Mother’s Day tea was a wonderful event! We had 11 visitors, and Joneia clearly presented the gospel. We were so grateful for resources we gained from Southwest Baptist Church for planning events. Joneia used the theme “The Measure of Christ” to create decorations of flowers made from flexible sewing tape measures. All the decorations looked beautiful. One of the challenges of missionaries is using English resources in a foreign country. Fortunately, “The Measure of Christ” translates perfectly into the Portuguese, and we were able to use the theme and details we were given. It is one of the ways that deputation helped prepare us for our ministry here. As we have spent time on the mission field, we have seen our many supporting churches come together to help us in prayer, in finances, and in resources. We understand now more than ever how important and wonderful deputation really is for missionaries.

Our dear friends from Texas returned to the States, and we immediately hit the ground running. We had Easter, the Lord’s Supper, our Mothers’ day event, and many other preparations this month! Easter is naturally one of the busiest times in a church year. We had choir preparations and an early church potluck on easter morning. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work for us. We have really been blessed with our wonderful church and love what we have been able to do so far this year. It almost feels like me sitting here writing this blog is the first time I’ve gotten to sit down this month (exaggerating only a little)! The life God has given us is challenging, but very rewarding.

One of the new mothers of our church asked to dedicate her baby in our church! It was my privilege as pastor to lead my first baby dedication. We met with her and the father about what this dedication means, and they were both happy to continue. We dedicated young Aurora to the Lord and encouraged the parents to live their lives as an example to her and raise her to follow the Lord wherever He would lead. Since that dedication, we have seen Janaina (Aurora’s mother) coming very faithfully to church! It was a joyous time where our church prayed over the family, and it has been wonderful to see Janaina taking this dedication seriously. This blessing was just the start of this month!

February was fast and simple! We had our regular services and no special events. Things are going well! Our church is growing, and we have seen a good number of visitors this month! We also had the opportunity to have one of our teens stay with us for a week. She learned a lot about life and Godliness, and she got a good glimpse into our lives. She went back home with a new perspective. It has been a privilege to start investing in the individual lives of our church members.