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.
My dear Mother, Margaret, was born at Prince’s Street, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England, on the 12th October 1924. She was the daughter of Isaac and Alice Biddall. Mum moved to London in her youth where she survived the bombings of World War II. She married Dad, George (who died in Brazil in 2002), in May 1947. I was their first child, born in January 1949, and was followed by the arrival of my sisters in 1950 (Jean) and 1955 (Joy). My Mother loved to visit Brazil. The photos are from her last visit to Green Pastures in 2009 for my 60th birthday. My Mum lived 92 blessed years and was a fervorous Christian who loved to pray. Mum went to be with the Lord this Wednesday, 26th April, at 20:10 (UK) time. I praise God for my wonderful Mother’s life.
Continue ReadingI 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!
Philip led the Patos church youth in a lovely presentation of the Easter
message (“It was for you”!) last night in the Patos town centre. They
also distributed free sandwiches & juice to the poor. Happy Easter!
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.
Above you can see a baby Pied-billed Grebe, a Crane Hawk flying near its nest in a tall tree and fields of native wild flowers which are everywhere at this time.
Continue ReadingWe 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.
Continue ReadingWednesday’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!
Continue ReadingMarian 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. …
We have had 9.5 inches of rain in 3 days at Green Pastures! It is
fantastic! Total to date is 11.5″ and we need 40″. This lake was virtually
dried up 4 days ago! Thank you for your prayers but please don’t stop
praying!
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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.
Continue ReadingSunday’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.
Please pray for our 35 year old pastor at Matureia who has passed out this morning and is desorientated. This is the third time he has passed out. Tests and scans have thus far not produced a diagnosis. He has right now been admitted to the Patos Hospital to investigate and discover what is wrong with him. Renilson is married to Getiane and they have 2 lovely little girls. I worked flat out on this matter today lining up a doctor friend at the hospital who is the current EAB/ACEV doctor etc. Here it only works like this.
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Carnival Camp starts on February 25th and runs to March 1st so it’s all out now preparing for this. Please pray. I went to Green Pastures both yesterday and today working on this. There is always maintenance and repairs to do. The Green Pastures School restarts on Monday so it’s all go!
There have been many other things to handle including problems in our Ceara State churches. I am sending 2 pastors there next weekend. I have prepared my sermon for this Sunday in Patos.
Please continue to pray for my sister Joy recovering from surgery in a Slough Hospital.
Today we held a day long seminar for all our Action Child School coordinators and teachers which went off very well indeed. PTL!
Yesterday was my 68th birthday and we all got together at lunchtime for a nice meal together. The family has grown quite a bit since we came out here with just baby Deborah in 1972! In the evening the Couple’s Church Fellowship Group came and did a surprise serenade so that was nice. This group is below.
Yesterday I was somewhat stressed by my sister Joy’s health as she had to have emergency surgery for a perfurated bowel. Bless her heart! She is now back on the ward but apparently with plenty of pain. Please pray for her.
This morning we had a very good meeting with leaders of the child sponsorship organization ‘Compassion’, which we believe will lead to the expansion of our work with children, from their funding for ACEV for special work with children on Saturdays at our Patos, Matureia and Imaculada schools. This will be run by a separate ACEV Saturday team, distinct from our regular team, and will reach a separate group of children to those already being blessed by the Action Child EAB/ACEV programme. There is such a massive need that the more that we can impact dear poor children’s lives the better! Please pray.
Liz and I travelled to Itaporanga this Saturday to conduct the wedding of Tica who leads our Old Cow Pen church. She married Ramos from one of our João Pessoa churches. They met a year ago at the special 10-day Outreach. They are a mature couple in their 40s. Philip arrived about the same time as Liz and I, around 6.30 pm, for a 7pm kick off. They will now lead the work together at Old Cow Pen.
When we arrived there was nobody there! The service eventually started over an hour late! They had organised an enormous number of witnesses – 20 for the bride and 20 for the groom! All these cerimonally walked up the aisle, at the begining of the ceremony, ahead of the bride. When the bride was reaching the door I had this strange intuition that I had been given the incorrect name for the groom! I dived over to the table where the legal documents from the judge were for the registry and I was right! So I had to quickly correct my script on the side whilst the bride meandered up to the front and I managed to slip into place by the skin of my teeth with a smile and nobody was any the wiser!
