Autor: eabrazil

I ask for prayer for a family which is young in the faith and with whom we’re working in counselling these days (no names no pack drill) who have grown somewhat cold in the faith owing to roots of bitterness which have become established in their lives. Sadly over the years we have observed how often just small issues can become major if we don’t dig them out. Please pray.


Linked to ‘roots of bitterness’, but now in the physical sense, let me mention the battle we are now having with the Neem Tree and ask for prayer for this too. In a nutshell I discovered the Neem tree at a Christian Missionary workers conference someone kindly paid for me to go to years ago in the USA. My objective there was to learn more about the Moringa tree (which I did) but I learnt about Neem also. The advantages of Neem are: produces good quality wood / fast growing / gives good shade / always green / natural insecticide produced by leaves. The disadvantages are that the tree kills native bees / is uncontrolably invasive spreading like wild fire and suffocating native trees especially with a good rainy season like we’ve had this year.


We learn by our mistakes and from taking wrong advice. Please pray as we now battle to erradicate the Neem tree from Green Pastures which is no easy task. Green Pastures is divided into 3 main areas: the higher area up the top beyond the lake which doesn’t have Neem fortunately / the main nature reserve area near the river which is badly invaded / the area when you arrived at Green Pastures where the school is, church is and camps are held. This has masses of Neem trees too but dealing with this area can be left till later. The big battle now is the main central reserve area.


The problem with Neem is that even when you chop them down and make fence posts from the wood – the roots (of bitterness) remain and the Neem keeps ressurging! The challenge is to erradicate them completely and definitively. 

I only now am getting to writing up the annual Field Conference report to send to all the leaders here. I just haven’t had the time previously.


Yesterday morning I met the surgeon in João Pessoa who is going to fix my hernia and the surgery is set for either July 1st or 15th. He will confirm in a few days which of these dates but I hope its the 1st so as to get it over with. I value your prayers. 


I am all set to go at church tomorrow. I am looking forward to preaching on “Jesus overcoming myth and legalism” (John 5:1-18). It’s a much more challenging text than initially meets the eye.


The youth are at Green Pastures today having a fun and fellowship day. Philip and Gylmara run this.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

I had a meeting with our lawyer today to discuss legal action against Portuguese Airlines TAP with reference to our delay in Lisbon when on the way to England between May 9th and 11th. We were delayed 16.5 hours overnight without accomodation or food. The lawyer believes we have a very strong case for compensation although things will not be so generous on our behalf as if we were in Europe. We shall see what evolves. We have given the lawyer all the documents proving what happened and links to press articles, photos and videos of the chaos.


I went to Green Pastures for the first time in 3 weeks yesterday and all is well. With less that an inch of rain in May things are starting to dry up, but things still look pretty good. We are approaching 37 inches of rain this rainy season which is fantastic.


Liz and I have been doing lots of catching up work from our period away.

We are home in Patos – exhausted but happy. We got into Patos at 3.40 pm on Sunday afternoon in time to shower and have a cup of tea before leaving for church in Patos at 6pm. The Lord really helped us all with the service which was really good. I don’t know where my energy came from!

The Field Conference in João Pessoa was superb. The business meetings were very good on Friday and Saturday and the final celebration on Saturday night was glorious. PTL! Here are the main decisions and information from the Conference:


The work is now divided into 5 administrative areas and no longer 4 / New works have been started this year at Pocinhos, Campina Grande – Novo Horizonte, Mata Redonda, Tavares – Belém, Princesa Isabel – Lagoa de São João / Works were closed at São Paulo and Nova Olinda / Next month Philip will launch ACEV Digital online to improve constant monitoring of our 81 works collectively and individually / This years Youth Conference in November will be held at Princesa Isabel / This year’s Leaders Conference in September will be held as usual at Green Pastures and will deal with the following topics: The leader and social networks, depression and the question of gender / Next year’s Field Conference (80th) will be held in Patos / This years special 10-day Outreach yielded 5 genuine conversions + another 3 people coming back to God / 4 new Ministers were ordained: Philip (Patos), Matheus (João Pessoa), Rafael (Teixeira) and Lucia (Itaporanga) / A plan for expansion of the work was presented in its initial form and will be further developed over the coming months and years / Weekend special Outreaches will be carried out periodically in addition to the annual 10-day Outreach every January / A Women’s Conference will be held in 2018 / A noted improvement in the Action Child Project was reported / The tremendous challenges from drugs and violence were reported in the Desert Flower (Battered wives) Project and much prayer went up / I gave a special message on unity and another on always striving for higher quality in all we do for God / A well drilled in 2017 will be equipped with solar energy as a pilot experiment / Our annual audit was applauded for ethics and transparency. This is so important in corrupt Brazil because if the salt loses its flavor it would be useless.


