March 2008 Newsletter

February, in spite of being the shortest month of the year, has been by far the most challenging! Maybe it’s because it had 29 days this year.

Chris has continued his regular weekly activates, including his training of Marcos Serrano to preach, the Friday night small group at the Rodriguez home which is studying Ephesians, his language class with Eloisa, and Sundays in São Vicente and Praia Grande. We give thanks to God that each one of these activities is growing and being blessed. We average 30 in attendance in Praia Grande on Sundays, and three more families placed membershipin February: Jose and Audiclea, who recently arrived in Praia Grande from the state of Bahia (Jose is looking for work so please say a prayer for him as you read this), Marcia and her son Lucas, and Moisés and Claudia and their two children, from São Bernardo, about half an hour north of Praia Grande.

In addition to the weekly activities of our schedule, there has been a lot to do to prepare for the opening of the School of the Bible. Chris ordered a phone line for the church, which is a cell phone that receives calls at the same rate as a land line. So the church has its own phone number now!

This is a great blessing as people call us to sign up for the School of the Bible. We also printed 5000 fliers with our new number in order to advertise. Of course, you can’t have students without textbooks, so Chris has been working hard on the materials for the first class. It is called the Basic Certificate of Theology, and is divided into three parts: the Old Testament, New Testament, and Early Church. This is a free course and will prepare everyone to read and understand any part of the Bible. Thanks to Eloisa, his language teacher, it is proofed and ready to be printed and bound.

All this printing and advertising has a cost, but God has a way of providing. One of the members here recently sold a piece of land she has had for sale for some time. She decided she wanted to give 10 percent to the church, so I had the pleasure of receiving in the offering one day 1000 Reais! Thanks to God for providing through the members here what the Kingdom needs to grow!

In between all this good news, we began to work on the wall in front of our house after finally finding someone trustworthy to do the work. His name is Neto. He has studied the Bible before but had a bad experiences with a church in the past. We are trying to be an example to him as we work together in order to bring him back to the Lord. Please pray for him.

More good news: Francisco Lira, Jr., Alley’s brother, is going to move to Brasilia and work with a mission team there. However, he won't leave until 2009, so he and his wife Patricia have volunteered to help us on the weekends in Praia Grande until they leave. He is a talented song leader and is teaching new songs and four-part harmony to the adult class on Sunday afternoons. God has blessed us with some great voices, and I am glad we can use them as He intended: giving him the glory and praise.

Junior and Chris have already begun meetings to plan a youth ministry for all the youth in the Baixada Santista. We will meet again on Sunday to set the date for the first activity. Please pray God’s blessing on this ministry. It will be the first time ever in the Baixada Santista that the youth have a regular activity designed just for them.

Ally had the blessing to be able to give the São Vicente Ladies class devotional for February. She talked about "Why we are servants." It was very encouraging to see how thirsty the ladies were to understand more about God's plan for us to be servants, and why He chose us. They were amazed to realize how much little things in the church make a difference for the whole Body. The perfect illustration was washing each other’s feet. It is harder to let someone wash your feet than to wash someones feet, but as they experienced both roles we could see how they grew to accept, and give, grace. In spite of shyness at the beginning (most people here wear sandals and no socks all summer), we could see how they grew in the grace of serving, and being served. There was not a dry eye, or foot, in the house.

More great news: Pedro Sobrinho, who has been studying with Francisco, decided to be baptized. On the 14th of February we went down to the ocean near his home and he was immersed into new life. He is very happy about thirsty to know more about the Bible. Chris has begun a study with him every Wednesday. Please pray for him as he grows in the Kingdom.

Chris celebrated his 34th birthday on the 23rd. Alley made a wonderful carrot cake with cream cheese frosting using Dottie Mueller’s recipe (Thanks Dottie!). Yummy.

February ended with an intense 3-day workshop with Jerry and Gail Heiderich, marriage and family therapist, and psychologist. We were able to talk to them about team communication, the stress of moving from Argentina, parenting issues, family communication, and a lot of other related things. It was a very fruitful time as we prepare to do our best as teammates, and family, for the Kingdom. Jerry and Gail were a great resource to help us along the way. We appreciate the Heiderichs for what they do for the Kingdom! Thanks to Southwest for sending them!

