Baptismal Service May 17, 2009

Last Sunday, we had a baptismal service. (Since we don't have a baptistry at the church, we only baptize 2-3 times a year.) There were seven people that needed to be baptized. It was a pleasant sunny day with temperatures in the mid-70s. However, the water was very cold! Praise the Lord, everything went well. It was such a blessing to watch them follow the Lord in believer's baptism!

Cristiane

Nathalia

Maira

Joao Paulo


Mike


Felipe


Naomi

BUNCO!!!

There's a group of ladies from my home church, Madison Baptist, that get together once a month to play Bunco. I never had the opportunity to play. Last night, it was at Myra Limbaugh's house. I got to play via Skype. Woohoo! It was a lot of fun and very interesting too! We had to do a little adjusting to make it work, but I was able to play. It was so much fun to interact with some folks from home! Thank you ladies for including me!

"One Vision Only"

I just finished reading the biography of Isobel Kuhn, "One Vision Only" by Carolyn Canfield. Isobel was a missionary (approximately 1930-1960) in China for many years and Thailand for a few years after that. Her motto for every aspect of life was "God First". That is exactly how she lived her life. With her husband, John, they accomplished great things for God, sacrificing time with each other and with their children. It was amazing to read about how God used her and met her needs. Unlike many missionary biographies, it does not romanticize the mission field. It tells of the hardships that are sometimes endured by serving God. Likewise, it shows that there is no better way to live than serving God. Neither does it make Isobel appear to be perfect...she wasn't, neither are we. It's encouraging to read about people that serve God in spite of their failings. How God can bless when we humble ourselves before Him, confess our sins, and trust Him to do the work!

Couples Retreat

On Tuesday, we had a couples activity. Originally, it was supposed to be an overnight retreat, but that didn't work out. God knows what is best! Having a day activity instead, worked out so much better, with a lot more participation. We had a lot of fun. We played games, watched "Fireproof", ate some good food, and had a couple of great messages on marriage. One of the games we played was especially fun. Charlie would ask Bible questions. The guy that got it right had to pop a balloon and do whatever the paper inside said - tell what attracted you to your wife, what has made your marriage a success, look into each other's eyes for 30 seconds, give a long kiss, whisper sweet things in her ear, etc. A good time was had by all. Not only was it a blessing, but it was a great opportunity for each couple to do a reset on something in their marriage.

Visiting the Public Schools

Steve has been visiting us from Louisiana for the last week and a half. When he contacted us about visiting, he asked if we could arrange some visits to the local schools so that he could present the Gospel. I talked with my friend Enio (an English teacher) and he made all of the arrangements. On Monday, we visited three schools in town. The Gospel was presented to about 150 students. On Tuesday, we visited another three schools. Two of them were rural schools and the other was in town. Another 150 students heard the Gospel. On Wednesday, we visited two more schools. One in the country and one in town. About 120 students heard the Gospel. Though I cannot say with certainty how many were saved, I can say that they heard a clear presentation of the Gospel and that many showed intetrest. God is so good!

While at the school in Fazenda Velha, we met an assitant to the Secretary of Education in Formiga. She was very interested and impressed with what we were doing. She has asked us to come by the office to discuss visiting other schools in our area. God is opening a door for us. We cannot begin to imagine what will be accomplished as a result! Please pray that God will give us wisdom to know what we are capable of doing and to know His will in this matter!

Seven Blessings

1. An awesome home church and incredible pastor - being away from Madison Baptist Church and Pastor Allison's preaching makes me even more thankful for it! Thankfully, I can get the CD's.

2. A Godly husband - Tim has a lot of insight and wisdom. I love his preaching. He's doing such a great job preaching in Portuguese!

3. Mrs. Allison - the best pastor's wife and friend a person could ever want! I miss her so much! Thankfully, I can (and do) talk to her on a regular basis!

4. Charlie and Isabel Nichols - they help us out with a lot of stuff here.

5. Joao Paulo - he got saved in February. I've never seen someone so excited about being saved! He is an absolute joy to have around!

6. Support - despite the troubles in the US economy, our suppport has stayed stable. God continues to provide all that we need.

7. Church services, especially when I can understand them! I generally catch the topic or theme of the message. It's difficult to keep up throughout the entire message, though.

Campaign

During the month of March we had a campaign at church. The people were divided into two teams. You earned points by attending (100), bringing your Bible (50), and bringing visitors (400). The campaign ended with a five-day revival (this past Wed.-Sun.). Though my team did not win, we had a great month! There were many visitors that came, two of which got saved! One of my visitors, Valter, also brought visitors. How crazy is that! I don't think I have ever heard of or seen a visitor bring visitors! It was so awesome. When I talked to Valter today, he said that he was bringing more visitors this Wednesday night! All I can say is wow! Please pray that Valter and the other visitors will be saved!