November 2, 2005

Dear friends, 

Our month has been one of hustle and bustle:  we have hosted our second annual Ladies Retreat, hosted a Brazilian Pastor and family for a week's vacation and coordinated  a wedding of Barbara's cousin and our (adopted) Brazilian daughter. And all of this during a month of rain. 

Because of this rain we have been limited to what we could do on the school grounds and on the other projects we have going. We have used this time to get the plans completed for the building of the new mission church, and worked on the wiring of the machines for the Vocational School. Our plans were to start making the blocks for the new Church building last week but that too was put on hold by the rain. We now have all the inside work done and the plans made for the projects, so pray for there to be a period of sunshine to put in practice the things that we have put on paper. 

Speaking of plans for a new Church building, we will be able to build this building because of a generous gift from a family in the States. God is good with all things, the timing of this gift was perfect. The family where we are holding the meetings now is getting ready to sell their house and we would have been without a place to hold our meetings. We did not know this but God knew and planned for just the right time to touch the hearts of this dear family to give for this new Church building. The God we serve is AWESOME. We and the members of our Church can only say "Thanks" to those who were responsible for this wonderful gift. 

Our seminary is suffering with attendance problems. But that is to be expected; when God is at work, Satan cannot be quiet. So we will not give him any credit and just say that the rain has been a great problem.  I have been giving much thought to a new class in Seminary, "Construction of Church buildings". I think this will be an important class for the prospective pastors as they need to know how to build the Churches that they will be preaching in.This will give them an insight into the other side of mission work. 

A little update on our mission locations with respect to buildings. All total, outside the principal Church we have 7 points. One has a permanent Church building, two others are in rented buildings, three are in homes of believers or garages and one is held under a tarp in front of a believer's home. In this last one we have had 7 people saved this month. All things of God are AWESOME. Pray with us for these areas of ministry here in Brazil. Remember the mission point in Salisopolis where we have a pastor and his wife in that very traditional city where here were no Baptist works? We started with just four in attendance there and today we have twenty-two in regular attendance.  AWESOME!!!!!!! 

Going back a little bit and talking about the wiring on the woodworking-shop-school area: we have worked the last two weeks on the electrical wiring and the motors on the machines. I have tried to get all 3-phase motors so our energy bills in the future will be economized. 

While we are working on the Vocational School areas, I would like for you to pray for the practical aspect of this School. It will allow me to make all the doors and windows needed for the new missions, and we will be producing all the blocks needed to build the missions. And the best part is that the construction of the buildings will be part of the vocational training of the young men and seminary students. 

It is totally amazing who God chooses to use. Are you available to help do some missionary work out of the country or at home?  

Here again is an invitation: Come on down and help on a mission project in Caraguatatuba, Brazil. If you can't come down you can help by continuing to pray for us and through your offerings to Baptist Faith Missions. 

In His service, 

AJ and Barbara