Bits July

11 days, 15 people, 10 events, and lots of fun. Bethany Baptist from Salem, Oregon paid us a visit this month. The focus events were Upward football, English conversation, and youth events. We hoped the football and English would pull more students into our teen group. The group was servant-hearted and our church was excited throughout the week. For church on their final Sunday night, we had more people present than we have had in a long time. Several visitors said they would be returning and have returned. 

Diego showed up to the first English night and kept coming back. He had a good spiritual conversation one night with Jason and Nelson. Nelson was able to get a Bible to him and he was excited because he had never had a Bible before. Diego went to church that Sunday night and the next. 

Last Sunday we were in Tupanatinga all day to celebrate Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We had five people who were baptized. That night I counted five more who could be baptized soon. One who has been faithful to church but hesitant to say he wants to be saved, told me he wanted to get baptized in the next baptism. I gave him a big hug. 

The girls went to camp this month. They attended different weeks and so they were separate. Both did well and were campers of the week. Evie is enjoying being in the youth group. She is also now assisting in organization for the nursery ministry. The girls started school last month and are getting used to a new full-year schedule, with four days a week of school. We take Monday off as a family and have enjoyed that so far. 

Friday nights are pizza nights here at the house. We have a signup sheet at the church for families to join us so that we can check up on their lives and have a good informal time of fellowship. This last week we successfully used our brick oven to cook the pizzas! 

We are back into a bit of a rhythm here. Our calendar is set for the rest of the year in regards to services and us being where we need to be. We are going to start a new schedule of celebrating the Lord’s Supper on Sunday mornings. This way we can be in both churches on Sundays three weeks a month. So far both churches have been flexible with us. Thank you so much for your prayers.

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and our glad-to-be-home family

AC and Kiwi

Bits June

 One month down, a lot more to go. On the 18th the church in Arcoverde held the going away service for Roger and Marcy Smith. A beautiful poem was written about their story by a nearby Pastor friend of the church. Two days ago the Smiths landed in Florida after another going away service was held in their previous church plant. We are so grateful for their legacy here in Brasil and are now feeling the weight of their absence! 

In our first month here we have focused on conversations with people about their lives and the life of the church. There has been a lot to discuss and figure out! We have had difficulties in some areas, while other areas have shown great growth! We do have a good group of leaders and workers in the church in Arcoverde and we are grateful for that. We are forming a good leadership team and pray that God will use it to strengthen the church. 

Tupanatinga does not have as many mature leaders, but we have a very faithful group attending the church. We have been excited about that. We are hoping to have a baptism later this month. On Saturday the first we are celebrating a wedding for Lucas and Cassia. While we were in the States they were faithful in reading When Sinners Say I Do and talking with us on a video call. It was really neat to see their spiritual growth throughout the year. They are two that will be baptized in our next baptism. 

James 4 tells us that conflict shows us what our desires are. Our goal with conflict in the church is to target the heart issues and show how the gospel can transform us. This isn’t an easy process. Besides checking our own hearts, we are shepherding people through this heart transformation as well. Pray for open hearts to the gospel, not just in the lives of unbelievers, but believers as well. 

On Friday the 7th, a group from Oregon of 15 people will arrive to do flag football, English conversation, and youth events (and a few other activities). Please pray that the 11 days they will be here will be profitable for the gospel! 

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and our two students. We are trying a different homeschool curriculum and school schedule this year and they have already started this month. I get to teach Bible and Sarah is teaching everything else, mainly using books and some videos. 

Bits May 2023

We made it home! Thanks so much for your prayers for the passport situation and our travels. On Friday the 19th, I (David) left for Oregon right after picking up the girls from their last day of school. I was able to meet with a missions team coming down in July to do youth group meetings, English conversation, Upward football, and a couple of other things. Then I spoke at the church (Bethany Baptist) on Sunday. 

On Monday I flew back to Nashville and met Sarah and Anna Claire and we flew to El Paso, Texas, the one passport agency in the entire country that had openings for a rush passport. It took a little longer than expected, but our flight was delayed and so we still made our flight to Tampa easily after receiving Anna Claire’s new passport (and actually she saw mine would expire in December and was gracious to recommend I just do it then and there). Meanwhile, Sarah’s dad Bob and Evelyn drove the car down to Tampa from Chattanooga with all of our luggage. Many thanks to Bob for being super flexible and helpful! He even had his flight delayed by weather, missed the connection, and had to sleep in the Charlotte airport. He is very selfless and we appreciated that so much!

