Update On Our Move To Santos

We started the process of selling our house in Sao Caetano in mid-July, and as of now we have not sold it. Since we have a full schedule of speaking in schools and churches in the Sao Paulo area until the end of November, we are hoping and praying to be able to move to Santos by the end of October or November. We will see what God has planned for us.

We have been going to Santos every Saturday to look at apartments (condominiums). The process of selling and buying a house in Brazil is different. You can use various real estate companies to sell your house, and we have 8 that are trying to sell our house. We are also trying to sell it ourselves, which would save us money, and have listed it on 4 or 5 "sell by owner" sites. Looking for houses or apartments is different too. Every Saturday we have been with a different realtor to look, because different realtors have different apartments to show. It's not like in the US where you can go with 1 realtor to look at anything on the market. So far we have seen 22 apartments and we will see 7 or 8 more this coming Saturday, and then more on the 1st Saturday in September. We have a list of 4 or 5 so far that are interesting to us, and when we know that we are selling our house then we will go back and look at these again, and then decide which one we want to buy.

A view of the coast from the mountains above

Finally Speaking In Schools Again

After an extended winter break due to swine flu concerns, schools in Sao Paulo started the 2nd semester this week. We had the opportunity to speak in the EE Gallicho school in the Mooca area of Sao Paulo on Tuesday morning, Wednesday afternoon, and tonight. We worked with Pastor Manoel and Igreja Batista Ebenezer, which is located very close to the school. We spoke in 13 classes on Tuesday, 13 on Wednesday, and in 3 classes for adults tonight. We had a great week at the school and we praise God that 602 students, 13 teachers, and the principal (Celia) & school coordenator (Flavio) accepted Christ. The school is very open to receiving more help for the students and their families, and the church has already started to schedule more programs with the school.

Nancy & I, Pastor Manoel, Flavio, and part of our team

Interpreter Eduardo and I speaking to a classNancy and interpreter Flavia after sharing Christ in an adult classInterpreter Rodrigo, Nancy & I, and school coordenator FlavioSharing Christ in a high school classPraying with the students & teacher to accept Christ

Brazil Photo

Waiting For Schools To Open

Since the state of Sao Paulo and some other states in Brazil extended winter vacation 2 more weeks for schools because of swine flu concerns, we have been trying to keep busy. We have been visiting some parks and other sites in Sao Paulo, and have been going to Santos once a week to look for apartments. We also have been organizing our next 3 school events, and thankfully we will start speaking in schools again next week. We will be speaking at EE Gallicho school in the Mooca area of Sao Paulo on August 18-20, at EE Padre Grigolli school in Sao Caetano on Aug. 24-26, and EMEF Roquette Pinto school in the Sapopemba area of Sao Paulo on Aug. 31-Sept. 2 ; please pray that God will bless our visits to these schools and that many will be touched and reached for Jesus, for His glory. Here are some photos of the botanical gardens and of Parque Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo.

Parque Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo

A huge tree in the park

Some small parrots in a tree

Nancy and Sampson in the parkthe botanical gardens in Sao Pauloa flowering treethe elevated jungle trail in the botanical gardenssome monkeys swinging in the trees

Fathers Day In Brazil

Fathers Day in Brazil is on the 2nd Sunday of August, so technically I get to have 2 Fathers Days, one in June (American) and one in August. This past Sunday we celebrated Fathers Day with our good friends Junior and Elma and their families. They are a blessing in our lives, and they and their families have practically adopted us, so we spend alot of special occasions with them. Brazilians love to get together with family and friends, and we had a great time. There was lots of good Brazilian food, including our favorite - churrasco. Churrasco is a variety of steak and other meat cuts, and is cooked in a "churrasqueira", which is a wood-fired or charcoal-fired brick oven. There is no barbeque sauce, but the meats are seasoned very nicely with a course salt and sometimes other seasonings. It is awesome.

Swine Flu In Brazil

The number of confirmed swine flu cases in Brazil is growing, and there are now almost 3000 people with the sickness. As of yesterday, 129 Brazilians have died from the disease. The south and southeast parts of Brazil have the most cases, including the state of Sao Paulo, which is one of the most populated states.

The state of Sao Paulo extended the winter vacation for all public schools for 2 more weeks until August 17, due to concerns and fears caused by the swine flu. This has caused us to scramble and reschedule 2 schools that we were set to speak in for the weeks of Aug. 3rd and 10th. We are hoping and praying that this will not hinder us anymore in our efforts to help students, teachers, and families to have a personal relationship with God and a better life.

