Ten out of ten

So far my predictions for the second round matches of the World Cup got full marks. As predicted this morning France sent Argentina home and Uruguay did the same to Portugal. 

For tomorrow I predict Spain will beat Russia (Putin will cry and receive a consolation phone call from Trump) and Croatia will beat Denmark (although I feel slightly wobbly on this one - but I will stick to the Croats).

Green Pastures had a police helicopter flying over it three times at 4 am today with big strong light beams looking for the bandits who attacked the armoured bank vehicles yesterday at nearby Ipueira. We have no news of them being captured.

Tonight a youth team from Patos is going to help in the service at Ipueira. Please pray for the people there as they get over the shock of such a shoot out in their little town/village and for God to be with the team there tonight.

My forecast for the World Cup today

My forecast for this Saturday's World Cup 2nd round matches are that France will knock out Argentina (don't cry for me Argentina) and that Uruguay will knock out Portugal (on your bike Ronaldo!).

Don't forget that I won the international QPR result forecasters competition a couple of years ago! Not to be sneezed at!

I had my hernia surgery one year ago today so I sent my surgeon a WhatsApp message of thanks telling him that Jesus healed 10 lepers but only one returned to say thank you. I said: "I am the thankful leper today"! He was really touched. 

I posted criticism on Facebook of the situation of the poor kids separated from their parents on the US border and have been called everything under the sun, including being labelled a communist, by some. Others agree with my view. Sadly evangelicals are too easy to manipulate. As long as you say you are against abortion and gays you can do what you like! Then they always quote Romans 13:1 in defence as the military regime used to in Brazil in the 70s. May the Lord help us to read the other verses in the Bible too!

Big Shoot Out at Ipueira

Ipueira is a small town in Rio Grande do Norte State where EAB has been working on a church plant for a number of years now. This morning at 10:30 am a gang of 20 highly armed thieves tried to rob two armoured money carrying vehicles but the only three policemen in town managed to keep them at bay until reinforcements arrived. The gang fled into the rural area which is not that far from Green Pastures so we are being verfy careful as they haven't been caught yet. Please pray.

On Wednesday when returning from Green Pastures I saw an awful accident in which a man was killed. He pulled out of a side road and didn't notice a big lorry coming his way. The lorry chopped his truck in half with the impact.

I had a good meeting with the deaf pastor Luis Carlos today working on details for another deaf conference on August 18th.

I wrote and dispatched the latest EAB Nutshell Update yesterday so if you didn't receive a copy and would like one then please do let me know.

I had a good meeting with our communications man Ray Santana this week who will help me prepare videos clips of short duration - say 2 or 3 minutes each - to use on our UK trip visiting churches. Hence instead of PowerPoint slide presentations like on previous trips we hope to use video material interspersed with Liz and I speaking.

So England and Brazil are into the second round of the football World Cup. Now we shall see what happens. England will not find Colombia a push over but I predict  a tight win for England 2 x 1. Brazil should beat Mexico with more ease - let's say 3 x 0. Actually things have worked out great for me personally with England being second in their group as it means they can only meet Brazil if both get to the final!

Unbelievable!

Well my forecast of 3 x 1 in yesterday's blog for today's game was slightly undercooked! 6 x 1 is a bit of a shock to the system but well done England!

FIVE x NIL!

This is difficult to cope with! England beating Panama in the World Cup 5 x 0 at half time! How will this end up? Crumbs!

Harvest Festival Thanksgiving

We held our annual Harvest Festival Thanksgiving service tonight for which a good number turned up. We had some lovely praise and choreographies in traditional regional steps. It was all beautiful. I brought a reflexive message on how we are communicating the Gospel. At the end everyone ate traditional maize food snacks.

The deaf fellowship was at the Harvest Festival in force tonight! It was lovely to see so many there. I have a meeting with their leader Pastor Luis Carlos next Friday.

This morning the youth asked me to take them on a nature trail at Green Pastures so this I did with pleasure. 

Tomorrow I'm preaching again in Patos at night. I'll watch England in the World Cup in the morning. I forecast a 3x1 win for England against Panama. 

This has been quite a week!

