Commended from:  Niagara Falls, NY '65; Carrollwood, Tampa, FL '87

December 15, 2004

Dear Prayer Partners,

Our Graduation is now behind us.  It was a beautiful ceremony.  The Gymnasium of Brazil’s Word of Life was packed out.  This was the largest graduating class of the Seminary’s history.  We felt doubly honored when the reward for an outstanding student life was awarded to Leticia, a girl from one of our Assemblies in Paraguay.

On the first Saturday of the month, a Thanksgiving Service was held for the Chaplaincy Ministry.  Despite the many difficulties experienced during this year of activities we still had much to praise the Lord for.  It was a very special time as we reminisced over what the Lord accomplished during this year.  I drew the service to a close with a short message based on Habakkuk, a prophet that seemed to have lived our experience for us.

For those who have not yet been informed, at the end of November we ended up leaving the large Clinic’s Hospital.  The Superintendent, a political figure, reversed his decision again and required that we be part of an ecumenical Chaplaincy work that was being formed in the Hospital.  We refused to bow to this request.  It wasn’t just a question of the ecumenical aspect, although that too was decisive, but the leaders of the new Chaplaincy work are people who have no character whatsoever, who have undermined the hospital work by leading the hospital employees in strikes, and most of all, have no fear of God.  We made it clear to the Hospital Superintendent that the highly appreciated work that was carried on by our team for 22 years would not and could not associate itself in anyway with such leadership.

We are very much at peace about the whole issue.  We have divided up the team amongst other hospitals where we already had a ministry and these hospitals have appreciated the increase in their respective teams.  But other hospitals are also opening up their doors and thus the work goes on.  We want to thank all of you have prayed for us during this very difficult year.  Although we do not yet understand the Lord’s purpose in this we do firmly believe He has a purpose.  We have begun to see evidence of this.

We are kept busy with Biblical Counseling.  The demand is constantly growing.  We are finalizing the plans for offering a course to pastors and leaders this coming year.  This will mean one Saturday a month during eight months of the year.  Each Saturday will involve 10 hours of classes.  Our vision is to bring counseling back into the context of the local churches.

Eleny has been kept busy the last two weeks for her mother was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit with both heart and urinary insufficiencies.  Thankfully the Lord brought her through this another crises and she returned home yesterday but will still be under homecare for awhile.

Christmas is just around the corner.  Here in Brazil, the custom is to have a family get together on Christmas Eve.  This will involve all of Eleny’s side of the family.  This is celebrated with a full fledged Christmas dinner served around midnight.  We normally arrive home around three in the morning.  Christmas day is spent with our kids and that involves another Christmas dinner.  Weather-wise it has been difficult to get into the Christmas spirit for the temperatures have been soaring these days.

At the present time we are preparing for two weeks of ministry in January.  One week will be spent ministering to Brazil’s New Tribes missionaries in Manaus.  This will involve flying to Manaus and then spending several hours traveling by river boat to the site of the conference.  The other week will be spent ministering to the guests at the Word of Life Ranch near Sao Paulo.  Please remember these efforts in prayer.

In Christ,

P.S. Many thanks for your prayer and financial support in the work.

November 15, 2004

Dear Prayer Partners,

The Lord has been good and He has allowed us to finish up our Master’s Degree in Biblical Counseling.  Our graduation is marked for the 11^th of December.  This has been a long dragged out process but we are grateful to God for another victory.  Thanks to all those who have faithfully stuck by us during this time and have remembered this issue in prayer.

My classes at Word of Life Biblical Seminary are coming to a close for this semester, just one more week to go.  It has been a privilege to share Biblical Counseling with my students, nearly 50 of them, some of whom will be graduating along with us.  What brings me a great deal of joy is that this particular subject allows us to deal with the student’s life in a very deep and rich way.  In fact, this is one of the primary goals of the Seminary; to make sure the student’s life backs up what he has learned.

At the end of last month and the beginning of November, we held the Second Level in our Chaplaincy Course.  We are so grateful to God, for those who brought the lectures worked extremely hard at their preparation and did an outstanding job.  We had around 120 students participating in the course from all over Brazil.  There is still one more level to cover and that should take place in the second semester of next year.

As long as we are on the subject of the Chaplaincy Ministry, allow me to inform you that we are now definitely leaving the large hospital where my wife has had a ministry for the last 22 years.  We have not been able to communicate a finally decision until now because things have been swinging back in forth for the last few months.  The hospital superintendent has determined that the Chaplaincy ministry will be Ecumenical in nature and that is not limited just to Catholics and Protestants, but to all faiths working together in the same office.  We have taken a stand against this and will be withdrawing at the end of this month.  We are now at peace about this move.  The Lord has opened up other opportunities of service for us and we will be redistributing our team members amongst both new and existing hospitals.  Thanks for your faithfulness in prayer support for this matter.  We apologize for not having kept you informed over the last few months, but we too were kept in suspense about the whole issue.

