Categoria: News

On Monday Liz and I had a good meeting with our youth leaders Ray, Rayla and Rafael. The main topic in the meeting was to define details of next month’s special youth programme which will coincide with the St John’s festival in Patos from June 19 to 25. The first days will be held in the church and the latter days will be held at Green Pastures.

Later on Monday Liz had a difficult trouble shooting meeting with two people from our church. I can’t give names or details as it entailed a very delicate issue. Liz arrived home quite exhausted.

I played and beat Felipe (grandson) and Tiago (granddaughter Louisa’s husband) at Chess. I am so far unbeaten in all the family games.

QPR lost their last game of the season at home to Bristol City 2 x 0. This left us in 20th place in the Championship which was 6 points and 2 places above the relegation zone. I hope the new manager can now build a new and better team for next season. 

Last night our Men’s Fellowship took a street service in the neighbouring town of São Mamede. Chief of the Police Esau led the service, Rafael preached the Gospel and Segundo and Tiago led the praise. Maricó and José were received into fellowship as church members. It was a good service.

On Saturday night Liz and I went to a meal held by Gideons International for the pastors of Patos. It was a lovely evening with good fellowship. The Gideons distribute New Testaments and Bibles in hotels, hospitals etc. Especially nice at the meal was to have lovely fellowship with Davi Amaral who is part of the Gideons. Davi was our bank manager some years ago in Patos, but now he is retired in João Pessoa and we had never more seen him. We have long been good friends.

Prior to this we watched the Coronation on BBC World TV in the morning and we watched the Coronation Prom in the afternoon direct from the Albert Hall. The All Souls orchestra and choir were quite outstanding as was the whole programme. 

Last night I preached in Patos. I did an exposition of Psalm 84. It was a lovely service. It was great to see a young couple there called Rogério and Samana with their little son. This couple made a commitment to Christ just a couple of weeks ago. They were clearly enthused in the praise and worship last night. Please pray for this couple.

On Saturday night Liz and I went to a meal held by Gideons International for the pastors of Patos. It was a lovely evening with good fellowship. The Gideons distribute New Testaments and Bibles in hotels, hospitals etc. Especially nice at the meal was to have lovely fellowship with Davi Amaral who is part of the Gideons. Davi was our bank manager some years ago in Patos, but now he is retired in João Pessoa and we had never more seen him. We have long been good friends.

Prior to this we watched the Coronation on BBC World TV in the morning and we watched the Coronation Prom in the afternoon direct from the Albert Hall. The All Souls orchestra and choir were quite outstanding as was the whole programme. 

Last night I preached in Patos. I did an exposition of Psalm 84. It was a lovely service. It was great to see a young couple there called Rogério and Samana with their little son. This couple made a commitment to Christ just a couple of weeks ago. They were clearly enthused in the praise and worship last night. Please pray for this couple.

On Saturday night Liz and I went to a meal held by Gideons International for the pastors of Patos. It was a lovely evening with good fellowship. The Gideons distribute New Testaments and Bibles in hotels, hospitals etc. Especially nice at the meal was to have lovely fellowship with Davi Amaral who is part of the Gideons. Davi was our bank manager some years ago in Patos, but now he is retired in João Pessoa and we had never more seen him. We have long been good friends.

Prior to this we watched the Coronation on BBC World TV in the morning and we watched the Coronation Prom in the afternoon direct from the Albert Hall. The All Souls orchestra and choir were quite outstanding as was the whole programme. 

Last night I preached in Patos. I did an exposition of Psalm 84. It was a lovely service. It was great to see a young couple there called Rogério and Samana with their little son. This couple made a commitment to Christ just a couple of weeks ago. They were clearly enthused in the praise and worship last night. Please pray for this couple.

Liz and I have had an excellent meeting with our deaf pastor Luiz Carlos and the sign language interpreter Geralda. The main topic of the meeting was the 4th EAB/ACEV Deaf Conference to be held on the 14th and 15th of July. These annual conferences were halted by the Covid pandemic but now return. On the Friday night (14th) there will be a debate and exchange of ideas for the deaf and sign language interpreters. On the Saturday (15th) morning there will be a workshop for the deaf and interpreters. At night the deaf will lead the service and preach the Gospel with all of us present. It is always a very moving evening. Please pray for Luiz Carlos and the deaf fellowship. 

Please also pray for our sign language interpreters course which is on every Friday evening. At the moment we have 22 people doing the course, including 7 children.

This week’s Young at Heart morning went very well indeed. So did the mid-week Bible study in which we went into chapter 9 of the book of Hosea. There were about 30 of us there.

We switched on the BBC World Service on the TV at 6 am this morning and have been watching the Coronation festivities ever since.

Liz and I have had an excellent meeting with our deaf pastor Luiz Carlos and the sign language interpreter Geralda. The main topic of the meeting was the 4th EAB/ACEV Deaf Conference to be held on the 14th and 15th of July. These annual conferences were halted by the Covid pandemic but now return. On the Friday night (14th) there will be a debate and exchange of ideas for the deaf and sign language interpreters. On the Saturday (15th) morning there will be a workshop for the deaf and interpreters. At night the deaf will lead the service and preach the Gospel with all of us present. It is always a very moving evening. Please pray for Luiz Carlos and the deaf fellowship. 

Please also pray for our sign language interpreters course which is on every Friday evening. At the moment we have 22 people doing the course, including 7 children.

This week’s Young at Heart morning went very well indeed. So did the mid-week Bible study in which we went into chapter 9 of the book of Hosea. There were about 30 of us there.

We switched on the BBC World Service on the TV at 6 am this morning and have been watching the Coronation festivities ever since.

Another young man, dependent on drugs, has been taken to the rehab centre in Santa Rita near João Pessoa this week. The man is from Curral Velho (Old Cow Pen). Please pray for this man.

This week’s Men’s Fellowship meeting had 12 present and was good. We meditated together on Psalm 88 and had a nice time of prayer.

Liz and I have had a good meeting with assistant pastor Rafael about different people who are wanting to become members of our Patos church. It was a good positive meeting. 

I have also had fruitful discussions with our social worker Marah Danielle about EAB’s Action Child schools. We are planning to have a further training course for our teachers to keep their work up to scratch.

It rained 37 mm (just over one and a half inches) last night at Green Pastures. This was a good rain for the month of May!

Another young man, dependent on drugs, has been taken to the rehab centre in Santa Rita near João Pessoa this week. The man is from Curral Velho (Old Cow Pen). Please pray for this man.

This week’s Men’s Fellowship meeting had 12 present and was good. We meditated together on Psalm 88 and had a nice time of prayer.

Liz and I have had a good meeting with assistant pastor Rafael about different people who are wanting to become members of our Patos church. It was a good positive meeting. 

I have also had fruitful discussions with our social worker Marah Danielle about EAB’s Action Child schools. We are planning to have a further training course for our teachers to keep their work up to scratch.

It rained 37 mm (just over one and a half inches) last night at Green Pastures. This was a good rain for the month of May!

