Visitation

On Wednesday afternoon Liz and I went to visit sister Raquel on her 77th birthday. Raquel is bed-ridden owing to knee and hip problems. She is very grateful to the EAB wheelchair bank which has loaned her a wheelchair for a year now. If Raquel was in the UK she would have had hip & knee replacements.

Another person who is being benefitted by the EAB wheelchair bank is Edmilson in the town of Ipueira in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. He has had one of our chairs for about a year and a half now as he broke his leg, but the bone has never healed. Please pray for him.

As the floods receed in the south of Brazil there are still 48,000 people in temporary shelter in schools and gymnasiums. 630,000 people are out of their homes and 114,000 are without electricity. The problems there are gigantic.

I led the mid-week Prayer Meeting and Bible study and Marina & Davi led the praise. Espedita sang a solo, Rafael brought the word from Amos 4 and Marcio, Mada and Deborah Maria read verses of Scripture. It was a nice meeting.

Happy birthday to actor Clint Eastwood who is still acting at 94 years of age, enjoying a 70 year career thus far!

Thrift travel

Our grandson Arthur has now travelled from Heathrow to Barcelona where he is at the Primavera Sound Music Festival. He is travelling without baggage (just a rucksack on his back) and he flies dressed in 2 pairs of trousers and 5 shirts to avoid baggage! 😂 I asked him the other day if he was going from London to Basingstoke by train and he answered: "No way! It costs 20 pounds! I am going by coach which only costs 5.70 pounds!" 😀He is staying in Barcelona in a youth hostel sleeping on a top bunk with 7 other young men in the room.

Last night I led the Bible study about the integral mission of God and it went very well. There were 10 of us men there in the lovely men's fellowship meeting.

Rest Day

Yesterday we had a rest day in Joao Pessoa where we still are after the Pastors & Leaders Conference. We will be travelling back to Patos later today. The service was led back in Patos by our associate pastor Rafael and our Bible College graduate Murilo preached the Word.

Our globe trotting grandson Arthur is still in Basingstoke with Philip, Gylmara and family. Tomorrow he flies to Barcelona for a music festival. Today they have gone to Brighton for the day.

Liz has gone to the beach now with Lynn, Amanda and Hutan. I don't like the beach so I have stayed typing this! 😎

In the floods in the extreme south of Brazil the death toll has risen to 169 with 56 people still missing. 581,000 are still homeless though the situation is improving, but the recovery is a massive task.

Joao Pessoa

Liz and I are in Joao Pessoa since Friday. We got up at 5 am on Friday and arrived at our church in Joao Pessoa at 11 am ready for the opening Pastors' Conference fellowship lunch at 12 noon. Straight after lunch we held a senior leaders' meeting and interviewed a candidate for probationary ministerial status and after this the first general assembly started at 2 pm.

The Pastors' Conference went off extremely well and we got through a great deal of business in a harmonious productive spirit with rich participation from the pastors and other leaders. We gave ministerial status to Vera who leads the Ibiara church together with her husband Naldinho. We also ordained Naldinho, Matheus and Hortencia. The 11-person senior leadership team was elected for 2024 to 2028 with me chairman, Pastor Wostenes deputy chairman. The Leaders' Conference in September at Green Pastures it was decided will have the theme of "the challenges for church growth" and will be coordinated by Gleydice. 

At the conference we learnt of new small churches having been started at the Sitio California where there are 5 believers, and at Lagoa da Ricarda where there are 2 believers. We heard the report from our Bible College in Campina Grande and from the radio programmes at Flores and Imaculada. We learnt too that our Matureia church is going to expand the church building to cope with its growing numbers. Our Flores church has grown and was given the recognition of the status as a large church. Now we have 25 larger churches, 27 medium size churches and 29 small churches making a total of 81 churches. We have a new market garden project at Large da Onca. 

