Dave and Dawn Whitmore Prayer Letter: Hungering and Thirsting After Righteousness

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

During the last few months we were in Brazil with the Cajuru Baptist Temple, God showed His power, love, and direction. For the 41st Anniversary, Pastor John Wilkerson, our home-church pastor and good friend, gave of his time to preach three practical sermons to help the people grow spiritually. God truly used our pastor to help everyone present.

Rafael and Maria Fernanda were already in the church when we arrived, but on the first visit in their home, Rafael let me know that he was not saved. That night, September 8, 2023, he made the most important decision to accept Jesus. During the last three months with this dear church in 2025, God showed His power to transform lives by helping this couple begin to understand their responsibility to be soul winners. Together with this couple, I had the extreme honor of sharing the good news of our Saviour with 16 of their family and friends. Through tears, Maria Fernanda expressed that she and her husband are hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

One of the families reached through this couple’s influence is Marcos, Lais, and their daughter Sofia. Lais, Maria’s aunt but only a few years older, was led to Jesus by Maria, Omar’s wife. Marcos and Sofia were saved on two different occasions. On our last day with this dear church family, all three of them were obedient in baptism. They are truly hungering and thirsting after righteousness and are growing.

As we were needing to return for a furlough, Omar and his wife Maria, a Brazilian missionary couple, committed to loving the church family until the church can call their own pastor.

After returning to the U.S., the Holy Spirit gave direction to continue communicating with Paulo, who lives in Cajuru, even though we have not met personally. During a WhatsApp video call on Wednesday, November 12, after an almost three-hour conversation, he understood his need to put his complete trust in Jesus. Since then, he has started attending the church, and his pastor, Missionary Omar, is discipling him. He, too, is hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

In December 2025, while presenting our ministry to Pastor Bob Mann and the Crocker Bible Baptist Church in Chesterton, Indiana, one of two of our newest supporting churches, God used a family need to bring Macai, age 18, and his grandmother Dorcas to church when it was 0°F outside. While talking with him between Sunday school and church, Macai mentioned that it was his first time to be in a church service. After the service, I was able to share the Gospel with him.

While soul wining with Pastor John Hernandez at the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Summit, Illinois, a supporting church, we visited a young couple, Eduardo and Jessica, who had been married a year. Eduardo gave testimony of his salvation, but Jessica had a lot of questions that she needed answered before she was able to make the most important decision. You should have seen them the next morning in church—they are also hungering and thirsting after God’s righteousness.

Thank you for believing in our family, praying for us, and faithfully supporting us as we raise additional support in preparation for the starting of Hope Baptist Temple in Moreira Cesar with our son-in-law, Jonata Oliveira, and our youngest daughter Karlene and for the continuation of the GANHAR (Soul-Winning) Ministry. We are hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

We love each of you and are honored to continue serving our Saviour as your church planters with Team Brazil.

Dave + Dawn and Zachary Whitmore