Dear friends and family,
Well another month has come and gone. I
don't know about you but for me these months are going way to fast. I
don't know why the time is passing so fast I don't want want to think
that it has anything to do with age but it might be.
There is lots of work to be done and it seems that there is nothing
going the way it should.The work on the Vocational School is getting
started back again. This month we have gotten the wires put into the
walls for the energy. Also we are leveling the floors for the tile work
to begin. I get frustrated some times because I am used to getting into
the work and getting it done, but here that is not the way things go. We
are at a semi stand still on this work because of the paperwork that
has to be done. But we know that anything that we do that God is in, we
are more than winners. So maybe God is teaching me how to wait on Him
with patience and not get frustrated. Pray for me in this area. This
school will be a great ministry for training young men and we are seeing
interest from adults (men and women) for this ministry also, and I am
not talking about adults helping us but they also want to train with us.
So God is opening yet another door for us in the area of adults. Pray
that we will be able to see where God is working and join Him there.
We organized our work into a Church this month. This work has been
going on for a little over two years and now we are a full fledged
Church. Our mother Church in Georgia sent her pastor to do the
organization sermon and it was a blessing. We had a record number in
attendance and God was present. Pray that we will continue to be a
blessing in this neighborhood. Also pray that we can find a place to buy
for us to continue growing in the Lord. Our contract on the building
where we are presently will end this year and that means that the owner
will have the right to up the rent. We are already outgrowing this
present building so we need some place of our own where we can build for
growth. Another need we are having is for a bus. Each week we are
having to make various trips with the van that we have and this van is
getting worn out because of the streets. So if anyone has an old bus
that they would like to sell there in the States and donate the proceeds
to us for a buss we would be greatly appreciative it.
We have had a blessing this month of
visitors from the States. This was a group of Doctors, nurses and
Pastors.The arrangements were made and everything was set for the
visit, that is until the last week before the arrival of the group. At
that time we were informed by the association of Doctors here in our
city that we would not be able to do exams and certainly would not be
able to give out meds. So we called the group and told them the news but
they said that they were coming any way and we would see what God had
in store for us and them. SO we set up for the Dr's in the Church and
people started to come. The Dr's and nurses began to see people. They
did not examine or prescribe meds but listened to the people and wrote
down what they thought was their problems. We would, after they left
make a visit to these people and give them the meds that the Dr's
thought they needed. This way we could help the people and give an open
door for us to make a home visit to each one that came to see the Dr's.
See how AWESOME our God is, He made a way for every person to get their
physical health taken care of and also their Spiritual health . God
turns around the things that are meant to do wrong and makes them a
blessing if we just trusty in Him. This is an answer to many prayers!!!
Everything worked out because God was in control. The group got to do
what God sent them to do, our Church got to give a great testimony and
God got the glory. Just one more example of you letting God work and you
joining him where he is.We can plan and plan but when God puts it
together --Watch out--.
Speaking of medicine and Doctors, Barbara took a member of our Church
to an appointment last Monday to do a procedure at 9:00 o'clock. Well at
1:00 o'clock they were still waiting to be seen. This made me think
about what those there in the States are wanting for our people there.
Barb's dad used to say that you could die waiting to be seen by the
Doctor and today I can tell you that this happens here in Brasil
frequently. Here some of our people have been called to come to the
Doctor for an appointment that had been scheduled at least two years
ago.
This month our son-in-law and daughter (Walmir and Mary) were to
celebrate their 1 year anniversary in the ministry in Sales Olivera .
The Church people wanted to surprise Pastor Walmir with something on the
day and they called us to participate. They asked me to bring the
message on the Sunday night and on Wednesday night also. So Barbara and I
sacrificed and went to spend some time with our children and grand
kids(what a sacrifice). Pastor Wallmir was totally surprised and we had a
great time of fellowship with Gods people.
We are entering into our winter season and things are cooling down, so
if you are suffering with the heat there in the States come on down.
There is; plenty of work to do and you can do it in cooler weather. As a
matter of fact your bed is turned down and there is a mint on the
pillow. And we will just add a little bit more water into the soup beans
and there will be plenty to eat.
God bless and keep you all till the next time.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
12 de junho de 2012
16 de abril de 2012
The States were great but it is good to be Home
Dear friends and family,
What a wonderful time we have had in the States. It has been so good that I have returned to Brasil 20 lbs heaver.(lol) And guess what that means, I have had to increase the size of my clothes. And that means new clothes. Oh well, so goes life --next week I'll start a diet(lol).
At Church Sunday we were welcomed back with a surprise party. Cake and the works. I guess this means more pounds. Not only did we receive a warm welcome from the Church people we also received a WARM welcome here in Brasil. The temperature has been in the high 90's. How great it is to serve such and AWESOME God!! With the temperatures being so high that means that the Church building also is extremely hot. Something like 105 degrees So I picked out place in the Church where a fan was blowing completely on me----(just a little selfish). But none of this high temperature keeps our people from coming to Church, Sunday morning we had 104 in attendance and 140 on Sunday night. Our Choir presented a piece for our Easter Sunday that was great.
