November 2008

Dear Friends, family, and supporters,

October has been a very active month, for both Alley and I and the kids. We have really been kept on our toes over the last few weeks. Surprises do have a way of finding us, don't they?

I have been working hard on the development of the church statute here in Praia Grande, which is the legal document that will allow us to function as a non-profit legal entity here in Brazil. It is quite complicated at times, and though we are working with a lawyer, he doesn't always understand our doctrine or church structure, so it depends on me in many ways to get done. I don't mind learning the process, as it will help me serve the congregation here in the future. Recently we finishied the final draft and submitted it to the Prefecture (city government) for approval. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the cost of finalizing all the documents would be over $2000 dollars! We had about half that on hand, but still need another $1000 in order to recieve the documents when they are completed (about two weeks from now). Please pray for this need, and if anyone is, in spite of the financial situation in the US right now, capable of helping us with this need, please let me know as soon as possible. Without these documents the church here will continue to operate as an underground (illegal) entity, and I believe we need to do everything we can to comply with the law of the land.

We are still averaging 21 people in worship, with visitors present every week. Marcia, one of our newest members, volunteered to help us clean the building on a regular basis, which was a big help. After getting things cleaned up, Francisco usually makes a snack and hosts an informal study. Eduardo is nearly always there to help as well, which makes for great fellowship.

Construction in front of the church is nearly finished, which has increased the flow of pedestrian traffic and our own visibility. We hope this will gain us some more contacts and visitors.

In a windstorm, our sign blew down just as they were ripping up the sidewalk. It looks MUCH better than this now!

The School of the Bible will close for the year after our final exams in December. Eduardo is the most faithful of all the students, but there is still a small group who is seeing the course through to the end. Carlos, Carlos Antonio, and Edmilson are all wonderful students, and I ask that you pray for them by name as they study with us. Also, please pray for Ana and Emilene, who have not been able to continue, but whom I hope will return next year.

Eduardo is the son of Dick Farney, jazz musician of "Copacabana" fame

Did you know that phone lines can rust? If you have enough humidity in the house, they can! We have lost phone and internet on two separate occasions due to humidity inside the house corroding our phone lines and causing loss of signal. Hopefully our new, shielded wire will do better than the last one! In addition to the corrosion problem, our communication situation suffered again when Service Pack 3 crashed our computer, and we had to wipe the hard drive and reinstall from scratch. Thankfully, I am learning a little from the past, and had a great complete backup that made it very easy.

I have been watching the kids a lot recently. Alley and the other ladies of the congregation were invited to organize the games at the Ladies Conference in Vargem Grande Paulista. Marcia, Liduina, and Alley all participated, along with ten other women, and organized games and fun time for 400 women! In the history of the event, never have that many women participated in the games, but with Alley's talents of persuasion, everyone participated this year. Due to the great contacts she made there, we have been invited to direct the Jr. Teen camp next year as well. The biggest shocker last month was definately the car incident. We lock our car at all times since the kids like to get inside and push the buttons. However, that didn't stop Jonathan from climbing up, grabbing the keys, opening the door, startign the engine, and putting the car in reverse. He drove it backwards, scraping along the wall of the house, and into the bicycles. I was working in the back at the time and took quite a shock to see him go by. He was a little scared too, but not hurt. The car suffered greatly, though, with a broken window, mirror, and a dorr and two panels damaged. After freaking out, calming down, and calling the insurance, we had the privilege of repairing the car to the tune of a thousand bucks. Note: the insurance wouldn't cover the damage because Jonathan wasn't a licensed driver.

One of the highlights of the work here is the privilege I have to be studying with Pedro and Marcos. Pedro is a new convert, less than a year old. He is very shy, but asked us to train him to pray, read scripture, and preach! SO we meet together weekly to study and practice the basics of public service. Pedro has an attitude that brightens the room every time he arrives, and gives hugs like a bear. I know his presence will bless the congregation as he continues to grow into his dream: to preach the book of James.

Pedro, studying

I also continue to study with Marcos Serrano, a member fo the Sao Vicente congregation. He preached last Sunday for the first time since we have been working on sermon preparation. It gives me great joy to see this young man put into practice the techniques I am teaching him, but even more importantly, put into practice the Word itself. Pray for both of these "young" men as they grow in their ability to serve the Lord.

