banhocheiroso

Back to the UK

We have had a good journey and a very happy arrival at our UK home. A first evening with Bec and Tom was wonderful, and we are looking forward to a good stay here in Haywards Heath.

We want to ask for pray, urgently, for Rodrigo and Lívia. There application for a visa has been rejected. The grounds given have to do with the English language school that they were hoping to use not being “registered with the consulate.” (This was due to a genuine failure of communication and understanding as to exactly what was required.) But the consulate has also called into question whether the Cornhill Course offers anything not available in Brazil. Given that our presence and work in Brazil is entirely linked to the lack of courses of the Cornhill type, we feel more than a little strongly on this point. Finally, they query whether Rodrigo and Lívia will return to Brazil at the end of their course. Obviously this is a “risk” with any student, but in this case, with so many on both sides of the Atlantic committed to helping this couple for the good of Brazil, we are saddened that this should be put as a ground for refusal.

Suffice to say that Rodrigo is pursuing the matter. We understand that he will travel to Rio de Janeiro tomorrow with Nelson Salviano (ex-Cornhill student) to visit the consulate in person, with some further documents, including a letter fro, us, dealing with the above-mentioned Cornhill issue. Please pray for a safe journey (5 hours each way) and for a successful visit.

After the hottest day of the summer so far, our departure was marked by spectacular clouds and sunset light.

The setting sun gilds the north and south bays at Florianópolis, silhouetting the bridges, as we fly north.

Christmas visit to the UK

This coming Monday, God willing, we fly to the UK for three weeks. This is in order for Andrew to preach at the Carey Ministers’ Conference (3-5 January) (http://www.reformation-today.org/conferences/ ) but we are also using the trip to be with our children, wider family and friends over Christmas, to celebrate Andrew’s parents' birthdays, including his Dad’s 70th (22 December) and to welcome Rodrigo and Lívia to the UK (6 January.) before flying home on 11 January. The time will therefore be quite intense: please pray for a profitable and enjoyable visit, and especially for the ministry at Carey.

While we are away, the Peregrinos men will continue to preach on Proverbs. This series has gone very well, so far. Anna will look after the children's side of this teaching. And on Christmas Day - a Sunday this year - the church will meet together with our Presbyterian friends in Trindade, and possibly with the Lutherans and another small baptist group too. Long live Evangelical Ecumenism!

Happy Christmas - Feliz Natal!

Belo Horizonte 7-12 December

This visit went extremely well, and was important for a number of reasons:

a) Consolidation of the contact with the First Presbyterian Church. This contact has gone from zero to being one of our most important in less than a year, and we are very thankful for this. The Pastor, Ludgero, is General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, and represents a strong conservative and reformed movement within the church. It has been good to get to know him and sense a level of partnership.

b) Opening of new contacts with Assembly of God and Baptist pastors in the region. (See below) This may prove to be of great significance: a solid contact with the Assemblies has taken a while to come, but it seems that it is developing. There is a great hunger for the Word in many hearts and congregations in this vast denomination of 9 million members, in part in reaction to the dross that abounds.

c) Contact with Rodrigo and Lívia. This couple is now less than one month from their move to Haywards Heath. Their visa is still not through from the British consulate, and it would be good to pray for this. Please also pray that they will survive British cold (Lívia is VERY nervous on this one) and that their English will improve very greatly in order to get the most out of Cornhill.

For the first time on a ministry trip Andrew flew with Gol. Gol is the Brazilian easyJet - down to internet-friendly booking, style and colour scheme. Unfortunately the prices are not as low: this was the first time that Gol came out clearly as the best option for a journey of this kind. Their planes are very new: in this case a 737-800 (I wasn't aware that the 800 came without the tipped-up wing tips. You learn something new every day!)

Florianópolis centre, from plane flying northwards to São Paulo, up the east side of the island. We live in the area circled - just at the end of the park visible as a fairly regular green polygon.

Minas Gerais is not a romantically named state: here is "General Mines." But far from being dominated by slag heaps and open-cast craters (though they exist) I am always struck by the rich and beautiful farming country in a huge state larger than Texas - or France. It is not for nothing that Minas has the reputation for the best food in Brazil - everything here is delicious. It is the part of Brazil which reminds us most of France in the care and attention given to food: the Mineiros do not just eat to live.

