OCTOBER 2014
So the churches
were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. Acts
16:5
Dear Friends and Prayer
Warriors,
Greetings
from your coworkers to the Portuguese-Speaking World!
As we
work with the churches BROLM (Brazil River of Life Ministries) has planted in
Brazil and the two new church plants, Fortaleza and Recife, it is tremendous to
see the churches being strengthened in faith and growing.
Let us share with you some ministry highlights:
Natalia’s and
Orli’s Wedding
July 5th,
I (Jeff) was blessed with the opportunity to celebrate Natalia’s and Orli’s
wedding. We've known Natalia since 1994 (she was 6 years-old), when her Mom
(Sonia) and her older brother (Felipe), who is an elder in training, became
members of the Pirituba Church. We met Orli a year ago and we are praying for
his conversion. He comes from a family that split because of religion.
New Members –
Pirituba Church
July 6
we received the Cardoso Oliveira family as new members at the Pirituba Church.
Jefferson and Andrea have 5 boys (Daniel – 16
Bruno – 14, Andre – 12, Estevam – 9 and Calebe – 8 months-old). For
about a year this family was without a home church, they started attending
Pirituba in March 2014, when Calebe was only one month-old. They were invited by
Mauro, one of the elders at Pirituba Church. At this opportunity we also
presented Calebe to the Lord. What a blessing!
Corn Festival – Pirituba Church
Every
year in July the Pirituba Church promotes an outreach called Corn Festival. It
is corn harvest in Brazil at the end of fall and the beginning of winter. For
several days the ladies from the church get together to bake corn breads,
cakes, soup, etc. During the festival we receive several people from the
Pirituba area; there is live music and Pirituba members handout invitations for
people to come to church. It is hard work to put the Corn Festival together;
however it is always rewarding to see people come to church because of the
festival.
Jessica’s and
Lucas’s Wedding
July 19th,
I (Jeff) was honored to celebrate Ruben’s
(minister at Jundia Church) daughter Jessica’s wedding. We have known Jessica
since 2002 and Lucas since 2011. Lucas is the worship leader at the Jundia
church.
New Church Plant in
Fortaleza
July 21st-23rd,
I (Jeff) went to Fortaleza, to visit Brother Pedro and his family, and to meet
the brothers and sisters that are planting the new church in the Montense and
Vila União neighborhoods in the city of Fortaleza, State of Ceará.
Monday
afternoon I met with two other ministers with whom Pedro has helped plant
churches: Amadeu from the Timbó Church and Josemar Quintino from the Cunha
Church.
Monday
night I spoke to a small group that meets at the Timbó Church and had a meeting
with the church leadership.
Tuesday
morning we visited several tourist sites in Fortaleza and on Tuesday afternoon
we met with a few of the group that is planting the new church at Montense and
Vila União with Pedro and his family. The church plant location is a challenge because
Montense is a middle-class neighborhood and Vila União is a slum. The church
that is meeting at Pedro’s house is right on the division between the two
neighborhoods. Pray for this new church!
Tuesday evening I spoke at a home group from
the Quintino Cunha Church, Pedro has worked helping Josemar plant this church
in the last 3 years and the church is doing very well. All of these churches
are planted based on small groups.
New Church Plant in
Recife
On
Wednesday, July 23rd, I traveled to Recife by plane to meet Brother Bruno, his
wife Luciene and the members of the church they are planting in Areias, Recife,
capital of the state of Pernambuco. The Areias church was meeting in homes. In
March 2014, they rented a small building and started meeting on Sundays and
Wednesdays at the rental location. However, they still have home groups during
the week.
Wednesday
evening I spoke at the church service and met the members of this new church
plant. It was a great celebration!
Thursday
we had lunch with Starla Azevedo, David Sanders' daughter who works with Brazil
Christian Mission. In the afternoon we saw many tourists’ sites in Recife and
in the evening I spoke at one of the home groups.
“Hands On” Bible
College
The plans
to institute “Hands On” Bible College in Angola, Guinea Bissau, and Portugal
have been changed to the first semester of 2015. Also, we plan to institute the
“Hands On” Bible College at all BROLM churches in Brazil including the two new
church plants in Fortaleza and Recife in 2015. Another exciting opportunity is
the possibility of offering the “Hands On” Bible College online in 2015. The
budget for BROLM to offer “Hands On” Bible College throughout the
Portuguese-Speaking World and online for 2015 is $13,860; we have $3,860 for
this purpose, so we still need to raise $10,000 to reach this goal.
Available to Speak
We are
available to speak and visit our supporters from October 1 to December 31. Here is our present schedule:
Nov 1-2
– First Christian Church Johnson City, TN
Nov
13-16 – ICOM in Columbus, OH (Exhibit 1105)
Nov 30
– Seymour Heights Christian Church
God is doing great things through BRoLM, and your prayers and
support are vital! Please continue to pray so the Lord will use BRoLM more and
more for His honor and glory!
May the Lord richly bless you in Christ Jesus!
God is good, all the time; and He is acting among us!
In HIS Love and Service,
Thanks for praying for us!
Jeff
& Monica Fife
