God Is Not Dead

It was a bright and sunny day the Friday we left João Pessoa on our way to Belém do Brejo do Cruz. The trip was going to be long, a lot longer than what we thought it would be. The car I usually travel with blew the head gasket the week before, so Francinaldo, Roberto, and I were travelling in Roberto's brand new, used car, a 21 year old Fiat Uno. My traveling car is a 22 year old Fiat Uno so we were moving up in style.  

Roberto's car began to overheat about an hour into our 6 to 7 hour trip. We stopped for breakfast to let the car cool off. We sat and talked as we ate. Everything was going well. I was at the cashier paying for the food when Francinaldo received a call. All I remember him saying is "Be calm, Ivani!" He said this same phrase many times. The look on his face became more and more serious as the news of his mother-in-law's death sunk in each time Ivani said that she found her mother on her knees with blood coming from her head that she had hit on the floor and she was already purple.  

When Francinaldo got off the phone and told us what had happened, I called Monica, she immediately called others and went straight to their house. David drove the hour that we had driven to pick-up Francinaldo so that Roberto and I could continue on our trip to the meeting. As we waited for David to arrive, we prayed, we did not talk very much but we sat together. Francinaldo had left home about an hour and a half before and had spoken with his mother-in-law who was happy and healthy. What a shock! She had a heart attack as she was folding clothes and died. The next day she was buried. That is how it is done in Brazil.  

Right before David arrived to pick up Francinaldo, Júnior, who was organizing the PORmissões meeting, called and said he was going to visit Francinaldo's family. Roberto and I looked at each other and we decided to return to João Pessoa and have a mechanic look at his car.  

That night Roberto caught a ride with Júnior from João Pessoa to Campina Grande. I got on a bus and made the trip. We slept at Júnior's house and left the next morning at 4:30 a.m. We stopped in Patos to pick up some others and finally arrived in Belém at 9 a.m. The meeting is for people working with the churches that are spread out over the state of Paraíba. There were Christians from Cajazeiras, Belém, Patos, Campina Grande, Luna (João Pessoa) and Colinas (João Pessoa). Six out of twelve congregations represented.  

We spent the morning reading from God's Word, praying and talking about where we are in the PORmissões plan and where we go from here. After lunch we synchronized our calendars for the big events.  We had a drawing to see which congregation would visit another before the next meeting in July. We decided on the subjects to talk about at the next meeting and closed with a prayer.  

After the meeting, we, along with the congregation from Belém drove 11 miles to a nearby city to have a Bible study. The next morning, we met with the church in Belém, had lunch together and drove back to our respective cities. Those are the facts.  

The good about this meeting is that someone other than me was conducting it; Júnior and Luciano are becoming the face of PORmissões instead of me. The next meeting's subject will move us in the direction God wants, that is, how to prepare men to be deacons and elders. We will also talk about the role and work of the full-time evangelists in the field, what they should be focusing on and what they should delegate to others. Things are going forward.  

I continue to be amazed at seeing God work these past three years. When I came back to Brazil in 2011, I felt God was pulling me, and my main focus became working with the workers and the congregations throughout the state. I had prayed for many months, asking God to use me for the growth of His Kingdom, I also asked Him for vision to see where I should be leading others. I had and still have a plan that has steps and goals to accomplish. This plan has been executed, each step, each goal up to this point and even beating my established timeline. I am amazed, not at my planning, I and my plans are nothing. I am amazed that God showed me His plan, that the vision I asked for was what He is accomplishing before my very eyes and even faster than I imagined it would happen.  

There was a time during this process that I thought "my plan" was working very well. Usually, when I make plans they change as I move along, not drastically but modifications need to be made, unforeseen things happen or people are not cooperating. Not with this plan! Everything is falling into place as "I" planned. When I began to execute the plan in 2011 and things were moving along, I knew what the next step should be, and I was pleased.  

The end of 2013, things were still moving along exactly as "I" had planned them, but something was different. This step was planned, but I had not put it into motion yet. In my mind, I was going to begin involving a Brazilian in the planning and this year for him to take over next year. This came out of nowhere, without my prompting it. This is God at work. Then I realized, this was not "my" plan. This is God: He has been moving things along, He has a greater interest in this than I do, He just showed me what He was going to do and how He was going to accomplish it.  

When I realized that, I cried in front of the whole group. How great is our God! How awesome is He! Who am I that I should be so privileged to be involved in God's work to save the world, letting me in on His plan even though I thought it was mine. I am speechless! My God, my Lord and my Savior, praise be to You always and forever!  

Please pray:  

• that the congregations in the state of Paraíba may be united in one cause, with one mind and may we be one family;  
•  that the evangelists will know what they are to accomplish, in their respective cities;  
•  that God may give us all vision of His work and what He wants us to do for the growth of His Kingdom;  
•  that we may be deeply involved in God's saving the world by getting out of His way and letting Him use us, His servants, however He sees fit to do so, even if it will cause us great pain in this life. 