Thank you for praying for us over the past weeks and especially for the Field Conference.

Pastor Lindon Carlos was on his way to João Pessoa for the Field Conference this morning when he received a call on his mobile telling him his mother had died suddenly back at Imaculada. He had to turn round and go home of course. Sister Naide was a fine woman from our Imaculada church who pioneered our Action Child programme decades ago. She was 77. 


Please pray as this will bring a touch of sadness to the Conference on top of my Mum’s death and that of Pastor Wostenes brother – all in the same month or so. 

It had to be beans and rice for lunch today in João Pessoa after 2 weeks in the UK! The flights were as smooth as velvet skies yesterday – not a moment of turbulence – and we even arrived at Recife airport half an hour early! Someone met us at the airport and drove us to João Pessoa where we are staying for the annual Field Conference which starts tomorrow. We aim to be in the Sunday night service in Patos.


Please pray for the Conference which is of great importance for the work. Liz has gone down with a heavy cold unfortunately which won’t help her with the Conference. 

Liz and I are already in London about half hour from Heathrow from where we will fly early tomorrow. We have a long stop over in Lisbon of 6 hours and should arrive late Wednesday night at our hotel in João Pessoa ready for the annual Field Conference which starts at midday on Friday. We have already checked-in for both flights online and will spend tonight with Liz’s sister Eunice and her husband Jon in Harrow.


At the weekend we enjoyed the EAB Board meeting at West Wellow and then travelled to High Wycombe to spend time with my sister Joy and her husband Laurence. Then on Sunday morning we enjoyed a lovely service at Millbrook Christian Centre in Southampton where I preached on ‘Christian Compassion’. This was followed by a nice lunch and afternoon with Liz’s brother David and family.


Back in Brazil we will have 4 meetings of the leadership on Friday afternoon and evening and on Saturday morning and afternoon. Then on Saturday night we will ordain 5 new ministers, including our son Philip, and give probationary ministerial status to one other. I will preach the key note message also that night. We will only travel home to Patos on Sunday morning after the Conference. 

On Saturday we met up with Ben & Miriam Price and had a nice walk and chat with them. On Sunday we visited our child’s grave at Gunnersbury cemetery, spent the day after that in Harrow with Jon & Eunice (Liz’s sister) and watched the service in the Patos church in Brazil via Facebook. This was very good indeed with an excellently clear transmission.


On Monday we did some shopping back in Basingstoke. Yesterday, Tuesday, we went to a Nature Reserve near Fleet. Tomorrow we will visit Liz’s Aunty Rosemary in Dorset, on Saturday we will go to the EAB Board meeting at West Wellow and on Sunday I will be speaking at MCC in Southampton. We go to Harrow next Tuesday ready for an early flight out of nearby Heathrow on Wednesday morning to Recife via Lisbon.


We should get to João Pessoa to sleep late Wednesday night and rest up on Thursday there prior to the start of the Field Conference on Friday (26th). This will end on Saturday night and we will hopefully be home in Patos on Sunday in time for the evening service, We value your prayers.

We left Patos on Tuesday, May 9th, and caught a flight to Lisbon from Recife Airport which was 2 hours late. It was a sign of things to come!


We flew overnight to Lisbon and arrived on Wednesday (10th) about midday for a 3 pm flight to Heathrow. However our flight was cancelled owing to a fuel pumping problem at the airport and we are told another 62 flights were cancelled. Lisbon airport was utter chaos. The main problem was that TAP airlines gave us no information or help whatsoever. It was a disgrace. No hotel or food was provided even though we had to wait overnight!


We eventually discovered that we had been re-booked for a flight on the Thursday morning so settled down on airport seats for a long unusual night. Our only means of communication was via a coin operated phone box as not even the internet worked!