Sunday School here takes place at 9:30 am on Sunday mornings and is for all ages from 1 to 101. There are classes for children, a discipleship class for those preparing for baptism, a youth class and an adult class. This Sunday it went off very well.

I led the service on Sunday night and assistant pastor Rafael preached from John 21. Last week was Rafael’s 33rd birthday so the church gave him a gift during the service.

I have been having discussions with Pastor Sílvio at Portelo and it has been decided that Pastor Davi and his wife Auzenir will now work alongside Sílvio. Davi and Auzenir had previously been attempting to establish a new work at Poçinhos, but that didn’t work out.

This Saturday the All Souls orchestra and choir will be presenting the Coronation Prom – King of Kings at the Royal Albert Hall at 7 pm UK time. The event is a sell out which will have 5,000 people present, but it will be available on YouTube live and free. We will be watching it and we hope you will too.  allsoulsmusic.org We know that the event will be strongly evangelistic. All Souls was John Stott’s church, which maintains a fantastic Gospel witness constantly, in the centre of London.

Today is our granddaughter Amanda’s 8th birthday.

Please pray for our son Philip, his wife Gylmara and their son Lucas. Gylmara and Lucas have tested positive for Covid today and Philip has identical symptoms and will probably test positive tomorrow.

Sunday School here takes place at 9:30 am on Sunday mornings and is for all ages from 1 to 101. There are classes for children, a discipleship class for those preparing for baptism, a youth class and an adult class. This Sunday it went off very well.

I led the service on Sunday night and assistant pastor Rafael preached from John 21. Last week was Rafael’s 33rd birthday so the church gave him a gift during the service.

I have been having discussions with Pastor Sílvio at Portelo and it has been decided that Pastor Davi and his wife Auzenir will now work alongside Sílvio. Davi and Auzenir had previously been attempting to establish a new work at Poçinhos, but that didn’t work out.

This Saturday the All Souls orchestra and choir will be presenting the Coronation Prom – King of Kings at the Royal Albert Hall at 7 pm UK time. The event is a sell out which will have 5,000 people present, but it will be available on YouTube live and free. We will be watching it and we hope you will too.  allsoulsmusic.org We know that the event will be strongly evangelistic. All Souls was John Stott’s church, which maintains a fantastic Gospel witness constantly, in the centre of London.

Today is our granddaughter Amanda’s 8th birthday.

Please pray for our son Philip, his wife Gylmara and their son Lucas. Gylmara and Lucas have tested positive for Covid today and Philip has identical symptoms and will probably test positive tomorrow.

 On Friday afternoon Liz and I went for a nice walk at Green Pastures for about 3 km. We came back with a bucket full of Barbadan cherries (high in vitamin C and very good for making fruit juice), half a bucket of lemons (more vitamin C and fruit juice), half a bucket of Cajarana (a yellow cherry-like fruit), a few custard apples, a tub of curd and 2 litres of fresh milk from a neighbour’s cow.

Yesterday our Patos youth spent the day at Green Pastures where they had a day of fun and fellowship with volleyball, table tennis, swimming etc. They ended the day in the weekly Green Pastures service which went very well, although Liz and I thought the youngsters looked pretty tired after a day in the hot sun. Local folk Nega, Manoel and Rose took part in the service. It was especially good to hear Manoel’s testimony once again, of how he was converted as a result of me giving him a lift when he was drunk out on a country track many years ago. I took him home and the love of God shown to him greatly impacted his life. Who preached in the service was Rayla, who is a young lawyer who is now doing a course in theology.

This week our daughters asked me to present the Cambridge University certificates at their English school. 40 of their students passed the Cambridge external exams. It was a pleasure to support our 3 girls, Deborah, Lynn and Sacha. The school is our daughters’ source of income.

Yesterday QPR did it again! 😀 They beat Stoke at Stoke 1 x 0 and in doing so they guaranteed that they will not be relegated from the Championship. Phew!

 On Friday afternoon Liz and I went for a nice walk at Green Pastures for about 3 km. We came back with a bucket full of Barbadan cherries (high in vitamin C and very good for making fruit juice), half a bucket of lemons (more vitamin C and fruit juice), half a bucket of Cajarana (a yellow cherry-like fruit), a few custard apples, a tub of curd and 2 litres of fresh milk from a neighbour’s cow.

Yesterday our Patos youth spent the day at Green Pastures where they had a day of fun and fellowship with volleyball, table tennis, swimming etc. They ended the day in the weekly Green Pastures service which went very well, although Liz and I thought the youngsters looked pretty tired after a day in the hot sun. Local folk Nega, Manoel and Rose took part in the service. It was especially good to hear Manoel’s testimony once again, of how he was converted as a result of me giving him a lift when he was drunk out on a country track many years ago. I took him home and the love of God shown to him greatly impacted his life. Who preached in the service was Rayla, who is a young lawyer who is now doing a course in theology.

This week our daughters asked me to present the Cambridge University certificates at their English school. 40 of their students passed the Cambridge external exams. It was a pleasure to support our 3 girls, Deborah, Lynn and Sacha. The school is our daughters’ source of income.

Yesterday QPR did it again! 😀 They beat Stoke at Stoke 1 x 0 and in doing so they guaranteed that they will not be relegated from the Championship. Phew!

Last night we held our weekly little service at our Patos school. 4 parents and a few children come along regularly. We are slowly and steadily sowing the seed of God’s Word and look to the Lord for much fruit. Please pray.

I have read a small book on Chess by Craig Medina via Kindle and have played and won two more matches of chess.

Last night it was our granddaughter Amanda’s 8th birthday party which we went to. Amanda is Lynn and Hutan’s daughter. Her birthday is actually on May 2nd but her best friend Sofia is going away before then so Amanda insisted on having her party with Sofia present!

After the birthday party I went to church for the Bible study which Rafael was giving. All went very well. There was a good number present.

At the weekend the chairman of the EAB Board of Trustees, Roy Dyer, ran the London marathon in 3 hours, 56 minutes and 36 seconds amidst a lot of heavy rain. Well done Roy! Just to remind you: a marathon is 26.2 miles! This I believe means Roy averaged about 9 minutes for each mile.

I am in the middle of trying to sort out a leadership problem at our Ibiara and Conceição churches where Pastor Betinho is the pastor. Both churches are small so for the last 3 years Betinho has pastored both churches as they are only 15 minutes apart by car. However we now learn that neither church is happy with the arrangement. I am now in the process of discussing this with our senior leadership team. Please pray.

The EAB magazine InTouch#99 is now available online on the EAB website at www.eabrazil.org. The hard paper copy should reach you by post next week if you are on our mailing list. If you do not receive a copy and would like one then please do let us know. We can also supply extra copies if needed.

There were nine of us in the Men’s Fellowship meeting last night. Chief of the Police Esaú brought the meditation about the struggle between flesh and Spirit in the life of the Christian. Ricardo led the meeting.

