March Newsletter

Here is a link to our March newsletter:  March 2011 Newsletter

If you are interested in receiving our newsletter by email please contact us via the email listed on our profile page.

Gearing Up

We are getting ready for another busy year, and we have had various meetings in February in churches and in schools to schedule outreach events for this year. We are expecting a great year, and God has already given us many good opportunities to share Jesus in churches and schools for the upcoming year. We have already been able to schedule our outreach project Qualidade De Vida in schools until late August. In addition to the 15 churches we worked with last year in our area known as the Baixada Santista, we will be working with an additional 4 new churches in the first half of this year, as well as other new ones later in the year. The Baixada Santista is a coastal area in the state of Sao Paulo, and includes the cities of Santos, Guaruja, Sao Vicente, Praia Grande, Cubatao, and others.

We will be speaking in a large school next week on Monday morning, Tuesday night, and Wednesday afternoon. We will speak in a total of 39 classes, and will have the privilege and opportunity to share Jesus with over 1200 students and many teachers. Please pray that God will empower us to share the Gospel boldly and powerfully, and that He will be glorified.

Santos International Triathlon

Santos held it's 20th annual international triathlon yesterday morning. Part of the event is on our street, so we had a great view of some of the action. The staging area for the biking stage of the race was located in front of our building. From our balcony we could see part of the swimming stage, the transition area between the swimming and biking stages, and also the transition from the biking to the running stage. In 2 of the pictures near the bottom you can see a man with 1 leg in the race, which is amazing.

     

New Brazil Ministry Video

We have made an updated version of the video for our ministry in Brazil, since we moved to Santos and are ministering in a new area since we made the last video in 2009. Please take a moment to view the video, and please pray for us as we join God in His mission to reach people for Christ in the Santos area of Brazil.

Igreja Peniel In Guaruja

Last night I had the privilege of preaching at Igreja Peniel in the city of Guaruja. The church is led by Pastor Nzuzi, who is an African pastor ministering in Brazil. The church is very enthusiastic about sharing the Good News of Jesus with others in their community, and also about continuing to do the important discipleship work after people accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. We are excited to begin a new relationship with the church, and we will be working to help them to share Christ in their community. We have scheduled our Quality Of Life project in a large school near the church, and we will be working with them in this and other schools in the future.

Yesterday it was very hot (36°C / 97°F), and the church's air conditioning was not working, so needless to say it was very hot inside the church. Nonetheless, it was a great privilege and a joy to preach God's word. The church received the message very enthusiastically, and in the end I shared the Gospel and 5 people accepted Christ as their Lord & Savior and committed their lives to Him.

Sunset

Last night's sunset was another reminder of how great our God is, the Creator of all in the heavens and on earth.

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."  - Genesis 1:31

Divorce Made Easier In Brazil

Last July the Brazilian government issued a constitutional amend-ment that made getting a divorce much easier and quicker. People in Brazil used to have to be separated and wait for a minimum of 1 year before they could file for divorce. The new amendment made it possible for a couple to be divorced in a matter of minutes by visiting a "cartorio". 

A "cartorio" is a place to get official documents in Brazil. Since the new amendment came out the number of divorces has grown immensely. In 2009 there were over 4400 divorces in the sate of Sao Paulo, and in 2010 the number more than doubled to over 9300. This is sad news for Brazil.

"Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."  - Matthew 19:6

Remote Indian Tribe

The Brazilian government released photos of a remote tribe of indians in the Brazilian jungle near the border with Peru. To date there has never been contact with this remote tribe. There is much concern about them because illegal logging in the Brazilian jungle is threatening the existence of such remote tribes.