Newsletter: Good News and a Special Appeal

Note: This is the text of our most recent newsletter. If you would like to receive these updates, send me a message and I will add you to the list.

Dear friends,

We have many exciting things to share with you, but perhaps the most exciting of all is this special opportunity to partner with the Ebenezer Baptist Church

The Ebenezer Project

The Ebenezer Baptist Church is the congregation God allowed Itacyara and I to begin back in 2012. It has grown to the place where they now have a national pastor, an outstanding man of God named Paulo.

When Paulo arrived at Ebenezer earlier this year, he observed that the out-of-the-way location of the church was hindering growth. It appears that God has opened up an opportunity to purchase a prime piece of property on the main highway for an extraordinarily low price.

You can read all the details, see pictures, and hear a personal appeal from Pastor Paulo here.

Pastor Paulo is looking for 1600 people to donate R$100 (Brazilian currency) each. This comes out to roughly $25 in American money. We are looking for individuals in the US who will be willing to join Itacyara and myself in participating in this challenge. We look forward to being able to share with you in future letters what God has accomplished through this partnership between Brazilian and American believers.

Camp Update

We have two construction projects going on at Mount Zion Camp. When we finished the front porch on the dormitory we discovered that we had enough in our budget to go ahead and build the back porch as well. As of this writing the back porch is nearing completion.

After many months of false starts, we were finally able to find a person with the expertise needed to make our stream into a swimming area. That project is about half done.

We are moving ahead with these projects as quickly as we can in order to finish them in time for the upcoming Ladies Retreat, scheduled for the 20th through the 22nd of this month. Read more about those projects here.

Maranhão Bible Institute

Last month the pastors involved in our Bible Institute held a meeting to better organize our Bible Institute. We are very pleased with the decisions made, including well-defined leadership, an increase in the number of classes offered, and a renewed focus on being a resource for our local churches.

You can see more details here.

New Church Plant

Many of you will remember Pastor Francivaldo, who was for several years out co-worker at Ebenezer. He and his wife Géssica have officially started a church plant in the nearby city of Raposa. Please pray for them as they labor in this needy area.

Ladies Ministry

Two weeks ago Itacyara was approached by a lady at our church about the possibility of having a Bible Study with a few ladies from her neighborhood. Since then she has had two meetings with them, with opportunities to share the Gospel at each one. Please pray for her as she continues this ministry.

Church Ministry

We would also appreciate it if you would keep the Good News Baptist Church in your prayers. They are going through lean times at the moment, with some members leaving, and finances becoming tighter. Add to this their continued search for a pastor. Itacyara and I are helping them as much as our work at camp and our other activities will allow.

We are seeing some good signs: a renewed spiritual interest on the part of some, new people visiting almost every Sunday, growth in our kids club.

On the Web

The latest from our series on James: Motivated by Prophets
Some interesting links for your edification.
Best of Brazil: Some of the more interesting bugs we have encountered over the years.
The latest snapshots of missionary life.
A new series exploring some of the tools available for language study for people interested in short-term missions.

We continue to be constantly reminded of how much each one of you are co-participants with us as we labor here in Brazil. Thank you, from the bottoms of our hearts!

In Christ,

Andrew, Itacyara, Michael, and Nathanael

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