Dear Friends and Family,
“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven… I have seen the task which God has given the sons of mankind with which to occupy themselves. He has made everything appropriate in its time…I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,10-11a)
These are very encouraging words from Ecclesiastes!! Knowing that God is in control helps believers through challenging times such as these. As we continue to look forward to the day that the Brazilian government relaxes the restrictions on travel, but now with rumors of new variants realize that a further delay could result, we recognize God’s hand in what we’ve been doing in our ministry in recent weeks and give him praise for the fact that a prolonged, less than ideal situation can nevertheless be used by our omniscient Heavenly Father to allow for bold decisions/advances!
We have been reorganizing the Evangelism Explosion ministry to meet new demands and opportunities in Brazil, culminating in a Team meeting earlier this week. I remain very much involved…full-time…in daily EE-Brazil activities, investing in the Team through mentoring and Coaching via Zoom, WhatsApp, etc., which is a continuation of what I have been doing all along. But now, some of the other in-country responsibilities are being reassigned to other team members, finally freeing me to focus on some really important projects that had begun to “age.” For example:
- new training materials, beginning with the verification of a translation of a new training module that deals with the most common objections to the Gospel. In English the material is entitled, “Reasonable Answers for Honest Skeptics.” The translation of that title into Portuguese leaves something to be desired. So, we have decided to call our fourth training module, “Respond with the Reason” (for the hope that is within you. 1 Peter 3:15).
- a web-based management system for our national ministry and local churches, too. I have been working closely, now even more intensely, with one of our missionaries, a former systems analyst, to develop this system for our national ministry and for local churches, helping them to keep up with every aspect of their outreach and EE training ministries. The system will be unique, providing time-saving processes for our missionaries and much easier capture of information from evangelistic visits, the kind of details that often escape pastors and church leaders due to the extra work involved. When ready for field-testing, the system will be the first time anything like it has been implemented…anywhere! So, that is exciting, as we try to sense and respond to the needs of churches that use EE training tools. After implementation in Brazil, we expect to see the system implemented in the other Latin American nations and beyond. So, the computer code is not just in Portuguese for our use…we are putting the system into English, too, to facilitate translation and implementation in interested national EE ministries around the world.
Please pray for these two projects, for the Lord to enlighten our thinking and help us to efficiently use our time to complete them, making room for the new projects that are already appearing.
We remain grateful for, and encouraged by, your faithful support in prayer and financially!! Your support during May – August has allowed us to focus on the really important decisions mentioned above!! Your partnership is an integral part of what is going on in our lives and in the ministry of EE-Brazil! Please see the online giving image below for ways to contribute to our support.
“So two good things will result from this ministry of giving — the needs of God’s people will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 9:12,13)
Prayerfully and with sincere gratitude,
Robert & Mary Jo Foster,
Serving Evangelism Explosion-Brazil
* Atualidadesis a Portuguese word that means news or up to date information. We want you to have the latest information in order to support us in prayer, as well as financially when the Lord leads/enables. Thank you!