News about the work in Praia Grande

October-February, transition, transition, transition

2011-02-23T18:57:00.029-03:00

Without doubt, the last five months have been the most chaotic and stressful in all my life. I hope you will forgive me for failing to keep in touch as we prepared for the move. It is not because I didn't want to; its just because things were so crazy that I simply couldn't sit down and write. However, now I can.

First of all, we are all OK. We are renting my late Grandfather Cecil's house from my parents, which is a true blessing. Not having to worry about a place to live first thing really helped us settle in. We are very thankful for that. We took three weeks to unpack and rest, and to begin checking things out. I (Chris) have been working at Southwest, our sponsoring congregation. They have agreed to support us for one month here for each year we served, so until October. My first task is to write a summary of our work for the last ten years and what we learned from it. Southwest has been a fantastic support to us while we make the transition to a new career. I am working on my MBA, with a concentration in Human Resources, and looking for a new job in HR somewhere in the Northwest. I know recent hard times have made everyone reevaluate their giving, but I ask any of you that can continue to support us through the transition to please consider doing so. This will ease the burden of the church here that is watching over us as we make the transition and help them not to have to use finds that could go to the field.
Jonathan began Kindergarten last week. Stephanie participates in Southwests' preschool two days a week. Alessandra is busy learning a new culture, preparing to get a degree in Psychology or Communications, and handling many of the loose ends we left in Brazil like the selling of our things and the house. All in all, we are recovering from the stress of the last few months (and years) and getting settled fairly well. Shopping is still quite difficult because of so many choices. Many times, we get stuck browsing in an aisle in the supermarket, finding many things we had looked for in Brazil and were unable to find. One time I got so distracted I just walked out of the store without anything. One big loose en din Brazil is our home. Please pray for it to sell, which will enable us to truly settle here.
I would like to fill you all in on some of the details of the last months and the current Church situation in Praia Grande.

On the 9th of October, Vera was baptized. Vera is Adriana's mom, and grandmother to Isabele and Leticia Guerrero. Vera had been catholic for a long time, but after studying first with her family, and then with Francisco, and visiting our congregation steadily for the last three years, she decided to obey the gospel. She was baptized in the ocean on a rainy and windy day, and all her family served as witnesses to her confession of Christ.

Vera's daughter, Adriana, is married to Carlos Guerrero. They were in our prayers a lot while we were in Brazil. You may remember Carlos was out of work for over six months. He did finally get a good job, and has even been promoted since he began to work. Since then, they have been trying to have a third child. Adriana found out she was pregnant only 1 week before we left, and was very excited about it! We just learned that there are some significant complications with her pregnancy due to high blood pressure. She may have to be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. We ask for your prayers for her and a safe delivery of their new baby.

Adriana and Alex celebrate as their mom becomes their spiritual sister

As soon as the weather permitted we began to work on the house to get it ready to sell. I prepped the yard for turf, got the "for sale" sign made, and prepped the house for painting as well. Several walls had been broken to install our new wiring, and they had to be smoothed over before painting with something about like mud. There was a lot of sanding involved. Francisco helped a lot, working several days on the outside of the house while I prepped the inside. My mom also scheduled a trip to see us in order to help us with the house.

While she was here we all worked non-stop to get things done. In the end, we didn't
get everything done that I wanted to, but the house looked much nicer. The inside was completely repaired and repainted, including replacing some of the tiles on the bathroom wall. The outside also looked nice for the first time. Thanks, Mom and Francisco, for all the help.

Florinda, the second person that was baptized in Praia Grande, recently moved from her old house to a new place much closer to Francisco and Liduina's home. She had been wanting to move to a new home for years, but when Liduina challenged her to really ask God for what was on her heart, she began to ask for a two-bedroom house with a kitchen and some other things. After just a few weeks of turning this desire over to God in prayer, it happened. A builder offered to trade houses with her. He even helped her pay for the move, and so for basically nothing, she got the place she had been asking for, down to the specifics. She was so encouraged, and so impressed that God would care about the little things in her heart. She now is helping Liduina weekly with the children's class. Her quiet spirit and patience bless that group of vibrant children, and her willingness to serve strengthens the body. She truly loves to serve the Lord who saved her, and gave her her house.

The kids class remains impressive. We had between 12 and 24 in the little room, but thanks to Alley and Liduina's perseverance, Florinda and Adriana's patience, and the older helpers' preparation, the classes run pretty smoothly. Some of these kids are practically raised on the street, and can be pretty rambunctious. However, they need the Lord, and they need to be mentored by Christian men and women. This crowded kids class is one of the biggest long-term opportunities for the church to have an impact in the neighborhood. Please keep the teachers and kids constantly in your prayers.

Continent of Great Cities provides missionary care in most of South America, and in October Alley had the opportunity to attend their "Continent Care Connection," or CCC for women, which was very near to us on the coast. This free service to missionary women is a rich experience, led by leading professionals in missionary care--psychologists, counselors, former missionaries, and inspirational speakers. We are so grateful to CGC for providing this service. It has helped both of us as missionaries, and especially helped Alley prepare for the move. Thank you all for your service to missionary families In South America!

As part of our reentry, we saw Christian Psychologist Leonora Temple. Leonora fast became our friend as she helped us through some issues ranging from the assault three years ago in our home to reentry and what we might expect to find (or not) as we moved back to the US. We are thankful to her for her help, and to Southwest for encouraging us to take the time to get help before the move.

Alley's visa process finally ended after several months of waiting. The consulate in Rio asked us to provide a background check from Argentina since we had lived there several years. However, it took 3 months to get the documents from Argentina and have them translated. Once the Consulate received them, Alley's permanent visa and passports arrived in about two weeks. What we had been waiting on had finally arrived, and we began to scurry looking for good airfares. Our return had become a reality.

