Tea time. Each December the church in Tupanatinga does a women’s Christmas tea. This year, (the 4th annual tea), the women of the church were more involved in the planning and setup which really excited Sarah. Forty-five women, most of whom were family and friends of women in our church, heard a clear presentation of the gospel.
Six days later two of the Tupanatinga women drove to Arcoverde to participate in the first women’s Christmas tea in Batalha, a community our church is heavily involved with located close to our church. We have helped the community more and more through our social ministry and they have asked for more and more spiritual help. While we haven’t had the human resources to have a weekly gathering, some ladies in our church have started a bi-weekly Bible study. Soon, with the arrival of Stefan and Julia, we hope to have a weekly presence there. On this cool Friday night, the women of Batalha heard the theme of listening to God.
Cindy Cook and Ashley Salyers were present from Chattanooga. Cindy brought the tea idea four years ago and was happy to see it continued here. Sarah and the girls had a fun time with them preparing cookies and wrapping presents. Due to some friends' generosity, we distributed lots of presents to kids this year. Our partnership with non-profit ministries has grown some this year. Thankfully our church social ministry has done a great job of being creative with fundraising and been able to help out as well.
A couple started back attending our church and asked for a visit. She said that she feels there is a hole in her life that needs to be filled; she feels directionless. She sought that direction in church. After hearing both of their life stories I shared the gospel. They said that is what they want. Pray for Bruno and Maiara that they will be firm in their decision to follow Christ. We don't always share these stories, sometimes because this update goes online and we are not sure about who will read them. But there have been some neat stories happening.
We had a great fellowship at our Christmas meal this year in both churches. The end of the year is always festive in Brazil. We also had a couple days of rest in our home with just the four of us. We had been looking forward to that and a little bit lighter week.
We pray that you have had a Merry Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year!
God bless!
All for HIS glory,
David, Sarah and Santa’s little helpers Evie and Anna Claire
