Categoria: News

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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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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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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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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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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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.

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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.

Continue Reading

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.

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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.

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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.

Continue Reading

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.

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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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

Continue Reading

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!

Continue Reading

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.

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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.

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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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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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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.

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