banhocheiroso

BACK TO WORK.

After the summer break in England, we are settling back to life in Florianópolis.

We are in reasonably good shape - slept well on the flight, in spite of a very hot floor where our feet were supposed to be. Didn't need to use the standard issue blankets, because the air-conditioning wasn't making any impact on us. Immigration at Sao Paulo took 1and 1/2 hours, during which Andrew had an interesting conversation with an English navigator (Oil Platform captain) with modernist views about the Bible. 'Of course, miracles are impossible, and against the laws of physics, but it is ok to give people religious stories and rules so that they will behave well' was his patronising attitude to Christianity. With a shock I realised that this is exactly what our student friends face daily at the local university. Post-modernism is less brutal in its atheism. However, this man was open to think about Andrew's challenges to his view, and we hope that he will take up the Bible again (he is from an Anglican background) and see what the miracles really teach us about the person of Jesus.

Having been stamped through by a friendly official, we reclaimed our baggage to go through Customs, then immediately got rid of it again for the connecting flight to Floripa. Straight to the 'Balloon Cafe' where we enjoyed pão de queijo, fresh orange juice and café média com leite, and got talking with the waitress who had come to work in Sao Paulo from Fortaleza. The Portuguese was functioning - the warm Brazilian smiles worked their magic – and suddenly we felt at home!

We were met with warm hugs and kisses at Florianópolis airport by Levi, Adriana, Edson, Rafael, Beto and Sarah. Beto and Sarah drove us home, and we entered an apartment freshly cleaned by Zete and Sheila. I had been dreading coming back to layers of dust but instead the surfaces were clean and the floors shiny. What a welcome back!

Although jet-lagged, we can feel the benefit of the two months' rest and recreation in the UK, and are ready to take up where we left off.

The first matter of priority is the status of the Peregrinos group. Saturday lunch (11 September) has been planned, so please pray for us as we meet with the whole group from 12.00 (16.00 UK time) onwards. There is no agenda, but we are anticipating some discussion about the group after lunch.

The Peregrinos have been meeting on Sunday afternoons at 17.00 for praise and Bible study, and we would like to preserve this time as it is, without being distracted by discussions about the nature of the group. In the morning there is a possibility that we will go to the PIB (First Baptist) although we have not yet been able to establish the status of the English Bible Study Group.

On Monday we are off to Maranata Bible Institute for a week's teaching on homiletics, by bus as the car needs a new clutch and general servicing. Please pray that the work of this seminary, which is under severe attack at present, will continue, as the Lord permits and overrules.

Other local commitments like preaching in churches, Andrew's teaching on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the Baptist Seminary (IBE), and Cora's bible studies for women will begin again after our return from Maranata. We would also like to begin some sort of 'Christian world view' discussion groups for the younger members of the Peregrinos group and for student contacts from the university, perhaps using films as a lead-in to conversation. There are also women in the district who are open to the gospel, and who might come to an evangelistic bible study - but we are waiting to see what happens with the Peregrinos before initiating this. Please pray for wisdom and discernment in what we do and how we schedule our time.

I am thankful to have completed the required 10 modules for Level 1 of the BADL course with the Evangelical Theological College of Wales, and am now commencing Level 2 with two modules this semester: Greek Text I focusing on John's Gospel chapters1-4, and Pneumatology. It is always a challenge to maintain a rhythm of study while travelling with Andrew on ministry commitments, so please pray for me to have physical stamina and good concentration, while fulfilling my role as ‘first lady’.

Finally, Bec and Tom both got excellent A-level results, which made the stresses of being apart over the past two years seem worthwhile. We had a good time re-grouping as a family in our new home in Haywards Heath. The highlights were our time away at the Carey Family Conference in August, and a family day out at The Oval, watching England v the West Indies. Bec and Tom are now finding it strange to be completely on their own, but coping with domestic tasks. We are thankful for e-mail, MSN chatting facilities, web-cams and microphones, which all make frequent communication easy. Please remember them both in their walk with God. Pray for Bec as she continues with her part-time waitressing job and begins a training course on pregnancy crisis counselling from Monday; and Tom as he gets some journalistic work-experience and re-applies for a university place this autumn.

Thank you for your partnership in this work. May we all glorify him in this next term of service.

# posted by Andrew and Cora @ 9:18:00 pm