Finley Gary Rosemarie 1992 Brazil

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Chris t for Sao Luis:ATEAM MINISTRYTO SAO LUIS.MARANHAO, BRAZIL

NEWSLETTER

March/April 1992 Volume no . 5, Issue no. 1

GREETINGS EDOM

GARY, ROSIE & IAN FINLEY

FOR CONTRIBUT IONS AND STATESIDE CORRESPONDENCE:

C hr is t fo r S a o Luis

Gary & Rosie FinleyCalumet Street Christian Church

2240 Eas t Calumet St ree t

Centralia, IL62801

Church Office: (618) 533-4421Forwarding Agents Floyd & Leia Johnson: (618) 532-4476

LLoU

FOR CORRESPONDENCE ONLY:

(PLEASE DO NOT SENDANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS ADDRESS)

Gary & Rosie FinleyCaixa Postal 1088

65000 Sao Luis, Maranhao, Brazil, South America

To Call Us From the U.S. Dial: 011-55-98-226-1391



X

'P(cn^ "Dm t ^

S Lately Ihave been having arecurring nightmare. OK, maybethat is a bit dramatic, but some nights as Idrift off to sleep a scary Hthought comes crowding into my mind, it starts off like this: ^

^ MThe wall calendar says that it is near the end of November ^1992. Our family has been in the U.S. for the past four months on WHurlough. Our reservations for the flight back to Brazil are set for the ^following week. The terms ofour tickets do not allow us to reschedule Q

jjr the date of our flight. We are looking overourlistof things still left to oF do before we leave. The following Sunday(ourlast before the flight) £2Hwe are scheduled to report to the last two of our supporting churches O

which requesteda presentation. O

^ Suddenly, the phone rings. The voice on the other end is warm HHand cheery. "How are you guys getting along?" they ask. We talk for aOwhile. Finally the caller says: "At the board meeting the othernight we OS decided that we really need to have you folks come here some ^

Sunday for a presentation before you head back to Brazil, now when is oSit that you will be leaving?'' Iapologetically explain the limits of our ^

schedule . Suddenly the warm, cheery voice turns hosti le . "Why o^ weren't we notified about this sooner!" he demands to know. Iexplain ^

the notices which had appeared in our newsletter months before our Ofurlough actually began, the personal letters which we sent to each of Oour supporting churches pleading for opportunities to present our Owork, the personal telephone call we had placed to the their church O

office asking if our letters had been received (the secretary assured us ^th e mis s i on s cha i rman h ad a ll o f ou r informat ion a n d wou ld b e con - M

tacting us if they wanted us to come, "Don't worry about it she as- Ssured us "he is very dependable"). M

None of this seemingly mattered. My caller first assured us that Hwe could expect no further support from his church, then snickered

as he referred to a friend who works in the U.S. customs sen/ice that ]qcould qui te eas ily have our passports revoked! Finally there was msome talk about taking out large adds in several Christian publications, ^

just to let our other supporters know what kind of people we really ^were O

Suddenly, Iam brought back to reality by the ringing of the 0telephone. Whew, it was all just a dream. At least I hope so. Hmm, Iwonder who could be calling at this hour? "Hello?"



Special tor Easter

The resurrect ion of Jesus Christ is the central belief of the Christian faith. The

Paul tel ls us that without Christ's resurrection our faith and preaching areseless and we are to be pitied more than all men, (1 Cor. 15:12-19). But we know

the resurrection is fact and thus, celebrate it every year on the day called

Brazil, being a predominantly Catholic nation, places much of the emphasisuring the "Semana Santa" (Holy Week), on the death and suffering of our Lord onhe cross, as well as, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Neighborhood resident's

life-size stuffed effigies of Judas - often In the likeness of the year's villainaddam Hussein was very popular last year), and hang them from telephone poles

r carry them through the streets. Little emphasis is placed upon the victory thatas achieved through Christ's resurrection.

Because of this, we have planned a special Easter service to celebrate the

This will be a new experience for many of our neighbors and contacts.will present a dramatic narrative of the events of the Passion Week, concludingthe victorious resurrection. Much planning and prayer have gone into this

ervice. We will give special invitations to all of the people that we study with, asas other fr iends and neighbors. Please pray that through the Scripture, our

prayers, decorations, and refreshments; we can show the Glory of God inhe resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Also pray that this service willttract more people to participate in our worship services, Bible talks, and individual

——

W e A re T r u ly G r a te fu l

In November of last year we sent a letter to several Illinois churches describng an urgent financial need that had arisen as the result of the unexpected deparure of one of our supporting churches. In December, we made mention of the

me need through our newsletter.

