Princesa Isabel

The EAB/ACEV Princesa Isabel church is the oldest of our churches going back to 1940 when Albert Mundy started the work there with great courage in the face of much persecution. Today it has 130 participants and is led by Pastor Gersé. It was a joy to travel the 145 km there on Saturday and to preach on Lucas 12:8-9 to a large crowd from a stage set up in the street in front of the church. We slept there after the service in a sort of "hotel" (at least that's what they call it!) and it cost us 20 pounds. It wasn't very clean but we were tired and managed to sleep well. We travelled back to Patos on the Sunday morning.

Back in Patos we had our usual Sunday lunch of egg, chips and peas and were ready for the main service of the week at 6:30 pm (9.30 pm UK time now that the clocks have changed). I led the service, the drama group did a 7-minute presentation and pastor Rafael preached. It was a good service after which the deaf fellowship sold passion fruit mousse to help with the expenses of our Care Centre building project.

We have completed the construction of Madalena and Anderson's new toilet/shower unit at Barra de Oitis village. It is the first toilet this family has had in their lives.

QPR lost again on Saturday! This time they lost 2 x 1 to Leicester at home and had yet another man sent off! They're bad enough with 11 men, but with 10 it is impossible. As I expected the manager was sacked after the game.

Joel

The midweek Bible study went well with about 20 present. We had the second study in the minor prophet Joel. For the praise we had Segundo, Joel and Michael and we also had 3 participations with 'blessed verses of the Bible' from Rayla, Dedé and Romildo.

We had a nice meeting with Pastor Rafael and his bride to be Rayla on December 30th, which is another wedding I will be conducting. They officially gave us the invitation to their wedding.

Later today we will be driving about two and a half hours south-west of Patos to Princesa Isabel where I will be preaching at the 83rd anniversary of our church there. We will sleep there tonight and drive back to Patos on Sunday morning. We value your prayers.

We have a lovely Wren regularly coming into our front room! 😃

Yesterday afternoon I went for a nice walk at Green Pastures. Everything is so terribly dry as we haven't had rain for months now, and it is very hot too.

Meetings

I have had some good meetings today with some pastors. First of all I had a lovely meeting with Pastor Wostenes who is the deputy leader of ACEV and the pastor of our biggest church in Campina Grande with 600 members. The meeting was most positive. Then I had a meeting with Pastor Iremar about the two churches he leads at João Pessoa Funcionários 3 and Salgado de São Felix Juá. The former has 15 adult members and 5 children. The latter has 10 adult members and 28 children. Please pray for these pastors.

On Tuesday night I travelled to the town of São Mamede with the Patos Men's Fellowship where we held a street meeting to which 30 attended. I gave a short word and so did Chico. The main message was preached by Rafael. It was a nice meeting and one man expressed great interest in the Gospel after the service.

QPR lost yet again in their mid-week game away to West Brom! They lost 2 x 0 and had a man sent off. Very sad! 😒 They must be going to sack the manager soon.

I had a nice walk at Green Pastures and it was lovely to see the big Craibeira (Trumpet tree) trees in bright yellow blossom.

The 100th edition of EAB's InTouch magazine is now available online at https://eabrazil.org/2023/10/25/intouch-100/. 

The Christmas Gift List is also available online at https://eabrazil.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/eab-giftlist2023.pdf

Rehab

Another young man will be taken from Soledade to the rehabilitation centre near João Pessoa tomorrow. He is utterly dependent on alcohol. Please pray for his deliverance and salvation.

Sunday night's main service of the week was very good with our young Bible College graduate Murilo preaching an excellent sermon from Hebrews 4:1-5 entitled 'The cross and rest'. During the service we received 15 people into fellowship, 14 of whom had been baptized in the morning. We also had Psalm 46 recited by a sister called Dilma and a verse from Isaiah was recited by a little boy called Miguel. The church was full, but not overfull. 

Today is a public holiday in Patos alone as it is the anniversary of 120 years of Patos being set up as a town.

I was very pleased to see how our little Água Grande church is helping a man with severe mental health problems by setting him up with a small market garden to occupy him and give him a means of income. Please pray for this man.

Baptism

I have just got home after baptizing 14 people at Green Pastures. It was a lovely service with a good crowd present. During the service I also prayed a blessing on a couple, Rogério and Samana, who wanted to renew their marriage vows on the day of their baptism. After the service we had a fellowship breakfast together. Everyone took something for the breakfast and shared it. It finished off nicely a lovely morning.

Yesterday we took part in the EAB AGM and celebration via internet and our son Philip was the preacher. It was a nice service. On the previous evening we also took part in the excellent EAB Board meeting.

