Preaching

On Tuesday night I travelled with the Patos Men's Fellowship to the town of São Mamede where I preached the Gospel to a small crowd of over 30 people, plus people here and there sat out in front of their houses and listening. The service was held in the street in front of brother José and sister Maricó's house. I preached on Mark 1:1-8 about the mission of John the Baptist preparing the way and pointing to Jesus. This message was particularly appropriate as we have just had St John's day here which is a strong traditional regional festival. I felt great freedom in the Spirit when preaching. It was a lovely service.

I have had a good discussion with Pastor Maésio up in the mountains at Teixeira. I have agreed to preach at their anniversary service later in the year. I also have had discussions with Pastor Nezinho Abílio who leads the Vazante, Barra de Oitis and Mata de Oitis churches. We especially discussed the launch of the new EAB school at Vazante in this coming month of July. It is wonderful to see what God is doing in his area. 

This week we received the visit of the team of biologists from https://www.wildcatsbrazil.com/ who are carrying out research at Green Pastures into its wildlife. They came and changed the batteries and memory cards in the 9 camera traps they have at Green Pastures and they are alarmed by what they saw. The films and photos show a large number of wild stray dogs drinking at the water troughs we maintain for the wild cats, foxes, racoons and other native wildlife. The wild stray dogs largely come from the local rubbish dump and landfill which is near Green Pastures. The problem is that the wild stray dogs are transmitting diseases to the wildlife. It is a very serious problem which has no simple solution. Please pray.

Youth Camp

The youth camp at Green Pastures ended on Sunday night and it all was a real blessing. Our daughter Sacha preached on Sunday morning at the camp. It is great to see Green Pastures being so widely used in the work of the Lord.

In Patos Liz taught the adults' class at our Sunday school as the regular teacher Margareth couldn't be there. On Sunday night the service went very well despite all the youth being away at their camp. I led the service and preached on "The Presence of the Lord' from Psalm 34:7. Sacha and Rogaciano led the worship very nicely. 

A young man from our Patos church called Elysson was held up at gun point yesterday. The thief robbed his motorbike, mobile phone and credit card and proceeded to buy goods until his credit card ran out of money. We feel very sorry for Elysson as he is such a hard working young man and very faithful in church. Please pray for him. We have just heard that the police have recovered his motorbike so that is good.

I have just eaten 2 mandioc root pancakes filled with scrambled egg. Delicious! 😋

A-maize-ing!

The month of June is traditionally the month of eating lots of maize/corn on the cob dishes, as it is the time of harvest of this, as well as beans, in north-east Brazil. We are eating lots of Canjica (made from the juice from fresh maize plus milk and cinnamon), Pamonha (made from the roughage of maize plus milk), Quarenta (ground maize, shredded coconut and cinnamon) and maize cakes. It is all very tasty! 😋

Tomorrow we are restarting our building work on the Care Centre and ask you to please pray for this. The Care Centre is situated at the rear of the Patos church and will now have "Mum's Kitchen" as part of it. "Mum's Kitchen" (in honour of late missionary Ivy Dyer and funded by her son Sam and his wife Gerti) will be a modern kitchen to prepare food for our soup runs and to support evangelistic outreach via a coffee bar. The Care Centre will continue to house our dental surgery, food bank, deaf ministry and seniors' young at heart ministry. All support for this building project please send to our EAB treasurer. 

Last night I preached at the Youth Camp at Green Pastures. I preached on "guarding the heart (Proverbs 4:23) in times of temptation". It was a good service.

EAB Action Schools

Liz and I spent Wednesday morning at the workshop for the EAB Action School teachers, which ended with a fellowship lunch. It was truly wonderful to hear all the verbal reports from our different schools. Everyone was asked to speak about what is going well and what needs to improve. It was an excellent time of sharing together and it all underlined how important this ministry to very poor children is. The teacher for our new school at Vazante was at the workshop and now returns home to start EAB's latest school next month. The teacher to be at Juazeirinho (next in the queue for a school) also took part in the workshop and is praying very hard for support to become available so that a new school can start there. We need 100 pounds a month to make this new school possible, which will be 5 school sponsors @ 20 pounds a month. Please pray.

Tuesday night's fancy dress "Bible Characters" went great amongst our youth. They really went to town with their costumes and our grandson Arthur and his girlfriend Bianca won the prize for best fancy dress with their versions of Joseph and Mary (pregnant). On Wednesday night the youth had a games night at the church and on Thursday night they took the mid-week service at church. It was lovely to see and hear many youngsters taking part in the service. There were between 70 and 80 people at the service which is pretty good for mid-week.

Mattresses

Liz popped out to Green Pastures on Monday afternoon to bring in 30 mattresses for the EAB Action Schools' teachers workshop being held at our Pastor Frank Dyer School in Patos from Monday to Wednesday this week. This is the first such workshop we've run for our teachers since the pandemic. The mattresses are for the teachers to sleep on the floor at the school and they will need to be back at Green Pastures for the weekend's youth camp.

Yesterday Liz and I took part in the teachers' workshop from 8am to 2 pm, enjoying lunch with everyone too. The Action Schools' coordination team, who are running the workshop, are Sacha, Gerlânia, João George and Jacilene. The whole morning yesterday was made up of excellent teaching to refresh everyone in the work they are doing. The teaching carried on in the afternoon and evening. Please pray for the superb work being done by all our teachers.

This week our Patos church youth are running a special youth week with extra activities every day from Monday through to next Sunday. On Monday night they all went to the cinema together and last night they held a sort of fancy dress "Bible Characters" party. Tonight they will have a night of games and tomorrow they will take the entire mid-week service. Then from Friday to Sunday they will be holding a camp at Green Pastures.

Different directions

On Saturday nights our Patos church goes in different directions to serve the Lord. This Saturday Pastor Luiz Carlos led the deaf group at the church and I took a group to Green Pastures where I led the weekly service, Louisa and Tiago led the worship and recently graduated Bible College student Murilo preached the Gospel from Philippians 4:4-7. A group of the youth went to Passagem and took a service there, and the middle-aged group 'Christians in Action' went to the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Norte where they took the weekly service at Ipueira. A lot gets done on a Saturday night here.

Pastor Nemias at Flores in the State of Pernambuco is building a community hand-wash launderette after seeing how the local women were washing the clothes out in the boiling sun. They now will have a nicely shaded area with large sinks linked to a well.

Yesterday's services went well. Sunday school, for all ages, in the morning had a reasonable number present and it is wonderful to see our children's department doing such a great work. I led the service at night and Rafael preached on John 3:1-15. The service was really blessed.

Seniors at Green Pastures

Yesterday we held a day outing to Green Pastures for our seniors' 'Young at Heart' group. They absolutely loved it! Liz spent the day with the group and said that all the seniors were profusely grateful for their day at our nature reserve. Sisters from the Patos church went too to cook them their lunch. It was a lovely day.

Last night we held a couples (married, engaged and courting) evening at the Patos church in commemoration of the 'Dia dos Namorados' (courting couples' day) which here is Saint Anthony's Day (our equivalent of St Valentine's Day). I was the evening's speaker and I spoke about marriage being forever. Everyone then had a meal together. There were 27 couples present and it was a very good evening.

Murilo César has now graduated from Bible College having obtained his degree. It is wonderful to see new young leaders being well trained for the work of the Lord. At Princesa Isabel we have 5 new leaders being trained: Jair, Rafael, Sebastião, Diorgenes and Amanda. Please pray for them.

Please pray too for our church at Juazeirinho (an hour and a quarter's drive east of Patos) which is crying out for an EAB Action School to be started there amongst the very poor children of the borough where our church is located. Please pray that God will raise up 5 school sponsors @ 20 pounds a month so as to enable us to start this new school. We share Martin Luther's vision that "beside every church there should be a school".

Snake

 On Tuesday evening I travelled to the town of São Mamede (25 minutes by car north-east of Patos) to lead a street service together with the Patos men's fellowship. We go there every fortnight and a small group of new converts is forming there. As I took my seat I noticed a snake under the chair! It was a Bothrops erytromelas which is a very venomous snake. We removed the snake and started the service. About 40 people gathered and it went very well. Chico, Segundo, Tiago, Paulo Silas, Rose, Flávio, Dodora and Dedé all took part and Rafael preached from Luke 7. One man came and spoke to me after the service and told me he had been very impacted by the Gospel.

Liz and I had a good long walk at Green Pastures and saw very close up a pair of Pigmy Nightjars. We also saw a flock of Crested Caracaras, which are a type of falcon, as well as a Striated Heron. We brought back two buckets of lemons.

Liz and I had a meeting with a couple whom I will be marrying next month called João Paulo and Juliana. They are a mature couple that have both come from previous marriages in which they had children. We discussed all the details of the wedding set for July 22nd.

Pastors

Yesterday I had an intense day working with various pastors as is part of my work here. I had important discussions with pastors Lindon Carlos (Imaculada), Oseias (Itaporanga) and Naldinho (Belém). Please pray for these pastors.

Sunday's services went well. There was a good number at the Sunday School in the morning and at night Sacha preached a brilliant sermon based on Deuteronomy 33:12. Many people were really touched by the message, after which both myself and Rafael prayed for people who requested prayer.

I have had discussions with Pastor Nezinho Abílio about Bible College students Malu, Dane and Clessinho in his area. It is good to see how these students are developing well. Please pray for them.

Adolescents

On Friday night 30 of our adolescents enjoyed an evening of healthy exercise at a Patos sports centre. It was lovely to see them enjoying themselves together and praying together too.

Last night I led the weekly service at Green Pastures and there was a good number present. Various people took part with prayers, songs and words: Rafael, Fred, Paulo Silas, Dodora, the women's group, Isaque and Manoel. Marina and Lucas led the praise and Bible College student Rayla preached the Gospel. It was a lovely service.

Other services were held last night at Ipueira and Passagem and the youth and the deaf held their meetings too. Evidently at Ipueira sister Madá gave a very good word.

Cool

The month of June is usually the coolest month of the year in the interior of northeast Brazil. Today our lowest temperature in the middle of the night was 22 degrees centigrade and the highest temperature in the afternoon was 34 degrees. The rainy season has now ended. We might get an occasional shower in June. This year's rainy season gave us just above average rainfall of 776 mm (just over 32 inches). The average annual rainfall in São Mamede County, where Green Pastures is, is 702 mm. 

I have just prepared a message for the married, engaged and courting couples evening meal event to be held at the Patos church next week.

Yesterday's church outing to Green Pastures went well. Liz spent most of the day there with the folks whilst I got on with other things in Patos.

Last night's Bible study went well with a good number present.

Youth Camp

Preparations are under way for another youth camp to be held at Green Pastures between 23rd and 25th June which will have as its theme "Guarding the heart" (Proverbs 4:23). I will be speaking at the camp and Sacha will be speaking too. Please pray for this camp.

Please pray for a young man from the Patos church called Elysson who has had 3 of his aunts die in a week! Elysson is a sound controller in church. Please also pray for Gisane, who is the wife of our chief of the police Esaú, whose father died this week. Liz and I went to the wake.

I have decided to study some physics and have bought 'The Physics Book' to read. It is like going back to grammar school and learning all I didn't learn then!

Tomorrow is a public holiday here and some folk from the church will be going to Green Pastures for the day. 

On the 16th of June our church will be holding a special couples' evening meal to celebrate the equivalent of St. Valentine's Day. I will be giving a devotional word to those present. The evening will be for married, engaged and courting couples.

Ministers List

I have just drawn up the up-to-date ACEV/EAB ministers' list according to the assemblies of our General Conference. We now have 35 pastors, 18 'missionaries' (women ministers. This is the way here that they sort of dodge the women's ministers issue by not calling women pastors!) and 15 non-ordained church leaders. Please pray for our team total of 68 ministers of the Gospel.

On Saturday night the Patos church had no less than 5 activities. I led the service at Green Pastures and granddaughter Louisa preached the Gospel. It was good to see the folk there from the village of Picotes. It was a good service. Another service was led by Eduardo at Passagem and another at Ipueira was led by Dedé. There was also a fellowship group meeting of the deaf and a fellowship group meeting of the youth.

Please pray for our daughter Sacha as she studies theology at the ISBL Bible College. She will be preaching in Patos this coming Sunday. Sacha also leads the praise and worship group. She is also a teacher at the Cultura Inglesa English School.

Yesterday morning the children's Sunday School had a very creative lesson about the parable of the Sower linked to environment day which is today. The children enjoyed sewing seeds and watering them which I am sure they will not forget. The entire ludic process of the lesson brought home to them the spiritual meaning of the parable.

I took the communion service in Patos last night. Louisa, Tiago, Marina and Fábio led the praise and worship and Rafael preached the Word of God. It was a good service.

Decisions for Christ

It was a joy to see father and son making commitments to Christ this week at our Matureia church and school up in the mountains. Hitalo Gustavo is a pupil at our school and him and his father Joelson came to the Lord. Please pray for Hitalo Gustavo and Joelson that they will grow in God and become strong Christians.

Yesterday I went for a good walk at Green Pastures and saw a Neotropic Cormorant diving for fish on our lake. It soon flew off, splashing a lot, once it saw me. I brought 2 buckets of lemons back to Patos with me.

My sister Jean has kindly sent me a new book to read. It is 'The Camden Murder' by Mike Hollow, which will be the 7th book I have read in the 'Blitz Detective' series, that I am enjoying very much. I look forward to getting down to reading this book and helping Detective Inspector John Jago to bring the murderer to justice.

I was talking to our fireman Romildo after the midweek Bible study and he told me about the abundance of snakes in Patos at the moment. Romildo said that on every shift he does he gets 2 or 3 phone calls to go and remove snakes from people's houses. Snakes are plentiful here out in the woods and bush, but they are not usually found indoors.

Honey

We have just brought home nearly 4 litres of honey from 2 wild swarms of bees at Green Pastures. This is enough honey to keep us going for ages! Our worker Francisco also had his share of the honey. 😋

Another drug addict is going to the rehab centre near João Pessoa this week. The man is from Curral Velho (Old Cow Pen). The previous man who went to rehab from this town is already impacting the place by the positive messages he is sending on social media. He is thrilled to be sober and feeling well and is telling everyone he wants to live at the rehab centre for ever!

I have written the annual resumé of the General Conference's decisions and sent it to all our pastors and leaders.

EAB's church at Juru is doing a great work with teenagers via football. Their under 15s team is in the Paraíba State Cup and have drawn a game with Princesa Isabel and won a game against Tavares 3 x 0. If they win their final match in the group stage they will qualify for the semi-final knock-out stage. Please pray that many young lads will come to know the Lord through this project.

This week's Men's Fellowship meeting went well despite only 7 of us being present. Chief of Police Esau led the meeting and assistant pastor Rafael brought the Biblical reflection from Psalm 88.

Liz has a heavy cold. Please pray for her.