In Brazil, the "Sweet 16" birthday happens at 15, and parties for 15-year-olds usually resemble a wedding more than a birthday party. In December, Ariane, Jorge's oldest daughter, turned 15 but was planning not to have a party since they had no money. Jorge asked Alley if she would make a cake for her, so the whole church got involved to give her as nice a 15th birthday as we could. Alley made a butterfly cake (which was delicious). Ariane invited her boyfriend and extended family to worship, and afterward we all celebrated with her. She wept tears of joy and gratitude. We were able to

make a deep impact on her and her family, who still struggle with many questions after her mother abandoned them.

Jorge praying for Ariane at her 15th birthday party

One of the visitors we have reached out to is Fanny. Fanny is a neighbor of Adauto and Jane, members of the Sao Vicente congregation. She has a little boy and was expecting their second. She came to Alley to ask about a baby shower. Alley and Liduina put together a great baby shower, including games and food. It was such a success (and different from Brazilian showers!) that Fanny has now been coming to worship. She is hungry to grow in her faith, and excited to talk about it with anyone.

In a small congregation there are many opportunities to serve. Praia Grande is no different. Here are some pictures and videos of our worship:

Francisco leading "Create in me a pure heart, O God" and Carlos leading the Lord's Supper

Jorge prays for the offering; "With Christ as my Vessel" in Portuguese!

The congregation averages about 20 adults on Sundays (plus the 12-24 kids).

Cida and Marcia; congregational singing

Lucas helps pass the Lord's Supper Francisco always helps visitors find verses

Francisco preaching in his usual fiery way

Many Brazilians move across the nation as they seek work. Sometimes they lose contact with their families. Through social media, there is a growing trend in Brazil of finding lost family members and being reunited--they even have a reality show in Brazil to help families find each other. Francisco, in fact, hadn't seen his mother Dulce for almost thirty years. She lived in another state, and moved after they had lost contact. Recently, Alley made contact through Facebook with one of her cousins, and were able to find out where she and Francisco's brothers are now living. Alley wanted to meet her grandmother for the first time before we left Brazil, so she and Francisco made a quick trip to Recife to catch up.

Alley, Dulce, and Francisco

Together after 30 years

After almost 4 years working in Brazil, the day came to pass on the work: January 26, 2011. We had a wonderful experience working with this wonderful and beautiful people. We had the opportunity to teach and to learn a lot through the years. After saying goodbye to Argentines in 2007, it was very hard to say goodbye again to our Brazilian church family. But the work is continuing without us. We believe that God's plans are superior to ours, and we know that God is in control and helping the work in Praia Grande. Francisco and Liduina, together with all the members in Praia Grande, are taking this responsibility very seriously. We all know the mission doesn't belong to us, but to our creator. We are very happy that God gave us the opportunity to spread the seed of the gospel on the hearts of Brazilians and our prayer, daily, is that the seed grows and produces many fruits for the glory of our Savior. We miss our Brazilian sisters and brothers in Christ, but we are at peace knowing a lot of good news will come in the future, and one more time, God will have the victory.
We want to say thanks to each one of you that supported us through our 10 years of mission work in Argentina and Brazil, supporting us emotionally, spiritually and financially. You were on the mission field with us each time someone got baptized, or when someone came back to the Lord to reconcile after years walking in the darkness, and when our hearts were sad and feeling hopeless. Through your prayers, we made it through hard times, and you WERE there, rejoicing in moments of joy. We want to say thanks from the bottom of our hearts for your mission spirit and love for the lost.
Our new journey has started in United States. We won't be full-time missionaries any more, but our hearts still live for the mission to spread the gospel, no matter where we are. We are very thankful to our God for loving us and caring for us each day through this transition. We hope we will have the chance to remain in contact with you. We love you very much. May God bless you every day, and continue giving to us all the strength to continue being His ambassadors, because every thing we do is for the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In Christ
The Kelley Family

September

2010-09-09T18:24:00.009-03:00

In September, Alley began to train some of the older children to work as assistants in the children's class. We have had up to 23 kids at the same time in our little classroom since we moved in, which is a great challenge. The older kids have really stepped up to help, and take pride in wearing their name tags and getting supplies for the younger ones. These children are one of the most important ministries of the congregation, and a tremendous opportunity to teach about God's love. In a neighborhood characterized by adolescent drug use and the crime that accompanies it, the church is their only chance to see a different future for themselves.

Each assistant received a diploma and was recognized before the congregation after Alley's training session
The older assistants teaching the younger kids

Alley and I were required to travel to Rio de Janeiro to submit her application to the consulate for her US resident visa. While we were there we spent an afternoon walking around the city near the consulate, and enjoyed it immensely. Rio was the capital of the Portuguese empire during the Napoleonic wars, when the royal house of Portugal came to the new world. It is about 400 years old, and contains many historical buildings as well as the national library. Alley was thrilled to see this part of her history. Later, her visa and passport arrived by mail.

We were blessed with an invitation by the Gibbs, who are currently working in Itu, to come to their home so they could review some materials on culture shock and reverse culture shock with us. We had a wonderful visit with these dedicated servants, and we were encouraged and uplifted as they helped prepare us for what lies ahead in our transition back to the US. Thanks, Bryan and Becky, for your hard work and dedication to serving those who belong to the Lord!

August, Paul and Julie Hinds visit us

2010-07-26T19:22:00.013-03:00

The Hinds, Liras, and Barrosos in our home

Julie took Liduina's trike out for a spin

Last month we were blessed by the visit of Paul and Julie Hinds. Paul currently serves as an Elder at Southwest, and as chair of their missions committee. We met with them as a couple, as a team, and I also translated for the Liras as the four of them met together as well. We had a busy week, but we were so uplifted by their loving spirits and encouraging words that we were very sad to see it end.

Talking about numbers in the Lira's kitchen

Preparing for Sunday's activities

Paul giving the special morning class on Sunday

Carlos, one of our members, passes out Bibles as class begins

Jorge leading the congregation in the Lord's Supper on Sunday

That Sunday we had to special classes before worship. Paul taught the first class, centered around what the congregation could expect as we leave Brazil, and also what we can expect as we move to the US. Julie and the ladies shared the second class time and talked about having a purpose and being beautiful to God, which was wonderful for the ladies and visitors. The guys took advantage of the break to rest up (in other words, catch one of the FIFA World Cup finals games). In worship we had 31 adults and 12 kids, including several first-time visitors.