On Saturday night I led the weekly service at Green Pastures. Our church also held services at Ipueira and Passagem, whilst the deaf held their weekly service in Patos.

Cadnam Methodist church held another concert in aid of EAB for which we are very grateful.

We held a meeting with Isaac and Marina whose marriage I will be conducting a week on Saturday.

You will not be surprised to know that yesterday QPR lost 2 x 1 at Huddersfield. That is the 4th defeat in a row and we continue in the Championship relegation zone. 😒

EAB Board Meeting

I will be taking part in an EAB Board meeting this afternoon (evening in the UK) which comes prior to the AGM and celebration tomorrow at Hardley, Southampton. We will also be taking part online in the celebration. We look forward to seeing you there.

I am posting a photo a day of our pastors on Facebook and Instagram. I have posted 27 so far. I hope you are following the series so that you can put a face to a name. I took the photos at the pastors' conference at Green Pastures last month.

Liz went to the women's fellowship meeting on Wednesday night. There were 17 there.

I have been preparing for the baptism at Green Pastures this Sunday at 8 am. We hold it early before it gets too hot. I have also been preparing to conduct another wedding on November 4th. I will be having a meeting with the couple (Isaac and Marina) tonight.

Last night's Bible study went well. We started a new series in the minor prophet Joel. There were about 20 people there. 3 people also took part with 'my Bible verse' sharing with us a verse in the Bible that has recently been a blessing to them. These participations happen before the Bible study.   

Decision

On Monday evening a Gospel service was held at Chaguinha and Conceição's house not far from Green Pastures, and Conceição made a decision of commitment to Christ, and she was given a Bible. Recently this couple received a hair sheep from our 4-Legs Project and as a result of this the couple asked for a service at their house.

Please pray for our well drilling project team who are trying to select the next community for our next well. A site was being considered in the county of Princesa Isabel but this has fallen through because it didn't meet our criteria of the community having a minimum of 15 families living in it. The community leader had told us there were 19 families there, but our visits there showed there were only 9!

Our building work at the Care Centre is nearing its completion. Next job will be the painters.

I gave the Bible study in last night's men's fellowship which was an inductive study about who is Jesus, covering John 8:12, 10:9 and 11:25. There were 9 of us there and the participation of all was very good.

Statistics in from our annual youth conference in Campina Grande are that 155 took part. The Patos group (19) was the largest visiting group of participants. 

Toilets

The next two families who will receive EAB/ACEV toilet/shower units at the village of Barra de Oitis, in Diamante County, have been selected. It is a difficult job choosing as the needs are so great but we can't do them for everyone so we have to choose those in greatest need. First of all Maria Madalena, Anderson and their 3 children were selected. Secondly comes Jailma, Severino and their son Yan. Please pray for the successful and accident free construction of these units. The families are over the moon with joy!

On Saturday night I led the weekly service of the Green Pastures church, Fábio led the praise, and graduated Bible College student Murilo preached an excellent sermon on Matthew 22:1-14. It is a great encouragement to me to hear this young man preach.

The Sunday services went well too. Liz led the Sunday School in the morning and I led the main service of the week at night at which Pastor Rafael preached on Mark 5:21-43. It was a blessed service.

I have challenged our folk to memorize and recite Biblical passages in church and so far 2 adults and 1 child are showing signs of working on this. I hope perhaps on this coming Sunday we might have out first participant in this.

Our Lady of the Apparition

Thursday was a public holiday for the patron saint of Brazil who is Our Lady of the Apparition. We don't believe in patron saints or in Our Lady but the day is also commemorated as Children's Day which we make the most of. In the Patos church we held a lovely children's service in the afternoon which was a joyful celebration of the love of Jesus with the clear proclamation of the Gospel. It was a joy to hear the children singing and to see them so happy. Of course they were all extra thrilled when they all received a big bag of sweets at the end!

Also on Thursday we had a surprise visit at Green Pastures of the Brazilian environmental organization who came with a drone to film and photograph our nature reserve which cares for God's creation.

Our youth have their annual conference this weekend in Campina Grande. The conference is organized by our second church there in the borough of Presidente Médici.

I went for another walk at Green Pastures and brought back lemons and cashew fruits. I photographed a Pigmy Owl and a bright orange Campo Troupial. I also heard lots of Scaled Doves. 

