Categoria: News

I woke at 5am hearing a drizzle of rain falling! Wow! Unbelievable! It drizzled for about an hour and then stopped only to return for a couple of further hours later. It’s of no use for reservoirs but fine rain is so beautiful when you’ve never more seen it!


Today the youth of our Princesa Isabel church have come to Green Pastures to spend the day which is a public holiday here. Actually they came last night and slept there to be on site bright and early. Bless their hearts.


I now must prepare for this evening’s Bible study in Patos.

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I woke at 5am hearing a drizzle of rain falling! Wow! Unbelievable! It drizzled for about an hour and then stopped only to return for a couple of further hours later. It’s of no use for reservoirs but fine rain is so beautiful when you’ve never more seen it!


Today the youth of our Princesa Isabel church have come to Green Pastures to spend the day which is a public holiday here. Actually they came last night and slept there to be on site bright and early. Bless their hearts.


I now must prepare for this evening’s Bible study in Patos.

Continue Reading

This blog has now passed the 138,500 visits mark.


My Flickr photos page has now passed the 183,000 visits mark https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmedcraft/


EAB’s English language facebook page now has 1,038 likes https://www.facebook.com/eabrazil


John’s personal facebook page mostly in Portuguese has the maximum 5,000 friends or there abouts https://www.facebook.com/john.p.medcraft


The EAB/ACEV Patos church’s facebook page in Portuguese as 2,125 likes https://www.facebook.com/pages/A%C3%A7%C3%A3o-Evang%C3%A9lica-Patos-PB/773650192729931

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This blog has now passed the 138,500 visits mark.


My Flickr photos page has now passed the 183,000 visits mark https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmedcraft/


EAB’s English language facebook page now has 1,038 likes https://www.facebook.com/eabrazil


John’s personal facebook page mostly in Portuguese has the maximum 5,000 friends or there abouts https://www.facebook.com/john.p.medcraft


The EAB/ACEV Patos church’s facebook page in Portuguese as 2,125 likes https://www.facebook.com/pages/A%C3%A7%C3%A3o-Evang%C3%A9lica-Patos-PB/773650192729931

Continue Reading

This blog has now passed the 138,500 visits mark.


My Flickr photos page has now passed the 183,000 visits mark https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmedcraft/


EAB’s English language facebook page now has 1,038 likes https://www.facebook.com/eabrazil


John’s personal facebook page mostly in Portuguese has the maximum 5,000 friends or there abouts https://www.facebook.com/john.p.medcraft


The EAB/ACEV Patos church’s facebook page in Portuguese as 2,125 likes https://www.facebook.com/pages/A%C3%A7%C3%A3o-Evang%C3%A9lica-Patos-PB/773650192729931

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The ups and downs of EAB’s Action Child Schools programme stared us in the face today as we worked through reports about each pupil spread around our schools. On the one hand we saw the trajectory of a little skinny poor lad born out in the sticks in the middle of nowhere, who ended up graduating from Bible College with a degree in theology and is at this time leading an EAB church plant.


On the other had we came across reports like – “moved in with her boyfriend at 13 and won’t listen to anybody”. Or – “her Mum was murdered in front of her because of her brothers drug debt”. Or – “Her Dad’s in jail, her Mum’s gone off with someone else, her brothers are hooked on drugs and her sister is a prostitute. Now she’s disappeared and EAB’s UK office is crying out for her half-yearly letter and photo for her sponsor”!


We value your prayers for Action Child. It’s not easy and it doesn’t always go according to the script! Please pray for EAB’s UK Action Child Coordinator Pauline Pennels and her husband Adrian as they handle reports and communications with sponsors in Europe. Their email addresses for further information are: papenn3557@hotmail.com / adypenn3557@hotmail.com

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The ups and downs of EAB’s Action Child Schools programme stared us in the face today as we worked through reports about each pupil spread around our schools. On the one hand we saw the trajectory of a little skinny poor lad born out in the sticks in the middle of nowhere, who ended up graduating from Bible College with a degree in theology and is at this time leading an EAB church plant.


On the other had we came across reports like – “moved in with her boyfriend at 13 and won’t listen to anybody”. Or – “her Mum was murdered in front of her because of her brothers drug debt”. Or – “Her Dad’s in jail, her Mum’s gone off with someone else, her brothers are hooked on drugs and her sister is a prostitute. Now she’s disappeared and EAB’s UK office is crying out for her half-yearly letter and photo for her sponsor”!


We value your prayers for Action Child. It’s not easy and it doesn’t always go according to the script! Please pray for EAB’s UK Action Child Coordinator Pauline Pennels and her husband Adrian as they handle reports and communications with sponsors in Europe. Their email addresses for further information are: papenn3557@hotmail.com / adypenn3557@hotmail.com

Continue Reading

The ups and downs of EAB’s Action Child Schools programme stared us in the face today as we worked through reports about each pupil spread around our schools. On the one hand we saw the trajectory of a little skinny poor lad born out in the sticks in the middle of nowhere, who ended up graduating from Bible College with a degree in theology and is at this time leading an EAB church plant.


On the other had we came across reports like – “moved in with her boyfriend at 13 and won’t listen to anybody”. Or – “her Mum was murdered in front of her because of her brothers drug debt”. Or – “Her Dad’s in jail, her Mum’s gone off with someone else, her brothers are hooked on drugs and her sister is a prostitute. Now she’s disappeared and EAB’s UK office is crying out for her half-yearly letter and photo for her sponsor”!


We value your prayers for Action Child. It’s not easy and it doesn’t always go according to the script! Please pray for EAB’s UK Action Child Coordinator Pauline Pennels and her husband Adrian as they handle reports and communications with sponsors in Europe. Their email addresses for further information are: papenn3557@hotmail.com / adypenn3557@hotmail.com

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Sacha and I did a complete review, child by child or person by person, of every sponsored child / person in EAB’s Action Child Programme this morning. I say person and not only child because everyone get’s older and we have sponsored people who are no longer kids! 

This year is a year of transition to a tighter sharper version of EAB’s Action Child programme. We have learnt over the years and are still learning – so seek to improve the programme and increase its efficiency for the kids and for the sponsors who maintain the programme running. Let me explain how things are now run.

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EAB Action Child Schools will focus on
primary education with intake at nursery and year 1 levels with children
studying with EAB’s school programme through to the end of year 5. Everything
else stays as it was – education with God’s love on a full tummy! 

The defined goals of the programme are:

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Sacha and I did a complete review, child by child or person by person, of every sponsored child / person in EAB’s Action Child Programme this morning. I say person and not only child because everyone get’s older and we have sponsored people who are no longer kids! 

This year is a year of transition to a tighter sharper version of EAB’s Action Child programme. We have learnt over the years and are still learning – so seek to improve the programme and increase its efficiency for the kids and for the sponsors who maintain the programme running. Let me explain how things are now run.

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EAB Action Child Schools will focus on
primary education with intake at nursery and year 1 levels with children
studying with EAB’s school programme through to the end of year 5. Everything
else stays as it was – education with God’s love on a full tummy! 

The defined goals of the programme are:

Continue Reading

I’m just off to bed. Liz is on night duty with Amanda Ivy who is slowly but surely doing fine.


The service this evening went great. Full church, blessed praise and worship and the sermon really went well and seems to have blessed many lives. PTL! Thanks for your prayers.

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I’m just off to bed. Liz is on night duty with Amanda Ivy who is slowly but surely doing fine.


The service this evening went great. Full church, blessed praise and worship and the sermon really went well and seems to have blessed many lives. PTL! Thanks for your prayers.

Continue Reading

Our 8th grandchild, Lynn & Hutan’s daughter Amanda Ivy, was born exactly 4 weeks ago today and finally this afternoon arrived in Patos with her parents and Grandma. It’s great to have Liz back and everyone here. Amanda is so cute, very tiny, but slowly making progress. I had my first hold of her and sang to her! We just need to pray for her to put on weight and get stronger quickly. The doctor has said we must avoid visits for the time being so as to avoid the transmission of illnesses or the likes. So praise God with us and please keep praying.

