This month we had a short term team from the Madison County Vineyard come and help with one of our local churches. The church’s pastor is Marcio from Independente II, and he is passionate for the Lord and the lost. Their church is meeting in his backyard, and for the last year they have been raising money to build a church by selling pizza during the weekend. Through the sales of the pizzas, the church was able to buy a piece of property. The Madison Vineyard came along side of Pr. Marcio and some of their congregation to help with the construction of the church building. It is really great to see sister churches from two different continents coming along side one another to support, help, encourage, and pray. The church still has a ways to go before completion, so please keep this in your prayers.
The high speed internet that we received several months ago at CDR has been a huge blessing to us and the community around CDR. CDR was given the high speed internet because of our ongoing work to teach students basic computer skills. Also we have expanded our computer program to teach people how to fix and repairs computers. We are excited for this new program, so please keep this in your prayers.
English was also a big success again and we maxed out our enrollment. English is a hot topic and many Brazilians want to learn English in hopes of furthering their lives and careers. The CDR English program is also very favorable because we provide students with native speakers, excellent teaching material, good environment, and a low monthly fee of $16.00. We are proud of the work that CDR is doing and for being an extension to the church. It is a blessing and even though CDR and the church are legally completely separate, CDR is recognized with our church. We had an end of the semester party for the English students at the church. The students came up and sang Christian English songs, and another student essentially preached the Gospel in English to everyone in attendance. It was really cool.
On a personal note, the girls are doing well. I really liked both of these photos that I took of Camilly and Alyssa playing in the rain and hugging one another. Since we are in the rainy season they both love to play in the rain. Once the rain starts, then it is time to suit up the bathing suits or just strip down to your panties. The umbrella is a pretty sorry excuse for an umbrella, but I guess that is all the fun.
Thanks for all your continued thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming. Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa
