Current News


June 2005


We are glad to report to you, our family, what the Lord has been doing in our lives in the past few months.

We have had a lot of work, finishing our construction, graduating a few children, giving the hand of another one in marriage and preparing for the American Summer, which is always a busy time for us.

Our Children:

The last time we wrote, Marta and Priscila B had just graduated. Marta moved on with Grad School and we just could not be happier for that blessing in her life, which directly blesses us to see our child reaching higher and higher.

This year we also got the blessing of starting Rafaela, 5, on an AP class, at the same school where Cheiyenne attends and she is doing great. Cheiyenne is only in 1st grade, but reads and writes at a 3rd grade level. We are so proud of her. Rafaela is going the same direction!

We were blessed to have Theresa come for a short stay in March, during which Jefferson proposed to her. It was a wonderful time and we are looking forward to the finalizing of Jefferson's immigration papers, a fiancée visa, and then he will be going to the US to marry Theresa. Please join us in praying for them and for the many details they have to handle before they can be together again as they want. Pray for this time apart, that they would both grow in the Lord.

In early April we had the wedding of our Priscila S. to Adriano, A young man from our town, whom we have learned to love and respect. Adriano is a very hard working young man and they are very happy. They have an apartment in town and Priscila is always around helping us. We are glad to have her around.

We were happy also to see our Jorge doing so well as he was invited to sing for the city wide program for Mother's day. Mãe was invited to have a special seat and Jorge not only honored her, but also sang a praise song about God's care in his life. It was one more opportunity to witness to the city about God's goodness to our family.

We are also blessed to have Jucileia return to Nutrition School. She is doing well, but this is such a time consuming activity for her, on top of her full time job! Marcia was also given a grant to attend Nursing school, which was a life long dream of hers. She is doing well and loving each class that she has. Please keep these ladies in your prayers. Also pray for Raquel, as she goes on with her Law studies to become a Judge. She needs a job that would enable her to continue with her studies and we know God can provide that for her. She is a great asset to our ministry here!

Church:

Our church is doing well and I am blessed to count on the assistance of Joaquim Jr. The youth group is doing well and they meet every Saturday evening for a great time of fellowship. They have had other local churches attend their program and it has been good for them to grow. Pai has been able to preach more often as his health has improved a lot lately.

Pai's health:

Yes you read it right! Pai's health has improved a lot lately and it has been great to see him moving around campus and tending to his business as he needs to and as we are used to see him. Always at work, making sure things run as planned. This past 11 months, since his surgery, he has had to practice a lot of distance management and learn to delegate more and do less, which he has found to be "not too bad after all"

A few weeks ago, Pai woke up and decided he was strong enough for a bike ride and when other around realized, he was coming back from a short ride. We were al so happy because that is just what he used to do when he was healthy before the surgery. Please continue to pray that he will continue to obey his diet, exercise and mainly Mãe, as she cares for him.

The guest house:

For a while there we were so concerned as per how we were going to finish this project. A series of things have happened that brought me this concern. The exchange rate has dropped as the US dollar has devalued all over, donations dropped for a while, and we have had some very difficult months, but God has sustained us and we are moving on. I would ask you to pray and consider helping us even a bit more these months when the exchange rate is so low. Please help us go through this difficult time.

Teams:

The Lord has allowed us to make great progress in the guest house and we are so close to being done. We have a team here now, the Volleyball team from Northwestern College and they are only one of the many teams that will be using this new building.

We believe that if every team that comes to see us would share this need with their own church and family, God would have the resources we need to finish this project really soon. This summer we will receive the total of 83 people from Iowa, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.We are so glad to receive each one of you! Our family is ready and working hard so you will have a wonderful time at our house, which is also yours.

We are excited to hear about the many teams coming to our home this American summer/Brazilian winter. We are happy that teams from so many different churches from many different states are coming to work with us in what God is doing here at Lar.

As I write this, we have a team from Northwestern College. It is a Volleyball team and we are happy to have them here. They have been playing local teams and doing well and it was an added blessing for us to have Luke Espelund, our Doctor Luke, come with this team. He just graduated from Northwestern College and is now on his way to Med School in Iowa City! We are so proud of him.

On that note, we are also proud of the other summer interns we have had here at Lar. God is working wonderful things in their lives and they are serving and being blessings where God has them. We are glad to have played a part in their lives and keep them in our prayers and close to our heart.

These upcoming teams will be working in painting, landscaping, clean-up of the neighborhood and making sure the roads by Lar Batista look nice and landscaped. It is a great way for us to show appreciation to our city and show them what can happen when God's people team up together for the common good.

Service Adventure:

We are also happy to have our helpers for the summer. This year we were blessed by Cheryl Pittman again, for a whole month, and also Amber Chess and Kaitlyn Bowie. They are wonderful young ladies, working with Cheryl while she is here and I am sure they will have a great time. Kaitlyn will be using music to minister to the children and also teach those who want to learn. Amber will help with the children, reading to them and also doing chores around the home. Keep them in your prayers

We are also sharing some prayer requests with you and would love to pray for you. Please let us know how we can pray for you!

  • Please pray for wisdom is raising our children;
  • Pray that God would continue to use us for His glory;
  • Pray for the healing of emotional wounds in our children;
  • Continue to pray for health and healing for Pai;
  • Pray for the 83+ people preparing to come see us; safety, wisdom funds, visas etc;
  • Praise God for the friends of Lar Batista who help us financially and also in prayer;

Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our family,

We are keeping the light on for you,

Pai and Mãe