Men's Christmas Party

All you can eat meat.  That is what a Brazilian cookout is all about.  There were a little over 20 men present for the men's Christmas party.  The women had theirs about a week before ours.  They decorated the auditorium, gave out presents to one another and had a nice meal.  That is all nice and good but we men like things a little different.  We had just a few vegetables because only one person remembered to bring them.  We had some bread because we sent someone to buy bread after realizing we didn't have any.  All that is o.k. and fine because we had meat, charcoal and grills.  There were no presents, no decorations, only meat.  What a day!  Everyone went home satisfied.

Our boys, who are now teenagers, stood around the meat table like vultures waiting for another dead body to drop, only it was cooked.  We finally had to tell them that one round was ours and the next theirs.  In the not too distant past, they would eat two or three  rounds and then go off to  play.  When we saw that things had changed, and they were not leaving we had to set some guidelines for these newbies to the man's world. 

In the end, it all worked out great, and everyone cheered as others had to leave or got a call from the wife, asking "When are you coming home?" That is what a men's Christmas cookout is all about.  Go home, my brother, thank you for sharing your part.  It was all in good fun. And besides the meat, we did have a devo.

I wonder if that is why God told us men and husbands to "Love your wife as you love yourself" (Ephesians 5:33) because we do love ourselves well.

Do Not Teach Any Other Doctrine

            I prayed and prayed and prayed, I asked others to pray for the lesson that I was to give this past Saturday on "Instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines", 1 Timothy 1:3 (NASB).  There have been a lot of discussion about doctrine in Brazil these past years. 

            I was speaking at Elicamp, a conference for workers from all over the Northeast of Brazil.  After each lesson, the floor was open for questions on the lesson taught.  I wrestled with this subject for weeks.  I studied 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Ephesians, a part of Revelation and some of Philemon, Romans, Acts, Matthew & Luke.  Where to begin?  How to present God's Word and His Will to bring about unity?  Many other questions and fears went through my mind.

            The afternoon before my lesson, I prayed once more but this time as I talked with God, I was reminded that after study and prayer, now it was time to God to work, and His will is best. 

            I explained in my lesson what sound doctrine is as it is described in 1 Timothy and in other passages of scripture.  We looked at many passages but the summary of them all is that God, in His Word, is telling us the story of how and why He saved us from a life without meaning and His desire for us to live out His Will in our everyday lives being light to all who see us.  That is a very short and incomplete summary. 

            Some passages that might help explain better what I taught: Acts 2:42-47; Acts 7; Acts 13:14-49; Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:4-6; Deuteronomy 4:5-8; Romans 1:3-4,16-18; 1 Timothy 1:3-5; 2:1-4; 1 Peter 2:9-10.  There are others, but hopefully these will give you an idea that God has a mission to reconcile the world to Himself and that He chose Christ's body to accomplish this mission.  Living a life of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7) saves us from a life of ungodliness (Romans 1:18-32).  This is sound doctrine and what we should all be teaching through our everyday lives.

Learning To Study

            I went to a long but good Bible study in Patos on Saturday.  I met with church workers from most of the congregations in our state.  We sat and studied the Bible from 9:30 to 6 p.m., yes, we did break for lunch, but that was our only break. 

           

          The purpose for these meetings is to teach in a practical way how to study God's Word with someone who does not share your same view on a subject.  I will be moving back to the U.S. at the end of 2016, so this is important. 

            

            I heard several positive comments about our meeting together and some negative ones as well. 

           

          Thank you for your prayers.  They mean a lot, and God is answering them.  Please pray that the church in Paraíba will grow in love for one another and in knowledge of God's Word and will.

Unity in Faith

             The "Great Supper" (Grande Ceia) is a weekend of catching up with people, hearing God's Word, learning and growing in faith, and hearing about needs from other brothers and sisters throughout the state in which we live, Paraíba.

          There were people from almost every congregation in the state.  Around 200 present at the Sunday meeting, 150 slept in the public school on the floor or in hammocks.  I chose the hammock.

