Excellent Service

Last night the Sunday night main service of the week was really blessed of the Lord and we had a full church. I led the service and young lawyer and Bible College graduate Murilo preached very well on 'Reconciliation' from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21.

Our weekend was overshadowed by the disappearance of 38-year-old deaconess Claudenusia from our Teixeira church up in the mountains. She is married and the mother of 3 children aged 16, 13 and 9. She left her home on foot on Saturday morning and has not returned. She suffers with severe depression. She has been sighted in the neighbouring state of Pernambuco at Brejinho. Please pray! 🙏

QPR were beaten on Saturday at Stoke 3 x 1 and are now 15th in the Championship. They have only managed 1 point from their last 5 matches! 😖    

Pastoral Meeting

On Thursday afternoon Liz and I had a lovely meeting with our co-pastor Rafael to discuss a variety of pastoral issues that I can't go into here. It was an excellent meeting discussing members of the flock, the on-going work of the church and its various ministries. 

On Thursday evening I led the prayer meeting and Bible study and the praise and worship was led by Erika, Rogério and Netinho. Vasti and Espedita brought solos, Deborah Maria, Madá, and others brought Bible verses and Pastor Rafael brought the study on Micah 3:8-12. It was a nice service.

I have just eaten a Guava for my morning snack. 😋

I went for a walk at Green Pastures and saw a Great Kiskadee which always reminds me of my late friend Ken Rashleigh as this was the first bird he saw when he came to Brazil, and was he happy! I also saw Red-cowled Cardinals and Guira Cuckoos. Our Cockatiels have a nest and one chick has hatched so far.  

Last night we had a good meeting with young lawyer Murilo who is part of the ministry team in Patos. We had a good chat about the work of the Lord which was very positive.

Joshua 9 (résumé): The Gibeonite Deception

As word spread west of the Jordan about the conquests of Jericho and Ai by Israel most of the native ethnic groups west of the Jordan sought to create an alliance to defend themselves, but the Ebionites had an alternative deception plan which worked. For the Ebionites sent a delegation to the Israelites in order to make a peace treaty with them by pretending to be a people from afar off. The Ebionite delegation dressed as if they had been travelling from a distant country and everything they carried with them was old, torn and cracked. The ruse worked and Joshua made a peace treaty with them ratified by oath.

3 days later the Israelites discovered that the Gibeonites were in fact their neighbours and were angry, but there was nothing they could do about it as they had sworn an oath. Therefore the Israelites could not attack the Gibeonites, but Joshua cursed them making them serve always as woodcutters and watercarriers for the house of God and for the community perpetually.

White Rats

On Tuesday night I travelled the half hour journey to hold a street service at São Mamede with the Patos men's fellowship. On the way I had a nice chat to one of the men, Marcio, about his work for the private university UNIFIP where he cares for all the experimental Wistar white rats used there for teaching and research. It was very interesting and it was lovely to see his dedication and care for his work. His wife Jacyara and his daughter Mariana also work at the university. 

The service was lovely. As soon as I got there a little lady asked for prayer and I had a chat to her and prayed for her. Chief of the Police Esau led the service which had multiple participations from Dodora, Giulia, Matheus, Paulo Silas, Josué, Dedé and Chico. I brought a short word on Joshua 1:5 and co-pastor Rafael brought the main message about gratitude to God. There were about 40 people at the service and the street was completely blocked off while it took place. A special little service for children was also led by Rebeca inside the house.

I have started reading a book given to me by my granddaughter Louisa called 'The Murder Game' by Tom Hindle. 

Joshua 8 (résumé): Ai destroyed

With the problem of Achan dealt with God told Joshua to attack the city of Ai again, only this time victory was guaranteed. God told Joshua to attack with the whole army this time using ambush tactics. Joshua sent 30,000 men in the night to go round the back of Ai and hide. In the morning Joshua attacked with 5,000 men at the front and lured the men of Ai to run after them as they withdrew. When they had got far enough away then the 30,000 hidden men were given the signal to attack and they were able to take the city with ease and set it on fire. Then the 5,000 Israelites who had been retreating started to attack as the 30,000 men in the city attacked from the other side. The men of Ai were thus annihilated leaving neither survivor of fugitive. A total of 12,000 men and women were killed that day, but God allowed them to keep the livestock and plunder this time. They took the king of Ai and hung him on a tree before throwing down his body at sunset and covering it with a pile of rocks.