Upon returning to Brasil we find that a very dear friend in moving back to the States. His name is John Norris and he is a retired fireman from Florida.He is having some health issues with his hearing--please put him on your prayer list.
While there we had a meeting with a young man in Georgia, Jason Hamlin, and set up for us to meet him in Atlanta for him to visit Brasil one more time to see where God would like for them to base their ministry. His ministry is to train youth pastors all over Brasil. To start with they will be getting some basic language training here in Caraguatatuba. And no I will not be doing their training because if I did they would definitely have my mountain accent (Hillbilly) This is another prayer request, please put this family on your personal and Church prayer list.They are making a big transition with 3 kids.
This has been a fast moving week here and we have lots more to catch up on in our ministries. So pray for Barb and I as we re-connect and integrate ourselves here.
Sunday night again it is so obvious that we really need a bus. The van was so over crowded and the people were so uncomfortable but they did not murmur or complain.We work some very special people.
While we were in the States we were able to visit many Churches and meet many new people. If we were not able to get to your Church we would like to put you on the top of our list for our next time. We would like to give a Special Thanks to everyone where we presented our ministry and preached. Everyone was so gracious and loving. We were treated like royalty.
We would like to thank BFM and all of you who support us financially and prayerfully. Without this support we would not be able to stay here in Brasil doing what God called us to do. Don't take our word for what is going on here and what God is doing, come on down and see for yourself. We have been here long enough to be able to turn the bed down and put a mint on the pillow, so come on down.
In His service,
Aj and Barb
What a wonderful time we have had in the States. It has been so good that I have returned to Brasil 20 lbs heaver.(lol) And guess what that means, I have had to increase the size of my clothes. And that means new clothes. Oh well, so goes life --next week I'll start a diet(lol).
At Church Sunday we were welcomed back with a surprise party. Cake and the works. I guess this means more pounds. Not only did we receive a warm welcome from the Church people we also received a WARM welcome here in Brasil. The temperature has been in the high 90's. How great it is to serve such and AWESOME God!! With the temperatures being so high that means that the Church building also is extremely hot. Something like 105 degrees So I picked out place in the Church where a fan was blowing completely on me----(just a little selfish). But none of this high temperature keeps our people from coming to Church, Sunday morning we had 104 in attendance and 140 on Sunday night. Our Choir presented a piece for our Easter Sunday that was great.
Upon returning to Brasil we find that a very dear friend in moving back to the States. His name is John Norris and he is a retired fireman from Florida.He is having some health issues with his hearing--please put him on your prayer list.
While there we had a meeting with a young man in Georgia, Jason Hamlin, and set up for us to meet him in Atlanta for him to visit Brasil one more time to see where God would like for them to base their ministry. His ministry is to train youth pastors all over Brasil. To start with they will be getting some basic language training here in Caraguatatuba. And no I will not be doing their training because if I did they would definitely have my mountain accent (Hillbilly) This is another prayer request, please put this family on your personal and Church prayer list.They are making a big transition with 3 kids.
This has been a fast moving week here and we have lots more to catch up on in our ministries. So pray for Barb and I as we re-connect and integrate ourselves here.
Sunday night again it is so obvious that we really need a bus. The van was so over crowded and the people were so uncomfortable but they did not murmur or complain.We work some very special people.
While we were in the States we were able to visit many Churches and meet many new people. If we were not able to get to your Church we would like to put you on the top of our list for our next time. We would like to give a Special Thanks to everyone where we presented our ministry and preached. Everyone was so gracious and loving. We were treated like royalty.
We would like to thank BFM and all of you who support us financially and prayerfully. Without this support we would not be able to stay here in Brasil doing what God called us to do. Don't take our word for what is going on here and what God is doing, come on down and see for yourself. We have been here long enough to be able to turn the bed down and put a mint on the pillow, so come on down.
In His service,
Aj and Barb
11 de agosto de 2011
Busy days in Brazil - July happenings
Hi friends and family,
This month has been very exciting and busy one for us. We have had groups from two Churches and they came two days apart. The group from Warner Robbins Ga. did a vacation Bible School at the home of our member Gloria. The exciting thing about this is that some of these teenagers had helped in the construction of Gloria's house. They also participated in the Tuesday night meeting that is held in Gloria's home. In preparation for the Bible School we canvased the neighborhood , door to door to let the children know when we were going to be there. During this door to door visiting we were able to present the Gospel to various people. We were invited to do some work in one of the public schools and were fed by the kitchen workers and ate with the teachers and the principal. This group scraped the walls, sanded the walls and then painted in two class rooms.From there we went to the Vocational School where tile was laid and other jobs were done.The next group from Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington Ky. was able to do a Bible School in the same public school where the others had painted. So one opened the doors for the other.Even though the students were on winter break the principal invited them back to participate and also their parents. The Principal is new to this school and she wanted to get the parents involved and get to know them and she used us as a tool. It worked for her and for us too.She also brought her twin boys. A great time was had by all!!! This group also painted in this public school.We went from the public school to the Vocational School where tile was laid and walls painted along with planning for a electrical class in the future. Opportunities are unlimited when you come to do whatever God has for you to do.
