Bits June 2024

June is a big party month in our city. People flood in from other cities to attend night concerts. We had a harvest party at the church where we played games and ate their traditional food. We had a few more people from the neighborhood this year and one family has started attending church. The neighborhood we are in is difficult to reach. We have known this family for many years now and so it is neat to see them participate.

We also met a family with two girls and a boy who grew up in Florida. They have been here for a couple of years and we just met them this past month. Thursday they plan on coming over for a Fourth of July party. 

Pray for our scheduling and time management. This month we hit a peak of working too hard and not taking enough time off. We are working on healthier working hours and taking more breaks. (Monday is our day off, so I am trying to finish this update Sunday night after church). I have scheduled myself to preach less in both churches! We have multiple preachers for both churches, praise the Lord! God has blessed us as we have both developed leadership and grown. 

Pastor Douglas preached for the first time this past month. After pastoring in several churches, his last church, near Arcoverde lasted for six years before he suffered from burnout. He and I walk some mornings and he has been helpful to me. They decided not to continue in ministry and have a sweets business that they had started when their previous church was not able to pay them much. Their lessons are good for us and their plan for now is to be at Koinonia. Pray for them as they recover. He is not ready to go to a non-healthy church situation, but they feel at home at Koinonia. 

Earlier in the month the Huegel family visited. They were friends of friends who were looking for an adventure. Jon and Sheldon have two daughters Shelby and Charlotte. We had a couple of English conversation nights, visited a school, and had them teach our youth. It was neat meeting them and seeing their willingness to serve. Shelby shared her testimony in front of over 100 kids in a school in a nearby city. It was a neat opportunity. 

Thanks for all you do, whether it is reading, praying, supporting, or sending encouragement. We understand that we have many partners in ministry in reaching out and growing God’s kingdom here in Brasil. 

All for HIS glory, 

David, Sarah and our ministry partner Evelyn and our headed to camp tomorrow Anna Claire  

Bits May

 “Have you ever heard the story of creation before?” Stefan had just taught the creation story and was curious about those in the new Batalha study. There was a 65-year-old woman, a couple in their forties, and a few other married adults present. No one had heard the story of creation. These are people who confess their need for God, how He is good and faithful and One in whom they have faith. But they hadn’t heard the first story in the Bible. It was amazing to see and exciting to have the privilege of working in this community. Pray for Batalha to understand God’s story of Hope! 

As Stefan and Julia have integrated into life here, we are now praying about how that will change our scheduling. I have asked the leadership of both churches to consider roles and responsibilities in our presence in each church. It certainly has not been ideal to lead two churches and we have not been overwhelmed (but we are tired). At this point, we have three preachers in Tupanatinga and 5-6 who can preach in Arcoverde, including Stefan who can take a greater role. I want to make sure that I lead well and have a healthy balance of pulpit time while also continuing to develop leaders. Please pray for wisdom in these decisions! 

Sarah added another discipleship group this past month and she is up to three groups and a few counselees. She has kept busy for sure! We had the idea for the discipleship groups to have a reading competition with a nice prize. It was neat to see the excitement, the seriousness of the task, and the unity of some groups to complete the task. The book to read is a short read with powerful truths, “From Pride to Humility” by Stuart Scott. Pray for wisdom as we lead these groups and as they grow, that we would be able to have the right leadership, right timing, and that each group would continue with great discussions. We have switched from the groups having separate studies to encouraging the reading of the sermon passage and to chew on questions from the Sunday message. This has led to some great discussions and growth. 

There is a book called “Trellis and the Vine” in which the author talks about having the right structure in place to be able to support growth. We feel like we are on the cusp of this and the last few weeks there has been some good signs. Please pray that God will be glorified here in Northeast Brazil! 

Our friends Jeremiah and Cindy Cook were here this month and this team some other SWAT guys came with him. We had a few training days and it was neat to make new contacts and to serve the police forces here. 