Then Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal using uncut stones, and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings unto God. Joshua copied on stone the law of Moses, and afterwards he read the law to all the people with half of them on Mount Gerizim and half on Mount Ebal.

Joshua 7 (résumé): Achan's Sin

God forbid the taking of spoil from the conquering of Jericho, but Achan, of the tribe of Judah, disobeyed. Achan kept a beautiful robe from Babylonia, 2.3 kilos of silver and 0.6 kilos of gold and this severely angered God, who withdrew his backing of Israel as a result. So it was that when the over confident Israelite army sent just 3,000 men to try and conquer the city of Ai they were routed and repelled losing 36 men in the battle. Joshua was shocked and dismayed so he went to ask God for the reason for the defeat. God told Joshua of the sin in the camp and that it would have to be discovered and dealt with for things to be able to return to normal. So Joshua selected different clans and families by lot and through this means identified the culprit Achan who confessed his sin. Achan was stoned to death together with his family, livestock, tent and the spoil from Jericho which he had kept. Then they were all burnt and covered with a memorial pile of rocks to abate the anger of God. 

Friends Service

 I led the main service of the week on Sunday night and our daughter Sacha, who is a teacher and in her final year of Bible College, preached an excellent, concise and crisp Gospel message on John 3:16. The service was a 'Friends service' when the church invites their friends to come to church. About 30 friends came and heard the Gospel on a night when the church was packed out to capacity with extra chairs put in the aisle. After the service the youth sold hot dogs and coke to raise money for their youth conference to be held in June at Green Pastures. It was a lovely and blessed evening.

Today is our eldest daughter Deborah's birthday and we wish her many happy returns of the day! Deborah is a Veterinary Doctor who works tirelessly to care for the stray dogs of Patos, and she also is an excellent English language teacher at the Cultura Inglesa school. 

Our globe-trotting 23-year-old lawyer grandson Arthur is off on one of his trips today to spend the week in São Paulo going to a music festival, a classical music concert and other cultural visits. Have a good trip Arthur! In April he will be going to the USA, Japan and South Korea. 

Liz has been doing a lot of counselling. She is an extraordinary counsellor with great empathy. Please remember Liz in your prayers as she quietly does this labour of love, often at unearthly hours. 

Joshua 6 (résumé): The Fall of Jericho

Jericho was totally shut up within its walls to try and withstand Israel's imminent attack, but God assured Joshua of victory. God told the Israelites to march round the city for 6 days once every day, with armed men at the fore, 7 priests with the ark of the covenant and trumpets, followed by the army. Then on the 7th day they were to march round Jericho 7 times, then the priests would blast on their trumpets and the people would shout. This was followed by the collapse of the city wall after which the Israelites attacked and killed everyone inside except Rahab and her family, and they killed all the livestock too. They then burnt the city but put all the gold, silver, bronze and iron articles into the treasury of the Lord's house. Rahab and her family became part of the Israelite community.

Joshua 5 (résumé): Circumcision at Gilgal

 When the Amorite and Canaanite kings heard about how the Israelites had crossed the Jordan they were in fear and trembling. 

Then God instructed Joshua to have all the men who had not yet been circumcised to carry out this act as a preparation for battle and a renewing of the covenant with him. 

After the men had recovered from circumcision all the Israelites celebrated the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and they ate some of the produce of the land. The divine provision of manna ended on the following day.

Nearing Jericho, as Israel prepared to begin their conquest of Canaan, Joshua was met by a man who defined himself as the "commander of the army of the Lord". This clearly was a theophany as Joshua was told to remove his sandals as he was standing on holy ground, as happened with Moses in Exodus 3:5. Blair says that "this was none other than the pre-existent Son of God". The message was clearly that with God commanding their battles victory would be guaranteed. 

