Revealed!

This evening our house church had a good discussion about the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, in Luke chapter 24. We talked about why Jesus didn't reveal himself to the men as he walked and talked with them on the road, but how he did show himself right before he disappeared after he broke bread with them.

It is interesting how people can know who Jesus was and is but they don't really know him. I think that there are times when he chooses to reveal himself. We can get him intellectually, but not accept him in our hearts - and that is what matters. Today, he revealed himself to Keity Salgado! She accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour and welcomed him into her heart. With our house church present I baptized Katy in our pool.

Keity prepares to be baptized by Sascha.

An emotional Keity comes up out of the water.

Sascha hugs his new sister in Christ!

Every Man's Battle

Tomorrow I will begin a study on sexual purity and integrity with the men of our church. This is a much needed study in our society. Brazil is literally plagued with nudity and sexual content almost everywhere you look and go. My prayer is that this 10-week study will help prepare the men in our church family, both young and old, to fight this battle everyday.

The purposes of this study will be to:

• grow and better our relationship with the Lord!
• grow and better our relationship with our wives.
• learn to look at women with the eyes of Christ (with respect).
• grow and better our relationships with other men (through newly formed accountability groups).

We will be using the book "Every Man's Battle" to guide us through some of this study. If you are a man and struggle with sexual sin I highly recommend this book. It can help you get back on the right path.

Please join us in praying for the men and the teenagers who will participate in this study. Please pray that the Lord equip us and bless us with all that we need to defeat Satan in this daily battle.

Farewell

This morning we said "goodbye" to our teammates Kyle and Leslie Klein and Tessa Sexton. Kyle and Leslie and their family (children: Katy, Elijah and Emma) and Tessa have worked hard for the Kingdom in Porto Alegre, Brazil and are ready to start a new chapter in their lives back in the USA. They will be moving to College Station, Texas where Kyle will begin his Masters at Texas A&M in the fall. Tessa has lived with the Kleins for the past 4 years in Porto Alegre and will continue to do so in the states, helping to ease the transition back into their old culture and way of life. She will be looking for a job in the Speech Pathology field.

We are grateful for all that the Kleins and Tessa did for the church family here. They have been a blessing to many people. Please pray that the seeds that they planted would grow and mature.

We also ask you to join us in praying that the Lord bless them and keep them in their transition back into a culture that should be familiar, but in so many ways will be more difficult to adjust to than the Brazilian culture was. All that they left in the US 5 years ago has changed; they have changed. This will be a difficult time of getting reacquainted. They will need peace and encouragement.

Kyle, Leslie and Tessa - thank you! We love you and will miss you. Take care.