Administration

I have been very busy with EAB administrative work writing letters and emails to supporters. I take this opportunity to thank those who support the work here. Nowadays writing letters is much simpler than in the early years. Everything used to be by hand or by using a typewriter. When the fax machine came in we really felt we had arrived! I still have our old fax machine as a museum item. 

This week's week night meetings have all gone along well. The Men's Fellowship on Tuesday, the Women's Fellowship on Wednesday and the general Bible study in the first epistle of John on Thursday. Today (Friday) is the senior citizens encounter in the morning and at night our deaf pastor Luiz Carlos will continue teaching the Brazilian Sign Language course. Our work in this sphere in Patos is a leader in our town. Some of our former students both interpret in our services and in public events outside of the church. Some have gone on to obtain degrees in Brazilian Sign Language at the Federal University. 

Euro Trip

Under normal circumstances Liz and I would have been to Europe in 2021, but the pandemic messed that up. The last time we were in Europe was in the autumn of 2018. Now that the pandemic is more under control we plan to be in Europe this September and October. We have to be in Switzerland by September 5th when Liz's family (and spouses) will be celebrating her brother Sam's 70th birthday a year late. We will spend a week there prior to heading for London on September 10th. The plan is for our Euro Trip to focus on time with family, friends and rest. We will also minister at some churches. Please pray with us about this autumn in Europe. We look to the Lord to provide for our flights. Any contributions for our air tickets would be gratefully received via EAB's treasurer. 

I am very busy now preparing for our General Conference in conjunction with our senior leadership team. The conference will be held at Green Pastures from May 27th to 29th so there's just one month to go. I sent out the invitation yesterday to all our pastors and leaders. I am especially working on the agenda for the conference which will receive prior discussion by the leaders. 

Dengue Fever

Dengue fever and Chikungunya are raging here in Patos now. Doctors are telling us to use insect repellent as these sicknesses are transmitted by mosquitoes. The hemorrhaging version of Dengue fever can kill. 

Our Saturday night service at Green Pastures with the local farming folk was "rain stopped pray". There is no way that people can get to the meeting in the rain with the roads/tracks turned into quagmires. The Saturday service at Ipueira in the State of Rio Grande do Norte went ahead as the cobblestone streets are no problem in the rain. 

Our 20 year old grandson Arthur is going to Europe in June/July. He will stay a few days in England with Philip and Gylmara in Basingstoke, and a few days more with Jon and Eunice in London. He will also go to Holland, Germany and France. Arthur is such an admirable young man. He has saved up for two and a half years for this.

Liz and I plan to visit Switzerland and the UK in September and October. We plan to start in Switzerland for a family reunion for Liz's brother Sam's 70th birthday (he is now 71 but the pandemic messed up the plans). All 5 brothers and sisters - Sam, Liz, Eunice, Esther and David plan to be there. This will be the first such a reunion since our wedding over 52 years ago! After Switzerland we will spend time in the UK with family and friends. We will also visit some churches whilst there. Please pray for us as we start to plan this trip that it might be a nice relaxed time of refreshing.

On Saturday night it rained another 70 mm (nearly 3 inches) at Green Pastures taking our total up to 1,008 mm (42 inches) for this rainy season. This takes this year into the 'excellent' category for rain! PTL! The heavy Saturday rain knocked part of our fence down which is the least of our worries. We can fix that!

In Sunday night's service I dedicated Arthur Kennedy and preached the whole of Mark 5 covering the healing of a demon-possessed man and of a hemorrhaging woman, as well as the raising of Jairus's 12 year old daughter. It was a very good solid service.    

Home sweet home

My sister Jean is finally home from hospital after her fractured hip surgery. She is much better and will just need some help for a few days.

At Green Pastures I nearly trod on a Coral venomous snake whilst out walking. Fortunately I was accompanied by Francisco who spotted it and pulled me back. I would probably have been alright as I wear heavy boots and jeans so am well protected.

With a further 34 mm of rain this week we have now reached 938 mm total rainful this wet season which is very good. Thank you for your prayers. We can still receive some more rain in the last part of this month and some dribs and drabs in May which can take us into the "excellent year" bracket. In our semi-arid north-eastern region of Brazil everything hinges on the rainfall in the rainy season. 

Conference

We no sooner get out of one event at Green Pastures than we are getting ready for the next. Our General Conference will be from the 27th to 29th of May and I am working on its agenda in conjunction with the senior leadership team. Prior to this there will be a Teixeira church family day at Green Pastures on May 14th.

I went for a nice walk at Green Pastures on Tuesday afternoon and was thrilled to see how much water the lake now has after the heavy rain on Sunday. Francisco is stocking the lake with fish. He has a friend who is a fisherman who is bringing to us the fish that he catches that are too young for consumption. So far we have 600 Tilapias, 200 Peacock Bass and 50 type of Pike. 

I have been talking to Sandra Nogueira who is the co-leader of our little church in the village of Água Grande (Big Water) in the County of Santana de Mangueira. She has shown me videos and photos of their Easter celebrations with the children telling the Easter story. Simple and beautiful. It is wonderful to see the excellent work this little church is doing with the children of the village. They would like to start a school there which would be very good if funds would stretch to another EAB Action school. With the Ukraine war the pound sterling has dropped a lot in value.

Tuesday night's Men's Fellowship meeting went well with Pastor Lucena in Recife bringing the Bible reflection online to the in-person meeting. It was nice to see and hear Pastor Lucena who has moved away to Recife to live.

This Thursday we had our family traditional hunt the Easter eggs at Green Pastures. It was a nice time of fun together on this public holiday. We couldn't do it on Easter Saturday like we usually do because of the camp.

Gospel Beegees

One of the highlights of our 'opportunity knocks' afternoon of praise at the Easter camp was the singing, yet again, of three men from our Patos church. Romildo is a fireman and Adelson and Márcio are civil servants, but their singing role is known amongst us as the 'Gospel Beegees'!

There is a lot of cheerful banter on the social networks from brothers and sisters who were at our Easter camp. Everyone is saying how much they enjoyed the event and how much they were blessed. We praise God for this. A lot of work goes into these events so it is so nice to learn of lives being blessed by God.

Last night there were two little prayer meetings in our church. One is with the adults and another with the youth. The youth prefer to have their own little prayer meeting between 7 pm and 8 pm. 

Thank you for praying for the rain here. This rainy season is being very good. We have so far received 904 mm (37.6 inches). A good year for us is 40 inches of rain so we are nearly there.

Six Snakes

We got home late last night from the Easter Camp. The camp was really blessed of God. It ended up with a heavy rain of 55 mm (2.3 inches) whilst the final service was in progress. On Good Friday we removed from the dormitories no less than six snakes. 4 were Philodryas natereri and 2 were Leptodeira annulata. I give the scientific names for anyone who wants to check them out with Google. Neither species is poisonous but finding six during one afternoon did cause quite a commotion. 

The whole camp had as its theme "Intimacy with God" or "Living close to God". Everything started on the Thursday night with a fellowship meal at 6 pm. This was followed by a lovely opening service when Pastor Rafael preached on 'Sanctification'. Breakfast on Good Friday morning was at 7 am followed by 45 minutes of 'alone with God'. At 9 am we had the morning service when granddaughter Louisa spoke on 'Transformed Lives by Christ'.

In the afternoon there was lots of sport including swimming with aqua-basket-ball, plus table tennis and volley ball. The volley ball was particularly good and at times the competition got quite heated so that we had to appoint a referee to rule on the close decisions. In the evening our final-year-Bible-College-student Murilo spoke on 'being a reflection of the Bible for those that never read it' and 'being an example of the church for those that never go to it'. 

On Easter Saturday we followed the same routine with breakfast at 7 am, 'alone with God' at 8 am and in the morning service Lawyer Rayla spoke on prayer. In the afternoon we had a lovely time of "Opportunity knocks" with all ages from little children to seniors singing praises to God. I led all the services, but this session was led by Sacha. In the evening service Sacha preached on 'Priorities' and for me it was the best sermon of the camp.

On Easter Resurrection Sunday Pastor Rafael preached in the morning service on 'Don't moan! Love!' This was based on Colossians 3:13-15. Before he spoke Alice brought a short Biblical reflection linked to the same theme. On Sunday afternoon there was more sport, and then the evening meal was skipped so that we could have the evening service at 6 pm and all go home after this. However, at 5.45 pm down came a very heavy prolonged rain. This found most already in the hall but Liz and I were still in our room. Sacha led the jubilant praise and worship in the hall and when the rain eased off Liz and I joined in. I preached in the final service from Matthew 28:1-10 on 'Intimacy with God through the resurrected Christ'. 

Our sincerest thanks to all who helped us hold this excellent camp. We praise God for another blessed Green Pastures camp which we have been holding for over 40 years.    

Easter Camp

Our Easter Camp starts with the evening meal at 6 pm today. I will soon be moving out to Green Pastures until Sunday night. After the opening meal today we will have the first service at 7:30 pm. Tomorrow (Good Friday) we will have services at 9 am and 7:30 pm.

Please continue to pray for Andrea, who is a member of our Patos church, and who was involved in a fatal road accident this week. She is very low as she is suffering a lot with people gossiping about her.

My sister Jean is recovering well in hospital from her fractured hip surgery and is getting her mobility back. Her pain is now under control. She will probably be sent home next week once she's had her clips removed.

Tuesday night's Men's Fellowship meeting went off well but last night's Women's Fellowship meeting was cancelled. It was cancelled because Andrea, the leader, is very distraught having been involved in a fatal accident this week.

Last night the Patos praise and worship team went to Green Pastures to rehearse for the Easter camp. 

Our old freezer at Green Pastures has broken just as the camp is about to start. Oh dear! It is over 30 years old so it's not surprising!   

Leaders

I am having discussions with Pastor Hamilton (Campina Grande) and a variety of other leaders at the moment including Nenem at São Vicente do Seridó, Pastor Robério at Tavares and Pastor Esequias at Juru.

Liz is at this time buying all the food for the camp which starts on Thursday.

The State Governor has now made the wearing of masks optional. This means some wear them and some don't in the services.

Yesterday Liz, myself and assistant pastor Rafael had a meeting with the new and aggressive gay teenager who is coming to the Patos church. We heard what he had to say and then made clear the position of the church. Please pray for this young man who is 17-years-old and who is totally committed to a worldly way of lgbt+ life whilst insisting that "everything is alright with God". After the meeting he even sent a message to Rafael asking us "not to pray for him because he is fine the way he is"! He hopes to be baptized, but this will not be possible if he maintains his current stance.  

Seniors

Our 'young at heart' seniors group had their first in-person gathering on Friday much to the joy of all. The theme of the meeting was 'gratitude'. The group had been functioning for two years online. 

Gay rights are a complicated part of life in Brazil nowadays. We have a teenager who has started coming to our Patos church who is apparently gay and goes out of his way to confront people with "his rights". We ask you to pray for us as we speak to him this week to make quite clear to him the Biblical position of the church on the matter. We don't want him stirring up trouble at the camp. 

Saturday night's service at Green Pastures was very good with our granddaughter and young lawyer Louisa preaching very well indeed for 22 minutes. My assistant pastor Rafael led the service and I was just there in a support role. Liz and I took the opportunity to take a lot of supplies out to Green Pastures ready for the camp which starts on Thursday. Parallel to this service a meeting was held at Ipueira and the deaf and youth had their own fellowship group meetings. Saturday is a busy night for the Patos church.

I led the Sunday night service and assistant pastor Rafael preached. It was a very blessed service.

My sister Jean continues in hospital after fracturing her hip, but she is improving.

Please pray for Andrea who is a member of our Patos church. Andrea was involved in a fatal road accident at 6 am today near Teixeira. Andrea is alright, but a mother and son on a motorbike were killed. Andrea admits the accident was her fault caused by her overtaking. 

Wild Cats

I have been contacted by Vitor Emanoel and Dr. Tadeu Gomes de Oliveira from the Maranhão State University with a view to researching wild cats at Green Pastures Nature Reserve. We have set up a meeting for May 2nd or 3rd when they will be travelling to Green Pastures and staying there for a night or two. They will be setting up automatic cameras at Green Pastures and collecting the memory cards every 3 months. All their findings will be shared with us. We are very happy about this as it is a great way for us to learn and to support scientific research.

With our Easter Camp fast approaching (starts on 14th) we are very busy holding meetings and preparing the details of the camp. There will be services in the mornings at 9 am and at night at 7.30 pm. On Good Friday afternoon there will be a games afternoon and on the Saturday there will be an "opportunity knocks" type of afternoon when budding singers and musicians will have a chance to shine. We are working on details of discipline and order for the camp as we will have one or two trouble makers there who will need to be controlled. It's not all plain sailing!

My sister Jean remains in hospital recovering from a fractured hip. She still has excruciating pain. Please continue to pray for her.

On Thursday night we stayed on in church after the Bible study so as to hold another meeting about the camp. The meeting was with the assistant pastor Rafael and the leaders of the youth.    

Well

This week our projects team has been to the Santo Agostinho community in Teixeira County with a view to possibly drill a well there as requested. A meeting was held with local EAB/ACEV pastor Maésio and his wife Fia, the president of the local rural landowners association and the local health worker. Please pray for God's guidance for us on this matter. Teixeira is a needy area for water and the track record is poor for hitting water when drilling.

Francisco (who looks after the day-to-day things at Green Pastures) reports seeing a deer once again and this time he saw both mother and baby deer. This is a really rare sighting as Deer are so hotly hunted here. Whilst they are at Green Pastures they are safe, but our concern is when they step outside of the Reserve.

Liz has just bought celery in Patos! This is the first time ever that we have found celery in this country! I have just tasted it to make sure it is what we thought it was, and it is! Delicious! 😋

My sister Jean has been transferred to a fracture ward in a High Wycombe hospital where she is recovering from surgery for a fractured hip. Sadly yesterday she had to have another X-ray because the staff managed to drop Jean when they were transferring her from a chair to her bed!😒 I don't know the result of the X-ray yet.    

Wheelchairs

Our wheelchairs bank continues to function very well as they are loaned to people that need them. This morning we received word that Judite's husband no longer needed his as he has recovered from his accident. Before the wheelchair could get back to the church it already has been picked up by Brother Dedé, who leads the Christians in Action group at Ipueira, as there is someone in need of a wheelchair there. Our wheelchair bank is a simple project but so practical.

Sunday's services went well. The Sunday School (for all ages) went well in the morning and the main service of the week at night was really blessed of God. School teacher Dilma preached a superb sermon on 'Constructing a Close Relationship with God'.

We are busy preparing for the Easter Camp which is substituting the Carnival Camp. Everything will start on the 14th with an evening meal followed by the opening service. There will then be 2 services a day on Good Friday, Saturday and Sunday with plenty of swimming, sport and walking in between.

My sister Jean had her surgery for her fractured hip on Sunday. However something went wrong during the surgery which meant she spent the night in intensive care. Gratefully she is now back in a recovery ward. Please do continue to pray for Jean.

Hip

My sister Jean, who is a music teacher, was tripped by a child in a store in High Wycombe yesterday causing her to fall and fracture her hip. She is being operated on now as I type. Please pray for Jean.

Our granddaughter Louisa has had two wisdom teeth extracted. She is doing fine.

Yesterday morning at 8 am I did a guided nature trail for just over two hours with a group of about 40 youth from the Patos church at Green Pastures. All went off very well. The youth spent the whole day at Green Pastures staying for the service with the local church at night when they sang a song.

The service last night at Green Pastures was excellent with deaf Pastor Luiz Carlos preaching the message with Daysa interpreting for all of us that don't know sign language. Two of our sign language interpreters have degrees in sign language. They are Daysa and Geralda. It was nice that a group of young teens from our Patos school were with us for the day including the service.  

Youth Day

Tomorrow will be a Youth Day at Green Pastures and I will be giving them a guided tour of many trails with the aim of increasing their appreciation of nature whilst stimulating them to care for God's creation.

Last night's Bible study went well with over 40 present. We studied 1 John 2:18-19. Parallel to the Bible study work was done with children in a side hall.

I am working on my book with the history of EAB/ACEV in Portuguese. Lynn is doing the final corrections and then we must see how we can publish it. The book covers the 80 years up to 2018.

It rained 17 mm on the last night of March taking the total rainfall for the excellent month to 446 mm. This was quite extraordinary! Add this to December (96 mm), January (182 mm) and February (75 mm) we have a total rainfall to date in the current rainy season of 799 mm which is just over 33 inches of rain. A high volume of rainfall is needed here as in the dry second half of the year the evaporation of the lake is fast with the high temperatures.