Philip had prepared 3 songs for different moments in the service which with me normally lasts 45 minutes. However… when the third song time came, as the register was being signed, there was me, the couple and 40 witnesses to sign! A total of 43! This must be a world record! Of course this dragged on for yonks and I whispered to Philip to just keep singing! Bless his heart he even lost count of how many songs he sang!
At the end I declared them husband and wife and had to get them to repeat the kiss, as the first one was more like a peck (I don’t admit pecks in a wedding ceremony!), and then I prayed the final blessing and we were done, dusted, sweaty but smiling!
Finally there was the photographs session with a family member yelling into a mike the different ones she wanted to line up with the couple. But everyone was happy like that so who cares? Then they called everyone to eat so Liz and I slipped out, leaving them a gift with their regional pastor, and we got home pretty exhausted and to bed at 12.30 am.
My day had started with a Skype meeting at 7am, for which I was up at 5.30 am, with the EAB Board of Trustees. It was a very good meeting. It was however a long day! Now I’m ready to preach tonight in the Patos church. Your prayers are always valued.
I preached at the 10-day Outreach final public service on Saturday, as I do every year, and all went very well. This is the 17th year we’ve done this consecutively and it was my idea in the first place – so it’s a great joy to see things going well with the team up by a third in size and folk were talking about getting up to a 100 in the team next year from this year’s 80. PTL! The team was united and blessed. The RC church is in general terms no longer the challenge at these event but rather the “evangelical” lunatic fringe which is actually more than a fringe in Brazil! A great concern for all serious evangelical leaders. Anyway the Outreach bore fruit and I await final statistics which I will pass on, but I know some did make real commitments to Christ.
We got back very late of course on Saturday night but were in church in Patos as normal. The sermon this Sunday was especially blessed: “Water into Wine”! The 6th sermon in the John’s Gospel series.
This Saturday I’ll be conducting another wedding – this time at Itaporanga. The leader of our Old Cow Pen church – Tica – is marrying Ramos from João Pessoa. A mature wedding! Then of course we’ll be back in Patos again on Sunday.
The authorities have at last started to sort things out at Jabre Peak and did a major clean up of both domestic and industrial rubbish there. PTL! I was interviewed about it on TV and radio today.
Last week Liz and I managed to fit in a 3-day break at Green Pastures which was very nice. I did lots of walking and Liz did lots of reading. It was really nice. No internet. In the daytime the birds nearly deafened you with their song and at night the silence, with a full moon, was deafening! I met up with this fox face to face. He growled at me a lot and it was quite a stand off, but he blinked eventually, turned and ran off into the bush. A lovely moment.
The 10-day Outreach at Flores in Pernambuco State has started well with an 85 strong team. On Saturday Philip took the Patos church band to lead the P&W in the opening service which was really blessed. I will be going there to preach this Saturday and our Care Centre team will be going there too. I will be back in Patos to preach on the Sunday. Last night’s Sunday service went well. I continued my series in John’s Gospel – sermon 5 – and finished chapter 1. Numbers were down owing to it being holiday month.
It rained 16 mm at Green Pastures last night. PTL! Every little bit helps. The big rain Patos got on the 9th did not make it to Green Pastures unfortunately.
The Lord really blessed the weekend’s work and ministry. The wedding went off fine up in the mountains on Saturday. Our experience came in handy amidst lots of internal family tensions there at the wedding and all worked out fine in the end. PTL! The couple are further victims of horrific Brazilian evangelical legalism. They were very grateful for our support.
Sunday School numbers were up yesterday despite usually being down in January’s holiday month (UK’s August). The evening service was greatly blessed and the sermon touched many hearts I am told. PTL!
Please pray for the special 10-day evangelistic Outreach starting this Friday. The team in larger this year up to 80 from the normal 60. It will be held at Flores in Pernambuco State.
With 93 prisoners murdered in Brazilian jails in 6 days, many decapitated, it highlights the absolutely mess the prison service is in. 2 were murdered in the Patos jail. The jails here are unbelievably overcrowded and inhumane. Drug barons dispute power within the jails from where they command drug trafficking in the towns and cities. Drugs and violence prevails all over Brazil. Public safety is at an all time low and there is much public rejoicing at the prison deaths because the slogan used here is that “a good bandit is a dead bandit”! Many so called evangelical Christians advocate this! Please pray for peace, security and safely in Brazil.
Continue ReadingWe’re going up the mountains to Santa Teresinha in the State of Pernambuco this afternoon to conduct the wedding of Mabelle and Cássio. I dedicted her as a baby and will now conduct her wedding. Philip and Louisa will be providing the music.
