May 3, 2005

Dear friends,

Well, Barbara is back and I get the privilege of writing our letter this month. It has been a month with a lot of study.

For six weeks now I have been teaching in our seminary. It has been great--no, it has been AWESOME. I think for every hour of teaching I have done more than twenty hours of preparation. This has been wonderful because it is really fine tuning my Portuguese (and I can use all the help I can muster). This week my class will conclude and I am already missing it. As I look around the class I can easily see five, maybe six future pastors and them all the helpers that are there just to learn how to be a better worker for Christ and all I can think is, –How Great Thou Art–. Here, as your missionary, I am getting to see more first hand and the people are anxious to do more.

As always construction is in a slow mode as finances are limited. But, all is in His timing must tell you of an AWESOME blessing that is occurring with respect to our Vocational School – there is a possibility that we will receive a gift from the States that will purchase all the tools that is needed to begin the first phase of the School. Words are not sufficient to express our joy and gratitude but I must say "Thanks" and how AWESOME is He who we serve. Now we need to get the building done to have a place to install the tools by September. So if you would like to be a part of this construction, send your gifts to B.F.M., marked "Vocational School".

Barbara's trip home, for her, was a very sweet blessing as it gave her time to visit with her parents and our family. While she was there we lost a very dear friend who went home to be with the Lord, Belinda Thomas. Brother Jack, her husband, is a very special friend and I missed being with him in his time of loss. All I could do was pray for him. Now I ask all of you to join me in praying for Jack Thomas and family in this time of loss.

This past week Pastor Ipitacio, Pastor Luiz and I have spent several days in the town of Ubatuba looking for the right place to start the new mission point. This town is a tourist town and that makes everything more expensive, so I ask that you join us in prayer for us to find the right place and in finding that it will be more reasonably priced. This town has a opulation of 100,000 plus and only one Baptist Church, so you can see the need for us to go spread God's Word there.

I know that vacation time is coming up and you must be looking for a place to go to rest and relax. Well, do we have the place for you!!! Here in Caraguatatuba you can see all the beauty that God has made and help in the projects here as well. After a good day with us you will rest better than you can imagine. So e-mail us and we will set up your trip to come down. Seriously now please come and see what God is doing with your mission money here in Caraguatatuba, Brazil.

As always, continue to take us to God's throne daily, praying for the work here in the Vocational School, the New Life Baptist Church and her four works that are in place and for the fifth that we are trying to start, for us as we work here for us to always seek God's will in everything that we do. Thanks in advance for these prayers because without them we would not have the strength to carry on each day.

In His service,

Aj and Barbara