Maria and her family were interested in learning English. After all, knowing English as a second language may give her the edge at her job, and also help her girls at school. So she decided to take English classes at the School of the Bible. It was through this contact that her family came to know the church. Maria and her two daughters, Thayara (17 years old) and Ester (12 years old), graduated from their first English course at the School of the Bible and had the opportunity to join us for worship service on Sunday. Ester fell in love with our spiritual family and pleaded with her mom to be there every Sunday, even though their family was attending somewhere else. I remember seeing her waiting at the gate of our building each Sunday after worship service, waiting for her family to pick her up.

After a few weeks, Ester decided to be baptized as did two other teenagers, Rebeca and Carol, who were studying the Bible with my mom. Her parents were very proud and her older sister is wanting to follow in her footsteps and study the Bible. After seeing the spiritual growth in her daughters, Maria and her husband decided to begin attending the church of Christ at Boa Vista as a family and have been with us every Sunday.

This month of November, the girls joined us again for an intensive Basic English course at the School of the Bible. I taught alongside three others from the US: Kasey and Annika who are at the end of their one year internship with the congregation in São Lourenço, and my good friend Barrett, who spent one month in Brazil in order to attend my wedding.

Here in Brazil, we’ve realized over and over again, that we can add “becoming an English teacher” to Paul’s list below:

“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Co 9:19-22

Please keep this ministry in your prayers as we attempt to reach out to the city.

Baptisms of Carol, Rebeca and Ester:

School of the Bible students receive their certificates: