Two EAB pastors have Covid

 Two EAB/ACEV pastors - a pastor and assistant pastor - have gone down ill with Covid-19. However they have asked not to be named. I am not sure why the secrecy but I will respect their request and not name them. Both the pastors are not in hospital but are medicated by doctors at home. The senior pastor has lost 25% of his lung capacity and the assistant pastor is a bit worse. Please pray for these our pastors.

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has said "there is no way he will be vaccinated against the new coronavirus". He said that vaccinations "might turn recipients into crocodiles"! He has also just added another attack on lockdowns saying "It's no good staying at home crying. It won't get you anywhere". It is not surprising that Brazil has the second highest death toll from Covid-19 in the world. Please pray for Brazil.

Our projects team is at Barra de Oitis to define the location of 2 more Toilet/Shower units. One of the team is Marah Danielle who is an experienced social worker. We take these things very seriously because we can't build toilets for everyone so we have to carefully select the most desperately needy of the poor, and we need to feel sure that the people benefitted will truly value what they are going to receive. Please pray for God's guidance in this and that God will keep our team safe and well.

Conversion

Rivânia is a school teacher in her early thirties. She used to teach at the EAB/ACEV Pastor Frank Dyer Action School on the south side of Patos and it was there that she was impacted by the practical Gospel of Jesus Christ and came close to committing her life to Christ. However she wanted her husband to take the same step with her and he did not want to. When Rivânia moved to teach at another school she never forgot about the Lord and this week she contacted Liz. Liz had some long talks with Rivânia who told Liz she had come to realize that conversion was an individual commitment and so she couldn't just keep waiting for her husband to take this step of faith with her. Liz ended up praying with Rivânia and leading her to the Lord as she wept with joy. Rivânia is already keen to be baptized and so yesterday afternoon she took part in her first discipleship class where two young men are also being prepared for baptism. So praise God with us for Rivânia's real commitment to Christ, pray for her growth in God and wisdom to lead her husband and child to the Lord.

Early this morning we had word that a new little girl had been born to our Patos church family. She has been called Luna and is the daughter of Marcelo and Nuhara. Marcelo is a PhD Veterinary Surgeon but is young in the Lord. Please pray for this family, including their children, that they might grow in grace and be blessed by God. They have both come from previous broken marriages but are now seeking to live for God in newness of life in Christ.

Preached well

 Mailson Macena is a young man who became unemployed and whom we are helping to continue with his distance Bible College course. He is a lovely young man whom you can see in the Patos church services playing bass guitar. Well we were very pleased with how well he preached at Green Pastures at the weekend and I have been encouraging him today. Please pray for Mailson that God might bless him and use him.

The ex-State Governor of Paraíba José Maranhão has died of Covid. He is the second ex-governor to die in the pandemic. The death toll with the virus is far worse this year than last year. José Maranhão was the Governor with whom we had the stand off about the water pipeline for Patos about 20 years ago. We won the battle and Patos got the pipeline.

I have been having discussions with a number of our pastors today: Pastor Nezinho Abílio (Vazante), Lindon Carlos (Imaculada), Hamilton (Campina Grande) and Francinaldo (Manaira). This is an important roll that I have in these difficult days keeping in touch with the pastors and supporting where possible and necessary. Please pray for all our pastors.

Communion services

 This Saturday night the communion service was held at the Green Pastures church in São Mamede County. The whole church gathered there for it apart from Paulo and Dora, from the ex-landless settlement, as their old banger of a car broke down again! I contacted them after the service and we had a good laugh together about what he calls his "Ferrari"! Tonight (Sunday) the communion service will be held in Patos and our young assistant pastor will be preaching on the resurrection  of Jesus. Our monthly communion services are always on the first Sunday of the month. 

I have been having more discussions with our projects team. We are now to press ahead with more toilet/shower units for the very poor. We will also be distributing lots of goats and building and setting up another chicken run complete with laying hens. The team will now conduct a careful selection process to make sure that only the very needy are benefitted by these projects. We value your prayers.

Projects

 I have been having long discussions with pastor Lindon Carlos (Imaculada) and others of the EAB/ACEV projects team. We discussed the next toilet/shower units to be built at the Barra de Oitis slave-descendents community in Diamante County. We also discussed the 4-Legs goats project and the 2-Wings Chicken Runs. We value your prayers for these projects in these difficult times.

I have been going through the ISBL Bible College reports and see that our co-leader of the second EAB/ACEV church at Princesa Isabel is having difficulties with his studies and getting low marks. I have contacted Jair and his wife Silvânia to encourage him and carefully suggest that his wife helps him as she is more academic than he is. On the other hand I was very pleased to see how well Murilo (Patos) is doing. His lowest mark so far is 90%! He is such a lovely young man and so keen for the things of God. He has only been a Christian about 2 years. We have asked him to preach at Green Pastures a week this Saturday. Another of our young church leaders, Roberto (known as Betinho) from Ibiara is doing well with just a couple of hiccups in 2 subjects. Finally what a joy it is to see a young woman called Sandra at Água Grande doing really well in her studies. She leads a little village church at this place and lives out in the rural sticks. Yet she is really progressing well with her distance studies on line. I was quite surprised when she first enrolled but she is proving to be a good student. Praise God! So please pray for our Bible College students spread out far and wide. 

Macambira dos Dioníso

 Macambira dos Dionísio is the name of a rural community where we recently drilled and equipped a well with a pump, 5,000 litre water tank and animal watering trough. It is in the County of Princesa Isabel. The community has 69 families with a total of 235 people. This community had suffered with a lack of water for decades. They used to have to get up very early and walk to a place where water oozed slowly out and there was always a queue there. Now with the well the community has abundant clean drinking water right where they live. They are overjoyed and very grateful to God and His people. One of the community leaders, Luzia Clementino da Silva, has been expressing to our team what a life changing project this is. The community has now invited the Princesa Isabel church to hold services there when this is possible. Please praise with us for the blessing this project is bringing and please pray for the preaching of the Gospel in this place.

Please pray for our São Vicente do Seridó church where a man has died of cancer. He came to the Lord last year so we thank God for this. Pastor Ângelo conducted the funeral the next day as you may know that funerals are always the day after death here. Please also pray for a PE teacher in our church in Patos called Kecinho who has Covid. He is about 30 and being young seems to have a mild version of the disease which is good. His wife Najla had Covid first and is now over it. Thank you for praying.

Decisions

Two decisions to follow Jesus were made at the weekend. One was at Flores in the State of Pernambuco and the other was here in Patos. Rejoice with us and praise the Lord!

The usual service at Green Pastures on Saturday night was cancelled owing to the half inch of rain which fell just before the service. This makes the earth road a mud bath until it dries out and as most people get there by foot or on motorbikes it makes the services there non-viable at these times. One local church member remarked that the rain is a blessing and the service is too, so we receive it all in God's time. In fact we certainly ask everyone to please pray for much more rain in our region in this the rainy season, as the rains are little thus far this year. Last year at this time we had received 6 inches of rain but this year we have only had half an inch. Our lake is bone dry.

I have been having discussions with our Action Schools team regarding this important project as I have been discussing with our 4-Legs Project team where the next goats are going to be sent to. Please pray for these projects.

I have received the reports from all our Bible School students who are doing distance studies with the ISBL College. I receive reports with all their marks about all our students. It is good to see most of them are progressing very well. Praise God! Please pray for these 19 students who are tomorrow's church leaders.

We have received two more Christmas cards!