This Is Good News

      I remember the day my oldest son, Nicholas was born. It was a very exciting day and also a very scary time. It is a great responsibility, I should also add privilege too, to raise a child. How was I going to raise him? My life changed quite a bit after he was born. Everyone who has children probably know what I'm talking about.
      December 14, 2011, I had the enormous privilege to see Nicholas choose Jesus as his Lord. He was baptized for the forgiveness of his sins and now has God's Spirit living in him. I have baptized people before and it is always a miracle to witness. This time was different. It all happened so fast, I thought after I baptized him that I had forgotten to do or say something.
      Nicholas is only 11 so let me share with you how he came to his decision. When he was 8 he told me he wanted to be baptized. I said o.k., so let's study. We had one little Bible study and then I waited for him to ask me to study with him again. He did so about 2 years later. So when he was 10 he told me he wanted to be baptized, again. So, again, we sat and had one little Bible study and then I waited for him to ask me to study with him again. He did so about 1 year later. This year, around his birthday he asked me if we could study so that he could be baptized. I told him to read one of the four gospels and then we would study. The Bible bowl this year in Brazil was on the Gospel of Luke. He asked if that counted for reading the gospel so that we could study. I told him yes. After the Bible bowl we studied two lessons and then I waited, about 1 month later he asked to study again so that he could become a Christian. We finished studying on Saturday, Dec. 10. I knew that he understood the purpose and the life-long commitment that he was wanting to make. But in the car Saturday night, he said "Lord willing and if y'all let me, tomorrow I want to be baptized". I then knew, he was not ready. We got home I sat down with him and talked. I asked him, if he knew that some parents disown or get mad when their children are baptized. He said no, he did not know that. I asked him if he would be baptized if he knew that I was going to get mad at him. He thought and said yes he would. Monica told him about how her family did not like the fact that she was baptized. He went to bed and the next day we waited for Nicholas to say something but he never did. Tuesday came around and he told me that he wanted to be baptized. I asked him why. He said that he wanted to follow Christ. I asked him what he would do if I told him no. He said he wanted to be baptized anyway. I asked him again, what if I say I don't think you are ready. He did not say anything else. Later that night he asked me why I did not think he was ready. Both Monica and I talked with him. He finally seemed to understand that it was his decision and not ours. He went to bed and the next morning I read 1 Peter 2:18-25 to him and asked him if was ready to suffer injustices for God's glory. He said yes. I asked him if was willing to give up his life-long dream of becoming a professional soccer player if it meant he had to lie to become one. He said yes. I then said, I think, now you understand what it is going to take for you to be faithful to death.
      Thursday, December 15, I walked by his room and he was sitting on his bed reading a book. I stopped and starred because I remembered, he has God's Spirit in him now. God is now guiding him. My job, of course, is not finished but God is living inside my oldest son, or should I say my youngest brother.
     Please pray for Nicholas and his life in Christ that:

•  he may be faithful until death;
•  he may be light and salt wherever he may be and whatever he may do in his life.

     If you would like to send a message to Nicholas you can send it to my e-mail address and I will be sure to get it to him.

God bless you all with a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year,

Jeremy, Monica, Nicholas & Dylan Newlin

Teaching Others How To Teach Others

      I traveled to Cajazeiras to teach classes on "The Role of Women in the Church". Café, the evangelist working in the city wants the women to be more involved in evangelizing the community. Women really do have a lot of potential to evangelize other women. Their relationships and conversations are usually deeper than those of men. Women, in general, are accepted into homes more easily than men and the list goes on and on.
      We talked about the purpose for God creating woman. She is the perfect help mate for man. We also talked about the fall; when the roles that God had established for both came into conflict with a new reality. We talked about how both man and woman will now have to struggle to reach the level of harmony that existed between them before the fall. We discussed that the man is the head of woman and she is to be submissive to him. I asked the women if they would have a problem being submissive to a man who gave his life for his wife everyday in everyday tasks and one that is always looking out for her best interest, all of them said no, they would not have a problem. Imagine that!
      Men, we need to step up and fulfill our role that God has given us and be the head through serving. Women, you need to help the man lead by serving. Isn't this a novel idea! No! It is what God planned from the beginning.
      Most lessons I have heard on this subject only talk about the worship assembly. I did discuss the times when the Church comes together as one but I focused on each one individually as a member of the church more so than the assembling of the Church. What is my role in the Church or as a member of Christ's body at my workplace, school, home, etc…? That is what I talked about in a nutshell. I know that a lot more goes into what is usually a very delicate subject.
     The women that I met with were afraid to evangelize other women because they did not know how to give a Bible study. I gave them some direction on how to study the Bible for themselves and also with others. I then divided them up in pairs and each one gave a short Bible study to the other, on a passage that I had chosen. They enjoyed it but said that they needed more Bible knowledge to feel more comfortable giving a study. I said, great! I asked them when they were going to study together. I suggested they study an evangelistic Bible study, to learn it and then go out and study those lessons with others. They set-up a day and time and one of them is going to bring a study for the group to work on together. What a great time, teaching others how to share God's Word.
      I then went to Pombal, this is the city in which we, the Churches in the state, are trying to establish a new congregation. Two Christians live in this city, a father and daughter. I had planned to visit some of their contacts in the city with them but no one was able to receive us while I was in town. I only had a little over four hours with them so instead I taught them how to give a Bible study. They planned to visit a friend later that same day and teach him what I had passed on to them.
      It is a reward to see in someone's eyes a desire to share God's Word with others. A lot of people are scared to do so because they feel unprepared. It is a wonderful opportunity that God has given me and a great privilege to help others better prepare how to tell friends and family about God's plan to save them. I thoroughly enjoy seeing in their eyes an excitement that they cannot express in words as they imagine themselves actually studying the Bible with another person. That is priceless!
If you have any comments or questions I would love to hear from you. Please don't hesitate to write.