On Saturday QPR went to Burnley to play the league leaders. QPR are in danger of relegation so the game was viewed with much trepidation. In the match Burnley had 84% of control of the ball. They hit the QPR bar, had a ball headed off the QPR goal line and another ball was ruled not to be their goal by goal line technology. Despite all this pressure QPR miraculously won the game 2 x 1. I am very happy! 😀

On Saturday night I went to Green Pastures to lead what was an excellent service. A good little crowd gathered and Liz led the prayer. Local farming people Fred, Dodora, Sabrina and Manoel took part with songs and words of testimony. Louisa led the worship with her husband Tiago on guitar. Then it was most encouraging to hear a wonderful sermon by Bible College student Murilo. It was great! He preached on Colossians 3:1-4 and I have asked him to repeat the sermon the next time he preaches in Patos. Parallel to the sermon Rebeca taught the children which was very good.

On Saturday night, in the UK, Cadnam Methodist church held their annual musical concert to raise support for EAB. I hear that it went very well with a full church, and raised over 1,500 pounds. I was especially pleased to know that our grandson Luis, aged 6, sang beautifully and that our son Philip did some guitar solos. Our sincerest thanks go to all at the church, especially to Howard & Hillary Babey who are the main organizers of the concert.

I have had a visit in my office from Pastor Cesário Júnior from João Pessoa, who came to get a copy of my book about the history of EAB/ACEV. Cesário is 59 today and I baptized him when he was 15. It is always a joy to see the fruit of our labours.

I led the service in Patos last night and Pastor Ângelo from Soledade preached the Word on thanksgiving. It was a good service with a full church.  

On Saturday QPR went to Burnley to play the league leaders. QPR are in danger of relegation so the game was viewed with much trepidation. In the match Burnley had 84% of control of the ball. They hit the QPR bar, had a ball headed off the QPR goal line and another ball was ruled not to be their goal by goal line technology. Despite all this pressure QPR miraculously won the game 2 x 1. I am very happy! 😀

On Saturday night I went to Green Pastures to lead what was an excellent service. A good little crowd gathered and Liz led the prayer. Local farming people Fred, Dodora, Sabrina and Manoel took part with songs and words of testimony. Louisa led the worship with her husband Tiago on guitar. Then it was most encouraging to hear a wonderful sermon by Bible College student Murilo. It was great! He preached on Colossians 3:1-4 and I have asked him to repeat the sermon the next time he preaches in Patos. Parallel to the sermon Rebeca taught the children which was very good.

On Saturday night, in the UK, Cadnam Methodist church held their annual musical concert to raise support for EAB. I hear that it went very well with a full church, and raised over 1,500 pounds. I was especially pleased to know that our grandson Luis, aged 6, sang beautifully and that our son Philip did some guitar solos. Our sincerest thanks go to all at the church, especially to Howard & Hillary Babey who are the main organizers of the concert.

I have had a visit in my office from Pastor Cesário Júnior from João Pessoa, who came to get a copy of my book about the history of EAB/ACEV. Cesário is 59 today and I baptized him when he was 15. It is always a joy to see the fruit of our labours.

I led the service in Patos last night and Pastor Ângelo from Soledade preached the Word on thanksgiving. It was a good service with a full church.  

This week I had a very important meeting with Professor Dr. Mário Leitão who is an experienced meteorologist from the university in Petrolina in Pernambuco State. He visited Green Pastures and loved it and he is to donate us a quality rain measuring gauge to replace the one we have. He also will later on set up a professional online weather monitoring centre at Green Pastures to monitor temperature, humidity, and rainfall. This will mean you will be able to follow our weather situation always via the internet.

Liz says there were nine ladies at the Women’s Fellowship this week. Liz enjoyed the meeting. The group is led by Ana Paula.

I have read a further small book called ‘New Frontiersmen of Brazil’ by Harry Bacon, of the Evangelical Union of South America which I think is today called Latin Link. The book, published in 1964, tells of his experiences in and linked to Bible Colleges in south and central Brazil. 

I have played and won four more games of chess. I played Felipe twice, which takes us up to 14 x 0 in our series. I also played his partner Vivi for the first time and won both games.

This week I had a very important meeting with Professor Dr. Mário Leitão who is an experienced meteorologist from the university in Petrolina in Pernambuco State. He visited Green Pastures and loved it and he is to donate us a quality rain measuring gauge to replace the one we have. He also will later on set up a professional online weather monitoring centre at Green Pastures to monitor temperature, humidity, and rainfall. This will mean you will be able to follow our weather situation always via the internet.

Liz says there were nine ladies at the Women’s Fellowship this week. Liz enjoyed the meeting. The group is led by Ana Paula.

I have read a further small book called ‘New Frontiersmen of Brazil’ by Harry Bacon, of the Evangelical Union of South America which I think is today called Latin Link. The book, published in 1964, tells of his experiences in and linked to Bible Colleges in south and central Brazil. 

I have played and won four more games of chess. I played Felipe twice, which takes us up to 14 x 0 in our series. I also played his partner Vivi for the first time and won both games.

This week I had a very important meeting with Professor Dr. Mário Leitão who is an experienced meteorologist from the university in Petrolina in Pernambuco State. He visited Green Pastures and loved it and he is to donate us a quality rain measuring gauge to replace the one we have. He also will later on set up a professional online weather monitoring centre at Green Pastures to monitor temperature, humidity, and rainfall. This will mean you will be able to follow our weather situation always via the internet.

Liz says there were nine ladies at the Women’s Fellowship this week. Liz enjoyed the meeting. The group is led by Ana Paula.

I have read a further small book called ‘New Frontiersmen of Brazil’ by Harry Bacon, of the Evangelical Union of South America which I think is today called Latin Link. The book, published in 1964, tells of his experiences in and linked to Bible Colleges in south and central Brazil. 

I have played and won four more games of chess. I played Felipe twice, which takes us up to 14 x 0 in our series. I also played his partner Vivi for the first time and won both games.

We have taken a further drug addict to the rehabilitation centre in João Pessoa this week. Please pray. He is from the town of Soledade. 

I have had discussions with Sister Sandra Nogueira who leads our Água Grande church in the County of Santana de Mangueira. 

I have finished reading the book called ‘The Browns in Brazil’ by Stuart E. McNair. It is fiction written in 1942 describing central Brazil around 1912. This was another book I inherited from Liz’s late father Pastor Frank Dyer. I have discovered via Google that Stuart E. McNair was part of the Plymouth Brethren and was born in Brighton in 1867 and died in Brazil in 1959.

There were only nine of us in the Men’s Fellowship this week, but it went well. We reflected together on the Parable of the Net in Matthew 13:47-52. The initial meditation was led by Chico.

I have had an excellent meeting in my office with Pastor Oseias and his wife Lucia from our Itaporanga church, and with Ramos and Tica who lead our Curral Velho church. We were encouraged by their report of a flourishing new church plant in their region at Mata de Oitis. We also received the request for a new Action Child School at Vazante. The problem is that we would need another 4 sponsors, @ 20 pounds a month, to make this possible, as we are stretched to the limit at the moment. 