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Our 8th grandchild, Lynn & Hutan’s daughter Amanda Ivy, was born exactly 4 weeks ago today and finally this afternoon arrived in Patos with her parents and Grandma. It’s great to have Liz back and everyone here. Amanda is so cute, very tiny, but slowly making progress. I had my first hold of her and sang to her! We just need to pray for her to put on weight and get stronger quickly. The doctor has said we must avoid visits for the time being so as to avoid the transmission of illnesses or the likes. So praise God with us and please keep praying.

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FA Cup final day, FA Amature Cup final and Wimbledon final day were the three days as a lad that I was allowed to watch sport on TV! TV, for my fundamentalist dear old Dad, was tabu, so we sneaked into our neighbour Mrs. Wheeler’s ground floor flat in Highlever Road, North Kensingston, and watched on black and white TV. The FA Amature Cup was important because my Mum’s home town of Bishop Auckland won it three times in the 1950s


So today I’ll cheer for the underdogs in both English and Scottish FA Cups – Aston Villa and Falkirk!


My sermon is all ready for tomorrow in Patos. I will be preaching on Mark 1:40-45 about the purification of a leper who probably wasn’t a leper! This is the 4th sermon in my series going through Mark’s Gospel. 


Liz, Lynn, Hutan & Amanda have just left João Pessoa gratefully, so they should be in Patos this afternoon. Now this IS good news! PTL!

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FA Cup final day, FA Amature Cup final and Wimbledon final day were the three days as a lad that I was allowed to watch sport on TV! TV, for my fundamentalist dear old Dad, was tabu, so we sneaked into our neighbour Mrs. Wheeler’s ground floor flat in Highlever Road, North Kensingston, and watched on black and white TV. The FA Amature Cup was important because my Mum’s home town of Bishop Auckland won it three times in the 1950s


So today I’ll cheer for the underdogs in both English and Scottish FA Cups – Aston Villa and Falkirk!


My sermon is all ready for tomorrow in Patos. I will be preaching on Mark 1:40-45 about the purification of a leper who probably wasn’t a leper! This is the 4th sermon in my series going through Mark’s Gospel. 


Liz, Lynn, Hutan & Amanda have just left João Pessoa gratefully, so they should be in Patos this afternoon. Now this IS good news! PTL!

Continue Reading

FA Cup final day, FA Amature Cup final and Wimbledon final day were the three days as a lad that I was allowed to watch sport on TV! TV, for my fundamentalist dear old Dad, was tabu, so we sneaked into our neighbour Mrs. Wheeler’s ground floor flat in Highlever Road, North Kensingston, and watched on black and white TV. The FA Amature Cup was important because my Mum’s home town of Bishop Auckland won it three times in the 1950s


So today I’ll cheer for the underdogs in both English and Scottish FA Cups – Aston Villa and Falkirk!


My sermon is all ready for tomorrow in Patos. I will be preaching on Mark 1:40-45 about the purification of a leper who probably wasn’t a leper! This is the 4th sermon in my series going through Mark’s Gospel. 


Liz, Lynn, Hutan & Amanda have just left João Pessoa gratefully, so they should be in Patos this afternoon. Now this IS good news! PTL!

Continue Reading

Last night’s service was really blessed in the Patos church. I led and gave the Bible study and we had so much participation from different folk with words and songs. Really encouraging.


News from São Mamede is good too where the church plant there which had folded up is about to restart. PTL! In the rural areas the work goes forward in leaps and bounds.


Slowly, very slowly, prem. baby Amanda is getting stronger and it looks like they will all be coming to Patos at the weekend at last after a month in the capital where Amanda of course was born. Thanks for your prayers. Please don’t stop.


The water situation in our State is utterly desperate. After the drought from the second half of 2011 through to March 2014 we just had a few good months of rain prior to the drought kicking back in. Hence 2014 never recovered the reservoirs and now with a poor rains of 2015 things are worse than ever. Things are very serious indeed – even in cities which normally don’t have droughts, like Campina Grande, there will be water rationing for 3 days every week as from next week!

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Last night’s service was really blessed in the Patos church. I led and gave the Bible study and we had so much participation from different folk with words and songs. Really encouraging.


