Deer at Green Pastures

 Our Green Pastures Christian Conference Centre and Nature Reserve sees the Conference Centre on hold owing to the pandemic. Last month, for example, would have normally seen our annual leaders conference there but this had to be cancelled and essential business was dealt with an online Google Meet Conference. However of course the Nature Reserve side of things carries on unaffected caring for creation and seeking to be a Christian example. Thus we had the thrill this week to register with a Bushnell automatic wildlife camera a deer for the very first time, which are extremely rare in our region. 

Tonight the local church there will be meeting in-person with all the necessary precautions and we pray that God will bless. A team from Patos will be taking the service.

I have been doing a lot more work on the history of the churches and projects here for the benefit of our churches. The idea is to cover the first 80 years and I've now just completed 66 years. It's a lot of work wading through the minutes of meetings plus church and project reports and newsletters but I believe the end result will be worthwhile. I value your prayers.

International Men's Fellowship

 Last night's Men's Fellowship was both in-person and online and turned out to be quite an international night with our son Philip taking part in England. Gilmarco also took part from the extreme south of Brazil. The meeting was led by Major Esaú and assistant pastor Rafael brought a short Biblical reflection on the subject of repentence based on Psalm 51. The meeting was really blessed of God and one man called Flávio, who has been away from God for years, came for the second time and made a public unsolicited recommittal of his life to God. Praise the Lord!

Monday night's prayer meeting went well too. This morning I walked for over 3 miles at Green Pastures which is good physical, spiritual and mental exercise in the middle of God's creation. It is just a pity that it's getting so hot early, rising to 38 degrees in the shade most days. By 8 am it was really hot and rain we haven't seen for months so air humidity levels are dangerously low and the vegetation is utterly parched. 

"I needed clothes and you clothed me" (Matthew 25:36)

This week our team distributed over 500 items of new and second-hand clothes in good condition to the slave descendent communities of Barra de Oitis and Fonseca. Shoes and hygiene kits were also distributed. These simple expressions of God's love made many people very happy. 

Last night a team from Patos went and held the first in-person service at Green Pastures for months observing social distancing, the wearing of masks etc. Thank you for your prayers. The service was a real blessing with a good number from the region present. 

Drive through visit

 Liz and I did another of our drive-through visits this afternoon. We visited our deaconess Josinete and her husband Zaqueo. They were very happy with the visit. We pulled up in front of their house in our jeep and talked to them whilst they stood a few metres away. We all were wearing masks. It was nice to chat to them and catch up with some of their family news. They reminded us of their daughter's wedding scheduled for April. She has been going out with the boy for 19 years! That is what I call patience! Both Gisliany and Perlânio are members of the Patos church. She works at the Care Centre and he is an interpreter for the deaf fellowship.

Bathroom dream comes true

 Cícera Virgulino da Silva is a 37-year-old mother of 5 who is married to João Paulo. Her family has lived at Barra de Oitis slave descendent community for many generations. She cannot read or write. Cícera has only ever known poverty and used to walk for 2 hours to find water to wash the family clothes when she was just 9. By 11 she had to work in the plantations in the rainy season. This she still does today as a mother of 5.

Cícera says: “I always dreamed of having a bathroom and toilet which is something we never ever had. We just had a hut for the women to wash down in but no toilet. This was especially difficult and even dangerous for the women. Now we are overjoyed by the toilet/shower unit that EAB/ACEV have built for us. It is wonderful and will serve our house and 7 other houses near ours!”

These folk are also receiving help setting up market gardens and chicken runs so as to enhance their income and improve their diet. This community is hearing the Gospel too and seeing God’s love in action. We thank everyone who prays for and supports the work of EAB.

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!

Projects Leadership Meeting

 We have just held an excellent online leaders meeting, which I chaired, to discuss our wide range of projects. There were about 40 leaders from all over the State of Paraíba in northeast Brazil taking part in a lovely spirit. We would normally hold this meeting at Green Pastures but the pandemic made this impossible. We chose the projects leadership team for the next 2 years and heard reports on our projects. We look to the Lord for His blessing as we press on with our projects in these difficult times. We value your prayers always. 

Where there's a will there's a way

 We badly wanted to visit Maria José following the death of her 90 year old mother. However the quarantine restrictions made it impossible until we had the idea of a drive-through visit! Liz and I drove to her little house and Maria stood in front of it whilst we spoke to her from inside our jeep with the windows open. It worked very well and she was very grateful. We were all in masks and far apart but able to talk to Maria and pray with her. Where there's a will there's a way!

We took part in the Bible Study last night which was another hybrid in-person and online edition. All went well with a total of about 40 taking part with 21 in-person. 

Pastor Maésio leads the EAB/ACEV church up the mountains at Teixeira and we had a good chat today. He is positive and encouraged by the services going quite well there despite of the pandemic. The sister who leads the São Vicente do Seridó church tells me she is feeling better after a severe period of anxiety. Please continue to pray for Nenem as she is called. 