The Pastors' Conference ended with a lively and blessed celebration with 3 ordinations and I preached on church unity from Psalm 133. It was a lovely close to a lovely conference. Thank you for your prayers.

Conference

This week we will be travelling to Joao Pessoa early on Friday morning for our annual pastors and leaders general conference which I will be leading, and I will be preaching at the celebration service on Saturday night when 3 new ministers will be ordained. We value your prayers as we prepare for this important event.

Our granddaughter Beatriz (known as Bia pronounced Beeah) became the female table tennis champion of all the schools in our region this week, winning the final in straight sets. Well done Bia! Bia will now play in the State championship in Joao Pessoa.

Our grandson John David's book called 'Magic Crystals' is in the build-up for its official launch in July and people can now pre-order the book. As a good grandfather I have ordered my copy though I hardly think the book will be my cup of tea! 😉

I have had discussions with the Patos Education Secretary as we need the Council to clean up the piece of land we have rented next to our Patos school which will be used as a play and sports area. The Council has been dragging its feet about doing this work but after my intervention it would seem the work will be done ths week.

The floods in the south of Brazil are finally receeding with the death toll at 161, 806 injured and 85 still missing.

EAB's little magazine InTouch #101 is now available online on the EAB website at http://eabrazil.org/2024/05/21/intouch-101/

Baptism

On Pentecost Sunday at 8 am I baptized 10 new converts from our Patos church at Green Pastures, followed by a church fellowship breakfast. It was a wonderful morning!

Our globetrotting grandson Arther flew from London to Iceland on Sunday where he will be until tomorrow. He hoped to see the erupting volcano there, but I think it is out of bounds this week owing to its dangerous state.

I am getting positive feedback on EAB's magazine #InTouch 101 which should have reached you by now via snailmail. 

In the month of May we always especially focus on the combatting of child abuse in our schools and this time a case of attempted abuse has been uncovered. Please pray as we handle this very delicate situation. I can give no more details than this.

On Sunday I led the main service of the week at night and my associate pastor Rafael preached from Luke 24. We received 13 people into fellowship. It was a lovely service.

The death toll in the floods in the south of Brazil has risen to 157 and there are still 88 people unaccounted for. Over 600,000 people have been displaced by the floods. Please pray. 

Passagem

On Friday night Liz and I travelled to a town called Passagem which is 37 km east of Patos. I preached the Gospel at our little church there which is lead by Eduardo and Cleide, helped by their son Davi who plays the guitar well. It was a lovely service.

On Friday we received a surprise visit from sister Felismina. She is a dentist who used to be a member of our church in Patos and now lives with her husband Pedro in Portugal. Pedro is Portuguese. She told us how badly they missed our church after their move abroad.

The 'young at heart' group of seniors met at sister Socorro Help's house this week instead of their usual venue of the care centre. The meeting was really blessed as they encouraged Socorro Help who is far from well.

The 2022 census shows that there are 11.4 million illiterate people of 15-years-old and over in Brazil. EAB's action schools are but a drop in the ocean, but we are contributing towards the solution of this problem as we make sure that over 800 children learn to read and write well.

Last night I took the service at Green Pastures which was good despite low numbers. Yesterday at our Flores church Pastor Nemias (Nehemiah) baptized 3 new converts. PTL!

"Mature City"

Yesterday afternoon Liz and I went to visit two sisters from our Patos church: Toinha (aged 87) and Lourdes (aged 68). They live in a new small housing estate of 40 houses/chalets (1 bedroom + toilet/shower + living room with kitchen area) built by the state government for seniors and called Cidade Madura (Mature City). We had a lovely time of fellowship with our sisters in Christ and read the Bible and prayed with them.

Our grandson Arthur left by coach on Wednesday for Recife, from where he flew to Sao Paulo, Madrid & London. He will stay in London till Sunday when he will fly to Iceland. 

