Thank you for your prayers for our family and ministry as we serve in Sao Paulo, Brazil. God has encouraged our hearts these past two months!
On May 1, the ladies had a great start to the month on visitation. Esther and Daniel accompanied them, and Amy said that when she looked behind her, Daniel had slipped into the neighborhood bar and made sure everyone in there received a tract. One of the young men was smiling in amazement at a six-year- old boy’s courage! Later on, Esther entered another open bar. The men stood in respect; and all received the tracts, asked for more, and started to read them. It was a windy day, and Amy invited the ladies to return to the church. Daniel passed out one last tract to a couple. The lady smiled and looked very interested. A few weeks later, she came looking for our church, and David gave her a tract as she passed by. Jenianha called her husband and said, “I am not going to church tonight! I found the one I was looking for!” She and her husband Rodrigo have been faithful ever since.
I was asked by another missionary to host a young man from Venezuela for a week. The kids helped us get a room ready for him and enjoyed speaking Spanish to him. On Mother’s Day, the ladies decorated and prepared filled crepes. We had a special gift for each mother and a framed picture for our oldest mother in the church. Abigail, a Bolivian lady with three children, said she felt like a queen that day.
On May 15, Amy and I took Chloe in for her follow-up echocardiogram. She was very still and cooperative. We praise the Lord that the result came back without any sign of damage or aneurysm in her heart. Her Doctor said that because they were able to diagnose and treat with the immunoglobulin early on, they would now treat her as if she had never even had the disease! We were so thankful to hear such good news, as we had been told by other doctors that she would need to be seen by a cardiologist for life and would be at risk of a heart attack as a young adult. The grace of God has been our source of strength and help, and we are so grateful for His loving kindness to us.
Thursday during our midweek prayer meeting, one of the teen girls asked us to pray for her friend Gabriele undergoing treatment for cancer. The following week she brought her friend to church. Amy shared the Gospel with Gabriele, and she trusted the Lord as her Saviour that night.
The month of June was full of events. On the 7th I was asked to preach for a Friendship Banquet at Igreja Batista Nova Vida. On the 12th we celebrated Brazilian Valentine’s Day with a Friendship Banquet and on the 14th with a Couples’ Banquet. Sunday, the 15th, Silvana and Hilario renewed their vows during a special service. Seven of their visitors trusted Christ as Saviour that day.
On the 18th I drove to the airport to pick up a group of 12 from First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, including Dr. Siemer and his wife, participating in a mass evangelism effort during the World Cup. The True Victory Project was responsible for shipping and distributing one million Gospels of John, with the salvation message in 13 languages. On Thursday a man drove up in a nice red car. He had the tract in his hand and tears in his eyes. Amy was on her way out for ladies’ visitation and asked if Eseu would like someone to explain what this booklet was all about. My son David had handed Eseu the tract on Wednesday, the first day we received them. On Thursday I had the privilege of leading this man to the Lord!
On Friday, the 20th, the group distributed tracts in our neighborhood. We are close to the open market, and all of the vendors were happy to receive the tracts. We were grateful for the help the group provided painting the church that afternoon. On Saturday, the 21st, our church ladies helped prepare a nice buffet breakfast for everyone. Thirteen of our church folks enjoyed escorting the group out on soul winning/visitation that day. Sunday morning, the 22nd, a pastor from Monterrey, Mexico, preached for us. Sunday evening was our annual Harvest Festival. God blessed with approximately 90 in attendance and 15 trusting Christ as Saviour. In light of the fact that our printer is not working and we were unable to make invitations or run a vehicle on the bus route, we were blessed to have so many come on their own (walking)! We love the great spirit in our church and appreciate the effort our kids made at all the game stands!
On Monday the group came to watch the game in the church. Of course, we had the Mexico game on as well! By Friday I was out again with the boys, passing out tracts in front of the church to the many headed to the open market. I had the joy of leading a man to the Lord who was on his way to buy fruits and vegetables! It was great to have the group effort of distributing tracts here, yet we thank the Lord for His grace to keep on when no one else is here to help!
Thank you for remembering to pray for God’s provision and protection for our ministry and family. Hector, the young man preparing to come and help, recently lost his mother. Please pray for his family in their time of grief.
Prayer Requests: Amy’s health (recurrent sinus infections, back pain), our family’s health and safety, the children’s schooling, the spiritual growth of our church people, laborers in His harvest, and our Bile Clubs in July.
Thank you again for your prayers and support for this ministry! May the Lord bless you.
The Vallejo Family
Juan, Amy, Esther, Juan Jr, David, Daniel, Micah, Caleb, & Chloe
