Dear Friends & Family,
“Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1,2 )
These familiar verses speak directly to the reason we keep on keeping on. Our close friend and encourager, as well as our pastor of many years, Bro. Jimmy Draper, in his book, Don’t Quit Before You Finish, writes: “We are to be found faithful, no matter what. In doing so, we provide the hope of Christ to…all who live in our depraved and deprived world. Our hope is their only hope — faith in Christ Jesus. And our call is to stay the course for Christ.”
It has been an interesting spring. Brazil has moved in and out of pandemic restrictions, near lockdowns, several times. To complicate things more, these have been state by state decisions, meaning that major cities like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo would find themselves with varying restrictions. End-fighting between the federal government, state governors and city mayors has become the norm, leaving churches and citizens frustrated much of the time. Churches that had reopened had to go virtual again and then await a lifting of the new restrictions. We know this sounds all too familiar by now, but keep in mind that the spring of 2021 in the US has been moving in a singular direction for the most part, i.e., fewer and fewer restrictions, while in Brazil, restrictions lighten, only to be tightened again.
In spite of the obstacles, the EE-Brazil ministry is staying the course and depends upon your prayer and support:
- Our partnership with the Baptist convention in the state of Rio de Janeiro moved from the preparation phase (EE training) to the culmination of the project, i.e., evangelization. Our two missionaries, working closely with the Convention director for evangelism and missions, are now coordinating the EE teams that are making evangelistic video calls. I received just yesterday five video testimonies of pastors who have been extremely pleased with the results in terms of lay evangelism involvement and new conversions. Please pray for more and more people to receive the gift of eternal life and also for an extension into the denomination’s next fiscal year planning of the EE training phase of the project, providing us the opportunity to challenge still more pastors/churches with evangelism training.
- I am in the process of recruiting a new Brazilian missionary, John Mark (English name). He is a missionary with another mission and is between fields of service, praying about the future. He has been involved in EE training off and on for many years, and as a result of a conversation with him, I began to imagine him as a member of our Team. He has an interest in unreached, indigenous people groups, as well as reaching followers of Islam. EE has training material that could be translated to Portuguese and adapted to Brazil for both of these areas of ministry. So, I have devoted a fair amount of time recently becoming more familiar with this material, in order to talk with him about it. This missionary currently lives in an area in Brazil where there is an indigenous group and could field-test the new material among them, should he determine that this is what God has for him as a ministry. Please pray for the Lord’s will to be done in John Mark’s life and ongoing ministry.
- I am in the process of developing an online workshop for mentors/trainers, as Brazil comes out of the pandemic. It will be for the purpose of reminding mentors/trainers of the most important aspects of their role in the local training ministry, as many will have unfortunately been inactive for over a year, due to the coronavirus. I plan to share the PowerPoint with our Team in the next few days. Please pray that the material will be an inspirational challenge to mentors/trainers.
- We have moved our São Paulo office to a smaller location, allowing for a significant reduction in monthly expenses, while Brazil is still affected by the pandemic and training events are smaller and limited in number. Please praise the Lord with us for his provision of this office space.
Thanks to so many of you for staying the course in praying for us and giving to our support! Currently, we are running about $500/mo behind what we received in the first five months of both 2019 & 2020. If you have fallen behind but could catch up right now, it would be a great help to us! If you can give an extra gift right now, that, too, will be a genuine source of encouragement and help! The Online Giving image below provides access to a secure portal for giving to our support fund. Of course, mailing a check is still an option, too. To the right of the image below you will find instructions and an address.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Click on the “Online Giving” image to the left to be taken to the Be One Together giving portal & website. You may also mail your designated check (“Foster Support” on the memo line) to: Be One Together, Inc. P.O. Box 112 Hiram, GA 30141
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!