We made many new friends at the school and I have been invited to start an English class for the teachers and workers. Among the new friends we have made are the principals twin boys that are teenagers. The family is catholic and we were surprised when the boys began to attend our youth meetings on Saturday night. And then even more excited when they started to come the Church every Sunday. AWESOME what God does and lets you be apart of. This is a small miracle but it is a miracle.
To top off the month we had a baptism last Sunday and two were baptized. There are several attending new converts class and soon we will enter into the waters of baptism again. Praise be to God who gives the harvest. We are still deep in the planning for the Pastors conference here in November. Our Church in conjunction with Second Baptist Church in Warner Robbins Ga. will be sponsoring our first Pastors Conference. We will be inviting pastors from across Brasil to attend so that we can encourage them in their ministry. Pray for this conference with us as we desire to reach Brasil for Christ. And what better way than to encourage Brasilian pastors in the work.
As we are writing this letter our son Bryan called to tell us that our long time friend and brother in Christ, Fred Hearn has gone to be with the Lord. I remembered that when we were just coming to Brasil to help other missionaries Fred and Pat made the trip with us. Pray for this family in their loss.
Our vehicles are giving us good service but at the same time are costing much in the mechanic shop.It is imperative to keep the van running because it is our churches only means of transporting the people that don't have cars nor money to come by public transport. I have begun to have to make two trips on Sunday morning and on Sunday night as we are having many people coming. Praise the Lord for this. That brings me say that we need a bus. Please put this on your prayer list and if you can help with an offering to purchase a bus that would be AWESOME.
We have had many visitors this month but that does not mean that we are not looking for you. The bed is turned down and I can get new mints for the pillow as the other groups have eaten the last ones.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
This month has been very exciting and busy one for us. We have had groups from two Churches and they came two days apart. The group from Warner Robbins Ga. did a vacation Bible School at the home of our member Gloria. The exciting thing about this is that some of these teenagers had helped in the construction of Gloria's house. They also participated in the Tuesday night meeting that is held in Gloria's home. In preparation for the Bible School we canvased the neighborhood , door to door to let the children know when we were going to be there. During this door to door visiting we were able to present the Gospel to various people. We were invited to do some work in one of the public schools and were fed by the kitchen workers and ate with the teachers and the principal. This group scraped the walls, sanded the walls and then painted in two class rooms.From there we went to the Vocational School where tile was laid and other jobs were done.The next group from Gardenside Baptist Church in Lexington Ky. was able to do a Bible School in the same public school where the others had painted. So one opened the doors for the other.Even though the students were on winter break the principal invited them back to participate and also their parents. The Principal is new to this school and she wanted to get the parents involved and get to know them and she used us as a tool. It worked for her and for us too.She also brought her twin boys. A great time was had by all!!! This group also painted in this public school.We went from the public school to the Vocational School where tile was laid and walls painted along with planning for a electrical class in the future. Opportunities are unlimited when you come to do whatever God has for you to do.
We made many new friends at the school and I have been invited to start an English class for the teachers and workers. Among the new friends we have made are the principals twin boys that are teenagers. The family is catholic and we were surprised when the boys began to attend our youth meetings on Saturday night. And then even more excited when they started to come the Church every Sunday. AWESOME what God does and lets you be apart of. This is a small miracle but it is a miracle.
To top off the month we had a baptism last Sunday and two were baptized. There are several attending new converts class and soon we will enter into the waters of baptism again. Praise be to God who gives the harvest. We are still deep in the planning for the Pastors conference here in November. Our Church in conjunction with Second Baptist Church in Warner Robbins Ga. will be sponsoring our first Pastors Conference. We will be inviting pastors from across Brasil to attend so that we can encourage them in their ministry. Pray for this conference with us as we desire to reach Brasil for Christ. And what better way than to encourage Brasilian pastors in the work.
As we are writing this letter our son Bryan called to tell us that our long time friend and brother in Christ, Fred Hearn has gone to be with the Lord. I remembered that when we were just coming to Brasil to help other missionaries Fred and Pat made the trip with us. Pray for this family in their loss.
Our vehicles are giving us good service but at the same time are costing much in the mechanic shop.It is imperative to keep the van running because it is our churches only means of transporting the people that don't have cars nor money to come by public transport. I have begun to have to make two trips on Sunday morning and on Sunday night as we are having many people coming. Praise the Lord for this. That brings me say that we need a bus. Please put this on your prayer list and if you can help with an offering to purchase a bus that would be AWESOME.
