We want to thank you once again for your part in the ministries here in Sao Paulo and Cotia, Brazil. We covet your prayers for our family’s strength and health. We praise the Lord for a newly added service in our Sao Paulo church. We now are running six services per week; and, yes, we need your prayers! We have experienced the fragility of our own strength and complete dependence on God to run the two churches. There is a bit of a distance between the two, and we thank the Lord for His protection as we travel on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and Friday. I have been dealing with a severe bout of sciatic pain that has intensified this past month, with little help from the ER, chiropractor, or medications. Thank you for praying!
The new church plant in Cotia is still in urgent need of completing the bathrooms and cement floor! Your help makes such a difference. We truly depend on your prayers and financial help. There is much more work to be done! In Sao Paulo, we are awaiting the tile floor, plastering, and painting. Each day we have so many projects going on between the two churches and many overwhelming expenses with all of the purchases for supplies and paying workers.
Alan is an alcoholic husband and father who has been reluctant to commit to church, yet his wife and children haven’t missed a service! He recently told me he sits outside during services and keeps an eye out for teens who throw rocks at our building. He was one of 29 who participated in our Family Camp, and we have never seen him smile so much! Angelica moved and now comes quite a distance by bus just to attend services. She has requested counsel from my wife and me, and although her trial is great, she is very receptive to the Bible teaching. Odette asked us to give her Bible study in her home. She says she is learning so much from the preaching, and she wants to learn more. She is dedicated to her discipleship lessons, invites her grown children to listen, and is very faithful to services. Regina was in the hospital, heavily medicated, and without much hope for her emotional status. After much prayer, she is coming to church and hearing God’s Word preached. She volunteers to help sweep the dusty cement floor before church services and is ready with a song to sing to her Saviour every week. In our Sao Paulo church, more members are participating in our church-wide soul-winning times, and I was rejoicing for the many who received God’s gift of salvation after sharing the Gospel with them on a hot Sunday afternoon!
We thank the Lord for His protection for our family and for our children and their dedication, sacrifice, and servant’s hearts. They work hard and long hours and seldom complain. They also love the church people; this was evident when Ronaldo told us that our five-year-old asked him where his son was one Sunday morning. When he replied that Israel was sleeping, Caleb very positively suggested he use a thing that you set by the bed (alarm clock 😊) because it really helps to wake you up! The following Sunday, Ronaldo came in excitedly with his son and commented that Caleb’s insistence wouldn’t give him peace. Israel decided to attend Family Camp that Sunday, and he also listened intently to the Gospel and accepted Jesus Christ as His Saviour. We are thankful that even our younger ones love and care for those who miss Sunday school!
May the Lord bless you and your church.
In His service,
The Vallejo Family