Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Celebration of Musical Talent for EAB!
A Celebration of Musical Talent in aid of EVANGELICAL ACTION BRAZIL.
This Saturday at 3pm at Christ Church Chineham Basingstoke. Tickets £5
children free. Refreshments included. Everyone welcome! Further details from the organizer Jean Medcraft-North at medcraftnorth@sky.com
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
Communion
The communion service on Sunday went particularly well - especially the sermon - because it was a sermon with a difference. I asked the church to give me the words that come to their minds at a breaking of bread service and preached on the spot on the 13 words they gave me plus one which I added. It was a risky thing to do as it might have not taken off - but it did! PTL! Some people gave rave reviews afterwards and said it was the best communion service in years! The words the church gave me were Love, Pact, the Blood of Jesus, Gratitude, Salvation, Last supper, Forgiveness, Communion, Reconciliation, Hope, Commitment, the return of Christ, Worship - and I added the Cross.
Yesterday (Monday) we had a special thanksgiving service for the graduation of a young woman in our church who has just become a physiotherapist. These events are always great opportunities to share the Gospel with people who do not usually come to church. There were at least 50 people there on a Monday night who I had never seen before. PTL!
Tonight we have a Patos church leadership meeting.
Yesterday (Monday) we had a special thanksgiving service for the graduation of a young woman in our church who has just become a physiotherapist. These events are always great opportunities to share the Gospel with people who do not usually come to church. There were at least 50 people there on a Monday night who I had never seen before. PTL!
Tonight we have a Patos church leadership meeting.
Saturday, 6 June 2015
Non-Stop
Thursday's Bible study went well. I am encouraging people to voluntarily bring short words in the earlier part of the service and this is really taking off. This week we had a young man called Joely and a married man called Dedé. Really good. PTL! It is a very participative service with different folk singing too plus good times of prayer. The Thursday night service is now getting between 40 and 50 present and it is varied and lively.
This weekend the Singles/Divorced Fellowship is running a food stall at the annual united church outreach in Patos. The stall serves also as the central point of focus for our church and is being a real blessing.
Philip is on his way home from Holland and should be back in Patos late tonight. He went and watched the Holland 3 x USA 4 football match in the Ajax stadium prior to leaving last night!
I am preparing for a graduation service on Monday evening. I am already prepared for tomorrow night's Communion service.
Baby Amanda Ivy has now recovered her birth weight and passed it a bit. She is slowly improving and growing but still no visits allowed as great care needs to be taken to keep her away from viruses or the likes. Thanks for your continued prayers about everything.
This weekend the Singles/Divorced Fellowship is running a food stall at the annual united church outreach in Patos. The stall serves also as the central point of focus for our church and is being a real blessing.
Philip is on his way home from Holland and should be back in Patos late tonight. He went and watched the Holland 3 x USA 4 football match in the Ajax stadium prior to leaving last night!
I am preparing for a graduation service on Monday evening. I am already prepared for tomorrow night's Communion service.
Baby Amanda Ivy has now recovered her birth weight and passed it a bit. She is slowly improving and growing but still no visits allowed as great care needs to be taken to keep her away from viruses or the likes. Thanks for your continued prayers about everything.
Thursday, 4 June 2015
Drizzle
I woke at 5am hearing a drizzle of rain falling! Wow! Unbelievable! It drizzled for about an hour and then stopped only to return for a couple of further hours later. It's of no use for reservoirs but fine rain is so beautiful when you've never more seen it!
Today the youth of our Princesa Isabel church have come to Green Pastures to spend the day which is a public holiday here. Actually they came last night and slept there to be on site bright and early. Bless their hearts.
I now must prepare for this evening's Bible study in Patos.
Today the youth of our Princesa Isabel church have come to Green Pastures to spend the day which is a public holiday here. Actually they came last night and slept there to be on site bright and early. Bless their hearts.
I now must prepare for this evening's Bible study in Patos.
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Communications Statistics
This blog has now passed the 138,500 visits mark.
