Wells

 EAB/ACEV has been digging and drilling wells for nearly 30 years and their impact on communities is quite extraordinary. When I look back I see how God has blessed us in and through this ministry and project as we had to learn everything from scratch. 

As I am writing EAB/ACEV history I asked our team to tell me just how many wells we drilled and equipped during the first 12 years of this project from 1992 to 2004. The answer is that we drilled or dug 54 wells which is an average of over 4 a year. These 54 wells benefitted very poor and needy people in a wide range of communities blessing at least 22,400 people!

Most of our wells are deep-bore which drill 50 meters deep. The well then has to be tested for the water quality and quantity and equipped with an appropriate pump. A water storage tank is built so that the water can be distributed from there my gravity to the whole community. We always also provide an animal drinking trough near the water tank. 

So thanks very much for all your prayers and support for the wide range of EAB Projects. Thank you for praying too that the living water of Jesus Christ also reaches into these communities for the glory of God. 

Twelve at Prayer

 I had a good 3 mile walk at Green Pastures this morning which was refreshing but very hot. One has to be ending a walk before 9 am owing to the increasing heat at this time of year rising daily to 38 degrees. It's very hot and very dry.

There were 12 in the Monday night "knees to the ground" prayer meeting with 10 in-person and 2 online. Tonight is the Men's Fellowship night and the women's night will be tomorrow. 

Your prayers are valued for Liz's arthritic knees. Her left knee is particularly swollen and painful and she will be going to the doctor's tomorrow to remove the fluid and apply medication.

Fire in the mountains

 Last night's service in Patos was good as was the service up in the mountains at Teixeira. The local pastor Maesio sent me photos from there which I have posted on the EAB Facebook page. It seems odd everyone yards apart and wearing masks but this is the new normal.

It wasn't long after my chat with the Teixeira pastor that I learnt of a forest fire in that region. The fire fighters are on the job but it is quite a challenge in difficult terrain. At this time of year we have seen no rain for months so fire outbreaks easily occur, sometimes deliberately. Please pray for this situation. The fire is on the northwest side of the Jabre Peak.  

Children's Morning

Liz and I enjoyed our Sunday morning today when we joined our Children's Ministry Team distributing sweets and lollipops to children from our Patos church in commemoration of Children's Day which was on Monday. The shady side of the church was beautifully decorated by balloons and all the families needed to do was call by the church to receive their bags of sweets! It was a simple way to show God's love and care for our children. The team called the morning - Drive Thru Kids! There were many smiles behind the masks. The whole event only cost us 50 pounds and everything was done safely as the pandemic demands. 

Now it's time to get ready for the main evening service which again will be in-person and online. We value your prayers and support always for every aspect of the work here. These are difficult frustrating days but we are doing all we can to cope with the challenges and overcome the difficulties. Please DO pray for us as we DO pray for you. Not a day goes by without we pray for all our supporters and partners in mission for the glory of God. 

How the other half survive!

 We often use that expression - how the other half lives - when we are surprised by the desperate needs of others. A case came to light recently which exemplifies this. Tatiana is a 12 year old adolescent at the Fonseca ex-slave community who takes part in our Desert Flower Project which seeks to help women help themselves. For example, the women learn how to make bread and to bake cakes which they can sell. Tatiana never misses our project's meetings or lessons but on one particular day recently she didn't turn up. Our social worker enquired as to if she was unwell but discovered that Tatiana had missed our session because the one blouse which she has which is not torn or has holes in was in the wash!

The sad plight of Tatiana is not limited to her alone of course but this story made us want to do something to help her and many others like her. So we have a campaign going around EAB/ACEV churches and our people are giving used but decent clothes for distribution by our project team to the very poor and needy. As October 12th was Children's Day we are concentrating on second hand but good clothes for children and we are encouraged by the results. Many people have dug out excellent clothes their children grew out of and during this month our team will distribute them at Fonseca Community. 

As Jesus said in Matthew 25:36 - "I needed clothes and you clothed me". All we do we do for Jesus. Thank you for all your prayers and support.  

Pastoral Meeting

 Last night Liz and I held a very good meeting in our back garden, with our assistant pastor Rafael, to discuss different topics relevant to the progress of the church. We also invited pastor Lucena (ex-Congregational) who I used to work with at the Patos Bible College and who now is with us in the Patos church. The main topic was how we will now run the São Mamede church after the ex-leader left. We decided to run regular Saturday night services there. We also discussed some problem individuals in the Patos church whom I can't name here and we agreed ways to deal with them. We value your prayers for both these matters.

Children's Day

 This Sunday's service went off very well and today, October 12th, is a bank holiday for the patron saint of Brazil - Our Lady of Aparecida. Today is also Children's Day. Later in the week we will be holding a special 'drive through' sweets distribution for the children in commemoration of their day. Cars and motor bikes will be able to pull over by the church for the children to receive their sweets and lollipops. I thought it was a pretty good creative idea which the kids will love!