Over the last few days we have had a further 59 mm (about 2 and a half inches) of rain, but we still need a lot more rain this month to get to a good total for the rainy season.

We have taken a further drug addict to the rehabilitation centre in João Pessoa this week. Please pray. He is from the town of Soledade. 

I have had discussions with Sister Sandra Nogueira who leads our Água Grande church in the County of Santana de Mangueira. 

I have finished reading the book called ‘The Browns in Brazil’ by Stuart E. McNair. It is fiction written in 1942 describing central Brazil around 1912. This was another book I inherited from Liz’s late father Pastor Frank Dyer. I have discovered via Google that Stuart E. McNair was part of the Plymouth Brethren and was born in Brighton in 1867 and died in Brazil in 1959.

There were only nine of us in the Men’s Fellowship this week, but it went well. We reflected together on the Parable of the Net in Matthew 13:47-52. The initial meditation was led by Chico.

I have had an excellent meeting in my office with Pastor Oseias and his wife Lucia from our Itaporanga church, and with Ramos and Tica who lead our Curral Velho church. We were encouraged by their report of a flourishing new church plant in their region at Mata de Oitis. We also received the request for a new Action Child School at Vazante. The problem is that we would need another 4 sponsors, @ 20 pounds a month, to make this possible, as we are stretched to the limit at the moment. 

Over the last few days we have had a further 59 mm (about 2 and a half inches) of rain, but we still need a lot more rain this month to get to a good total for the rainy season.

I have just proof read edition number 99 of the EAB magazine ‘InTouch’, which is nearly ready to go to the printers, and which everyone will receive by post in early May. We are grateful to Marian Rashleigh for all the work she does editing and posting, and to Dave Flowers for the layout work. I think it is quite amazing how EAB manages to publish two editions of InTouch a year with a great variety of topics. In this edition there are 15 topics and we don’t spend money on journalists and professional photographers like big organizations like Tearfund do.

You can see on mine and EAB’s Facebook pages a short video with the highlights of the Men’s Retreat held at Green Pastures at the weekend. It was a great blessing and three men committed their lives to Christ!

I led Sunday night’s service in Patos when we had a visit from the Gideons International who distribute New Testaments in hotels, hospitals etc.

I have just proof read edition number 99 of the EAB magazine ‘InTouch’, which is nearly ready to go to the printers, and which everyone will receive by post in early May. We are grateful to Marian Rashleigh for all the work she does editing and posting, and to Dave Flowers for the layout work. I think it is quite amazing how EAB manages to publish two editions of InTouch a year with a great variety of topics. In this edition there are 15 topics and we don’t spend money on journalists and professional photographers like big organizations like Tearfund do.

You can see on mine and EAB’s Facebook pages a short video with the highlights of the Men’s Retreat held at Green Pastures at the weekend. It was a great blessing and three men committed their lives to Christ!

I led Sunday night’s service in Patos when we had a visit from the Gideons International who distribute New Testaments in hotels, hospitals etc.

I was at Green Pastures yesterday attending our Campina Grande – Catolé’s men’s retreat for which 115 men have gathered. We have 91 beds so the rest sleep in hammocks or mattresses on the floor. Some travelled to Green Pastures in cars whilst others went in a coach which the church rented for the weekend. It rained 12 mm (half an inch) whilst I was there. In the service in progress whilst I was there Brother Fabrício was the speaker and it was good. I also had a good meeting whilst there with the leader Pastor Wostenes. He is the vice-chairman of ACEV.

Last night we went to the special youth service held in the Patos church which was very good. There was poetry, choreography, drama, singing and preaching. The church was full. The theme of the service was: ‘Jesus is the light of the World’.

This week our projects team were at the Batinga dos Feitosa Community in Tavares County distributing hair sheep as part of EAB’s 4-Legs Project. The community preferred to have sheep rather than goats. 7 females and 1 male were distributed to extremely poor people. Thank you for supporting this project.

Liz is out at the moment distributing Feijoada (stewed black beans and pork). Our Patos church folk managed to sell all 300 portions and this goes towards our building project.

Liz is very busy this week coordinating the cooking of ‘Feijoada’ at the weekend for 300 people! ‘Feijoada’ is a traditional Brazilian dish of stewed black beans and pork. The ‘Feijoada’ will be cooked by the ladies of the Patos church and will raise funds for the revamp of our Care Centre. Each portion, sufficient for one person, will cost one pound sixty-six pence. The ingredients for the ‘Feijoada’ were funded by an EAB supporter so all the income will go to our building project.

Our projects team leaders Lindon Carlos and Marah Danielle have been at Barra de Oitis this week monitoring the building of two toilet/shower units for very poor families. They found one toilet/shower unit completed and in use and the other half-way constructed. Marilene, who is the mother at the house where the unit is already in use, is especially happy as with the unit comes a large external sink for hand washing clothes. She is especially happy as she earns extra cash by washing people’s clothes.

On Wednesday night another Gospel service was held at our Patos school and the Women’s Fellowship had a good meeting in the church.

I have finished reading a book by Maya Angelou called ‘I know why the caged bird sings’. This very good autobiography tells of her origins in Stamps, Arkansas, USA as a poor, black girl, up to the birth of her son in California as a teenager. I read this book on Kindle.

Last night’s Bible study was in Hosea chapter 8. There were about 25 of us there, which was lower in number than usual as many of our people are down with a virus. Nevertheless it was a blessed service.  

Liz is very busy this week coordinating the cooking of ‘Feijoada’ at the weekend for 300 people! ‘Feijoada’ is a traditional Brazilian dish of stewed black beans and pork. The ‘Feijoada’ will be cooked by the ladies of the Patos church and will raise funds for the revamp of our Care Centre. Each portion, sufficient for one person, will cost one pound sixty-six pence. The ingredients for the ‘Feijoada’ were funded by an EAB supporter so all the income will go to our building project.

Our projects team leaders Lindon Carlos and Marah Danielle have been at Barra de Oitis this week monitoring the building of two toilet/shower units for very poor families. They found one toilet/shower unit completed and in use and the other half-way constructed. Marilene, who is the mother at the house where the unit is already in use, is especially happy as with the unit comes a large external sink for hand washing clothes. She is especially happy as she earns extra cash by washing people’s clothes.

On Wednesday night another Gospel service was held at our Patos school and the Women’s Fellowship had a good meeting in the church.

I have finished reading a book by Maya Angelou called ‘I know why the caged bird sings’. This very good autobiography tells of her origins in Stamps, Arkansas, USA as a poor, black girl, up to the birth of her son in California as a teenager. I read this book on Kindle.

Last night’s Bible study was in Hosea chapter 8. There were about 25 of us there, which was lower in number than usual as many of our people are down with a virus. Nevertheless it was a blessed service.  