Brazil Photos

Since we are going to be moving to the city of Santos, I thought I would use these pictures as our monthly Brazil photos. Santos is located on the coast of the state of Sao Paulo, about an hour south of the city of Sao Paulo.

Selling Our House

We have been sensing that God is leading us to move to Santos, which is a city on the coast about an hour south of Sao Paulo. We have started the process of selling our house 2 weeks ago ,and we are hoping and praying that we will be able to move before the end of the year and the holidays. We have a full schedule of speaking in schools and in some churches also in the greater Sao Paulo area until the end of November, so we cannot move at least until the end of October or November.

Here in Brazil the process to sell your house is different. One difference is that you can use as many "imobiliarias" (real estate companies) as you want to. So we have 6 companies that have started trying to sell our house. Another difference is that in the US when someone comes to look at your house they don't want you to be there; here in Brazil they want the owners to be present in the house, and to show the visitors around along with the agent. Also, in the US most people fix up there home before selling it; here the majority of people do not, and it is common practice that the buyers do whatever is necessary to fix it up. We have pretty much kept our house in good shape, so there are not many things that need to be done.

Please pray that God will bless the sale of our house, and also our search for an apartment in Santos, and that all will go well. Thanks for your prayers.

Visiting Friends In Valinhos

Last weekend Nancy and I visited our good friends Eduardo and Flavia and their kids Gabriel & Leo. They live in Valinhos, which is a city located in the country in the state of Sao Paulo about 1 1/2 to 2 hours north of Sao Paulo, depending on the traffic in Sao Paulo. It is very nice in the country in Brazil, and it is a nice change from the crowds and noises and traffic and pollution of Sao Paulo.

Leo & Gabriel with our dog Sampson

Nancy and I by a small lake in ValinhosNancy with Flavia, Leo, Gabriel, and SampsonPart of ValinhosA farm with horsesThey had small monkeys in the treesAnother "mocacinho" (small monkey)

Preaching The Gospel

" My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom..."

- Paul, I Corinthians 2:4


The following is taken from Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest" devotional:

Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of redemption comes through the preaching of the gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher.

Real and effective fasting by a preacher is not fasting from food, but fasting from eloquence, from impressive diction, and from everything else that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God— "... as though God were pleading through us..." (2 Corinthians 5:20). He is there to present the gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the gospel will result in making me a traitor to Jesus, and I prevent the creative power of His redemption from doing its work.

"And I, if I am lifted up. . . , will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:32).

Back Home In Brazil

We arrived in Sao Paulo this morning after a 9 1/2 hour overnight flight from Atlanta. We were able to spend a couple more days with our sons John, Anthony, and Daniel before coming back to Brazil. I also had the opportunity to speak at 2nd Baptist Church of Cedartown GA on Sun. morning July 12 for their missions month. We are friends with Pastor Patrick Latham and his wife Laura, who used to serve at our church in Marietta GA before we moved to Brazil. 1 person accepted Christ and another rededicated her life to Jesus and joined the church. Here are more pics from our trip.

The "Big Chicken" in Marietta GAEating at The Varsity in AtlantaMissions Month at 2nd Baptist Church Cedartown GASpeaking at 2nd Baptist Church CedartownNancy & I with Patrick and Laura Latham and their family

Trip To The US

We have been in the US since June 26, and have really enjoyed visiting our families and friends. First we were in the Atlanta area to help our son John move back from Brazil, and to see our sons Anthony and Dan. We also had a great time visiting our church in Marietta GA, Roswell Street Baptist Church. Next we flew up to Ohio to visit my family, and we had the chance to celebrate the 4th of July with them. Next we drove up to Rochester NY, which is where we currently are, to visit Nancy's family. We will go back to Atlanta on July 11th, then on Sun. morning July 12 I will preach in 2nd Baptist Church of Cedartown GA, and then we will fly home on Mon. night July 13 and arrive in Sao Paulo the morning of the 14th. It's been great to see everyone and be in the US again, but we will be ready to go back home to Brazil by next week. When we get back we will begin selling our house and preparing for a move to Santos, which is 1 hour south of Sao Paulo on the coast. We are hoping to sell our house and move there before the end of the year. Here are some pics of our US visit.

Me with our sons Anthony, Dan, and John in Atlanta

John, Dan, Nancy, Anthony, and a giant pizza in AtlantaMy brother John and his kids, Nancy, and my MomNancy and my Mom enjoying strawberry pieNancy & my sisters & sis-in-law & Mom celebrating the 4th in OhioHaving lunch in Rochester NY with some of Nancy's family

Visiting Nancy's family in Rochester NY