New Church Development in Central Brazil - May 2013 Update
Dear Mission Partners,
Grace and peace of the Lord be with you all.
Our cool season has finally arrived. According to the weather bureau in Brasilia, the temperature will continue to be stable with cool air and no rain. The flu season has also arrived here in Brazil. The local governments are well-prepared for this problem. Every city’s health clinic is offering free vaccinations for senior citizens and children in order to combat the swine flu. The federal government does more vaccination campaigns through websites and TV stations, schools, bus stations, and airports.
The Independent Presbyterian Church continues its work on various projects:
Training and Coaching Program
Every Monday evening, Rev. Ceciliana Bispo da Silva provides training for nine people. They are learning how to confront problems in their lives and discover their inner-self. Each one works on how to solve these problems or frustrations. They are also learning that God is the source of all knowledge, and that they can know him personally through reading, studying the scripture, and praying that the spirit will lead them to Christ.
Wonder Woman Program
There will be a women’s conference on June 22, 2013 at our church in Samambaia. This year’s theme is “Woman - An Instrument in God’s Mission.” A leader from a Methodist Church in Brasilia will be our speaker.
Debora Prayer Group
Every Tuesday evening, a group of 20-25 people pray together for the needs of families of the church or friends and neighbors. God has answered several prayers which the group has interceded for - several families were restored from broken relationships.
Exercise Project
A young lady who is working on her Master’s Degree at a university in Brasilia has offered to teach an exercise program to anyone who wants to be trained to take care of and give simple physical therapy to patients recovering from surgery. Her project will be presented to the session so that she may use the property of our church. She will charge a small fee for those who will be trained for this type of care.
Remodeling Project
We have recently redone our outside wall. The whole place looks beautiful. We also built a covered area that we can use for our exercise program, senior citizen’s gathering, coaching program, and fellowship gathering after worship service on Sunday evening. We will also use this covered area for worship services when we start remodeling the sanctuary.
In order for us to complete this remodeling project, we will need to raise approximately $20,000. The Samambaia Church is raising $10,000. We can start the renovation after our blueprint is approved. We hope that we will be able to begin by September 2013 and finish everything by the end of November 2013. With your help, we will be able to have this done to the glory of God.
I have now returned to Brasilia. I want to thank you all again for praying for my mother and my safe travel. I am thankful to the Lord that I could see my mother once again and spend 12 hours a day with her at the hospital. At the moment, she is still in the hospital and her condition is stable. The doctor will not give a specific date for her to leave the hospital. When she is released, we plan to put her in a convalescent home close to her house for a few months as she will need more physical therapy and other special care. The doctor said that she needed to get stronger in order to return to her house. The Lord has been so good to provide for my mother’s needs. We are all thankful for his providential care. Please continue to pray for my mother, sisters, and nephew who are taking care of her at the hospital.
Blessings to you all,
Irene and Michael Sivalee
Minimum Goal for 2014
$4,300 per month for support and $1,000 per month for the Samambaia Church renovation
Location
Brazil