Trippin'

Cajazeiras

    I went to Cajazeiras this past weekend to teach a class on God's plan of salvation.  The church is small in number and growing both spiritually and numerically.  The class started Friday night; it went on Saturday afternoon and night and ended with a class Sunday morning before the church meeting.  I also interviewed Café, Leila, 4 girls and 3 boys from the Right Step program, the main evangelistic thrust in the city. This program helps underprivileged families with their children in school, on the soccer field, in their homes, and most importantly in their personal lives.
    Please pray for Café, Leila, and their four daughters. They are the only family working full-time with this program and are feeling the weight of visiting and caring for 93 boys, girls, and their families.  Please pray that God may send another couple to this city to help His Kingdom grow in and around Cajazeiras.
    On a side note, we read 2 chapters of Ruth while on our 7-hour trip, studying for the Bible Cup in João Pessoa.  It is good for all of us to have time and an incentive to study God's Word.  Here is a picture of Nicholas, my son, reading while on the road.


Cubati
    On our way back from Cajazeiras, we stopped in Cubati to visit Afonso and Vânia.  The church in this city has only 4 members. Afonso and Vânia pray for God to bring more to Christ as they visit others and show faithfulness to God. Growth is coming slowly but surely.  There were 10 at the Sunday church meeting, not including my family.  Afonso is a man of perseverance and wisdom, and he is always seeking to grow in his knowledge of the Word to live, teach, and to know God better.
    Please pray for Afonso and Vânia, that Christ's love through them will reach this city of over 6,000 inhabitants.

Little Lake

     It was a hot autumn day, just before Easter - remember we are in the southern hemisphere - when we set out towards Alagoinha (Little Lake).  This is one of the last cities in the state that I, myself, would have picked to preach the Gospel but God, as always, sees beyond our limited vision.
    In the year 2000, I studied the Bible with a man whose wife had family in Alagoinha, and he insisted that I go visit them and tell them about God.  I eventually went and, to make a long story short, the church began in this small, out-of-the-way town. Unfortunately, the man who insisted so much on others hearing the Word of God was killed in a car wreck.  I buried him, and I miss him.  He himself never became a follower of Christ, but two members of the family that he took me to visit did and so did others in the town.
   

     The church now meets in a rented house three or four times a week.  Many of those that began their walk with Christ in Alagoinha have fallen back into the world.  Those that remain are fighting to be faithful to our Lord, sharing our Savior's love with those around them.  Alagoinha is a town that has many denominations so evangelism has been a little slow for these Christians on their own. 
    I was invited to go visit and study with some who were thinking about being baptized.  I packed up the family and we went.  I studied with José Humberto, a 39 year old father of two.  He had been evangelizing even before he became a Christian.  His wife, his sister, her live-in boyfriend, and José's mother all want to know more about what it means to be a Christian and how they too can be saved.
 

   The church in Alagoinha now has five Christians.  Five souls, so far, that will not see the fire pit of Hell.  I would not have chosen Alagoinha to go preach, right now, because of its size and where it is located.  I am glad, though, that God not only chose this city but also allowed me to be used by Him to take the Gospel there.
    Please pray for the church in Alagoinha.  Please pray that they continue strong in their faith.  Please pray that they might grow in the knowledge of God's Word.  Please pray that they will live and share with others what they have learned from their walk with God.

Building A House On The Rock

     As with all newborn babies, new Christians also need a lot of attention, care, and teaching.  My family will be in Cajazeiras from April 16 to April 18, teaching a three-day intensive class to new converts and some visitors as well. 

   Café asked me to come edify the church.  Thinking about about God's perfect plan of salvation, about new Christian's needs, especially in worrying about what happens if they sin after being baptized, I decided to teach my routine evangelistic Bible study because it deals with these things. Therefore, visitors have been encouraged to come to these three days to learn God's will.  These are the eight lessons:

 
I.    God Created And Man Sinned;
II.    Abraham, Moses, and God's Chosen People;
III.   Prophecies About The Messiah;
IV.  Faith in Jesus And Repentance;
V.   Repentance And Confessing Jesus As Lord; 

VI.   Confessing Jesus As Lord And Baptism;
VII.  Baptism, Uniting Yourself To The Body Of Christ Which Is The Church;
VIII. Grace And The Church, The Fulfillment Of The Promise To Abraham.
   
Please pray:

that we will have a safe 7 hour trip going and coming;

that God will open my mouth to speak the truth of His Word;

that God will open the ears and hearts of those present so that God's Word will have an everlasting effect on their lives.

Please pray also for Café and Leila - they feel the need for spiritual renewal. Café said, "I have served the church for 22 years now, we need the church to serve us."  It is not out of selfishness that he says this but out of a desire to serve more with a wisdom of being still and knowing that God is God. 

Please take a moment and pray for these things and may God bless you.

Do You Know The Way From Death To Life?

  On Monday, March 1st, a group of 10 people set out on a journey from João Pessoa to Cajazerias.  7 hours of road, good conversation, deep thinking and getting to know one another even better.  The road trip was just the beginning of what promised to be an uplifting and edifying experience for the Church in Cajazeiras.  We were going to campaign for Christ in the neighborhood in which the church building is surrounded.  The neighborhood's name is Cristo Rei or Christ the King, that is exactly what we wanted to show through our words and actions as all 22 of us; 10 from João Pessoa, 11 from Cajazeiras and 1 from Belém door knocked on some 550-600 houses during 6 days.  We kept going back to the same houses everyday and handing out 6 different tracks.  The objective?  The objective is to create trust, build a relationship that allows us to get past the door and allow Christ to do some heart knocking by setting-up Bible studies and allowing our King to speak.
          Cajazeiras does not have a movie theater; so to begin building relationships, we invited everyone to watch a movie on
Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday were the main attractions; lessons on "Forgiveness",
"Transformation" and "Resurection from the dead".  As time past we began to move from the door to the couch and from the
couch to the heart.  Mind you, not everyone opened the door to the heart for Christ but some wanted to know Him better.  Friday, we had 13 visitors, Saturday, 18 and Sunday 21 visitors.  That is great but we wanted to go further down the road of life. 