Gratefully our flight only left half an hour late on the Thursday and we arrived in London late morning (11th) and drove to Basingstoke. Liz and I visited dear Mum’s body in the afternoon as Brazilian culture demands, prior to her funeral on the Friday (12th May).


The funeral was at 1pm and we were pleased to see 63 people gather. Thank you very much to all who made the effort to give Mum a good official send off. The service was beautiful. A number of tributes were given, including mine, the hymns were lovely and the minister Ian did great.


After the burial we all gathered back at the church hall for the tradional British refreshments and fellowship, with many we hadn’t seen for yonks!All went off very well and we were grateful to God and relieved. Thanks for supporting and praying. Thanks for making it possible for Liz and I to be at my Mum’s funeral.

Oh my word! It has been so ultra hectic today getting everything ready to fly to the UK tomorrow. The thing is that we have to get everything ready for the Field Conference in João Pessoa to which we go before even returning to Patos. The plans are: to travel to airport and fly to UK on 9th – arrive in UK on 10th. Mum’s funeral on 12th. Preach at Millbrook Church in Southampton on 21st. Return to Brazil 24th. Field Conference 26-27th. Back to Patos 28th. Easy life!


So I prepared my dear Mum’s tribute early this morning. Had my hair cut. Prepared my sermon for the Field Conference and finalized the agenda for it. I also prepared the ordination ceremony for the Conference at which 5 new ministers will be ordained including Philip.


Please pray for Philip leading the Patos church in our absence. Please pray for a smooth trip for us and a good couple of weeks in Blighty.


The Communion service in Patos on Sunday night was great. PTL!

Philip led the service tonight and I preached. It was a lovely service. PTL!


More rain has fallen at Green Pastures nd we are nealy up to a total of 36 inches this rainy season! Extraodinary! So many places haven’t had anything like this amount so we pray for them. An Anteater was again seen at Green Pastures this week.


Tomorrow the married couples fellowship will be spending tomorrow’s bank holiday at Green Pastures.

My dear Mother’s funeral has been set today for Friday, May 12th, at 1pm. The service will be held at my sister Jean’s church – Christ Church, Chineham, Basingstoke, RG24 8LT. We very much value the support of all that can be there.


Liz and I will fly to the UK for this and spend two weeks there so as to get back in time for the annual Field Conference here on May 26-27 at João Pessoa. We value your prayers for everything. Philip, who is assistant pastor, will lead the Patos church in our absence.


We had another three quarters of an inch of rain again yesterday at Green Pastures and when I got there this morning the dam was again overflowing. It has rained again tonight and so far nearly two inches has fallen at Green Pastures bringing our total rainfall this rainy season to almost 35 inches! Wonderful! PTL!

The EAB InTouch magazine #87 is at the printers and should be despatched to all next week. The new edition has been put on the website today where you can read it right now at http://www.eabrazil.com/


Over 500 messages have already been received with condolences for my dear Mum’s passing. Many phone calls have been received too. We are very grateful to all for their care and support at this time. My sister Jean is working on the funeral arrangements and Liz and I will seek flights to be there once a date is set. I can tell you that the funeral service will be held at Christ Church, Chineham, Basingstoke. Liz and I plan to be in the UK for about a fortnight, which should include getting to the EAB Board Meeting at West Wellow. We have to be back in Brazil in good time for the Field Conference on May 26-27 in João Pessoa.

I produced the latest EAB Nutshell Update today and have successfully dispatched it. If you haven’t received a copy and would like one then please send me your email address as a comment at the bottom of this publication.


My dear Mum just keeps plodding on there in England. Bless her heart. I am in constant contact with my sister Jean via WhatsApp about the situation. One minute Mum’s a bit better and another she’s worse. Tonight Jean left the home with Mum not so well. It’s all in the Lord’s hands and I value your prayers.

My dear Mother, aged 92, there in Hampshire, England, is hanging on to life these last few days. It doesn’t matter what your Mum’s age is – it’s always your Mum and one feels it even at this distance. We know she’s in the Lord’s hands and trust Him always. The doctor thought Sunday would be Mum’s limit and all the family in the UK gathered. Mum however is still with us this Monday night and we pray for her and for my sister Jean who is doing all she can to support the staff at Mum’s home where she is. We value your prayers for the whole situation.