My one-hour TV interview about my life and ministry is having very positive repercussions and I am receiving many messages from people. I was invited to do the interview by the TV station. The interview has also gone out on state-wide radio. You can see the interview on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWD4Etk97wA . I know most won't understand the Portuguese, but after the initial adverts you will at least be able to see me in action! We praise God for all the doors He opens to the Gospel.

Last night I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study to which we had 25 present. It was a good service. 

Floods

The disastrous floods in the south of Brazil continue to bring chaos. The latest statistics show 149 dead, 112 missing and 806 injured. A member of our church in Patos has a brother and sister in the middle of the turmoil and the sister has lost everything in her submerged house. Please pray.

Liz and I have visited Francieuda who is a member of the Patos church and is undergoing treatment for cancer. We were pleasantly surprised to see how well she looks. Please pray for Francieuda. 

I have given two further coach loads of children and teenagers nature lessons at Green Pastures which includes a 3 km walk through dense vegetation every time. These are wonderful opportunities for God.

Yesterday I did a one hour TV interview about my life and ministry and it went very well. It flowed like it should.

Liz went to our head teacher Gerlania's house for a nice time of fellowship together with a few other sisters from the church. I went to the Men's Fellowship meeting which only had 6 present this week.

Arthur

Our 22-year-old grandson Arthur is an amazing young man. This week he will be setting out on his 4th international trip. He first went to Chile and then he made 2 trips to Europe including England, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Now he is going to Europe again to England, Spain (to a music festival), Iceland (to see an erupting volcano!) and Italy. He will also be going to Africa to Marocco to sleep for a night in a tent in the desert! He will be taking no cases (to economize!) and just have his onboard bag with a few items of spare clothing. Please pray for Arthur's trip between May 15th and June 10th. All Arthur's flights are cheap flights which he obtains via the internet. He entirely funds his own trips with no help from his parents or anyone else.

I have taken part in a 2-hour meeting of the deaf run by our deaf pastor Luiz Carlos and with the participation of Chief of Police Esau (deacon in our Patos church) and 2 other traffic police. 40 deaf people were present in the meeting about 'Traffic and Citizenship'. Lots of excellent advice was given such as how to cope when you are stopped by the police but you can't hear or speak. The meeting revealed that there are 30 deaf people in Patos that have motorbikes but who do not have driving licenses because they can't pass their driving test owing to their deafness. We have decided to fight the deafs' cause on this matter.

On Saturday I took another service at Green Pastures and Fred, Paulo Silas, Dodora, Nega and Manoel took part. On Sunday (Mother's Day in Brazil and most places in the world) I preached on the Magnificat from Lucas 1:46-55. It was a lovely service with the children taking a special part for their mums.

Nature Walk

I have been to Green Pastures to be the guide for another coach load of school students teaching them to care for creation. I took them on a 3 km walk along a variety of trails and all went off very well.

I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study. The praise was led by Erika with Rogerio on keyboard and Vasti also sang a solo. Marcio, Romildo, Adriana and Carol brought verses of scripture and Pastor Rafael brought the study from Amos 3. It was a good participative meeting.

Liz is doing a lot of work with our senior sister Socorro Help who is far from well. Liz is on call, from her grandddaughter who looks after her, 24x7. Liz never switches off her phone. Liz is at her house now trying to calm her down and Sacha has gone there to sing her some hymns. Please pray for Socorro Help. 

I brought back 11 ripe custard apples from Green Pastures. I also saw 3 White-bellied Nothura, a Burrowing Owl, lots of Red-cowled Cardinals, a number of Guira Cuckoos and a Smooth-billed Ani.

Roast Beef

I love God's word and God's work like the British like roast beef and roast potatoes with yorkshire pudding! 😃

On Tuesday night I travelled with the Patos men's fellowship to take a service in the town of Sao Mamede which was very good. It was a street service in front of the house of Jose and Marico. Marcio, Claudivan, Fabio & Paulo Silas took part in a service led by the chief of police Esau. Pastor Rafael preached the Gospel.