We want to continue this journey.  We went to show everyone who wanted to be pointed in the right direction the way from death to life.  6 people asked to be shown how to transform their death into life.  Please pray for them as they study God's Word, as they answer Christ's knock at their heart's door and listen to Him speak about life eternal. 
        
    Do You Know The Way From Death To Life?  If you do, are you showing those that surround you?  I hope that you are and that you feel the love and joy of being able to take Christ with you as you go heart-to-heart knocking until someone opens their heart and allows Christ to speak.

S.E.A.R.A.

       If you were invited to participate in a four year program that would give you more knowledge and prepare you for the future, what would you say?  Oh, but wait! There's still more: it is also free and after completing all of the classes you can receive the equivelant to a college degree!  Well, that is what SEARA is. SEARA (Harvest or Servants Sent To Announce The Kingdom of Love) is a Bible degree for the members of the church here in João Pessoa.  

     

  20 members of the church were invited to participate. 11 remain after 6 weeks. Due to lack of time or other obligations, 9 asked to be excused.  These magnificent 11 are learning how to prepare and give a Bible study, they are organizing a state-wide church event for October of this year, they will be evangelizing door-to-door to help plant a church in another neighborhood in João Pessoa, and of course they will be preaching and teaching.  

       Jesus' classroom was and still is life, mine and yours. Everyday class is in session, and there is always homework to be done, taking a look deep inside ourselves, seeing where Jesus still has not been invited in, and being ready to act according to our teacher's direction.  Have you been in class?  Have you done your homework?  The whole purpose of SEARA, here in João Pessoa, is to prepare members to SERVE the MASTER, there is no greater lesson to be learned and no greater diploma than eternal life given to those in Christ.

Newsletter - January 2010

Travels
    This month I traveled to Belém do Brejo do Cruz, a city about 5 hours into the interior.  The trip was long and hot, even in an air-conditioned car.  I slept outside under the light of, no, not the stars but a street light.  I could have slept inside the house, in fact, the owner of the house almost insisted but I wanted to feel some sort of breeze while lying in my hammock. 
    We went to ask the congregation of about 15 members if they would offer their only full-time worker to be a missionary to Campina Grande, the last of the four cities to establish a congregation and complete the first phase of the PORmissões plan.  The brothers and sisters in Christ in this small town that is hard to evangelize said yes, we are happy to be able to be a part of the work of our Lord.  I felt very encouraged by their faith and love for the lost.  What examples they are to me as they reminded me what a congregation feels as it sends out a missionary that they love dearly.  After three days and two nights we headed to our homes, hearts filled with joy and our lives enriched by this congregations sacrifice.
    I could not help but think of 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 where the apostle Paul tells the church in Corinth about the example of their Macedonian brothers.  How they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us as they begged Paul to be able to participate in fullfilling the need of the saints by giving beyond their means from there extreme poverty.  It is wonderful to see lives changed so radically from materialism that this World has so deeply instilled in so many and to see the joy of giving even when you know it is going to be painful afterwards.  Please pray for the congregation in Belem and thank God for their faith in His Word and His Promises.
   
    This month my family and I also traveled to Caruaru where we attended the Congresso and saw a lot of the brothers and sisters from all over the Northeast that we have not seen in a long time.
    What caught my attention at this congresso was the singing.  It was truly uplifting.  We sang old songs, we sang new songs, we sang and sang from the heart.  I was encouraged.  I was challenged.  In my mind I thought of the times of when I was a around 10 years old and into my teenage years when would nights at Joelton Church of Christ where we would sing and it was beatiful.  The singning was beautiful, that I remember, even though I really was not all that interested in singing.  You do not know what you have until it is gone.  The singing at the Congresso made me remember and reminisce on those nights when Tommy Fortner would lead the congregation or Ray Walker.  Not that others do not bring the same joy it is just these two men that I remember the most from my youth.  I like to sing, I had forgotten how much I like to sing until this Congresso.  I hope all of you have memories and that you have moments that make you remember how wonderful it is to be with God's family, praising His name.

Plans
    This year in João Pessoa a lot of changes are going to take place.  Good things.  I do not always like change, it brings challenges and uncertanties that I may not know how to plan for and am afraid I will not see the advantages. 
   
    This year the Church in João Pessoa is going to begin a new congregation in a large neighborhood in the city.  We will begin a new congregation and build-up the existing one because some members will be helping establish the Church elsewhere in the city. 
  
     This year the congregation in João Pessoa is going to send a missionary to Campina Grande to establish the church in that city of 350,000 people about 1:30 away. 
   
    An old training program is beginning again in João Pessoa to better help members in their Christian lives and help them better use the gifts that they have to build-up the body of Christ in João Pessoa and throughout the State of Paraíba.
   
    Lord willing an AIM team will be coming to help with the work and to be prepared in life, not for their financial future but for the future of the Kingdom.  6 young adults around 20 years of age will be coming to spend 14 months and maybe a little longer to learn and practice mission work. 
   
    These are just some of the major things that are happening this year with the church in João Pessoa.  Please pray for these plans.  We are asking God to bless these plans but we also pray that His Will will be done and not our own.

    My family and I will be taking an extended furlough this year.  Please pray for us.