A week ago today I had five blibs and blobs removed from my skin and that went very well. Liz and I had our annual eye tests too with no change in lens strength for either of us.


We had a good meeting of the Patos church leadership last Tuesday and had a good united discussion on a variety of matters. The service in Patos yesterday was good. My sermon on true worshippers went well when we focused on the need for worship to be in spirit (from the soul/heart) and in truth (absolutely sincere). Another soup run went great on the Friday and the Christians in Action group did well again with the church plant at Ipueira. 


We’ve had the Butterfly researcher team (Federal University) back for another 3-day spell at Green Pastures and on Wednesday it’s the Lizards (Iguana, Teju and smaller lizards) team from the same university who will be back for another 3-day spell. Today the native tree experts were there. Over the weekend we had another inch of rain and our rainy season total is now over 32 inches! PTL!


The new edition of EAB’s ‘InTouch’ magazine is about to go to press. Watch this space… and your letter boxes in a couple of weeks or so’s time!

Amidst all the church activities over Easter we managed to fit in our traditional family break at Green Pastures. I went alone on Wednesday night because everyone else was scared of getting stuck on the earth road – but my jeep has 4-wheel drive so goes anywhere. I arrived there to a power cut but all was fine. I layed on the veranda in a hammock in the moonlight and rain (half and inch). We have now had 31.5 inches of rain this rainy season which is far more than most places.


I was up at 4.20 am on Thursday morning and set off walking for 4.5 hours. Wonderful! My boots and jeans were soaked up to the knees from the overnight rain. During my walk Liz arrived with lots of family members and by lunch time we had a good crowd. My nephew and his wife and Liz’s neice and her family arrived later and eventually we had 31 present adding up kids, spouses, grandkids, neices and nephews! Things have developed from 50 years ago this Easter when Liz and I started going out together!


We had a lovely relaxing family time with cricket, table tennis, walking, swimming, eating, chatting, Easter egg hunting, praying together etc. Really wonderful! We were back in Patos on Saturday night all ready for the big day in church on Easter Sunday.

The church activities during Easter week continued (from where I last left off) on Wednesday with a service in the Patos church with the ‘Desert Flower’ Project ladies and families. This was not an easy service as the atmosphere was heavy owing to the murder of one of the participant’s sons. Nevertheless the Gospel of hope in the living Christ was preached.


On the Friday we held our traditional ‘Good Friday Pit Stop’ at the traffic lights by our church – wishing those who pass a Happy Easter, giving them an appropriate Easter Gospel tract and inviting them to the Sunday services. 31 people took part. The same group spent time in prayer together inside the church after the Pit Stop.


Sunday morning saw our usual church breakfast at 8am to which a large crowd gathered. Breakfast was followed by a time of worship and a short word which I brought to the church. Then on Sunday night we had our fantastic resurrection celebration with the church packed out and in a wonderful spirit. Philip preached extremely well and no less than 12 people made decisions to follow Christ! PTL! During the service Philip also baptized 2 people, there was a moving song of worship done by the deaf, there was a choreography and an Easter play. Quite a programme – and all transmitted live on the Internet with thousands of watchers!


We thus praise God for a lovely blessed and fruitful Easter.


Now it’s back to a routine week (no Easter Monday bank holiday in Brazil) with an annual check up by the Eye Doctor today (I reckon he’s called Isaiah!) followed by minor surgery to remove a few blibs and blobs from my skin this afternoon. Nothing sinister, but I am told it’s better to remove them.

Our sad news this morning is that the 15 year old son of a woman who is part of the EAB/ACEV Project ‘Desert Flower’ died this morning as a result of multiple stabbings a few weeks ago. We had bought him a special mattress to relieve bedsores as the hospital didn’t have one, but all that was in vain. Now that he has died his mother has gone berserk and the community is very tense because the killers are from the same place. We value your prayers.


Liz and I have just got back from routine blood tests for glucose, cholesterol etc. My right arm is light and half empty!

A wonderful Easter service was held this afternoon at EAB’s Pastor Frank Dyer School. The service was led by Philip and received the support of a large number of youth and others from the church. It was a rich time of blessing.


At Green Pastures another almost half an inch of rain fell this afternoon taking us up to a total this rainy season of 31 inches.