News from São Mamede is good too where the church plant there which had folded up is about to restart. PTL! In the rural areas the work goes forward in leaps and bounds.


Slowly, very slowly, prem. baby Amanda is getting stronger and it looks like they will all be coming to Patos at the weekend at last after a month in the capital where Amanda of course was born. Thanks for your prayers. Please don’t stop.


The water situation in our State is utterly desperate. After the drought from the second half of 2011 through to March 2014 we just had a few good months of rain prior to the drought kicking back in. Hence 2014 never recovered the reservoirs and now with a poor rains of 2015 things are worse than ever. Things are very serious indeed – even in cities which normally don’t have droughts, like Campina Grande, there will be water rationing for 3 days every week as from next week!

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One new minister was ordained at the EAB/ACEV annual Field Conference this year held at Itaporanga. The focus for the coming 2015/2016 year was set as ‘United we are Stronger’ based around John 17:21. Praise God that we experienced this unity at the Conference.


Statistics showed that our 85 churches remained stable in numbers (about 3,600) over the past year with an increase in members and a decrease in the number of Christians in our churches who are not yet members. People evangelized were about 200,000 and those benefitted by social action projects about 100,000. The general assembly felt the latter statistic was more realistic than the former and that the number of those evangelized was probably inflated by over ambitious estimates of those evangelized via our 8 radio ministries spread around the field. Thus for next year a set and uniform way of making these radio audience estimates was put in place. Probably a more realistic evangelism figure for this year would be around 150,000 which is still truly wonderful. PTL!

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One new minister was ordained at the EAB/ACEV annual Field Conference this year held at Itaporanga. The focus for the coming 2015/2016 year was set as ‘United we are Stronger’ based around John 17:21. Praise God that we experienced this unity at the Conference.


Statistics showed that our 85 churches remained stable in numbers (about 3,600) over the past year with an increase in members and a decrease in the number of Christians in our churches who are not yet members. People evangelized were about 200,000 and those benefitted by social action projects about 100,000. The general assembly felt the latter statistic was more realistic than the former and that the number of those evangelized was probably inflated by over ambitious estimates of those evangelized via our 8 radio ministries spread around the field. Thus for next year a set and uniform way of making these radio audience estimates was put in place. Probably a more realistic evangelism figure for this year would be around 150,000 which is still truly wonderful. PTL!

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The following announcement has just been made:  “Congratulations to JOHN PHILIP MEDCRAFT. He kept the top spot for many
months. VINCENT VAN DE LUSTGRAAF finished in 2nd spot with PETER HOUSEGO
in 3rd. Thank you again for playing along with this every week. It is
all for fun but a bit of competition don’t hurt anyone. I hope you all
join in next season”.

http://qprtillidie-predictionleague.webnode.com/table/  


Now your Majesty… what about the next honours list?

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The following announcement has just been made:  “Congratulations to JOHN PHILIP MEDCRAFT. He kept the top spot for many
months. VINCENT VAN DE LUSTGRAAF finished in 2nd spot with PETER HOUSEGO
in 3rd. Thank you again for playing along with this every week. It is
all for fun but a bit of competition don’t hurt anyone. I hope you all
join in next season”.

http://qprtillidie-predictionleague.webnode.com/table/  


Now your Majesty… what about the next honours list?

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The annual EAB/ACEV Field Conference went superbly well. Any minor moments of tension were quickly overcome in the 4 loooooooooooong general assemblies (which I chaired) which covered a great amount of business. The emphasis was on unity and a good degree of positive vision for the future was evident.


In the final celebration we ordained one lady minister from the beach church at Jacumã and Pr. Wostenes from Campina Grande preached the Word and I led the service.

It wasn’t easy for me personally without Liz present, but the Lord helped us. News from João Pessoa is that baby Amanda is slowly but surely getting stronger and hopefully they will all be in Patos by the end of the first week in June. Thank you for praying.


I am extremely tired after the exhausting weekend. I got back in time to lead the service last night in Patos and I also preached! I managed to stay awake for my own sermon!