We also need to share something unpleasant that happened at the beginning of March. As we were arriving home after going to the mall on Saturday with Junior and Patricia and Ally’s other sister Priscila and her husband Jefferson, and Liduina, Ally’s mom, two guys pulled up to our house and held us at gunpoint. They forced us into the kitchen floor after taking all our wallets, cash, and wedding rings. One searched the house looking for cash while the other held us in the kitchen at gunpoint with their .22 revolver. After going through the house they began taking the microwave, TV, stereo, DVD player, and anything else they could find.
They continued to threaten us and ask for more cash. Patricia remembered her purse was in our bedroom and went in to get it, followed by the older one. She soon returned to the kitchen and joined us on the floor.

When Jonathan and Stephanie began to cry, the one with the gun began to threaten to shoot them in the head if they didn't shut up. Ally and Liduina did a great job keeping the kids calm. Jefferson at that point began to cry and moan as if he were really scared in order to take his attention off the kids. Jefferson is a trained actor, and did a great job. He then convinced them that there was a purse in his car. He led one outside to the cars, which were still parked outside the house with the gate open, all the while holding his hands in the air and begging the thief not to shoot. Even though he had no gun, he didn't think to ask Jefferson to stop. Jefferson opened all the car doors and let the guy search both vehicles, and then they returned inside. The one who was holding us with the gun told us that if we didn't give them more money in 30 seconds he would shoot someone.

Suddenly we heard scuffling noises and someone shouted “Police!” and I grabbed Ally and the kids and we all hit the deck in case there was going to be a shootout. The guy with the gun threw it on the ground and was tackled by two officers. Jefferson and Junior shouted that there was another, and the police searched the house and found him in our bedroom, unable to escape through the bars on the window.

The police took them into the living room and beat them for a few minutes before taking them to the cars. We began to calm down slowly. Liduina has high blood pressure and was suffering a lot. We made her lie down and tried to keep her calm.
We began to tell the police what had happened and what had been taken. They went to the thieves’ car and found everything there, plus a stash of cocaine the thieves had been using. One of them was 19 years old, the other 17.

The police beat them outside again after the youngest one told them he was a minor and would get off without doing time. Then they drove them off to the police station, followed by Jefferson and Junior who would make statements and bring the evidence home again. They arrived at about 5 am and told us the outcome. Both would go to jail for 2-4 years, one in Juvenile in São Vicente or Santos and the other in prison in Guarujá. Because they were caught in the act, in Brazil, there is no trial or wait time. The next day they stood before the judge and then were shipped off.

God was with us through the whole ordeal, which lasted about 45 minutes. We were amazed that the police arrived and caught them in the act, which is a very rare thing in Brazil. We asked them how they knew, and they told us that one of the neighbors was an angel and called them. As it turned out, the neighbors across the street heard the robbers yelling and saw what happened from the beginning, and called the police the whole time that we were held inside. Their names are Roberto and Elizabete. We believe that God will use what happened to bring us closer to this couple. They are wonderful neighbors and have a daughter that is 2 years old who is partially blind. We hope that through our growing relationship that we can help them see that God has a plan for everyone, o matter what the circumstance. We are forever in their debt for the help they gave us.

As we tried to calm down afterward, we realized how much God had been in control even as we feared the worst. Even though police procedure in a case like that is to wait outside and either negotiate or catch the bad guys, we were told later by one of the two officers who are evangelicals that when he saw the guy with the gun through our front window, they decided that they couldn't wait. They were very quick, secure, and professional. I don't think we could have had a better response even if we were in the states. Later the two christian officers came back by the house to make sure we were OK and answer any questions or concerns we had.

We continue to recover, and try to go on.

We were very blessed in that things ended up about as well as they could in a bad situation like that. Bad things happen to good and bad people alike, but the difference is that God is with those who believe in Him and in His power. In spite of what happened we know God has a purpose for us here. We will continue to serve Him here in Brazil as his spiritual warriors as long as it is His will to do so.

Please pray for us continually for safety and fruitfulness in our labor. Pray for our new members, new brother, the church, and the opening of the School of the Bible. And don’t take anything for granted. Thank God for the blessings and families you all have, and enjoy them from the heart each day.