While we were away.

I've mentioned in previous blogs how blessed we are to have Josias and his family to work with. But after being gone for a month and now seeing what took place without us hear, its even clearer. We have heard many stories of missionaries going to countries and working hard to start a bible study, church, or in our case a simple Sunday School class for children, and it fall apart when they leave. Praise the Lord, it didn't happen to us and we are so thankful. As a matter of fact, things went very well. Four adults made professions of faith and are now attending Sunday School at Diamantino. Getting that news as a Christmas gift would have been enough for me.

We are truly blessed to be here and we are looking forward to all of what 2010 has in store for us here in Brazil. It was so good to see friends and family back home but for now its back to work and making the most of the limited time we have left here. Here are some pictures of what was happening here in Brazil while we were gone.

The children receiving Christmas gifts.

From left to right; João, Josias,Paulo, Solandia and Edwardo. Paulo and Solandia were one of the couples that accepted Christ while we were in the States. They were baptized on Christmas Day.

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Go! Tell someone about Salvation; the forgiveness of sin and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while there is still time.

Coming Home for Christmas

Well, the day is almost here. The day we have anxiously awaited for a while now. We have enjoyed our time here in Santarém, Brazil, but being away from our friends and family has been kinda tuff. Its been one year and eight months since we have seen our family and friends in Virginia. We arrive in Virginia on Dec. 4 at 11:30 at the Richmond airport. We will be speaking at Carrollton Baptist Church on Dec. 13 (evening service), Nansemond River Baptist Church on Dec. 16 (evening service), Emmanuel Baptist Church on Dec. 20 (evening service) and at Alexander Baptist Church on Dec. 21 (evening service). We will return to Brazil on Jan. 3 and remain here until the end of Oct. We are looking forward to what God is going to do next year here in Santarém. Please don't hesitate to leave a message on this blog if you have questions about these speaking engagements.

Last night we presented a slide show at Nova Jerusalem Baptist Church with pictures of what God has done through us here. When I say us, that includes all the Brazilian nationals that we have had the privilege of working with. Hopefully we have encouraged them to keep striving to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The descriptions are in Portuguese and the music is too, but you may find the music to be familiar. Check out the slide show in the Youtube box near the bottom of the page.