             The theme was "Unity", taken from Ephesians 4:1-6.  I spoke on the unity among congregations in the state, the challenges, and the rewards, one of which is that we become stronger by overcoming difficulties together.

            Two men from João Pessoa talked to a brother there. When they heard of his difficulties, they decided to help.  They have already talked to other members of the church in João Pessoa and plan to travel to Pombal, about 5 ½ hours away, to help this brother share the Gospel. 

          I have been praying that God would raise up men who would be able to travel and take care of the churches throughout the state as I have been doing.  I am seeing God at work once again. This mission is His.  We are the vehicle through which He has chosen to carry out His mission.

Prayers for Victory for Victor and Friend

            I have been studying the Bible with a 19 year old for a couple of months now.  Some days he seems curious to learn, while others he just seems to show up.  Granted, he is very timid and somewhat confused.  Last study, though, he brought a friend called Victor.  Victor surprised me with his desire to learn.  We studied Matthew chapter 10.  I asked questions as usual to help their comprehension. 

          When our study ended, Victor kept on reading into Matthew, chapter 11, then chapter 12, and then on through chapter 13, all the while asking questions about what he was reading.  What a breath of fresh air.  Please pray for both of these young men, that they will continue to learn and desire to know God.

Please pray:

• that both of these young men will go from curiosity to faith and obedience in and to Jesus.

Financial Peace in Brazil

            In September, I taught Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace course to the church in one of the neighborhoods of Recife.  Twenty-five participated in this eleven hour intensive class Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

            One couple, who participated in last year's class, shared that the husband could not sleep the night after the first night of class.  He ended up cutting up his credit cards in the form of a cross and now uses them as keychains. 

            The church in Brazil is beginning to learn to support its own evangelists.  Money is tight and this course has helped many Christians restructure their finances and their hearts in a Biblical way.  May God be praised.

Thank you for your prayers.

Love and Respect

            Monica and I traveled to Patos with another couple from João Pessoa to teach a couples meeting.  I taught a lesson based on the book "Love and Respect" by Emerson Eggerichs.  I recommend the book.  Although I will say that, I did not enjoy reading the book but the principles taught based on Ephesians 5:33 are very true.  The more I think and meditate on the author's comments on Ephesians 5:33 the more they make sense. 

            There were around 20 couples present; besides the lesson from God's Word, we played games.  Directly after the couples meeting we traveled back to João Pessoa, arriving around 2:10 in the morning.  I taught Sunday school and preached on John chapter 7; Monica also taught her Sunday school class and talked to various people about VBS.  She has coordinated VBS for the last two years since Lori Hagewood moved back to the U.S. 

            AME (Adventures in Evangelistic Missions) classes started back this past week so back to the classroom for me and other teachers.  I am teaching on a method of maturing Christians by teaching them how to study the Bible with others, "Discipleship with Evangelism", Joseph is teaching the Gospel of Luke, Ricardo Sobral is teaching 2 Corinthians and Raniere Vieira is teaching Systematic Theology.

            We had a men's meeting this past week, we have seen that there is a growing interest in the church to study more of God's Word.  I will be teaming up with Ricardo Ramalho to organize intensive classes for the church. 

Please pray:

·         That the families of the church in Paraíba will live the principle of Ephesians 5:33;

·         That the AME classes and the lives of the students may help the Church to mature;

·         That the church in Paraíba may see the need to study and study and study God's Word and live what they learn from God.

Unity Through The Word

Thank you all for your prayers for the PORMISSOES meeting last month.  It was a great blessing.  We sat and studied God's Word together for the entire day.  There were some differences of understanding on some passages, but we worked our way through them.  In the end, everyone was saying how the meeting was edifying. 

          It started around 9:30 am.  We broke for lunch at 1 pm.  We started back around 2:30 and went until 6 pm.  They wanted to keep going, but the SEARA class started at 7 pm.  If every meeting could be as encouraging as this one, we would be in heaven.

          My goal with these meetings is to teach the church workers throughout the state how to listen to someone who has a different belief about God's Word, try to understand their logic, their thought processes and share their own understanding from the Bible.  My hope is that God's Word is heard above their personal wants, desires, or traditions. 

