February 29, 2004

Hello friends,

As I am writing this letter we have been in the States on an unscheduled trip since the 12th of January. The reason for this trip is that after 5 years of yearly applications, lost applications and various other attempts to comply with the law of getting our permanent Missionary visa, the Brazilian government has finally decided to make a decision on our application. Their decision is this:  UNDECIDED. So we were mandated to return to our country of origin to start the visa process all over again.

Well when we arrived here in the States on the 12th we did not waste any time in getting our new application in to the Brazilian Embassy in Washington. As a matter of fact we were there on the 14th of January. We were told that our paperwork looked good and for us to go home and wait for one month and they would give us a decision. We did not go very far from home and the phone because we knew by past experience that we could be called at any minute for some further information. Well on the appointed day we called the Embassy to get the news and they told us that we had been denied. And they would not give us any reason for the denial. We called our Brazilian lawyer and she could not believe the news, as she had just gotten off the phone with the Ambassador to Brazil and he had just told her that he would take care of our paperwork personally. So we had new hope again. In the past two weeks we have had our case discussed in many different offices of the government of Brazil up to and including the second in command to the President of Brazil. So now that we are so known in all the high offices there we are going to Washington again to resubmit our paperwork for our missions visa. Our urgent prayer request is this, the swift granting of our visa. We all know that we do not need any of those higher ups there in Brazil to accomplish getting our visa, because we have the MOST HIGH working on this matter and He will accomplish it in His time.

While we have been here in the States for more than a month, all of the reports from Caraguatatuba have been most encouraging. Just this past week at the main Church, they had a baptism and they baptized 13 people. How AWESOME is our God!!! He really doesn't need us to carry on His work, He just permits us to be a part of it. AWESOME!!!!!

Since being home the Lord has blessed with some wonderful financial gifts that will go toward the purchase of the property for the vocational school. Remember to keep praying for this as we are seeing your prayers at work in these gifts. We feel that we will be able to purchase the property by the middle of the year if the gifts keep coming as they are now. And after this we will begin the construction of the school. We will be using the young men that will be going to the school in the construction of the building. This way they will be learning and accomplishing something at the same time. We are in constant contact with the couple that are taking care of everything for us there in Caraguatatuba and they have nothing but good reports about the young men that we had to leave there. Continue to pray for George and Auda and Marcello and Eder as we remain here in the States.

As always we want to thank the many prayer warriors here who constantly take us to the throne of God. Without you holding us up our strength would not be sufficient. Also thank you for your continued support through B.F.M. as this is the only way that we could be serving in Brazil.

Once again our prayer request: Visa, starting the vocational school, our principal Church Igreja Batista Nova Vida, our national pastor, Ipetacio, the three missions and their leaders, And for our fast return home to Brazil.

In HIS SERVICE,

Aj and Barbara

Building project, A.J. Hensley's work.