Pirassununga, Brazil

Written by Bill & Elen Waterson

Earlier this year I was able to visit the assembly in Ramadinha, in the state of Ceara. The drought in their region has been severe as they have had no rain since January and do not expect any until February of next year. We took up some food and water for them, along with Bibles and other literature. Spiritually, we found them happy and strong in the Lord. There are nine in fellowship. Some have travelled south to work, so their number has been reduced in these last months. There are five neighbors who come regularly to the meetings to hear the Gospel.

The assembly there is very isolated - three thousand kilometers from us, and at least a thousand from the nearest assembly. They remain on their own most of the time, so we ask you to pray that the Lord might preserve them from false teachers, discouragement, and the difficult conditions in which they live.

In Aguai, where we have had a weekly Gospel meeting for the last eight years, we had the joy of receiving a young couple from another part of the country. We have had contact with them for a number of years and felt their relocation was an answer to prayer. They are living in a small one-bedroom house that we have behind the Hall in Aguai, and we ask your prayers for their help in the work there. With the addition of this young couple, there are now eight believers in Aguai. We continue to pray for an assembly to be established there, as the Lord enables us. The printing work continues, due to the sacrificial work of various brothers and sisters.

We have finally adapted to the changes in our workflow which we were forced to implement due to Dad's progressing Parkinson's. His situation has deteriorated to the point where he is not able to help in the literature work in any way. Please pray for him, as he is forced to come to terms with his limitations, and for Mum, as she seeks to care for him and still carry on with the proofreading of all our publications. The translation of the Ritchie Old Testament Commentaries is progressing well and many believers are looking forward to their publication. The quarterly magazine "0 Caminho" continues to be distributed freely, along with the other books and booklets the Lord has enabled us to publish. Due to this literature, we receive much mail with questions about Christian living and especially the N.T. pattern for an assembly. Some contacts, sadly, lead nowhere, but we thank the Lord for the good numbers of believers (individual and companies) that have expressed their appreciation for the printed word. Please pray for Jose Ricardo, a brother in Salvador (a large city about two-thousand kilometres from us). He wrote a few weeks ago, saying that the believers he meets with have been very open to the teaching they have received through our literature and requesting a visit for further help. We have never had any contact in that large city before.

We would also value your prayers for Edgar, a middle-aged man who lives across the street from the Hall in Porto Ferreira. There is no assembly in that town, but we have a Gospel Hall and maintain twice weekly Gospel meetings. Edgar came to the meeting a few weeks ago. He has been to some denominational groups but was disappointed. He had been listening to our meetings for quite a while, from his home (doors and windows are kept wide open during the meetings, because of the heat), and he was impressed with the simplicity and sincerity of the Gospel message. He has been coming regularly since then and seems earnestly searching for the truth.

I am recovering from an operation for a hernia that developed because of the first operation I had two years ago, when my gall bladder was removed. The stitches were only taken out after two weeks, as there was a reaction from my body to the plastic mesh that was inserted during the operation. That set things back but I am thankful to the Lord that I am recovering well and hope to be back to normal soon. We mention these things, valuing your prayers for God's blessing and help in these difficult days.

Spring 2013

Written by Bill & Elen Waterson - Brazil

ronjan@sadoutrina.com