The death toll in the floods in south Brazil has risen to 95 and there are still more than 130 people missing. There is water everywhere but drinking water is in very short supply as 5 of the 6 water pumping systems have been knocked out of action in the flooded main city of Porto Alegre. Please pray.

An 85 year old elder called Walter, at our 3rd Joao Pessoa church in the borough of Boa Esperança, has had a nasty fall which caused an exposed fracture of his wrist. He has been operated on twice. Please pray for Walter. 

Baptism

On Sunday morning 5 were baptized at our Sao Vicente do Serido church which is led by our sister Nenem Guimaraes. She is doing an excellent job.

The leader of our little church at Umburana is sister Leonarda and we have just received word that she is pregnant. Please remember these women leaders in your prayers.

Our Sunday services in Patos went well. Liz says the Sunday school in the morning was down in numbers but was blessed. I led the main service of the week at night which was our monthly communion service. The church was packed out to capacity. Of special note was the solo sang by Fabio which was beautiful.

The floods in the south of Brazil have brought utter chaos with thousands of houses having water up to their roofs and many lives lost. Sadly some people are exploiting the tragedy, as we have been told by a friend who managed to escape, that people with boats are charging R$500 (83 pounds) to rescue people from their roof tops!

Floods

Floods in south Brazil have killed over 70 with over 100 people reported missing. A dam has burst and others look that they might burst. It is a terrible climatic tragedy in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Please pray.

I have had a good meeting with Pastor Wostenes about the Action Child schools.

Yesterday was the last match of the season in the English Football Championship and QPR won again, this time beating Coventry 2 x 1 away. This means we ended up in 18th position on 56 points, which was 4 places and 6 points clear of the drop. Well done QPR! I don't expect to say much about QPR for the next 3 months, unless they decide to sign me up, in which case I would let you know! 😉

Last night I led the weekly service of the Green Pastures church and Rayla preached from John 17. Rayla is a young lawyer and Bible college student. Fred, Nega, Manoel, Joao Filho and Lucas Conserva also took part. This week it was the monthly communion service.

Amanda

Amanda is one of our 9 grandchildren. She is the daughter of Lynn and her husband Hutan. Amanda was 9 years old yesterday. Hence at night we all had a pizza party to celebrate and lots of Amanda's friends from church and school came along. It was a lovely evening.

I went to the gym yesterday as I do every Tuesday and Thursday morning. I enjoy going and it does me good of course.

The rainy season continues here and we had 796 mm (33 inches) between December and April. Now in May the rains normally start to dwindle, but on the 1st of May we had 20 mm at Green Pastures. Thank you for praying.

Dengue Fever

Dengue fever has passed 4 million cases in Brazil this year with about 2 thousand deaths. Dengue fever gives heavy flu-like symptoms, a rash, and the killer version gives haemorrhaging.

In the first quarter of this year the police in the city of Sao Paulo killed 179 people! This is a rise of 138% from the previous quarter when they only killed 75!

Yesterday Liz and I did some difficult counselling with another couple. We also had an important meeting with some Action School leaders mainly about the Patos school. Whilst we were in the meeting a man from our church left us a bag of custard apples. It was a very nice and tasty surprise at the end of the meeting!

A couple called Diego and Talyta have asked to join our church so this is nice. Please pray for them.

I am reading a book called 'Seven things I wished Christians knew about the Bible' by Michael F. Bird.

Last night I took the Bible study in the men's fellowship meeting. It was a lovely time around God's Word in Matthew 7:13-14.

Today was a bank holiday and so the married couples fellowship organized a wonderful day outing at Green Pastures to which 23 couples went. Everything went off excellently. Some couples went there to sleep on Tuesday night too. There was a lovely spirit about the whole day. The husbands did a barbecue to which each couple contributed 5 pounds and took food. The event started at 7:30 am and ended at night. In the afternoon I gave a meditation on 1 Corinthians 13 which went very well.