God is Bigger and He is Working

God is Bigger and He is Working

            The month of July was full of activities here in João Pessoa.  As a church, we watched Brazil play the World Cup, held VBS and held a PORMISSOES meeting,  the meeting that gathers workers from almost every congregation in the state.  At its peak there were 26 people in attendance.  

            We talked about the ideas from the last meeting in March, visits made from one church to another, the role of the evangelist in the congregation, what is the purpose of an eldership, what are the qualifications for these men, and how the evangelist can work to raise up such men.

            We set up visits from one church to another until the next meeting in October in the city of Cajazeiras. 

You Never Forget Your First Job

You Never Forget Your First Job

During our "winter" month of July, where temperatures got down to the low 70's and the high's in the mid 80's, Nicholas' worked for 15 hours a week at a mechanic shop.  This was during the school break.  The purpose was for Nicholas to learn responsibility (getting up and going to work during the three days a week that he set up to go), work ethic (honest and hard work), and financial responsibility (learning that a man must work to take care of his family and how to administer the money received from working).  

He received money from Reinaldo, his mentor, the first week.  After that week Monica and I paid him for a week's work.  I did not tell Nicholas that he was going to receive money for working.  Monica and I had decided to pay him 15 reals (the Brazilian money) per week, but we did not tell him.  At the end of the month he would finish working and begin asking for his "salary."  After receiving it, he had to divide it up into giving, saving and spending.

He said he did not learn anything.  He said all he did everyday was loosen and tighten nuts and bolts.  But he did take brake pads off, change a tire, help put an engine in and take one out, take a hood off of a pick-up truck, pump the brakes to bleed them, etc... 

I saw that he has a different perspective when hearing the word "work".  He seems more ready to serve and help without complaining. He did not complain much before anyways now it is even less.  As we were going down the road one day, he saw someone with a wrench in his hand, and he said, "Look, that is a 18 mm wrench!"  He grew while only working 15 hours a week for four weeks.  He is 14 years old and will be leaving home in about four years.  It is time to start putting into practice what we have been teaching him these 14 years.

 

Prayer Request

 

Please pray for upcoming events and classes in the coming months.

1.         Finance Class - I give this class once a year in João Pessoa to the church.  The purpose is for the church to administer well their personal finances so that they will not be in debt, live more peacefully financially, have better marriages, and invest in God's Kingdom with more joy.  This year the class will be September 11-14th.

2.         Pastoreai - I will be teaching at this seminar in Recife, on October 3-5th, to help prepare men to understand what an eldership is and how to develop men into "eldership material".

3.         Grande Ceia - A state-wide event, called The Great Supper, for the churches to get together for fellowship, teaching, singing, and eating.  I will be teaching at this event, October 10-12th.

4.         Monica's Trip - Monica will be going to an event hosted by the Continent of Great Cities in the south of Brazil on October 6-10th to receive spiritual care.  She worked very hard on VBS and the Women's Seminar in July and August. 

SEARA (Harvest)

SEARA (Harvest)

During the past month I travelled twice to Patos for classes taught by Isac and Ricardo. I also visited members of the church in the state of Paraíba.  

The classes were on the Pentateuch and Exegeses/Hermeneutics, part of the curriculum of S.E.A.R.A. (acronym for Servants Sent to Announce the Kingdom of Love).  The purpose of SEARA is to train members of the church who are already active in their congregations by giving them more Biblical knowledge and teaching them how to study the Bible for themselves.  As you have probably guessed I go once a month to this city.  I do not teach every class but I go to take advantage of a group of active members from a couple of congregations coming together to study God's Word and develop deeper relationships with them.  

The classes are going well and I have seen God's Word changing people's lives.

Please pray for these classes and the disciples who have a great desire to learn more from God through His Word.  

The Fall of a god

     A lot has happened since the last time we talked.  The World Cup has ended, and Brazil was not the champion, in fact the country was shamed by a 7 to 1 loss to Germany .  There were not many riots as people were expecting to happen.  People just went back to work and still a over a month later talk about how bad Brazil played.  The expectations to win a World Cup have been pushed back many years.  Germany seems to be the favorite to win the next World Cup.

     There are many Brazilians who, I guess you could say, worship soccer.  Yes, soccer is their "god".  They may not think so.  I am sure they would all deny this fact because it sounds outrageous, but they eat, sleep, and drink soccer.  They stay out late at night with strangers at soccer matches instead of being with their families at home. They take their meals in front of a soccer game on TV instead of eating at the table with their families. Soccer is enough cause for them to yell and fight with family members and friends, and others have even killed the "enemy" (fans of other teams) just because of 11 men on a field kicking a ball.  

     I, too, like soccer, but not that much.  I have witnessed all of the above with my own eyes, except for the killing, but that I have seen on the news.  

     When Brazil lost the World Cup, it was as if their "god" had died.  They lost hope in the one thing that brings them the most joy, soccer.  There now may be a hole in their heart that they are searching to fill with other things. One whisky commercial on a billboard said, "Now let's drink to forget!"

     What is the lesson we can learn from these soccer "fanatics."  They are not afraid to tell others about their team, they defend their team, they do not deny their team, they invest in their team, by going to games and buying jerseys with joy and not sadness and they believe that their participation in cheering for their team makes a difference, so they show up to the stadium to cheer them on.

     May we show this same devotion to the one true and living God that others show to their "god".