Dear friends,

Merry Christmas! It is one of my favourite times of the year. I love getting prepared for Christmas and, in the past, the opportunity to spend time with friends and family. This year it does not feel like Christmas, as I look at the sunny blue skies, palm trees and the Atlantic. The only real signs of Christmas are the decorations that are now in the shops and which have been around since last month. But our reason for celebrating the season is not the presents or Father Christmas but to remember Jesus Christ – our Saviour. He was born to die in our place, so that we might live forever and abundantly in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Is that not the real reason to celebrate?!

As I start this letter, I have

just completed preparations for this month’s English Bible Study lessons, which began back in May. It seems like a very long time ago now. We have had groups ranging from 2-10 people. It is not unusual to have Brazilians come in off the street, as the church doorman is great at telling people about the class. Almost every week we have someone new attend. However, we are faced with the challenge of the class being on the third floor and some older people cannot climb so many stairs.

We have discussed advertising in a couple of local universities for a new site but until three

FAITH GORDON LINK LETTER NO.9 | NOVEMBER 2016

Hello from Brazil!

CHURCHMISSIONSOCIETY.ORG/GORDON

Name: Faith Gordon

Location: Recife, Brazil

My role: An English as a Second Language(ESL) professional involved with variousprojects.

My call: To see individuals and families inBrazil live abundant and faith filled lives(John 10:10b)

Top: Faith and Vanessa at the Presbyterian Church

Bottom: Members of the English Bible study

CHURCHMISSIONSOCIETY.ORG/GORDON

weeks ago I was preparing for my Portuguese exams so was too busy to . Now the smoke has cleared, I am in the process of discerning what God wants me to do and how to “plan” what to do next (as much as you can plan when God is in control!).

This year has not only been one of study but has seen a dramatic increase in access to Brazilian culture and religious life as I have learned more of the Portuguese language. For a long time, I have been aware both of the poverty here and the social impact of this. However, as I began to read newspapers and journals, listen to the radio and watch television on a daily basis, I learned more about the values on which this society is built.

In July, I went on short-term mission to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. I spent time with pastors and missionaries and preached in five churches. It was a really interesting experience to observe the differences between

life there and in Recife. In Brasilia, there are poor communities but the government has I have been told worked to eliminate some of the worst social and economic differences, which are still prevalent in other parts of the country. However, the long-standing prayers of many churches, for God to work at the heart of the nation, are seemingly being answered. The second revelation for me was how entrenched in

society is the acceptance of syncretic behaviour. New Year is celebrated on the beaches with people robed in white and making offerings to the spirits of flowers, perfume, food etc. In February, carnival is celebrated. However, Christians do not usually attend with churches often closed and Christians either staying at home or going away on camp for this period. As the year progresses, there are other rituals and pagan festivals celebrated, the most recent of which was The Day of the Witches, better known in the UK as Halloween. I find much of this quite fascinating from an anthropological perspective because Christian language and practice permeates more of north east Brazilian life than in other countries in which I have lived.

Council elections over the past couple of months have also given me fresh insight into how music is such a part of the Brazilian psyche. Day and night for about two months, vans – with speakers on their roofs – blared out loud music

“This year has not only been one of study but has seen a dramatic increase in access to Brazilian culture and religious life as I have learned more of the Portuguese language. For a long time, I have been aware both of the poverty here and the social impact of this.”

Top left: Faith prayed with these teenagers about their lives in church

Top right: The family that I stayed with in Brasilia

FAITH GORDON LINK LETTER NO.9 | NOVEMBER 2016

and campaign slogans. During lessons at the university, our lecturer was often drowned out by the various political parties who were touting for votes. As we drove along the streets, people waved huge flags with the photos and candidate numbers, while others had their car’s rear windscreens transformed into posters for the candidate they supported. As we waited for the traffic lights to change, groups of mostly young women danced in front of the car and waved these banners and chanted slogans, whilst their colleagues passed out their candidate’s leaflets and stickers.

I was glad when election day arrived because we could again live in relative peace. One interesting fact about elections here is that it is obligatory to vote so long as you can sign your name. This reminded me of something else, as in the same way during the period of the Census before Jesus’s birth, many people here returned to their home towns or cities to vote.

This new year will hopefully see the start of a new NGO formed by myself and some of the leaders of the Presbyterian church of which I am a part. The remit of the organisation has not yet been defined but I am waiting for the senior presbyter to call a meeting of those that will work together. I have also been asked to give some lectures at a local university. However, in order to do that I need to change my visa. I am hoping that as part of the course the students will want to tackle a project to deal with illiteracy.

We wish you a blessed and peaceful Christmas and the Father’s richest blessings for 2017.

Love

Faith and VanessaYou can give online to Faith at: churchmissionsociety.org/gordon

Contact details: gordon_faith@hotmail.com

PLEASE PRAY...

I praise God that I completed my Portuguese exams and can communicate much more effectively than before.

Praise God for Vanessa’s language learning. Although she does not have the breadth of vocabulary that I have, she speaks like a native and conjugates verbs that I struggle with. Please continue to pray for her spiritual, emotional and educational development.

Please pray that the visa process will go through swiftly for the start of the academic year.

Pray for all the British missionaries who have been financially impacted by the UK’s exit from Europe; we are currently experiencing a fall of about a third in what we receive monthly. However, we still need to praise God for what we have because in Brazil there are around 12 million people who are now unemployed. Please pray for the social impact that this is having on the nation.

Left: Faith praying for a pastor in a Brazilian church