Another busy month of ministry, but full of incredible blessings. We began discipleship again with a new group this month! Our goal is for all of our members to go through discipleship. We are doing this course with four ladies of our church: Vilma, Marcia, Michele, and Taisa. We have learned that discipleship can be a very difficult process, and requires preparation to encounter spiritual battles, and our discipleship students’ eyes have been opened to the spiritual war around them. In the few short weeks since we started, we have seen them grow spiritually, have a renewed spiritual hunger, and have become stronger in their faith and unity. We are excited for them in this process. Please be praying for them as they have committed themselves to discipleship.

This month we had our Valentines Day Dinner. This was technically my first event where I would be preaching. We had eight visitors (four couples) and I taught about having a strong foundation with Christ as the cornerstone. I was able to preach the gospel, and I pray that God uses it for His glory and to see more people in our city get saved. For part of the event, the couples worked together to build little houses out of wood stirring sticks (for coffee). Everyone had fun with the exercise in communication and collaboration.

As I have progressed in my Portuguese, the Lord put it on my heart to pursue more opportunities. One of our men, Jonir, has been very faithful to preach on Sunday nights since the Yelles left for furlough. I have now begun preaching every other Sunday evening. I am grateful that the process of making sermons in Portuguese has become much quicker, and that I am able to take on more preaching. I am extremely grateful for both Jonir and Robson who have been helping me with the preaching load, and I am excited for the opportunity to preach more.

We also have been inviting each of our members over to our house on Sundays between services for lunch and fellowship. It has been a wonderful opportunity to personally invest in each of our members. The ministry has become busier, but we are more blessed than ever.

On the subject of blessings, we have a HUGE blessing this month! In January, I sent a letter out to our churches with our prayer letter. We realized that with the Yelles returning in August, we were about to encounter complications regarding our vehicles. We had been borrowing one of the Yelles’ vehicles since we arrived here. So, we sent a letter to our churches asking for help to get our own vehicle. Well, this month, we received EVERYTHING WE NEEDED to get our vehicle Cash Down! Our churches came together and helped us reach our financial goal for our vehicle. And this month we purchased our own small pickup truck that is good for picking up passengers for church, and for working on our ranch property! We are so grateful for the generosity of our churches, and that God works through our churches to help us here in Brazil. We are overwhelmed with gratitude for all that God does for us.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Please keep praying for us. We feel like we are catching up to this pace of life and ministry. Pray, though, for continued strength and energy for us every day. Keep praying for our members, especially our discipleship group. Pray for one of our members specifically named Clovis. He is battling terminal, inoperable cancer, and could go home to be with the Lord any day. We are working to encourage him and help however we can, but he really needs a miracle which is only possible with God. So please pray for him. Pray for our ministry here to keep growing. We are seeing strength in our church, but at times we also see great discouragement amongst our people. Pray for protection and encouragement and strength for today.

Thank you again, and God bless you.