The Scarlet Cord

On Sunday night I both led the service and preached on 'The Scarlet Cord' from Joshua 2 with the extraordinary story of the transformation of the prostitute Rahab who ended up in the genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:5-6), the chapter of the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11:31) and as an example of faith and works (James 2:24-26). It was a good service with a full church.

Our grandson Arthur is now in Tokyo, Japan, staying at a youth hostel. Enjoy your 9 days in Japan Arthur! The time difference of 12 hours ahead of Patos must be difficult to cope with. 

Liz has just conducted 2 marriage counselling sessions. Please pray for Liz's quiet and so important ministry.

I have been talking to Wellington, who is a member of the Patos church and who works at Custódia in the state of Pernambuco, which is just 40 km from our church at Flores. He has been witnessing to a couple at Custódia and they have come to the Lord and are nearing the time to be baptized. Then another couple are also showing interest in the Gospel. Praise the Lord!

Leishmaniasis

It is very sad to see the suffering of so many stray dogs in Patos that are diagnosed with leishmaniasis. My veterinary doctor daughter Deborah has shown me some pitiful cases. Leishmaniasis is an infectious parasitic disease that can be transmitted to human beings. If you live in Patos and see a stray dog who looks ill please contact Deborah so that she can capture it and treat it together with her colleagues of the Amparar Animal. Another sad sight I saw this week was a stray dog utterly empested with blood-sucking ticks! The dog is being treat. 

QPR lost their last home game of the season in style!😏They lost 5 x 0 to league leaders Burnley who will be in the premiership next season. This leaves QPR in 15th position in the Championship with 1 game to play away to play-off-team Sunderland. 

Our grandson Arthur is flying from the USA to Japan today. Have a good 12-hour flight! ✈

I went to the Deaf Fellowship meeting (photo below) last night which was led by our deaf pastor Luiz Carlos. They had a visiting speaker called Tiago Nóbrega who is a lawyer who was there to explain to them their legal rights regarding benefits. It was an excellent 2-hour meeting. 

Liz went to the evangelistic service held at our school. Our drama team presented a short play followed by an evangelistic message. The service was really blessed and had a good crowd present. 

Joshua 24 (résumé): Joshua's final words

Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem and made an historical discourse to them on the eve of his death at 110 years of age. He reminded them of how he had called Abraham and then his descendants Isaac, Jacob and Esau. He recalled how Jacob had gone down to Egypt with his sons and how God eventually delivered them from Egypt and brought them victorious through the desert to Canaan. Then God gave the victory at Jericho and successive places. So Joshua says that Israel must fear the Lord and serve him with faithfulness, throwing away all pagan gods. For Joshua says that all Israelites must make up their minds who they will serve because "as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord"! The people answered assuring Joshua that they "too will serve the Lord, because he is our God"! Joshua stressed that they couldn't play around with God, but the people repeatedly assured him of their commitment to the Lord. So it was that at Shechem the people renewed their covenant with God. Then Joshua died and was buried at Timnath Serah.

Joshua 23 (résumé): Joshua's farewell to the Leaders

Time passed and Joshua was over 100 years old so he spoke to the elders, leaders, judges and officials with words of farewell. He reminded them of all that God had done for them and given them and assured them that the Lord would yet drive out the remaining Canaanites from the Land. He told them that they must be strong and careful to obey all that was written in the Book of the Law of Moses, and never get involved with the nations that remained among them taking care to steer clear of their gods. For God would severely judge Israel if they violated the covenant of the Lord their God. 

