October 2015Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Life can change in the blink of an eye, and in these last four months we have seen changes that will change our future. At the beginning of July, we learned that the national pastor we came to Brazil to work with was going to be leaving the church and stepping out of vocational ministry, at least for a time. We spent three months helping the church through this transition. Brandon preached a series on “A Healthy Church” and taught a series on “Our Relationship with God” to the young adult Sunday School class. Although these months have been challenging and emotionally draining, we have learned many lessons and grown much closer to the people of the church, especially the young adults. It was encouraging seeing some of them closer to the people of the church, especially the young adults. It was encouraging seeing some of them taking the things they have been learning and applying them – seeing James 1:25 in action! So it is with a lot of sadness and saudade (longing, akin to homesickness) that we stepped out of that ministry at the begin-ning of October to concentrate on language school and work under a veteran missionary. We covet your prayers as we are still trying to get our bearings and seeking where God would have us serve after language school.

As we continue our schooling, some of our activities with folks from the church will also continue. Brandon is doing a study on preaching with the seminary student who is now doing a good bit of the preaching at Moraes. Emily is still giving piano lessons to two of the girls from the church. We are thankful for these on-going ministries and the doors that they are keeping open with the folks at Moraes.

Our Portuguese professor has truly been a blessing from God. She is a faithful member of a Baptist church nearby and has been an invaluable resource not only for Portuguese but also in better understanding Brazil-ian culture from a Christian worldview. As someone who studies and knows God’s Word, she has been able to answer our many “why?” questions from the perspective of Scripture.

This week we have the opportunity of hosting a Brazilian pastor from Brasilia - the nation's capital - in our home. He was a missionary in the Amazon for 18 years, and is now pastoring the church he grew up in, the church that had commissioned him as a missionary. Though it is not his first time in São Paulo, he had never seen downtown before. So on Wednesday we took him out to see the sights of the city. It was kind of funny, two new Americans taking a Brazilian around sight-seeing! Anyway, a number of aspects of our city left an impression on him. He kept on talking about just how many people there are here in São Paulo. And when you all visit us, you will likewise be impressed. If you keep us with international news, you may know that Brazil is in the midst of a crisis. The economy has plummeted (due in part to a huge corruption scandal, involving the highest positions of government) and unemployment has skyrocketted – and with it violence. It is a difficult time for the people of Brazil. Pray for the churches here, that the people will not grow discouraged, and for the unsaved, that God would use the difficult circumstances and the example of faithful believers to draw them to the truth of His Word.

Praise the Lord for:-- Youth with a desire to learn God’s Word- A wonderful Portuguese professor

Pray for:- The church of Moraes Prado as they seek a new pastor- Clear direction for our future ministry here in Brazil- Continued language acquisition

In Christ,