As he was delayed by a Tampa thunderstorm, our plane was behind him. That delay also made us miss our flight to Brazil; so we rebooked for the next day and our arrival in Brazil was delayed about 27 hours. But we had a huge blessing by being picked up at the airport with our new car that was able to be purchased even though we were not present. A generous friend in Brazil as well as our colleagues Dan and Carol Cook met us at the airport so we could drive straight to Arcoverde. 

In the last couple of weeks, many details had to go right. Even if they didn’t, we know God is in control. Why in the world was it God’s purpose for us to go to El Paso (besides my own irresponsibility)? Yet God provided and blessed. We didn’t know how it would all turn out, but we had to give it over to God and He gave us His peace (yes, our stomachs were turning knots for 10 days), but we still knew that no matter the outcome, God’s will was in it. On the flight to El Paso, I sat next to a Lebanese soldier. I was able to talk to him about war and the peace of God based on what I know Jeremiah Cook has been telling Ukrainian soldiers on the front line. I am grateful for my friendship with Jeremiah and how it prepared me for a good conversation with this soldier. I shared the story about King David from the Bible (we were talking about names) and read Psalm 23 to him. I received his contact information and we have interacted since then. 

We had a reception pizza party in the Arcoverde church on Saturday night where we gave big hugs to lots of friends. Evelyn and Anna Claire felt very much at home as their friends received them so well. On Sunday we went to Tupanatinga for the day. At night we counted only four empty chairs (we have fifty chairs there) and felt so welcomed… and had another pizza party after the service. It felt good to be preaching again. I am grateful for how the church did during our absence. It was not easy for them but they persevered. 

As of now, we are adjusting to living here, painting and organizing our house, and evaluating our plans in light of reality. Pray for us this month as we transition the Arcoverde church from the Smiths to us. 

Thank you for your prayers. I know many increased their prayer life on our behalf this month and we appreciate it so much.

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and our glad-to-be-home family

Bits April

Cutting the cake

We are excited to say that this month we will return to Brazil. We have our tickets for May 24 to leave out of Tampa where we will return the car we had during furlough. We were so blessed by a friend who has a car dealership and gave us a great price on a nice car, even promising to buy it back for the same price. So essentially we used a car for free for the year and can put that money back into a car for Brazil. Then another friend in Brazil has already researched a car for us to buy in Brazil. Due to online capabilities, we are able to have it ready for us at the airport upon arrival. God has blessed us with wonderful friends.

God has also blessed us through generous donors. Last month we talked about a $600 dollar deficit in monthly contributions, but that was pretty much covered by an anonymous donor. So whoever you are, thank you very much! We have now received financial clearance through ABWE. 

The marriage workshop ended up being a success. We had a good group out and no one looked bored at least. Actually, we had some great feedback. As we take furloughs in the future, we would love to offer the workshop to our supporting churches while we are visiting. If you are interested in the material, we did record it and it is available on our youtube channel under the Gospel and Marriage. 

Easter 

The book rollout has been interesting. I just released the audio version of it for free on Spotify as a podcast. This is the first place to announce it, so feel free to listen and share. Sometimes people ask about missionary stories; the best chapter for that is Chapter 11 on patience. I hope you enjoy and also see how the gospel can transform our daily lives and our struggles with sin. 

Anna Claire had her first double-digit birthday and we had a Brazilian-style party for her American friends. They enjoyed the beans and rice and brigadeiros, a little chocolate ball, amongst other Brazilian specialties. 

Brazilian meal

At the end of the month, we were able to enjoy a vacation with some family in Destin. Sarah grew up going to Destin, but hasn’t been since 2013; so we were excited for the opportunity to return. The day we traveled down we spoke in chapel at Oakwood and then stopped at a supporting church in Prattville, Alabama. This month we also spoke at a church in Chattanooga pastored by our former Bible professor from college. Next Sunday the 7th David will be preaching at Cloud Springs Baptist and then on the third Sunday of the month will be at a church in Oregon speaking. They have gone down on a couple of mission trips and are going in July of this year as well; so it will be good to be able to meet the team before they travel. 

Thank you all for your love, prayers, and support through ABWE!

Boardwalk with family

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah and our first-year volleyball player whose team went 11-1, and our new ten-year-old 

Bits March

The book is live. I am super excited to start the distribution of The Gospel Transformed Life. Here is a link if you would like to order it.  

If you are not sure about getting a copy and want a free digital copy. Let me know! I am more than happy to email the PDF to you. There are lots of book marketing strategies out there. My strategy at this point is to get it into the hands of the people around me and if the book helps, it will spread. If not, that is ok too. It has already been helpful to me and encouraged the few people around me who have already read it. Actually, it would be helpful if you read the book to leave a review on Amazon.

Sarah continues to counsel. Pray that she can graduate some of her counselees before we leave for Brazil as that will be a busier transition time. Some have already learned the biblical principles they need to navigate how God is molding their lives to be more like Jesus. 

