Sharing the gospel with results

Last night, Dave and Joe caught the 9:30 pm bus to the city of Montes Claros in the neighboring state of Minas Gerais.  They should have arrived there at 4 this morning.   If you look at the map above, you can see the capital city of our state, Salvador, on the eastern coast of Brazil about halfway down the page.  A little inland you can see our city, Vitória da Conquista, then further west is Montes Claros.   From there, Dave and Joe will be catching another bus to the city of Januária, which is not on the map but it is still further inland to the northwest. 

It is a great blessing that Dave has been able to travel to share the gospel.  He will be travelling once a month to Januaria to help the church there as they are without a pastor.  Last month was his first time there.  The church, with the help of the Montes Claros congregation, went out in the neighborhood to invite people to the Sunday evening service, and there were about twenty visitors that night!  After the invitation was given, seven people came forward to receive Christ as Savior!  Here is a picture of members before the service on Sunday morning, with the overflow crowd outside the house where the church is meeting in right now.

Please pray for Dave as he preaches there on Saturday and Sunday. 

Our family also went on a retreat in the beginning of May to the city of Ilheus.  Dave and David Thompson preached wonderful sermons on the theme, “A Life with Purpose”.   One young man gave his life to Christ on the last night, and it was a special joy as we were specifically praying for him.

Service at the retreat: 

Also, a couple of Sundays ago, our family rented a big van, loaded up 18 people, and went out to the rural area of Lagoa de Timóteo to spend the day there.  Pastor Adriano goes out there twice a month, but his car was still being repaired from an accident that happened on the retreat, so we decided to rent a van.  We got the biggest van possible to load our family, Adriano’s family, the youth praise team for our church and the seminary students who are from Lagoa de Timóteo.

We all had a great time as we worshipped together with the church in Lagoa de Timóteo in the morning, ate at members’ homes after the service, played soccer in the afternoon, then returned to the evening service.  Dave and Adriano made a few visits in Estiva, the nearby community I mentioned in the previous post where Dave will be helping Adriano start the first evangelical church.   They visited a couple who had gone on the retreat, and both the husband and wife prayed to receive Christ!  Praise the Lord! 

Here is a picture of the children in the evening service singing a song for their mothers as they celebrated Mother’s Day this night.

Next week, we are looking forward to the arrival of the mission team from First Baptist Church, Waukon, Iowa!  The Pastor of the church is Duane Smith, the Chairman of the Board for the Brazil Inland Mission; and his wife Cristina  is the sister of missionary David Thompson.  They are bringing a group of teens here and we ask for prayers for their safe travel on Monday, June 2, and as they share the gospel in public schools and churches.

We are so excited about the opportunities we’ve had recently to share the gospel, and especially as we are seeing people respond in faith to the offer of eternal life through our Savior, Jesus Christ!

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, TO HIM BE GLORY…”   Ephesians 3:20-21

Blessings, Birthdays, and other Blurbs

It’s been pretty hectic since school started but I thought I’d better post an update to share our latest happenings and to ask for prayer for various things…

First, please continue in prayer for Dave as he begins ministry to the rural area of Estiva.  Pastor Adriano  ministers in the nearby rural community of Lagoa de Timoteo, and had previously led about sixteen people to the Lord in Estiva through personal visitation.  Thanks to generous giving by our supporters (along with the Brazil Inland Mission and other Brazilian churches who collected special offerings), we were able to purchase land in Estiva for a new church plant.  There is already a small house on the lot that will be renovated so that we can begin services there very soon, with the hopes of building a bigger church as the church grows.  The new believers there are very excited about their first church – the first church in this community.

While it is hard for us to imagine a town of nearly 2,000 people without a church, unfortunately it is way too common throughout the rural areas of East-Central Brazil.  Please pray that God would prepare hearts to receive the Word of God, and that many more people will come to know Him as Lord and Savior.  Continue to ask the Lord for His blessing on our work, as we plan, preach, evangelize, and train students to carry the Gospel to the cities, villages, and rural areas in which we minister. 

Many who live out in this rural area are manioc farmers.  We stopped to watch this family cutting away the outer layer of the manioc, so they can process it to make a flour called farinha.   (I am not exactly sure of all the ways manioc can be used, but I do know that we love this farinha mixed in with beans.)    Please pray for the farmers in this area, as there has been little rain for their crops. 

For now, Dave has begun going out there every other weekend when Adriano goes to preach at Lagoa de Timoteo.    Dave has picked out and has begun payments on a motorcycle to begin travelling to different areas to do ministry, and especially to start going out to Estiva on a weekly basis.   In order to keep the costs down of such a high interest rate here, Dave is paying for it through a consortium, which is similar to a lay-a-way plan, with a monthly drawing which allows someone to take their motorcycle home while continuing to pay for it.   Please join us in prayer that he gets selected in the early months.  (I will post a picture when he brings it home!)