Triplets

            I received a call from Antônio Germano, a Christian who lives in Alagoinha.  He told me that there were three women who wanted to be baptized and that they were waiting for me to come and baptize them.  What great news!!!  I had met all of them before but I did not study the Bible with any of them.  

          

     I traveled the two hours to get to the city of 13,000 residents.  I sat down with the ladies and asked them some questions to see if they understood what they were doing, why they were being baptized and if they realized what it would mean for the rest of their lives.  After a couple of hours of conversing,  I received the privilege of watching God work a miracle of re-birth in three lives. 

         

      If you would like to say something to your new sisters in Christ, you can e-mail me your message and I will translate it for them.

           

Please pray that Maria, Antônia da Paz and Graça, as well as the church in Alagoinha may:

• ·       Grow in faith, hope and Love

• ·       Trust God to lead them in all areas of their lives

• ·       Be living letters of God's message of salvation to their families and friends.

Faithful Until The End

      Areial, a city 2 ½ hours away from João Pessoa with three Christians is the city I visited Sunday. Two adult women and one teenager are the only Christians in this city of 10,000 inhabitants. I began visiting this city about 10 years ago with Joseph and David.
    
     A woman named Sônia, born and raised in Areial, had gone to work in São Paulo. She also began her life in Christ in the third largest city in the World when Ricardo Sobral baptized her into Christ. Sônia moved back to her home town of Areial and our team heard about her new life in Christ from Ricardo so we began visiting her. She was the only Christian in town at the time.
    
     Sônia is a faithful follower of Christ to this day. Her two sons, Jalmir and Elmir, were baptized. One is faithful; the other does not like to even talk about God, right now. The son who is faithful to Christ is now living in another state while the son who left the Church still lives with her. Sônia evangelized her sisters, too. Two of them were baptized. One passed away this year from a motorcycle accident. The other sister is faithful and her daughter is also a Christian.
The church in Areial was not always this small. There were once around 15 Christians, both men and women. The Church had a full-time evangelist and was growing. Different things happened and people began to fall away. Sônia has remained faithful through all of these difficulties.
  
      I went to visit this Church Sunday. I was encouraged to see their faith and dedication. These three women want the church to grow in their city. It is a difficult city to evangelize. The Catholic Church has a very strong presence in the town but the church has grown in the past.
  
  If you would like to say something to Sônia, Beta, Bia or Elmir, you can e-mail me your message and I will translate it for them.

Please pray that:
• God will continue to strengthen Sônia, Beta and Bia in their faith and love to God;
• Elmir, Sônia's son, will open his eyes to see how much God loves him;
• God may open the hearts of the people of Areial to hear, really hear, His Word and believe;
• The church in Areial will grow in faith and number.

A Necessary Sacrifice

            I traveled to Patos, on Thursday and arrived back in João Pessoa the following Wednesday night.  Here is a summary of what happened:

• I went to teach a 15 hour class to the members on "Letters To Asia Minor" (Galatians, Ephisians and Colossians).  The class went well and was encouraging. 
• We visited several members of the church in Patos. 
• We also visited family members of Michel's co-workers who live in Patos and Santa Terezinha, a small town about 30 minutes outside of Patos.  Michel is a Christian who works at a Chinese restaurant in João Pessoa and he was on vacation. 
• We visited three families in Pombal, about an hour from Patos and held a worship service in the home of the two Christians (father and daughter) that live in this city of 60,000. 
• We drove another hour to Cajazeiras to visit the church and the evangelist that works with the Right Step Program (soccer school for young teenage boys). 
• We also passed through Sousa to visit the Dinosaur Valley Park, although interesting, I was not very impressed with the set-up.  I have driven by so many times and have never stopped.  I did this time because Michel was on vacation and I thought he might enjoy it.  There was some adventure.  Joe McKinney was stung by a red wasp, to which he is allergic.  We were unable to determine if the wasp was pre-historic or not but I think it is safe to say that I am older the red winged culprit.

