Tuesday, 29 July 2025

Exhaustion

I am utterly exhausted this morning as I have made 2 cups of tea and I made the bed! 😩

I led the main service of the week on Sunday night with a full church, and assistant pastor Rafael preached on the danger of unbelief from Hebrews 3:7-13. It was a good service.

I am busy preparing for all our speaking engagements in the UK as we will be leaving on August 20th. I am also busy preparing for our pastors and leaders family conference at Green Pastures from the 8th to 10th August. We value your prayers.

Our grandson John David, who is a doctor, is now a GP at the Ana Maria Isodoro Surgery (UBS) in São Mamede, which is the municipality where Green Pastures is situated. I am particularly pleased about this as we have been in this municipality for 47 years and I was made an honorary citizen of São Mamede in 2012.

Yesterday afternoon we had an excellent online meeting with co-leaders of the work here Pastor Wostenes in Campina Grande and his wife Gleydice. We discussed various aspects of the work in the states of Bahia, Paraiba and Rio Grande do Norte.

Sunday, 27 July 2025

Maroon Shorts

I work in my office in the daytime wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Naturally one gets attached to one's shorts over the years! So you can imagine how devastated I am as Liz has just binned my favourite maroon shorts saying she didn't have the nerve to put them in the church jumble sale! 😒Women can be very ruthless at times! 😓

At Green Pastures I saw a Southern Lapwing and a number of Red-cowled Cardinals. I also took photos of our pet Cockatiels and our newly acquired 6-months-old donkey called Merrylegs II.


Last night our weekly service at the Green Pastures church, which I was to lead and preach at, was cancelled as Paulo's, who is the brother who sets up the sound equipment, old banger conked out on him leaving him stranded.

Friday, 25 July 2025

Police Station

I was asked to go to the police station to answer questions regarding our car crash 9 months ago in Teixeira. Grandson and lawyer Arthur went with me and I hope that is the end of the matter.

I have had an important meeting with Pastor Wostenes and Pastor Renilson about our action school project. We praise God for fine men of God as these who stand firm in the work of the Lord and care for the poor. What a wonderful work our action schools carry out to over 850 needy children!

We have started a 'Donkey Haven' at Green Pastures in the light of 94% of Brazil's donkeys having been slaughtered and their extinction in Brazil expected over the next 5 years. We have acquired a young female donkey and are now looking for a husband for her! 😊

Wednesday, 23 July 2025

Egrets

On the trip to João Pessoa I saw dozens of Cattle Egrets and one Great Egret. On the trip to Caroá I saw a hawk, but I was unable to see which species of hawk it was.

Yesterday we left Patos a little after 8 am and travelled to Cedro in the municipality of Princesa Isabel in a journey which took 2-and-three-quarter-hours. The mountain climb was very congested by heavy lorries. I have just heard that today a lorry went over the mountain precipice and killed the driver. When we got to Cedro we visited 21-year-old Jezrel who is recovering from a serious motorbike accident in January and is a member of our church there. It was nice to talk to him and all his family members there. After this we had lunch at the Paladar restaurant in Princesa Isabel.

After lunch were were pleased to see that at long last the authorities have asphalted the road on the Manaira side of the town as we proceeded to Caroá. There we made thanksgiving visits to the new wells at Chico de Nenem and Caroá. I then led a special thanksgiving service for these wells at which brother Robert from São Paulo preached the Word. It was a lovely service with a full church. The service was animated by blessed singing and dancing. At the end the Deputy Mayor spoke beautifully.

This morning we drove back to Patos from Caroá stopping at Manaira to visit an 85-year-old couple from our church there called José Paulino and Luiza. They still run their little convenience shop which they started about 35 years ago as a result of an EAB loan. Then we were back to Patos for egg and chips!

Monday, 21 July 2025

Busy Weekend

Liz and I had a very full and busy weekend. On the Friday we had a 4-hour meeting at Green Pastures with a group of Christians from São Paulo who wanted to visit the place and see what we do there in terms of Christian events and nature preservation. We took them on a nice nature trail and we had a lovely time of prayer at the prayer nook in the woods where we have a circle of rustic wooden seats where groups meet for prayer.

Then on Saturday morning we left on a 6-and-a-half-hour drive to João Pessoa on the coast where I went to preach at our main church's there's 31st anniversary service. We had lunch in Campina Grande on the way and unfortunately Liz's fish allergy was inadvertently upset making her really sick. The service went well with a full church to whom I preached.

Then yesterday we drove back to Patos in time for me to preach in the evening service in which we especially gave thanks for our deaconess Beatriz's 90th birthday. What an extraordinary woman of God she is full of the joy of the Lord!

Saturday, 19 July 2025

Babies

11 babies in the south of Brazil were accidentally injected with an anti-snakebite serum instead of being vaccinated against hepatitis B. Fortunately the babies have suffered no ill affects.🐍

A lorry load of water had just filled our water cistern at Green Pastures. The water is for drinking and cooking. Our wells provide water for showers, flush toilets, cleaning etc. but we have to ship in non-brackish water for drinking and cooking.

Yesterday we went to visit 83-year-old Aina who is a sister in our church who has a serious problem with her right eye. She was there with her sister Lourdes, her brother João and her daughter Solange. We chatted with them, read the Bible and prayed with them.

Every Tuesday I do Pilates in the morning and aquarobics in the afternoon. It's very important to keep fit. 🏃

I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study and fireman Romildo brought an excellent Bible study on Jude 1 - 4. The praise was led by Dedé and Vasti and Espedita sang solos. One beautiful moment was when 7-year-old little boy Danilo said he had a prayer request for Milena. When we asked who Milena was he pointed to his mum's tummy as she is 7 months pregnant with a girl!

A 12-year-old girl has died giving birth to a baby in Belo Horizonte, but the baby survived. The girl was a Venezuelan immigrant.

I heard some Solitary Black Caciques at Green Pastures. They are jet black, have red eyes, have bright white bone-like beaks and are about the size of the UK blackbird. Their nests are enormous contraptions up to 70 cm long which hang from the branches of trees.

I am now off to João Pessoa on the coast to preach at our church's 31st anniversary service. It's a 6-hour drive. I'll be back tomorrow to preach in Patos.

Thursday, 17 July 2025

Gary O'Donoghue

I would like to congratulate British BBC blind journalist Gary O'Donoghue for his excellent exclusive interview with Donald Trump. The White House press secretary woke him up on the phone to give him the interview. Brilliant work Gary!

On Tuesday night we had a wonderful men's fellowship meeting led by chief of the police Esau. I led the inductive Bible study on Jesus being the light that everyone needs... the light of the Gospel, the Word, the Church, the Peoples, the New Jerusalem and of the believer. There was excellent participation from everyone present, and at the end we had a nice time of prayer together. 🙏

Our granddaughter Beatriz (Bia) is back from her youth excursion to the USA. She enjoyed it very much but she is glad to be home to take part in the national table tennis championships. Our grandson John David who is a doctor did a 24-hour shift at a clinic at Desterro the day before yesterday and today he is doing another 24-hour shift at a clinic in Teixeira.

Yesterday we went to Green Pastures where Liz prepared things for a special group of visitors we will be receiving from the south of Brazil tomorrow, and I checked out our pet Cockatiels which have a nest with 5 eggs, and our pet rabbits and guinea pigs. Children at our camps love these pets.