Driving

Now I'm back in Brazil I'm back to driving after nearly 3 months being driven by Philip, Marian and Jean in the UK. Liz reminded me to make sure I drove on the right side of the road! What surprised me on the way to church was that the Christmas lights are already up and look very nice too. 

I led the service in church on Sunday. The church was full and we were given a very warm welcome back. There was a welcome banner outside the church too and we were given a welcome gift by the church. It was a lovely night and I noticed it was 31 degrees as I left church a little before 9 pm.

Phew! I am very happy to tell you that I have just had my haircut for the first time since August! What a relief! I hope you like it? 👨

I have scheduled us preachers in Patos, which are me, Sacha, Murilo and Pastor Rafael, up to the end of January 2026.

You should have received the EAB magazine 'InTouch' edition #104 by post by now, or it will be arriving any day. You will see the Christmas gift list as well which will now function with ecards. Please send your donations to the EAB treasurer and send us the email addresses of the people you want us to send Christmas cards to by email.

I see that it is 12 degrees in Basingstoke and raining, and here it is 36 degrees and extremely dry. Please pray for rain for the interior of northeast Brazil as the situation here with the worst drought in 10 years is desperate. The Green Pastures wells are almost completely dry as underground water levels have collapsed. Please pray! "I'm dreaming of a WET Christmas"!

There is a fascinating article on the BBC website about the fight to preserve the endangered Amazon pink river Dolphins. The international COP 30 environmental event is happening this week in Brazil and Prince William is here.

Yesterday I went for a walk at Green Pastures with Francisco who runs the day to day side of things there, sees off would-be poachers, feeds the donkeys, pony, cockatiels, rabbits and guinea pigs which  we have there for the children's events and camps, and waters the plants. The drought is devastating! The worst for 10 years. One well has dried up and the other is drastically reduced. I saw the gaggle of 4 geese, with one on its nest, plus the 3 peacocks and 1 Guinea Fowl. I also saw Picui Ground Doves and Chalk-browed Mocking Birds.