Joshua 22 (résumé): Eastern Tribes return home

The two and a half tribes of Israel that had opted to settle on the east side of the Jordan, as agreed with Moses, had fulfilled their promise to fight on the side of the other tribes during the conquest of Canaan. Now that they had fulfilled their mission Joshua told them that they were free to return to their families and develop their livelihoods. So on the way east the Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh built a very large altar near the Jordan as a witness of their unity with the whole of Israel. However the 9 and a half tribes misunderstood this gesture and it almost led to civil war! For the western tribes understood the altar to have pagan connotations, or to be a rival altar to that of the tabernacle, and were horrified and aghast. It was only when the eastern tribes clarified the matter and assured them of their commitment to the Lord that Phineas the priest praised God, accepted the explanation and the altar was given the name as a witness between the eastern and western tribes. 

Joshua 21 (résumé): Towns for the Levites

Now it was the turn of the Levites to receive their towns with the surrounding pasture lands as had been promised to them through Moses. The Levites solicited this from Eleazar the high priest. So it was that they received a total of 48 towns as follows: The family of Aaron received 13 out of the lands of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin; The family of Kohath received 10 out of the lands of Ephraim, Dan and Manasseh; The family of Gershon received 13 out of the lands of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh; The family of Merari received 12 out of the lands of Reuben, Gad and Zebulom; and the 6 cities of refuge were included in the Levites' inheritance. 

Joshua 21 concludes by stating that whilst conquering Canaan God gave the victory over all Israel's enemies, and "Not one of the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled."

Joshua 20 (résumé): Cities of Refuge

It impresses me how often the topic of cities of refuge or asylum for those guilty of manslaughter occur in the early books of the Bible. I can only presume that manslaughter was prevalent at the time! For as in Numbers 35:6, 9-34; Deuteronomy 4:41-43; Deuteronomy 19:1-13, so Joshua 20 is devoted to this matter. 

Joshua again summarizes the designation of 6 cities as cities of refuge or asylum where those who killed somebody accidentally would be safeguarded against the "avenger of blood" who would be a relative of the deceased who was authorized to seek retribution. The designated cities were Kedesh, Shechem, Hebron, Ramoth, Golan and Bezer. These cities offered a safe haven for those guilty of manslaughter. 

Joshua 19 (résumé): Details of the allotment of the tribes

This chapter describes the land given to the remaining tribes of Israel: Simeon, Zebulon, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan.  Simeon's land was taken from a share of Judah because Judah's land was more than they needed. Zebulon had the privilege of having Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, within its territory, in the region of Galilee. Issachar included cities along the border with Zebulon. Asher's land went from Tyre to Canaan's northern border. Naphtali had land in northern Canaan and Dan's land included the city of Beth-shan. 

Finally after all the land distribution the Israelites gave Joshua the town of Timnath Serah in the hills Ephraim. Joshua re-built the city and dwelt there in his personal inheritance. Thus ended the dividing of the land.    

Joshua 18 (résumé): Division of the rest of the land

Initially in this chapter Joshua addresses the 7 tribes that had not yet received land in Canaan and he seemed to be a bit impatient with these tribes. He ordered each tribe to appoint 3 men to conduct a survey of the land writing its description town by town in 7 parts. Then Joshua cast lots and distributed the land to each tribe.

Then comes a detailed description of the land, boundaries and cities for the tribe of Benjamin. Their land included Jericho and Jerusalem.  

Pastor Frank Dyer School

Yesterday Liz and I went back to our school on the south side of Patos to inspect the building work being done there to construct a play and sports area 23 metres long by 18 metres wide. There will also be a sand pit 23 metres long by 5 metres wide. It will be lovely for the children and they are very excited about this new play area. 

At Green Pastures we have finished preparing the football pitch for the men's retreat from May 2nd to 4th and for the youth conference from June 20th to 22nd. We have in fact created 2 pitches with one for 11 a side and the other for 6 a side.

I have just eaten watermelon for my morning snack.

Our social action projects team is very busy and needs your prayers as it works on more wells, market gardens, toilet/shower units, 4-Legs hair sheep and goats and 2-Wings chicken runs. Please pray. 

We have had made 10 more beds for the Green Pastures camps, retreats and conferences.