A massive joint of pork and pan of rice and beans stay warm beside a traditional minas wood-fired oven. Another midnight feast - and the pork was only served after a large quantity of good beef.

Jiu jitsu class in progress, on my arrival, Wednesday night. The younger pastors seem to preserve fellowship and a sense of fun in the ministry by regularly beating one another up in this way. A lesson for British churches and ministers' fraternals? It is certainly an interesting focus for evangelism.

I confess that I did not take part.

Thursday night children's meeting. This ministry was the principal focus of Rodrigo's work until he also took on the Friday younger teens. He says that he will miss this crowd a great deal. Certainly the testimony of many parents is that the couple's commitment in this ministry hase been outstanding.

Rodrigo leading singing, Thursday night meeting.

Lívia - Thursday night meeting. She left shortly afterwards to get the bus to Goiânia (12 hours away) for her sister's wedding.

The real purpose of Andrew's visit to BH was to spend time with the younger pastors of the church on the exposition of the Gospel narratives. The workshops took the normal format - talks on the principles, and 5 minute preaching slots on set passages, followed by discussion and teaching.

Here is most of the group - Clovis and Charley both missing at the time the photo was taken, but well involved in the workshop. 

Daniel doing his five minutes. (The fish was about this size?) 

Geovan, doing his 5 minutes. (No - I would say it was about this size?) 

Sexta Jovem - Young Friday. This meeting, aimed at the younger teenagers, has a strong emphasis on Bible teaching, as well as contemporary music. Rodrigo has been taking the group through studies on every book of the Old Testament, not a target generally aimed at by Youth Groups, here or elsewhere! 

It was a great joy to meet Edson and Clayde, Rodrigo and Lívia's replacements to carry on the work with children and young people. Do pray for them: youth leaders are often difficult to replace, because of the innate conservatism of young people, who do not find change as easy to cope with as older people.

It has also been good to get to know Charley, Mauricéia and their children, Luka and Lara. Charley is responsible for the older teens and twenties at First Presbyterian. A difficult guy not to like, I think that he will be the key in future contacts with the younger pastors at the church. 

Seeing as it was Rodrigo's final "Young Friday", I spoke on Paul's farewell in Acts 20, especially v32. However much we may miss someone who has taught us and cared for us, we always know that God and his word of grace are sufficient to sanctify us in this life and give us our inheritance in the next. Here Rodrigo conducts a quiz on the principal points of the talk.

After the formal part of the evening, ice cream and games til late.

On the Saturday, I spoke at a day conference for pastors organised by the Assemblies of God bookshop. The other speaker was Ludgero Morais, pastor of First Presbyterian, so the input was very much from the reformed perspective. But the group of pastors and seminary students who came was very broad, with Baptists and Pentecostals dominating. The title I was given could not be bettered, especially in a country where there is a tendency to rush into methodology, without laying a foundation in principles: "Why should I preach expositively?" An excellent day, which we hope will lead to further strategic opportunities in Belo Horizonte.

Sadly, and uncharacteristically, the only picture I took was of this poster, advertising a pentecostal, modest clothing company. So here it is...



Good seed.

The Good Seed thinks of you, Christian Woman, who is making your life an eternal sowing of goodness. Our clothes sow the well-being of the woman and her valorization*, and not her exposure.

Good Seed clothes are like this:
+ light
+ comfortable
+ modern
+ joyful
and principally, modest.

*Please note: Cora, who stresses that she has been speaking English for longer than Andrew, regards the word "valorization" as a nonsense unknown and unusable by ordinary people. Andrew however, contends that, though rarely used, the word does exist in English, and is the best way of transmitting the sense of the portuguese. Whatever the merits of this debate, suffice to say that the word means "the action of increasing the value or respect shown to something." We would like to take a vote on this matter - please comment!

Saturday night and Sunday morning were spent in Conselheiro Lafaiete with Daniel and Eni Deeds and their daughters. It was good to be back after our manic visit in May, for the Reformed Baptist Congress. The Historic Baptist Church is small, but with a good spirit, most people having been converted within the fellowship.

At Ninth Presbyterian church, I preached in the afternoon English service, and afterwards I met this brother who had attended the day conference on the Saturday and with whom I had had good fellowship. I then discovered that his two daughters were the principal organisers of the English service. Small world. I didn't get a single name for this family - can anyone help?

