Archive
for Bill & Sue's Journal
Tuesday evening, April 6, 2010
Growing Up is Getting Old!
I’ll
try to catch up a little while Sue is out doing counseling. These past
few days have been filled with holiday services and activities, and
plenty
of chocolate!
I
was invited to speak this past Thursday afternoon at Kimetais - a
factory that produces kitchen and bathroom fixtures - owned by Elizeu,
a man involved in our small group. I had spoken several months ago to
his salesmen. This time I was invited to give a brief talk for the
entire company before they left for the long weekend, explaining real
meaning of Easter. What a great opportunity to share the Gospel! Everyone
was very attentive and seemed appreciative. I, along with all the
employees, got a delicious panetone filled with chocolate.
Friday
evening was a Good Friday service. We had never done this before, and
though there was some confusion during the program, it was a nice
service, and a good group out. That
afternoon, it started to rain, and the rain didn’t stop until Sunday
afternoon.
Saturday night is youth night at church. We
are back to regular meetings after split sessions during March on the
subject of sexual purity. Each week during that month, after I did the
general Bible study, Sue and Andrea taught the girls and Dave was with
the guys. It was an excellent study in an area that most churches don’t
even want to touch. The teens are now reading/studying through the book
of Romans during the next few weeks.
After
three days of rain, it was decided to have the Sunday sunrise service
at church instead of the botanical gardens as the ground was really
soggy and people would come away with wet bottoms from the seating. It was still a nice service, with a good group
out again. (See pictures at http://spoelhof-brazilnuts.blogspot.com/
) Everyone
enjoyed the breakfast following. The kids all got small chocolate eggs
with a prize inside as a gift. There was one chocolate egg left over,
and I managed to snag that! Now, you’ve
got to see the size of the chocolate eggs here in Brazil
at Easter time – most are quarter pound-ers, but they’re available up
to two to five pounds. When folks saw me with the little egg, they
called me “meninão” (the big little boy). Of
course it’s not the first time I’ve been called that, but when it comes
to chocolate eggs, I don’t really want to grow up!
Monday
night was our small group, which is becoming quite a big group. We
could have had twenty-one people out for it, but only seventeen showed.
One of our old – maybe “former” is better word – young people showed up
as well who has been living in Germany the past five years. It was fun
catching up with him.
Elizeu
(I spoke at his plant the previous Thursday) and his family were at
small group, and we learned that they’d been robbed in their home at
gunpoint on Saturday night! The robbery was organized as the
thieves
knew who he was and that his wife was a dentist. When they didn’t get
all the money they wanted, they first threatened to kill him, and then
switched tactics threatening to kidnap their young son and only
releasing him for an exorbitant ransom. After
holding the family for over an hour and a half, the robbers finally
left with as much jewelry, silver, art, TVs, sound equipment, computers
and money they could get into his Audi (taking his car as well).
Thankfully, they didn’t kidnap the son and no one in the family was
harmed. We were used to hearing stories
like this in when we lived in São Paulo,
but not in Bauru.
My wife is home. Time
to end this.
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