2022 is here and with it, lots of plans and new year resolutions. We want to serve more and better our Lord Jesus Christ, we want to be a blessing to Brazilians in any simple and possible way, we want to help the local church to move forward on her mission to evangelize the lost and make disciples. By the way, our church here in São Paulo is called “Good News” because of Matthew 28:18-20. Our slogan is “fulfilling the great commission”. Amen!
We have had some wonderful Christmas and New Years services and fellowship which are pictured some on the side bar. However, for this letter, we want to focus on some very important prayer requests to share with you:
1. A wave of sickness is the first prayer request we want to share. We are in a phase where everyone has contact with someone who is sick from either Covid, Omicron variant or H1N1 Influenza these days. It´s hitting our work heavily as it makes it harder to interact with people, plan meetings and much more. From January 1 to January 12, Brazil recorded more than 87,000 new cases of Covid, which is a new record for only 12 days. We try to not listen to the TV anymore because it is all scary and political. Please pray that we have wisdom and strength to do our part and have faith to let God take care of everything else.
More specifically, please pray for the following names that are near and dear to us: John (Odir´s uncle) – was hospitalized today after suffering a very serious heart attack; Pastor Nori and family – all got Covid and are recovering from home (potentially we were exposed to the virus through them in a recent wedding we attended together); Sandra from church – hospitalized with H1N1 Influenza; Jacira from church – strong cold for 6 days already; and several kids from church with flu that comes and goes. Please also pray for Cynthia as she has had a cold for 4 days – her cough is getting better and she had a fever only on the first day; David also got a fever on new year´s eve and we cancelled all our travel plans with family and “stayed low” at home just the 3 of us – thankfully he recovered quickly. Cynthia´s family in the US also have Covid/flu symptoms and would appreciate your prayers!
2. Good News BC has two building projects this year: The first one and most important one is the parsonage apartment for Messias, our Brazilian Pastor, and his family (wife and 9 year old son). As we shared before, this will help the church to advance on the steps to financially sustain him and his family full-time because his rent and utilities will be cared for by the church (right now he is a part-time pastor and works full-time outside the church).
The parsonage construction was progressing well up to about a couple weeks ago. However Brazil, especially south Brazil, is experiencing many heavy rains during the months of December and January (which is very uncommon, because it is supposed to be summer right now for us). Because of that (but also “thankful to that”) we just, days ago, discovered many serious leak issues in the building project which are already damaging the dry walls and will increase quite a bit the finances to fix those problems. Please pray for wisdom and urgency from the workers to find a way to fix this permanently.
The second project is the back lot of the church, which we want to redo and expand for many urgent needs - including for car parking, something that the church does not have, since parking on the streets is becoming less doable and not safe as the church grows. Please pray that God sends the funds for this project to be done. As the church body is focusing on the first project for their pastor, Cynthia and I would love to bless the church raising funds for the second project. If you want to hear more about this and how to get involved, let us know!
3. We have three main preparations for the coming weeks that requires your prayers:
-January 23: Odir is preaching at the anniversary service of a sister church.
-February 19: Pastor Messias' Installation Service. (A special service, inviting local pastors) to officially welcome him as the pastor of Good News BC even though he has been there for almost 2 years now. Covid and other things delayed this service in the past.
-Also February: Cynthia is planning the upcoming year’s Kids Sunday School Classes and Odir will be teaching a new preparation for baptism class.
Lots to pray about, right? That´s a ministry that never stops during the pandemic! We would like to encourage you to pray all the time always. How good is our Lord and the relationship we have with the Father through the Son!
Thank you so much for all your prayers.
Just a reminder: you can follow us on Instagram or Facebook Page. The links are listed below. If you are reading this as a printed letter, you can search for @ocbrandao on Instagram or Brandãos in Brazil on Facebook. Also, let us know if you need our WhatsApp numbers (an app that we use on our phones to text and talk for free).
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/brandaos
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ocbrandao
Enjoy a glance into our life in Brazil through our pictures below.
Association of Baptists for World Evangelism
PO Box 8585
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585
www.abwe.org
Sending Church:
Hope Baptist Church
Galloway, Ohio