We look forward to continued blessings here at Bereiana. But there are many hurdles to jump and challenges to face yet as we continue to help this wounded church to heal and grow again.
At Igreja Batista Bereiana (Berean Baptist Church) on Easter Sunday, March 31, we had a 7 a.m. service and then breakfast together. That evening we had a Culto de Louvor (Praise Service) in which we had our best attendance yet: 60! The blessings were abundant and they continue, for which we are grateful. Then on April 7th we had a business meeting. Most of the faithful core group was there, about 35 people. We invited a lawyer, Madalena, from the Calvary Baptist Church to assist us as documents, minutes, etc were set in legal order and the church was basically restructured. The secretary, Ilanya, concentrated on doing her job right...under Madalena's guidance. All of those present eagerly anticipated (and were happy with!) the outcome of this meeting. Johnny was officially asked if he accepted the invitation to be the pastor. He answered "Eu aceito" (I accept). You could feel the joy and relief in the air and could definitely hear it!
We look forward to continued blessings here at Bereiana. But there are many hurdles to jump and challenges to face yet as we continue to help this wounded church to heal and grow again.
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...To Vitória's pastor, that is! Ed and Jan Alexander returned to Brazil after a 2-month visit to the States. Johnny was interim pastor during that time, an experience that we both enjoyed. This past Saturday saw a large part of the Igreja Batista Vitória helping to do a major cleaning job at church. Here are some scenes from the day...
It began at midnight, right? After a service at church which finished around 10 p.m., Johnny and I went to a high spot nearby to see the fireworks "down below". Photos do not do justice to such a scene of having fireworks going off in front of, behind and beside us. I was a tad worried about the latter one... Back home for a good 6 hours of sleep and then we joined some others at the house of one of our church families, Jacir and Lia, who invited several people to their home for almoço (noon meal). We were invited to go there at 11:00 but we didn't sit down to eat until about 2. However, while we waited we enjoyed the fellowship and conversation. Johnny was challenged to a game of xadréz (Chess) by Lucas, the hosts' son. Can you guess who won? :) Okay, now we're pretty hungry after waiting around for 3 hours. Let's eat! After almoço the young people played Monopoly or, in Portuguese, translated as "millionaire bank". Here are the 6 ladies that were there, most of whom have been my friends for several years...Evelyn, Patrícia, Ana, Lica, Lia and Lucimara with yours truly. This photo and the next are from Patrícia's camera. Around 4:00 Max & Patrícia and their 3 children went with us to hold a short service in the nursing home. Lucas & Evelyn accompanied with their flute and clarinet. The residents always appreciate the people we bring to sing, play instruments or give testimonies. Ten-yr-old Ana cheered the residents with her smile. Not as many attended this service since we went at a different hour of the day than usual but we trust that His Word will not return void. But our day isn't done yet! When we returned home we continued working on making some Bible reading schedules which we're making to give to the church folk. On Sunday (today) 40 of these were given. We do pray that they will be used to encourage an increased reading of the Bible this year.
It's not what you may think...On December 4, Johnny invited the men of the church to our house for breakfast. It may have been a bit early for some but it seems that they warmed up to the idea, no complaining heard! After breakfast, they had a time of prayer and planning as the next two months were considered. Pastor Ed and Jan Alexander are on a short furlough during this time so Johnny is interim pastor. Then in the afternoon there was a bridal shower for Jéssica, one of our young ladies at church. There were about 45 ladies and children that attended-a wonderful opportunity for me as I gave the devotional about "the give and take of marriage" and stuck in a salvation message at the end for the benefit of the several unsaved there from Jéssica's family. Here are several pics to show the fun that was had with the bride. Let's start with the hair and nails... Of course, she was interrupted by needing to answer her cellphone. Did you know that Brazil has more cellphones than it does people?! Then they dressed her with, um, a certain type of paper... ...considering which, I thought the end result was pretty good, don't you? Time to open the many useful gifts... ...and there's always a time to eat! Lots of salgados and doces for everyone. I made the punch but we had lots left since we had prepared for 70 people! It was taken advantage of by the young people at their meeting which took place after the shower. No food goes to waste! At the end, Jéssica handed out the little lembrancinhas to all who were there. We have been giving assitance once a month to a sister church in Osternack (a community in Curitiba) for several months now. Last night was our last visit there, at least for the next 3 or 4 months as Johnny will be interim pastor at Vitória during that time while the Alexanders go on a short visit to the States. Here are a few photos taken last night. (click on them to enlarge) About 4 months ago they sold their church building and relocated to a nearby house which also has a lot (behind the wall on the right) where they plan to build the new church in the very near future. It's common for this process to take several months so pray that all the necessary documentation will go through quickly. The church is currently holding their services in the garage of the house located in the back of this long driveway. Here's a closer look as