Dear Prayer Partners, August 2018
[Click here of a PDF version of this letter]
The school year is about to start here in Portugal. It is a special time of the year for our ministry as (1) we prepare to resume the activities of the church ministries that stopped during the summer, (2) we are excited about the new things that are being prepared, (3) but we also look back at was happened during the summer.
As many of you know, we have a property about 20 minutes from Castelo Branco, a traditional Portuguese olive grove with 500 hundred olive trees. It is called Mount of Olives Christian Camp. We have had children and teen camps for the last 8 years, among other activities. It was first developed by Aura’s parents, with help from many Christians and churches and it is our vision to keep developing it. It fits our ministry philosophy of reaching and training a whole generation to reach Portugal with the Gospel of Christ. Some of the young people currently being trained through our Bible Institute have grown up coming to our camps. This summer at the Mount of Olives we had: (1) a group of teens from PA came and helped us with general maintenance projects; (2) a church from Spain had a church camp here; (3) we had our own summer camp, with children and teens from all over Portugal. At our camp, a group of young adults from the Newton’s church in PA came to help and the Lord blessed us with a great week of camp. There was at least one salvation decision and many other important spiritual decisions.
Thank you for praying for the organization of the church in Castelo Branco. The organization service is scheduled for October 14th and we are excited about all that the Lord is doing here. In preparation for the organization of the church we will be distributing John & Roman booklets in this whole region with the help of a supporting church from TN. Also, we will be having three special evangelism services. We will be inviting everyone we have been meeting since arriving in Castelo Branco to get to know the church that is about to be organized and its message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray that many come and get saved by the power of God.
The Lord has opened a door for the preaching of the Gospel in the city of Fundão (30 minutes North of Castelo Branco). A couple from our church is hosting these meetings that will be on Sunday evenings. There are already people interested in attending and we ask you to pray for this new outreach ministry.
With a help from good friends, we have been able this year to spend our vacation with Aura’s parents in PA. It was a blessing to just spend time with them and also some other family members and friends. Aura’s mom is stable regarding her cancer. Thank you for praying. Also on a personal note, we got a phone call today from the hospital letting us know that Aura’s next ear surgery will be this Monday, September 3rd. This is the 7th surgery on Aura’s left ear and we have been told that it should be the last, with good prospects of her regaining her hearing on that side. Thank you for praying.
Thank you for your love and support for the ministry in Portugal.
In His Service, Mark and Aura Pereira
God Bless you for all of your hard work in assisting God in your Portuguese Ministries. Your efforts surely make a great difference.
We are praying hard for Aura’s and Barbara’s restoration to full health, as well as for all of your Family.
We hope to be able to visit you in Portugal sometime in the near future.
Love, John and Susan