The Cadnam Methodist Church will be holding another concert, in aid of EAB, on Saturday, April 22nd at 7 pm. Tickets cost 10 pounds. If you live in Southampton or the New Forest area then please do support the event. The address is Cadnam Methodist Church, Old Romsey Road, Cadnam, Southampton. SO40 2NP. Phone 01794 323279 to book your tickets or write to jane.pelletier@gmail.com 

The Cadnam Methodist Church will be holding another concert, in aid of EAB, on Saturday, April 22nd at 7 pm. Tickets cost 10 pounds. If you live in Southampton or the New Forest area then please do support the event. The address is Cadnam Methodist Church, Old Romsey Road, Cadnam, Southampton. SO40 2NP. Phone 01794 323279 to book your tickets or write to jane.pelletier@gmail.com 

Easter Sunday started at 8 am with a fellowship breakfast in our Patos church to which a good crowd came. We all ate breakfast together and after this we sang some resurrection hymns followed by a short Bible reflection by assistant pastor Rafael. It was a lovely morning.

At night I led the resurrection celebration and I preached on ‘Jesus destroyed death’ (2 Timothy 1:10). There also was special singing by a  group together with a choreography.

Over the Easter weekend our Soledade and Campina Grande – Presidente Médici churches joined together for a blessed retreat around the theme of the ‘Redeemed Family’. Our João Pessoa – Cidade Verde church also held an Easter retreat.

I forgot to mention that on Saturday morning, on our Easter break at Green Pastures, Liz organized a ‘hunt the Easter eggs’ trail. She got up at 5:30 am and hid the eggs all over the place. Everyone had great fun hunting and eating when they got up!

Easter Sunday started at 8 am with a fellowship breakfast in our Patos church to which a good crowd came. We all ate breakfast together and after this we sang some resurrection hymns followed by a short Bible reflection by assistant pastor Rafael. It was a lovely morning.

At night I led the resurrection celebration and I preached on ‘Jesus destroyed death’ (2 Timothy 1:10). There also was special singing by a  group together with a choreography.

Over the Easter weekend our Soledade and Campina Grande – Presidente Médici churches joined together for a blessed retreat around the theme of the ‘Redeemed Family’. Our João Pessoa – Cidade Verde church also held an Easter retreat.

I forgot to mention that on Saturday morning, on our Easter break at Green Pastures, Liz organized a ‘hunt the Easter eggs’ trail. She got up at 5:30 am and hid the eggs all over the place. Everyone had great fun hunting and eating when they got up!

For many years we have held a family break over the Easter period at Green Pastures. We went out there on Wednesday evening and have just come back to Patos on Saturday evening. We were joined by our children and their families (apart from Philip and family who are in England) plus Liz’s sister Esther, her children Sabrina (and family) and Frank Bradley. We had a lovely relaxing time together.

I had plenty of time to read. I read ‘Brazilian Adventures’ published in 1949 by the Central Brazil Mission of the Presbyterian Church of the USA. It contains 12 articles written by their missionaries. This small book used to belong to my late father-in-law Frank Dyer. It was interesting to see how they saw things in Brazil back in the 1940s.

Then I went on to read ‘Digging Ditches’ by Helen Roseveare who was a missionary for many years in the Republic of Congo. The book was recommended to me by Pastor Michael Rollo (Larbert, Scotland). The book tells about the author’s international ministry after she left the Republic of Congo. The book is both challenging and a blessing. I read the book via Kindle.

I also played some chess over the past days. I played 3 matches with my 25-year-old grandson Felipe and am now 12 x 0 up in our series. I also played and won two matches with my grandson John David who is studying to be a medical doctor at university in João Pessoa.

I went for two nice long walks whilst at Green Pastures. I saw/heard and photographed a wide variety of wildlife. I saw Foxes, Iguanas, White Tipped Dove, Picui Ground-Dove, Guira Cuckoo, Greater Ani, Smooth-billed Ani, Dark-billed Cuckoo, Pigmy Nightjar, Tropical Screech Owl, Burrowing Owl, Gray-necked Wood-rail, Common Gallinule, Roadside Hawk, Pigmy Owl, Ringed Kingfisher, Spot-backed Puffbird, Green-barred Woodpecker, Red-legged Seriema, Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Southern Wren, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Chopi Blackbird, Blue-black Grassquit, White-throated Seedeater, Red-cowled Cardinal, and a Chalk-browed Mocking Bird.  

For many years we have held a family break over the Easter period at Green Pastures. We went out there on Wednesday evening and have just come back to Patos on Saturday evening. We were joined by our children and their families (apart from Philip and family who are in England) plus Liz’s sister Esther, her children Sabrina (and family) and Frank Bradley. We had a lovely relaxing time together.

I had plenty of time to read. I read ‘Brazilian Adventures’ published in 1949 by the Central Brazil Mission of the Presbyterian Church of the USA. It contains 12 articles written by their missionaries. This small book used to belong to my late father-in-law Frank Dyer. It was interesting to see how they saw things in Brazil back in the 1940s.

Then I went on to read ‘Digging Ditches’ by Helen Roseveare who was a missionary for many years in the Republic of Congo. The book was recommended to me by Pastor Michael Rollo (Larbert, Scotland). The book tells about the author’s international ministry after she left the Republic of Congo. The book is both challenging and a blessing. I read the book via Kindle.

I also played some chess over the past days. I played 3 matches with my 25-year-old grandson Felipe and am now 12 x 0 up in our series. I also played and won two matches with my grandson John David who is studying to be a medical doctor at university in João Pessoa.

I went for two nice long walks whilst at Green Pastures. I saw/heard and photographed a wide variety of wildlife. I saw Foxes, Iguanas, White Tipped Dove, Picui Ground-Dove, Guira Cuckoo, Greater Ani, Smooth-billed Ani, Dark-billed Cuckoo, Pigmy Nightjar, Tropical Screech Owl, Burrowing Owl, Gray-necked Wood-rail, Common Gallinule, Roadside Hawk, Pigmy Owl, Ringed Kingfisher, Spot-backed Puffbird, Green-barred Woodpecker, Red-legged Seriema, Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee, Southern Wren, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Chopi Blackbird, Blue-black Grassquit, White-throated Seedeater, Red-cowled Cardinal, and a Chalk-browed Mocking Bird.  

I have received a very encouraging email from a 50 year old man I do now know. He tells me that he committed his life to Christ as a result of hearing me speak when he was 7. He is now in the process of changing jobs and will be doing a degree in theology to become a school teacher.

I have had important discussions with pastors Hamilton, Betinho and Davi. Please pray for all our pastors.

QPR go from bad to worse losing all their games! We are now in grave danger of being relegated to division one which is in fact the third division. Oh dear! 😕

I have just read a small book called ‘The Bible in Brazil’ by C. H. Morris. It was published in 1954 by the British and Foreign Bible Society. It cost one shilling and sixpence! The book gives a good resumé of the origins of the Bible in Portuguese and in Brazil. It tells too of the founding of the Brazilian Bible Society in 1948.