            While in Patos we also had a PORmissões meeting.  This meeting was to be a follow-up meeting from August.  I learned of the churches dismotivation with beginning a congregation in Pombal because of the lack of influence that Ezequiel has on his own street.  I began the meeting by asking where we were with our plans, then moved into what difficulties are we facing, how can these difficulties be overcome, are we willing to do what is necessary to overcome them and then what do we do now.  After trying to show them that difficulties exist in everything and to move forward we need to decide if we are willing to sacrifice to overcome them, the men were once again motivated to continue with the plan to establish a congregation in Pombal. 

            Luciano, the evangelist in Patos, myself and Michel went to Pombal to talk with Ezequiel and motivate him.  We talked for a few minutes and then took him out to visit others.  He had one contact already set-up to visit.  We visited two other contacts that Ezequiel's daughter Jessica wanted us to meet.  Jessica's friends came to the worship service and seemed to be interested in learning more. 

            Please pray for these three cities, Patos, Pombal and Cajazeiras. 

·       Pray that God may stimulate the Christians to love their neighbors and share the Gospel with them;

·       Pray that the Christians in these cities may grow in maturity in Christ;

·       Pray that God may give us all wisdom to carry His message of salvation to the entire state of Paraíba by walking through the doors that He opens.

Time To Go

  

This last month and a half I have spent in João Pessoa.  I have not traveled to the interior but there is plenty to do here.  I taught a three week class to the members of the church on "Letters to Asia Minor" (Galatians, Ephesians & Colossians).  I am teaching Sunday School on "Contentment", looking at how Jesus, the apostles and the first Christians thought, taught and dealt with the material wealth that God entrusted to them.  We moved into a more personal and practical aspect this past Sunday and began working on our own personal budgets, living below our income to be able to serve more and not live in debt as so many do here.  I preached the Sunday after Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16) on how God told Moses what to do on this day, what the Jews do today and how Jesus fulfilled this day for all Christians and that the forgiveness we have in Christ is complete and forever as long as we remain faithful to Him.
     Now that my class is over, Sunday school is moving into the direction of working more closely with those who desire to live free of debt and serve God with what He has given them.  I will begin traveling again.  This week I am going to Patos to teach the same class on "Letters to Asia Minor" to evangelists and other members from different cities, meet with those involved in the PORmissões plan (reaching every city in the state with the Good News); we are working on establishing a congregation in the city of Pombal by August 2012, visit one or two other cities close by and go to Cajazeiras to meet with the evangelist living there. 
     Please pray for this trip, especially the PORmissões meeting; our planning and execution of the same. 

May God be praised for allowing us to serve Him.

The Process Of Coming To Christ

     Beliza is a wonderful teenager who was invited to a youth camp last year by Iago, a Christian who, has left the flock. She immediately made a lot of friends began attending some Church meetings and our Monday basketball games.   Iago's sister, Leylane, who is the wife of my brother-in-law, began studying the Bible with her.  After many months she decided to give her life to Christ.  Her mom, who I do not know very well, came to her baptism and cried saying that she had prayed for years for this day to come. To me, it is interesting that it took years of prayer, an invitation from lost sheep, a Christian camp, basketball, friendship, Bible study, and who knows what else to bring Beliza into the arms of Christ. I know that all these people and things were important, even the basketball, because it allowed us to spend quality time with her. You can learn a lot about a person while sitting on a bench. Truly it is hard to know all that God does to win us over and keep us close. Thank you Lord!

by David

Sitting At The Feet Of Jesus

Sitting At The Feet Of Jesus

            Seeing someone who finally understands what Jesus did and God's forgiveness given in baptism is one of the most profound joys that one can feel.  Seeing a Christian who understands a new truth in God's Word and wants to live it and tell others about that truth comes in at a close second. 

            S.E.A.R.A. (Servants Sent to Announce the Kingdom of Love) began as a training ministry for new and old Christians in the church who were already serving the body and would do even more with a greater knowledge of God's Word.  The first group formed seven able servants.  Two of those were Junior and Kátia who now live in Campina Grande as missionaries, sent by various congregations and individuals from all over Brazil.  Another, Fabiana, is married to one of the Brazilian evangelists working with the new church plant on the other side of town.

            A new S.E.A.R.A. group began about a year ago.  I have had the privilege of teaching these eager students for the past two Saturdays.  In October I will be teaching this same course in the city of Patos to the newly formed S.E.A.R.A. group in the interior of the state.

            Please pray for courage and boldness for the 11 students to share what they are learning about God's Word with others.  In these days when many do not want to hear about the Gospel, when many skip Sunday School to sleep a little longer these men and women are spending their entire Saturdays, like Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to His every word.