We serve the Lord in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, having been commended by the assembly in Pirassununga in 1999. The Lord has blessed us with three lovely girls. Lorena (24, married to Renan), Larissa (23, married to Henrique), and Leticia (17). By the mercy of God, all three profess to be saved, and the two eldest, with their husbands, are in fellowship with the assembly here in Pirassununga. My parents, Ronnie, and Janeta Watterson, moved to this region in 1969.
The Lord’s work in Pirassununga region. Please pray for this region in the interior of the state of São Paulo, slightly south of the center of Brazil, with an area of about 19,000 km. The Gospel arrived here in 1968 when my parents (Ronnie and Janeta Watterson) moved to Descalvado. Since then, the Lord has blessed the preaching of the Gospel. Nine assemblies have been planted, and the Gospel is preached regularly in another three towns. Dad was promoted to Heaven on the 30th of May of 2016, after a long battle against Parkinson’s. He is buried in Descalvado, where he spent almost 50 years serving the Lord. My mum works tirelessly proofreading every book we publish (more on the literature work later in this report).
On the western limit of this region is Ibaté (population: 30,000), where an assembly was planted in the 1970s. They have suffered pressure from some young believers who do not appreciate the simplicity of the NT pattern for an assembly, but still go on well, with around twenty-five believers in fellowship.
Descalvado (60 km east of Ibaté; population: 30,000) is the oldest assembly in this region, an assembly from which the Gospel has been carried to various other towns. Today, the assembly is weaker; many of the first generation are passing on, and there are not so many to take their place.
Further east of Descalvado is the town of Porto Ferreira (population: 51,000), where the Gospel has been preached since the 1970s. It has always been “hard ground,” and the assembly there was only established in March 2017.
Today, there are five believers in fellowship and four who requested baptism: two teenagers (whose parents are in the meeting) and another young couple. Another 20 km east lies S. C. das Palmeiras (population: 29,000). In the 1980s, after several series of Gospel meetings (in a tent and a rented hall), an assembly was planted. Today, they number around twenty-five in fellowship.
Casa Branca (25 km further east, population: 28,000) is today the weakest assembly in our region. Some years ago, there was a very active little group of fifteen believers, but various problems left them very weak. Today, only one brother and his wife remain.
The assembly in Pirassununga (20 km south of Porto Ferreira; population: 70,000) was planted in the 1970s — today there are thirty in fellowship. The assembly has been growing and maturing well.
Aguaí (50 km east of Pirassununga; population: 32,000) is the second youngest assembly in our region, established in March 2015). They began well, with fourteen believers in fellowship, but moral sin has sadly manifested itself in the life of an elder. It was a hard blow for the new believers, and they need your prayers.
Going south a further 10 km from Pirassununga lies S. C. da Conceição (population: 4,000), where an assembly was planted in 2004 after my sister and her husband moved there from Pirassununga. They started with meetings in their home. Today, there is an assembly with over a dozen believers meeting in their Hall.
The ninth assembly is in Leme (10 km south of S. C. da Conceição; population: 91,000). A brother from Descalvado moved there in the late 1980s, commended to the Lord’s work. He started meetings in his home, and the Lord blest in salvation of souls and the establishing of an assembly, which today has around 25 in fellowship.
The Gospel is also preached regularly in three towns around us, in the homes of believers who have relocated from some town in the region where there is an assembly. These towns are:
Araras — 20 km south from Leme, popu- lation: 119,000;
Poços de Caldas — 50 km east from Aguaí, population: 170,000;
Guaxupé — 90 km north from Palmeiras, population: 52,000.
In addition to the above, another aspect of the Lord’s work, which is being developed in Pirassununga and which has proved a blessing all over Brazil (and Angola and Portugal), is the work of publishing biblical literature. The complete New Testament series of Ritchie Commentaries (John Ritchie Ltd, Kilmarnock) has been translated and published. We are now working on the Old Testament commentaries of that same series: twelve volumes, of an expected nineteen, have been published, and we aim to publish another one or two volumes a year, as the Lord permits until the series is complete. We have translated and published eleven Assembly Testimony “Glory” books. We also publish a free quarterly magazine and various small booklets about assembly principles and Christian living. Literature has been very useful here in Brazil, as some believers and assemblies are hundreds of miles from any other assembly. We visit them when we can, but literature ends up being their most important source of teaching. Please pray for all those involved in this work (translating, proof-reading, editing, distributing, etc.), and that this literature might continue to be a help to the Lord’s people.
Last year, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease; please pray also for health and strength. Written by William & Elen Watterson wjwatterson@gmail.com
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