The week’s Men’s Fellowship meeting only had 7 present as it rained, which kept a lot away. Nevertheless we reflected on Psalm 137.

Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world and is 65 times the size of England. It has a coastline of 3,700 miles on the southern Atlantic and is nearly 2,500 miles wide at its widest point. It has a land mass of over three million two hundred thousand square miles.

I have received a very encouraging email from a 50 year old man I do now know. He tells me that he committed his life to Christ as a result of hearing me speak when he was 7. He is now in the process of changing jobs and will be doing a degree in theology to become a school teacher.

I have had important discussions with pastors Hamilton, Betinho and Davi. Please pray for all our pastors.

QPR go from bad to worse losing all their games! We are now in grave danger of being relegated to division one which is in fact the third division. Oh dear! 😕

I have just read a small book called ‘The Bible in Brazil’ by C. H. Morris. It was published in 1954 by the British and Foreign Bible Society. It cost one shilling and sixpence! The book gives a good resumé of the origins of the Bible in Portuguese and in Brazil. It tells too of the founding of the Brazilian Bible Society in 1948.

The week’s Men’s Fellowship meeting only had 7 present as it rained, which kept a lot away. Nevertheless we reflected on Psalm 137.

Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world and is 65 times the size of England. It has a coastline of 3,700 miles on the southern Atlantic and is nearly 2,500 miles wide at its widest point. It has a land mass of over three million two hundred thousand square miles.

I both led the service and preached in the main service of Palm Sunday. It was an extremely blessed service.

I have had a blood test to check my sodium and potassium levels (which were very low when I was ill) and praise God they are both perfect.

Please keep praying for rain for us. In March we had 278 mm (eleven and a half inches) which takes us up to a total of 519 mm (twenty one and a half inches) for the year. As our target is 40 inches we still need a lot of rain this month as April is the final main rain month here. Some places have had a lot more rain than us. The Matureia Mayor told me on Saturday that their town doesn’t have a drop of water. They are shipping water into the town from Água Branca by water tanker about an hour away by road.

Our family will have our usual Easter break this week at Green Pastures. We will sleep there from Wednesday night and will come back to Patos on Saturday night. We will have the usual Easter egg hunt on the Saturday. On Sunday we will have the resurrection Sunday church fellowship breakfast at 8 am and the main service will be at night when I will both lead and preach. 

I both led the service and preached in the main service of Palm Sunday. It was an extremely blessed service.

I have had a blood test to check my sodium and potassium levels (which were very low when I was ill) and praise God they are both perfect.

Please keep praying for rain for us. In March we had 278 mm (eleven and a half inches) which takes us up to a total of 519 mm (twenty one and a half inches) for the year. As our target is 40 inches we still need a lot of rain this month as April is the final main rain month here. Some places have had a lot more rain than us. The Matureia Mayor told me on Saturday that their town doesn’t have a drop of water. They are shipping water into the town from Água Branca by water tanker about an hour away by road.

Our family will have our usual Easter break this week at Green Pastures. We will sleep there from Wednesday night and will come back to Patos on Saturday night. We will have the usual Easter egg hunt on the Saturday. On Sunday we will have the resurrection Sunday church fellowship breakfast at 8 am and the main service will be at night when I will both lead and preach. 

Late yesterday afternoon Liz and I drove up the Teixeira mountain to Matureia which takes just over an hour by car. Matureia is the highest town in the State of Paraiba. We had to avoid rocks which had fallen on the road on the way, as well as a broken down lorry.

We went to the EAB/ACEV church there for the 17th anniversary service of the Action Child School which is going superbly well. We arrived 20 minutes early for the 6 pm service and found the church already packed out with crowds ready for the service on the outside as well because there was not enough room inside. We were received by Pastor Renilson and his wife Getiane who are doing a wonderful job in the church and school. Our school there has grown from nothing in 2006 to 270 children now. The Mayor and various town councilors were there for the service. Our school is having a great impact on the town.

The service was electric. The children with their mums sang with great gusto. I spoke to them too. Getiane led the service as she is the school’s head teacher. Everyone was served hot dogs after the service. Thank you for your support for EAB’s Action Child Schools. You have no idea what an impact they have on so many children’s and families’ lives. For just 20 pounds a month you can support our 18 Action Child Schools.

On Friday night Liz and I went to the Married Couples’ Fellowship meeting to which 14 couples gathered. It was very good and dealt with the topic of how to deal with pride in relationships. After the meeting there was a lovely time of fellowship around a table full of food as everyone had taken something.

After the meeting we went to the wake of Mid-wife Neves who died aged 87. She was the midwife for our children Lynn, Sacha and Philip.

Today is Palm Sunday and I will be preaching at tonight’s service in Patos.   

Late yesterday afternoon Liz and I drove up the Teixeira mountain to Matureia which takes just over an hour by car. Matureia is the highest town in the State of Paraiba. We had to avoid rocks which had fallen on the road on the way, as well as a broken down lorry.

We went to the EAB/ACEV church there for the 17th anniversary service of the Action Child School which is going superbly well. We arrived 20 minutes early for the 6 pm service and found the church already packed out with crowds ready for the service on the outside as well because there was not enough room inside. We were received by Pastor Renilson and his wife Getiane who are doing a wonderful job in the church and school. Our school there has grown from nothing in 2006 to 270 children now. The Mayor and various town councilors were there for the service. Our school is having a great impact on the town.

The service was electric. The children with their mums sang with great gusto. I spoke to them too. Getiane led the service as she is the school’s head teacher. Everyone was served hot dogs after the service. Thank you for your support for EAB’s Action Child Schools. You have no idea what an impact they have on so many children’s and families’ lives. For just 20 pounds a month you can support our 18 Action Child Schools.

On Friday night Liz and I went to the Married Couples’ Fellowship meeting to which 14 couples gathered. It was very good and dealt with the topic of how to deal with pride in relationships. After the meeting there was a lovely time of fellowship around a table full of food as everyone had taken something.

After the meeting we went to the wake of Mid-wife Neves who died aged 87. She was the midwife for our children Lynn, Sacha and Philip.

Today is Palm Sunday and I will be preaching at tonight’s service in Patos.   

This week’s Men’s Fellowship meeting saw 13 of us gather for a lovely time of fellowship around the word of God. Teacher Claudivan led the meeting, Tiago and Fábio led the singing and Colonel Esaú brought an excellent well-prepared message on not yielding to temptation.

Our aged sister Maria Prata (in her 80s) has been in hospital to replace her feeding tube which became blocked. She is faithfully looked after at home by her daughter Vasti. Maria is very frail and bedridden.  Please pray for Maria and Vasti. 