We have had many visitors this month but that does not mean that we are not looking for you. The bed is turned down and I can get new mints for the pillow as the other groups have eaten the last ones.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
15 de março de 2011
Febuary Newsletter
Hi friends and family,
I like to sit on the front porch in the mornings and drink my coffee, read my Bible, pray and anticipate the activities of the day. As I am looking at the road in front of the house this morning I see two branches (creeks), one on each side of the road. Instead of the river (the road being completely covered with water), yes it is raining again. Whatever the plans for the day are it is a must that you include rain as a possibility for the day. Enough about the weather, this is the day that the Lord has made! Let us be glad in it.
We were in the States for a few weeks with a seriously ill brother. He had had a stroke and was undergoing surgery and the family was called in because of the seriousness of the situation. Well we arrived as soon as we could but we were late and we found my brother dismissed from the hospital and at home. When we as a family (4 brothers and families) arrived at his home his countenance completely changed. When we entered he was down in the dumps but upon seeing us he became chipper and sat up immediately. Insisted that we sit down around him with gestures because he could not speak. How AWESOME is our God. So instead of a final farewell we had a wonderful family reunion. And on top of being able to minister and pray for him we just had and awesome time together. And that is how it is with problems sometimes He takes the bad and turns it into blessings.
Sorry that we were unable to visit with you all this time but this was such a quick trip and was dedicated to family. We are looking forward to coming home and spending time with all of you soon.
Thanks to all of you for your prayer support for the new work. It is growing and lives are being changed. On our return we had a baptism and 16 new converts were baptised on Saturday night and were added to the Church role on Sunday.Since we started last year that makes 23 new brothers and sisters added to God's Kingdom. We still have several more for baptism and are planning another baptism this month. Awesome is it not?! We are now above 60 members and are averaging in the 80's for our principal service. We feel the Lord's presence with this new Church start.We are planning to organise this mission work into a Church in April. Keep on praying for this work and for the organization meeting in April. Don't forget to pray for the Vocational School, we are working on the dormitory for the boys and the work is going slow. But we are not discouraged, because we know that God is with this work too. Also continue to pray for the orphanage, the couple that was interviewed before we left has accepted the invite to come and be the parents at the orphanage. They will be coming as soon as they can finish some things that they had committed to do. And the Judge has said that as soon as there are parents there he has children to put in the orphanage.
As we work here we have a few basic needs. With all the expenses for our van and truck, it is becoming a real challenge to keep up financially. These vehicles are being used daily in our ministry and the roads are becoming a true challenge for the vehicles. Some of our roads are asphalt, some dirt, and the rest are holes with a little road around them. So you can see as the rain continues the roads become worse. The repair bills keep mounting ---however the ministry goes on. Pray with us for our vehicles and transportation needs. One of the greatest is a bus. Please pray that we would receive offerings sufficient to buy one. As you can imagine with the increase in members we need a bus to bring all of them to Church and have run out of room for Sunday School classes. We are in dire need of building more rooms in which to have Sunday school.. So pray for this need also.
Another AWESOME blessing I've been having is on Friday nights a "Servants Class" for 5 men. I have used all the qualifications and references for deacons as a basis for this class. They as well as I are receiving a great blessing from this class. I hoe to complete this class this week or next. This will possibly open the door for some of these men to serve as deacons in the future.
Well it seems all I have been doing in this letter is telling of our needs and prayer requests, permit me to put one more in front of you all, our son-in-law and daughter are looking at another place to serve the Lord and Savior. Pray for Walmir and Mary as they are considering where the Lord wants them to serve. Also pray for Mary as her dew date for our third granddaughter Ashley is at the end of March. I am going to be a grand pa again for the 3rd time. What an AWESOME blessing.
As I close this letter I ask that you keep praying as that is what keeps us going spiritually and keep giving as that is what keeps us going financially. Also think of coming down as that is what keeps us going emotionally.
Just remember that we can add some water to the beans and throw a few more grains of rice in the pot so a few more people at the table is not a problem. Hope to see you here in Brasil soon.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
I like to sit on the front porch in the mornings and drink my coffee, read my Bible, pray and anticipate the activities of the day. As I am looking at the road in front of the house this morning I see two branches (creeks), one on each side of the road. Instead of the river (the road being completely covered with water), yes it is raining again. Whatever the plans for the day are it is a must that you include rain as a possibility for the day. Enough about the weather, this is the day that the Lord has made! Let us be glad in it.
We were in the States for a few weeks with a seriously ill brother. He had had a stroke and was undergoing surgery and the family was called in because of the seriousness of the situation. Well we arrived as soon as we could but we were late and we found my brother dismissed from the hospital and at home. When we as a family (4 brothers and families) arrived at his home his countenance completely changed. When we entered he was down in the dumps but upon seeing us he became chipper and sat up immediately. Insisted that we sit down around him with gestures because he could not speak. How AWESOME is our God. So instead of a final farewell we had a wonderful family reunion. And on top of being able to minister and pray for him we just had and awesome time together. And that is how it is with problems sometimes He takes the bad and turns it into blessings.