My Flickr photos page has now passed the 183,000 visits mark https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmedcraft/
EAB's English language facebook page now has 1,038 likes https://www.facebook.com/eabrazil
John's personal facebook page mostly in Portuguese has the maximum 5,000 friends or there abouts https://www.facebook.com/john.p.medcraft
The EAB/ACEV Patos church's facebook page in Portuguese as 2,125 likes https://www.facebook.com/pages/A%C3%A7%C3%A3o-Evang%C3%A9lica-Patos-PB/773650192729931
My Flickr photos page has now passed the 183,000 visits mark https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmedcraft/
EAB's English language facebook page now has 1,038 likes https://www.facebook.com/eabrazil
John's personal facebook page mostly in Portuguese has the maximum 5,000 friends or there abouts https://www.facebook.com/john.p.medcraft
The EAB/ACEV Patos church's facebook page in Portuguese as 2,125 likes https://www.facebook.com/pages/A%C3%A7%C3%A3o-Evang%C3%A9lica-Patos-PB/773650192729931
The Ups & Downs of Action Child
The ups and downs of EAB's Action Child Schools programme stared us in the face today as we worked through reports about each pupil spread around our schools. On the one hand we saw the trajectory of a little skinny poor lad born out in the sticks in the middle of nowhere, who ended up graduating from Bible College with a degree in theology and is at this time leading an EAB church plant.
On the other had we came across reports like - "moved in with her boyfriend at 13 and won't listen to anybody". Or - "her Mum was murdered in front of her because of her brothers drug debt". Or - "Her Dad's in jail, her Mum's gone off with someone else, her brothers are hooked on drugs and her sister is a prostitute. Now she's disappeared and EAB's UK office is crying out for her half-yearly letter and photo for her sponsor"!
We value your prayers for Action Child. It's not easy and it doesn't always go according to the script! Please pray for EAB's UK Action Child Coordinator Pauline Pennels and her husband Adrian as they handle reports and communications with sponsors in Europe. Their email addresses for further information are: papenn3557@hotmail.com / adypenn3557@hotmail.com
On the other had we came across reports like - "moved in with her boyfriend at 13 and won't listen to anybody". Or - "her Mum was murdered in front of her because of her brothers drug debt". Or - "Her Dad's in jail, her Mum's gone off with someone else, her brothers are hooked on drugs and her sister is a prostitute. Now she's disappeared and EAB's UK office is crying out for her half-yearly letter and photo for her sponsor"!
We value your prayers for Action Child. It's not easy and it doesn't always go according to the script! Please pray for EAB's UK Action Child Coordinator Pauline Pennels and her husband Adrian as they handle reports and communications with sponsors in Europe. Their email addresses for further information are: papenn3557@hotmail.com / adypenn3557@hotmail.com
Action Child Programme
Sacha and I did a complete review, child by child or person by person, of every sponsored child / person in EAB's Action Child Programme this morning. I say person and not only child because everyone get's older and we have sponsored people who are no longer kids!
This year is a year of transition to a tighter sharper version of EAB's Action Child programme. We have learnt over the years and are still learning - so seek to improve the programme and increase its efficiency for the kids and for the sponsors who maintain the programme running. Let me explain how things are now run.
EAB Action Child Schools will focus on primary education with intake at nursery and year 1 levels with children studying with EAB's school programme through to the end of year 5. Everything else stays as it was - education with God's love on a full tummy!
The defined goals of the programme are:
This year is a year of transition to a tighter sharper version of EAB's Action Child programme. We have learnt over the years and are still learning - so seek to improve the programme and increase its efficiency for the kids and for the sponsors who maintain the programme running. Let me explain how things are now run.
EAB Action Child Schools will focus on primary education with intake at nursery and year 1 levels with children studying with EAB's school programme through to the end of year 5. Everything else stays as it was - education with God's love on a full tummy!
The defined goals of the programme are:
• Pupils
learn thoroughly to read, write and handle basic maths.
• Pupils
receive special help with homework and areas of need so that they pass each
year's final exams in their regular school.
• Pupils
receive Christian education to lead them to possibly making a commitment to
Christ.
Thus in the coming months EAB will be encouraging sponsors to switch to new younger children in accordance with the new programme guidelines above, if their current sponsored children are outside the primary school age bracket. This switch will be done slowly over the next year or so, unless sponsors particularly want to stay linked to their current child, because we know friendship links do become strong with some. In this case the sponsors support will go into the schools pool fund.
The point of all this is that EAB realizes it can't do everything and feels it can more efficiently give poor kids a good start in life by concentrating its efforts up to year 5. Please pray with us in this extended period of transition and stay with us in the EAB Action Child programme for the glory of God.
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