Bits August

It's party time woody. We like to use that phrase from Toy Story around the house. As I looked at pictures on my phone of the last month to think about what to write on it popped in my mind! I like to tell people that the name of our church (Koinonia) is greek for fellowship, which basically means we like to party. This month we went to birthday parties, dinner parties, grill out parties, a family party (referring to another family’s party that I crashed, although at the beginning of this month we were actually just leaving my family’s week long get together in Florida), neighborhood party (we invited the neighborhood to the church to snack at our kitchen with good food at low prices), and then Sarah had a beach party with one of her discipleship groups. 

Although we do organize lots of church events and strive for structure in ministry, some of our best ministry opportunities come in informal moments around a table or sitting in a yard. This last weekend Sarah took one of her small groups to the beach and they just had fun together for a couple days. They had a good group Bible study time one night but most was informal and they came back refreshed and encouraged. Most are moms with jobs that rarely ever get away from the rat races they are in. 

While Sarah was gone people usually feel pity and invite me over so the girls and I do not starve to death. Both Saturday and Sunday I went to grill outs with unchurched people. On Sunday I had an especially good conversation about heaven and hell and how to get to each place. Personal evangelism is important and can come in unexpected moments. Missionaries have a good advantage because one of the main questions we are asked is why we are here in Brazil and the answer usually sprouts out more questions. While it is common to want to impose beliefs I think the gospel is better received when we first ask questions to hear what others believe. 

We are starting to see a decent comeback from the pandemic. One person we are very glad to have is Roger Smith who is our senior pastor in Arcoverde. He was gone for nine months and so it will be great to divide tasks with him again. His wife had to stay behind for a few weeks because of a family situation but has now arrived and so it will be good to have Marcy back as well. We sat down earlier this month to talk about goals as they will be retiring in a couple years and so we want to be on the same page. We are both excited about the leadership that is being raised and hope to even raise a sanctuary beside our current building that will hold more people. We had seen the need pre-covid and hadn’t seen that need again until this month. Pray for wisdom as we look at our options in that regard.

Speaking of construction; the construction began this week on the church in Tupanatinga! We have a pretty simple building and so hopefully it will not take that long. There is also a decent chance that we already have the funds for this first phase, although I don’t know for sure cause of rising prices and because they are just estimates! Construction usually costs more than what you think! I had mentioned the beginning of the year that we were starting, but the workers have not been available! As we held out for reliable workers our ministry funds have built up, which we have been trying to save for the construction project. 

Pray this month for the women’s meetings each week, new discipleship groups to pop up, two separate groups studying systematic theology, a new contact in Pesqueira, our New Testament module Saturday and Sunday, and new opportunities for outsiders to come to the church! 

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! God bless!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and my two little missionaries Evelyn who takes care of little ones while their mothers serve and Anna Claire that gets along with all these little girls and includes them in the church activities.   

Bits July

We are on our last day of vacation in Florida with my family which has been a blessing. It had been 2.5 years since we were in the states and even longer since most of my family was together; so it has been great being with them. Tomorrow we go back to Chattanooga to organize with covid tests and packing to fly back to Brasil on Wednesday. 

Our first few weeks were spent on the farm in the Chattanooga area with Sarah’s family. We have tried to treat this time like a sabattical where we can get some mental rest. I feel like we have been pretty successful with that and will hopefully bring that mentality back to Brasil. The sabbath is an important principle that I am not sure we have fully learned or understand yet. Resting in God and understanding that our rest comes from Him, that we are dependent on Him, means that we can live in peace in this chaotic world. 

Another reason for our trip has been scouting out the US for next year when we are on our furlough. One of the main reasons we have had a longer term besides our normal less than two year terms is so that we can put the girls in a US school for a year. So our plan will be to have them in school for the 2022-2023 school year. We will also travel to some churches and have thought about what else to do to occupy our time. Sarah will be working on her dissertation for her master’s degree and probably counseling some. Pray for wisdom in that regards that we would know how to best use our time. 

During this month the services continued in both church plants with sermons from four different members. It is neat to see their growth. We also learned that one of them who probably preaches the most out of all of them, will be moving to south Brasil (where her family is from). This is tough for us cause of their proximity to us and the growth we have seen in their lives. However, we look at it as training Brazilians to go out and reach Brasil. They are moving to an area where a friend of mine is trying to reach because there are not a lot of solid churches. I am not sure where they will attend, but I know that they will be great members/servants in whatever church they are in. Pray for Raphael and Viviane as we send them out! 

Thank you all so much for your love, prayers and support. We truly live a blessed life. 

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and my two fish who have been in pools for this month. 

Bits June

My favorite ministry time this month was when we brought the newly formed music group from Tupanatinga to spend a few hours with our group in Arcoverde. They arrived around ten in the morning, had a snack and then listened to one of our music leaders about the difference between secular and Christian music. It was very informative and interactive. Then most of our group arrived for lunch. After lunch we had a small meeting sharing some of how praise groups work as well as working through some of the issues that are faced. Then they just started playing a few songs together. Both groups enjoyed the experience and it gave me a good idea of how we can function more as a training center in the future.