          This is not an easy thing to discuss.  Some subjects that we will discuss in the future will be more difficult than in this last meeting but I believe the door is now open for greater and clearer communication among the brethren.  

          We will continue to meet and strengthen our unity.  Please continue to pray that God's Word will be what is guiding us.

Teaching and Training

     The last Sunday in May, my son, Nicholas preached his second sermon.  He preached from John chapter 5.  It was his first time to preach without sharing the pulpit with another young preacher on the same day.  He preached for 16 minutes.  He did a good job.  While he was preaching, I was in Patos teaching another course to the church.  I taught the books of 1 & 2 Kings and the 2 Chronicles or "The Divided Kingdom". 

     I did not get to see Nicholas preach on that day but Monica filmed it, so I heard and saw his sermon when I got back.  I did not have a lot of time to help Nicholas prepare.  I got him started, David continued for a while and Joseph finished up the help he needed.  He took something from all three of us and was able to make a sermon out of it.  

     I want to thank God for His blessing Nicholas with a desire to preach and tell others about Christ.  It is a great blessing to see your sons walking in God's Will.

Thank you all for your prayers and support towards God's Kingdom.

Great News

There was another baptism in the city of Cajazeiras.  Amaro, 16 years old.  He has been in the soccer program (The Right Step) for three years.   Please pray:       * That Amaro will grow to be a mature Christian who will train others;       * That Café, the evangelist in Cajazeiras, will be able to involve other men in              the maturation of the church in Cajazeiras. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android Shared files from Dropbox: jpg2015-06 Amaro Cjzrs.jpg

Fw: Júnior's trip to São Paulo

Júnior, became a Christian in 2001, here in João Pessoa.  He married Kátia in 2004, who became a Christian in 2000 also, here in João Pessoa.  They have lived and worked in Campina Grande for the last five years as missionaries.  Before moving to Campina Grande they went the the (Servants Sent to Announce the Kingdom of Love – SEARA) training course.  They travelled a lot with me to the interior during their training.

Both Júnior and Kátia are very dedicated, loving and faithful Christians.  I have been privileged to see them grow spiritually and as a family.  I am proud to call them my brother and sister in Christ.  Below is a report from Júnior where he travelled to São Paulo to receive training along with seven others from Paraíba.  They were able to go because of funds given from the Goodlettsville Church in Goodlettsville, TN. 

            Beloved brothers and sisters, I had the opportunity to travel in the month of April.  My trip included national events of the Church of Christ (National Encounter of Christian Workers – ENOC e Correct, Reprimand and Exhort – CRE) in the state of São Paulo.  I visited two congregations (São Bernardo do Campo – SP e Bauru – SP), besides taking part in an intensive class on the Pentateuch in Bauru – SP.  I was away from home for 17 days and spent more than 100 hours in Bible studies, Sermons and other teachings.  I am very thankful to God for this opportunity, to Kátia, my wife, for holding down the house in my absence and to everyone who contributed to this purpose.

            The objective of this trip is to be better prepared to serve our Lord and our brothers in Christ and to edify the brotherhood with what God has done in our midst, here in Campina Grande.  Thank you for your prayers and all of the help we received.

            When I arrived home, I had a lot to share with the brotherhood, I am very excited to continue our Christian journey together.

May God bless you all,

In Christ,

Júnior

Amados irmãos e irmãs, tive a oportunidade de viajar no mês de abril, minha viagem incluiu a participação em dois eventos nacionais da igreja de Cristo (Encontro Nacional de Obreiros Cristãos – ENOC e Corrige, Repreende e Exorta – CRE) no Estado de São Paulo, visitei duas congregações (São Bernardo do Campo – SP e Baurú – SP), além de participar de um intensivo sobre o Pentateuco também em Baurú – SP. Foram 17 dias fora de casa e mais de 100 horas de Estudos, Palestras e outras instruções. Sou muito agradecido a Deus por mais esta oportunidade, a Kátia, minha esposa, por segurar a barra na minha ausência e a todos que contribuíram para este propósito.

