Brazil 2010

REPORT ON CAMPAIGN IN JUIZ DE FORA, BRAZIL

Brazil 2008

Greetings to you good brother,

It was good to hear from you.  I just got back from Brazil week before last.  I was in Juiz de Fora for the beginning of their work with a group from the Wheeler Road church in Michigan.  I preached on Sunday to launch the evangelistic campaign, and Monday morning I attended the first day of VBS.  Right after that I had to leave for Rio and home.

I was super happy with the way the work is going in Juiz de Fora.  We were racing against time to get the new building ready to use for that work.  We did not get it ready, but we used it any way.  The floor and ceiling were bare concrete. The walls were bare bricks without any plaster or paint. There were sockets with light bulbs in them, but no fixtures.  Only one bath room was functioning, with nothing but a toilet, and no finishing whatever.  And there were no windows or doors.  Nevertheless the church was thrilled to move out of their rented facility and into the new building.

 

For the VBS, they stacked bricks up and put long boards between them for seating. They had a curtain hung up where the baptistry will be, for the puppets. The first day they had 62 kids. The third day, I think they had about 92. It was a great success.

 

They had a good number of visitors for the preaching services at night, and a number of very good contacts made and Bible studies set up. The campaign and the new building really revitalized the church.

Clay Harper, Loran Brown and I talked with Havair and Eloir about the work, and they were really excited and positive about everything. The Methodist preacher they converted has baptized a young couple and is studying with 4 pastors from the Four Square Gospel Church. Adelmo and his wife moved there from Rio several months ago. He is a bank manager and does an excellent job of teaching and preaching. José Carlos, whom you met last year, is very dedicated and active in the church. He took the sermon outline I used Sunday morning and used it to preach a sermon that afternoon.

 

The 5 people they baptized several months ago live clear on the other side of town and are not able to attend every Sunday. So they attend once a month, and Eloir conducts services in one of their homes on the other Sundays. Last month a young couple was baptized in Rio and immediately moved to that part of the city of JF. So now they have 7 adult members in that group and a number of children. It will certainly grow into a full scale church in the near future. That will be the second church they will have helped to begin, so they are already fulfilling the mission we had for them, as a missionary church.

I am working hard to raise about $5,000 to put in the doors and windows in the building, and to finish the two bathrooms. After that, they can do the finishing work little by little as the money becomes available. They can use the money they were paying for rent for that. It is really urgent to get the doors and windows in so people will not enter the building to steal things and trash the place. One of the members asked me to tell Clay and Loran that the next time they come back the building will be finished (the first floor) and painted and beautiful. I told them I wanted to raise the money to put in the doors and windows and finish the bathrooms, and after that they would have to do the rest with their own resources. So they are excited about doing that.                       

I am enclosing a file with some pictures. I didn´t take very man because I had to leave right at the beginning of the campaign, but I will send what I have. Later on Havair will send me some more.

I just wrote Havair to ask if they want a campaign group next year, and if so, when. I think the first part of that question is a foolish question, but I thought it good not just to presume that, but to ask them. I will let you know what their answer is.

God bless,  Charley

 

 

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Brazil 2007

A group traveled to Juiz de Fora , Brazil for a mission trip in June.  This was the first trip for the group from Ovilla.  Each day the group traveled by bus to the borough where the church meets.  They handed out invitations to the families in the area.  Each evening the church met for a gospel meeting.  As part of the mission effort the group sang in English in the park and on the Pedestrian street in downtown Juiz de Fora.  The Brazilian people are very loving and eager to learn about God’s Word.   Each evening, visitors came to hear the Word preached.  The Brazilians love to sing and are very enthusiastic about their worship.

The city of Juiz de Fora  has a population of approximately 300,000 people.  There are four missionary families working with the church in Juiz de Fora.  The church recently purchased land for a church building.  The church has been meeting in an upper room above one of the missionary’s home. 

Some news from Brazil:

Hey Johnny,
Good to hear from you bother.  I am in Brazil right now.  I will be speaking this Sunday at an area wide meeting of Christians in Belo Horizonte. There should be over 1000 there.  We will be celebrating 40 years of the Church in Belo Horizonte. The construction is going well in Juiz de Fora.  They have the foundation built and the walls of the first floor almost completed.  They should be ready to pour the concrete slab on top of the first level in a couple of weeks. Dont know if you heard, but they baptized that man who was visiting during the campaign.  A lady wants to be baptized, but so far her husband will not let her.  They have had several Christians to move in from other places, and another man is about ready to be baptized. I will send you some pictures of the construction when I get back home in a couple of more weeks.

God bless,  Charley Huffman