A few weeks ago my family made a trip to Missouri. It was my first time going back to the place where I was raised since my father passed away in 2005, and the first time for my wife and kids since we spent a month and a half there in 2003 when we moved from Brazil. We had a good time. The kids had tractor rides with their great uncle Jim, my father's brother, and Cris had a chance to see the place with "new eyes." She was going through culture shock when she was there the first time, so it was great for her to have another look. Of course I appreciated the chance to see old familiar places again. We were glad, in the end, to get back to our home here in New Jersey.
The day after we arrived back in New Jersey I taught Sunday School and preached. The series for Sunday School is almost over. This week I'll be talking about fasting. Perhaps we've saved the most challenging for last. It is important to distinguish fasting from dieting. Some folks take a fast as a chance to lose weight or otherwise focus on the health aspects, but if one is planning to fast for spiritual reasons, then it doesn't seem appropriate to incorporate other motives.
One family in the church is having serious problems due to immigration status. The father of the family spent nearly a month in a federal penitentiary in Maine after being picked up by immigration authorities. I was under the misconception that there were special immigration detention centers, but I was wrong. He shared a cell with a man convicted of murder and bank robbery. He is free for now, but the situation is very complicated and his lawyers made it worse by telling him he didn't have to appear in court on a certain date, when in fact he was supposed to be there.
On a more positive note, one of the members was naturalized as a U.S. citizen this week. Her husband of over 10 years is a naturalized citizen himself, and she finally had the interview and took the tests this past Monday. She was "sworn in" on the same day. Next up for naturalization is my wife. Her interview and tests are scheduled for April 28.
The church here needs to start seeing more baptisms. We have a number of young people entering their teen years, clearly old enough to make some important decisions about discipleship. Also, though everyone is active in their own way, the congregation as a whole is not as evangelistic as it should be. This is an area of special concern.
Please pray:
-- For our family with immigration issues, that they can find a way to resolve their legal status and live in peace.
-- For Christiane, my wife, as she prepares for her naturalization tests and interview.
-- For the numerical and spiritual growth of the Brazilian church in New Jersey.
--For me as Christ's servant.
0 comments:
Post a Comment