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I am going like the clappers and without Liz around to help as she is still in João Pessoa helping Lynn, her husband and their new baby Amanda. Without Liz is very complicated but we press on!


Last night’s service was good. I feel we need to improve our praise and worship a bit though. I feel we need to move up a gear again. Anyway all went well and then my third sermon in my new series in Mark’s Gospel went fine. It was a full church as usual.


I am absolutely rushed off my feet preparing for the annual Field Conference to be held in Itaporanga on Friday and Saturday. I have been on the phone so much to different pastors chasing up different details and items of information for our annual report. Tomorrow will be more of the same! And I need to prepare next Sunday’s sermon by Thursday and the Bible study for Thursday as when I get back from the Conference I will be both exhausted and without time for preparation.


Baby Amanda is slowly progressing and is slowly getting in to breast feeding gear and more awake today as she takes in the fact that she has been born! 


Thanks for all your prayer on her behalf and on behalf of all of us in these incredible busy and important days.


With one match to play I remain in first place in the QPR prediction league so it will be fun if I manage to win it! http://qprtillidie-predictionleague.webnode.com/table/

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I am going like the clappers and without Liz around to help as she is still in João Pessoa helping Lynn, her husband and their new baby Amanda. Without Liz is very complicated but we press on!


Last night’s service was good. I feel we need to improve our praise and worship a bit though. I feel we need to move up a gear again. Anyway all went well and then my third sermon in my new series in Mark’s Gospel went fine. It was a full church as usual.


I am absolutely rushed off my feet preparing for the annual Field Conference to be held in Itaporanga on Friday and Saturday. I have been on the phone so much to different pastors chasing up different details and items of information for our annual report. Tomorrow will be more of the same! And I need to prepare next Sunday’s sermon by Thursday and the Bible study for Thursday as when I get back from the Conference I will be both exhausted and without time for preparation.


Baby Amanda is slowly progressing and is slowly getting in to breast feeding gear and more awake today as she takes in the fact that she has been born! 


Thanks for all your prayer on her behalf and on behalf of all of us in these incredible busy and important days.


With one match to play I remain in first place in the QPR prediction league so it will be fun if I manage to win it! http://qprtillidie-predictionleague.webnode.com/table/

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I am thrilled to announce that Lynn & Hutan’s little girl, born prematurely 12 days ago, left intensive care in a João Pessoa hospital tonight and is now in a special care ward where Lynn can be present and where she is no longer in an incubator. Still very tiny and somewhat lazy to breast feed, Amanda is steadily getting stronger. We praise God for this wonderful moment and thank everyone who has prayed. Please don’t stop!


I am extremely busy this week preparing so much stuff for next week’s annual Field Conference and without Liz around this is triply more complicated. I can see that even if baby Amanda is home by the end of next week that Liz will need to be on hand in support of Lynn with this tiny little baby to care for. This clearly means I’m going to have to face the Conference without Liz which is not something I like the idea of, but such is life! Please pray for the Conference which will gather leaders from all of our churches far and wide.

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I am thrilled to announce that Lynn & Hutan’s little girl, born prematurely 12 days ago, left intensive care in a João Pessoa hospital tonight and is now in a special care ward where Lynn can be present and where she is no longer in an incubator. Still very tiny and somewhat lazy to breast feed, Amanda is steadily getting stronger. We praise God for this wonderful moment and thank everyone who has prayed. Please don’t stop!


I am extremely busy this week preparing so much stuff for next week’s annual Field Conference and without Liz around this is triply more complicated. I can see that even if baby Amanda is home by the end of next week that Liz will need to be on hand in support of Lynn with this tiny little baby to care for. This clearly means I’m going to have to face the Conference without Liz which is not something I like the idea of, but such is life! Please pray for the Conference which will gather leaders from all of our churches far and wide.

Continue Reading

Last night’s service went very well with a packed out church as usual. The service went very well and the sermon flowed nicely. PTL!


News from João Pessoa is good with baby Amanda getting a bit better every day and putting on a little weight. It now seems that she should be out of intensive care this week and then move into the semi-intensive unit where Lynn can be with her all the time. So thanks for your prayer and please keep praying.