Please pray for Conceição & Caroá

 I have just had a good talk with Betinho who leads both the Ibiara & Conceição EAB/ACEV churches which are fifteen minutes apart. Both churches are holding services again with people wearing masks and observing social distancing. Betinho asks for prayer for a couple to take on the leadership of the Conceição Church as he finds it difficult to cope with both. Betinho lives at Ibiara and that was his lone responsibility, but he had to take on Conceição too when their pastor moved away. 

Please pray too for the Caroá church where we dug our first well many years ago. The issue at Caroá is that their pastor Valdemy is standing for election as a town councillor. The election will be held on November 15th. Valdemy was elected in 2012 but not in 2016. A mandate here is 4 years. Now he is trying again. I am not opposed to Valdemy being a councillor as long as he can conciliate politics and the church. He has done many things to benefit Caroá and neighboring communities which is important and good. However we don't want to see him growing cold spiritually and there has to be the balance. Valdemy is a lovely brother and we want him to stay that way. It is excellent how he has served and is serving his region. This brings glory to God as long as it's done with honesty and balance. My experience just makes me feel cautious and wary. May God richly bless Pastor Valdemy and the Caroá church. 

Oversight & coordination

 A lot of my daily work is taken up with the oversight and coordination in conjunction with all our leaders. In recent days I have had discussions with members of our senior leadership team involving a wide range of matters. Pastor Wostenes, who is my vice-chairman, is excellent. He pastors the first EAB/ACEV church at Campina Grande. He and his wife Gleydice are Liz and I's closest colleagues and friends. 

I have had discussion on money matters with our ACEV treasurer pastor Hamilton and with the projects treasurer Eduardo. I am in constant contact with Pastor Lindon Carlos at Imaculada who is our projects team leader. I often need to chat things over with his assistant leader and social worker Marah Danielle too. We are now about to drill a further well at Macambira Community in Princesa Isabel County and we are praying of course that we will hit water. Drilling 150 feet underground is always a challenge as you never know for sure if you will hit a vein of water. The location is defined by an expert but that doesn't make the endeavor a certainty by any means.

I am constantly in contact with Gerlânia who is our head-teacher at our Action School here in Patos. This the Pastor Frank Dyer School has once again just received top prize as the best school in its category in Patos. Gerlânia is a very capable and dedicated administrator who helps oversee all our Action Child Schools as well.

I am also busy working with my new assistant pastor Rafael in Patos who is doing very well, not forgetting in Patos our men's fellowship leader Esau. Esau is a lovely brother and a Major in the Patos Military Police.

Finally I must also mention my discussions with pastors Umbirajara and Manoel Oliveira Filho in João Pessoa. Despite the fact that they are 200 miles from me on the coast, modern technology allows us to share rich fellowship in Christ on a regular basis.

Ex-landless Community

 The ex-landless community at NS Aparecida II was happy to receive the visit last night of the Patos Men's Fellowship. The community is a few miles north of Green Pastures. The men conducted an open-air service there in front of Brother Paulo's house and his wife Dora who are proud participants of our market gardens project which is being a great blessing in their lives. The couple both made commitments to Christ some time back as an indirect result of the well and market garden project. They also are beneficiaries of the 4 Legs Goat Project. Please pray for this couple and community that many more there will come to the Lord.

Prayer requests

 Our first in person service in months was held yesterday and it was a real blessing. Our new young assistant pastor led and preached and he did very well. He admitted to me that he was a bit tense but that it is only natural. The service was broadcast live as well for all who couldn't be there. Please pray for Rafael - our new assistant pastor.

Please pray for Liz's very painful arthritic knees. Also pray for EAB finances which are very low. Please pray for this Saturday's meeting online of all our church leaders. We will be discussing all our projects and how we are coping in the pandemic. We will also be choosing the projects leadership team for the next 2 years. 

We need a new caretaker worker for Green Pastures so please pray for this and for a service to be held near there tomorrow night. Please pray for a serious electricity supply problem at the Patos church.   

Bible Study went well

 Thursday night's Bible Study went well. We managed to cover the whole of Acts chapter 15 which was good. The praise at the beginning was led by Tiago as Philip and family are now in the UK. Philip and Louisa took part in the service from Basingstoke. The pastor and an elder from one of our João Pessoa churches also took part from there so the Bible study was far reaching!

We have been busy organizing this Sunday night's service as it will be our first in person service in months. It will also be broadcast live for those who can't be there. Seating has been arranged according to the rules keeping everyone 1.5 meters apart. Everyone must wear masks. People over 60 are recommended to stay home and take part online. We expect to have about 60 people present as of course the distancing rules reduces our capacity a lot. We value your prayers for our services under very challenging circumstances. 

Our team has been to Barra de Oitis this week working with the community, especially with the participants of the market gardens project. We did a distribution of seeds and our agricultural specialist was there to further teach and train the people and to answer all their questions. A new garden/allotment was also set up this week. It is so good to see the success of this project which restores poor people's dignity as they have the joy of producing fruit and vegetables which enhances their income. People are also more open to the Gospel as they see and feel God's love for them in such practical ways.

I walked another nearly 3 miles yesterday at Green Pastures. I try to do this three times a week like I did this week and last.