Congresso and Real Life

            About the Christian Congresso (4 day encounter of the churches in the Northeast of Brazil) this year, I could tell about seeing old friends, seeing how they are growing spiritually and in number, and being encouraged by their fighting for Christ, about my class on how to be more like a man after God's own heart, of course, based on the life of King David, but life hit me and the rest smack in the face.

== WARNING! GROSS CONTENT! CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK==

            The last night of the event, the fellowship was great so I went to bed around 1:30 a.m. but checked on my son before lying down.  He was wet and stank!  Feeling around in the dark I figured out that he had thrown up all over himself, and he had a fever.  I got him up, washed him, changed his clothes and turned the mattress over to the dry side and put him to bed again. Around 4:30 a.m. someone else started throwing up, loud enough to wake me.  I checked my son again and he had thrown up again.  I was so tired and not feeling so great either, and since he didn't have any more clean clothes or mattress and especially since he didn't have any qualms about sleeping in that mess, I just left him.  It turned out that myself had my own problems with puking and diaherrea. Not a pretty picture.

Morning came and brought with it over 30 people puking and aching all over. We later figured that around 90% of the 150 participants got food poisoning. They say they haven't food poisoning this bad at a Congresso since Salvador in 1989.  What a way to end a great event!

But it wouldn't end! I had stomach problems for the next 11 days.  I ate plant leaves (not just any kind, but those recommended by others), teas and took medicine.  Nothing worked.  I traveled and taught a four day course, while feeling like making emergency runs to the bathroom – rough, but I survived.

I was talking to Raniere, here in João Pessoa who told me that his stomach problems from the Congresso stopped when he ate two hot dogs.  I went out and bought two of the greasiest chicken paddies deep fried in oil. I do not know what happened inside my body after eating these two "balls of medicine" but I have not had any more problems since.

This is where I should share some new spiritual depth that I have found in this experience, but besides being able to wear a "I survived the Congresso of 2012" t-shirt, I'm still looking.

The Greatest Sweetness Is In The Truth

            Monica is studying the Bible with an older lady named Leonidia.  She is a sweetheart, Leonidia, although Monica is too.  Monica came home excited this past Saturday after their study.  Leonidia asked about the role of women, so Monica shared some verses and explained them.  Later, Leonidia's daughter came in; she wants to be a pastor.  Leonidia, took the scriptures she had studied with Monica and read and explained them to her daughter.  Her daughter replied, yeah, that is right.  That is what it says, in a tone of humbled acknowledgement.

           

            How wonderful it is to teach others the truth of God's Word and see them pass that truth on to others.  It is even more wonderful to see that same person live the truths they learn.

        Please pray:

• That Leonidia will continue to learn and put into practice in her own life God's wonderful truth.
• That Monica can continue to have the love and patience she has to study God's word with others.

Please Give Us Wisdom!

            My family traveled to Cubati, a city about 3 hours away.  We went to visit Afonso and Vânia and encourage the church in this small town of about 6,000.  The day we arrived the city was without water and about 15 minutes after we left the water problem was over.  We stayed 3 nights and 3 days and were able to take 2 showers so it wasn't that bad. 

           

            We visited some people with whom Afonso and Vânia maintain contact, I gave two or three Bible studies, visited one of the members of the Church who has stopped meeting with the Church.  (One member is dearly missed no matter how many members attend at that particular congregation, this congregation only has four.)  At one of the Bible studies I gave there were 8-10 visitors.  They all really liked the fact that they could ask questions and get Biblical answers.  One of the visitors told Vânia that the pastor at the denomination she attends does not let her ask any questions during their Bible study.  She was having serious family problems and has not talked to her sister in around 3 years.  After hearing the lesson on Jesus giving us rest and how we rest by doing His will and not our own.  She decided to try and initiate a conversation with her sister and work toward asking for forgiveness. 

           

    Please pray:

•   That God may give Afonso and Vânia wisdom to discern God's will in the situations they face in that small town with many big problems.
•  That God may give Afonso and Vânia courage and boldness to tell others about the good news of God's Kingdom with love.
•  That Edivânia, the lady at the Bible study, will follow God's will and forgive her sister and that her sister will forgive her as well.

    On a side note:  The pictures of me are drinking milk that came straight from the cow without any pasteurization.  It was not as thick as I expected and it was sweeter than expected.  Notice that I had a glass of water close by before trying it.

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.