February 4, 2004

Dear Friends,

Incredible! February is already here. Time sure does not wait or give us a break. Hope all is well with each of you. Hope that you had a wonderful holiday season with your friends and family. We are all doing well here. We had a busy end of year. Christmas time and New Year's is always a busy time for everyone. Here in Brazil it is the end of the school year, so there are lots of things going on. Lots of graduations, special services, and of course, lots of paperwork to close the school year. This week we just started back to school again. We are back in full swing. Each school year is a challenge. Getting teachers that love the Lord and love to be teachers and teachers that want to be volunteers. We try to bless them with some money each month, but they know that there may be a month that we may be low. Looks like this year God has sent us the cream of the crop. The next challenge is the children, getting them to love school!!! Well, pray for them and us. We greatly appreciate your prayers. At the end of each year we take to camp the kids that have their average grades above 80. This year we took 30 kids. When they come back they get all the others excited about going. Remember that these are kids that most of them did not attend school! Praise God!!

God has not only used the Alpha and Omega Home to change lives but has also used the home to give some volunteers husbands and wives. Some come to visit and spend a week doing ministry and God gives them a mate, as He did with Daniel Vincent, who married our daughter Kathy Lee. This last month God blessed two more volunteers. Marcio came from one of the nearby churches to go to the Bible college here. Carol lived here with her parents when they were hall parents. Then they met. They were married January the 24th. He feels that God has called him to be a pastor. Pray for them.

The newest challenge that God has placed in our hands is a little boy called Michael. He has the HIV virus. His mother had AIDS. His mother died and he was poorly taken care of by his uncle. His uncle would use him to beg for food and other things. Kathy has asked God for a double cure: for him to come to know God as Lord and Savior and to cure his little body. Join with us in prayer and that above all, God's will would be done. Pray for us that God will give us the wisdom to care for him and protect the others.

The church has gotten off to a good start this year. Many visits are being done in nearby farms. Many are coming to church and several have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Thanks to all fo you for your prayers and financial support. It would be very hard to do this work without your help. May God pour His richest blessing on each of you.