Yesterday EAB/ACEV’s Teixeira church spent the morning and early afternoon at Green Pastures for Brazilian Mother’s Day. They have done this for two years now and always are impecably careful not to leave rubbish behind which we do appreciate.


Our automatic camera has picked up a great 30 second film of a Rock Cavy daring to square up to a Hawk! It is lovely. You can see it at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmedcraft/17526903335/in/dateposted-public/

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Last night’s service went very well with a packed out church as usual. The service went very well and the sermon flowed nicely. PTL!


News from João Pessoa is good with baby Amanda getting a bit better every day and putting on a little weight. It now seems that she should be out of intensive care this week and then move into the semi-intensive unit where Lynn can be with her all the time. So thanks for your prayer and please keep praying.


Yesterday EAB/ACEV’s Teixeira church spent the morning and early afternoon at Green Pastures for Brazilian Mother’s Day. They have done this for two years now and always are impecably careful not to leave rubbish behind which we do appreciate.


Our automatic camera has picked up a great 30 second film of a Rock Cavy daring to square up to a Hawk! It is lovely. You can see it at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmedcraft/17526903335/in/dateposted-public/

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Oh well! At least it’s over with… but losing 6 x 0 was a bit much! Pathetic! I got the half-time score correct and the overall result too, so will received 6 points in the QPR inter-gallactic league and should increase my head at the top with 2 games to play. I had predicted a final result of us losing 4 x 2. Anyway it’s going down on the yo-yo lift once again and back to the Championship


I am all ready for tonight’s service and it was nice the see the UK Prime Minister reading my text for tonight in Westminster Abbey this morning on the BBC World News. Thanks mate – you read it very nicely!

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I’ve not long been back from conducting a wedding at Green Pastures of Tarcísio and Maria’s daughter Jozilene to Antonio. It went off beautifully.


Tomorrow QPR have such an easy game that it’s hardly worth watching. They have to beat Manchester City away. An absolute piece of cake! Then to survive relegation they would still have to beat Newcastle at home and Leicester away and count on just a few other teams not winning their remaining games. For a team of QPR’s standing anyone knows that we could play our B or C team (or the ladies or the under 17s) and still do it. As simple as pie!

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I’ve not long been back from conducting a wedding at Green Pastures of Tarcísio and Maria’s daughter Jozilene to Antonio. It went off beautifully.


Tomorrow QPR have such an easy game that it’s hardly worth watching. They have to beat Manchester City away. An absolute piece of cake! Then to survive relegation they would still have to beat Newcastle at home and Leicester away and count on just a few other teams not winning their remaining games. For a team of QPR’s standing anyone knows that we could play our B or C team (or the ladies or the under 17s) and still do it. As simple as pie!

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UK opinion polls are proving to be as unreliable as their Brazilian counterparts. It was a long night which must leave the SDLP feeling awful, the Tories and SNP elated and Labour well and truly defeated. A fascinating night indeed with yet bigger decisions on “federal UK” (?), in or out of the EU etc. now in the offing.


Here my campaign to get the breathalizers back in use is progressing. They had “gone away for repairs” over a year ago, but our complaints have seen them finally repaired and returned. Now we wait to see if they actually get used. I have asked for monthly reports.


I am also campaigning at the moment for a landfill promise to be fulfilled. A promise at least 10 years old! Then also I am campaining for improvements in the regional hospital and two mini local hospitals to be finished and commence functioning. The system is on paper: local medical clinics in the boroughs (actually function precariously and for an hour or two a day rather that all day); medium level mini-hospitals which ought to cope with middle level severity issues so as to take the pressure off the hospitals, but neither existent in Patos have ever been finished; the regional general, maternity and children’s hospitals – the worst of which is the general hospital which has been firing on two cylinders for years.

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UK opinion polls are proving to be as unreliable as their Brazilian counterparts. It was a long night which must leave the SDLP feeling awful, the Tories and SNP elated and Labour well and truly defeated. A fascinating night indeed with yet bigger decisions on “federal UK” (?), in or out of the EU etc. now in the offing.