Kids jump park night

The girls have done well in school. They have made friends and good grades. Evelyn is playing a team sport for the first time in her life, middle school volleyball. So far they are undefeated! Volleyball keeps us busy. We don’t know how many friends keep up with year-round kids’ sports. 

This month we are excited to put on a Marriage Workshop. We will focus on applying the gospel to marriages. The Workshop is not just for Cloud Springs Baptist, but is open to others. If you are interested in attending, let us know! 

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and our two wonderful children. Anna Claire won a canoe this month! 

Bits February

Valentine's Day on the farm

We have been working on our planning for post-furlough. Upon arrival, we will be pastoring two churches which will be difficult logistically. We are finding ways in which we can be present weekly in the life of the congregation. Since they both have services at the same time on Sunday nights, we have to organize our time better. We are planning other activities during the week, as well as opportunities for one on one time with church members. We want to mentor our families toward developing gospel-centered homes. While this can be encouraged in church, we also look forward to visiting homes and having purposeful conversations.  

My 40th bday

We have openings for our support team we are looking to fill. We have lost some supporters for different reasons. Also, every once in a while we receive a raise due to inflation, or years of service at ABWE. Between those two reasons, our monthly support coming in is down by 590 dollars per month. ABWE maintains a policy of missionaries being fully supported before returning to the field from furlough. In the past, we have gone after new support and during this furlough, we have been able to speak in a couple new churches, but as of now, we are still praying for that support to come in. 

In February we have been busier with counseling opportunities. We also have had other opportunities for ministry through chapel speaking, visiting a church, teaching Sunday School, and discipleship opportunities. 

Her friends received gold medals too

Anna Claire had a couple fun activities this month. First, she participated in 4H, which is a speaking competition in Georgia. She presented on Brazil and went to the regional competition where she received a gold medal. Later in the month her class was responsible for chapel and did a musical on Ruth. She did a wonderful job being very expressive and participative. She also finished up her season of cheerleading in which she did well yelling her lungs out. We are grateful for the opportunities she has had in school.

Evelyn chose to try out for the middle school volleyball team this year. She made the team and is now looking at getting into a practice rhythm and will soon have games. Both girls have done well adjusting to school life, having friends, and adapting socially. 

AC in play about Ruth

We are excited to prepare for a marriage workshop in April that we will be organizing and teaching. Pray that we have a good time preparing and teaching. If you are in the Chattanooga area, we are planning on a Sunday evening either April 16 or 30 and I will post more later. 

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

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and our middle school volleyball player and artsy fourth grader

Out on Valentine's

Bits January 2023

 

Down by the creek

After the holidays it is common to have some January blues. We broke down one day on the way to school. Anna Claire woke up missing Brazil. Then on the car ride, she received some bad news about her cat. By the time we arrived at school, we parked and were all crying and hugging outside the car in the parking lot. I am guessing we were quite a sight! We are over halfway done with our furlough now and we are all missing Brazil. Fortunately, God has given us purpose here in the USA. We have been able to minister and be ministered to.

Date trip to speak

We have ministered through our travels to churches as well as counseling. This month we were in Indiana, North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia. We loved spending time with friends, Pastors, and speaking about Brazil. On the counseling end, Sarah has been busy. God has blessed and some of her old friends and new friends are learning Biblical ways to cope during hard times. Some friends told us they know God had us here at this time and we felt really encouraged by that. Sunday we started teaching one of our courses, Processing Life Biblically, in our Sunday school class. We are excited to open up about God’s difficult work in our lives as He conforms us to the image of Christ. 

This month construction started on an auditorium for the Arcoverde church. We are blessed to be here and not over the construction at this time as our colleague Roger is handling that. He also raised funds for the project and so we have not needed to worry about raising funds or construction oversight! Pray for a smooth project. 

No power, no problem
toasted bagel 

“Preaching the gospel to yourself daily” has been a new idea to explore while being on furlough. We have done a good bit of reading and study. Those of you who have heard me speak this year have probably heard something about the gospel for our daily life. Out of the impact of that message, I ended up writing a book. I have finished the manuscript and it is now being read by a few people and I will need to decide on how to publish/self-publish. Please pray for the message of the book, the gospel for daily life. 

Creative discovery museum!

Let me close with a link to a Gospel Coalition article regarding missionary kids. Evelyn read it and said it was 100% correct. I thought it was pretty short, simple, and accurate and if anyone would like to understand our girls a little more, this is a great resource. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/missionary-kids-want-you-know/ 

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! We are a few hundred dollars short on our monthly support. Pray that comes in soon!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, and our two great students; both received good grades for their first semester of school in the US.