A lot can happen when you leave town for two months! We discovered that when we returned to Porto Alegre at the end of February and found that our house church had, for lack of a better word, disassembled. Both Signoretti families and Luzia decided to return to a more traditional church (they had been thinking about this for some time) because they felt they would be more productive in this environment. We were discouraged initially about this, but later saw the divine wisdom inherent in the move; they continue being members of the kingdom and serving the Lord, and Waleska & I can launch into "outreach" instead of constantly recycling our resources on "inreach" with folks who've been Christians for many years.John and Clarice, our good friends and also members of our house church, decided to start 2009 by beginning a church in their home (they live in the military officers' residential complex in Canoas, a suburb). We praise God for that! They already have one couple who has been coming faithfully. We will miss having them here in our home every week, but are thankful for their missionary hearts in wanting to reach out to their neighborhood.
Waleska and I had been thinking towards the end of last year, and had announced our plans to our group, about starting a "yuppies" house church - a group specifically directed to young professionals our age who are not-yet dedicated to following Jesus or folks who are relatively new in their faith. We have several friends through Waleska's English teaching and people I've known over the years here in POA that we hope to invite. We have one person for sure so far - Raquel, who has been attending our group for the past two years with her mother Ines. My great friend Felipe Gomes, who runs the sports medicine clinic where I work out, has also said he will participate. 
We will begin tomorrow, Sunday March 22 @ 6pm. We don't know how many will come. But we will be here, every week, opening our home and our hearts to whoever comes. Please pray for us as we make a new beginning!
1 comment:
Thanks for the update. I am glad to see you moving forward with evangelism even though you were initially discouraged. God is good and He will direct you and Waleska as you reach out to your new group.
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