Dear Praying Friends and Supporting Churches,

Thank you for taking the time to read our latest report and remembering us in your prayers as we continue to work here in Belém. The time has passed quickly since our last report as we continue to pray for open doors and to walk through the ones that open.

I know many of you have prayed for the men that I kept in touch with while we were back on furlough.  Please continue to pray.  One of the men came to the house shortly after we returned.  We had a good visit.  I found out more about his family and work.  He also shared that he is passing through a difficult time with his health.  I assured him that we would be praying for him.  Concerning spiritual things, he is uncertain, and I encouraged him to seek the truth in the Bible.  He politely changed the subject, but a couple of weeks later he expressed a desire to attend worship services with us.  We made plans, but in the end, he had to work.  I invited him to study the Bible with me at home and he accepted.  We have had one Bible study so far.  He received the truths well, and he seems interested in continuing the studies.  Actions speak louder than words, so we will see how committed he is.  Please pray.

Aaron and I have been working on the logistics of our next outreach and are getting close to kicking it off.  Please pray as we try to implement a meet-up component to our literature and website elements.  Please also pray for open doors to speak to people as we pass out the literature.  We all know that the message of the Gospel never changes, but I believe we can always be improving how we reach people with the message.

I have also been working on the details for an outreach to the city this summer.  A group from Victory Baptist Church in Wichita Falls, TX, is planning to help us reach a larger area of the city than we have been able to reach so far.  We will use specialized cards that lead to a custom page on our website for the area that the cards are distributed.  The website will collect contact information and promote a Bible study in the respondents’ area. The goal will be to establish Bible study groups in different parts of the city with a view to planting new churches.  Clearly, this endeavor must begin with prayer and will only bear fruit if God is working through it.  Please pray for the many details and for those planning on coming. 

Thank you all for praying for Sarah. She is recovering well and making progress in physical therapy after her meniscus repair surgery.  May the Lord richly bless you as you continue faithfully in His work.

For the Glory of God,

Chris Bell

*Please let me know if you have prayer requests you would like us to remember.

Brenda’s Bailiwick

As we mark 6 weeks back in Belém, here are some of the privileges I have been enjoying:

1.     Having the fruteiro (the fruit man) come through the neighborhood 3 times a day

2.      Watching the clouds pile up in glorious profusion every afternoon.

3.     Having the “cheese car” bring cheese down our street—this is new. I haven’t bought anything yet, but what a great idea!

4.     Enjoying the clear, golden light that is unique to the equator.

5.     Savoring bananas that are picked ripe

6.     Belting out hymns in Portuguese with Brazilians

7.     Knowing that the sun rises and sets at the SAME time, every day, all year long!!

Lest you be consumed with envy, there are a few drawbacks as well, such as enduring the humidity, and the humiliation of one’s parallel-parking inadequacies in the face of Belém drivers’ preternatural parking skills. But as the plusses clearly exceed the minuses (have I mentioned the bread?), if you would like to visit, come on down. We won’t ask you to parallel park in a microscopic space!

 As many of you know, Sarah re-injured her right knee several weeks ago in jiu-jitsu and had a second arthroscopic surgery to repair her torn meniscus on April 3^rd.   She is bearing her limitations graciously (again!) and doing well in physical therapy, but as you can imagine, all the normal activities of life are just a little harder. Anecdotally, half of Belém has been down with assorted viruses in the last several weeks, and we did not escape. Caleb was hammock-ridden for 4 days last week. Dengue fever is prevalent here, but his lab work was thankfully normal. He is much better this week and busy trying to catch up on school. We video-chat with Elijah once a week, which is a great blessing. It is hard to believe that he is less than a month away from completing his first semester. Thank you for your prayers for all of them!

E, the lady who is a Jehovah’s witness, came by for coffee this past Saturday. I explained to her that I am not interested in studying their material, but that I would be happy to stay in touch. Please continue to pray for her. She seems deeply convinced that the Watchtower is telling her the truth, and it is clear that even beginning to question that would result in tremendous upheaval for her.

Our landlord was taken by ambulance to an urgent care center this morning; he is lost as far as we know. I spoke with his wife and offered to help as needed, as their only vehicle is a motorcycle. Please pray for him; this is the second emergency episode he has had in the last year.

Thanks for reading and for praying! We are praying for you, too.

In Christ,

Brenda

Prayer Requests:

– Preparation of hearts in Belém to receive the Gospel – Following up with Contacts

– Language Acquisition – Outreach Efforts – Bell Academy