This last month Evelyn started coming to the church a couple afternoons a week to help organize and plan events. She is doing a great job helping at the church as well as working at the local English school. Next week we have an outreach event for English for a couple of nights and then the following week we have a Harvest Party. We always invite the community but rarely have people from our neighborhood show up. Pray that our neighbors will start coming to these events! 

Thank you all for your love, prayer, and support!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah and our hard-working Evelyn and grandmother to four little kittens, Anna Claire 

Bits April

Tuesday night May 7 is our scheduled start to weekly Bible studies in the community of Batalha. We had a meeting with leaders Mimo and Cristiane this month in which we talked about their life stories and the future possibilities of our involvement in their community. I had written down to ask about their favorability to start something weekly, but they asked for more Bible study before I even had to ask if it was welcome or not. They talked about how they were taught to have faith, but never had a consistent church influence in the community, from anywhere. More recently there are churches within walking distance from the community, but no one has planted a work there. This is not something we hear often as there are churches around us; (many small ones with questionable doctrine and practice). We are excited about this opportunity. Stefan and Julia will be heading that study up. 

Our pizza nights still going strong

On Sunday we had a mini-module on Mobilizing the church for ministry. It was good to talk about how our church can be better equipped to minister, spread the gospel, and make disciples. We are at an exciting point in ministry in the Arcoverde church. Last night we had several families that were on repeat visits to the church. 

This month Sarah made a visit to Poço do Boi, an impoverished community nearby. She visited with one of the
missionary families who is connected to a ministry center and was shocked to see the poverty level. The next day she and Anna Claire ran/walked in a 5k to benefit that ministry. Some members of the church have been involved in better helping the community, including an idea for the women to take on sewing or knitting as a means of making money.
 

At the beginning of the month, Evie had surgery to put a tube in her ear. She still is having minor health issues that we are trying to have checked out. They don’t have a major effect on completing tasks, but they have bothered her a good bit. She and her friend Ellen started helping out more at the church during the week, doing organizational tasks. 

Over the next couple of days, we have a goal of resting our minds and souls! We have improved our sabbath habits somewhat lately, mainly taking Monday off, but haven’t had a more extensive time off (not that three days is a lot), but we have told our church family to leave us alone. haha. We said it nicely. Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah our secretary Evelyn and turtle-owning 11-year-old. 

Bits March

 

Happy Good Friday and Resurrection Day to all! We are so blessed to  serve a living Savior who is involved in our day-to-day lives. I pray that this Easter there will be renewed hope in all that God is doing in your life and around the world. In this part of the world, we are more and more excited. Our new Brazilian partners Stefan and Julia have arrived and are settling in. God provided a place for them to stay sooner than expected. They have already jumped in on some ministries, including preaching, and have shown servant hearts.  

Last weekend Evelyn and I went to the camp in Recife for English Camp. A church from Grand Rapids, Michigan (my hometown) came down to run the program. There were 19 people from the church and 5 from Lake Anne Camp that brought down games and messages. I helped with small group discussions and Evelyn had fun participating and making new friends. Ellen, from our youth group, went and we had good discussions on our way there and back. She did not grow up in church and so she has asked some good questions about faith.  

This month Sarah spoke at a women’s breakfast about stress and trusting in God. She involved some other women in the programming as well. It is neat to see some women stepping up and using their gifts in the church. 

 

The teens also ran an Easter program for the kids in Batalha. Evie did a great job doing a play and helping with the games. Pray for direction as we look at planting a church in Batalha this year. On Saturday the women from Batalha are going to our church for a special program.  

This last week a lady from our church, a school secretary, set up two groups of 35 1st and 2nd graders to visit the church and learn about Easter. We had three Pastors present to help out with the guided tour with stories about Jesus. Evelyn did a great job on music and the wordless book. 

We are excited about what is to come here, whatever that is! haha. We are grateful for God’s many blessings, part of which are you. We have been able to be more and more helpful to others here because of your generosity. 

