July 2009 Birthdays, Beginnings, and Blessings

We are preparing for the next semester of the School of the Bible by passing out fliers and inviting people who stop by. Previous students are also called and reinvited, as well as any contacts we have made since the first semester. Please pray for all these efforts to be fruitful.

The first blessing of the month was the arrival of Marlene on the 3rd. She came for four weeks, and was truly refreshing as she helped us out, reconnected with the kids, and experienced Brazil. She even was brave enough to ride with me on the bike to one of our church activities.

The activity was a dinner for the congregation at Adenira's house in Boquerao. We sang, had a short devo, and shared wonderful Strogonoff, made the Brazilian way, of course. Adenira later offered her home for the cell group that now meets there on Wednesdays.
Francisco presenting the grace of God found in Jesus Christ

One of our new regular visitors, Ligia, came to that event and has been a regular attender ever since. She is participatin with the ladies in thier weekly studies, and is very encouraged. Please keep her in your prayers. The kids also had a blast. Dessert was fresh fruit and chocolate fondue!

Marlene and Ligia

Debora, Thaisa, and Isabele

Diego, Stephanie, and Lucas

From Left to right: Silvio (studies with Francisco and attends our new cell), Chris, Ariane (Jorge's oldest daughter), and Gilda, Sebastian's wife

Ariane wasn't feeling well, but still hit it off with Marlene very well.

Manoel and his birthday cake

Manoel, who drove us to Santos when our car was in the shop, and drove a bunch of youth around as well during the campaign from Itu, celebrated his birthday this month and Alley thought it was fitting to make a cake in his honor.

Marlene and Silvana, from Sao Vicente

Florinda put Psalm 84 to music and sang it to me during the birthday party

The rodrigues family is already fully active with us in Praia Grande. They have invited the above young couple, Fannie and Wellington Freitas, to church, cell group, and a Bible study. Please keep them in your prayers.

The whole family at the cutting of the cakes

Birthdays in Brazil are considered much more important events than they are in the US. If you don't call a friend or family member, on the exact day of his birth, it is a serious oversight and is considered very rude (they don't remind you in advance, either). We had the pleasure of hosting almost the whole congregation for Jonathan and Stephanie's joint birthday party, and it was a wonderful time of family and ministry together.

Alessandra gives a dynamic class the next sunday

Maria Eduarda and Isabele in class

The group is growing!

It was a blessing to finally find a host for our second cell group in Boquerao. Please keep this group in prayer, as it has the possibility of reaching a number of people for Christ. Please pray for potential members and visitors, as well as the members: Marcia and Valdivino, Silvio, Adenira, Eduardo, Caio and Sabrina, and others whom the Lord will call.

Silvio and Adenira after the cell group in her home.

Valdivino and Maria Eduarda, after a study in thier home.

Sebastian Rodrigues after the cell group in Mirim in the home of Carlos and Adriana

We thank God for your many prayers for Jonathan's surgery. It went very well, took only about 25 minutes, and he recovered almost instantly. Thanks for keeping us before the Lord in what, for a parent, is truly a tense moment.

Brazil has a very spiritually aware culture. This is very good, but it also a culture that is very suggestible (is that a word?). Combine those elements and you will see how that can make preaching the gospel a challenge. Praia Grande is the center for the worship of two separate pagan ocean deities. One is a male native american deity, the other Iemanja, in Candomble, the mother of most of the other Orixas (Candomble is a blend of Brazilian and African animism with spells, incantations, and blood rituals, and posessions, much like Voodoo). Besides Candomble, there are several other branches of spiritist worship entrenched here: Macumba, Umbanda, and Kardecism. There is much spiritual awareness, but much suggestibility, resulting in odd mixtures of belief and superstition, combining Spiritism, animism, Catholicism, evangelical christianity, and even Buddhist and Hindu religions. St. Sebastian, patron saint of Rio de Janeiro, one block from our building

One practice that we see a lot here is the leaving of a ceramic bowl with an offering of rice and beans, other foods, a candle, and a bottle of rum or Cachaça, by the side of the road or at an important intersection. These are offerings to saints, or spells, in order for the person who left it to get what it is he or she is looking for. Just a block down from the church building there is a shop that sells a number of images of saints, incense, oils, and a number of ingredients for spells as well as candles and other items used by a wide variety of different religions.

Translation: REFICUL, Rituals and Magic for love

(let the reader understand that the name is to be read backwards)

As shocking as this seems, it is even more shocking to me to see the different religions coexist in the shop, as well as people's minds. Please pray for us as we shine the light of Jesus Christ here in Praia grande, that we might have courage and love to speak the truth continually so that the superiority of Christ will be plainly seen. His in the only name given, by which we can be saved.