Julie's presence was a special treat for the women of the congregation

The Ladies' class

We didn't let Paul and Julie leave without going to the beach. Although it was our winter, the weather cooperated and they enjoyed a nice 75-degree day in the sun.

Since their visit, attendance has stayed fairly stable, with about 25 adults and 10-14 kids every Sunday. The little kids' classroom is bursting at the seams with 14 kids, and we ask for your prayers for God to prepare helpers and teachers so that this class can go smoothly until He provides a larger facility. These kids also are bringing their parents. One woman, Regina, who has become a regular visitor full of questions and excitement has ten children, and her oldest daughter Vanessa has now visited with her 5 children. These opportunities are wonderful. In some cases the kids and the parents are very needy, especially of the unconditional love that God gives. But we pray that the church will grow as it church heals and loves on these people.

Vanessa and her five children

The attic/Francisco's study

Our newly-organized kids' class

The kitchen and attic stairs

Alley, Julie, and the recently-purchased Bibles

Some of the Bibles purchased with a donation from Southwest's VBS

The kids' class attendance list (it has since been expanded)

Julie was a fantastic resource for Alley and Liduina as well as an encourager!

We are proud of our little kitchen!

Chris, Francisco, and Manoel outside the new building, with the Lira's new car

As we prepare to leave, the church has begun to adjust to our departure as well. We began a series of sermons through the book of Acts, a need Francisco and I saw for our newest members and visitors. I will be preaching less frequently in order to focus on leading singing and preparing new songs, as well as training Lucas to begin leading singing. Jorge has stepped up at every opportunity to help, as well as Carlos. Carlos preaches well, and has a very to-the-point, practical style. They both will be helping teach adult class while Francisco is traveling. Jorge also helps count the offering with Liduina. Adauto from Sao Vicente has been a great help as well with the Thursday study. I pray that our departure will be a natural cue for many members to become more involved in the body, and reap the benefits of growth that come from increased commitment.
Francisco and Liduina left last week for some much-needed vacation in the norteast part of Brazil. They will return at the beginning of September. We pray they will have a restful time with family and safe travels.

July activities

2010-07-01T13:38:00.007-03:00

The move from our old building to our new location. We really really like the new one better.
Francisco helping load the moving van... er, the moving VW van flatbed...
Jonas, one of my students from the School of the Bible, helped out all day.
Not much left now
The former kids classroom
The former kitchen/fellowship area

Our new place needed some renovation as well. Luckily, the bar came right out and all we had to do was paint the wall.
The cleaning crew was rewarded with a nice lunch made right in our new kitchen.

The other side of the classroom is our kitchen/staircase. It is cozy, but has worked wonders and is even a major evangelistic tool.
The new kids' classroom is cuter, better-organized, and yes, a little smaller.
The new kitchen is a real step up from the old one, which was outside and leaky. It is a little tight, but it is clean and has no leaks.
The first worship service in our new place was full of energy. We can sense that God is going to grow us and bless us as a church in this place, even though our hopes are that in a few years we can move again into a permanent facility. Keep that in your prayers!

The old financial officer (Chris) breaking in the new treasurer (Liduina). Working with numbers is a great gift when used in service to the kingdom. Accounting can be daunting to some, but is an absolute necessity to good stewardship. Liduina will serve as the treasurer after our return to the US, together with others in the congregation like Jorge, who already signs off with her after counting the offering. These details may seem insignificant, but they are milestones in planting a mature congregation, especially when starting from zero.
Our move has brought us 10 new kids every Sunday. Pray for them. They are high-energy, love Bible class, and are a fantastic opportunity for evangelism as well.
The Kids celebrated their birthdays in the church building this year (Jonathan turned 5, Stephanie 4). The event had over 50 people, including many new members from the neighborhood who helped in many ways. Showing the Church as a family is one of our biggest assets when we seek the lost in Praia Grande.

The above video is the baptism of one of the twins from Sao Vicente. They were both baptized on the same day, witnessed by the Praia Grande and Sao Vicente congregations, after many years of patience on the part of the Sao Vicente congregation. Praise God for this encouraging victory!

A June Filled with Answered Prayers

2010-06-07T13:08:00.009-03:00

First, let me thank all of you for your prayers. Many of our needs last month have been met by the Lord, in that special way he has to exceed what you asked for in such a way that only He can. Thank you for praying for us. The mission here has definitely been blessed because of your efforts on our behalf!

Smiles from Francisco, Liduina, Alessandra, and some visitors from Sao Vicente

At the beginning of May we held a Ladies' event, and 32 women participated. Afterwards, Geralda a 65-year old who has been visiting us, decided she wanted to be baptized, so they went to a nearby pool and she was immersed into Christ. She has 11 grandchildren and lives in the neighborhood of Jardim Anhanguera.

Some of our visitors at the Ladies event.

Francisco, and some of our members awaiting the baptism

Dona Geralda being baptized by Adauto Rodriguez

Our newest sister, Dona Geralda

Jardim Anhanguera is an interesting neighborhood, near the geographic center of Praia Grande. There is also a weekly study there with about 20 people, mostly visitors. Last month we had decided to begin looking for a new place to meet. The first day we went out to look, God led us to a nice little building on the main street of that neighborhood. Its rent was less than half of our old place, it was in good shape, safe, and has a constant stream of foot traffic in front because it is near one of the main supermarkets and fruit fairs of the neighborhood. Our new building on Fair day (behind the umbrella repairman's booth)

The entire street closes for the fair on Sunday mornings

The day after we saw it, Francisco and Liduina returned and signed a rental agreement. That Sunday we worshipped there, and have been moving things as we can into the new place. It is a wonderful location, ripe with opportunities for evangelism, and closer for our members and visitors as well.

Much of our efforts the last month have been to fix up and move to our new place. It didn't need much work, but some special attention helped to make it warm and comforting.

