Bits November

We have been so grateful the last couple of days. Hopefully, we always are, but with Thanksgiving, we have a great moment to reflect on the many blessings in our lives. You all are a huge blessing to us. 

We have had ups and downs in ministry this month. It is not always peaches and cream (I hope that is the right phrase; my English is getting worse). But there are lots of ups! This month, we had an ice cream night in Tupanatinga. It was a normal service with ice cream afterwards, but the church was packed, especially the kids’ room, as over 20 kids came. That is not too many more than the average this month. 

A missions team from a church in Recife came for a one-day event in Batalha. There were doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and others who held consultations for the community. I was in charge of the demolition of the house where we will be building. At night, we held a service and several made decisions for Christ. We continue to have interest there in the community and continue to serve. Pray for funds as we start to build! We have some already to get started, as well as some of you have asked to let you know. 

We also hope to build an apartment for the church in Tupanatinga. Life is usually more complex when we are building something, but it is also a sign of progress. We hope to one day have a Pastor in Tupanatinga, and an apartment there would help a lot with that. For now, it would allow us to go more often and stay at the church. 

This last Sunday, we held our baptismal service and grill out for the Arcoverde church. We had 11 people get baptized. Jeison is a friend of someone who attends. Fabinho’s wife has been a member for several years, and we thought he would take a bit to get saved. Italo and Thalita, David and Ana are couples who were invited by people from our church. Several college and career-age youth made the decision to be baptized as well. After the baptism, it was fun sitting around talking and eating. 

The holidays are upon us! I hope that you have time to spend with family and friends. The end of the year is always a great time to reflect on the goodness of God. I also like to think about Jesus coming to earth, but also coming into my life and the difference it has made.

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and my reader Evelyn (she is taking on the challenge of reading War and Peace), and Anna Claire, the crochet master; she is really taking it on.