I have finished reading another book called ‘Through Brazilian Junglelands with the Book’ by F. C. Glass. This is a very old book. The date it was published is not given but from the book’s content I think it was published at around the time of World War II. It tells the story of work which the author did with the Bible Society. Of special interest to us is the pioneer work between 1929 and 1931 which he did selling Bibles, New Testaments and John’s Gospels in three towns where EAB now has churches: Tavares, Princesa Isabel and Flores. This means that Frederick Glass was about 10 years ahead of EAB founder Albert Mundy. It is quite amazing how God prepares the way with his word. The book was a blessing to me.

Liz and I have been to the village of Campo Comprido which is 8 km outside of Patos on an earth road. We went there to visit a sister from our Patos church called Vanessa. She prepared a cake and Cashew  juice for us as she was so happy we went there. We had a nice chat with her as well as a nice time of prayer. 

This week’s Men’s Fellowship meeting saw 13 of us gather for a lovely time of fellowship around the word of God. Teacher Claudivan led the meeting, Tiago and Fábio led the singing and Colonel Esaú brought an excellent well-prepared message on not yielding to temptation.

Our aged sister Maria Prata (in her 80s) has been in hospital to replace her feeding tube which became blocked. She is faithfully looked after at home by her daughter Vasti. Maria is very frail and bedridden.  Please pray for Maria and Vasti. 

I have finished reading another book called ‘Through Brazilian Junglelands with the Book’ by F. C. Glass. This is a very old book. The date it was published is not given but from the book’s content I think it was published at around the time of World War II. It tells the story of work which the author did with the Bible Society. Of special interest to us is the pioneer work between 1929 and 1931 which he did selling Bibles, New Testaments and John’s Gospels in three towns where EAB now has churches: Tavares, Princesa Isabel and Flores. This means that Frederick Glass was about 10 years ahead of EAB founder Albert Mundy. It is quite amazing how God prepares the way with his word. The book was a blessing to me.

Liz and I have been to the village of Campo Comprido which is 8 km outside of Patos on an earth road. We went there to visit a sister from our Patos church called Vanessa. She prepared a cake and Cashew  juice for us as she was so happy we went there. We had a nice chat with her as well as a nice time of prayer. 

16 people were baptized at the weekend at our second church in Campina Grande in the borough of Presidente Médici. Pastor Hamilton is the leader there and is doing a great job. 4 people who had come to watch the baptism ended up committing their lives to Christ! One person was also received into fellowship in the service.

I have been in contact with all the EAB/ACEV pastors and leaders in preparation for our General Conference in two months’ time at Campina Grande.

I have had good talks with pastors Manoel Oliveira Filho (João Pessoa), Jânio and Araújo (Campina Grande), and Betinho (Ibiara & Conceição) as well as the leader of our Água Grande church, Sandra Nogueira. 

I have played three more games of chess with my grandson Felipe and won all three. This puts me 9 x 0 up in our series.

We have had a meeting with a man called Belsan and his wife Cristina who are about to join our Patos church. They left another church because the pastor was kicking out people who refused to vote for ex-president Bolsonaro in last October’s election! They left before they would have been expelled and because they rightly feel it is wrong for churches to take sides in party politics.

16 people were baptized at the weekend at our second church in Campina Grande in the borough of Presidente Médici. Pastor Hamilton is the leader there and is doing a great job. 4 people who had come to watch the baptism ended up committing their lives to Christ! One person was also received into fellowship in the service.

I have been in contact with all the EAB/ACEV pastors and leaders in preparation for our General Conference in two months’ time at Campina Grande.

I have had good talks with pastors Manoel Oliveira Filho (João Pessoa), Jânio and Araújo (Campina Grande), and Betinho (Ibiara & Conceição) as well as the leader of our Água Grande church, Sandra Nogueira. 

I have played three more games of chess with my grandson Felipe and won all three. This puts me 9 x 0 up in our series.

We have had a meeting with a man called Belsan and his wife Cristina who are about to join our Patos church. They left another church because the pastor was kicking out people who refused to vote for ex-president Bolsonaro in last October’s election! They left before they would have been expelled and because they rightly feel it is wrong for churches to take sides in party politics.

 On Saturday Liz and I drove to Campina Grande for the wedding of Thyago and Letícia from our first church in that city. Letícia is the youngest daughter of Pastor Wostenes and his wife Gleydice. The wedding was to be at 3 pm but in fact started at 3:48 pm. We had an early lunch in Patos and arrived there at 2:10 pm before virtually anybody else! The journey only took 2 and a half hours whereas it can take 3 hours or more when there is traffic.

Our pet turkey at Green Pastures has been killed by a wild animal. This was probably caused by a wild Jaguarundi cat or a fox. Liz and I went for a walk at Green Pastures where we saw a Guira Cuckoo which flew alongside us, a Burrowing Owl and a Rufous-bellied Thrush nesting in the same place it nested last year.

I led the main service of the week last night in the Patos church. The church was again full to capacity. Pastor Rafael preached and Sacha led the praise and worship. At the end a young couple who are to get married in July, called João Paulo and Juliana, expressed their desire to be baptized. It was a lovely service.

 On Saturday Liz and I drove to Campina Grande for the wedding of Thyago and Letícia from our first church in that city. Letícia is the youngest daughter of Pastor Wostenes and his wife Gleydice. The wedding was to be at 3 pm but in fact started at 3:48 pm. We had an early lunch in Patos and arrived there at 2:10 pm before virtually anybody else! The journey only took 2 and a half hours whereas it can take 3 hours or more when there is traffic.

Our pet turkey at Green Pastures has been killed by a wild animal. This was probably caused by a wild Jaguarundi cat or a fox. Liz and I went for a walk at Green Pastures where we saw a Guira Cuckoo which flew alongside us, a Burrowing Owl and a Rufous-bellied Thrush nesting in the same place it nested last year.

I led the main service of the week last night in the Patos church. The church was again full to capacity. Pastor Rafael preached and Sacha led the praise and worship. At the end a young couple who are to get married in July, called João Paulo and Juliana, expressed their desire to be baptized. It was a lovely service.

I continue to do regular physical exercises which do me a lot of good. It develops one’s muscles and balance. We also walk twice a week at Green Pastures. I am much better in my health and thank all who pray for us. It is so good to be back to normal in health and strength.

A serious problem that we have in Patos is that of stray dogs – hundreds of stray dogs! Unfortunately the authorities do nothing about them. Last night a young man from our church was injured on his motorbike when swerving to miss dogs. He broke his wrist and has 2 deep cuts in his arm and foot which were stitched up. Please pray for Jeziel who is a young father of two boys and is married to Novinha.

Another prayer request is for little 7-year-old Anabelly from our Passagem church who has had surgery for an appendicitis in Patos. The operation was left late and the appendix had burst so there is a considerable risk of infection.

I took part in an important meeting yesterday with our projects’ team of pastors Lindon Carlos, Wostenes, Robério and Gersé plus Marah Danielle and Eduardo. It was very good.

I have played more chess with my 25 year old grandson Felipe and I am 6 x 0 up in our series. There’s life in the old dog yet!

We have had another 104 mm (4.3 inches) of rain so that is good. Thank you for praying. We need much more between this month and next. 