Joshua 4 (résumé): Jordan crossing memorials

When everyone had crossed the Jordan God told Joshua to chose 12 tribal representatives to each get a stone from where the priests had stood in the river with the ark of the covenant, and these stones were later set up as a memorial of the miraculous crossing at Gilgal. It would also seem that Joshua himself also set up a 12-stone memorial right in the middle of the Jordan where the priests had stood (Blair), but this to me is not clear. These memorials were to be commemorations of the Jordan crossing for future generations. Then as soon as the priests finally left the river the waterflow returned to normal. Israel was well prepared with 40,000 men armed for battle. 

Joshua 3 (résumé): Crossing the Jordan

Early in the morning the Israelites set off from Shittim and camped for 3 days right on the banks of the Jordan. Joshua told the people that their cue to cross the Jordan would be when they saw the priests carrying the ark of the covenant which they should follow at a distance of about 900 metres. Then Joshua told the people to consecrate themselves in preparation for the following day. 

So Joshua commanded the priests to go with the ark of the covenant into the river, and when they touched the water's edge the river stopped flowing so that the Israelites could cross into Canaan on dry land whilst the priests stood in the middle of the river. The entire nation of Israel crossed over the Jordan opposite Jericho ready to drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.

Wild Cats

This week the researchers from the University of the State of Maranhão, which is the northernmost state of northeast Brazil, came back to Green Pastures to change the batteries and memory cards in their 12 automatic camera traps which they have spread out all round our nature reserve. They come every 3 months and are very pleased with how many wild cats there are at Green Pastures which is the objective of their research. 

Last night I led the weekly service at Green Pastures and on the way there I saw a fox and a burrowing owl. Fábio led the worship and young lawyer and Bible College graduate Murilo brought a good word from Ephesians 5:14-17. Josué, Paulo Silas, Fred, Dodora, Nega and the group of 9 sisters, and Júlio also took part. It was a nice service. 

A native wild flower at Green Pastures

Joshua 2 (résumé): Rahab and the Spies

Prior to entering Canaan Joshua sent in 2 spies to do reconnaissance on the land, especially focusing on Jericho. The men fulfilled their mission and stayed at the house of a prostitute named Rahab, but the spies were seen entering her house so the King of Jericho sought them there. Rahab however hid the spies on the roof and told the King's search party that the spies had left Jericho at dusk, just before the gates closed, but that if they were quick they could still catch them!  

Then Rahab went up to the roof before the spies went to sleep for the night and told them of her faith in the Lord and that she knew that God would give the land to the Israelites. She told of how impressed everyone was by their deliverance via the Red Sea and how too they had defeated the kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan. She then interceded for herself and her family to receive protection when the invasion came and this the spies agreed to telling her to hang a red cord in her window as a means of identification when the Israelites took the city and the land. As her house was part of the city wall she was able to help the spies escape after their stay at her house using a rope from her window. The spies were able to safely return to Joshua with an encouraging report of how the Canaanites were in fear and trembling at the thought of the Israelite's imminent attack. 

Rahab became a very important person in the history of God's people. She was the mother of Boaz who married Ruth. She was the great-great grandmother of King David, and she was listed as one of the ancestors of Jesus in Matthew 1:5!

Mid-week Service

I led last night's mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study and co-pastor Rafael brought the study on Micah 3:1-7. We had a nice time of prayer together with various brothers and sister leading in prayer. João Filho and Davi led the worship and Espedita and Vasti sang solos. It was a blessed service.

We've been serving the Lord together in north-east Brazil for 53 years. Thank you for your prayers and support.

I went for a nice walk at Green Pastures where we saw 3 six-banded Armadillos and lots of Red-cowled Cardinals. I also saw Striped Cuckoos, Guira Cuckoos, Rufous-browed Peppershrikes, Southern Wrens and Picui Ground Doves. The rain situation has improved with rain every day over the past week producing a total of 137 mm of rain.

Football Pitch

This week we are working on cleaning up the Green Pastures' football pitch. Lots of weeds have grown up there with the rains and we need to get it up to scratch for the Men's Retreat there, with 120 men from Campina Grande, at the beginning of May. Then it will be used again in June at the Youth Conference with 250 young people expected. Please pray for the retreat and conference.

