October 7, 2006

Dear Fellow-servants,

Greetings from Brazil. We are back and very busy. Our work is so spread out that we haven't yet had an opportunity to see all of it but in general, all seems to be going pretty well. Brazil is all upset over the American plane that collided over Brazilian air space in which 154 lives were lost. The last Sunday of this month there will be a runoff election to elect the next President of Brazil. It looks like the leftist President now in power will win again. We leave all of this in the Lord's hands. Prices have gone up some and the dollar exchange is down since we left. Most of all, as in the United States, new ways to sin and and show contempt to decency come on the scene every week. How does our Lord put up with it all? His grace and longsuffering is great. May He help us to be a great light in this awful darkness.

Ursula is really suffering in the heat here. It takes a while to sort of get accustomed to it. I can tell that I'm not 35 anymore. I get tired easier, too. I am thankful for the good health that I have. Pray for Ursula as she lives with the arthritis. We have a physical therapist coming three times a week here to the house. It helps her keep going.

Day before yesterday we had a storm here with strong wind and rain. It only lasted for about thirty minutes but filled our house with water. I was downtown on a city bus. When I went out of the bank to get a bus back home I had to wade water knee deep to get to the bus stop. At our church in Altos do Coxipo it tore part of our roof off of our partially built auditorium. We are thankful it was not worse. We seldom get strong winds here in this area.

We are planning to build two Sunday School rooms at the Jardim Fortaleza work soon. Also we would like to do the same at the Primavera mission. Also the Boa Esperanca church has built on two rooms to the front of their building and raised the roof. We want to help them to put in a new front double door. It will cost about $1,370.00. The Sunday School rooms will cost all told at least $4,500. If anyone would like to help out on these two projects, please send offerings to Drapers New Work Funds. After the first of the year we want to start by faith to finish up the auditorium at the Altos do Coxipo Baptist Church. We still haven't been able to figure up how much it will cost. In our next letter we will probably be able to give an estimate.

We had five souls baptized in Novo Diamantino last week. It was supposed to be ten but some do not have their marriages legalized yet. We have two awaiting baptism at the Jardim Fortaleza mission. God is blessing and Satan is at work to hinder. Pray for us as we labor here in Central Brazil.

In Christ,

Harold & Ursula Draper