Preaching the Gospel

I have been a missionary here for 51 years now but I have not lost the thrill of preaching the Gospel in open air services just like I first learnt to preach in Notting Hill and Hyde Park when I was a teenager at Peniel Chapel. On Tuesday night I went with the men's fellowship to São Mamede and I preached to about 30 people sprawled out in the street about the authority of Jesus in teaching, over evil and over sickness from Mark 1:21-34. It was a lovely evening.

Yesterday I had a meeting with church leaders from a different denomination who wanted my advice on some matters. It was a good meeting.

Research that I did back in the year 2000 with the Patos Bible College about church history in the interior of northeast Brazil is now proving helpful for current day Bible College students. It is good to see one's work being put to good use.

I had a good walk at Green Pastures and had a good look at the Moringa trees being harvested and pruned.

Liz went to the women's fellowship meeting last night and there were 11 present. All went off smoothly. 

EAB's annual celebration will be held on Saturday, October 21st with a fellowship tea at 6 pm and the service at 7 pm. It will be held as usual at the Lighthouse Community Church, Long Lane, Hardley, Southampton, SO45 3NZ. Our son Philip will be the speaker and Liz and I will also take part via a live link on internet. Please do attend this special Brazilian evening!

Youth

Our Itaporanga church, one and a quarter hour's drive west of Patos, has held a youth conference which was really blessed of God. A good crowd of local young people took part.

On Sunday night I led the main service of the week in the Patos church and our youngest daughter Sacha preached on "I have seen the Lord" (John 20:18). She preached very well. Sacha is doing a degree in theology at the ISBL Bible College and is becoming a very accomplished preacher of God's word.

During the service a retired nurse gave a short talk as part of the 'pink October's breast cancer awareness month'. She was succinct and clear. Many of the women went to church dressed in pink as part of this day.

Mountain

Yesterday we travelled up the Teixeira mountain to preach at the 58th anniversary service of our Teixeira church. It was a lovely service with a full church. Parallel to this our daughter Sacha took the weekly service at Green Pastures, the Christians in action group took the service at Ipueira and there was also a service at Passagem. In Patos the youth also held an evangelistic service.

On Friday night I held a meeting of all our ministries' leaders when we discussed ways to improve our fellowship group meetings. It was a productive and profitable meeting.

Yesterday QPR lost yet again! This time they lost 4 x 0 at home to Blackburn. Oh dear! 😖

Help

Liz and I visited our sick sister Socorro Help and it was good to find her more positive and looking somewhat better. She is worried about one of her sons and wanted to talk to us about him.

We had a good meeting with the adolescents' fellowship leaders and had a good discussion about their work whilst giving them some tips and suggestions.

Liz has been to the women's fellowship which went off well.

Sadly QPR go from bad to worse and lost yet again at Leeds 1 x 0 on Wednesday. Oh dear! 😕

Last night's Bible study went well and we finished the book of Hosea.

Yesterday I went to the Papagaio region of São Mamede to give 4 hair sheep, of the Santa Inês breed, as part of the EAB 4-Legs Project. The people were extremely grateful. The families that received them were Conceição, Chaguinha and their 4 children; Eliane, José and their one child; Francinaldo, Damiana and their 3 children; and the single mother Mariana and her 6 children. Thank you for supporting this wonderful project.

Decisions for Christ

This week we have seen two further young people make commitments to Christ in the Patos church. Please pray for these new born ones in the faith.

We had a very good meeting with our co-pastor Rafael. We had a nice time of prayer together and we discussed a variety of topics about the church. We went through the list of candidates for baptism later in the month discussing each one.

Last night I enjoyed the weekly men's fellowship meeting. There were 11 present and it was led by chief of the police Esaú. 

We are in the process of acquiring some more hair sheep for distribution in the 4-Legs project. 

Women's Conference

Our churches on the coast at João Pessoa held a women's conference at the weekend and a very good number attended. The event was blessed of God and encouraged everyone. Our Conceição church (2 hours west of Patos) held its 74th anniversary service and layed hands on a new elder called Dedé who is a lovely faithful brother. Then there was a youth conference at our Portelo church near Campina Grande as well, so plenty of events were held this weekend.

I led the service and preached at it at Green Pastures on Saturday. We had a problem with the lighting in the hall so we held the service in the open air where we had lighting and it was a lovely service. The Christians in Action group also held their weekly service at Ipueira.

The Sunday services went well in Patos. I led the monthly communion service at night and Pastor Rafael preached from Matthew 15. 

Liz led a jumble sale held at our Patos school on Saturday and it raised 138 pounds for our construction work.

The sad news is that QPR lost again at the weekend. They lost 3 x 1 at home to Coventry and are now 22nd in the Championship which is in the relegation zone. Oh dear! 😠