No less than 108 MPs have been announced by the High Court as being investigated for corruption tonight. Absolutely abominable! Every single one of them has already said they are innocent! The current president is only not being investigated because he can’t be, according to law here, because he is President! Lord have mercy on this country!


I have done a lot of work on Action Child Schools today. I have also prepared my Easter Sunday morning message. Philip will be preaching at night. I have also worked on the Field Conference to be held at the end of next month in João Pessoa.

We had a great service last night in Patos. It was a full house as always and it truly is wonderful to see God bringing in more and more new people to hear the Gospel. Last night was no exception with one spiritist asking for prayer at the end. In fact after the service Liz and I were very busy for a long time as we spoke to and ministered to an almost endless queue of folk. We praise God for this.


Our normal live broadcast of the service can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/eabrazil/ . Even if you can’t speak Portuguese you can watch a few minutes just to get a feel of the service. Last night the live broadcast was watched by people in a variety of countries and from widespread places all over Brazil. PTL!


Philip brought a word last night about Easter and he will speak at next week’s Resurrection Sunday service. We wish everyone a very happy Easter! We had lunch yesterday at Philip & Gylmara’s house.

Liz and I went to João Pessoa on Thursday and returned to Patos today. We visited an elderly couple, Cesário e Euda, who used to be members of our church in Patos. He is 89 and she is 86. It was a lovely time of fellowship.


I also did some follow-up visits to doctors and all was well. I have arranged to have a hernia fixed in June after the Field Conference. 


The youth are leading an outreach service tonight in a very rough area of town bless their hearts. I have just heard that the service went very well with many gathered to hear the Gospel. This is the start of our Easter build up. There will be different special services and events this coming week.


My sermon for this Sunday is ready to roll. However I am a little apprehensive as in our hotel room last night in João Pessoa I said to Liz that I would run through the points of my sermon for her to hear and give me her thoughts. I went through everything from my laptop with my back to the bed where Liz was “listening”. When I finished I asked Liz what she thought and got no reply. When I turned round she was fast asleep and confessed afterwards she hadn’t even heard the title! So I figure that if if it had this effect on my wife then I can’t imagine how it will go with all the church!


Anyway the sermon is entitled: “He had to go through Samaria” and is on John 4:1-19.  I value your prayers! This is sermon 15 in my John’s Gospel series. 


We will be having our usual Easter family break this coming week – starting on Wednesday night and running through to Saturday night. On Sunday we will have the annual Easter Sunday church fellowship breakfast in the morning and the Resurrection celebration at night with praise, drama, baptism and the preaching of the Gospel. A Happy Easter to one and all!

This Sunday saw another two inches of rain fall at Green Pastures in the afternoon! PTL! This takes us up to 30 inches of rain this rainy season. Fantastic! However the problem is that the majority of places are not getting this rain and the situation is really desperate for them. Please pray.


The Sunday Celebration service with communion went great. You can see it on the EAB Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/eabrazil  


The praise & worship was lovely, the communion service great and the sermon went wonderfully well. What was terrifically moving was the fact that a very elderly sister, who is near her homecall to glory, watched the whole service from start to finish alongside her son where she now lives in João Pessoa on the coast. They requested that we sang her favourite hymn at the end – “Great is thy faithfulness” – and we did. The transmission of our Sunday services sure are being great blessings to say many people all over Brazil and around the world.


I have changed my internet provider to the same one we use at church and the link is much faster than the previous one with 50 Mbps download and 25 Mbps upload. After a few teething problems all is running smoothly. What a difference from EAB’s early days when a letter took months to cross the seas!

I did two walks and talks with school children this week at Green Pastures – the second of which was particularly gratifying as it was with the kids of our own school there and a neighbouring school. All was so worthwhile and very nice.


I have prepared my sermon for tomorrow, which will complete John 3 in my series in that Gospel, with this being sermon Nº 14. The title for tomorrow is “He who believes on the Son has eternal life”. John 3:31-36 is certainly a passage which exalts Christ but whether the Apostle John composed these words or John the Baptist I am not sure. I will discuss issues like what happens to people who believe and then go away from God? i.e. Do they have and then not have eternal life? I also will address the other sign of the coin. i.e. not have eternal life in Christ but rather eternal death. How do we conceive this? After all spirits don’t burn!