We saw our friend and new attender at a
restaurant on the way to the airport

The church in Tupanatinga has really turned a corner. We have had consistent services with several new faithful families. Then having visitors is common. On Friday we used every last chair we have in our small room we rent. We are hoping to start construction soon as we have a good bit of funds, but we are waiting on the trustworthy workers  that our people know to be done with another project before we start. 

After a month without in person church services in Arcoverde we were able to meet Sunday morning. We had a good group there but still a good bit of people are waiting for it to be safer. Small groups have been able to continue though. This month we had some of the men together to study the qualifications of deacons and elders. While we haven’t placed any in positions yet, it was good to challenge them in these areas. Some of them already functionally act as deacons or elders as they preach, lead music or take care of the finances. 

Sarah continues to stay busy with her master’s classes. She only has a couple left and will be done with the classes before the end of the year and then next year will be spent writing her dissertation. She has stayed very busy with all of her commitments. 

Vinicius was a flight attendant on our first flight to
Brazil in 2008. On that flight he read Joshua 1
to encourage us. We ran into him at the airport!

Tuesday afternoon we arrived in Chattanooga to spend around a month here on vacation. It has been almost two and a half years since we have been to the farm (where Sarah’s parents live). We are planning on spending a lot of time with her family and see some of my family as well at the end of this month. This trip will give several people in the church the chance to stand up and lead, preach or just function without us! 

Thanks for all you do for the kingdom! May God bless you. 

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, our little reader and our little imaginitive girl who loves to play! 

The girls looking over the city

Bits May

Mother's Day breakfast

This Sunday Raphael preached a great message on being salt and light in the world. We started a sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount and it has already taught me so much. It is neat to see someone from our church preaching so well. He has probably preached 10-12 times since last year and he does an excellent job of preparing and delivering. This month William also preached and did a great job. A good group of preachers is a blessing and it will be good to have our coworkers Roger and Marcy Smith back with us in August. At the beginning of our services we also have a little word and prayer and we have had some excellent thoughts come out of that time where we hear from different members of the congregation. 

Raising up leadership is important to us and we thought the pandemic would help fast track that last year when we decided to divvy up a bunch of tasks. Unfortunately a lot of ministries have been stalled. We hope to have a module this month, but the uprise in cases in town has left a good bit of people hesitant about coming to church, much less eight hours of class on a weekend. Lord willing we will get the module done by the end of the month. 

Mother's Day breakfast families

Local Pastor's prayer breakfast

Our mission board ABWE likes to emphasize teamwork and having support around you. We are grateful for those who help us. We have a regional administrator, Cal Clark, who is currently in a rough spot with pancreatic cancer; please pray for him! In Brazil we have our colleagues that are an encouragement. We also have a local Pastor’s group that meets for breakfast on Tuesdays. They have helped especially during this time of navigating Covid laws. Sarah has her counseling classes that have brought friendships that help her with a good sense of community. On Mondays I meet and pray with a group of missionaries with Servant Leaders and they have been important in regards to productivity accountability. I hope that you all reading this have a group in which you can be accountable and that helps encourage your spiritual growth! 

Tupanatinga has a preais

Sarah’s small groups have been doing pretty well. The Sunday morning group had great attendance the last couple of weeks. This month it seems like we have gained an extra assistant. Evelyn has been super helpful in setting up for church. She also helps with the slides during the service. The girls just finished their school year last week and so are planning their summer routine which will include some responsibilities. Today I was able to teach the kids upstairs at church and it was neat seeing how sweet and participative my own daughters are. 

Thanks for your prayers! The gospel is spreading here. Tupanatinga had record attendances this month thanks to a couple more faithful families! We had a Mother's Day breakfast in Arcoverde that had a bunch of people here. 

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah and our now sixth grader Evelyn and third grader Anna Claire! 

Bits April

Teaching a module at another church

Vidão. That is the Portuguese word for Big life, or good life. When things are going well. It is the expression I like to use when people ask how life is going. This month we finished the Story of Hope Bible study in Pesqueira. They decided to start a new one and study the book of James. In Arcoverde we have had ups and downs as far as groups and meetings and services. Brazil is still having Covid problems and some have lost friends and relatives and it has made them more hesitant about coming to church. 

The church in Tupanatinga is seeing a good bit of visitors. A couple of the women started an Instagram account for the church and have been faithful with posting and that has drawn more people. We are looking into having a praise group from there soon which has gotten me excited. The group there has also been excited. I am going through the Pastoral epistles with some of them just to kind of paint a vision of church leadership. We talked to some brickmasons about starting the church building in a month or so. 

Here is a picture of Rodrygo in Tupanatinga reading the Bible with his father-in-law who is unchurched. The group there has taken to heart God’s Word. Rodrygo will now pray in our Bible study after being ashamed to for a long time. In a meeting about possibly starting a praise group one of the guys talked about how he came partly because of the encouragement of Rodrygo. The group there are getting answers for life from the Bible and sharing with others how the Word can help their lives as well. 

