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On the road again
During the month of December we were in churches in PA, CT, KY, VA and TN. We are happy to have the opportunity to report to some of our supporting churches, but our main goal is to raise ministry funds for our church planting work in Portugal. Since our last letter, we have received news of two new supporters and of a church that has decided to increase their support. That actually represents 10% of the amount we are praying to raise before March 31st. This brings us to our next topic.
Online giving
After years of praying about it, we have added the possibility of online giving on our website. This allows for the setup of recurring regular giving, and is also an easy way for one time donations. The funds will go to our sending church, that will receipt them and send 100% of the funds to us in Portugal. Let me share here what you will read if you click on the “Support Reach Portugal” button on our website, “While we depend on the generous gifts of our supporters, we encourage our friends to support their local church first. If the Lord provides you with discretionary funds beyond that, we would be grateful for your help. Also, before making a personal commitment to support us, please check if your church already supports our ministry. If so, please make your giving through your local church.” There is a great work to do in Portugal. Our prayer is that we can raise these funds quickly and go back as soon as soon as we can.
Church in Castelo Branco
We are missing our people in Portugal very much. We correspond often and speak with them on Skype, but it is not the same. We ask you to pray that the Lord would guide them and protect them during this time of separation. The church is doing well. It is a small group of people, but they are faithful. We have had several pastors and missionaries preach there during this time. The Lord has also been blessing the mid-week prayer meeting that has continued and even grown.
Health news
We had a wonderful Christmas time with all the family. Aura’s parents are staying in the DC area in their son’s house, we were there from Portugal and my other brother-in-law came from Spain with his family. We would ask you to pray as this week my mother-in-law is supposed to have her cancer surgery, and then two more sessions of chemo after that. We are praying for complete healing, trusting the Lord’s will and timing.
Thank you for your love and support for the ministry in Portugal.