Sorry that we were unable to visit with you all this time but this was such a quick trip and was dedicated to family. We are looking forward to coming home and spending time with all of you soon.
Thanks to all of you for your prayer support for the new work. It is growing and lives are being changed. On our return we had a baptism and 16 new converts were baptised on Saturday night and were added to the Church role on Sunday.Since we started last year that makes 23 new brothers and sisters added to God's Kingdom. We still have several more for baptism and are planning another baptism this month. Awesome is it not?! We are now above 60 members and are averaging in the 80's for our principal service. We feel the Lord's presence with this new Church start.We are planning to organise this mission work into a Church in April. Keep on praying for this work and for the organization meeting in April. Don't forget to pray for the Vocational School, we are working on the dormitory for the boys and the work is going slow. But we are not discouraged, because we know that God is with this work too. Also continue to pray for the orphanage, the couple that was interviewed before we left has accepted the invite to come and be the parents at the orphanage. They will be coming as soon as they can finish some things that they had committed to do. And the Judge has said that as soon as there are parents there he has children to put in the orphanage.
As we work here we have a few basic needs. With all the expenses for our van and truck, it is becoming a real challenge to keep up financially. These vehicles are being used daily in our ministry and the roads are becoming a true challenge for the vehicles. Some of our roads are asphalt, some dirt, and the rest are holes with a little road around them. So you can see as the rain continues the roads become worse. The repair bills keep mounting ---however the ministry goes on. Pray with us for our vehicles and transportation needs. One of the greatest is a bus. Please pray that we would receive offerings sufficient to buy one. As you can imagine with the increase in members we need a bus to bring all of them to Church and have run out of room for Sunday School classes. We are in dire need of building more rooms in which to have Sunday school.. So pray for this need also.
Another AWESOME blessing I've been having is on Friday nights a "Servants Class" for 5 men. I have used all the qualifications and references for deacons as a basis for this class. They as well as I are receiving a great blessing from this class. I hoe to complete this class this week or next. This will possibly open the door for some of these men to serve as deacons in the future.
Well it seems all I have been doing in this letter is telling of our needs and prayer requests, permit me to put one more in front of you all, our son-in-law and daughter are looking at another place to serve the Lord and Savior. Pray for Walmir and Mary as they are considering where the Lord wants them to serve. Also pray for Mary as her dew date for our third granddaughter Ashley is at the end of March. I am going to be a grand pa again for the 3rd time. What an AWESOME blessing.
As I close this letter I ask that you keep praying as that is what keeps us going spiritually and keep giving as that is what keeps us going financially. Also think of coming down as that is what keeps us going emotionally.
Just remember that we can add some water to the beans and throw a few more grains of rice in the pot so a few more people at the table is not a problem. Hope to see you here in Brasil soon.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
12 de janeiro de 2011
January 2011
Dear friends and family,
Happy New Year to all! Hope this letter finds everyone well and looking forward to an AWESOME new year. From what I hear a lot of you are suffering from freezing weather with snow. This may be a good time to leave your cold place and come on down to the heat of the tropics. A mission trip at this time of the year would get you out of that cold weather and put you into a warm climate where you can suffer for the Lord. Here we are suffering from the heat. But God is giving us some respite as almost every afternoon we get lots of rain. Today we will have to take everything out of the Church because yesterday it came a "chicken drowner" (probably about 5 inches of rain in about 5 hours) and it entered the Church. So we will have to do some extensive cleaning. As we sat on the front porch yesterday our street looked like a river. As we look at the changes in the weather--maybe God is telling us something.
The new work is going very well. We have had several services with over 100 people. The Lord is really blessing. We had a special Christmas program with and for the children and it was a success. Many visitors came and now we have the opportunity to visit them and take the gospel to their homes. Also our New Year service was attended by over 40 families that are members and several visitors. We praised the Lord and sang the new year in and then eat to our hearts content.
We are looking at many projects here on the Church property and also on the Vocational property. We are just waiting for the visitors to come and help us. What are your plans for vacation this upcoming year? Could you come on down and help us?
As usual our vehicles are undergoing weekly trips to the mechanic. Our roads are one big hole after the other and this does bad things to the vesicles. Our bigger expense right now is the insurance for these vehicles. We will have 4 to 6 months of payments to pay for the insurance. It is not like there in the States, you cannot make payments over the year. Here you have to either pay in one payment or they give you 4 or 6 months to pay. We have thought about letting it drop but here because we transport church people we have to have insurance. So between the holes in the roads and the insurance it is almost cost prohibitive to have a vehicle. I now understand why most Brasilians ride a bike or walk.
Barbara and I would like to thank each and every one of you who have brought or sent clothes to us here in Brasil. We do several things with the clothes, here is the process, we call each of the members to the house and open the boxes and say "cloth your family". Then when everyone has been clothed we are having a sale of the clothes for the neighborhood. In November we sold enough clothes to buy a new stove for the kitchen at the church. And this month we had another sale and we have enough money to pay half of the price for a new refrigerator. It is such a blessing to first see the church members leaving the house with sacks of clothes knowing that they would not have been able to have bought these clothes but they are receiving them for free. It is such a joy to see someone else using clothing that did not fit you anymore knowing that they are being put to good use. Come down and see if you can recognize something that you have left here in Brasil or have sent by someone else. Again thanks for your generosity.
