On Saturday our dear friends from the Ebenezer Baptist Church held a farewell shindig for us. It had a kind of dual significance: not only are we leaving for furlough shortly, but we are also bidding a fond adieu to eight years of pastoral ministry at Ebenezer. From this point on out (actually, from January)…
I go weeks without reflecting on the difference in the quantity of melanin between my lovely wife and myself. I really do. Then somebody on Twitter has to go and weigh in on the subject. This week it was a blue-check named Clayburn Griffin, who responded to a tweet featuring non-PC comedian Bill Burr and…
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? A pastor friend of mine here in Brazil once told me of a man he visited several years back. As my friend encouraged him to take his spiritual growth seriously, the man looked at…
Mrs. Oliveira’s sixth grade class has done it again. Last week was Spirit Week at their school, and on dress-up day they decided to come to class as their favorite Missionary Max characters. Here’s the entire cast. Before scrolling down, see if you can figure out who is who. (of course, you will have to…
As per usual on Fridays, here are some pictures from our everyday life and ministry here in Brazil. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Andrew Comings (@andrewcomings) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Andrew Comings (@andrewcomings) View this post on Instagram A post shared by…
One thing I have always wanted to do is share with world at large the wonders of this great nation called Brazil. A couple years ago I embarked on a project – a “side hustle”, if you will – of maintaining a website called Best of Brazil Blog. It was a lot of fun, and…
Every year the Baptist Mid Missions missionaries in Brazil present a report of our activities to our colleagues. Here is our report for 2020. Introduction To say that 2020 was a challenging year would be to guilty of criminal levels of understatement. Due to China’s unexpected gift to the world, we were forced to cancel…
At the outset of this piece, let me say that I know I will be accused of “slippery slope” argumentation. So let me explain my thought process this way: suppose that several students in a school came down with a vicious stomach bug – vomiting, diarrhea, the whole nine yards. And suppose that you observed…
So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. My hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white, and my upper teeth ground against my lower teeth in…
I’ve written about Mrs. Oliveira’s sixth grade class and their reading of the Missionary Max books before. Every once in a while she sends me pictures the kids draw as she reads to them. Getting these pictures is one of the highlights of my day. Here is some of the more recent artwork I have…