Jorge helping with the door

Cida, helped clean after the work was over

Francisco and Jorge fixing a leak

Liduina, adding a floral touch

Nearly ready for worship

The new kids' class

Worship in our new place. Thanks, Lord!

Vanessa, Alessandra, and Irani

The study in Jardim Anhanguera that has about 20 visitors has been a fantastic addition to the work here. They wanted to make it known that they want to be part of the Church of Christ, and are all very excited about our new building being so close to them. We praise God for these wonderful people, especially Dona Geralda, our newest sister.
I want to ask you to please keep Irani, a sister from Sao Vicente in prayer. Her picture above was taken shortly before her sister was shot to death in an assault near their home. Please pray for her. Her sister was a spiritist, as is the rest of her family, and she is trying to take every opportunity to share the gospel with them even in this hard time.
Please keep us in your prayers also, and we will keep you informed as the church continues to grow here.

May progress

2010-05-07T11:21:00.021-03:00

Dear supporters and mission-minded folks,

I know you are all excited to get caught up with the mission here. Several significant events have happened recently, and we ask for your prayers as the church pulls together to deal with them.

First, and maybe most importantly, Sylvio was baptized on the 19^th of April. Sylvio has been a regular visitor with us for over a year. He comes from a spiritist background and had truly never read the Bible until Francisco began to study with him last May. I also had the chance to study with he, Deni, and Eduardo in a small group in Deni’s home. I remember how full of questions he was. We were studying John chapter 1. It was the first time he had ever read John, and it was truly amazing to watch him realize who Jesus claimed to be. At times he was very frank, and even said, “I don’t believe it.” But last month, in front of the congregation and again at the beach, he confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and was baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Please keep this dear new brother in your prayers.

Sylvio confesses Jesus as Lord in Praia Grande

Our newest brother

One more added to the kingdom

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Francisco hasn’t wasted any time to take Sylvio under his wing. They are attending the group study in Parque Anhanguera on Thursdays at 3:00 pm. This study has from 15 to 20, mostly visitors. This last week Lucas led some of the songs, and it looks like he will begin to be the official song leader. Lucas was baptized just a few months ago. The study is in a different home each week, and they have set up a rotation and also help contribute with snacks. All the homes are very close together in the same neighborhood. Many from this study attended our worship on Sundays, and several continue to do so. More would come but they lack the money to take the bus, and right now there are a limited number of seats in the cars that go pick them up. Adriana makes an effort, as well as Adauto, to give rides each Sunday. Even with the financial difficulties, some of their children and grandchildren have also come to visit. We are very excited about these contacts, and we hope you will keep them in prayer.

Some of our members have struggled with health issues over the last months. Carlos, Adriana, and their daughters all caught Dengue fever (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever ), as did Eduardo. They are all better, but Dengue is pretty scary and is very common where we live. Please keep these families in your prayers. Those of you who know Carlos will remember that he was struggling to find a job for six months, but that God came through and he is now working for a home appliance and furniture store. He has already been promoted since starting there, praise God.

Our building here has begun to leak again. Our rental contract expires in August, and Francisco and I together with the men of the congregation have decided to look for a better option. We are looking in a new area, which will be closer to almost all our members as well as our visitors. I need to ask you to please pray for this need. We need a place that will be adequate for the church’s needs without costing any more than we are currently paying. A little less would be better, in order to free up some funds for more evangelistic efforts like special events and fliers. I know God can provide this, but everything we have seen so far has been very small and too cheap, or very nice and too expensive. Please pray that God will lead us to the right place, and bless the church’s growth through this new facility.

We'll miss you, Pedro

Many of you will remember Pedro Sobrinho, our first baptized member here in Praia Grande. Sadly, his wife passed away recently. Pedro was obviously hit very hard by this. He has now moved to Sao Paulo to be closer to their children. We miss him already. Please keep this dear brother in your prayers. He was the most encouraging and positive member we had, and always left you smiling with his bear hugs and sincere love. The good news is that he will be able to worship in Sao Paulo with the brothers at 9 de Julho, where he has family and friends.

Last Thursday I got a call in the evening from one of our neighbors, Edna. Her husband, Ray, and I had set up to study the Bible when they returned from the US. But when I answered the phone I knew something was wrong. She told me Ray had passed away, and begged me to please come to the burial and, “say some beautiful words for Ray.” Here in Brazil they don’t embalm, so when the body is released it is taken to a special room in the cemetery, or to a house, where the family and friends spend all night receiving guests and mourning (the wake). They don’t eat during this time. The next day they will take the deceased to the cemetery if they are not already there, and seal the casket in a concrete niche (not in the ground). I met the family at the cemetery after the wake, right before the burial, and tried to be comforting. The good news is that Ray had been baptized and many of the family were believers. He died hugging his wife, talking to her daughter on Skype. I sang Amazing Grace because she asked me to sing in English (Ray was an American). We then sealed him in his niche, the widow writing the epitaph (his name and birthday) with her own hand in the wet cement. I think Alley and I were able to encourage the family, for which I am glad, but the experience was also very difficult.

The less-glamorous side of living in another country

At least Stephanie helped..make a mess, that is

For the last two months, our washing machine has been broken. It broke down five days before the extended warranty expired, for which we are very grateful. After trying to find a new circuit board for it, the company who holds the warranty declared it totaled. They can’t find the parts they need to fix it, so they refunded the original purchase price. I felt like that was great progress, since Alley had been hand washing, and foot washing, and her wrists and back simply could not take any more. The money will be deposited in 15 days, but thanks to a loan from my parents we already got another machine. It is smaller, but is working very hard to deal with the backlog. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for helping us getting it up and running.

Thanks for the Bibles!

Once again God has shown his favor to us the in the form of a donation in order to buy Bibles. We were truly needing some, as the three break-ins left us with only about five in the building. I don’t know what the thieves did with them (I hope they read them), but they did steal about 20 Bibles total. We thank those of you who donated the Bible funds from the bottom of our hearts. We now have some great Bible to share with visitors, and even some large print ones for the older members (they love them). Thanks for your help in spreading the word.

Two months ago, Alley was coming home on a very rainy night in the Lira’s car with her sister Elizabete. A car had stopped on the freeway ramp, and though she slammed on the brakes, she wasn’t able to stop without hitting it. Fortunately, all was well, although it was quite a scare. However, the down side was that the Lira’s car was totaled. After running after all the documents necessary, the insurance company finally paid off the debt and deposited the rest of the money in Liduina’s account, two months after the accident. They are without a car again, which slows them and their work down significantly. Please pray for them, as they feel like they have taken a step backward in spite of so much effort.

Alley had two great opportunities in the last two months: a ladies’ event at the Metro congregation, and the Enocita event (National Meeting of Young Ladies). Florinda, Marcia, and Liduina participated from Praia Grande, and Jane Rodrigues from São Vicente also went. It was a fantastic time of encouragement for all, and the first time Florinda participated in a ladies event with so many women from the Chruch of Christ present.

The Ladies at Metro in Sao Paulo

Enocita is an event for single young ladies ages 13 and up from all the churches of Christ in the state of São Paulo. Alley took five girls: Ariane, Isabelle, and her friend Carla, from Praia Grande, and Monique and Talita from São Vicente. Alley was invited as a speaker, and delivered a fantastic presentation about the aroma you present before God, which was the theme for the weekend. Carla has visited with us several times since that event.

Alley and the girls

We are the aroma of Christ

To those that don’t already know, we have a burden to share with you. Alley and I have decided to return to the US. This was a heavy decision for us, and came after much prayer and consideration. There is no one reason behind this decision. I think it is just a natural outcome of our life stage, and having been far from my family for ten years now (since leaving for Abilene in 2000). We are working with Southwest to find the best way to make that transition, and so we ask all of you to please keep praying for us as we make our third international move. Please pray especially for Jonathan and Stephanie. We also ask you to pray for the church here. They are aware of our decision, but there is still apprehension about how it will affect the church and its members, our spiritual family here. Please pray for them to be strong, to grow, and to trust in the Lord through this transition. Please pray also for our teammates, Francisco and Liduina, who will continue the work of establishing the church here after we have returned. We ask you to pray for all of us as this is probably the most difficult move yet for us as missionaries. Until our return, we look forward to keeping you informed about the work here and how it progresses as God guides it, and provides for it.

Thank you for your prayers.

February

2010-03-18T19:05:00.008-03:00

February brings us back to our regular routine, almost. The kids started school again, the School of the Bible reopened with ten students, and the weather got hot. 90 degrees and 80% humidity was pretty normal for about three weeks, and needless to say, it was hot.

In February we were blessed again by a visitor from the US. Jeff Hicks came. He is Alley's sister's father-in-law, and preaches in Lynwood, Washington. The Christ's Heritage congregation helped support us in 2009, and also supported Francisco and Liduina, enabling them to buy their car. Thanks for the support in the work here!

Brazilian pizza in Jefferson and Priscila Lira's house to welcome Big Jeff

About 500 pounds of food for the needy in Praia Grande

One of the things Jeff came to do in Praia Grande was to deliver some food baskets to needy families. The church in Washington worked a car wash in freezing cold weather in order to raise money for this benevolent need, and the best part was that we got to help make them and deliver them!

The Friday study at Cida's house.

On eof the deliveries we made was to a Bible study on Fridays that meets in the house of one of our visitors whose name is Cida. These new visitors are studying with Francisco and Liduina every week and are very excited. 8 of the food baskets were delivered to the needy in this neighborhood.

Tears of gratitude tell how much they needed the help.

February also saw the beginning of an experiment. I began an English class every Friday night. Sebastian brought four visitors, and three of my School of the Bible students also came, as well as Isabelly and two members from Sao Vicente, Valdir and Marcos. The study is very basic but it is a great way to get members and visitors together to know each other better. I hope it will be one more link with our visitors that will eventually help them become more committed to the Lord.

Jeff practices saying "I am from..." with Isabelly and her friend on the first night of English class

There are moments of planting and moments of harvest in the work. Since God is in control, we never know when exactly they will come, but they do. In February Isabelly, who has studied with Alley for the last year nad also with Liduina, suddenly told us she wanted to be baptized on the 25th of February. We were more than happy to help her to exactly that. Her dad, Carlos, baptized her in the ocean after our small group that meets in their house. I helped because those waves can knock you over if you aren't prepared.

Isabelly's baptism

The witnesses and family

One happy dad!

Lucas told us the next week he was ready. Francisco asked him, "Who is Jesus to you?" Lucas said, "He's my savior." So after the Friday study, we took him down to the water and I baptized him. Big Jeff was happy to help, as the surf was pretty rough that afternoon.

A little nervous, but ready.

Lucas baptized into Jesus Christ in the Atlantic Ocean

We are grateful to all of you for your continued support of the work here. Please keep us in your prayers, these two new babes in Christ, the Friday study which is made up of 15 visitors, the School of the Bible which is studying the Old Testament, and all our members and visitors. We depend on you each day. Thanks for your ongoing spiritual and financial support.

December, January

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December and January are always very active months. This year was no exception! Every Christmas the church has a potluck dinner. This year was wonderful. The food was great, and we capped it off with Lime Mousse made by Edson, one of our regular visitors, as well as homemade ice cream, made by myself. It was Mango Lime ice cream, a real exotic treat!

Marcia and some of the congregation

Sebastian serves Cokes with flair

For a change of scenery, we invited the whole congregation and their relatives who were in town to our home for New Year's Eve to stay the night. This is a great blessing, because driving home on New Year's here is a terrible experience. Besides the number of drunk drivers, the traffic is so bad (with 2 million tourists at the coast) that it takes about two hours to go ten miles. So we hole up with the brethren and have a great, peaceful time.

Carlos and Adriana at our house

The guys at the barbecue: Jorge, Carlos, Chris, and Eduardo

The food and fellowship are unequalled

The kids ready for dessert: cake and homemade ice cream!

New Year's Day was also very interesting, as many church members and visiting family stayed over. Traffic was still very bad, so we just hung out and continued to enjoy each other. It did rain, however, and our roof began leaking on our TV. So I got to get on the roof and put my roof tile skills to the test. Fortunately I am getting the hang of roof tiles, and was able to stop the leak. I took a beating in the process, though.

January brought the delivery of Francisco and Liduina's car, which has been a huge help in their ministry. It is a little Renault Clio, and they have been able to about double the number of studies each week because of this blessing. Francisco's leg also hurts far less now. Thanks to all of you who helped with this tool, especially Christ's Heritage in Lynnwood. It is really making a difference for the kingdom here!

The new owners

Look out, world!

Another exciting episode was the termite infestation at the church building. Francisco discovered them nesting in his books, and ripped out all the siding that had been infested. Both our offices were affected. It looks OK now, but at the time it got pretty ugly.

What a mess!

They were in the roof as well.

After recovering from the termite invasion, we had another invasion. The church building was robbed for the third time, and we lost our crackers and juice for the Lord's Supper again, as well as two fans, a small radio, and the wooden door in back was smashed and had to be replaced. We are thankful nobody was hurt and that our loss wasn't too severe, although it is pretty discouraging. We feel sometimes like all we do to keep things working here gets knocked down and we spend a lot of energy putting it back together. But God has protected us faithfully up until now, and for that we are grateful. This time it just confirmed our desire to look for a safer location in a better part of town. Please pray for that search.

January brought another wonderful opportunity for Alley and I. We were invited to speak at the youth camp in Argentina. So we packed up the kids and took a trip back to Buenos Aires. It took a few days for my Spanish to return, but seeing all our old friends and faithful brothers and sisters helped a lot. The church there is doing well. There are several new members, including some youth that we had reached out to but that never came while we were there. We spent a week visitng with old friends and church members, talking about our life, and sharing thier struggles. It was very good for us to see that so many of the people we worked with are still faithful and struggling to live out their faith with fear and trembling. There will always be struggles, but most of them are still struggling alongside the Lord, and for that we are very happy.

Jonathan loved the airplane trip

Stephanie too!

Rosa, Alley, and Walter

Alley, Hugo and Judit Fuente, and Juan and Nilda Fuente

Worship with the Villa Urquiza conregation

Alley and Priscilla Lorre

Alley and Jonathan with the Celis family: Daniel, Shirley, Lizbeth, and Kathy.

In preparation for camp, Jairo and I went to El Mana, the church's land in Tigre, where I had buried a time capsule three and a half years earlier. With a little effort, we dug it up and took it back to civilization to open it during camp.

Jairo Diaz digging up the time capsule in El Mana, Tigre

What satisfaction

My job at camp was to teach four lessons on apologetics, which I adapted from the book "I don't have enough faith to be an Athiest" I love apologetics, so it was a pleasure to present to the camp all the reasons we have to believe God's Word. I think God blessed our efforts during the week. I will always love youth ministry.

Chris's class on the evidence of a Designer

Alley led a group in the team sports activities

After camp, which was in Tandil, there were 2 baptisms. One was one fo the campers from Villa Urquiza, the older brother of one of the girls we reached out to while wer were in Argentina. Please pray for the ongoign work in Villa Urquiza and the other congregations in Buenos Aires as well. The Word truly is effective, and the church there continues to grow even after us Americans have all left. This is good, as the Church belongs to Christ and not to us.

Going home

We are very thankful for the opportunity to revisit the work in Buenos Aires. We know that wherever God takes us, He will carry on what He used us to begin in every place. The Church belongs to the Lord, and we trust Him to carry on after our role in a certain place has ended.
We know He has used all of you through prayer and support, and we are thankful that you were a part of the establishment of the congregation in Villa Urquiza and all that we did there. May He reward you richly for your faith and unselfish giving.

November

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November brought us a fantastic chance to go visit the Capitol of Brazil, Brasilia. Alley's brother and sister-in-law are working there with the church, so we took some vacation time to get to know that city. It was truly a wonderful and interesting trip. We both love history, and enjoyed getting to that part of Brazil's past. Brasilia is quite unique, as a city that was planned and entirely built in about five years.

We were also very blessed to receive Paul Hinds and Dan Goodyear, elders from Southwest. They came to see the work firsthand and also spoke to the congregation and guests in a week-long seminar. The themes of the week were Servanthood, the Word, Every Member is a Minister, Not under Law but under Grace, and Eldership. These two humble men made a deep impression on the hearts of the church here. Members to this day still ask about Paul and Dan, and even some of the visitors from the School of the Bible send them a vicarious hug now and then. Not only was it a tremendous boost to the church, but to Alley and the kids and Francisco and Liduina also. We were blessed by the men's study time, visitations, and even mealtime as times to be encouraged by these older brothers in the faith. Thanks to you both, and to Southwest for sending them.

Men's morning devo at the waterfall

Sebastian and Gilda made us a cake.

The kids painted while the adults talked

November 15th was our first congregational meeting. We took the chance to talk about our building contract and finances. This was the first time ever we had a congregational meeting, and thie first time ever that they saw the church finances. There's not much to tell about the numbers, but it was a great opportunity to begin a tradition of transparency and accountability in the congregation.
Ready for the congregational meeting

Many members commented afterward that they liked that leadership style. Brazilian church leaders typically don't let anyone know about that sort of thing. One decision that came out of the meeting was to look at the possibility of renting in another location for security reasons. Our current contract expires in August, and we are looking into the possibility.

November was a great month. Encouragement came in many forms. We just thank you all for your continued prayers for us and the church here.

October

2009-10-12T19:15:00.020-03:00

Chris and long-time missionary, David Ingram

In October, Chris had the blessing to participate in the first CCC (Continent Connection Conference) for Men. This was a tremendous spiritual renewal retreat for missionaries in South America, hosted by Continent of Great Cities. The speakers were highly-qualified former missionaries and missionary-support experts and targeted topics like missionary burnout and prayer. I am thankful that I was able to participate in this fantastic event. It renewed me and helped me focus on my own spirituality even as I try to help others. Thanks, CGC!

