During the last six months of 2018, our church raised some money to put a new but simple roof on Maria’s home, because when it rained, the house would flood. She, along with her four grandchildren, has been with us since our first service. Praise the Lord that Toni, one of our faithful men, was willing to be responsible to see the job through from start to finish! What a blessing it was to be able to serve and sweat together with him and three other men of the church while helping this family. Please PRAY for Maria and her four grandchildren—Lanay, Lauany, Eduardo, and Lohanny—to continue being faithful to God and church.
At the funeral of Luciane’s father in May 2017, we met several family members, including her Uncle Jorge. Through the providence of God, her uncle works security at the bank where I exchange money, so once or twice a month, we talk for up to an hour while he is on the clock. Some time later, the Holy Spirit orchestrated a divine appointment by having him stop at the church on a Saturday afternoon at a time when we are normally not there. Though he had heard how to be saved when Ed Johnson preached at his brother’s funeral, he still had several questions. That afternoon at the church, Jorge prayed to put his trust in Jesus as his only hope for Heaven. He is reading the BEAMS Bible (see last paragraph), which we gave him, through for the second time. In a letter dated August 7, 2017, he thanked me for the Bible, and in the last part of the letter, he wrote out a sinner’s prayer, confirming that he had truly accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour. Jorge’s wife Nicelma has not yet understood her need of a Saviour, so we only communicate at his work, and he only gets to come to church when she is out of town. Please PRAY for Jorge to continue to grow as a Christian, and PRAY for his wife and their two teenage children, Jeander and Jolieny, to be saved!
Friday, February 1, the Holy Spirit allowed my path to cross with Regina at the Somar Grocery Store at the corner of our street. She called me by name and said she had visited the church, but I did not remember meeting her. The next afternoon as I was looking for her home, a neighbor mentioned she was mostly deaf, and after finding her home, she explained that she had lost most of her hearing due to several accidents. Her sons, Rafael (25) and Julio (29), were visibly nervous that I was there and took turns sitting in the living room while she and I talked. After a good while of listening, I began sharing the Gospel with her by having her read the plan of salvation printed on the back of one of the 75,000 John/Romans that we received from Allen Johnson and the Wings Bearing Precious Seed Ministry. As Regina started reading the sinner’s prayer, she began to cry. Please PRAY that we will be able to help Regina grow as a new Christian. Also, please PRAY for her sons to understand their need of Christ!
Before our church started, I met Andre while he was working at the Alcinda Grocery Store about a 10- to 12-minute walk from our house. He and his wife Bruna came for about the first two months of the church and then stopped. We continued to befriend them by talking to them whenever we saw them, visiting them in their home once, and making two visits with them. To the glory of God, last week while buying a few groceries where he works, Andre said that they needed to come back to church. On Sunday night, even though it was raining slightly, they refused a ride and came by moped. The best part is that during a follow-up visit with them, with my friend Alex, another of our faithful men, both clearly understood their need of a Saviour and prayed to ask Jesus to forgive them of all their sins! Please PRAY for this couple to grow in their Christian faith and to be obedient in believer’s baptism.
Praise the LORD for the BEAMS Ministry! While on deputation, the Holy Spirit directed us to a church where we were able to meet and hear Dr. Rene Freret preach and share his passion of getting hardback Bibles to the independent Baptist pastors and missionaries outside of the U.S. We were also encouraged by his obedience to the Great Commission while going soul winning together. Before coming to Brazil in 2004, we were given a list of 16 men who were receiving the BEAMS Bibles. Now we have the honor of working with my dear friend, Harold Gilmer, and the staff at the Trinitarian Bible Society of Brazil in serving about 100 with BEAMS Bibles. If you have had a part in this ministry, please know that the Bibles continue to be a blessing! Please PRAY for God to continue using Dr. Freret and this unique ministry for His glory and honor!
We would love to have you come and meet some of the most grateful people in all the world! To see pictures of the ministries of our church, click on https://m.facebook.com/david.whitmore.31, or copy and click @IBNVTaubate. THANK YOU for praying and giving so we can continue reaching souls for our Saviour!
Dave + Dawn, Karlene and Zachary