The Director’s meeting for Brazil’s Back to the Bible Ministry went well.  This ministry is now not only on National Radio Stations but even on Television.  There has been steady growth in the work for which we praise God.  As the name reveals, Back to the Bible, this is the emphasis that is given in the programs.  This has come as a breath of fresh air to the airwaves.  There is so much programming going on today which is superficial in nature, so much so, that a program that takes people back to the Word is a welcome site.

We had the joy of ministering at an Assembly Camp held the second weekend of this month.  Over the years we have had contact with various individuals from this Assembly but we had never had the privilege of meeting with them as a Local Assembly.  The response was great and the ministry seemed to be much appreciated.

This past Saturday we were invited by one of our Chaplaincy offsprings to give a series of talks on Biblical Counseling and Chaplaincy ministry.  They told us they would have around 100 people attending the sessions.  To their surprise and ours, there were 300 present and the interest was high.  How grateful we are to see this ministry spreading though out Brazil.

Please join us in prayer as we are seeking a move from our present house to an apartment.  This is a big decision for us but one we have been mulling over in our minds for some time.  We believe we have finally found what we are looking for and we are trusting the Lord for the proper documentation to come through on the deal.

In Christ,

P.S. Many thanks for your prayer and financial support in the work.

October 15, 2004

Dear Prayer Partners,

We are praising the Lord for 10 wonderful years of marriage life.  The Lord has indeed blessed our relationship for which we are grateful and the privilege of serving Him together has been a highlight of this time.  God is good.  We spent four days in one of Brazil’s Historical Coastal cities and enjoyed a real break from what has been a year of struggles in maintaining the Chaplaincy ministry.

This past week I had the privilege of speaking to the Latin American Directors of Child Evangelism.  I actually decided to take in the entire week of the Conference due to my new responsibilities as Vice-President of Brazil’s ministry in order to gain a bigger and better picture of what this work involves.

Eleny, during the same week, was off to Rio de Janeiro where she took part in a Conference on Palliative Care.  She is part of a Brazilian reference team for this multi-professional practice. They travel around the country to speak at Medical Congresses as well as bringing groups from all over the country to receive instruction in this import work.

This coming weekend, Oct. 30th, 31st and Nov. 1^st and 2^nd, we will be holding the Second Stage Course for our Chaplaincy ministry.  The course has three stages to it.  This second stage prepares our team for specific areas of the work and the final stage has in view the preparation of Hospital Chaplains. 

We want you to be praying very specifically for a matter related to the ministry in the largest hospital where we serve.  You all are well aware of the fact that this year has been one tremendous battle.  In our last letter to you we announced that the Superintendent had reversed his decision in favor of our ministry.  Saturday night, however, after picking up Eleny from the airport, we received an e-mail from the Superintendent to the effect that he seems to be backing down on his word.  Eleny is looking into this matter today with those responsible for such decisions.

Yesterday I had the joy of returning to and ministering to an Assembly here in Sao Paulo that I haven’t been to in probably 30 years.  In fact I had lost all contact with them over the years.  They mentioned publicly that this had been there fault and not mine.  They seemed encouraged by the teaching and would like us to make up for lost time during next year.  They unfortunately had problems and this hindered them from inviting others for some time.  However, they seem to be back on their feet again and moving ahead.  The Chapel was pretty well filled for last nights meetings.

Please remember the following date in your prayers.  On Nov 9^th both Eleny and I will appear before a group of judges to defend our Master’s Dissertation in Biblical Counseling.  This is especially hard for me at 64 years of age when my thinking is not as a clear as it used to be.  We are, however, grateful for the opportunities the Lord has given us in Biblical Counseling, both in a teaching capacity as well as in counseling sessions.

In closing, we would like to apologize for the lack of acknowledging of last month’s gifts.  For some reason the CMML voucher did not reach us.  When we asked them send us a copy they merely sent us the list of contributors but did not include their addresses so we were up a creek without a paddle.  Please accept our humble apologies.

We are indeed grateful for all who have made this ministry possible in Brazil.  It is always a joy to write you and share news with you.  We definitely want you to feel part of this ministry.  We want you to share in the joy of God’s rich blessings.

In Christ,

P.S. Many thanks for your prayer and financial support in the work.

September 15, 2004

Dear Prayer Partners,

We commence this letter with a word of good news.  God has answered the faithful prayers of His people and has preserved the Chaplaincy Ministry.  On the last day and the very last hour the Superintendent reversed his decision and we have been allowed to stay on.  Thank you for praying.

We have not said anything about this change in the situation until now because we sensed the need to be cautious about the whole affair.  We are extremely grateful to the Lord for this turn in events.  We are equally grateful for all those who remembered this question in prayer.  People from all over the world have been praying.  Obviously, with so much constant opposition, the ministry has been effective in rescuing men and women from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His own dear Son.