Since that time, three new churches have begun supporting our work here inao Luis. Additionally, several of our existing supporters have increased their givingor 1992. We thank you for your concerned response. We look forward to keeping

ou informed about the progress of this work. We pray that the Lord will bless yourwardship with a bountiful harvest both here, and in the communities where you

Him.

As always, we are truly grateful for all of you who steadfastly support thismonth after month. God has certainly demonstrated His ability to provide for

ur needs through the continued faithfulness of His people.



Jus t A Reminder

If your church would like to schedule a presentation of our work sometimduring August, September, October or early November of this year, please contact oforwarding agents Floyd & Leia Johnson by phone or by letter {the address and phonumber are listed on the front of the newsletter). Please give them two or three posble dates. Theywill relay the information to us, and we will give you a definianswer as soon as possible.

We look forward to seeing everyone this summer. We have a lot of experences, plans, stories and ideas that we are anxious to sharewith you.

P l e a s e T a k e No t e

You have probably heard the comedian who says: " I was rotten as a boy,rotten in fact that I came home from school one day and found out that my parents hamoved and didn't leave a forwarding address. I didn't think too much of it until aftefound them, they did the same thing again the next week!"

I don't think that we have been all that rotten, but we did just find out that o

sponsoringchurch has moved. Actually, they are still meeting at the same locatiobut, due to implementation of the 911 emergency system their address has beechanged.

You may have already noticed that the U.S. address on the front of our newsleter is different. Please take note of the new address when you send a contribution,wish to correspond with our forwarding agents: '

Christ for Sao Luis

Calumet Street Christian Church

2240 East Calumet StreetCentralia, IL 62801



Chr is t fo r Sao Luis:A TEAM MINISTRY TO SAO LUIS, MARANHAO, BRAZIL

NEWSLETTER

J u n e 1992 Volume no. 5, Issue no . 2

m

GDEETINGS FDOM

GARY, ROSIE & IAN FINLEY

FOR CONTRIBUTIONS AND STATESIDE CORRESPONDENCE :

Chr i s t fo r S ao Luis

Gary & Rosie FinleyCalumet Stree t Christ ian Church

2240 Eas t Ca lume t S tr e et

Centralia, IL 62801

Church Office: (618) 533-4421Forwarding Agents Floyd & Leia Johnson: (618) 532-4476

FOR CORRESPONDENCE ONLY:

(PLEASE DO NOTSEND ANY CONTRIBUTIONS TOTHIS ADDRESS)

Gary &Rosie FinleyCaix a P ostal 1 08 8

65000 Sao Luis, Maranhao, Brazil, South America

To Call Us From the U.S. Dial: 011 -55-98-226-1391



'An Answered Prayer

I must admit, we were pessimistic about how many would attend; but ouwonderful Lord really blessed us, in spite of our lack of faith. We had 22 adults,older children, 3 younger children, 2 babysitters and 4 team members in attendanceour Easter Service! That was 34 people in John and Ruth's living room! Despite th

heat and crowded conditions it was a very nice service. Many of the people wh

attended participated in reading passages from the Gospels that describe the last weeof Jesus' earthly life. His crucifixion, and His victorious resurrection. We had specimusic (instrumental and vocal), decorations and lots of good refreshments afterward

I pray that we truly glorified our God in the presentation of Jesus' resurrection.

This service also helped us realize that we need a larger meeting place, as sooas possible. Please pray for this. We do want to thank everyone for their prayers obehalf of this special program. Our Lord certainly answered them. Please pray alsthat we will have the opportunity to study individually with those who attended thservice .

CK. ^

We are pleased to hear that several of our supporting churches have alreadcontacted us and scheduled a date for us to present our work during our upcomin

furlough. We are stillwaiting to hear from about half of our regular supporters.

We look forward to the opportunity to report on the progress of our work. Ware also anxiousfor the opportunity to see each of you once again. If your church hnot already done so, please contact our forwarding agents Floyd & Lela Johnson at thphone number or mailing address printed on the front of this newsletter. We hopesee you soon!



ft

It Never Hurts to Askt t m

If no one is able to respond to the request we are about to make, we unde

stand completely. If we were asking to borrow a sofa, or a dinette set we wouprobably have several offers. Those are the sort of things that you often find storein t h e corners o f t he b a sement.

Most families however, don't have an extra ca r just sitting around the hous

collecting dust. We recently asked several of our fellow missionaries workingBrazil how they arrange for a car to use during their furloughs. We were surpriseby the number who said that people in their supporting churches have often beeable to l o a n them a v e h i c l e .

So, in order to be responsible stewards of the resources which the Lord haprovided we feel that we at least need to make our need known.

