Dear Prayer Partners, March 2018
[Click here for a PDF version of this letter]
First of all, a brief update from last month’s letter:
- We still have not heard from the adoption department. We went there to ask if everything was ok, and they said we might have to get some more paperwork from the US. Please continue to pray with us.
- We continue to have people visiting our church and our service. Please pray that the Lord would work in their hearts and that we can report of saved souls in our next letters. He is powerful to save!
- The Winter Teen Retreat was a real blessing. We had about 25 teens come (7 from our church here in Castelo Branco). There were some good conversations as a result of the messages that were preached, and some very impactful cabin devotion times. Also, we had a great volunteer work team with many being from our church in Castelo Branco. It is great to see the Lord uniting us in ministry.
In just two weeks we will be starting our New Members Class at the church in Castelo Branco. We have about 10 families and other individuals interested in starting the course. From this class, Lord willing, we will have the founding members of the church in Castelo Branco when it’s organized in October. Everyone is excited about this course and we would ask you to pray that the Lord would teach us and unite us together and around the Gospel.
We have bought a house! This plan has been in the works since we liquidated an inheritance. That allowed us to have the necessary down payment, and a house was purchased. It is located in Retaxo, a village about 15 minutes from Castelo Branco. We will now start the process of doing the necessary work to the house before we can move in (nothing fancy like Extreme Makeover Home Edition). Please pray that we find the right contractor for the job. Also, if any of you are skilled builders, electricians, plumbers, etc., and would like to come to Portugal and help build a house for some nice missionaries… We have secured a small, low interest loan for this renovation, but the more work we can do ourselves the better. If you would like to help, but don’t have the time (or the skills), there are other options. Please contact us or our church in Rhode Island.
In June we will be having the second edition of the Reach Portugal Offering. If you would like to start praying about being involved in this ministry, let us know. This year’s offering will go towards developing our Training Center / Camp Property. More information on that to come soon.
Thank you for praying for Aura’s mom, Mrs. Barb Newton. The cancer markers are still very low, but there has been some health complications surrounding the treatments.
Thank you for your love and support for the ministry in Portugal.
In His Service, Mark and Aura Pereira