“So… how is the support coming along? Do you have any new supporting churches?” This seems to be the question of the hour every time we talk with pastors, missionaries and believers in Portugal. The truth is, we have been in the U.S. for three months now and we have three more supporting churches than when we came. We are very thankful for these new supporting churches. We have visited over 20 churches and we are waiting to hear back from a good number of those. Our support level is at about 30%. We believe that by the time we go back to Portugal on August 4th 2014, the level of support will be significantly different. The calendar for 2014 is almost completely full. We are still booking some meetings in Arizona (or neighbouring states) for January and February. Please contact us for a complete calendar of meetings.
“Why do you want to get back to Portugal?” Nobody really has asked me that, but I want to share with you some of the things that have been going on in Portugal. These are the things that make us really want to get back. Since our last Prayer Letter, we have gotten word of 5 people saved in the church in Albufeira, and 6 people saved at the new church plant in Castanheira (the first souls saved at the new location). This is amazing! We are overwhelmed with what is going on. This is also a very interesting mix of people. In these 11 we have: two Portuguese ladies that have been coming to the new church plant since the beginning of the services there (one is the lady that owns the store-front where we meet); four recovering addicts; one Brazilian man that has just started to attend; a Portuguese man that has been coming for years and three children from our weekly Children’s Bible Club. The Gospel truly is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” Please pray for these new believers and for the pastors as they start discipleship Bible studies.
Thank you for praying for the teen ministry in Albufeira. Most of the new teens keep coming to the meetings. Pastor Lenildo has begun training some of the church members to help with this ministry. Please pray for the new workers and for some of these teens to get saved.
Being that this is the Thanksgiving season, Aura and I would like to say that we are thankful for so many blessings that the Lord has been giving us: a great home church and pastor, great financial and prayer supporters (thank you for your notes, comments and calls), safety on the road (we have driven more than 5000 miles in the last 30 days). We are thankful for a great Saviour and His tremendous power.
In His Service, Mark and Aura Pereira