I have been preparing for a series of classes with the men at Church. In these classes I am going to be teaching service, getting the men ready to serve. Our men have begun to meet monthly and the group is growing wonderfully. Yesterday's group had 14 men present. In the classes that I will be teaching I am including a wide range of subjects and the men are becoming excited about the class. Included will be evangelism, discipleship and deacon training. Please pray for us as we prepare for and start these classes.
Construction right now is at a standstill because we are out of money to do construction. But we are using the time in another area. We are having more time to make visits and other training of the church members.
The house Church is going very well. We average 20-25 on Tuesday nights. We also have a children's club there on the last Saturday of the month. This is good as you reach the parents through the children. From this neighborhood I have been working with 3 boys At the Vocational School. They are showing much progress. The other young man that is doing his training at the key shop is coming along real well. The owner who is training him says that he is a good student.
It seems like every month we have not accomplished nothing but when we begin to write it down we see that God is accomplishing many things through us. Continue to pray for us here in Brasil as we pray for you there in the States.
And Barbara and I would like to say again how grateful we are that people like you send people like us to tell the world about Jesus. Come down and see what your help is doing here in Brasil. The beans are on the stove and the table is set.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Happy New Year to all! Hope this letter finds everyone well and looking forward to an AWESOME new year. From what I hear a lot of you are suffering from freezing weather with snow. This may be a good time to leave your cold place and come on down to the heat of the tropics. A mission trip at this time of the year would get you out of that cold weather and put you into a warm climate where you can suffer for the Lord. Here we are suffering from the heat. But God is giving us some respite as almost every afternoon we get lots of rain. Today we will have to take everything out of the Church because yesterday it came a "chicken drowner" (probably about 5 inches of rain in about 5 hours) and it entered the Church. So we will have to do some extensive cleaning. As we sat on the front porch yesterday our street looked like a river. As we look at the changes in the weather--maybe God is telling us something.
The new work is going very well. We have had several services with over 100 people. The Lord is really blessing. We had a special Christmas program with and for the children and it was a success. Many visitors came and now we have the opportunity to visit them and take the gospel to their homes. Also our New Year service was attended by over 40 families that are members and several visitors. We praised the Lord and sang the new year in and then eat to our hearts content.
We are looking at many projects here on the Church property and also on the Vocational property. We are just waiting for the visitors to come and help us. What are your plans for vacation this upcoming year? Could you come on down and help us?
As usual our vehicles are undergoing weekly trips to the mechanic. Our roads are one big hole after the other and this does bad things to the vesicles. Our bigger expense right now is the insurance for these vehicles. We will have 4 to 6 months of payments to pay for the insurance. It is not like there in the States, you cannot make payments over the year. Here you have to either pay in one payment or they give you 4 or 6 months to pay. We have thought about letting it drop but here because we transport church people we have to have insurance. So between the holes in the roads and the insurance it is almost cost prohibitive to have a vehicle. I now understand why most Brasilians ride a bike or walk.
Barbara and I would like to thank each and every one of you who have brought or sent clothes to us here in Brasil. We do several things with the clothes, here is the process, we call each of the members to the house and open the boxes and say "cloth your family". Then when everyone has been clothed we are having a sale of the clothes for the neighborhood. In November we sold enough clothes to buy a new stove for the kitchen at the church. And this month we had another sale and we have enough money to pay half of the price for a new refrigerator. It is such a blessing to first see the church members leaving the house with sacks of clothes knowing that they would not have been able to have bought these clothes but they are receiving them for free. It is such a joy to see someone else using clothing that did not fit you anymore knowing that they are being put to good use. Come down and see if you can recognize something that you have left here in Brasil or have sent by someone else. Again thanks for your generosity.
I have been preparing for a series of classes with the men at Church. In these classes I am going to be teaching service, getting the men ready to serve. Our men have begun to meet monthly and the group is growing wonderfully. Yesterday's group had 14 men present. In the classes that I will be teaching I am including a wide range of subjects and the men are becoming excited about the class. Included will be evangelism, discipleship and deacon training. Please pray for us as we prepare for and start these classes.
Construction right now is at a standstill because we are out of money to do construction. But we are using the time in another area. We are having more time to make visits and other training of the church members.
The house Church is going very well. We average 20-25 on Tuesday nights. We also have a children's club there on the last Saturday of the month. This is good as you reach the parents through the children. From this neighborhood I have been working with 3 boys At the Vocational School. They are showing much progress. The other young man that is doing his training at the key shop is coming along real well. The owner who is training him says that he is a good student.
It seems like every month we have not accomplished nothing but when we begin to write it down we see that God is accomplishing many things through us. Continue to pray for us here in Brasil as we pray for you there in the States.