Marcos Serrano

We would like to send a big thanks to our newset supporters, Christ's Heritage church in Lynwood, WA., and the Kersey family. Thank you very much for helping in the work here in Brazil. May God use us together to build a strong and loving church family here, to the glory of the Lord.

With uncertainty everywhere, let me remind us all that it is not in physical things that we have our hope. Our sense of security shouldn't be in our retirement or savings. Instead, as members of a spiritual Kingdom, our treasure is stored in heaven where moth and rust can't degrade, and thieves can't steal. I hope that our hearts are truly there, and therefore, our treasures, and that no matter what the scenario economically, we can smile and trust that our futures are truly secure. May God bless you all.

October 2008 already!

It seems like just last week that I finally got my last newsletter out to you all... wait, it was just last week. Well, with internet working, communication is soooooooooooooooo much easier!

September has been a busy and rainy month here. To begin, the road on which the church and School of the Bible is located is under construction. They ripped up the old road and are putting in a boulevard with bike path down the middle. This will be very nice and increase foot traffic where we are located, and hence, our own visibility and advertising. But for the present, it is just a big mud pit up to our door. The construction generates significant noise as well, so in order to make the best of it we moved our School of the Bible classes upstairs next to my office, which has worked out very well.

The School of the Bible is currently offering classes Tuesdays from 7:30-10:00 pm, Thursdays from 7:30-10:00 pm, and Saturdays from 10:00 am to 12:30 and 3:00 to 5:30 pm. Our current students are Eduardo (who is now a member of the congregation here in Praia Grande), Ana, Carlos, Edmilson, Antonio, Emilene, and Donato. Please keep them in prayer, as with the rain, they haven't been very consistent (except Eduardo). Many of them come by bicycle or motorcycle, or even by moto-taxi, so the rains really do dampen their spirits (pun intended).

The kids are doing well.

Jonathan sports an expression that is a cross between "What, me worry?" and "Bond... James Bond."

Leticia

Lucas

Stephanie and Isabelle
Lucas, Jonathan, and a visitor

Alley and Liduina took the ladies of the congregation to a conference for women in Ipiranga. It was the first time that Marcia and Florinda were able to participate in an event for ladies in the church, and they loved it.

Marcia Santana holds Stephanie

Marcia and Florinda, who was baptized two months ago

Our congregation is doing well. I would like to remind you of the people who worship with us so that you can be praying for them by name.

Francisco and Liduina Lira, Alley's parents and our coworkers

Marcia Santos Santana and her son, Lucas. Her husband Edson is a regular visitor that we hope will be baptized soon.

The Guerrero Family: Carlos, Adriana, Isabelle, and Leticia (above)

Eduardo Dutra e Silva Neto, a member who made contact through the School of the Bible (above)

Dona Florinda was baptized two months ago after a study with Francisco. Her husband visits regularly with us.

Pedro Sobrinho, our first baptism

The Rodriguez family: Adauto, Janette, and Ailton are members at Sao Vicente who attend with us and have been a great help as the work begins. Ailton and Adauto both give classes and preach.

Valdir, and his children Marcos, and Vanessa, are also members of Sao Vicente and regularly attend with us in Praia Grande. Marcos regularly helps with songleading.

Last weekend was voting day. Here in Brazil the vote is mandatory, so it is a day filled with activity as many travel, and of course it is the season for politics. The most popular form of advertising here is not TV or even radio, although they are used. The most common thing to do is get a car and mount speakers on top, and pay people to drive around, blasting the jingle of a certain candidate. They also stand at street corners and wave big flags, and of course pass out a lot of flyers.

As a church we got together on voting day, and at Pedro's suggestion, had a pot luck. Pedro himslef made a wonderful feijoada, which is black beans and sausage, among other things. Others brought dessert, salad, and drinks. It was our first real congregational meal, and we all had a wonderful time. Pedro has a fantastic attitude and wants to learn to preach. We are already studying with him toward that goal. He also makes a great feijoada.

Last week, after 7 months of construction, the electric fence was finally installed, and improvements on the house have ended (except for those little things). We are very glad that the house is much more secure now, and that we won't have crews in our house working anymore for a while.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers for the congregation here, and for the effectiveness of our work. The Lord is blessing us, and we pray that the results so far are but the firstfruits of a great harvest here.