My sermon is ready for tomorrow in Patos when I will be preaching on: “Behold the Lamb of God” as my 4th sermon of my series in John’s Gospel.
Philip has now taken on the responsibility of the Bible studies on a Thursdays and he is doing very well. Numbers are up and people are being blessed. PTL!
This week a group of 5 or 6 pastors and their families have stayed at Green Pastures for a break. I had a nice meeting with some of them at the end of my morning walk yesterday. I saw a pair of wild Puma Yagourundi cats and a pair of foxes.
It’s nice this week to have a group of our pastors and their families for a week’s break at Green Pastures. They asked if they could have the place for the week and we of course only too gladly said fine.
I was out there just before 6 am today and walked for 4 hours on my own. Wonderful! There were hundreds and hundreds of giant bumble bees on the flowers which have bloomed as a result of the bit of rain we’ve had.
I am preparing to preach in Patos on Sunday and do a wedding in Pernambuco State on Saturday. Liz has been counselling a lot today.
You might be surprised to learn that the average annual rainfall at Green Pastures is 13% higher than that in London! Let me show you the statistics:
London’s average rainfall is 621 mm (nearly 26 inches).
Green Pastures’ average rainfall is 702 mm (a little over 29 inches).
So why do we get droughts and you don’t?
Firstly it’s because we get our rain exclusively in the first months of the year where as in the UK it is evenly spread throughout the year.
Secondly it’s because our average temperature is 25,5ºC where as London’s is 11.1ºC. This means that evaporation of the reservoirs here is a massive problem which is not so in the UK. For 7 or 8 months of the year we get no rain at all with belting temperatures evaporating the lot. All we need are a few below average rainfall years and we are in serious trouble like now! Virtually the whole of the State of Paraíba where EAB’s headquarters are is in a major water supply crisis.
So the next time you feel like moaning about the rain please turn the moans into prayer for parts of the world like NE Brazil where people have great difficulty getting water at all. That’s why EAB drills so many wells.
Saturday night’s watchnight service started at 10pm in the Patos church and ended about 12.30am. What a wonderful service it was with 3 baptized by Philip, a great choreography, a fantastically moving song by Sacha and I preached. The whole service was broadcast live and the video is available on the church’s facebook page.
Érika is the young woman with Sacha (above). She was converted early in 2016 and the following week was diagnosed with breast cancer. On the night she was to go to João Pessoa to start her treatment Sacha phoned Érika and sang to her Psalm 40: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry…” Sacha then prayed with her and said that she would sing the same song in church for her when she is cleared of cancer. Last week she was given an initial all clear and Sacha kept her promise. There were few eyes dry in the church! God is good! PTL!
On the Sunday night we had our normal weekly main service with numbers reduced owing to so many being tired from the New Year’s celebrations. Nevertheless it was a good blessed service. A Happy New Year to everyone!
I watched this pair of foxes hunting wild guinea pigs this morning at Green Pastures and it made them thirsty! They were leaping over low bushes with the wild guinea pigs scampering for their lives beneath from bush to bush! They went to the watering hole in that same section of the Reserve and our automatic camera picked them up. It was something absolutely wonderful to watch!
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Last week was as hectic as ever with a lot of EAB correspondence to deal with on top of everything else. During the week we distributed Christmas Hampers in various places, but the main distribution was on the Friday in the Patos Project Centre, next to the church, with toys as well for the kids. It went great with a total of 244 full hampers + 36 smaller hampers from food we managed to get together at the last minute to help yet further people + 150 toys.
Saturday night was the typical Brazilian Christmas Eve supper at Philip & Gylmara’s house, with all the family gathered for the occasion. On Christmas Day Sunday Liz cooked the typical British lunch and again got all the family together for this, followed by some gifts round the tree.
At night we had a fantastic Christmas service in the Patos church which was so utterly packed out that we had to use every extra chair we had! The play was very impactive and blessed being a modern mixture of the old Christmas story from the angle of the “Heaven’s Angels” (as opposed to Hell’s Angels) Canteen getting the news that they had to get on their motorbikes and take the news of Jesus’s birth to a group of “landless” shepherds. The half hour play ended with a switch to Jesus’ second coming and a challenge to the church. I brought a short message after this followed by the church children receiving sweets and presents round the tree. It was all lovely and really blessed.