BIRTHDAYS!

Dave and I celebrated our 40-something birthdays in the end of March, and invited some friends over to share our ten layer birthday cake, that Christine, Joe and Liz all helped make.

Blowing out our candles!

Here is Joe’s piece (minus the bottom layers if anyone is counting).   It was sooo yummy, filled with coconut filling (a Brazilian way of making cakes) and chocolate frosting in between the layers. 

BRAZILIAN BLESSINGS…

Pastor Adriano has done so much for us here, and one night he told me that he and his family were going to come over for “cafezinho“, which means coffee (adding the diminutive “-zinho” to cafe makes it a “little” coffee, or a small cup of cofee).   He said not to make anything, and since many Brazilians eat bread and coffee for supper (their large meal being at lunch), I wasn’t sure what to expect.  When he and his family came, this is what they brought for “cafezinho”:

That was undoubtedly the biggest pan of lasagna I had ever seen, and even with 7 Bostian family members who love lasagna, hardly a dent was made in it with all the other food that they brought as well – potato salad, fruit salad (not shown, but it was also the biggest bowl of fruit salad I ever saw), fried manioc (another way we like to eat it), TWO roasted chickens, and rice.  Everything was so delicious, and we even got a whole day off of cooking the next day to continue feasting! 

Please pray for Pastor Adriano and his family as he ministers in three different churches, will begin the work with Dave at Estiva, and has a secular job as well.  Pray for protection for him for all his travels, and that God will continue to use him to lead many more people to Him. 

BLESSINGS FROM OUR SUPPORTERS

I surely can’t end this without thanking you all for continuing to be a blessing to us.  We can’t thank you enough for your prayers, your encouragement through emails and letters, and your financial support.    We pray for you all as well during our family prayer times.  If you have any special prayer requests, please be sure to email us. 

We especially pray during this Easter that our Lord’s resurrection would give you hope that in spite of whatever circumstances you may be going through, you will rest secure in the fact that He is ALIVE today, and He is working in your life and in this world to bring out His perfect plan! 

We praise Him for purchasing our redemption on the cross.  We pray we never take for granted His great sacrifice.   OH, WHAT A SAVIOR! 

BLESSINGS UPON YOU AND YOUR FAMILY THIS EASTER!  WE LOVE YOU ALL!

Great way to end the Summer!

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET…

GO!!!

We had a great time at an overnight retreat recently with the families of the church.  The retreat was held because it was Carnaval time in Brazil (similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans) and all of Brazil pretty much closes down to celebrate.   Christians don’t have reasons to participate in it, so churches will often plan retreats during this time.   I’ve been told that in Brazil the new year really starts after Carnaval, since it is summer time here, and after Christmas many people (at least all the children) are on “ferias” or vacation until after Carnaval.  Some of the private schools started a couple weeks before Carnaval, and the Bostians did as well, but we considered this an end of summer bash anyway.

Unfortunately, my memory of the first night of our retreat was a blur, except for all the mistakes I made in playing the keyboard for the worship service because of the headache I had.  I attempted to sleep after the service, but that didn’t stop anyone else from having fun.  As I was just getting comfortable and about to fall asleep in the partitioned-off part of the main buildling where the girls were assigned, I could hear instructions given for some kind of activity (sometimes my Portuguese isn’t so great), and the next thing I knew, there was a mad rush of people swarming all around me.  I sat up and asked them what in the world they were doing and I was told they were needing sheets to make costumes for biblical skits.   They only had ten minutes to prepare, so for the first five minutes they were rummaging through the beds, then they were preparing their skits.  

See?  There I am in the middle of it all, wondering what in the world is going on??? (And you can see Sammy’s head poking out from under the covers.)

It was lots of fun, judging by all the laughter I could hear, as I never was able to sleep to try to get rid of my headache.  I tried to peek through the partition to watch a little, but couldn’t see much.  Sammy finally got out of bed and went around to watch all the excitement.  There were other games the rest of the night, and sadly, I could only listen in. 

Below is Christine on the altar (chair) being the ram that was caught in the bushes after Abraham was stopped from sacrificing Isaac. 

Liz and Joe’s team acted out Noah and the ark, and Liz was an animal, as you can plainly see by the sock on the foot she is putting out in front of her.  No telling what Joe is.

The next day I was feeling better and participated in all the other activities.   We had a worship service on Sunday morning, more games and activities, an evening service, and then it was time to go home.  Below, the children are doing an activity after their Sunday morning Sunday School class.  

Too bad I didn’t have my camera for the ride home.  (I got all the other pictures from other people as I didn’t even bring my mine.)  Only one person in the church has a car, so the church rented a “combi” (whatever that means I don’t know, but it is a nine passenger van), and after the van returned for another load of people, I thought it would have to take two more trips to get the rest of us back.  But no, we managed to squish 15 people in it, including the driver and his wife, not to mention 13 pillows and backpacks, my keyboard, and Liz’s and Marcia’s guitars!  Did I mention we were squished???

We all had a great time at the retreat, and we are looking forward to the next retreat in May, when our whole city will be involved in its own version of Carnaval.

Dave and Shane could not go to the retreat after all, because sadly, we received news the day of the retreat that Shane’s best friend’s mother passed away that morning, who was living in another city.   Shane and Dave travelled there to be with Shane’s friend (who had recently moved from our city back to where his mother lived), and to minister to the family.  Dave anticipated the possibility of speaking at the service, so he was prepared when he was asked to give a little message. 

We have had a busy month, and summer is now over for us.  Sammy is officially in Kindergarten! Shane and Elizabeth are in the 9th grade, Joe is in the 6th, and Christine is in the 4th grade!   We appreciate your prayers as we attempt to juggle the demands of homeschooling and ministry on the mission field.

Please pray for Lucia’s family

This past week a friend of ours, Lucia, had a stroke, and the doctors said it would take a miracle for her to live.   While we prayed for that miracle, God in His sovereignty chose to take her on home to heaven. Please be in prayer for Lucia’s husband, Marcos, and her four children ages 9-14, Sara, João, Ana Maria, and Juliana. 

After Lucia’s first stroke a little over two years ago, she had to walk with a brace, due to the paralysis of her left leg.  She didn’t get out a lot, but she was faithful at church, just about whenever the church doors were open (and we have two mid-week services).  She was picked up to come to church, but when Pastor Pereira had to go out of town to teach at our seminary extention in another city, she would walk to church, quite a distance from her house.  She had a smile for everyone, and was always asking for prayers for her neighbors to be saved.  Whenever there was a church service in her home, she invited her neighbors and family.   She had a strong faith, and a love for God and people. 

As our family prayed for Lucia, I couldn’t help but think of how much her friendship has meant to me in the short time I knew her.  Even though our communication was limited as I was learning the language for most of the time I knew her, I felt a special bond with her; maybe because her four children are friends with mine, and are similar in age, but I know for sure it is because we were sisters in Christ, and the time we spent together in worship, fellowship and prayer meetings knit our hearts together in friendship.   Lucia had a servant’s heart and did a lot to make our family feel welcomed and loved.  Even with the paralysis of her left arm, she invited our whole family over for Dave’s and my birthday last March to cook us a meal (four adults and NINE children!).  It was truly a privilege to be her friend.  

The day after Lucia’s stroke on Tuesday, our family had to go to Ilheus to pick up our Visas and renew our Brazilian Identification cards at the Federal Police office.  With the deadline being Friday, we didn’t have a choice about going.  I was thankful, though, that I was able to visit Lucia in the hospital before our family had to catch the bus.

After our business was done at the Federal Police in Ilheus on Friday afternoon, Shane and I caught the bus back to Vitoria da Conquista, while the rest of the family stayed one more night in Ilheus.  Walking home from the bus stop, we saw the lights on in the church and found out that Lucia had died that day.  They were having the viewing and then a short service at 9 pm.  The next day was the service with the burial afterward.   If she had died Wednesday or Thursday I would have missed the services, so it meant a lot for me that I was able to be a part of it.

God’s Word is true, and we take comfort in the fact that Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”  (John 11:25)   Though her family and friends are sad because she is no longer here, there is also rejoicing that she is alive in heaven with Jesus.  As 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 says…

“Death is swallowed up in victory.  O Death, where is your sting?  O Hades, where is your victory?   Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”   (I Corinthians 15:54-57)

Lucia will be missed by many people, but it will be especially hard for her husband and children.   Please keep them in your prayers.  Her husband, Marcos, is not a Christian, but he comes to church a lot, so as you pray for his family, please pray for his salvation as well.   Thank you all so much.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As the Bostians look back at 2008, we are so thankful for all of God’s blessings and His provision in our lives.   First, we have greatly improved our ability to speak and understand the Portuguese language.   Second, we were able to be active a little bit more in ministry areas.  Thirdly, we are thankful for how God has kept us healthy.   (Dave has been the only one who has needed to go the doctor in the 15 months we’ve been here.  We haven’t even needed to use much of the over-the-counter meds we brought with us.)   We are also thankful for all the friends we have made here, and for our friends and family back home who pray for us, encourage us, and support us financially.