Não sei os nomes dessa família - alguém pode me ajudar?

Sunday evening congregation - Children's Christmas Cantata - First Presbyterian, Belo Horizonte.

On Monday morning I flew home - Belo Horizonte to São Paulo, and then on to Floripa. In SP there was time for a quick bite at the Congonhas airport food hall.

And so home, on this interestingly identified 737-700.

IBE - Banca Académica

The end of the year came at IBE, and with it the presentation of dissertations by the graduating students. On the second night Andrew was teaching, but he was present on the Monday, when André and Leomar gave their papers. It was particularly pleasing that André, who Andrew had oriented in this project, passed with an excellent commendation. We hope that he will go on to continued study, and a very fruitful teaching ministry.

The three members of the examining board.

André presents his paper on the uses of the Old Testament in the infancy narrative of Matthew's Gospel.

God willing, André will marry Josiane, this coming Saturday (17th) at 8.00 p.m.

Leomar, speaking on the Pentecostal Theology of his denomination, the Independent Baptists

Termite News

The termite breeding and spreading season is upon us. The good news - all the painting and blasting of the flat with insecticide smoke bombs has had a considerable effect - there are far fewer evidences of infestation than last year. The bad news - there are still a good few termites living here. Here is one happy chappy on Andrew's bedside lampshade.

Termite dust - from part of the flat's woodwork which we had already treated.

It is interesting that the Brazilian Portuguese for termite is cupim. This is also the name for a cut of beef - the somewhat fatty "hump" that some cattle have, especially the Indian zebus, which are common here. I suspect it is because the hump may look like a rather sloppy termites nest - but am not sure. Whatever the etymology, it seems strange to be offered termite in a classy restaurant.

Smoke bomb going off in our bedroom - we did not stay for many more photos.

Visit to Belo Horizonte

Andrew is due to visit First Presbyterian Church, Belo Horizonte, once again this week to work with the pastors on expository preaching, this time focussing on New Testament narratives. His itinerary is as follows…

Wednesday: Fly to Belo Horizonte via São Paulo

Thursday and Friday during the day: training session for pastors at First Presb.

Friday night: preach to the adolescents’ group at First Presb

Saturday: Speak to a day conference of Belo Horozonte Baptists on the importance of expository preaching

Saturday night: travel 100km (approx) to Conselheiro Lafaiete

Sunday morning: Preach at the reformed Baptist Church, Conselheiro Lafaiete

Sunday afternoon: Travel back to Belo Horizonte to preach at afternoon English service of Ninth Presbyterian.

Sunday evening: Preach at First Presbyterian.

Monday morning: Fly home to Florianópolis

Daniel and Priscila´s Wedding

Daniel and Priscila´s wedding was a wonderful occasion. No one involved had ever been to a fully bi-lingual wedding before, and there was something almost symbolic about the coming together of the two languages, with the repetition of everything. Alana did a great job translating, and for Andrew hearing his portuguese coming back as (Southern States) English was not too off-putting in the preaching. Daniel and Pri had used Ecclesiastes 3:1 on their invitation, and the sermon was from the whole passage, 1-14. The "Times" poem fits beautifuly into the classic wedding vows (or rather the vows are an expression of the passage!). The message that it is God who rules the times, and God who has put eternity in our hearts, and God whose Word we need to hear to live in both Time and Eternity, is a powerful one, especially with a good number of Kardecist spiritists in the congregation.

Daniel and Priscila are going to live in the US - he is from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. We will miss them.

The wedding. Can we squeeze one more photographer in please? Strangely, we were hardly aware of them at the time - it is a bit of a shock seeing them all now!

Daniel and Priscila

Daniel and Priscila

Canasvieiras beach at sunset - a great setting for photos

The Interpreter and the Minister - relieved it is all over!

John and Naomi’s Visit

We had a wonderful time with John, Naomi and Frankie. Rio de Janeiro and the Iguaçu falls were stunning as ever and we really enjoyed the break, with good food and scenery. We took a LOT of photos – but will content ourselves with two here.

Rio, Sugarloaf Mountain and the coast at Niteroi, from the Corcovado. Late afternoon sun. 

The Iguaçu Falls