I just had a conversation about the social ministry with our colleague that has now been here three months, Sarah Rogers. There are so many needy people around us and how do we know when it is wise to give and not give. Our church has adopted a community called Batalha in which we have taken food baskets as well as our little thrift store where they can buy items inexpensively. We have a “person of peace” in Batalha who knows where the needs are and we have tried to empower her to help her community. On their own they have asked for services and Bible studies and so we have one person interested in doing a Bible study there. We also have someone in our church that we helped start a small business making signs. Please pray that Roberta can keep up the business. 

This month we watched the series The Chosen as a family. It has been a blessing and helped give us a different view point on Scripture that we have appreciated. Each disciple has their own story, just as each of us has our own story. May our stories point others to Christ!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah and our two little disciples of Christ that are learning more and more what it means to follow Him. 

Bits March

Raphael preached last week
on the family

I found a passion. Family difficulties are a problem here in Brasil as well as in the US. We hear of and counsel couples from our church in regards to their marital relationship as well as raising children. We started out the year structuring our messages and small groups around the Servant Leader’s certificate structure and after an Old Testament module we moved into talking about the Christian Family. We have great material, but I felt like it was missing something. Then God gave us the missing part right before the first message by way of song. 

I am now convinced that the gospel can radically change every Christian home. Of course it can, you say. But I am not convinced that we as Christians think about its implications too often. 

The Tupanatinga church meeting on their own

Meeting in Pesqueira

A peaceful place, without screaming, where smiles are abundant and conflicts resolved without feelings of anger; compassion, forgiveness, patience, mercy, grace, love. Is that a description of your home? It isn’t a description of mine necessarily, but it is closer to this now than it was 10 years ago. When we let the gospel settle in to our lives we realize that it changes us. As the gospel is effective it molds us into the image of Christ and this changes everything. As sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters we received inheritances. The legacy of our parents and grandparents passed on to us. Their tendencies became our tendencies, but their choices don’t have to be our choices. Yes of course, take the good stuff; and I am grateful for a lot of great character traits from my family and from Sarah’s family as well. But we can live that legacy or we can let the gospel transform that legacy even more into a Christlike character that will honor God.

Pastors united to pray for the city

These thoughts have been prevalent this month in which a new quarantine was put in place that hindered the great rhythm we have built up. The month of April already has a different quarantine in which we can meet on Sundays but not at our normal time. We feel this is an attack on what God is doing in our families. Pray that God will continue to do this work despite the difficulties! 

We made our first purchase (water boxes) for the construction in Tupanatinga. Now we need to hook up the energy and get the water running. We are also still waiting on a document which is inhibiting some other needed actions to take place. Pray for our CNPJ to come through!  

Grateful for your love and prayers! 

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah and my bi-lingual firstborn who is learning sign language, and my birthday girl (next week on the 6th) who will be 8! 

Bits February

Hopping. For about 7 weeks in a row we have had a consistent attendance in the Arcoverde church. Before the pandemic that never happened; we would have high attendances but the next week would be low. Since the new year we have had visitors that have stayed and other visitors most weeks. One family is coming that were involved in 2014 in our first studies and have come once in a while, but have never been consistent. The husband is a soccer buddy, one of my first ones when coming to Arcoverde; he told me this week that he is very interested in coming frequently and he has shown that lately. He also brings his brother besides his family of four. It was neat this month having my mom here as well to be involved and see all that God is doing (but mostly to play with her grandkids).

In Tupanatinga on Friday we ran out of chairs and didn’t have much room left either even if we did have other chairs. It is a good thing we are already on that! We have bought land and will soon start construction. Both the Arcoverde church and Tupanatinga church are excited about building in Tupanatinga. 

This month we received a new colleague! We met Sarah Rogers when we went to the Servant Leaders’ Missions Academy in Germany. She came and visited us in Brazil for three weeks in June of 2019 and then raised support to come work with us for two years. Sarah and I have been helping her get settled this month and she starts language school on Monday. She then will work with English classes and in varying roles in the church plants. 

Sarah is doing a great job with counseling and will start her small groups back up this month. Our small groups are going to start out with Servant Leaders material on the Christian Family. Pray that our families will be strengthened! 

Speaking of Servant Leaders, the first class for the one year Bible fundamentals certificate is Old Testament and we did the module Saturday and Sunday. We had around twenty students, mostly from our own church and we learned, laughed and ate good food. 

The church in Tupanatinga is rallying to build the church. If you would like to help out, feel free to send in a gift with ABWE and mark it for church planting. We already have some funds in the account to get started, but not to finish. I asked our civil engineer in Tupanatinga to get me a total amount for the first phase, which will be the temple. My guess is that it will be around twenty thousand dollars. 

I don’t think that I can explain how blessed we have felt lately. In the middle of the pandemic, of difficulties on and off the field, we see God move in people’s lives, disciples being made, the lost being reached. We can’t believe how wonderful of a life we have. We appreciate your prayers and support that has sustained us and abundantly blessed us over the years. 

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah and my star Old Testament student who knew practically all the answers, and my little tag queen who is tough to catch!