Today is our eldest daughter Deborah’s birthday.

For over a week now violence, shootings, murders, bus and car torchings, public building burnings etc. have overshadowed the next State north of us called Rio Grande do Norte. We have one church in that state in the town of Ipueira. The riots and violence are being ordered by organized crime syndicates inside the jails. The prisoners are protesting about their bad prison conditions. Please pray.

I have been to the wake of 92 year old Maria Barbosa who died on Monday. She was our granddaughters’ Alice and Bia’s paternal great grandmother.

I led Sunday’s main service and our third-year Bible College student, Murilo Cézar, preached the Gospel from John 1:1-14. He was excellent.

I have prepared a new sermon on Psalm 84.

Some of you have informed me that a final single party of a bride-to-be is called in English a hen party! Thank you for completing my education. I understand that in the case of the groom-to-be it would be a stag party, but I have never heard of them here.

I enjoyed the Men’s Fellowship meeting last night. There were 14 present including the Chief of Patos Police Esaú who is the leader. We reflected together on Psalm 13.

President Lula is going to Santa Luzia today which is 42 km east of Patos. He is going to inaugurate the electricity generating wind farm which has been constructed in the mountains there.

I have had meetings with Pastor Oseias from Itaporanga.  

For over a week now violence, shootings, murders, bus and car torchings, public building burnings etc. have overshadowed the next State north of us called Rio Grande do Norte. We have one church in that state in the town of Ipueira. The riots and violence are being ordered by organized crime syndicates inside the jails. The prisoners are protesting about their bad prison conditions. Please pray.

I have been to the wake of 92 year old Maria Barbosa who died on Monday. She was our granddaughters’ Alice and Bia’s paternal great grandmother.

I led Sunday’s main service and our third-year Bible College student, Murilo Cézar, preached the Gospel from John 1:1-14. He was excellent.

I have prepared a new sermon on Psalm 84.

Some of you have informed me that a final single party of a bride-to-be is called in English a hen party! Thank you for completing my education. I understand that in the case of the groom-to-be it would be a stag party, but I have never heard of them here.

I enjoyed the Men’s Fellowship meeting last night. There were 14 present including the Chief of Patos Police Esaú who is the leader. We reflected together on Psalm 13.

President Lula is going to Santa Luzia today which is 42 km east of Patos. He is going to inaugurate the electricity generating wind farm which has been constructed in the mountains there.

I have had meetings with Pastor Oseias from Itaporanga.  

We have just selected two further families to take part in EAB’s Market Garden project. This project seeks to help simple poor rural folk with their attempt to make a living from planting and growing lettuce, coriander, tomatoes, beetroot, carrots, fruit trees etc. We seek out families who need technical help to improve their work and who need equipment (wheel barrow, shovel, hoe, watering cans, water tank etc.) to improve their income. The project helps people help themselves and shows the love of God for them in the process. The project is always church based through contacts with our churches and pastors. The following two families have been selected:

1. Rones Lúcio da Silva and his wife Amanda Raiane Barbosa Cordeiro. This young couple are 22 years old. They do not have children yet. They live at Macambira dos Lúcios Community in Tavares County in the State of Paraíba. This is where we dug and equipped a well last year. This couple live off a government benefit of 100 pounds a month.

2. Elder Mariano da Silva (35 years old), his wife Maria Aparecida Ferreira de Lima (28 years old) and their two boys Wendel (aged 6) and Wallace (aged 18 months). They live at Maxixeiro Community in Santana de Mangueira County in the State of Paraíba. This family also lives off a government benefit of 100 pounds a month.

The EAB/ACEV church at Soledade has just celebrated its 30th anniversary and is in a good spiritual state. The new leader there, Matheus, is doing a great job and will be a candidate for probationary ministry status at the ACEV General Conference in May. His wife, Hortência, will be a candidate as a missionária. Both Matheus and Hortência have degrees in theology. Matheus also has a Master’s degree in physics. The church was full to capacity for their anniversary service.

We have just selected two further families to take part in EAB’s Market Garden project. This project seeks to help simple poor rural folk with their attempt to make a living from planting and growing lettuce, coriander, tomatoes, beetroot, carrots, fruit trees etc. We seek out families who need technical help to improve their work and who need equipment (wheel barrow, shovel, hoe, watering cans, water tank etc.) to improve their income. The project helps people help themselves and shows the love of God for them in the process. The project is always church based through contacts with our churches and pastors. The following two families have been selected:

1. Rones Lúcio da Silva and his wife Amanda Raiane Barbosa Cordeiro. This young couple are 22 years old. They do not have children yet. They live at Macambira dos Lúcios Community in Tavares County in the State of Paraíba. This is where we dug and equipped a well last year. This couple live off a government benefit of 100 pounds a month.

2. Elder Mariano da Silva (35 years old), his wife Maria Aparecida Ferreira de Lima (28 years old) and their two boys Wendel (aged 6) and Wallace (aged 18 months). They live at Maxixeiro Community in Santana de Mangueira County in the State of Paraíba. This family also lives off a government benefit of 100 pounds a month.

The EAB/ACEV church at Soledade has just celebrated its 30th anniversary and is in a good spiritual state. The new leader there, Matheus, is doing a great job and will be a candidate for probationary ministry status at the ACEV General Conference in May. His wife, Hortência, will be a candidate as a missionária. Both Matheus and Hortência have degrees in theology. Matheus also has a Master’s degree in physics. The church was full to capacity for their anniversary service.

We have just selected two further families to take part in EAB’s Market Garden project. This project seeks to help simple poor rural folk with their attempt to make a living from planting and growing lettuce, coriander, tomatoes, beetroot, carrots, fruit trees etc. We seek out families who need technical help to improve their work and who need equipment (wheel barrow, shovel, hoe, watering cans, water tank etc.) to improve their income. The project helps people help themselves and shows the love of God for them in the process. The project is always church based through contacts with our churches and pastors. The following two families have been selected:

1. Rones Lúcio da Silva and his wife Amanda Raiane Barbosa Cordeiro. This young couple are 22 years old. They do not have children yet. They live at Macambira dos Lúcios Community in Tavares County in the State of Paraíba. This is where we dug and equipped a well last year. This couple live off a government benefit of 100 pounds a month.

2. Elder Mariano da Silva (35 years old), his wife Maria Aparecida Ferreira de Lima (28 years old) and their two boys Wendel (aged 6) and Wallace (aged 18 months). They live at Maxixeiro Community in Santana de Mangueira County in the State of Paraíba. This family also lives off a government benefit of 100 pounds a month.

The EAB/ACEV church at Soledade has just celebrated its 30th anniversary and is in a good spiritual state. The new leader there, Matheus, is doing a great job and will be a candidate for probationary ministry status at the ACEV General Conference in May. His wife, Hortência, will be a candidate as a missionária. Both Matheus and Hortência have degrees in theology. Matheus also has a Master’s degree in physics. The church was full to capacity for their anniversary service.