May ’16 Prayer Letter

Dear prayer supporters,

[Click here for a PDF version of this letter]

During the month of May we had a special sermon series on the family. Portugal is not different from the rest of the western world. Even though you still see a strong cultural emphasis on the family, it is also obvious that things have changed. Most of the people you meet come from broken homes. This should not surprise us. Apart from Christ we are all broken. The title of the series was “Family: The Power of the Gospel to Transform Relationships.” Because of the series, we were able to start some conversations with people and invite some people to church that we had never had the chance to invite before. Please pray for us and for our church families, that we would allow the continual power of the Gospel to change us towards maturity in Christ.

This week we had an exciting phone call. A young man that we have known since he was a teenager called out of the blue because he had something to share. He is a member of the church we left in Albufeira and we have seen him getting more and more involved in the work there. He wanted to let me know that after almost two years of internal debate, he was convinced the Lord wanted him in the ministry. He told me he had already talked to the pastor there, but that he wanted to share that the whole thing started back in 2009. He was working as a baker then, which meant he had the afternoons free. One of those afternoons, we went evangelizing door-to-door together. He shared with me that the Lord has been dealing with him about being in the ministry ever since that day. Amazing! I remember the day, but I had no idea it had had that kind of impact on him. Because of his work schedule he will begin some of our video Bible Institute courses. Please pray for him and his family. His name is Aristarco. The Lord is at work in the country of Portugal!

Preparations for the Missions trip to S. Jorge Island are going well. We are thankful to all that have pledged to help financially towards this project. We are taking some young people from at least three different churches and others have indicated that they would like to be involved in future trips. The goal is to pass out literature, talk to people and hold an evangelistic service. We have secured a place for the service. It will be at a newly built Youth Hostel. The room holds 60 people. Please pray that people would get saved. Please contact us if you would like to help with this project.

We are praying for some more regular supporters. If 20 individuals or churches would commit to support us at 50$ per month, this would allow us have enough work funds and we would not have to take time off the field to raise it. We value and pray for each of our supporters. If you would like more information about us, and/or to partner with us to reach Portugal, please contact us directly, or someone at our sending church.

Thank you for your love and support for the ministry in Portugal.

In His Service, Mark and Aura Pereira