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". 

The Most Important Meal of the Day

Breakfast is considered by many as the most important meal of the day. There is a saying in Brazil that goes like this: "Eat breakfast like a king, eat lunch like a prince and eat supper like a beggar." The idea is to eat less and less as the day goes on but like many of us we tend to eat little to nothing in the morning and more and more as the day wears on.

I am not writing to tell you about breakfast. I am writing to tell you about our men's breakfast in João Pessoa. Sorry, if you were making plans to come, it has already happened. We plan to have another one soon, if you are here we would love to have you.

There were about 20 men that showed up with food that could have fed a king and his family. We sang, prayed, ate and talked about future plans for the church. It was great food but even better fellowship.

Enjoy the pictures!

Please pray:

* that the plans made will not be left on paper but carried out by all of us, especially the Brazilian men;

* that the men of the congregation will live their lives in the fullness of God's Will. (I know that is aiming very high but why aim lower)

Teaching, Guiding and Sharing

PORmissões is the plan to evangelize the entire state of Paraíba through establishing congregations in each of the four major cities, maturing members and reaching out to the smaller cities around them.

There are now three others (Afonso, Júnior and Luciano) who are working with me directly to move this plan forward. This is a huge step for the work to continue without me in the near future. We met at the beginning of June to discuss the vision each one has for the state and how to carry that vision out. We are working to mature the members of the church and continually bring unity among the congregations through visiting, calls and statewide events.

Our next statewide event will be in João Pessoa where I will be teaching and helping each evangelist think about preparing and maturing men to be Elders and Deacons. We will also discuss what the role of the evangelist is and how to carry out his role in the congregation in which he lives and labors.

Please pray:

* that God may use me to help open our eyes to the possibilities and opportunities He provides to guide men to be "men of God";

* that God may work in all of our hearts for us to be fully dedicated to Him and His Kingdom;

* that God may help us to see our role as missionaries, evangelists and all of us as Christians to be light in the darkness.

Please shine through us Lord Jesus.

Let Go and Let God!

I traveled this past weekend to Belém do Brejo do Cruz with six others from the church in João Pessoa . Santo, the evangelist with the church in Belém invited all of his neighbors to hear an evangelistic message on Saturday night. We sang, I taught, and we ate. There were over 60 present.  

On Sunday, we met with the Christians where Francinaldo taught on James and I preached from the book of James. There were around 25 present on Sunday morning. We ate lunch together and made the 6 1/2 hour trip back.

Please pray:

• that the seed that was planted in the visitors hearts may produce fruit;
  
• that the church in Belém do Brejo do Cruz may continue to spread the seed and water where they have planted.
  

Modern Day Slavery

Ten hours to get there, all night on the bus, I arrived in Aracaju, the capital city of Sergipe. The church had invited me to teach Biblical Finances, and I started on Saturday at 8 a.m., two hours after arriving. This intensive course went for 9 hours on Saturday and 2 hours on Sunday. 25 came, and most admitted that they have debt and they do feel like slaves with a master.

My prayer for them is that they may learn to live according to God's ways of handling money, living on less than you make. The purpose for living in such a way is to invest more in God's Kingdom.

The church in is ready to take this next step in maturing in Christ and beginning to support its own workers and send out missionaries. The Christians I talked with in were excited, dreaming about the possibilities of maturing and investing in God's Kingdom.

Please pray:

• that the Christians in may grow in love for Christ and spiritual maturity;
  
• that the managing of personal finances may increase our focus on God and His Kingdom.
  

Three Months Rolled Into One

Hello everyone! I know it has been a long time since you have heard from me. I have been travelling and teaching quite a bit. In this newsletter, I will tell you what I have been doing and what my plans are for the next three weeks.

In March, I took a 10 hour bus ride to the south of where we are to teach the church in Aracajú over a weekend. My parents also came and spent 9 days with me and my family in March.

In April, I stayed more in João Pessoa teaching and preaching because most of the workers from the interior churches were in São Paulo for 18 days in intensive classes. I did get to travel with my family to Patos where Monica taught the women at their annual celebration of the beginning of the women's prayer group.

In May, I taught Financial Peace at the São Lourenço congregation, a four day intensive course, beginning with contentment. I also preached at another congregation in Recife and scheduled a time to teach in June at the Varzea congregation. On Thursday, May, 15th of this month I will be travelling to Patos to teach the Gospel of Matthew, a four day course. From Patos, on May 19th, I will be travelling to Feira de Santana, a twelve hour drive to begin a four day course on the same day I arrive. From there I will be travelling up to Aracajú for a Leader's training camp, about four hours from Feira de Santana and then back to João Pessoa, about 10 hours from Aracajú. Lord permitting, I will arrive back in João Pessoa on May 26th. On May 31st, I will be travelling with a group from João Pessoa to Belém do Brejo do cruz, about five hours from João Pessoa and arriving back in João Pessoa on June 1st.

After these trips I plan to stay more in João Pessoa, teaching and visiting the members with the intent to help them grow and begin doing some of the travelling and taking care of one another that I have been doing.

Please pray:

* that God will use me at all times during the driving and teaching on these trips;

* that God's Word may be taught without fear of persecution or rejection;

* that God may give peace and paitents to Monica, Nicholas & Dylan while I am gone.

Three Months News Rolled Into One

Hello everyone!  I know it has been a long time since you have heard from me.  I have been travelling and teaching quite a bit.  In this newsletter, I will tell you what I have been doing and what my plans are for the next three weeks.  

In March, I took a 10 hour bus ride to the south of where we are to teach the church in Aracajú over a weekend.  My parents also came and spent 9 days with me and my family in March.

In April,  I stayed more in João Pessoa teaching and preaching because most of the workers from the interior churches were in São Paulo for 18 days in intensive classes.  I did get to travel with my family to Patos where Monica taught the women at their annual celebration of the beginning of the women's prayer group.

In May, I taught Financial Peace at the São Lourenço congregation, a four day intensive course, beginning with contentment.  I also preached at another congregation in Recife and scheduled a time to teach in June at the Varzea congregation.  On Thursday, May, 15th of this month I traveled to Patos to teach the Gospel of Matthew, a four day course.  From Patos, on May 19th, I traveled to Feira de Santana, a twelve hour drive to begin a four day course on the same day I arrive.  From there I will be travelling up to Aracajú for a Leader's training camp, about four hours from Feira de Santana and then back to João Pessoa, about 10 hours from Aracajú.  Lord permitting, I will arrive back in João Pessoa on May 26th.  On May 31st, I will be travelling with a group from João Pessoa to Belém do Brejo do cruz, about five hours from João Pessoa and arriving back in João Pessoa on June 1st. I will send pictures when I get back to João Pessoa.

After these trips I plan to stay more in João Pessoa, teaching and visiting the members with the intent to help them grow and begin doing some of the travelling and taking care of one another that I have been doing.  

Please pray:

• that God will use me at all times during the driving and teaching on these trips;
• that God's Word may be taught without fear of persecution or rejection;
• that God may give peace and paitents to Monica, Nicholas & Dylan while I am gone.