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NEWS FROM BRAZIL
They’re here!
Paulo and I are so grateful to have the Joneses with us in Brazil! They arrived November 16, just in time for Brandon to teach a 2-week intensive class on Old Testament Theology with me as his interpreter!
Celebrating the end of the school year with Seminary students
It’s been an intense time of helping them to get their apartment set up, working through visa documents and making appointments, figuring out the best language learning for everyone and schooling options for their children, annual missions meetings and general cross-cultural introductions. I am so grateful it has actually been summer vacation time here, so it gave us more time to focus on these important steps. There have been joys and challenges, laughter and tears, and God has made His presence known in a very tangible way over and over again! It has brought back a lot of memories as I’ve seen them go through all these beginning steps and at times I’ve felt helpless as I’ve observed them face difficult moments. But at the same time I know from personal experiences how important it is for them to overcome and press on as God continues to confirm His missionary calling to all of us.
MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES
In November, I had the opportunity to preach at the church of one of my former Seminary students on the missions theme for the Brazilian Baptist Conference for the year: “Moved by Grace.” This theme challenged all of us as to how we share the grace the Lord has given us with others. In December, I was invited to be the guest speaker for the Annual Christmas Ladies tea at my colleague’s (Marcos) church. Despite a huge downpour right before the tea started, many ladies came out and I was able to share the Gospel message at such an important time of year. Marci Jones came along and helped me make chocolate chip cookies for all the ladies!
PERSONAL UPDATE
Paulo turned 50 years old on December 28. We had originally planned to have a joint party at Church to commemorate 100 years of life between the two of us, but with so many activities, it never happened. So instead, we took a bit of time off and traveled to the very first place in Brazil to be declared a heritage site by UNESCO, the city of Ouro Preto. We had a wonderful time learning about the history of this place and just walking around and seeing all its beauty! It was also a great place for me to practice my photography hobby. Here is one of my favorite photos!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT!!