I have also returned to my book on the history of ACEV in Portuguese and have now completed chapter 11. It’s a big job but I need to do it!


I have been holding a good healthy discussion on social media today as to why it rains in some places but not in others? This is a serious problem we are facing here so at the top of people’s minds. At Green Pastures we are way above average rainfall but in so many other places way below average and in water supply collapse.


I have also had discussions on the awful killing of an adolescent in Rio shot by stray police bullets inside her school! Outrageous!

We had a nice couple of days in Natal taking Marian Rashleigh to see the largest Cashew Nut tree in the world (absolutely ginormous!) and Liz got in a bit of beach. Then on Thursday we took Marian to the airport for her flight back to the UK. Liz and I slept the night in Natal and returned to Patos on the Friday, calling in at Green Pastures on the way for a flying visit. 


On Saturday I prepared my sermon for Sunday and this went very well. The service on Sunday was excellent. The drama group also presented a 5 minute piece which was brilliant with great impact.


Yesterday I had a Bible College meeting. Times are hard at the College. Please pray. 


Today I have been interviewed by a journalist concerning the work of EAB/ACEV and concerning Green Pastures. Our educational work concerning the environment is causing great impact here. PTL! Tomorrow another school group is going there and on Thursday I am giving a talk to our own school kids at the Green Pastures School who are to be joined for the event by a neighbouring rural school.


At Green Pastures we are planting lots more native tree seedlings with the rains and are very encouraged by the improved survival rate of seedlings planted in 2016 as opposed to a lower rate from 2015. This was partly due to better rains in 2016 compared with 2015, and because of improved techniques in caring for the seedlings which come with experience.


I went to the dermatologist today to sort out my usual skin fungi problems caused by my heavy perspiration as I walk so much in the hot sun.

On Monday (13/03) we travelled with Marian to Serra Grande (north-west of Itaporanga) where Liz used to go with her Dad in the 50s to spread the Gospel. Liz wanted to go there to see what it was like today. We also called in to see the EAB/ACEV church and Action School at Itaporanga on the way back.


On Tuesday, 14th, Marian Rashleigh gave a handicraft workshop at Green Pastures which was very well received. The amazing thing was that Tarcísio saw one of the ladies, who was at the workshop, already having made some of the things she learnt to make at the workshop and was selling them in the São Mamede market on the Saturday. Now that is great! On the Tuesday afternoon Marian visited our Pastor Frank Dyer School in Patos.


On the Wednesday we travelled to buy some different species of Cactus at a sort of Garden Centre near Pombal, and from there we travelled to Sousa to see some fascinating trails of dinasoars bedded in the rock which must goes back a few years! On the way back we called by the largest reservoir in the State of Paraíba which we were shocked to see is still nearly bone dry! Very sad!


On Thursday (14/03) Marian was involved in doing a workshop with the ladies of the Desert Flower Project and on Friday morning she was with Liz doing a session with the Young at Heart in Patos which was also well apreciated. I had the 6th year of a school at Green Pastures that morning, giving them practical lessons in environmental care and awareness. 


On Friday evening (15/03) we took Marian to the church plant at Ipueira in Rio Grande do Norte State where she spoke beautifully. The drive back to Green Pastures after the service was very slippery, as it had rained, but we made it without problems in our tough Jeep.


On Saturday we held the inauguration service of the ex-landless folk’s Plantation Project 4 miles from Green Pastures. I gave my talk on the environment, led the service and preached the Gospel. It was a lovely service. Then yesterday (Sunday) Marian brought a great message to the Patos church. It really was a blessing. PTL!


Today Marian is involved with the Soup Run team preparing and cooking the soup this afternoon and then she’ll be distributing it this evening.


It has been a pleasure to have Marian here with us. Tomorrow (Tuesday, 21/03) we head for Natal where Marian is kindly going to give us a couple of days at the beach. Well in fact it’s Liz who likes the beach and I am the driver! On Thursday Marian flies back to the UK and Liz and I will head back to Patos on the Friday. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Marian Rashleigh gave a lovely word at the Picotes church plant on Saturday night and she took part again in the Patos church this evening. This week she has a busy schedule speaking and teaching people handicrafts. We value your prayers for our travels and for the meetings and workshops.