SEARA in Patos - The Last Harvest

SEARA in Patos - The Last Harvest

I traveled to Patos in December, as I do every month, to teach the last class of the year to those being trained. The course was on Hermeneutics (Interpreting scripture). I know, it doesn't sound very tantalizing but it is very important. All of the students said they learned about how to read and capture what the text says.

I taught using the "CAPTOR" method from the book "Getting the Message" by David M. Doriani. I was surprised at how most read their Bibles without knowing how to degust the banquet God has prepared in His Word. All of the students are very humble and eager to learn and put this new knowledge into practice.

Please pray:

that we all will read and study God's Word with humbleness and an eagerness to learn;

that all Christians will find the joy and love in putting God's Word into practice in their own lives.

Finances In The Light of The Bible

Finances In The Light of The Bible

Guess what I was invited to teach at the Northeastern Christian Conference? You guessed it, Finances! I taught on the Biblical model of giving; the motives, the purpose and the grace of giving from various passages. I also gave an introduction to Dave Ramsey's material on Financial Peace. His material gives people a step-by-step method to organize and control your personal finances so that you are able to give like you want to give.

Most people that I have taught have had difficulty understanding what the Bible teaches about giving. Most people that I have taught have also had difficulty managing their personal finances, so this course is very much needed in the church in Brazil. The church is beginning to support missionaries and they want and need a better understanding on giving.

After the classes at the Conference, I was invited to teach the finance course at several different congregations throughout Brazil. Dates are still being set-up. My hope for beginning this class was to help the church in Brazil take another step towards maturity by learning to give and give generously. I believe they are taking this step.

Please pray:

that the church in Brazil may trust in God for all of their needs;

that each Christian may believe in Jesus' words "It is more blessed to give than to receive";

that God may give me wisdom to direct each person's focus on the provider and not what is provided.

Campina Grande Team

Campina Grande Team

David and I have been traveling to Campina Grande to work more closely with the team. We want to ask for your prayers for the work in Campina Grande.

Please pray:

that God may open hearts of people who are searching for His truth;

that God may continue to give the team courage to reach out to the lost around them;

that God may help the members of the church to grow in their faith in His Word.

Families: Strength in the Church

Families: Strength in the Church

I traveled to Patos a couple of weeks ago to study 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon with the church. We talked about elders, deacons, evangelists, taking care of the needs of others. We defined a good conscience and piety, which is the word in Portuguese used for godliness. They had a lot of questions and a few ideas from denominations, which needed to be corrected.

We learned from the teachings of the apostle Paul to Timothy the best way to counteract false teachings. In summary, we must exhort men to exercise their role in the family, women to fulfill their role in the family, children and grandchildren to take care of their parents in need. In other words, structure the families to live the way God always intended, and the church will serve God in this fallen world of broken families.

Some really good news: while in Patos, a brother, who had been losing the battle with sin, came back to Christ.

Please pray:

that God may strengthen in his new resolve and repentance,

that God may help His church mature and produce families who live within the will of the Almighty.

World Cup

World Cup

This is the year of the "Cup", the "World Cup". There will be no school on the days that is playing. Businesses will close for the games; everything will be different for a little over a month.

The first time I came to , the world cup was being played in the . I had no idea what the world cup was. I had never seen a soccer game. I watched the final between and to crown the first ever four-time champion, won. Now, 20 years later, is looking for its sixth title and for the first time in 64 years the games will be played in .

There is a lot of excitement building up around the games, and the entire country will be turned upside down. There will probably be protests, strikes, and a lot of other unpleasantries happening while the games are being played. Most of the reason for these will be because the government set a budget to spend a little over $1 billion and have already spent over $4 billion on the stadiums, while health care and other areas that would benefit the Brazilian population have been put on the back burner.

Let's remember that one day, there will be a bigger party, where everyone will stop what they are doing and bow at the feet of the returning and reigning King. Until that day comes, let us turn this world upside down, like the first Christians did.

Please pray:

that God may protect His church from violence;

that God may help His church be as bold and excited for His Kingdom as the world is for these games.

Carnaval Camp

Hey all,

Thank you for your patience.  I know it has been a while since you received news from me.  Things have been busy and it has been hard to find a time to sit down to write.

Thank you for your love, prayers and support,

Jeremy, Monica, Nicholas & Dylan

Carnaval Camp

When I first came to , I participated in a carnaval camp. I enjoyed spending time with the Christians, playing games and praising God together. I confess that I did not understand the importance of such a camp until years later.

After spending years in and seeing Christians struggling with temptations and sins during this five-day party, I now see how important it is for the church to be together, away from the noise and temptations of the world.

Some of us from will be going to Cajazeiras to participate in their carnaval camp. I will be teaching, the others participating, and all of us will be enjoying time in purity, kindness, goodness, joy, and love.

What a different life we live in Christ. Ain't it good? May God be praised for His wisdom and love in saving us from this perverse and sad world.

Please pray:

that God will protect us on the road;

that God may use our time together to give us more boldness and courage to tell others about Him.