A Man from "Loneliness"

A few years ago I met Mr. Fausto.  He is from the city of Solidão in the Outback.  He was interviewed on a big TV network here about the city he lives in.  The special was about loneliness which is what the city is called.  Mr. Fausto is known in his community for his good works and compassion.  One thing he admitted was that he still felt an emptiness in his life.  Various ones have shared with him that Christ can fill that loneliness.  It just goes to show how the Gospel of Christ is so important to be understood and accepted.  Please pray for him and the many others in the Outback that a religious but somehow miss the Gospel in its essence.  

Conclusion of Good Soil course

Last Saturday the group finished up the "Good Soil" training course with Dan.  It was the first time we offered it to our church leaders at Koinonia.  We had offered it to a group of pastors a while back and the enthusiasm was high.  Pray this tool will be a blessing in the work of evangelism and discipleship in Brazil. 

First Week of 40 Days of Fasting and Prayer

Koinonia is dedicating 40 days to fasting and prayer.  Some are giving up a meal a day or some type of food.  Others are fasting internet activities of some sort or TV watching for certain hours, or all together.  The goal is to draw closer to God and seek His will as well as pray for missions in  Brazil's Outback region, and the health of our families.  

Good Soil for Koinonia

Today and next Saturday we are having our Good Soil course for our church leaders and members with Dan Cook.  This first day has gone well and we have a group of 23 doing the course. The fruits will be long lasting as each one puts into practice this evangelism and discipleship tool.

Former Koinonia deacon's visit

We had a nice time with Edinho and Almirene recently as they were here on vacation.  Edinho was a deacon at Koinonia and was transfered with the Brazilian army to Manaus around three years ago.  This was a meal at our house with two of our current deacons and wives.  Edinho and his wife are praying about the possibility of  returning to Recife to live in the future.

June Baptism

What a joy to baptize 15 recently at Koinonia.  It was a joyous occasion with various ages represented.  One of the ones I had the privilege of baptizing was my niece Dani Cook.

Flooding in our State

It must seem ironic, but we are in a state that from time to time experiences draught & flooding - the two extremes.  Usually the flooding is closer to the coast which is our case now.  A pastor from my mentoring group just sent our church a plea to help his home town that was hard hit by these recent floods.  I saw that even CNN headlines featured our state of Pernambuco today.  Here are some pictures Pastor Paulo took the other day.  We are gathering food and clothes from our friends in Recife to help these folks.  Please pray for those suffering great losses.  There have been dozens of deaths and hundreds reported missing.