“. . . rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (I Peter 1:8) Over and over again in the almost six months that we have been back in Brazil, we have been humbled to see our Saviour Jesus Christ, the King of kings and LORD of lords, use us to make an eternal difference among the PEOPLE of Brazil!
In June our family served with Missionary Ed Johnson and the group that came from First Baptist Church, our home church, and Hyles-Anderson College. We helped in giving out thousands of booklets of Romans in Portuguese with the Gospel in 12 other languages. While the group was helping fellow FBMI missionary Juan Vallejo, we were able to see 5 young people trust Jesus. One of the young ladies came to the special harvest service the next evening and brought another friend. Carlos and his rented bus spent several days taking the group to several different locations. Bro. Ed Johnson and I had the opportunity to witness to Carlos at different times. While at one of the stops, he prayed to ask Jesus to forgive him of all his sins.
July 1-13, Bro. Stephen Elliott, with Fishers of Men International, and I traveled to six different cities to preach and share the Gospel. In three of the cities, we had the time of our lives investing in other Christian young people and seeing them being used to lead others to Jesus. Almost 60 people took the time to listen to the Gospel message! Praise the LORD!
The church here in Cajuru got a new sign just before celebrating their 30th anniversary August 1–3 with a three-day evangelistic conference. The guest speaker was Dr. Thomas Gilmer, along with his lovely wife Linda. This couple helped in the founding of the church. There were 24 visitors, and about 10 received Jesus during these special days.
Saturday afternoon, July 26, Jonathan, Nathan, Timothy, and I, along with four other young men from our church, drove 45 minutes to go soul winning with another Baptist church in Ribeirão Preto. Our family returned the next morning to help the church prepare for the Friend Day service later that day. There were at least 30 visitors invited by the people for the evening service, and nearly all of them trusted Christ during the invitation! Since then I have been driving there once a week to help the men of the church learn to be better soul winners. Thus far, 12 people, after understanding their need of forgiveness, have called on Jesus to be their One and ONLY Saviour! THANK YOU for remembering to PRAY!
On Thursday evening, August 14, one of the men of the church named Joel and I made a pre-planned visit with a mother and her three daughters. Midway through the conversation, the mother’s sister and her son also joined the conversation. The two older sisters and the twins, age 14, prayed to receive Jesus. The following Sunday afternoon we returned to meet the husband who, because of work, is only home for about 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday. That day did not work to witness to him, so we scheduled a visit for the following Saturday evening; however, the parents were not home. On Saturday evening, September 5, Joel and I returned. Just as we were about ready to pray, the husband fainted due to a freak health issue (that had never happened before) and had to have medical attention. The next day Zachary (age 3½) and I returned to the home, and Emerson readily received Jesus as personal Saviour. Last night Emerson visited with his wife.
A couple weeks ago, a young man named Adilson and I visited his parents, his brother, and his brother’s wife. After a good time of getting to know his family, they listened intently as I presented the Gospel, and each of them chose to trust Jesus.
On Father’s Day (August 10 in Brazil), a young man, whose family have been long-time members at Templo Batista de Cajuru, was killed in a car accident, along with two young ladies. For the viewing held at the church on Monday, about 1,000 people came by to grieve with family and friends. Over and over again, I thought of the influence of one person on the lives of others. This past Saturday evening, September 13, there was a special memorial service, again at the church, to present the Gospel to his many unsaved friends. Many of the young man’s friends came, and 10 prayed to receive Jesus!
On Friday, August 29, there was another fatal accident of another new friend, age 28, here in our town. Though he was saved, he had not been in church in a very long time. The oldest brother (of 10) requested a visit. PRAY for him to be saved!
Sunday, September 7, Independence Day in Brazil, was the date our church chose to restart Sunday school. The day included a picnic and an early afternoon service. God’s people had fun talking and joking together!
Update on Kelley and David: Kelley started her third year at Hyles-Anderson College. The first two years, she was under the Jericho Program. The last two years, she is paying over $1,200.00 a month. David, after completing two years at Hyles-Anderson College, has enlisted in the military. Please contact us if you would like to send him a card.
THANK YOU for praying that our God would lead us to the right car for our family. With the insurance settlement, the gracious help of family, and an unexpected gift from a friend, we made the last payment this month! Praise the LORD!
November 13-18 I will be traveling with Hélio, a member of our church, to his hometown area (João Pessoa, Paraiba– 36 hours by car) to spend four days sharing JESUS with his family and friends! The expense of the trip will be $400.00 (flying, mailing soul-winning materials, and food). Would you prayerfully consider being one of 10 to give an extra $40.00 so that we can share the Gospel with those who have never heard?
Dawn and I, along with our children, are grateful to each and every one of your for praying and giving so that we can continue serving our Saviour among the PEOPLE of Brazil!
Bro. Dave Whitmore