What a tremendously busy, yet blessed, month April was! Let me start by correcting some confusion I caused in our last letter. Last month, I mentioned the evangelistic conference at our church in Brazil and how God had tremendously blessed. I finished by asking for prayer for someone“…who God will call to take our place in northeastern Brazil.” I meant that to say that we were hoping that God would call others to the northeast of Brazil, not that the church was without a pastor. Veteran missionary Wes Palla, whom I introduced in the transition video, is continuing the work at the church in Salvador and the church continues to grow! Easter was one of our highest-attended services, the church has just started a new round of discipleship with six new people, and several new baptisms. The work is healthy, and we remain involved administratively and financially.
Even though we were trying to take April to get reestablished in the States, there is no break when it comes to ministry because God continues to open new doors at every turn! Our first week back, we dropped into one of our supporting churches. One member introduced himself as the head of the missions department at a local Baptist Bible college, and we set up a meeting to sit down and talk. When we did, we talked about ministry and opportunities to present the needs of the West Indies at the college next school year.
The following Sunday, we were at a church where I met Lazara, a Cuban national. Cuba is one of the islands in the West Indies, our new region, where we are working to see new churches planted. She told me of growing up in Cuba and hearing of Jesus, but never knew that she needed to be saved. She had to immigrate to the USA to learn of her need for Jesus. She was so excited to meet someone concerned about the spiritual welfare of her people.
The following Saturday, Macedonia, our new missions agency, was hosting a youth conference focused on missions. I volunteered just to help out but was asked to do the breakout session with the post-high school group. There were about 60 attendees in that age range, and I spoke on wrestling with God from Genesis 32. After the session, two young men spoke with me about how they had been wrestling with God but are feeling God’s call on their lives. We exchanged numbers and are keeping in touch. Please pray for DJ and HA.
Please continue to pray for us, too. This month, we are setting appointments with Naomi’s new doctors, preaching several meetings, and working to regain some support we have lost. It is an honor to serve the Lord and represent you all.