Our 23-year-old grandson Arthur has flown from João Pessoa to Rio de Janeiro and from there to Panama. He then took a 7-hour flight up the west coast of the United States to Los Angeles where he is spending 3 days seeing Hollywood and other sights. God bless you Arthur!

Last night I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study and we sang happy birthday to my co-pastor Rafael on his 35th birthday. It is wonderful to see what God has done in Rafael's life as he was a rough diamond who used to pick fights for the fun of it! Now he preaches the Gospel!

Tomorrow Cadnam Methodist Church will be holding their annual music concert in aid of EAB starting at 7 pm. Please support this event if you can. Our son Philip and family will be taking part.

5th largest country

Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world with over 8.5 million square km. This is 35 times the size of the United Kingdom. Russia is the largest with 17 million square km, Canada is second with 9.9 million square km, The USA comes third with 9.8 million square km and China is fourth with 9.5 million square km.

Our globe trotting lawyer grandson Arthur is at it again! He left Patos yesterday before flying from João Pessoa to Rio de Janeiro, then up to Panama, then up to Los Angeles (where he will spend 4 days) before flying over the Pacific Ocean to Tokyo in Japan (where he will spend 9 days) and also to Seoul in South Korea (where he will spend 2 days). He will be back in Patos on May 10th, returning via Lima, Peru and the Brazilian capital Brasília. Have a great trip Arthur! ✈

On Sunday night it rained 25 mm at Green Pastures.

QPR had a sad Easter Monday losing at home to Swansea 2 x 1. 

Last night I travelled with the Patos Men's Fellowship to lead the street service, with about 40 people attending, in the town of São Mamede. Words of greetings were brought by Rebeca, Dodora and Dedé and co-pastor Rafael brought the main message. One woman made a commitment to Christ in the middle of the service without any appeal being made. It was a lovely service. 

Whilst I travelled Liz was back in Patos doing a marathon counselling session. Liz is an excellent patient listener with wise advice. Please remember Liz's ministry in your prayers.

Joshua 17 (résumé): The continuation of allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh

This chapter picks up the continuation of the story of the allotment of the land for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh describing their respective borders. Land was allotted to all the people of Manasseh including the daughters of Zelophahad, as had been guaranteed in Numbers 27, because there was no male heir in the family. As too in the previous chapter it is commented that the Israelites fail to drive out all the Canaanites who ended up co-habiting with God's people as slaves. Ephraim and Manasseh requested extra land owing to their large population under the blessing of God, also taking into account the difficulty that they had in driving out the Canaanites from the hill country. So Joshua challenges the tribes to clear the forests and trust God to help them drive out the Canaanites.

Easter Breakfast

On Easter Sunday morning we held our annual fellowship breakfast in the Patos church. First we had breakfast then we sung 4 resurrection hymns and had a Biblical reflection on Matthew 28 by assistant pastor Rafael. Finally we drew three names out of a hat to give them Easter eggs. It was a lovely morning. Our first João Pessoa church also held an Easter Sunday breakfast. 

Last night's Resurrection service was excellent. The drama group did a 20 minute play called 'He lives' which was very good. This came before the sermon by young lawyer and Bible College graduate Murilo which was very good indeed.

QPR won away to Preston 2 x 1.

Romantic weekend

Liz and I have had a lovely few days with the family at Green Pastures celebrating the 58th anniversary of our relationship as we started going out together on Good Friday 1967. We first met in London in October 1966 (the year England won the football world cup). We then met again in Southampton in January 1967. We started going out together on Good Friday 1967 when Liz and her brother Sam came to our house in North Kensington for lunch, after a service at Peniel Chapel where their father Pastor Frank Dyer had preached. In the afternoon I took them in my Dad's Ford Zephyr to see Buckingham Palace, Regents Park and London Zoo. On the Easter Monday Liz came again to London for the Elim special service at the Royal Albert Hall, after which bidding her and her cousin Jose farewell by the coach I gave Liz a gentle kiss on the forehead! 😘

This morning we had great fun hunting the Easter eggs at Green Pastures. All went off beautifully. I also read 23 chapters of 'The Murder Game' by Tom Hindle and played and won 6 games of chess. We visited a couple, Julio and Joana, who we baptized at the Carnival Camp. It was lovely to chat with them and pray with them too. This couple got married one day after us!