Chris and his small group at the CCC conference for Men

Repairing the front door after the second robbery

On returning from the conference, Sunday morning I discovered that the church building had again been broken into. Stolen items were the trash can, coffee pot, a few pots and pans, the new Lords' Supper trays and cups Liduina had brought from the US, grapejuice, and a fan. We were very discouraged, again. The most important loss was the folder with all the church documents and reciepts. The cost of the door repair was also hard to swallow: 250 reais. It is, however, stronger than ever.

The smiling thief, carrying our coffee pot, aluminum pan, and a folder with all our church reciepts, was caught by the camera of the supermarket across the street. He is still at large.
One of the ever-challenging aspects of mission life: long lines.

Carlos helping install new locks on the front doors on our workday.

Jorge also helped install locks and wire the new fans we bought to replace the stolen ones.

Installing the new fans

Francisco and Liduina returned from the US, which was a great relief to us. They had a wonderful trip, but we are very glad they are back!

The School of the Bible students took their final test in December, and did very well. I am proud of their commitment and dedication to learn the Word of God. They all committed to return in March to study the Old Testament as well, and return they did!

I have been studying martial arts, which I have always loved, in order to get some exercise and I have really enjoyed it. As I progressed, I began to experience pain in my right knee. It saddened me to discover recently that I have a bone fragment in my patellar tendon. I have had to quit, and I miss the exercise, but the good news is that the surgery to fix it is fairly simple. I am scheduled for the 9th of April to have the surgery, and the complete recovery time is 2 months or less.

Please keep us and the work in your regular prayers. We continue to work on security here, knowing that our true security is not in posessions bu tin Christ, and is therefore assured.

September Trials and Triumphs

2009-09-03T23:11:00.014-03:00

The last month has been challenging in many ways. It started off well, with big plans for a youth event at the building. We got video games together, picked up the kids (all girls this time), and went to the building to get things set up. When we arrived, the building was a terrible mess, everything moved and thrown around. We had been robbed!

They had snuck in the back through a window, and stolen our fans, microwave, computer, tools, mop, cooking pans, and even juice and crackers!

Ariane's sisters loved to have their picture taken when I picked her up for the youth event

The kids helped Alley and I clean things up a bit and take inventory, then she took them back to our house for an all-girls devotional. I stayed to continue the clean-up process, finish the inventory, and try to secure the building. Alley and I were both very disappointed.

Cleaning the building after the robbery

We were able to board up the window in case they tried to come back again, and I immediately got to work beefing up the security of the building. Most of my energy for the rest of the month went to cutting bars, installing them, and shopping for better security measures such as reinforced locks on the front doors, installing a working lock on the gate to the back passageway, and a more robust lock on the back door.

The sight that greeted me at work for the following days got me down a little.

However, with the materials from our old fence, I was able to cut bars and begin installing them without much extra cost. After filing two police reports (you have to do it twice here, once for each police jurisdiction), talking to the investigator, and neighbors, it became clear that one of the people involved was an ex-con named Agner who lived on the street and whom we had helped several times to buy milk and other basic foods. He was identified by one of the neighbors the next week when he came back to ask for food! I described him, and his address (Francisco had gone to pray with his wife and kids, and to offer them a Bible study) to the police investigator, but as is usual for Brazil, have heard nothing back, and I don't really expect to. Ours was one of about 14 robberies in a five block square are during the first two weeks of the month.

The girls' devotional at our home sparked quite an interest. Alley read a book with them called "You can be pretty," about Christian beauty, and they all loved it. They asked if they could meet again the next Saturday and read some more. So in spite of our disappointment, the girls were very encouraged, including three visitors!

The girls at our home after the robbery

In spite of trials, or maybe because of them, the church has continued to grow over the last month. Sebasitan, who was working nights and unable to participate in our cell group, has transferred to daytime hours. He and Gilda are currently studying with their neighbor, Fannie. Please pray for her.

You can be Pretty (Voce pode ser Bonita): Alley, Taynara, Ariane, Isabele, Carla, and Naiara

The next week, Isabele and Ariane were able to return for more!

The School of the Bible has grown, with an attendance now of 12 students. We have had several visitors as well, including Ne, who copies the course material for me, and my martial arts instructor Luis, his wife Carol, and mother as well. Caio, a former student, also has returned for a visit. He was recently married and his wife Sabrina is now expecting. Please pray for them. We have offered them a study, they just need to let us know when! We had dinner with them last month and met her grandparents as well. One of the highlights of the School of the Bible last month was the presentation on the archeological sites of Corinth and Rome I presented with our projector. That technology helped me make a huge impact as I presented them with the cultural context of three very important letters in the New Testament.

Caio, Sabrina, and her grandmother, in Boquerao

Eduardo Dutra

Another challenge this month has been the absence of Francisco and Liduina as they visit their daughter in Washington. We sure miss their help! But, things have kept on moving nevertheless. We had a wonderful pizza night on one of the most rainy and dismal Sundays so far this winter, and the day after the robbery. But our spirits were warm as we talked and shared about everything that was happening. That night, Carlos was out of work, Sebastian also, the church had been robbed, and we were lacking our usual regular visitors. In hindsight we can see how the bonding and mutual encouragement nurtured our faiths and helped us all move on.

The Kids on pizza night

Pizza does help one to feel better

Carlos and Adriana: consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds...

Sebastian and Gilda, with unshaken faith in the face of financial uncertainty

Sebastian and Gilda have taken it on themselves to be our cheerleaders and encouragers.

As work continued on the building's security issues, I expereinced another personal tragedy. My PDA and cell phone died. Again. I spent two trips to Sao Paulo to try to have it repaired, but all was lost. For those of you who rely on such devices, you know how hard it is to lose them. Here it is also a major challenge to replace them, as they sell for about three to five times the price in the US. However, thanks to a generous donation from my parents, a new one is on the way. Whew.

