Hello my friends,
Please forgive the delay in getting this post out to
you. Life has been full and very
busy. Let me catch you up….
Nayara and I spent the Christmas holiday and most of January
in Belo Horizonte. We spent our time
going back and forth to her home town of João Monlevade. We had about 7 times to share through
testimonies and preaching. It was
great. I continue to marvel at Nayara’s
growth with English, what a blessing! We
also had a friend, Patrícia who flew down from Manacapuru to spend a little
over a week with us. It was fun for her
and for us. And of course, the time with
Nayara’s family was a blessing.
I spent a lot of the Christmas “break” working on a new
curriculum plan for the English classes.
We were unable to gain permission to use the material we used last year,
so we needed to change. The Lord was so
faithful. He led me to a book that has
been fantastic! I am using the principles
in this book. The book is called Fluent
Forever by Gabriel Wyner. If you are
interested in learning a second language, I would recommend this book!
So, after a lot of work during the break we returned to
Manacapuru ready to get back to work.
When we returned we had a few days and then we went to Youth Camp with
the church and had a great time. Wow,
the memories that it brought back to me with my 13.5 yrs. in Youth Ministry! It was wonderful to spend time with the youth
and adults as well.
We are now beginning our 6th week with our
evening classes with English. The new
curriculum is working well, and the students seem to really like it. It is helping them gain confidence with their
speaking. I am also using the principles
with my learning of Portuguese and its working!
whoo! Nayara and Patrícia have
decided to learn Spanish, and they are using the curriculum too. They asked me if I wanted to, but I had to
say no, my plate is full enough. They
are having fun with it.
Our work with the Public-School students and teachers have
been on hold due to construction at the school and now the teachers have gone
on strike. So, we will be patient and
begin as soon as possible when things calm down. We have also had opportunities to talk with
teachers in the city (outside our school of José Mota) about the possibility of
having classes to help with their pronunciation. The feedback has been positive, so we will
see what happens after the strike. One
positive aspect about the delay with the work in the Public School is that we
have been able to see how the new curriculum is working. We are encouraged!
We have 3-night classes through the week, along with 3 skype
classes on Sunday (4 people) and I am also assisting a young man in another
community who wants to start an English class.
We have been able to meet several people from this community and we hope
to be able to travel there soon. He is
looking at starting a class in June or July.
The community is about 4-5-hour boat ride away from Manacapuru. We are so blessed with the opportunity to
serve the Lord and people through teaching English.
We have several things to ask you to pray about:
- · I and LC Ministries have asked Nayara to come to the US with me in August to help me share with people about the work we are doing here. She will be going to the US Consulate in Brasilia to apply for the appropriate visa here in a week or so. We need God’s favor and covering. So please pray that the visa would be granted and that she would have zero problems with getting it.
- · For God to continue to open doors with the Public-School students and teachers. We are doing everything we can to be prepared for them once classes resume.
- · Our schedule is crazy – so we are working hard to keep a good balance of rest, exercise, study and fun. Please pray that we keep everything in proper order!
We have also been blessed to help through preaching and
teaching at the church along with other activities with adults and youth. Our heart desire to be a blessing to Pr
Rogerio and the church while the Lord allows us to be here.
Thank you so much for your prayers and financial
support. Through you Nayara and I can be
here doing the work the Lord has instructed us to do. You are a blessing! I will have to post at a late date, sorry.
Lisa
