Hello my friends,
Last month, November, the focus was on the fact that the Lord guides and sustains. Wow, I have experienced that firsthand as many of you have had with all that has surrounded COVID-19. Out of respect for her privacy, I did not make it publicly known that my twin sister and her husband contracted the virus. For a couple of weeks there I sure felt the distance between here and Kingfisher, OK. I called every day for a while, checking on her. God’s Faithfulness and Presence sustained me for sure. She and her husband are doing well. She is almost 100%, still tired but she will get there! Her recovery was the ultimate birthday gift for this sister!
We are continuing to work with our English project and planting into the lives of our students. We have been able to focus on several girls specifically and it has been a blessing to see them respond. We love these girls like our own! This weekend we are having two of the girls who go to our church and are sisters, spend the night Saturday night for a PJ party celebrating Patricia’s birthday. We are grateful to the Lord for drawing them close to us and their mother is thrilled!
Speaking of birthdays, we had such a special time two weekends ago celebrating my birthday. We went to Manaus and celebrated with 2 couples, Magno and Sarah and Flavio and Carol. Magno and Carol are brother and sister and they both serve in the Air Force and live on base. Magno and Carol are students of Nayara studying English. Another English missionary also joined us!
Sarah, Magno’s wife leads an awesome ministry called Justice and Mercy International (and her English is awesome). Here is a link that will explain her ministry that works all up and down the Amazon helping people as well as in Moldova. In the second video below, you will see a girl named Mary Katherine and she is the Executive Director of JMI (lives in Tennessee) and Nayara is teaching her Portuguese! How cool is that!! If you are interested in finding out more, check out the links below. Nayara and I are praying and asking God what He wants us to do next year to help them, that is how much we think of them. The link to their website is https://justiceandmercy.org/ and a wonderful short video can be seen here at https://youtu.be/Wu6vxEvrZDg. I do hope you take a moment to watch them, you will be blessed!
We are continually amazed how God is bringing people across our path, fellow missionaries who teach English, people who minister to riverside communities and through a scholarship for Nayara, she is participating in the Perspectives Mission Class this semester via online. Last Saturday morning, she met with a small group who heard about what God is doing in India (through a couple from her state of Minas Gerais) and in France. God is working, yes, even during this crazy year we have had!
I pray that as we head towards the time of year when we reflect on the significance of Christ’s birth, I hope that we all can be very intentional in making time to celebrate Him. Nayara and I are going to be reading through the book of Luke starting tomorrow December 2 and reading the book starting with the last chapter! This way we end up on Christmas Eve reading about His birth. I can’t take credit for the idea, I read it somewhere. Nayara will read a verse in English and I will read a verse in Portuguese! It should be fun.
Through my devotion material with Christine Cain, I recently wrote this down in my journal. Proverbs 3:5 My God is not limited by the circumstances around me. He is aware of my needs; He is my Provider. He is with me; He is my Guide. He is Faithful; that never changes. His Goodness is unfailing; that is a fact. His Word can be trusted, always and every day!
So, my friends, I pray God’s blessings upon you and your family. Thank you for having such a significant impact here in our little part of the world in the Amazon. We have heard from many people who have come up to us and I share this with you because you are a part of this team.
“Thank you for coming to Brazil. My life is changed. You not only teach about English, but you teach us about God and how He wants to change our whole life – in school, work, family, and church. Thank you!”
And I say again, thank you! Merry Christmas! We will be spending a little over a month in Belo Horizonte which is where Nayara’s family lives. We will also be traveling to João Monlevade which is about 2 hours from BH to be with her church family. This will be a needed time away for rest and refreshing with family and friends. Bless you and your time with friends and family!
Lisa
