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Dear Friends,
We trust all is well with you. Things are piling up here as we enter the final stretch trying to get ready for
furlough. In just a few hours, early tomorrow morning, we pack up the car and start a 15 hour drive to a camp in
another state. I am going to help with the Carnaval retreat this week-end. And Carnaval is something from which
all should retreat as far as possible. Without ever going to one, it is evident who is being served and Who is
not, just from comments, commercials and "social" campaigns not appropriate to mention here. These are
usually the biggest camps and people are often turned away for lack of space. Everything shuts down and the city
is so dead it’s eerie. Pray for safety as we travel and for life and "destination" changing decisions
at our retreat and through out the country.
There have been a fairly large number of decisions at Fé (Faith) Baptist Church where we are helping. We
are priviledged to be allowed to witness the wonder of God’s working. There appears to be a half-dozen interested
in baptism. The congregation the church wants to start isn’t having much effect and we’ve tried to put the burden
on the church to make it go. They can’t depend on us since we leave in a few weeks. They are looking for a pastor,
but are concerned because of past problems. The building also needs some remodeling and repairs.
Praise the Lord the rains have come and we appear to be having a good and wide-spread rainy season. Pray for the
regions that have been most hard hit by the draughts. Pray also for the new president. In spite of his communist
connections, he has acted rather conservative - even to the point of angering the more radical members of his party.
William loves school and his teacher and is progressing well. It is amazing to see him reading things. He also
loves to memorize verses. Dalton prefers a more obstinate approach and I often think it would be easier to change
the entire English speaking world to do things his way than to convince him to do it theirs. We so often see ourselves
in our kids. One day one said to me "The sink was leaking but I fixed the pipe" and I thought "That’s
my boy!". Shortly afterward I saw the toothpaste tube so mangled and twisted in the middle that I think it
was actually in a knot and I thought "I know who his Mother is" (and yes it DOES matter). Sometimes there
are several pairs of socks on the arm of the couch in decreasing sizes - starting with mine. Pray that they would
model us as we model Christ
Pray for us as we pack up for furlough. As we plan to move to the region where the camp is (northern part of the
state of Bahia) after furlough there is an extra load. I also have a number of things to finish at the school complex
that no one here can do after I leave. Pray also for us to be able to get our meetings scheduled quickly to make
maximum use of the short time we have, for the boys’ schooling while there and for housing near our churches -
preferably in Winston Salem.
Eternally His,
The Athas in Brazil
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