Oh boy! What a week!

I worked hard the rest of Monday and on Tuesday preparing my sermon for this Sunday. This is quite a complicated text to handle as verses 3b and 4 are not in the good original texts. Nevertheless it all worked out in the end and by Tuesday night I was ready to roll. It was just as well as on Wednesday morning we received two items of shock news which were to change our week.

First of all came the news than an old Patos church member had died in João Pessoa and Liz and I would have to set off later for the funeral. The other was the horrific news of the Grenfell Tower 24-storey block of flats in North Kensington just a mile from where I was born and brought up - the whole area of which we know like the back of our hand. When it is somewhere close to home like this it really knocks you for six! I am very sad at the news and very angry. It is unbelievable that 24 storeys of flats can be burnt out so quickly! Outrageous! I am glad the Prime Minister has ordered an independent enquiry as heads must roll and lessons be learned. To spend millions on coating the outside of such a block of flats with inflammable plastic demands more than jail - it demands a lunatic assylum!

On Wednesday afternoon Liz and I left for the wake of Sister Euda in João Pessoa and arrived there in the evening to find it wasn't a normal wake but rather a service with the body laying there in the middle in an open coffin as one after another spoke for hours! I finally got to bed after midnight!

This morning the funeral service was equally long and participative. It was marked for 8.30 am and Liz and I finally had lunch at 2 pm pretty exhausted. I was asked to speak in the funeral service which I did. The whole event went off fine. It was just very long.

Tomorrow morning (Friday - 16th) I have an appointment here in João Pessoa with the surgeon who is to fix my hernia to set the date for the surgery. Then we plan to head back to Patos via Green Pastures. The Married Couples Fellowship from the Patos church spent a nice bank holdiday at Green Pastures today with Philip coordinating the event. On Saturday the youth go there. The place is in non-stop use. Tomorrow we have a group of scientists moving in for 3 days reasearch again with butterflies.

Lovely Service

The main celebration service on Sundays is in the evening here in Brazil and is always transmitted live on Facebook to a large nationwide and worldwide audience. The service was really good yesterday with the church full as usual, the praise and worship was good and the ministry of God's Word flowed really well. PTL!

It is wonderful to see the people who are coming into the church. We are constantly seeing new people coming and some just keep coming until they eventually make a commitment to Christ. One lady of a spritist background, for instance, started coming months ago and asked me to pray for her health after a service. This I did and praise God she is improving from a serious health condition and we believe she will come through to faith in Christ.

This Monday morning I had a relaxing walk at Green Pastures. The rains have now finished, although we might yet get an odd shower this month. With just over 37 inches of rain this rainy season we have a lot to be grateful for. We had lots more rain that most areas. Everywhere at Green Pastures is a mass of wild flowers of all colours. Masses of butterflies and bees feed from them which is wonderful to observe. (photos below) There is still water in the stream so lots of Kingfishers are active. We have three species of Kingfishers here.

Ready to Preach!

I am fired up and ready to preach my 18th sermon in the series in John's Gospel in a few hour's time. I value your prayers. The sermon covers the last block of chapter 4. The service tonight will be transmitted live as usual.

Last night we went to the united churches annual outreach and our team did very well. It's always a good time to let the town know we're all around and a chance to meet up with evangelical Christians of all varieties.

I nearly forgot to mention the fact that I have worked flat out this week, where I could fit it in, writing more of the history of the work here for publication in Brazil. My very steep target is to publish the 80 year history of the work in 2018!

Ken White with the Lord

Brother Ken White, who was chairman of the EAB Board and longtime EAB supporter, went to his heavenly reward yesterday (Friday - June 9th) I have just heard from his wife Pat. We praise God for Ken's life of service and dedication to God and missions and our prayers are with Pat and their children Peter and Sarah and the rest of the family.

I will inform on funeral arrangements as soon as I have them.

Former EAB Chairman of the Board Ken White seriously ill

I have received news from Pat White, Ken White's wife, of dear Ken's turn for the worse this past Sunday and of the fact that he has been in hospital seriously ill ever since. Our thoughts and prayers and with Ken, Pat and the family.

Ken White and Pat (Essex) have been faithful EAB supporters for decades. Liz and I spoke at his church at Harold Hill on our first itinerary prior to coming to Brazil in 1972, and they always have faithfully supported us and the work. Their son Peter came to Brazil to visit the work too a long time back and Ken and Peter were Board members for years with Peter editing our In Touch magazine for a long time. Ken also became Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Catching up with so much!

Having spent the two weeks in the UK, followed immediately by the Field Conference in João Pessoa, this has meant we have a lot of catching up to do with a vast variety of aspects of the work. EAB's work is very dynamic so on top of catching up there are always new things to deal with. 

Last Thursday Liz and I travelled to Imaculada to spend time with our Pastor Lindon Carlos who lost his Mother on the opening day of the Field Conference. We spent 3 hours with him, his father, his brother and sisters and many other family members who were all gathered for our visit. It was a rich time of fellowship.

I also spent time preparing to preach on the Sunday which went very well. It was a lovely Pentecost Sunday service including Communion.

I also have been completing my half-yearly medical check-ups which I had got half way through when I had to take off for England. Liz has been doing her check-ups too. I have also done preparatory exams for my hernia operation the date for which should be set next week by the surgeon. We went to João Pessoa to meet my anaesthetist yesterday prior to the surgery but we were back in Patos for lunch today.

I haven't managed to complete my annual Field Conference report yet but must get that out to all the leaders this week.

EAB's Action Child Team Member Pauline Pennels with the Lord

We have learnt today of the homecall or our dear sister Pauline Pennels who, despite her battle against cancer for some years, never gave up her work on EAB's Action Child Team to the end. The very poor children of NE Brazil will always be grateful. We thank God for her life of service and pray for her husband Adrian and children Ben & Hannah.