Following our time on the boat, Vic & Sharon took us to another neighboring beach to see a lighthouse & rock formations. While enjoying the surroundings, a couple of men walked over to the lighthouse. Fernando & Sandra felt they were to go speak with them. It turned out that one of them is the Speaker of the House for the state of Piauí! He is a Christian and has money available to give to Talita for the school AND he wants to record the story of Celebração Church/school and televise it across the state. …another God appointment
Vic & Sharon made arrangements for a much needed well to be dug at our church/school. In addition, they arranged for Sandra's father to go to a rehabilitation center for alcohol addiction recovery there in Parnaiba, which Vic & Sharon started! The only stipulations are that he must be sober for two weeks prior to going and he must be willing to go. We visited the Rehab Center that evening.
Another significant meeting was with Pr. Raimundo Carvalho, Director of the Baptist Clinic in Teresina. We enjoyed dinner with he and his wife at their home before our trip to Parnaiba and then toured the clinic following that trip. He is very interested possibly connecting someone from Teresina with one of our doctors here for training, especially in the areas of pediatrics & dermatology. He plans to travel to the US in 2012 and hopes to be able to bring someone at that time. Prior to our meeting, an individual associated with the clinic had already expressed her desire for pediatric training like this with Pr. Carvalho.
The rest of the time in Brazil was spent seeing what the Lord is accomplishing at/through Celebração Church.
What was going to be Fernando's office & a library is now going to be a dentist office! The state has a program where it provides the equipment and supplies, and dental students from a nearby university provide the much-needed service to a poor community. There was funding for two locations. Fernando applied and our church/school in the Cidade Leste community was selected. The final approval came the day we arrived back home.
Adult education courses are now being taught at the school at night, preparing them to take the entrance exam for the public university. Forty enrolled at the beginning of the year and 30 are still attending regularly. The course ended in December.
The church continues to grow and is better organized. They now have active groups that are the equivalent of RAs, GAs, and WMU. They continue to offer Sunday school for all ages.
Sadly, for Fernando, Mário and his family are no longer living on the property. This has slowed the construction progress.
A beautiful expression of
love and appreciation
From Celebração Church in Brazil to
Celebration Church in the USA
Banks family arrives in Teresina
The year 2010 was a season of testing, refining, spiritual warfare, and growth both within GFTC and in Brazil. After learning of Fernando's struggles, Will sent a small team to Teresina representing GFTC, Celebration Church & Piney Baptist Church, to encourage Fernando & his family. We thought that a day or two away from Teresina would be helpful so a trip up to the coast to Parnaiba was also planned. What took place can only be explained as God's Time.
The scheduling of the trip to Teresina met with numerous conflicts until everything fell into place for November 1-10.
2010 Preschool Class
The same businessman who donated the property for our church/school built the public school. It is about 10 years old and he continues to support it. Although Cidade Leste is home to 70% of Teresina's drug dealers, this school is a wonderful model school. It is amazing the reputation this school has - even the President of Brazil has visited them. Go to youtube.com & search for casameionorte to see videos about the school. It is an icon for all the other schools because even though it is in one of the poorest neighborhoods infested by drug dealers and other criminals, they are doing a wonderful job teaching the students the value of reading books. They asked us to make arrangements so Precept training and materials can be made available to them. It seems as though God wants now to teach them the value of knowing His Word and live by it. The Portuguese Director for Precept plans to contact them to see when the best time would be to go there. May His name be glorified today and forever!
On the first full day in Teresina, after visiting the preschool we decided to drop by the public school next door to see if it would be possible to meet the principal.
…That turned into a most interesting & worthwhile visit. Our translator kept saying over & over during our time there, "It is like they were expecting us."
Public School Children sing for us
The next day the Ramos family, translators and GFTC team, ten people in all, drove to Parnaiba. This was in the middle of the week during the off-season, so we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. (We did see some stray burros and even a cow wandering around the beach & hotel area.)
Brazil Trip, November 2010 - A Trip of Divine Appointments
(Part 1 of a 4 part series)
(Part 2 of a 4 part series)
The Parnaiba Delta
Karl, Jim, Scott, Allan, Hérika, Sharon, Jennyane, Kathy, Fernando, Sandra, Vic
-Taking the picture: Fernando Júnior
Our Boat
The Lima-Dorio
We spent the following day on a fishing boat riding through the delta with missionaries, Vic & Sharon Johnston. They have been in Piauí for about 30 years - first in Teresina & now in Parnaiba, ministering to the families living on the islands. As we relaxed & enjoyed the fellowship & surroundings, significant things were accomplished.
Island Life
Lunch on one of the Islands
Jennyane, Sharon & Vic Johnston, Karl (translator in 2007)
Jim, Fernando, Allan
Jennyane walks to front of boat
Karl, Hérika, Nando, Allan, Jim
Fernando Júnior
Fernando pilots boat
After speaking with the director, Sandra's heart was so full; she longed to sing praises to the Lord. We drove into the rehab facility and there they were…worshiping the Lord in song! We joined the residents in a time of worship!!!
(Part 3 of a 4 part series)
However, now there is a delightful widow, Adriana, and her three teenage sons living there now. The sons are quite talented and stay busy teaching and working with the youth & children at the church
They taught Walisson how to carve & paint this beautiful gift.
A Special Gift …
Sandra painted a special picture as a gift for Celebration Church.
And a Final Blessing!
After purchasing the tickets for the trip, the final confirmation had one flight different from originally planned, however we did not say anything because it was the same price & actually gave us an extra hour in Teresina. While at the airport preparing to leave, we ran into Fernanda's family, (from our 2003 trip)! They were waiting for Fernanda to arrive home from a visit with family in the USA. We would have missed them if we had the original flight out. - Yet another Divine appointment! We wait to see the outcome of that brief visit, but I suspect it was for more than just my pleasure of seeing her again & getting to introduce her & her delightful family to Jim & Scott.
Celebration Church's Pastor:
Robert Russell & his wife Michelle
Children Ministry Leaders:
Sandy Miller & Melinda Upchurch.
GFTC, INC
P.O. Box 7430
Kingsport, TN
37664-7430