And Barbara and I would like to say again how grateful we are that people like you send people like us to tell the world about Jesus. Come down and see what your help is doing here in Brasil. The beans are on the stove and the table is set.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
13 de dezembro de 2010
It's December - Newsletter
Dear friends,
Somehow it just does not seem as though it is time for the Christmas season, but it is here and I'm going to just have to go along. At home in the States I hear that it is COLD. Here it is in the 90's and the air is heavy. We have been having rain so with a lot of help --maybe I can see the rain as snow and get into the spirit. Have an AWESOME Christmas season.
This month has just flown by. Barb and I have been taking a "Bible Counseling " course in São Paulo.It has been a year long course and will be well used as the course was totally based on biblical principles for counseling. It was intense but we received our certificate of accomplishment this past Saturday.
Church is going very well with lots of work, both physical and spiritual to be done. We have had several teenagers accept Christ as personal savior---AWESOME. With this we have lots of work to do. That´s what it is all about. Construction is going at a slow pace at Church. Mostly because we have lots of projects that needs to be accomplished but don´t have the financial resources to accomplish them.
Sometimes the needs have to be prioritized ie; we need Sunday School chairs and tables. And these could double in use for breakfast for the children on Sunday morning. We need 12 tables and 50 chairs.We also need 4-6 more Sunday School rooms. We have 3 rooms and the rest of us are sitting outside. This so far has not been a problem even though we have been having lots of rain.
Speaking of rain, tonight during the service it came a "chicken drowner". The noise was so loud we could hardly hear the message. This is because the roof is tin and we need a suspended ceiling which would give some insulation for the sound and also for the heat. This morning service was heal in somewhere around 90 degrees temperature on the outside and on the inside also.(pix included notice everyone fanning). This is just another one of the needs we have for the Church building.
We also need some flannel grafts for the Sunday school teachers. You know what it is like starting from scratch you don´t have anything so you just improvise until you can get the necessary things for you to use. We know that we are on the winning side because with our Lord on our side we cannot fail.
With our Church being in the beginning faze we are being Awesomely blessed. Please pray for us, all the workers and the new members. Your prayers are our key to a successful new Church plant.
If you get tired of the snow and cold, just know that you have an open invitation to come on down and sweat with us. Your bed is turned down and there is a mint on the pillow.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
Somehow it just does not seem as though it is time for the Christmas season, but it is here and I'm going to just have to go along. At home in the States I hear that it is COLD. Here it is in the 90's and the air is heavy. We have been having rain so with a lot of help --maybe I can see the rain as snow and get into the spirit. Have an AWESOME Christmas season.
This month has just flown by. Barb and I have been taking a "Bible Counseling " course in São Paulo.It has been a year long course and will be well used as the course was totally based on biblical principles for counseling. It was intense but we received our certificate of accomplishment this past Saturday.
Church is going very well with lots of work, both physical and spiritual to be done. We have had several teenagers accept Christ as personal savior---AWESOME. With this we have lots of work to do. That´s what it is all about. Construction is going at a slow pace at Church. Mostly because we have lots of projects that needs to be accomplished but don´t have the financial resources to accomplish them.
Sometimes the needs have to be prioritized ie; we need Sunday School chairs and tables. And these could double in use for breakfast for the children on Sunday morning. We need 12 tables and 50 chairs.We also need 4-6 more Sunday School rooms. We have 3 rooms and the rest of us are sitting outside. This so far has not been a problem even though we have been having lots of rain.
Speaking of rain, tonight during the service it came a "chicken drowner". The noise was so loud we could hardly hear the message. This is because the roof is tin and we need a suspended ceiling which would give some insulation for the sound and also for the heat. This morning service was heal in somewhere around 90 degrees temperature on the outside and on the inside also.(pix included notice everyone fanning). This is just another one of the needs we have for the Church building.
We also need some flannel grafts for the Sunday school teachers. You know what it is like starting from scratch you don´t have anything so you just improvise until you can get the necessary things for you to use. We know that we are on the winning side because with our Lord on our side we cannot fail.
With our Church being in the beginning faze we are being Awesomely blessed. Please pray for us, all the workers and the new members. Your prayers are our key to a successful new Church plant.
If you get tired of the snow and cold, just know that you have an open invitation to come on down and sweat with us. Your bed is turned down and there is a mint on the pillow.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
24 de novembro de 2010
Hello Friends,
And the work goes on.......! What on AWESOME God we have. It is just great how things come together. With our new work it seems there is a never ending list of "things-to-do". But it's a wonderful problem to have. We have just about got the interior of our building inhabitable and having the appearance of a Church. We have completed the pulpit and painted the walls, tiled the floor, arranged a sound-control area, put our name on the front of the building, we are fixing a kitchen,and next week we will install our permanent entrance doors. And along with all this you can imagine the mess that goes with "on-going" construction and renovation. Hey, I'm not complaining, I'm rejoicing! Continue to pray with us as the new work progresses.
