Bits March

This month has been our main travel month. On March 4 we went to North Carolina to be with Calvary Baptist in Raleigh and First Christian of Ramseur. We enjoyed catching up with each of these churches who have supported us since our pre-field ministry. I was able to preach Calvary’s two morning services and then spend time in a home group at night. On Wednesday night we talked about our ministry and answered questions about what is happening in Brazil. We also had our friend Alison from Brazil down here as well and he got a glimpse of what we do while we are in the states. 

The following Monday we headed north to Michigan. We usually split up our trip as we can spend the night with another Brazilian Alisson who lives in Louisville. We studied at college with he and his wife Christina and were able to see their small group the night we stayed with them. A couple days later I was able to meet up with my friend Jeff who I grew up with and is a youth pastor. It has been a blessing seeing many friends involved in ministry whether it be as full time ministry workers or church leaders. Speaking at our sending church, Heritage Baptist, was a big blessing. There were so many people there who have invested heavily in my life. While there we had a great time with our family and friends. 

We have been blessed with our sending church ever since we have gone to the field as they have supported us for a good percentage. They raised their support to match that percentage and so we are technically only 15 dollars short on our support to get back to the field. I was also able to meet with the missions Pastor and senior Pastor and deepen our relationship, especially in regards to accountability and involvement. Dave Graef, our lead Pastor spent years as a missionary with ABWE and is one of the main developers of the Servant Leaders ministry. It is great to have someone that understands where we are in ministry. It is also important to have sending church accountability. 

On our way back from Michigan we swung over to Virginia where we visited more college friends, Jonathan and Michelle Watson who we went to college with. They had visited us last year in Brazil and it was neat to see their growing church! 

This month we leave for Brazil on the 20th. We speak at our church in the Chattanooga area Sunday morning the 9th, but for the most part we will just be wrapping everything up. In fact, as I write this, Sarah is at Home Depot grabbing our favorite black and yellow tubs to take back to Brazil and we are going to do some packing tonight. 

Thank you all so much for your prayers and your support of the ministry to the Sertão! We are looking forward to our next email we will send, probably asking for prayer the day we are flying out!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, our second grader (Evie finished first grade a few days ago), and our big four year old (Anna Claire turns four on the sixth)