Men's Fellowship

 On Tuesday night I look part in the Patos Men's Fellowship meeting which was led by chief of the police Esau. We had a nice time of sharing and prayer divided into groups of 3 and we also had a good time around the Word in Psalm 34:1-3.

This week being Easter week is full of activities. Our Campina Grande Catolé church is taking a coach load of 50 to hold special services at Caroá, and our Juru church will hold special evangelistic services in the rural communities of Catolé, Cachoeira dos Costas and Dalmópolis. Please pray!

Our family will be having our annual Easter break from Thursday to Saturday with the traditional hunt the Easter eggs on Saturday. On Sunday we will be back in Patos for the annual church Easter Sunday fellowship breakfast, plus a special service at night with our drama group presenting a short play as well as the preaching of the word.

Our deaf pastor Luiz Carlos has gone on a 12-hour coach trip to Petrolina in the state of Pernambuco to speak at a conference. Sign language interpreter Dayza has gone with him. Please pray for their ministry.

Deaf pastor Luiz Carlos & sign language interpreter Dayza

Joshua 16 (résumé): Allotment for Ephraim & Manasseh

This chapter describes the land given to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh who were the descendants of Joseph. The land was located between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea and included the area from Jericho up to Bethel and extended to the boundary of the Japhletites. The text tells us that the Israelites failed to drive out all the Canaanites living in Gezer, so they made them do forced labour. This was problematic because God had specifically banned the Canaanites from remaining in the land as seen in Deuteronomy 20:16-18. 

Blue Sunday

This Palm Sunday we commemorated as 'Blue Sunday' to raise awareness concerning autism and Christian care and inclusion of those with autism and their families. Many of the church went dressed in blue and it was a wonderful service. Our daughter Sacha preached a brilliant sermon and many people were in tears as it was very moving.

Our 'Life Squad' which works in the Patos prison is about to recommence after a long pause for various reasons. Please pray for our team which will be going into the jail every Wednesday afternoon from 4 to 5 am (8 to 9 pm BST). 

I have just eaten custard apple with guava for my morning snack. 😋

Joshua 15 (résumé): Allotment for Judah

This chapter describes the boundaries of the land given to the tribe of Judah, which was distributed by lot to its people clan by clan. The chapter also gives an extensive list of the cities in this land. 

Within Judah's territory was Hebron, as previously seen, which was given to Caleb in fulfillment of Moses' promise 45 years earlier. The text describes how Caleb drove out the inhabitants from the land and how he offered his daughter Acsah in marriage to whoever captured Kiriath Sepher. The victor turned out to be Othniel who was the son of Caleb's brother, so they married and Caleb gave her springs of water with land in the Negev. 

At the end of the chapter it is noted that Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites from Jerusalem so in this case the people of Judah had to co-habit with them.

School

Liz and I went to visit our Pastor Frank Dyer School on the south side of Patos in the borough of Jatobá. It was great to see all the classes going along well and in total order and peace. We inspected the building work there, with the school's headteacher Gerlânia, where we are making a play and sports area for the children.

The rain situation is so desperate here that the authorities are already making appeals to the public to economize water in the rainy season! The reservoirs are very low and water rationing is clearly on the horizon. Please pray! 

I heard some Yellow-chinned Spinetails near our school.

Our Vet daughter Deborah gave a stunning speech at the opening ceremony of a Council animal welfare facility this week standing between the Mayor and an MP. Well done Deborah! 😃

On Thursday night it rained 5 mm, on Friday night it rained 30 mm and last night it rained 18 mm at Green Pastures.

Yesterday we travelled 2 and a half hours west of Patos for me to preach at our church at Tavares' 18th anniversary service. It was a lovely service in the street in front of the church. I preached on Genesis 26. It was good to see folk there from the Tavares church's daughter churches in the villages of Olho D'aguinha Seco, Belém and Jurema. 14 sisters sang a song. Local pastor Robério led the service. We got home at midnight.

Joshua 14 (résumé): Division of the Land west of the Jordan

Chapters 14 to 19 contain a description of the allotment of Canaan west of the Jordan, and chapter 14 is an introduction to this. The opening verses tell us that the division of the land amongst tribes, clans and families was made by lot under God's hand. We are reminded that the tribe of Levi did not receive land owing to their sacred mission, so the Josephite tribe became 2 tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim to make up 12 tribes. As 2 and a half tribes had already received land east of Jordan, 9 and a half tribes received Canaan west of the Jordan by lot. 

There then comes a special interlude with Caleb asking for Hebron as his inheritance as had been promised 45 years earlier by Moses after he visited the land on a spying mission. Caleb knew that the land was controlled by the strong Anakites, but with the Lord's help he had faith that he would drive them out. Joshua agreed to this "because he followed the Lord... wholeheartedly", and Hebron became Caleb's.  

Pray for Rain

Please pray for rain for the interior of Paraíba in northeast Brazil. The situation here is very serious as we are in the rainy season and it is hardly raining at all. April is the last principal month for rain. 2025 is the worst year for low rainfall in years!

Please pray too for our Green Pastures Nature Haven where we give protection to God's creation and all the native creatures such as: foxes, wild cats, armadillos, tortoises, cavies, rock cavies, anteaters, lizards, snakes, monkeys, frogs, toads, deer, birds, butterflies, moths, bats, ants, termites etc. We don't allow poachers and hunters near and protect God's creation in every way possible, including the preservation of trees, bushes, wild flowers and plants which form the creatures' habitat. Everything we do we do for the glory of God and as a witness to everyone that caring for creation is important. It is in this natural environment that we hold our camps; youth, men's, women's, and pastors' conferences; church outings etc. 

I have been having discussions with a variety of our pastors such as Pastor Nezinho (Vazante), Pastor Maesio (Teixeira), Pastor Oseias (Itaporanga), Pastor Leandro (Juazeirinho), Pastor Valdemy (Caroá) and Pastors Wostenes and Hamilton (Campina Grande). Do pray for our pastors!

QPR have won a game! 😀 We beat Oxford away 3 x 1 and continue in 15th place in the Championship. Just 5 games to go to the end of the season. I reckon that the Premiership is just going to have to manage without us for another year! 😕

Last night I led the mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study and co-pastor Rafael gave the study on the book of Micah. After the service Liz and I went to visit deaconess Josinete who lost her brother with a heart attack a few hours earlier. Please pray for Josinete and her family. 

Joshua 13 (résumé): Land still to be taken

Now starts the second section of the book of Joshua with Joshua advanced in years. (Woudstra estimates him to have been about 85 years old at the time) God brought to Joshua's attention the fact that there was still land to be conquered and divided between the Israelites, which was apparently to be completed in Joshua's lifetime. The land yet to be conquered were all the regions of the Philistines, the Geshurites, the Canaanites, the Gebalites and all Lebanon. God assured Joshua that he would drive out the peoples from these areas so that he could divide up the land between the 9 tribes plus half Manasseh settling west of the Jordan. 

Going on from this it is recalled that the tribe of Levi received no inheritance as they received their support from their service to the Lord. It also recalls that the Reubenites, the Gadites and half of Manasseh received the inheritance that Moses gave them east of the Jordan and the boundaries of their land were laid out in detail.

Sophia

Liz's sister Esther's nearly 7-year-old granddaughter Sophia lives on the coast at João Pessoa and at the weekend nearly choked whilst eating at a restaurant. An off-duty policeman rescued her as he knew the correct procedure to unchoke her. Thank you Jesus!

Please pray for our Bible College at Campina Grande Catolé called SETEBRAE, which has 37 students preparing for Christian ministry. Please also pray for our leadership training online in partnership with the ISBL Bible College and the FTSA Bible College in Londrina (PA) in the south of Brazil. May God raise up an army of young pastors and leaders to spread the Gospel in northeast Brazil!

On Monday night Liz and I went to visit a couple from the Patos church, Marcelo and Nuhara. Marcelo is a veterinary surgeon and lost his father last week. It was a very enjoyable evening talking about their lives and family.

Our daughter Deborah is an excellent English teacher at the Cultura Inglesa language school and she also is a very good veterinary doctor caring for and recovering stray dogs at the Amparar Animal project. Please pray for Deborah's work which seeks to save, cure and care for stray dogs before finding them homes. 

Yesterday I saw a pair of Cattle Tyrants in our garden.

Last night I travelled to São Mamede with the Patos men's fellowship. First of all I gave communion to our 5 members there. Then Chief of the Police Esau led the main service which had 46 people present and I preached on Luke 2:13-28. It was a good service.

Church Jumble Sale

On Saturday morning we held another church jumble sale at our Pastor Frank Dyer School to raise money for the making of a play area for the children. Many volunteers from the church ran the event which went very well. They also made a "rubacão" and sold it for £1.50 per portion. This is a north-eastern Brazilian dish made with rice, beans, sausage meat and cheese.

Edition #103 of EAB's InTouch magazine will be with you by regular post soon, but it is already available on EAB's website at http://www.eabrazil.org

On Saturday night I was all set to go and preach at Green Pastures when it started to rain there and people started sending me messages that they couldn't go to church owing to the rain, so we ended up cancelling the service. We had 12 mm (half an inch) of rain for which we are grateful.

Last night I led the monthly communion service and it was Pastor Rafael's turn to preach. The church was packed out to capacity.

Joshua 12 (résumé): The Conquests of Israel

This chapter is a summary of all the conquests by the Israelites, giving a complete list of the 31 kings defeated west of the Jordan under Joshua's leadership, from the king of Jericho to the king of Tirzah. The defeat of these kings involved the conquest of all their lands which they were king over. The chapter also reminds us of the earlier conquests under Moses' leadership east of the Jordan, defeating Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. The latter, it comments, was one of the last of the Rephaites from Genesis 6. This conquered land east of the Jordan was given to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and all the land conquered west of the Jordan was distributed to the remaining tribes of Israel. 

Mid-week

We had a lovely mid-week prayer meeting and Bible study which I led and pastor Rafael gave the study in Micah 4:1-7. We had solos from Chico, Vasti and Espedita and various brothers and sisters read 'my Scripture verses'. Marina and David led the praise and worship.

EAB's bi-annual magazine 'InTouch' is now at the printers. Edition 103 should reach you later in the month by snail mail. Our thanks go to Marian Rashleigh (editor) and to Dave Flowers (producer). This edition covers such topics as book day, child evangelism, delivery by donkey, Itaporanga mission, well, indians, social worker, Bible day, bathroom, honorary citizen, baptisms, walk of witness, Ipueira outreach, Otoniel and EAB AGM.  

Yesterday I saw a Tropical Screech-Owl at Green Pastures as well as Red-cowled Cardinals, Picui Ground-Doves, Plain-breasted Ground Doves and a Limpkin.

We desperately need rain! The rainy season is a disaster thus far. Please pray!

Yesterday we had another disappearance incident with Brother José from São Mamede who went missing on a trip to Patos to receive his pension. Thankfully he was found late in the day having got delayed!

Joshua 11 (résumé): Northern Kings defeated

 When Jabin king of Hazor heard about how Israel had conquered all the southern Canaanite cities he formed a military alliance with all the northern kings producing a massive army against the Israelites. Assured of victory by God Israel's army made a sudden attack and routed the enemy. They annihilated the enemy, hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots. They captured Hazor and burned it, and killed King Jabin. They then proceeded to take all the cities, killing their kings and carrying off the plunder and livestock so as to dominate the entire northern region as they had previously done in the south. They "exterminated" everyone without mercy "as the Lord had commanded". Then Joshua destroyed the Anakites from the hill country totally destroying them and their towns, apart from some survivors who remained in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. Thus Joshua took the whole land and divided it up with the Israelites according to their tribal division, and Israel enjoyed peace.

Men's Fellowship

I gave the study in the men's fellowship group meeting on Tuesday night which had 12 men present. The study was on the joy in serving Jesus from Philippians 4:4 and Nehemiah 8:10, focusing on joy in fellowship and joy in suffering for Jesus. The meeting was led by school teacher Claudivan and Dedé led 2 songs at the beginning. Ministry amongst men is an important work as evangelism of men is so challenging in Brazil. 

Yesterday afternoon we had a very good meeting with Pastor Maesio and his wife Fia from our church up in the mountains at Teixeira. We discussed matters linked to their church and problems being encountered and gave them advice. We praise God that the church is going well. It was going to their church to preach last October that we had our head-on collision.

Liz went to the women's fellowship last night where there were about 20 women present. She said it was a good meeting.

I have been preparing sermons. One for this Saturday at Green Pastures, then another for next Tuesday in the town of São Mamede and then another for a week on Saturday in the town of Tavares, about a 2-hour drive west of Patos. Your prayers are valued.

Joshua 10 (résumé): The Sun stands still

 Next the kings of the Amorites - Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon joined forces to attack Gibeon which were now an integrated people with Israel having made a mutual peace treaty. So the Gibeonites sent to ask help from Joshua who sent his entire army in response, and they won a resounding victory. As the defeated army fled God sent a storm of hailstones on them which killed more than with the sword! And Joshua asked God to make the sun and moon stand still so as to prolong the day for Israel to finish off their enemy, and this is what happened. (The text says that this was a citation from the Book of Jashar which makes things a little unclear)

In view of their defeat the 5 kings went and hid in a cave where Joshua trapped them with rocks before killing them and hanging them on trees. Then the Israelites went on to defeat all the southern cities of Canaan at Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron and Debir subduing everything from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. Everywhere they conquered the Israelites were ruthless leaving no survivors and destroying all who breathed as God had commanded.  

Deaconess Found

I'm thrilled to report that our deaconess Claudenusia, of our Teixeira church, has been found live and well in the town of Brejinho in the state of Pernambuco. Thank you for praying. The local pastor Maésio and his wife Fia have been to visit her and are seeking to help her and her family.

It was lovely that a lady especially went to our church on Sunday to tell us how well she had been treat by our grandson John David at the clinic he was working at as an intern. He will graduate as a medical doctor in June. She emphasized that he will be a wonderful doctor thanks to his caring polite manner. This comes after John David's supervising doctor at the clinic posted on Instagram that he had been the best intern she had ever had! We naturally are very pleased by these warm compliments. May John David always be a competent, humble and caring doctor!   

Today is my sister Joy's 70th birthday! Happy birthday! 😀 Joy lives in Woburn Green, High Wycombe. I clearly remember going to see her for the first time at the maternity hospital with my Dad. 

This blog was read 4,445 times last month. We only received 158 mm of rain in March making a total for the year of 348 mm. This is extremely low as we need about 1,000 mm in the rainy season in the first half of the year. Please pray!

Our projects team has been distributing hair sheep from our 4-Legs Project at the indigenous village of Jatobá in the municipality of Carnaubeira da Penha in the state of Pernambuco.