Like thousands of other churches around the globe, the Corona Virus forced the members of the Ebenezer church to stay at home and listen to the Sunday School lessons and message via Facebook Live. Here are some pictures. Blogger and author Tim Challies has posted an excellent article full of pictures of believers gathering in…
Rebecca is a sweet ten-year-old girl in our church who was so looking forward to her birthday party, scheduled for last Saturday. Unfortunately, the Corona Virus stepped in and changed those plans. Needless to say, she was very disappointed. Unable to visit, I decided to send this letter instead. Perhaps it will help others dealing…
In Brazil’s large cities there is an honored tradition called the panelaço. Basically, what happens is people disgruntled with one particular politician or other will stand at the windows of their high-rise apartments and bang on pots and pans. Here is one recent example: In the wake of the mass confusion and fear surrounding the…
Back in July of 2019 we hosted the F.O.C.U.S. team, young people from our sending church, led by my brother, Pastor Daniel Comings. Part of their time here was spent in the city of Barreirinhas, famous for its vast dunes (where the Black Widow came to her untimely end, see number 4 here), beautiful river,…
I got to read some really great books this month. Check them out! 1066: The Year that Changed Everything by Jennifer Paxton First up: everything you wanted to know about the Battle of Hastings, its antecedents, and its outcomes. Shorter than the other “Great Courses” I have listened to, but very informative and enjoyable. The…
The first week of this month we were privileged to attend the annual meeting of the Baptist Mid-Missions Northeastern Brazil field council. Besides taking care of regional business, these times are always opportunities for fellowship with co-laborers and encouragement in the Word. This year that encouragement was brought by pastor Dan Mielke, who, together with…
As a missionary with a vital stake in the trends that periodically sweep the Western theological and ecclesiastical landscape, I have been following with interest the growth of a “woke” or “diversity” or “critical race” discussion that has taken place over the past several years. If I can be allowed to summarize a very complex…
Starting the year off strong with some good books read during the month of January. The Gagging of God by D.A. Carson Got this one in under the wire for 2019. Over the past couple months I’ve shared several quotes from Carson’s “The Gagging of God” on social media. Truth be told, what I’ve shared…
Three or four times a year our house is transformed into a sort of camp as kids (and some who have long since lost their kid status) from Ebenezer spend a couple days with us. It is an informal time of tree climbing, board gaming, and food-eating. Here are some pictures of the latest such…
An update on the Ebenezer fund-raising “marathon” is long past due. Despite threatening clouds, the event went off without a hitch. Several of our church members were joined by members of a couple of our sister churches at the Itapiracó park. After a word of prayer and some orientation from Pastor Francivaldo (who organized the…