Saturday saw us up in the mountains at Imaculada to inaugurate a playground for poor kids in Glória Community, Imaculada. It was a beautiful time of celebration!
Then Sunday was the children’s nativity play in the Patos church which was packed out beyond belief. A beautiful evening of the proclamation of the old Gospel story that Jesus came. PTL!
On Monday was the church couple’s Christmas party which was also a lovely and blessed evening of fun and fellowship.
During this week we are distributing Christmas Hampers too and our big Christmas service will be on Christmas Day broadcast live worldwide with a full Christmas play. Happy Christmas!
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Life is as hectic as ever as we work towards Christmas day. Christmas has got to be about thinking about others and not just oneself and the family. Christians can’t solve all the problems in the world, but they can solve some. People say to us in the UK that it’s different for us as we live and work in such a poor area. Whilst it’s true that it’s different it doesn’t mean there aren’t needs all around you where you are in the more afluent places of the world. It’s a question of attitude, commitment and understanding what Christianity and Christmas really involves.
Thursday saw our Pastor Frank Dyer School here in Patos present the Christmas story for civil servants in the centre of Patos for the 6th year in succession. Just the trip from the outskirts of town to the centre is a major adventure for these poor kids! They did very well and one of the boys who has been very ill asked if he could give his testimony at the end of the play! We said sure, and off he went telling the adults there straight that he was there thanks to the prayers of God’s people and that God had healed him. All off his own back from the heart! Beautiful and powerful! PTL!
Yesterday Sacha took her daughters’ pediatrician to a poor borough of Patos to give all the children medical check-ups, medication, personal hygiene kits, shoes and toys. Boy what emotion there was there!
I have prepared my sermon for this Sunday in Patos and now we’re off up the mountains to inaugurate a playground for very poor rural kids in the Glória community in Imaculada County. Happy Christmas!
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We had a good weekend – starting with Bia’s “graduation” from ABC School – she now goes into year 1. There was a lovely party for the kids held by the school which of course all the family went to.
On Saturday it was Luis’s 1st birthday so it was over to Philip’s house for a little party. On Sunday was his sister Louisa’s 17th birthday. The service at night went very well with a packed church as always these days. It was “Bible Day” so I preached about the Bible and its importance.
On Monday Liz and I travelled to the coast to João Pessoa to be there bright and early for 2 routine doctor’s check-up appointments. Infuriatingly both doctors made no-shows so we drove all the way back to Patos yesterday afternoon/evening having driven for hours each way for nothing!
Today I went to Green Pastures in the morning and this afternoon with had a little party for Lynn’s 40th birthday (see photo below). Philip will give the Bible Study tomorrow and I am preparing for Sunday. I will be going to inaugurate a new playground facility at our rural “Glória” church in Imaculada County. On top of all these activities I have a list a mile long of issues I have to deal with linked to EAB/ACEV churches and projects as well as EAB itself. It is a busy life.
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We had senior leadership meetings all day this Tuesday starting at 10am and going non-stop till 9.30pm! Talk about exhausting! We had lunch and evening food brought in and eaten on the job! The day started with a meeting with 2 pastors who used to be part of ACEV/EAB discussing a dispute over mission property in Mauá – São Paulo going back to the year 2000! At least they ended up asking forgiveness which was nice. There will be further meetings to resolve the problem.
We then discussed Ribeirão Pires – São Paulo where it looks like the church is going to close. Not all things work out as we hoped!
We then went on to discuss project issues and a new plantation/horticulture project to be started for the landless community not far from Green Pastures. This promises! We also had a good meeting with a leader of an online distance theological College regognized and fully legal with the Ministry of Education. This is also promising! And so it went on… a long but united and fruitful day.
We travelled to the rural church of Portelo this Saturday night and the Patos Band went too. Their ministry was great. I preached the Gospel. We got to bed at 1am driving back home after the service.
Now we’re off to the Communion Service in Patos where I will again be preaching.
This week is going to be very hectic with a massive day this Tuesday with major leadership meetings morning, afternoon and night – followed by a graduation thanksgiving service on the Wednesday. We sure do value your prayers.
It is always so lovely to see the very poor children in EAB’s Action Schools being taught with God’s love and respect. It is wonderful to see their lives being helped and changed. Please support EAB Action Schools and make a difference to very needy kids in the northeastern Brazilian hinterland. For further information please contact out UK Action Child School coordinator Marian Rashleigh at: missionmr@ntlworld.com