I have just eaten a nice slice of watermelon for my morning snack together with a mug of tea. 😋

Liz and I went to the dentist and each had a filling done, so I have survived the dentist for another year! 😁

I think this pair of Cavies fell out over something!

On Monday it rained another 25 mm at Green Pastures and yesterday it rained 16 mm. The rains are improving!

Last night the Patos Men's Fellowship had our weekly meeting and it was very good. Especially good was the time of sharing near the end. The meeting was led by Chief of Police Esau. Please pray for him with his great responsibility.

Joshua 1 (résumé): The Lord commands Joshua

We have completed the 5 books of the Pentateuch and we now move into the historical books starting with the book of Joshua. The main figure to date in the Biblical narrative, Moses, has just died and now God commissions Joshua to take his place as the leader of Israel. God tells Joshua to get ready to cross the River Jordan and possess the land of Canaan saying that the Israelite territory will spread from the River Euphrates in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and from the Negev Desert in the south up to the Lebanon mountains in the north. God promises to always be with Joshua as he had been with Moses, saying that he will make him invincible. God tells Joshua to always be courageous and strong. 

So Joshua called the officers and told them to prepare for action because 3 days hence they will all cross the Jordan to possess the Promised Land. He also reminded the Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe Manasseh that although they had opted for land east of the Jordan in the agreement made with Moses in Numbers 32, they had promised to fight alongside the rest of Israel to conquer Canaan. This the two and a half tribes promised to do.

Anteater

Francisco who looks after Green Pastures tells me that he recently saw another Anteater. I have seen, photographed and filmed one. They are beautiful animals, though one attacked and injured my late father-in-law Pastor Frank Dyer many years ago. I went walking with Francisco on Saturday morning and saw a wild Cavy, a Rock Cavy and a Fox. I also saw a variety of birds like a Striped-Cuckoo, White-tipped Dove, Scaled Dove, White-naped Jay, Rufous-browed Peppershrike, Campo Troupial, Guira Cuckoo, Greater Ani and Chalk-browed Mockingbird. It rained 21 mm on Friday night but the lake is bone dry. Please pray for rain.

The colours of nature in our rainy season

QPR drew at home against the league leaders Leeds 2 x 2 on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon Liz took Linda and Josinete to Jozilene's Baby Shower held at Green Pastures. Jozilene is expecting twin girls in June and we are very happy for her and her husband Toinho. Jozilene used to live at Green Pastures where I conducted their wedding 10 years ago.

Our granddaughter Beatriz (Bia) won another bronze medal in the Paraíba State Table Tennis championship under-19 category held in Patos this time round. 

Last night I led the main service of the week in Patos and I preached too a sermon entitled: 'On the Banks of the Jordon - Praise, Love God, Teach your children, and never forget God'! This was from Deuteronomy 6:1-9. It was a lovely service with a full church.

Yesterday we had our best rain of the rainy season with 59 mm falling at Green Pastures, after 8 mm the night before. Praise the Lord, but please keep praying!

Acrocorinth

Our grandson Lucas continued his history studies in Greece visiting the Acrocorinth which is a hill with the ruins of a castle which overlooks the ancient city of Corinth, to which the Apostle Paul sent his 2 epistles to the Corinthians in the years 51 and 57. How wonderful that Lucas has had this opportunity to walk in Paul's footsteps this week. He has now flown home to England. 

Our 23-year-old grandson John David will graduate in João Pessoa as a medical doctor in June. At the moment he is doing 3 months practical training at a clinic in Patos prior to returning for training next month in surgical work, taking him to his graduation. Please pray for John David. 

I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study with my assistant pastor Rafael giving the study on the last 2 verses of Micah 2. Marina and Davi led the worship, Vasti sang a solo and Bible verses were read by Deborah Maria, Samana and Maria. 

Yesterday morning I gave a Biblical reflection to the 'Young at Heart' group from Romans 12:9-13 and it was a lovely time of fellowship together. They served up delicious savoury and sweet snacks cooked in the Care Centre's 'Mum's Kitchen' by the sisters Marcia and Josinete who run these mornings. 'Mum's Kitchen' is the new kitchen we have at the Care Centre donated by Liz's brother Sam, in Switzerland, in memory of their mother and missionary Ivy Dyer. Prior to my participation in the meeting a sister from the church called Thayse gave the ladies a lesson about skin care with the application of creams in everyone which they really enjoyed.

Last night I spent a lovely evening discussing theology with Murilo. He is a 22-year-old recently qualified lawyer and Bible College graduate who regularly preaches in Patos. The idea is for us to discuss matters that we don't normally get to discuss.

São Mamede

 São Mamede is a town about half an hour's drive north-east of Patos and every fortnight I go there with the Patos Men's Fellowship to hold a Gospel street meeting. On Tuesday I preached there on Jesus healing both a leper and a paralytic from Mark 1:40 to 2:12. Chief of the Police Esau led the service and songs were sung by Giulia, Flávio, Paulo Silas and Josué. I prayed for José, in front of whose house we hold the meetings, who was operated on for skin cancer at the weekend, and I prayed for 4 more people for whom I received prayer requests. It was a lovely service.

Sadly QPR lost yet again on Tuesday 2 x 1 away to Middlesbrough. 😏

Last night Liz and I had a meeting with the leaders of the Pastor Frank Dyer School here in Patos which is our school which constantly wins first place from the Ministry of Education's IDEB which is the Brazilian version of Ofsted. We discussed with the head-teacher Gerlânia the return of various workshops for adolescents as from next week including mathematics, chess, physical education and sand-football. We also discussed the creation of a play area for the children at the school for which the town council has promised the building materials and for which we have to pay for the labour. It was a very good meeting.

Areopagus

Today my grandson Lucas has stood at the Areopagus in Athens, Greece, where the Apostle Paul preached about the "unknown God" in Acts 17:16-34. What a wonderful historical experience for this young man who is very keen on history. May he follow in Paul's footsteps to be a preacher of the Gospel bringing people to a living knowledge of the "unknown God" who can be known through Jesus Christ!

Sadly QPR lost yet again on Saturday 1 x 0 away to West Brom. 😖

I saw a Burrowing Owl on my way to preach at Green Pastures and then I stupidly parked the car underneath a tree near the meeting hall. After the service the car was covered by bird droppings from the roosting birds in the tree! It rained 9 mm during the service but we pray for much more rain! It rained a further 12 mm on Sunday night.

I led the meeting on Sunday night and Pastor Rafael preached on Mathew 15:21-28 about the great faith of a Canaanite woman. The church was full and the service was blessed.

It is lovely to hear the Southern Wren singing outside my office window and to see beautifully coloured butterflies feeding on the flowers of the climbing plant we have in our garden.

Last night Liz went to the Monday night prayer meeting which had 11 present. There were also 3 of the youth praying in their own prayer meeting. 🙏

Greece

Our 17-year-old grandson Lucas, who lives in the UK, is now in Greece on an educational visit in history with his Queen Mary's College. He will be visiting the Temple of Poseidon, Theatre of Dionysus, Acropolis, Areopagus, Pnyx, Koile, Philopappus, Byzantine churches, Delphi, Olympia, Epidaurus, Acro Corinth etc. 

Over the carnival period from March 1st to 5th alternative camps were held by our churches, on top of the 45th one at Green Pastures, at Juru (10th), at Diamante (8th), at Manaira (2nd) and at Flores (10th). All places report really blessed camps with 10 young people making commitments to Christ at Juru and one being baptized at Flores. Praise God!

On Friday afternoon I prepared a message for the Green Pastures church: Jesus - the Lamb of God (John 1:29) / Jesus - the Son of God (João 1:34) / Jesus - the Teacher of God (João 1:38).

Last night I led the service and preached at the Green Pastures Church. It was a great service. The 4 people recently baptized at the carnival camp gave lovely testimonies and the praise and worship was led by sister Nega.

Names to your comments

Thanks to everyone who reads and comments on this blog. To comment please click on the 'comments' section at the bottom of this post. Then click on the little arrow, before clicking on 'name', and put your name. Then write your comment. The comment will only appear when I have given it the OK as this avoids people trying to sell things or post pornography via the blog as sometimes happens.

Please pray for rain for us. The situation here is serious as we are in the rainy season and it is not raining!

We are receiving very positive feedback from those who were at the Carnival Camp. Many are telling of life transforming encounters with God. Praise the Lord! 🙌 One person said that the camp had been "a watershed experience" in her life.

I have finished reading 'Seven days that divide the world: the beginning according to Genesis and Science' by John C. Lennox. I found the book very interesting and challenging. 

Last night I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study with Michelle and Davi leading the worship. Adriana, Romildo, Espedita and Gilmarco gave lovely words of testimony about the Carnival Camp and Pastor Rafael brought the study from Micah 2:6-11. It was a good meeting.  

Carnival Camp (part 2)

Monday night's service at the camp was excellent with pastor Wostenes preaching on unity in the church being a result of revival and renewal. He also preached on Tuesday morning on satisfaction and fulfillment in God. The final service of the camp had Missionary Gleydice preaching on evangelistic zeal being a symptom of revival and renewal.

So we came this Wednesday morning to the end of another wonderful camp. It really was outstanding. The praise and worship was great, the work with the children was brilliant, the sport, swimming and games were very good, the food was delicious and the ministry of God's word was of the highest caliber from beginning to end.

It was lovely to see the children so enjoying the camp and playing intensely in the tree house, in the playground and in the swimming pool. The children had their own services which were really blessed.

It was great too to have fellowship with elder Alessandro and his wife and deaconess Talita who now lead the little rural church at Juá and the new church plant at Salgado de São Felix. Please pray for them.

While we were away at the camp I see that a Brazilian film won an Oscar for the first time for the film 'I'm still here' which is a true and sad story from the days of the military coup back in the 60s and 70s. I haven't seen the film yet but I am told it is very good and very moving.

I have finished reading 'Responsible Grace - John Wesley's Practical Theology' by Randy L. Maddox. It was a bit disappointing but alright.

Carnival Camp

We are now at the half-way point in our 45th Carnival Camp at Green Pastures and it is going very well indeed. On Saturday evening we had our initial fellowship meal which was followed by an excellent message in the opening service by Pastor Lindon Carlos from Imaculada. He preached from Habakkuk 3 on the need for revival and renewal.

The Sunday services were equally blessed with lovely ministry from Missionary Betânia. In the morning she spoke on the theme of revival and renewal through a greater hunger for the word of God, and at night she spoke on prayer in revival.

On Sunday afternoon we baptized 4 from the Green Pastures church: Fred, Marileide, Julio and Joana. It was a joyful afternoon.

This morning we had Missionary Gleydice preaching on repentance as a gateway to revival and renewal and this was excellent too.

QPR lost at home 2 x 1 to Sheffield United.

I have heard lots of Striped Cuckoos at Green Pastures and many duets by the Caatinga Cacholotes. I also saw a Green-barred Woodpecker.

Venezuelans

To the north of Brazil is Venezuela which has long been in political and social upheaval under dictator President Maduro. Brazil officially has 94,726 Venezuelans immigrants who have fled their country in order to survive, but I suspect the number is far higher. In Patos, for example, you see them begging at different sets of traffic lights. They have very difficult lives. 

Brazilians are asking me what happens in the UK when someone dies. Well there is no wake to start with. Whereas in Brazil when someone dies there is a wake and then the burial normally takes place within about 24 hours, in the UK few view the body and the funeral takes place weeks later.

On Thursday night I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study and it was lovely to have 14-year-old Letícia playing the guitar for the first time for the praise. She did very well. Pastor Rafael gave the study on Micah 2:1-5.

Today sees the start of our 45th Carnival Camp at Green Pastures. The speaker in tonight's opening service the speaker will be Pastor Lindon Carlos from Imaculada. Tomorrow the speaker both morning and night will be Betânia who was our missionary to Uruguay some years back. I will be leading the camp and the services. Liz will be coordinating the whole camp's logistics of food, cleaning, canteen etc. Please pray!

We are in the rainy season and the average rainfall for the month of February at Green Pastures over the last 25 years has been 137 mm, whereas this February saw just 25 mm of rain! Please pray for rain as we now need a bumper month of March to make up for the very poor February.

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