It has officially been a full year since the Yelles went on furlough…AND WE’RE STILL ALIVE! Of course we’re still alive, God has been helping us. God has given us a wonderful church family who is growing; our discipleship group is thriving. This month was pretty normal. We had a Friend Day event at church, and we celebrated the 4th of July with other missionaries about 2 hours south of us. We worked on projects around the property. As winter has officially begun, many things here calm down. Life is normal, and we are doing well.
Our discipleship group has been doing incredible. In Just 6 weeks they have grown exponentially in their spiritual maturity, biblical understanding, and service in our church. Discipleship has been such an incredible opportunity to personally invest in our people, and its fruit is showing. Keep praying for this group to stay strong and focused.
We continue to have individual families of our church over on Sundays and it too has proven to be very beneficial. In a catholic society, it is easy for our people to think there is a separation of holiness between the priest and the people. But by personally investing in our church families over a meal at our house, they get to see that we too are just people doing our best to serve our God…and it encourages them to do the same. We are connecting with our people. And now that I am fluent (not perfect) in Portuguese, I am able to connect with our people better than ever. It has been encouraging and invigorating to make real connections with people again. And as we connect them with, we are able to teach them more about God. And we have seen an obvious growth spurt in a church through this ministry.
Keep praying for us as our lives and ministry continue. We are well. We keep getting basic daily injuries from life on a ranch. My horse kicked me in the thigh today! That was new! No injury or problems, just a bruise. Joneia fell and sprained her wrist while working our dog. There are many scrapes and splinters from trimming trees and bushes. We are grateful for everything that God has given us here. Without our work with our fruit trees and animals we would likely have to pay significant land taxes! It is one of the miraculous ways that God continues to care for us.
Pray for our ministry. Pray for our discipleship group. Pray for our church’s growth. And keep praying for us.
Thank you and God bless you.