Presently we are having Gospel meetings in the home of a young couple in Santa Maria. They have recently moved here from Santarem in the state of Para, in the extreme north of Brazil. We were encouraged, during the first week of these meetings, to hear of an elderly man who has attended meetings for some years, having professed faith in Christ. God had been speaking loudly to him, through the death of a sister and, on the same day that his sister died, his son was almost killed in an industrial accident. In the mercy of God, his son has survived although he had to have his right arm amputated and will need a lot of skin-grafting, due to severe burns to most of his body. When visiting his father a few days afterwards, he told me that he felt God was warning him that he needed to prepare for eternity. At 3:00 a.m. one morning, the words of John 3:14-15 came to mind and he understood that Christ had died in his place upon the cross. He is from a dark Roman Catholic background and we trust this will be the start of blessing in his large family circle. Sadly, the door-to-door visitation work, as is so often the case, has been difficult with the people indifferent to the message. Santa Maria has so many false cults moving around the people, that it has become very difficult to find anyone that really has interest.
This coming Lord's day, we will be receiving three young men to the fellowship of the assembly. One will be the young man in whose home we are preaching. The other two are grandsons of our dear brother Ronnie Watterson, who labours for the Lord in the state of Sao Paulo. They have come here to work in the local Brazilian Air Force base, as Air Traffic Controllers. We are thankful to the Lord for their exercise in the things of the Lord and we hope they all will be a blessing to the work here.
Last weekend I spent two days giving out calendars in two different towns around one-hundred-and-fifty kms. to the south of where we live. Years ago we used to have regular Gospel meetings in both Cacapava and Lavras do Sul. Moving around the different contacts, I was so saddened to learn that so many who once attended meetings, are already in eternity, and none that I know of left any hope of having trusted Christ as their Saviour. Truly we are "to one the savour of death unto death and to another the savour of life unto life and who is sufficient for these things!" 2nd Cor. 2:16. Many asked when we would be returning to have meetings in these towns. The door is wide open if we had more workers to take advantage of the opportunities on every hand. "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest that He will send forth labourers into His harvest." Matthew 9:38.
Winter 2013 Written by John & Christine McCann - Brazil mccannjohnjr@yahoo.com.br