Wednesday’s International Women’s Day event went well and Liz, who received a special tribute and award, spoke very well indeed. The Lord really inspired her and used her.


On Thursday I took Marian Rashleigh round part of Green Pastures and we both took photos. We repeated a walk at night too and saw quite a few frogs and toads. Liz arrived with lunch on the Thusday. In the afternoon we took Marian to see the new Plantation Project at the ex-landless farm so that was nice. On Friday morning we showed about 60 school children round the reserve.


On Friday afternoon Marian sat in on our monthly meeting with the deaf pastor, plus interpreter. This was very good. At night she visited with Liz the Care Centre where the sign language course goes on every Friday night.


This evening we are going to Picotes in São Mamede County where Marian is going to speak and I am going to interpret. We value your prayers.

This morning I finished the preparation of my sermon for tomorrow in Patos. I have also had some difficulties to sort out around the field. Never a dull moment!

Marian Rashleigh landed early last night at Natal airport – not because she used a parachute but because the plane arrived 40 minutes early! It was great to see her again. We therefore got back to Patos just before midnight, earlier than expected, and she has been going like the clappers here since 5.45 am!


We are off out to a special community lunch shortly on this International Women’s Day which is a big thing here in Brazil.

We’re just about to leave for Natal airport to meet Marian Rashleigh who’s coming from the UK and staying till March 23rd. Marian is a staunch supporter of EAB and member of the EAB UK Board of Trustees, as well as being co-editor of the EAB magazine In Touch and quite a few other things! It is always a pleasure to have Marian here as she gets mucked in and helps in whatever is needed! We will arrive at the nearest little town to the Airport at around midday and have lunch at a restaurant come boarding house where Liz and I have booked a room to snooze all afternoon and early evening. Then we will meet Marian and drive back to Patos. We have to get straight back because we have a special community lunch tomorrow on International Women’s Day when Liz will receive a special tribute from the authorities for all her service here.


The weekend was long and tiring. Liz and I, together with 3 pastors, drove to Ceará State where we slept on Friday night in an awful hotel where Pastor Wostenes became unwell and I slept little. I’ll never go to that hotel again! On the Saturday morning we had the planned meeting with the EAB/ACEV pastor and his wife at Nova Olinda and in the afternoon the meeting was with them and 9 other members (the church there has gone backwards!) and 6 members from the Altaneira church which is doing better. I think we sorted out most of the issues although we do not feel totally at peace and ask for your prayers. It’s always funny going to this part of the field because we go through Missão Velha where EAB had a work back in the fifties!

With over an inch of rain during the camp we rejoiced throughout this year’s Carnival Camp. But that wasn’t just because of the physical rain but because of the spiritual rain as well! PTL!


With 250 present from Patos, São Mamede, Campina Grande, Londrina in the south, Manaira, Tavares, Imaculada, Princesa Isabel, Itaporanga, Curral Velho, Ibiara, Conceição, Teixeira, Matureia & Soledade it was an excellent camp. 


Philip preached the most amazing sermon on the opening night about social networks and the Christian in the light of God’s Word. It was tremendous and got us off to a great start. So it went on with a wonderful 7 services + special children’s programme + sport, walks, swimming and much good food and fellowship. PTL!


The other topics covered during the camp, at the request of the youth, were abortion, gender, dress code, drugs, alcohol, environment, relationships and evangelism. It was a very full programme of Biblical teaching.


Rainfall has been better at Green Pastures than most places in the region and we are grateful to God. We have passed 18 inches of rain already and counting. The dam has overflowed 4 times and the lake is now about half full. 


Tomorrow Liz and I travel to Ceará State with 3 other pastors to trouble shoot in the churches there. It will be a long journey and we need to be back to preach in Patos for Sunday.


On Tuesday we’re off to Natal to pick up Marian Rashleigh at the airport who will be with us till the 23rd. Please pray for much blessing upon her trip.
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It’s been 38 years since we started our first carnival Camp at Green Pastures and so this Saturday it’s here we go again! We value your prayers. Around 250 are expected this year and we have a rich programme for the mainly youth who will be taking part with sport, swimming, walks and a spiritual menu, as requested by the youth, which will address subjects that bother them or interest them as follows:


Social Media, Gender, Abortion, Christian dress code, environment, drugs, relationships and evangelism as a style of life. 