Hanging those bars

Clean up after all the activity

The bars are rather ugly, but are also safe. Life in South America.

We made contact recently with a couple who lives very near us, Ray and Edna. Ray is an American, retired, and Edna is a Brazilia. They are very alone and were looking for some friends. They have agreed to study the Bible with me. Please pray for these studies. I also continue to study with Lucas on Sundays. Please pray for him as well.

The School of the Bible is exciting and strong. The congregation is taking care of one another's needs. God is taking care of all of us, in spite of unpleasant circumstances. After all, if God can't be Lord, even in hard times, what kind of all-powerful God would He be? Yet, in all things, he is watching over us for our good. We are thankful to be part of His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Thank you very much to those of you who have decided to pray for us as we strive to plant the church here. Thank you also for the help some of you have sent: the work here moves on because fo your generosity. Thanks, Southwest VBS, for the donation to improve our kitchen! Thanks to the Nelsons! Your donation bought much-needed fans for our hot summer (and winter) months. Thanks to my cousin Amber for your generosity as well. Thanks to the Kerseys for your generous help, again. Thanks also to Juanita Hall, and thanks to the Kelleys for my new drill and phone. May God reward your earthly donations with credit in heaven.

August Action: a photo report.

2009-08-07T10:46:00.012-03:00

A group of volunteers cleaned the building

Francisco and Eduardo, before Francisco left for the US

Francisco gave great adult classes

Adriana invited us over for her birthday. "Parabens!"

I had the privilege to help with the youth event in Sao Vicente. Some of these kids first came to the church when we had an event called Games for Brothers at our house.

For our devotional we watched part of "The Jesus Film" and talked about the way Jesus treated people.

5 from Praia Grande participated along with the kids from Sao Vicente.

Teenagers are camera shy in any culture, it seems.

Lucas

Our kids class is growing, and the Ladies do a great job of teaching them.

The School of the Bible class on Tuesday Nights, studying their way through the New Testament

The cell group in Boquerao, with Eduardo, Chris, Silvio, and Denira.

Maria, who studied with Francisco on Sunday mornings.

Chris leading singing

Our new water tower, provided by a generous donation from Marlene Kelley. Thanks!

Lines are something we have to deal with on a daily basis here in South America. Above you will see the line from the Loterica, a place where people pay a variety of bills and buy lottery tickets. Here the line to pay bills goes around the corner.

This is the line in the Banco do Brasil, where I have to pay one bill every month.
Here you can see on my slip of paper that I am number 116. By the way, the sign in the background says, "Now serving number 79." This was so I could deposit money in the church account. When we work in other countries, our sense of time and accomplishment are tested as we discover that things simply take longer to get done.

Sebastian preaches for the congregation. This brother is a real blessing to the work here. He has a lot of experience and training as an evangelist, and is a great encourager.

This is one of the offering I referred to in a previous newsletter: an offering of wine, rice, beans, and roses to please whatever saint or demon people want to ask for their desires. This was taken on the corner of one of the main roads, right in front of the fruit market, on market day.

This is one of the Ladies' Invasions, when they went to Fannie's house (in the middle). Fannie is studying with Gilda (2nd from right) and Sebastian.

Alessandra and Gilda, in Gilda's home in Mirim.

This is what we call Churrasco (pronounced chew-haas-coe). Meat grilled on a spit. Mighty good.

I hope you can see from these pictures that the congregation is growing in maturity; each member is participating more, and appreciating one another to a deeper level. Visitors are greeted warmly. Neighbors are studying with members, not just with us. I can't take credit, really, for all these good things, because they are the work of the Lord. but if He isn't' behind the growth of the church, it does us no good to work here. We're thankful that He is truly providing increase and multiplying our efforts. we pray He will bless you all as well.

July 2009 Birthdays, Beginnings, and Blessings

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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.

June 2009 update

2009-06-09T16:04:00.006-03:00

Greetings, supporters! Many good things are happeining in the work and our lives, and we wanted to share some of them with you.

First, thanks for all your prayers for Jonathan and his surgery. He is fine now; all went very well. He is back in school and fully active. We thank God that he is recovering so quickly.

We had a couple of birthdays this month: Leticia and her father Carlos both celebrated with us after worship with special cakes. This fellowship is wonderful, fun, and shows how the church is truly growing into the spiritual family that God desires it to be.

Jonathan, Leticia, Debora R., Alessandra, and Debora C.

Carlos and Leticia

Mother's Day was also a very special day here. One of our newest members, Marcia, brought flowers for all the moms. She is a great example as she encourages the body with her creativity.

Vera, a regular visitor, Adriana, and Janete from Sao Vicente, on Mother's Day

Alessandra and Florinda preparing the Lord's Supper

Many of our new members show growth as they begin to serve the body. Florinda began to help with the preparation of the Lord's Supper immediately after her baptism. Carlos has been preaching, and does a great job. Marcia and Alessandra make cakes and momentos for special occasions. Jorge and Pedro have begun to help in worship with the offering and the Lord's supper. These are small things on the surface, but with time, can grow into great service and encouragement to the body. That is what church growth is about: each one grows and encourages the others, like ligaments and sinews, attached to Christ, who directs all for the benefit of His body.

Alessandra and I were both priveleged last month to bear witness to the marriage celebration of Caio and Sabrina, two young members. They are a great couple and deserve your prayers for a healthy marriage. We pray God will use them in many ways as they grow with us in the church here.

Chris, Caio, Sabrina, and Alessandra at their wedding reception

The body here continues to grow in number, to be blessed with visitors, to grow in love, and to grow in relationship to Christ. Together we have 18 Bible studies per week, most with non-Christians. Our cell group in Mirim is maturing in love and in faith, and this week we hope to beign our second cell group in Boquerao in the home of Deni, another new member. Please pray for these opportunities and for the growth of the Kingdom in Praia Grande, Sao Vicente, and the rest of Brazil.

Chris Kelley