Here my campaign to get the breathalizers back in use is progressing. They had “gone away for repairs” over a year ago, but our complaints have seen them finally repaired and returned. Now we wait to see if they actually get used. I have asked for monthly reports.


I am also campaigning at the moment for a landfill promise to be fulfilled. A promise at least 10 years old! Then also I am campaining for improvements in the regional hospital and two mini local hospitals to be finished and commence functioning. The system is on paper: local medical clinics in the boroughs (actually function precariously and for an hour or two a day rather that all day); medium level mini-hospitals which ought to cope with middle level severity issues so as to take the pressure off the hospitals, but neither existent in Patos have ever been finished; the regional general, maternity and children’s hospitals – the worst of which is the general hospital which has been firing on two cylinders for years.

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Though I’ve been living in Brazil for 43 years and am a naturalized Brazilian, I have never lost or forgotten my roots in the UK, and of how since a child I have always stayed up on election night to wait for the results. This is especially strong for me today as today would have been my dear Dad’s 90th birthday (I have certainly not forgotten him 13 years on from when he died in my home here in Brazil) and I always stayed up with Dad when I was young.


The election is said to be going to produce a hung parliament and induce another coalition government of some shape and form. It will be interesting to see how this evolves. Is Scotland finally going to stand up for itself and might Wales do the same next time round?


General elections are always a challenge for thinking Christians and it is always so difficult to define what are the most important factors at stake. That’s why I like the Swiss system where there are referendums on just about everything as this gives the electorate a much greater freedom of expression about details. For example: under the present UK system you might like party A’s economic policy but not their policies which in your view infringe Christian principles. Under the Swiss system you can vote on each thing separately. Under the UK system you have to opt for the least worst party and give them a blanket mandate with which you agree partially only. 


News on baby Amanda Ivy is good with her now completely off oxygen. She just needs to put some weight back on to get out of special care. Please continue to pray.

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Though I’ve been living in Brazil for 43 years and am a naturalized Brazilian, I have never lost or forgotten my roots in the UK, and of how since a child I have always stayed up on election night to wait for the results. This is especially strong for me today as today would have been my dear Dad’s 90th birthday (I have certainly not forgotten him 13 years on from when he died in my home here in Brazil) and I always stayed up with Dad when I was young.


The election is said to be going to produce a hung parliament and induce another coalition government of some shape and form. It will be interesting to see how this evolves. Is Scotland finally going to stand up for itself and might Wales do the same next time round?


General elections are always a challenge for thinking Christians and it is always so difficult to define what are the most important factors at stake. That’s why I like the Swiss system where there are referendums on just about everything as this gives the electorate a much greater freedom of expression about details. For example: under the present UK system you might like party A’s economic policy but not their policies which in your view infringe Christian principles. Under the Swiss system you can vote on each thing separately. Under the UK system you have to opt for the least worst party and give them a blanket mandate with which you agree partially only. 


News on baby Amanda Ivy is good with her now completely off oxygen. She just needs to put some weight back on to get out of special care. Please continue to pray.

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I have just had my hair cut. I hope you like it. Dentist’s tomorrow afternoon to finish a round of bits and pieces.


I have been wading through a massive translation for Gleydice and her singing/musical group in Campina Grande who recorded a new praise and worship DVD a few months back so now she wanted to put sub-titles in English which I have managed to do. When I finished all the 16 songs she then produced two long speaking texts which she spoke during the recorded presentation so now I’m working on this. Oh Lord!


The news on our new grandchild is encouraging. She is gradually developing and improving. It is a slow process demanding much patience and prayer. Thanks for being with us in prayer.

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I have just had my hair cut. I hope you like it. Dentist’s tomorrow afternoon to finish a round of bits and pieces.


I have been wading through a massive translation for Gleydice and her singing/musical group in Campina Grande who recorded a new praise and worship DVD a few months back so now she wanted to put sub-titles in English which I have managed to do. When I finished all the 16 songs she then produced two long speaking texts which she spoke during the recorded presentation so now I’m working on this. Oh Lord!


The news on our new grandchild is encouraging. She is gradually developing and improving. It is a slow process demanding much patience and prayer. Thanks for being with us in prayer.

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