Click here to view this newsletter as a PDF.
Brandon once wrote a book about baptism called Waters of Promise, and in it he recalled all the things water can do, including how it can cleanse, refresh, drown, and sometimes even overwhelm. This spring, we have been reminded of all those things, as what are always the wettest months of the year, September and October, were even wetter than usual for us.
Sadly, all that rain brought disastrous flooding throughout our state and even to our city.
As the weather dried up and the flood waters receded, the mess that was left behind was revealed. It was encouraging to see the response of God’s people as many of our area churches stepped up to help their brothers and sisters in need.
Although this semester has been busy with Brandon teaching two classes, we celebrate how God has given us opportunities to minister beyond the seminary classroom. Brandon has become a mentor to one of the local pastors. Twice a month they meet and have been working through the book Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity by Eugene Peterson. This opportunity to mentor has been a great encouragement to him and came as he was on the verge of burnout. Please pray for the pastors here as they carry a large ministry load.
Brandon was also given the opportunity to speak at a nearby ministry called Hope House. This ministry offers a stable place for recovering addicts to stay while they work on re-entering society. As a Christian ministry, Hope House offers its residents opportunities each month for them to learn more about being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He presented two sessions on the power of habit in our spiritual formation, using James K. A. Smith as a conversation partner. It was exciting to meet new people, pray with them and for them, share a meal with them, and get them to think more deeply about the ways they are formed by their desires and also how the Holy Spirit can work to re-form those same desires.
Marci continues to work on her Master of Divinity degree through Kairos University. She recently spoke at two church events. One was a ladies’ tea, where she shared about God’s heart for the foreigner through the story of Hagar. She also gave a missionary testimony at the 104th anniversary celebration of Floresta Baptist Church.
The spring also brought an opportunity to take a short break. The girls had a week off school, so we decided to take a short trip to our neighboring state, Santa Catarina. We visited a German town called Pomerode and also a beach town called Balnéario Camboriú, but the water was still too cold for any swimming. We traveled with our new friends, the Vargas family. The Vargases have a daughter who is in Olivia’s class, and they became good friends this school year. Over time the whole family has become good friends with us. It was a joy to travel with a Brazilian family, and something we would have not thought possible just a few years ago. As we look back at our progress in Portuguese and acculturation, we are thankful for how far we have come in our journey!
As November rolls in, spring will slowly turn to summer. Our spring semester is nearly complete, with only a couple weeks of regular classes left before Pastor Cam Roxburgh visits from Canada to teach a one-week module on discipleship.
As we wind down another semester at the seminary, we are pleased to announce that Kairos Brasil has its first graduate! We celebrate our student Anderson Weige Dias as he finished his Master of Divinity degree. We have also opened enrollment for our second group of students! We have already had inquiries from a variety of applicants all across the state, and even the country. Join us in praying that God will continue to use Kairos to equip the next generation of leaders and even teachers in this state! As we look to enroll the next group of students, we ask that you prayerfully consider giving to the Kairos Brazil Scholarships Fund. It is through your generous donations to this fund that we are able to keep the program affordable to our students (nabconference.org/give/special-projects).
The Great Commission not only mentions making disciples and baptizing them but also teaching them, which reminds us that teaching is Great Commission work. We are pleased to be partnering with you in teaching here. We cannot do it without you.
With hopes for showers of blessings,