This has been a busy season for us.  I spent a week teaching at the Timothy Project in the city of Piracicaba.  This is a discipleship pro-gram run by one of our New Zealand missionaries, Donald Heffernan and his wife.  It is part of a program the local church has adopted and it has been much used of the Lord.

My studies continue on each Tuesday at the Word of Life Seminary here in Brazil, teaching Biblical Counseling.

I had the privilege of speaking at a Young People’s Camp during the holiday that celebrates Brazil’s Independence Day.  The camp was held at a rented facility, beautifully kept grounds, very conducive to relaxation.  The young people seemed to be challenged by God’s Word.  This camp is run by a Christian Businessman and backed by his home assembly with volunteer help.  We had a wonderful time.

I managed to get home, change my suitcase, and was off within a couple of hour’s time to Child Evangelism’s Leadership course.  This is the largest student body they have had for the course.  This is the Latin American course, held every two years.  There are 21 countries represented and classes are given in English, Portuguese and Spanish.  The first week I taught the Doctrine of God and the second week, the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit.  The final week of this month I will be teaching Galatians to both the English and Spanish speaking groups.  By then the Spanish speaking people will better understand the Portuguese language.

Between the two weeks at Child Evangelism, both Eleny and I were invited to give a brief course in Biblical Counseling to a rather large group in the nearby city of Campinas.  I gave three hours in the morning session and Eleny gave another three hours in the afternoon.  I took up the subject of Idols of the Heart and Eleny took up Depression.  We are so grateful that Biblical Counseling is beginning to take on in Brazil and is making significant inroads into the churches.

This week we have several important counseling sessions on our agenda.  This has taken up a lot of our time and will continue to do so in the future.  We are trying to train others so as to help out in this most valuable ministry.  We ask you to be in prayer about these matters as serious changes take place in the lives of the counselees.

One of the upcoming events for October is the Director’s Conference for Child Evangelism.  This will bring CEF directors from all over Latina America.  I have been asked to speak twice on this occasion to the group.  It has been a privilege and an honor to minister to these dear servants of God.

We hope to get a break in October, on the occasion of our 10^th wedding anniversary.  It doesn’t seem possible that we have been married that long.  They have been wonderful years of serving the Lord together.  God has given us untold opportunities and we never cease to be amazed at His goodness to us.

In Christ,

P.S. Many thanks for your prayer and financial support in the work.

July 15, 2004

Dear Prayer Partners,

We want to get this letter off today as we will both be traveling starting mid next week.  I will be leaving for the State of Rondonia, way up near the northwest corner of Brazil.  This State borders on the frontier with Bolivia.  There is to be a Conference at which they expect around 3 thousand.

My wife, Eleny, will also travel the following day to the extreme other side of Brazil.  She will be speaking at a Conference over the weekend at Guarapari.

Another reason we wanted to get this letter off to you right away is because our son, Todd; his wife, Marília; our daughter, Aimee and her two children (Philip 3 yrs and Julia 6 months) will be arriving from the States to pay the respective families and in-laws a visit.  This is the first for Julia, our granddaughter, so we are especially looking forward to this time together.

Other upcoming events will be the Child Evangelism Conference, during the first week in August.  For the first time I will not be taking one of the seminars.  But, at the same time, recently I was chosen to be one of the National Directors and am presently fulfilling by obligations as Vice-President.  There will be a director’s meeting and committee meetings during that week.

The following week I recommence my teaching at the Word of Life Biblical Seminary for the second semester.  My subject continues to be Biblical Counseling.  How thankful we are that the Scriptures are sufficient in themselves to deal with man’s every problem.

The week after I will be having a week with Donald Heffernan, a New Zealand missionary, who has a discipleship program similar to that held in San Leandro, CA..  I will be there for a week ministeriing on Biblical Counseling.  I always look forward to this time with Donald and his wife, Nilva. 

We still have no final word on the Chaplaincy ministry to pass on to you.  The Superintendent, after much delay, has finally signed the document.  But this document must be officially published in the Hospital Newspaper.  Despite the fact that the document was ready and signed it didn’t make it into this month’s publication.  We don’t know what the Lord has in mind in all of these delays.  But as long as the document remains unpublished we continue on with the ministry in the HC Hospital.  This has not affected the ministry in other hospitals. 

Our reasons for not accepting the Superintendent’s position is that not only that the Chaplaincy ministry is to be ecumenical from now on, but those chosen to head it are part of a neo-paganism movement that is the result of the rise of Post-modernism in the country. 

Please remember our health.  One thing that is difficult at this time of year is the sudden changes in temperature.  This is winter time in Brazil but the problem is that we can winter conditions and summer conditions in the same day.  This works havoc on one’s health.  One never knows how to dress properly.

Please remember one of our Brazilian workers, Eurico Khols, who is undergoing major surgery at the present for a problem on his spinal column.  The surgery is of high risk.  He, along with his wife, has done an outstanding work in the Amazon region of Brazil.  Please pray that the surgery will be successful and a full recovery following.

In Christ,

P.S. Many thanks for your prayer and financial support in the work.