Sitonio, leader of the EAB/ACEV church at Mandacaru continues in hospital in Campina Grande but out of danger I am told. Praise God for his improved health. I just ask you to pray still for a proper diagnosis of what was wrong with him as I fear they will send him home to where he lives in the middle of nowhere without getting to the bottom of the problem.

Pastor Hamilton has now recovered from his severe Dengue fever. PTL! However we are under quite an attack at the moment and pastors Lindon Carlos and Wostenes are not at all well. 

The youth this week have had an intensive programme as they do every year in June. It's been a great week. Last night was beautiful seeing and hearing them presenting in groups the results of their Biblical studies on 4 topics: Corruption, Lies, Humility and the Environment. Tonight they are all sleeping at Green Pastures and I'll take them on a nature trail in the morning. At night they'll be back in Patos for a Saturday night special service.

I'm preaching tomorrow night and on Sunday night. 

Brazil plod on in the World Cup without being very inspired or inspiring. When the group stage ends we shall see who the 16 survivors are. It would seem both Brazil and England should get to at least the knock-out stage, but we will see. 

I went to my doctor this week for my general check-up with the results of blood tests enough to empty anyone's arm! All is fine PTL! Liz continues in much better health and thanks everyone for their prayers.

Please pray for Church leader Sitonio!

This is the leader of the Mandacaru EAB/ACEV Church in Santana de Mangueria County, far west Paraíba State in NE Brazil. His name is Antônio Otacílio, but, as so often happens in Brazil he is only know by his nick name of Sitonio, or may it should be spelt Citonio. 

Sitonio became suddenly ill out of the blue on Saturday with severe haemorrhaging and I awoke on Sunday morning to the news that he had been brought to the Patos general hospital where he was dangerously ill. Contacts with doctor friends confirmed the gravity of his health situation and that he would need to be transferred to a larger more advance medical centre at Campina Grande once he could be stabilized. This was eventually achieved and this Monday evening he has arrived in Campina Grande. Please pray for our dear brother. What the cause of the haemorrhage is is still unknown. He needed a lot of blood transfusion to stabilize him.

Sunday's services went well amidst all this and were a real blessing. News also came through of Pastor Hamilton at our big second church in Campina Grande having gone down with a more severe type of Dengue Fever which is life threatening. He has been in and out of hospital and today is a bit better. Please pray for Hamilton as well. The battle is hot!

I love preaching the Gospel!

I am near to completing my sermon preparation for Sunday on this Wednesday morning and I am already itching to preach it! My preparation started on Monday and I am more and more enthused with the text of John 13:1-17. I have preached on this passage before of course, but this time it's different! Preachers and pastors: if you never see anything new in a text or Bible passage over the years there's something wrong with you! You're stagnant!

I have seen the WASHING of the disciple's feet in a new way this time round. It is humility I know, but it is also washing! Washing which Peter is told he will only understand later. Why later? After what? Leon Morris is great on John's Gospel. 

Thank you Jesus for your washing! Can't wait for Sunday!

Feet washing in the middle of a meal

I started preparing my sermon for next Sunday yesterday and continue today. I like to do this early in the week when that's possible. There's a lot of prayer and preparation that has to be done alone in my office behind the scenes. My sermon will be on John 13:1-17 which when digging into is quite a passage.

I also received the gift of a forest fire beater from the Fire Brigade yesterday for Green Pastures. I enquired with them about how we could be best prepared for the worst (which we hope  and pray will never occur) and they gave me a new "beater" which they themselves use. Marian Rashleigh tells me that these "beaters" (not sure if this is what you call them in English) used to be placed all over the New Forest. The Fire Brigade chief was most impressed that I was thinking ahead like this and very happy that I am organizing a local team to be ready for an eventual fire outbreak as the Fire Brigade is so stretched to cope with a large area. I will now need to get more of these beaters but have the model to go on. The Fire Brigade has offered to give our team some training too.

This afternoon the Environmental Police will be going to Green Pastures with a coach load of school kids to visit our Nature Reserve. I will show them round a bit and talk to them about caring for God's creation. Then the police will set free some birds which they have recovered from people illegally keeping wild birds in captivity which is a common practice here.

