September

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!

July activities

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!

May 2008 Newsletter

Well, our lives are quite the fruit basket upset with all that is going on down here. Between construction, the church, studies, School of the Bible, youth activities, and being parents, we are pretty busy. We long for the day when the construction is finished and we can walk in the house without feeling rubble crunch under our feet. (Do you ever stop to thank God for the clean floor in your house? I suggest you do it right now if you haven’t. God does use experiences like this to remind us to be grateful.) The kids don’t seem to notice the crud, however, and love to walk barefoot anyway. Stephanie especially seems to hate wearing shoes, socks, and sandals. She has taken her shoes off as many as 20 times in one day. How can we convince her that broken ceramic tile has sharp edges?

Construction on the front wall is almost complete

The house is looking a lot better now

Enrique, our electrician. He and his wife will be studying with Francisco and Liduina beginning Tuesday.

Ricardo (top) and Tiago working on the side wall of the house. Ricardo and his wife are studying with Francisco and Adauto on Thursday nights. Tiago is interested in the School of the Bible, but his current schedule doesn't allow him to attend.

Alessandra working with the kids to make cards for Mother's Day

Alessandra and the kids' class decided to make origami to present to the mothers of the congregation on Mother's Day. Lucas taught the origami, the girls made cards, and Chris made lunch. The best part is that the idea came from the kids themselves. Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there!

Jose and Audiclea, recent members who moved to Praia Grande from the state of Bahia

Claudio (right) is one of our newest members. He brought his daughter Claudia (middle) and granddaughter Richele (left) to visit worship services

Carlos and Adriana Guerrero, and their daughters Isabele and Leticia

Life is about normal for the kids in spite of the construction mess

Worship in São Vicente

20 people in our house (11 came unannounced) makes for a lively evening

Nivaldo and Francisco chatting before School of the Bible class

The school of the Bible is going well. We are well into our study of the Old Testament, and though we have lost a couple students, mostly due to busy schedules, they all remain very interested and committed. Please pray for these students: Nivaldo, Eduardo, Edmilson, Neuse, Luis, Elma, Claudio, and the Rodrigues family.

Luis and Elma, a couple attending the School of the Bible on Saturday mornings

School of the Bible class on Saturday morning

We had our first youth activity ever on the Santos coast here in Praia Grande two weeks ago. There were 10 youth from the Praia Grande and São Vicente congregations (including 2 visitors) and 4 adults. We opened the activity with some Bible trivia games, then Junior Lira gave a lesson about the rich young ruler. We finished with a snack of sandwiches provided by our adult volunteers (Liduina and Janete). Both the youth and the organizers were very glad to finally begin a work dedicated to youth here on the coast. May God bless our future activities and contacts to be fruitful in taking the Gospel to the youth here.

Please continue to pray for our newest members in Praia Grande: Claudio, Pedro, Carlos and Adriana, Jose and Audiclea. They are dealing with the challenges that normally come with an increased commitment to Christ. May God bless us all as we grow and conform to the image of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is for that reason that He saved us on the cross: that people all over the world become like Him, even from cultures and places that are very different. Then He will truly be the first among many brothers.

Chris and Alley Kelley