help in what is already being done.
      We ended our time together studying God's Word about the subject of grace and being filled with the Spirit. We read Ephesians 5:17-21 and discussed how being filled with the Spirit is very practical and not mystical. We decided to focus on one aspect of being filled with the Spirit which we read in verse 20 "always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father." Think with me, if you are always giving thanks for all things then one thing you are not doing is complaining. Together we challenged each other to not complain for 21 days and to discuss what we discovered about ourselves and our relationship with God.
      Please pray: that all of those at the meeting will truly commit to not complaining, that we may learn to have more self-control, and that God may be glorified through this process.

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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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