The Bible study went great last Thursday. It was a real blessing.
On Saturday Liz and I drove to the coast to preach at our João Pessoa main church's 22nd anniversary service (photo below). The style of the church is a bit old fashioned and the service a bit uncrisp - but all went well and the sermon flowed nicely. We slept there the night and got back to Patos about 1.30pm on the Sunday.
Hence yesterday afternoon was very pressured as I had to prepare things I don't usually have to do as your digital projector man is away - but we just about made it. The service went beautifully and visiting speaker pastor Angelo from Soledade preached. The leading of the meeting was handled between Philip and me.
Today I've been doing lots of communications work with all the churches.
In the morning I have two young men here from Tearfund who want to visit Green Pastures - I also have a new university teacher wanting to go there on Friday with 15 students - and on Saturday morning I have another visitor there from São Paulo. Never a dull moment! The brother on the Saturday will speak at the service at Green Pastures on Saturday night and in Patos on Sunday.
The Bible study is ready for tonight and my sermon for Saturday in João Pessoa is also prepared. Liz and I will be travelling to the coast on the Saturday and coming back on Sunday in time for the evening service in Patos. I will lead the service here but Pastor Angelo from our Soledade service will preach.
Liz is at the supermarket buying the week's groceries for the first time since her accident. She was driven there as she can't drive yet, but is able to get around fine and do the shopping at a steady pace.
Sacha is on a Cambridge English language course for teachers in São Paulo and has suffered a lot with the cold there. Deborah is at Fortaleza at a teacher's conference. Philip & family are on holiday this week in Natal.
We are putting in a cattle grid at the entrance to Green Pastures which should be finished next week. This is because when we have camps and events on, there is a lot off tooing and froing, and the tendency is for the gate to be left open. This is dangerous for our nature reserve should cows, goats, donkeys etc. get in, so we are taking the bull by the horns so to speak. The gate will just be shut at night.
This morning at Green Pastures I had the greatest shock to find a Wild Cat (Puma Yagouroundi) in one of our wide mouthed wells which only has water in the deeper central part and is dry now round the edges. The well is 7 metres deep (21 feet). I can only presume that it fell in there whilst hunting something and now couldn't get out. The problem we faced was how to get it out? Normally it is a very wild creature, but it was just quietly looking up at Tarcísio and I as it had no choice (see photo). We eventually managed to lasso it with a long rope and haul it to freedom, when it went completely ferociously beserk, shaking free of the rope and running at great speed into the bush. It was quite an experience!
Services over the weekend went great. I preached at Picotes on the Saturday. It was a lovely service. Photos below.
The Sunday service went very well in Patos too. It was a really blessed time with a full church. Today I have had a good meeting with our deaf pastor Luiz Carlos and it is good to sense how well that section of the work with the deaf is going. PTL!
Just off to the Bible study which will be on ministries in and with the body of Christ. I have half prepared my Sunday sermon too on Psalm 19. I have to prepare to preach at Picotes too on Saturday. Help! Value your prayers.
How beautiful to receive this video from a deaf couple, Adalberto &
Jussara, who are members of our Patos church. They bought a food hamper
and gave it to a family they found in need! Action speaks louder than
signs!
Last night we had an excellent meeting with the singles/divorced/one-parent family fellowship. I am now preparing for tonight's Bible study on ministry in and with the whole body of Christ.
Just winding down for the night with the Patos Youth Leadership team's meeting with Liz and I having just ended. It was very good. Philip leads the team with with two assistant leaders Brenda and Rayla. They are doing a great job especially with the younger youth. We discussed one or two problems which have arisen with some rebellious older ones. May the Lord give us wisdom on how to handle this.
It was lovely to see how people reacted worldwide to the tribute we did to Liz's Dad over the weekend with Saturday having been the centenary of his birth. About 3,500 people responded to the tribute one way or another mostly via facebook.
Liz and I went to Soledade on Saturday and had a meeting with the church members chatting over different aspects of the work and ending up with the reelection of the pastor (Angelo) for another 5 year mandate). I think our system of mandates is good as it stops any eventually lazy leaders getting embedded into a job or sort of taking the church over. Most mandates get renewed but the trigger is there if necessary. Angelo's mandate was renewed. See below the photo from the meeting. On the way there and back Liz and I had our usual business meetings to make the most of the journies.
On Sunday morning Liz was back teaching her Sunday School class for the first time since her accident. Then at night the service was lovely. The sermon went great on "All you need is love".
Today Liz has been at the Care Centre with the Care Centre Doctor Luiz caring for extremely poor people linked to the battered wives project we run in a Patos slum.