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, Evelyn (as you can see from the letter, she is already on full-time missionary status), and Anna Claire (who turns 11 next Saturday)  

Bits February

We are excited! The new year in the two churches has brought a lot of excitement. Last year was a time of transition with us being gone half the year and then getting back into the swing of things and trying to put everyone in the right spot. We don’t have all of our ducks in a row yet, but enough to feel like we are organized and ready to roll. The New Year in Brazil struggles to start until after Carnaval every year as people vacation and school is out. 

This year we decided to test some programming during Carnaval to see if people would come. The Arcoverde church went out to Tupanatinga for a Saturday Baptismal service and time of fellowship. Many spent the night and we had a fun Sunday morning with breakfast, Bible study and another service before we wrapped up the weekend with a traditional meal together (feijoada). On Tuesday we regathered in Arcoverde and did a short module and ate again! I would like to say that I got smoked in dominos on Saturday and Sunday, but on Tuesday I won a couple of games (probably because I had an older experienced guy as a partner). 

This month Evelyn started an apprenticeship. We have had a close relationship with a local English school for years. Evelyn can’t work yet, but she can help out and she started doing just that a few weeks ago. She goes in on Thursdays for a few hours. We are excited for this opportunity for her to get out, learn more about teaching and to have fun as well. 

Our new Brazilian colleagues are on their way! Stefan is making the five day drive from South Brazil and left on Wednesday. Pray for his trip! Then Julia and their three kids come next Tuesday. Pray for them as they adapt to the new culture and find their roles in the church planting vision here. 

My brother Dan and his family came this month for ten days. It is so neat to have family down here. They were very encouraging and were able to participate in some ministry. We were able to take some time off to hang out with just them. It was an amazing time together. Here are a few photos. 

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, my busy working Evie and my living the life of a twin (cousin) Anna Claire 

Bits January

This month we did an experiment as a church with sabbath principles. January is Brazil’s summer and so a lot of people vacation. We decided to put a pause on ministries and focus more on studying the Word and meditating on the gospel. The book Gospel Primer has been very influential on our family as far as applying the gospel to every area of our lives. We translated the 31 texts that he has and I posted that each day in our church group as well as on social media. Instead of our praise band on Sundays, different individuals led music. Instead of kid’s service, the kids stayed in the auditorium. Other ministries did less as well. This Sunday we return to normal. This past Sunday there was a good group and good spirit. Pray that keeps up! 

Sarah’s parents Bob and Ginny Hall visited us for two weeks. We had a great time. Her dad, also known as Coach Hall because of over 40 years of coaching different sports, but mainly baseball, did a men’s event in both churches on “Dare to be a Daniel.” He grilled chicken and served their famous white sauce along with a traditional barbecue meal. The guys liked it, tried to get the secret white sauce recipe, and paid attention as he told the story of Daniel and gave a challenge towards trusting the Lord in all areas of your life. 

Usually around the New Year, we look forward to what we would like to accomplish in the following year. This year in Arcoverde we want a more established leadership and a congregation that thrives around the gospel. In a little over a month, we will have an assistant Pastor arriving whom we will partner with to also plant a church. We are excited about this opportunity! 

In Tupanatinga we would like to get more and more people involved. In a couple of weeks, we will have another baptism and several desire to be baptized. We have mostly new Christians in our congregation and are still figuring out some basics! Praise the Lord. We have started studying the Old Testament stories and will be in that series for a while with the goal of laying a base for beliefs. 

Sarah has done a great job on our midweek studies with the ladies. In Tupanatinga she is teaching on emotions and a good group of ladies are showing up! The same rings true for Arcoverde and their study of a Jen Wilkin book about the Ten Commandments. The men have studied Nehemiah. The next couple of days we are reviewing our studies of Nehemiah and Daniel and trying to apply it to our lives. Pray for men with integrity who are proactive in changing their communities! 

We have been so blessed. Pray that God would use us for His glory!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah and our soon-to-be English school apprentice (Evie will start helping out at the English school one day a week), and our bouncy cat lover Anna Claire

Bits December 2023

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