We have already had our second baptism and are planning a date for our next one. How blessed we have been with growth. We are averaging in the high 70 and low 80. We are praying about buying more chairs s we only have 100 and have space for over 200.
You know I just love bragging on the Lord and how He works in our lives and the life of our Church. Not only is all this work going on in the Church building but we have started a house Church on Tuesday nights. This work is going AWESOMELY. We have met in this neighborhood for 4 weeks and have had in attendance the first week 20+ second week 20+ third week 44 and fourth week 31. And just this past week we started a children's bible study on Saturday afternoon we had around 25 in attendance. It is just great to see the children's interest in learning more about the Bible and hearing Gods word. During the week we have discipleship two nights in our home. Also other members are doing the same in their homes.
I've been talking a lot about the new work but lets not forget our training school. I have been working with 4 young men (boys) in the school.We are doing some woodworking and working in the key shop.The boys working with wood are anxious to have class every day but I can only have class two days per week. The locksmith training is every day of the week for half the day.Lots of young boys here are interested in learning a trade and we are able to make a difference in a few young lives. One of our four boys just was suspended from our school because of behavioral problems in regular school. Not only are we teaching life skills but they are learning other things such as attitudes, Church attendance, to have good grades at regular school, respect for others and other disciplines. These young men need to be a productive member at Church at home and in the community. I am working with two of the young men and they are really opening up about their lives and family problems.
With all of this going on what are some of our more urgent prayer request? First off we need a bus!!! Here a good used bus runs about $30,000 dollars. Also we are holding Sunday School classes outside and this means that we need more class rooms. We are trying to keep all of this in prospective as this building is rented. We need property for our future so we can build our own Church building. And as we are looking to that end we have been looking for lots. We have had a petroleum company move into our town so that means that prices have gone up on many things but not the salaries of our people. But that means that the price of land has sky rocketed. So you can see that purchasing land is a dream (a great prayer request) but nothing is impossible for our God.
Well I will hush for now but will just say "U-all come"! Come on dawn and see and experience a new work start, see the love and excitement and how the Lord is working in such an AWESOME manner. Continue to pray for us.And THANKS for your financial support and prayers. Without your help this work would not have this success.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
And the work goes on.......! What on AWESOME God we have. It is just great how things come together. With our new work it seems there is a never ending list of "things-to-do". But it's a wonderful problem to have. We have just about got the interior of our building inhabitable and having the appearance of a Church. We have completed the pulpit and painted the walls, tiled the floor, arranged a sound-control area, put our name on the front of the building, we are fixing a kitchen,and next week we will install our permanent entrance doors. And along with all this you can imagine the mess that goes with "on-going" construction and renovation. Hey, I'm not complaining, I'm rejoicing! Continue to pray with us as the new work progresses.
We have already had our second baptism and are planning a date for our next one. How blessed we have been with growth. We are averaging in the high 70 and low 80. We are praying about buying more chairs s we only have 100 and have space for over 200.
You know I just love bragging on the Lord and how He works in our lives and the life of our Church. Not only is all this work going on in the Church building but we have started a house Church on Tuesday nights. This work is going AWESOMELY. We have met in this neighborhood for 4 weeks and have had in attendance the first week 20+ second week 20+ third week 44 and fourth week 31. And just this past week we started a children's bible study on Saturday afternoon we had around 25 in attendance. It is just great to see the children's interest in learning more about the Bible and hearing Gods word. During the week we have discipleship two nights in our home. Also other members are doing the same in their homes.
I've been talking a lot about the new work but lets not forget our training school. I have been working with 4 young men (boys) in the school.We are doing some woodworking and working in the key shop.The boys working with wood are anxious to have class every day but I can only have class two days per week. The locksmith training is every day of the week for half the day.Lots of young boys here are interested in learning a trade and we are able to make a difference in a few young lives. One of our four boys just was suspended from our school because of behavioral problems in regular school. Not only are we teaching life skills but they are learning other things such as attitudes, Church attendance, to have good grades at regular school, respect for others and other disciplines. These young men need to be a productive member at Church at home and in the community. I am working with two of the young men and they are really opening up about their lives and family problems.
With all of this going on what are some of our more urgent prayer request? First off we need a bus!!! Here a good used bus runs about $30,000 dollars. Also we are holding Sunday School classes outside and this means that we need more class rooms. We are trying to keep all of this in prospective as this building is rented. We need property for our future so we can build our own Church building. And as we are looking to that end we have been looking for lots. We have had a petroleum company move into our town so that means that prices have gone up on many things but not the salaries of our people. But that means that the price of land has sky rocketed. So you can see that purchasing land is a dream (a great prayer request) but nothing is impossible for our God.
Well I will hush for now but will just say "U-all come"! Come on dawn and see and experience a new work start, see the love and excitement and how the Lord is working in such an AWESOME manner. Continue to pray for us.And THANKS for your financial support and prayers. Without your help this work would not have this success.
In His service,
Aj and Barbara
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