Philip got to bed at 2 am today having been at Green Pastures setting up sound and visual equipment with some of his team. Liz is backwards and forwards like a yo-yo! I have prepared my part this week, written the early morning devotional guidelines for each day in keeping with the topics of each day, and prepared my sermon for the Patos church the Sunday after Camp as we have a trouble-shooting journey to 2 of our 3 Ceará churches on the Friday and Saturday after Camp.

I travelled to Caroá last Thursday and spent 3 days there travelling from there to various churches. I preached on Thursday evening at Caroá and to see 50 in the service on a Thursday night in the middle of nowhere is quite something.


On Friday morning I was up at dawn to go walking with Valdemar who leads the Água Grande church. Not many birds to see as the drought is terrible in that area. This year we have had good rains at Green Pastures and Patos but so many places are utterly desperate for rain.


We were joined after this by Pastor Valdemy and we visited and had fellowship at Pinheira, Mandacaru and Água Grande where all these little churches are going well. I had good chats to the leaders etc. 


In the afternoon I went to Travessia which was about a 45 minute drive. All the travelling in this are is jeep country. At Travessia we inaugurated a well for this 62 family village. The Mayor turned up to the service so I took the opportunity to present him with a Bible. The inauguration took hours to finalize and we finally got back to Caroá well after 8pm pretty exhausted.


On Saturday morning I walked early and photographed a couple of nice little birds prior to visiting the Umburana church where there is a little tension. It is a pity that bad feelings have taken hold of some there so I talked to the leader and tried to give advice, though I felt like she wasn’t wanting to hear it. From there we went on to a community I hadn’t been to before with the strange name of ‘Chico Nenem’ (Chico Baby!) where I visited the home of Lídia and Célio whom I married 5 years ago. I was pleased to see them so well and happy.


On Saturday afternoon I went to inaugurate another well – this time in Pernambuco State – about an hour and a half from Caroá and vaguely on my way home to Patos in the process. That went off fine and I got back to Patos around 7.30pm – half dead with exhaustion but very happy and blessed.


I was of course back in the Patos church last night where I preached on John 3:16 as the 10th sermon on my series of sermons in John’s Gospel. Numbers were down somewhat owing to the heavy rain which started about an hour before kick-off.


And talking about kick-off I should draw everyone’s attention to the unbelievable news that QPR beat Birmingham away 4 x 1 on Saturday. Now how about that for a miracle!


This morning I went to Green Pastures to see the dam overflowing for the third time this year with us past the 16 inch rainfall mark already. We thank the Lord for this but are sad for so many areas getting little or no rain. Rainfall is erratic and irregular around the region but we are really being blessed. …

After the holiday break the Desert Flower Project is back with some sadness for us as one of the women really involved in the project is now in jail for having tried to smuggle drugs into jail in her vagina on visiting day. Very sad. Another woman was beaten up by her partner during the break and has broken bones. She also lost all her clothes which he set fire to. Both partners in these cases are on drugs. This is a very difficult and challenging project. Please pray.

Sunday’s service was great and my sermon on the New Birth went very well. 2 decisions at the end. PTL!


All week there have been a mass of administrative demands from all angles and places in the work. Either by fixed phone or mobile phone or WhatsApp or Facebook – never a dull moment. Some are problems to solve and others are blessings to share.


I had a good meeting with a County Councillor and the secretaries of Agriculture and Education of São Mamede where Green Pastures is situated. Very good meeting with the Council wanting us to expand our school work there in partnership with the Council. I also took the opportunity to complain about the rubbish tip not far from Green Pastures.


I also have had a meeting with the Mayor of Matureia County and the Secretary for the Environment. This is the County where the Jabre Peak is, which we are fighting to save. It was a very good meeting. I will be speaking at our church in Matureia on Saturday and I understand that many authorities will be there. Please pray. The pastor there who is not well has had a brain MRI and thyroid tests for which we await results.


Tomorrow I will be speaking at the new plantation/organic horticulture + 4 Legs + 2 Wings projects’ official inauguration in São Mamede 6 km from Green Pastures. Today I made a quick visit to Teixeira in the mountains.


We continue to be in desperate need of rain in our region. 


Sunday I will be continuing my series of sermons in John’s Gospel – sermon number – 9 – and I value your prayers.