It's been a good week

Sunday went well with good blessed services. Thanks for praying. Unfortunately tonight's service was not transmitted on Facebook owing to a technical problema beyond our control. I preached on 'Christianity and Culture' as the month of June is a strong cultural month in north-east Brazil so my message was laying out a Christian position and perspective.

Last week was the annual united evangelical churches get together/public concerts/social/spiritual get together. It went well though is perhaps not ideal, but at least the Christians come together and publicly declare their faith in Jesus Christ. 

Organizations must revamp and reorganize as they get older

EAB is 80 this year! In Brazil we have been revamping since we reached 50 and now we need youth on board in the UK to revamp as well.

EAB now heads for a ton and the UK base needs to keep in step because it's necessary and vital. Our Board of Trustees and overall support base must develop and spread downwards to teenagers and youth. This is not despising the young at heart but is being realistic.

In Brazil 82% of the Christians in our 83 churches are under 50. How do you think this compares with EAB's support base overseas which is of vital importance to the work?

EAB needs to continue its work to get its century because the need is here and the need is great! Why has a big Christian organization like Tearfund decided to focus its entire work in Brazil in the north-east and north? Because this is where the main needs are! It is the area where genuine evangelical Christian churches are less and weakest. It is the area where many thousands of villages are still without any evangelical Christian place of worship throughout our enormous area. It is the area where the gap between rich and poor is most accentuated. In Brazil's north-east the poor are extremely poor!

This is why EAB must get set for a ton with the experienced continuing on board in Brazil and the UK and with youth getting more on board and sharing the load with enthusiasm, meaning and dedication.

I just felt I should write this. EAB needs youth to get turned on to mission in north-east Brazil because it's badly needed. I'd love to see a youth group come out here in 2019. I'd love you to email me with your thoughts. I'd love to chat to interested folk when in the UK in the autumn. 

May Brazil's north-east hear the voice of God and see the love of God over the next 20 years through a vibrant EAB for His glory and for the benefit of all who need the Lord!

I call on all who love God's work to pray about this in the name of Jesus!

EAB Market Garden Project

Photos this Thursday from our Market Garden Project in São Mamede County. People have dignity and self-worth when they are given the rod and not the fish! Paulo has great pride in his work and production - and the produce sells well in the local market. His wife Dora is the photographer and I'm giving her a few lessons via WhatsApp to make sure she has the sun behind her back and things like that. WhatsApp is widely used here as a free means of communication and I speak to this community twice a day!

Basic Sanitation

This Friday EAB/ACEV will inaugurate 9 constructions like this with a bathroom, toilet, water tank, shower, hand basin, clothes washing tub and cess pit. It is amazing how in this day and age so many in these parts do not have the basics! Thank you for your prayers and support.

New Murder Statistics published for Brazil

The murder statistics for Brazil in 2016 have just been published with the horrific growth to 62,517. This is equivalent to 30.3 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, and the worst regions are the north-east and north of Brazil. 

This compares with 17,250 in the USA and 571 in England and Wales in similar periods.

Good Sunday

I preached last night in the Communion service in Patos on Matthew 21:1-11. It went well as did the whole service. 

This morning I took a group of school children round the Green Pastures trails to encourage environmental awareness. The school came all the way from Piancó which is 60 miles west of Green Pastures!

EAB email updates in a nutshell

The latest EAB Nutshell Update has been sent to all who we can send it too as we are limited (by a new EU law) awaiting the necessary permission to send it from some. If you want it you are going to have to kindly tell us so or else we can't send it! Please contact us at eabrazil@gmail.com

EAB Communications

EAB In Touch magazine edition 89 is on its way by post to all on the mailing list. Thanks to Marian Rashleigh and Dave Flowers for all their hard work on this. Here's the link to the magazine in pdf: http://eabrazil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/eabintouch89.pdf

Saturday Street Service

I preached at Saturday night's street service in front of our school in the borough of Jatobá - southern Patos. It was a lovely service with a crowd of about 150 there. It could never happen in the UK! The street taken over for a service and 150 turn up! It was great!