Our furlough begins on July 26 and continues through November 29 (fomonths). We are in need of a safe, dependable auto that we can use during thtime. We will need to make six or more full-day trips, so we need a vehicle that sthas a few good miles left in it.

We would pay for the cost of insurance, maintenance and any routine repaithat are needed during the time we are using it. If you are able to help us in regato this need, please contact our sponsoring elders in Centralia, IL at (618) 533-4421

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One of the women who has been attending our Bible studies and worship servihas completed the lessons which present the gospel message. She wants to be b

tized and receive Christ as her Lord and Savior. However, her husband is still uncided. She wants to wait for him so that she does not risk alienating him. Please pthat he will soon be convicted of his need, and that together they will begin a newin Christ .

A young man (17 years old) who had been faithfully attending our Bible studiesbeen forbidden by his family from having any further contact with our church. Plepray for his encouragement, and for this situation to change.

After two years of living in Sao Luis, we have come a long way toward adapting

the local culture. One aspect that still frustrates us is the high rate of crime commitagainst personal property. Shortly after the publication of our last newsletter, our

was vandalized/robbed for the 5th time since our arrival. On this occasion, twindows were broken out, our tape player was destroyed (not stolen, just intentionadestroyed), and several smaller items were also damaged or stolen. In additionbeing a drain on our finances, this has created unneeded stress. Our emotions ha

felt the effect more than our pocket-book. Please pray that God will not allow th

petty matters to rob our energy away from the work that we are here to do.

P.S. Last Sunday night during our worship hour, our car was vandalized for6th t ime.

Several letters we have received in the past month have asked if Sao Luis has be

affected by the Cholera epidemic that is spreading throughout South America. YCholera reached Sao Luis shortly after the New Year's holiday. To date there habeen 2 ,116 cases in the State of Maranhao. 1,327 of those cases have occurred in S

Luis. In Sao Luis, half the reported cases have been confined to an area cal"llhinha", about a five minute walk from our team office. An average of 30 new caare being reported each day in the "llhinha" area alone. Since we take precautiowith the water we drink, and the way we prepare our food, we don't believe thatare personally at risk.

Please remember the following matters in regard to our upcoming furlough:•Safety of our travel to the U.S., and from city to city as we report to oursupporting churches.

•The Navis family as they continue the work here during our absence.•Our supervis ing elders as they evaluate our progress during our first term, an

offer their counsel for the future of this ministry.



Progress Report

"How's the Work Going?"

Iwould have to say that 98% of the letters we receive from supporters and friendsall ask the same question "How's the work going?" Sometimes it is phrased a little differently, but the same basic question is almost always asked.

We thank God for that level of interest. We hope that it grows even stronger asour work here continues to progress. In this section we want to answer that question with

more detail than we can usually include in our personal responses to your letters.

We hope that the information shared here will give you several ideas for requestswhich you will take before our God in prayer.

Gaining an Audience for the Gospel:

Our Group Bible Studies

Each week, we continue to meet new people. Our primary approach for introduceing them to the good news is through the group Bible studies which meet in our homes.

People whom we meet throughout the week are invited to visit, and participate inone of these studies. The Bible studies serve several purposes. They give us an opportu

nity to build a closer relationship with those who attend. They help us to identify thosewho are interested in spiritual matters. They are less threatening than a regular worshipservice (people are thus more likely to attend them). Most importantly, they present theWord of God in a meaningful and interesting way.

We began the first Bible study near the end of November of last year. Since then,we have invited more than 90 people to participate in the studies. 28 individuals haveattended one or more of the studies. 6 individuals now attend regularly.

Presenting the Message of the GospelWhen someone demonstrates their interest in spiritual matters, we offer to study

some subjects with them individually that will help them to grow in their relationshipwith God. These studies present the gospel message. By the Fast lesson, the person hasall of the information they need in order to make an informed decision about acceptingJesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Currently three people are studying these lessons with us. One more gentlenrianhas agreed to study, but so far he hasn't scheduled a day and time to begin (he is aforeman and works very unpredictable hours).

We will keep you informed of our progress, please pray about these opportunities.

Becoming All things to All Men

We stated in our December 1991 newsletter that our group Bible studies would beour primary tool for evangelistic outreach throughout 1992. That continues to be true.We believe the group Bible study approach holds the best prospect for reaching entirefamilies. However, the idea of a group Bible study does not appeal to everyone. In orderto expand our outreach to those who are not interested in the group studies we are alsoplanning two additional activities designed to gain an audience for the gospel.

English Language Bible Studies

Since our arrival in Sao Luis Qune 1990) we have been impressed by the amount

of interest that exists among young Brazilians for learning the English language.

Finley Gary Rosemarie 1992 Brazil

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