we walk towards the house/church. Looking from the doorway... ...and towards the doorway. At least 30 were in attendance at this service. The pastor's future son-in-law leading the singing. The pastor's daughter & son playing the instruments. "Sweet flute" (flauta doce) music special. Johnny preached a powerful message about Christ's death on the cross. If I was an unbeliever I think I would've gotten saved last night! Speaking of saved...These 3 children made professions of faith in Christ last night during their children's church. But their lesson was not about Christ's death but His resurrection! The after-service lanche. Looks like my experimental carrot/ricotta/rice dessert turned out OK. I know you want to see more of her...So here she is with her mother. Johnny talking with the pastor's son and another boy after the service. On Sunday, October 3rd, "Missions Month" ended at Victory Baptist Church. But it got off to a start on September 5th when a recent Bible College graduate, Rober Guerreiro, preached in the evening service. He and his wife, Jandira (also a graduate), and daughter, Mowatcha, are raising support to return to his Tikuna Indian tribe in the Amazon as missionaries. He was the first native Indian to graduate from our College. On one Sunday morning I (Rena) spoke to this class of children about what a missionary is and does. They were very attentive, especially the little girl that is 2nd from the left in this picture. Perhaps there is a future missionary in this group! Each Sunday School class decorated their rooms with a mission theme from different countries. Alot of work was put into these! The missionary conference at the seminary was mentioned in a previous post in which David Taylor and Luiz Miguel were the speakers. This enhanced our missions month at church because several were able to attend some of that. The final event of these weeks of the mission theme was the "international dinner" we had after the evening service last Sunday. The emphasis was on Italian and African food. The menu was spaghetti, chili beans, pizza, rice, and polenta... ...and then cakes with peanuts in them for dessert. Four or five ladies each made a different recipe so we had fun trying them all out! THE DESIRE TO SHARE THE GOSPEL IS NOW STRONGER IN THE HEARTS OF MANY. WE WOULD LIKE FOR THOSE AROUND US TO "TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD"! That's OK, Louro, I'll do the telling... Travel with us to the northwest part of our state of Paraná! It was a 1100 km trip but we were delighted to see the rolling hills with huge fields of grain...wheat, soy, corn and other grains which we weren't able to identify. We were often reminded along the way about the fields that are "white unto harvest" and for the tremendous need for more workers in this harvest. We passed a small town called California where there was a huge statue of St. Francis of Assis and a Catholic church of Ukranian architecture. In that same town was a sign saying that Brazil's largest factory of religious articles was there. Obviously a very idolatrous little town and obviously in need of some missionaries. We finally, after 10 hours of traveling, reached our destination in the small farming town of Japurá. We stayed at the home of a couple who has a granja (poultry farm). That was a very interesting place! They have 4 buildings like the one seen here with 110,000 chicks. Every 2 months or so they receive a new batch to care for. This is the couple we stayed with, Paulo and Angelita, with a son and his wife. We were at this little church on Sunday, "Good News Baptist Church". It was begun a few years ago by our colleagues, Ray and Annette Ronk, who are currently on furlough. Reubens is an amazing blind man in their church who plays several instruments. Here he is reading his Braile Bible. "The entrance of Thy Words giveth light." We took Marcelo and Viviane, a couple from the Bible College, with us. Viviane played her violin... ...and Marcelo taught the adult Sunday School class. They also both gave their testimonies regarding salvation and the Lord's call to ministry. You must be tired by now but I can't end this account of our trip without showing the largest bread I have ever seen! I was in bread heaven...Too bad I couldn't eat as much as I wanted! "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." It was cold and rainy last Saturday but that did not stop 130 women from coming to attend the ladies' meeting of the Curitiba churches (SOPASBRE). It was held at Igreja Batista Vitória, where we attend. Look at all the cars in the church parking lot! It's a beautiful sight. There were ladies from almost all of our sister churches. In spite of the cold weather, a special warmth was there as we sang and fellowshipped together. Look at how everyone is bundled up! Of course, the time of greeting each other helped to warm us, too! The special speaker was our missionary colleague, Ellen Farlow. She gave a wonderful devotional about having our lives strong on the Rock, Jesus Christ. We completed the time together by having some canjica, which is made from corn. In this case it also had sweetened condensed milk and peanuts. Here Marilsa and Lia help to stir the big pots of canjica. Vanessa dips some out for me to taste-test. Oh yes, I'll gladly do that for you...! It was the perfect food to help warm everyone up. Little lembrancinhas which the Vitória ladies made were given to each woman who attended, beautiful little bookmarkers to remember this special event. At each of these meetings (about 3 times per year) a special project is done. This time it was to bring gifts to give to Laura and Giovanna, the young daughters of a pastor in São Paulo, who lost their mother to the swine flu last year. It was so touching to see the table filled to overflowing with gifts from all of these women who have a tender and loving mother's heart. |
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