O objetivo desta viagem é estar mais preparado para servir ao Senhor e aos irmãos em Cristo, assim como edificar a irmandade com o que Deus tem feito em nosso meio, aqui em Campina Grande. Obrigado por suas orações e todo tipo de ajuda que recebemos.

Ao chegar de volta, tenho muito a compartilhar com a irmandade, estou muito animado para juntos continuarmos nossa jornada cristã.

Que Deus abençoe a todos vocês,

Em Cristo,

Júnior

Breathing The Gospel

            Raniere Vieira came to his first church meeting in the year 2000.  He came because he was dating Fabiana.  They have been married now for 12 years.  Raniere has been a faithful Christian for 14 years, teaching all over Brazil in big and small, national and local church events. 

            Raniere and I traveled to Cajazeiras, where the soccer school is going strong.  Some 40 boys were at the practice on Saturday morning.  It was a Mother's Day weekend so some did not show.  Not all of these boys are Christians, in fact most are not.  I gave a short talk to them before practice about being humble and grateful.  That was not the only reason we traveled to this city.  We went to teach the book of Colossians to the church.  It is such a rich and deep book, yet we had only six hours to go through the book with the church.

            Leila, Café's wife, said something that we have known for a while.  Café is great at evangelism but he is not very good at maturing the members after they become Christians and several have fallen away for this reason.  I have been to Cajazeiras the last two months teaching different books of the Bible and plan to continue to travel to teach and help the church mature, but it is very hard to mature someone from a distance.  They need a personal presence so that they can see how you live your day-to-day life up close and how the Gospel is your very breath. 

Please pray:

·         That God will raise up men and women who will be mature and help others to mature in Cajazeiras;

·         That God will continue to use Café and Leila in the evangelism of the boys in the soccer school;

A Breath of Fresh Air

            I first traveled to Alagoinha, over 15 years ago.  I have been going back every once in a while to visit the church that began in the year 2001.  Antônio Germano is a very zealous man for God's Word and His Will.  His zeal for others to do God's Will causes him to overreact in some situations and ends up pushing people away.  He is a very decent and good person that has a hard time getting along with others.  He is also 75 years old and has Parkinson's disease. 

            I went to visit the church again last night.  This was the first time that I remember meeting with the church without Antônio.  Antônio was in João Pessoa taking care of his sister who had surgery.  I was able to see the church in a new light.  I do not believe that it is a good thing for Antônio not to be at the worship but it did allow me to talk with the members in a way that I had not been able to before.  I saw the other man in the congregation, Zezito, stepping up for the first time and taking on responsibility, not just in the worship service but being active over the last couple of weeks and planning for the future of the church.

            

Please pray:

·         That Antônio and the church will be able to get along better with one another;

·         That God may continue to work with Zezito, who some of us have been praying for off and on for years, to assume more responsibilities;

·         That God will mature all five members of this congregation, who at one time had 15 and growing, years ago.

Room To Grow

The church of Christ in Mangabeira does not have its own building.  We have saved up around BRL 25000 (about $8340), but it is still too little to buy our own meeting place.  Nevertheless, we continue to save money and pray.

Until we get our own location, we will continue to look for the best places for us to meet.

We were meeting in a well-located building, but it became too small for us to meet.

The picture below shows the old building.  We had an average of 48 to 55 on Sundays and that was the maximum number chairs that fit.  In six months, we were already overflowing.

This place served us well, but we needed to make a decision.  We needed to move but we would incur a fee of BRL 4500 (about $1500) for breaching the contract because we still had six months left of rent.  It was a large amount for us.  We prayed to our Lord and decided to talk to the owner; he said he would forgive the debt.  We moved out of the building without having to pay anything.

We found another place that is also well located, cheaper and bigger for us to meet.

Now, in our worship services we can receive double the amount of people we could in the old building.

We have 41 Christians and 12 visitors on average for Sunday worship services.

I hope that in six months we will have "the good problem": of this building being too small for the number of people meeting in the name of our Lord.

New address:

Rua Rita Xavier de Oliveira, 160 - sala 2

Mangabeira - João Pessoa/PB, Brazil.