Here are some pictures I thought I’d share to close out the year of 2008 with…

 

It’s been great having David, Debbie, and Jonathon Thompson back from furlough.  We all enjoy them, but Sammy, who has had the hardest time adjusting here, has really warmed up to them, and always looks forward to getting together with them.   At Thanksgiving, we had a wonderful time of fellowship together, and enjoyed the foods we love on this special day -turkey, stuffing, and a pumpkin pie (and more, but especially those since we don’t get to eat them often).  I even made my first coconut pie with a home-made crust.   (Thanks for humoring me every time I share my budding culinary skill!)

Above, the girls from church are posing for the camera as we celebrated Julie and Jessica’s birthday at our house.  They are the bottom two in front of the cake. 

 Here I am at the school where I taught English last year.  I enjoyed getting to know the children who live in the neighborhood, and it always brings a smile to my face when they see me in the neighborhood and call out, “Hi teacher!” or  “Oi, Tia!”  or “Oi Tia Tina!”  (Tia is the word for aunt.)

Here are a few pictures of the older kids and their friends:

 One more picture… 

Again, we are so thankful for you all.  We have a lot to look forward to this year, as we are praying about the areas of ministry God specifically wants us to be involved in.  We will share more of those areas in an upcoming newsletter. 

We pray God’s blessings on each of you in the new year ahead!

We love you!

The manger and the cross

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.

AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH…

(John 1:1-2, 14)

Our hearts and lives and future destinies are forever changed because of the Babe in a manger, who came to earth for the purpose of dying on the cross for our sins.  “It is finished,” He cried out, as He breathed His last breath and sacrificed His life for ours…all because of His great love for us.  Jesus is no longer the Baby in the manger.  He is no longer in the grave.  He is the King of kings and Lord of lords who is alive today, and we are forever grateful that He conquered sin and death and gave us the free gift of eternal life.  

 

While Christians have reason to rejoice in the salvation we have, there is sadness, too, because there are billions of people around the world who are still walking in darkness, held captive by the enemy of God.   In Revelation 7:9-10, John describes his vision of  ”a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!’”

The International Mission Board Global Research Division lists 6,442 unreached people groups in the world, and Christians are partnering together to reach them because of Christ’s command to go into all the world to preach the gospel, and because He is worthy to have people from every nation, tribe, people and tongue worshipping Him around His throne. 

In Brazil alone, there are 200 Indian tribes who have no missionary presence.   Currently, the Brazilian government is limiting missionary work in these areas.  As a matter of fact, in order to apply for our Brazilian Visas, we had to sign a form saying we would not evangelize in the indigenous areas.  God has impressed upon our hearts the importance of praying for these tribes, that doors will open to take the gospel to them, and that He would use us to help raise up Brazilians to go to them.   

This Christmas, as we meditated on the purpose for which Christ came, we gave thanks for the opportunity to serve Him in Brazil.  We appreciate your prayers, encouragement and support as we continue doing the work God has called us to.

We love you all, and pray you had a blessed time celebrating the Savior coming into the world. 

 

“LET THE CHILDREN COME UNTO ME…”

 

Every Tuesdsay morning for six weeks, I was part of a team that went into a public school in our city to share the gospel with students using the Wordless Book material.   Schools here are only 4 hours long, so there is usually a group of students that have school in the morning hours, and then another group that comes in the afternoon.   Approximately 700 children in grades 3-8 attend this school, and about 100 children made decisions for Christ!  It was a joy to be involved in this ministry, and I am looking forward to being more actively involved next year. 

Missionary David Thompson and Pastor Adriano (far left in the black shirt below), who were also on the team at this school, were able to get the addresses of about 80 of the children who made decisions for Christ, and are planning to do follow-up with them.

 

The Wordless Book material from Child Evangelism Fellowship is a book of  five pages, with each page being a certain color:   gold, black, red, white, and green.   The gold color is used to describe what heaven is like, the black color is used to talk about sin, the red color is used to talk about the blood of Jesus, the white for Jesus cleansing our sin, and green for talking about growing as a Christian.  Bible verses and stories for each topic (color) were given each week, and it was a joy to see the children eagerly listening to the Word of God as they learned about His love and His plan of salvation.

My friend Rose, shown below, is head of the ministry in our city, called “Ide e Ensine” or “Go and Teach”, which went into 14 public schools this year to give Biblical instruction.    There are more schools that want the Bible taught, but more teachers are needed!   Please pray for this important ministry in our city that is able to reach many young people with the gospel!

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19:14

We’re praising God for the children who are now a part of His kingdom!