 

Cordially,

Raniere Vieira

Letting The Bible Speak

At the beginning of this year, we offered a Bible course: Let the Bible Speak, at the School of the Bible in Mangabeira.

We started the course on February 23^rd and had an average of 12 people.  Raniere Menezes and I took turns giving the classes.

To the glory of God, on April 9^th, Luana (one of the students) gave her life to Christ and was born again through baptism.  Luana is married to Dimas, who is enrolled in the course also.  They were preparing for their baby daughter's baptism in the Catholic Church, but after the course, they understood that baptizing children is not biblical, but that they are the ones that should be baptized in the right way.  Next week will be the last class for this course.

Please pray for the other students, they have publicly declared that there is little lacking for them to make this same big decision, including Dimas, Luana's husband.

 

It is always a good thing, serving the LORD!

 

Cordially,

Raniere Vieira

Buried In The Desert

            I got back from a 14 hour round trip to Cajazeiras last night.  I went to teach an evangelistic lesson to some of the young men in the soccer program.  We studied the book of Romans.  Some of the questions we answered were: What good news does the Gospel tell us?  Can I be a sinner and a good person?  With whom should I compare my goodness?  How does Jesus' death on a cross nearly two thousand years ago save me today?  When does God's salvation begin, here and now or only in heaven?  From what have I been saved?  What is sin? What do I need to do to be saved?  How does the Holy Spirit guide me in my new life?  In what way is our life changed by being a living sacrifice?  What does it mean to offer God our "spiritual service of worship"?  

            These were some questions we discussed.  I also taught them how to hug one another, maybe the most practical and memorable lesson for them.  The best news of the whole event is that Samuel was baptized.  He is a young boy who has been studying for some time.  He has been a part of the Right Step Program (the soccer program) for about two years.  Sunday, after the worship service, he was baptized.  Now Samuel and his brother Sidney are the only two Christians in their family of five brothers and one sister.

           

Please pray:

·         That God will guide Samuel and the church in Cajazeiras to spiritual maturity;

·         That the church in Cajazeiras will understand God's will, revealed in His Word, and live with abandon for God;

·         That God will keep the evil one from Samuel and Sidney as they begin walking the narrow path together.

A Month of Travels

                Spreading the Gospel throughout a state requires planning and meeting, traveling and teaching, and a lot of calling. I even do Bible studies over the phone.  All this has been going on this past month, but I wanted to share with you the more noteworthy events with you, each one requiring its fair share of planning, praying, and calling.

                David and I traveled to Campina Grande to meet with the evangelists, see how they are doing, what their future plans are and to update them on how their support is coming along.  I hope that you will remember that this mission team began the work in Campina Grande as the first Brazilian team to receive full support from Brazilian churches.  They had support for about two years before losing some and then funds from the U.S. have picked up the slack.

                Nicholas, my son, and I traveled to Alagoinha, a small town and a small congregation.  We visited and I taught.  We met with the church in a member's house.  They have met in a separate house, using it as a church building for years but do not have the money to continue paying the rent.

                We hosted the PORmissões meeting here in João Pessoa.  I wrote about this meeting in another newsletter note, so you can get the details on our blog under the heading: "Jesus Prayed for Unity."

                Yesterday, I traveled to the city of Campina Grande again.  I met with the church and accompanied Isac and his family to a Bible study.  Isac and I talked about the work in the state, the PORmissões meeting, unity, and the future of the church.

Please pray:

·         For vision, obedience, and sacrifice for each member of the church here in Paraíba

·         That God will guide His church to maturity and growth in numbers;

·         That God will give Joseph, David and me wisdom to lead, courage to teach, and love to be exemplified in the church in Paraíba.

Training, Training and More Training

I was off to Patos just two days after arriving home from the church retreat, which by the way was in Patos.  I participated in the SEARA class taught by Elias Campos, David McKinney's brother-in-law, on the role of women in the church, instruments in worship, and how to conduct one's self while directing the church meeting.  He did a great job handling questions and comments on the subjects. 

          I slipped away to study the Bible with a group of young people on Saturday night so that Betinho, who studies with them could stay for the class.  On Sunday, after three church services (one with the Bonfim congregation, one on a nearby farm, and the last with the Patos church), we traveled two hours to Cubati, stayed up talking with brother Afonso till 2:17 a.m.  I pulled up a chair, propped up my legs, laid my head back, and at 2:19 a.m. they "woke me up" to leave for João Pessoa.  We arrived at 5:30 a.m., from there I met up with Joseph who took me to help Raniere Menezes move and then I went to an intensive class on the book of Joshua Monday morning. A little tired from the trip, I stood up in class, trying to stay awake but ended up falling asleep on my feet.  Not to worry, I woke up before I fell.

          It was a very productive trip.  After two months away, many things needed to be discussed. 

Please pray:

·         that God will raise up men and women to serve in His Kingdom;

·         that God's people will live with a good conscience, doing what they know to be God's will.

A Day With Family

            March 15 was "Family Day" in João Pessoa.  All four of the congregations joined to worship together, eat lunch, and fellowship.  We also welcomed the new AME students and heard what the graduating class had to say about their experience in the mission field. 

            There were close to 130 present.  Chris Smith and Pat Sheaffer, both directors of the AIM program in Lubbock, TX, were present for both the graduation as well as "Family Day".  They were hot and sweaty in the tropical heat but seemed to be in paradise, seeing the AIM program established and working in another country. 

           

  Please pray:

·         That God may continue to raise up men and women to work in His harvest;

·         That each Christian may remain faithful and grow in maturity in Christ.

Jesus Prayed For Unity

            Men from all over the state came to João Pessoa last week, some driving up to 6 hours one-way, to meet and discuss the united work of the church.  Each congregation told of their future plans, past experiences, both good and bad, victories and defeats that each has had over the last few months.  Some asked more men to give Bible studies, spreading the work load.  Others mentioned transportation, visits from other congregations, and training the members as needs.

            After lunch I gave a short study on "Unity".  We looked at Ephesians 4:1-16 and asked questions like: (What is unity? What creates disunity? How can we maintain unity?).  We ended the day with a prayer.  Overall the meeting was positive.  We still have a lot of work to do, but I believe we are moving in the right direction, coming to understand that unity is something that requires effort, sacrifice and time. 

       

We need your prayers:

·         Please pray that God may work to form in us the body of His Son;

·         That His Spirit will rule our thoughts, attitudes and actions.

The First Ever AME Graduating Class

The First Ever AME Graduating Class

            I had the pleasure of being selected as the patron by the first ever graduating class of the AME program, and I spoke at their graduation last Saturday.

You may remember that the AME (Adventurers in Evangelistic Missions) is based on the concept of the AIM program in Texas. In fact, AIM directors Kris Smith and Pat Sheaffer came from Lubbock for this first graduation. These young adults spent eight months in João Pessoa, classroom time and practical mission work.  Then they move to selected congregations throughout South America (not just Brazil) and spend one year and two months helping these churches grow.  Back to their home congregations, they will be an asset to God's Kingdom for the rest of their lives. 

The five who graduated on this Saturday, Tais, Beliza, Ayane, Jackelayne, and Adeliton say that the AME experience has changed their lives forever.  The growth in knowledge of God's Word, the experience of helping other members of Christ's body mature and the fact that they have left the nest and comfort of their homes and families has truly changed them and given them a new perspective of themselves and the world around them. 

We thank God for Raniere Menezes and Diego dos Anjos who had vision, love and perseverance to see AME become a reality.  We thank God for these young adults who have placed their trust and faith in God, giving up for a time college, jobs, and promising careers to obey God's plan for their lives.  Now that it is over, they see the world through different lenses.  It is not just a place to call home, but there is real desperation, death, and hopelessness in the world, and they now have God's answers of peace, life, and hope.  God has increased our hope for this world through the desire and love that each AME student has shown by sharing our Lord's message with others.

 

Please pray:

·         That we, as teachers, may be examples of Christ to each student, new and old;

·         That the new students of 2015 will mature in their faith;

·         That God will continue to raise up men and women willing to serve Him with their lives.