We are so excited that so many people are coming to the Lord and entering our discipleship program at our church here in Brazil. All the new believers and members are encouraged to enter the discipleship track and become trained to not only understand their faith but to also share their faith and disciple others. Then, once they are approved as disciplers through this program, they can enter the next leadership track to become a life group leader. It’s beautiful watching these new disciplers and leaders! They are so passionate about Jesus and about helping people come to Him! As we supervise the life groups, we see so much excitement, so much love, and so much gratitude for what the Lord has done and is doing in their lives. It’s so inspiring!
Davi and Danielle are an example of a couple who are new leaders and have just multiplied their sixth life group! We recognized them and prayed for them last week in a special get-together with all their life groups present. Davi wept with joy as we prayed for them. Both Davi and Danielle are so loving, caring, and hard-working! One of their life groups had grown to about 40 people and it became impossible for them to continue meeting in the apartment where they had been. They met in an outdoor parking space for a while, but with the São Paulo cold winds and rain, they saw that they couldn’t stay there either. So Davi rallied all six life groups, did some fundraising, and fixed up an old, abandoned meeting hall that was close by. They cleaned it, painted it, and put in bright, new light bulbs. It looks great! This life group now has a meeting place!
One of the reasons for the growth in Davi and Danielle’s life groups is our child evangelism outreach, which is held in that same low-income/slum neighborhood. Our disciples Moses and Mary moved close to the slum so they could be near the children and to be able to engage in weekly evangelism. By living there, they are able to really get to know the children and the parents or grandparents who live with them. Once they get to know the parents or grandparents, they invite them to the weekly life groups where the adults also get to hear about Jesus. We are excited that the child evangelism and the adult life groups can work hand-in-hand so we can win the whole family for Jesus!
Outreach in one of our city's slums.
We are currently working on a project where we would like to provide a free meal for the children who come to the weekly child evangelism meetings. We noticed last week that one of the little girls was very skinny. She looked like “skin and bones” and we learned that she hardly eats anything at home. Davi told me that it’s common there to only have enough food for one meal a day, but, seeing that child, I wondered if she even had that! So many of the adults are addicted to drugs that they neglect their children. One pregnant Mom sobbed as she told me (Esther) that she was desperate because her husband/boyfriend did nothing but drugs all day and never provided anything for her or her three children, not to mention the baby in her womb. But we know that Jesus has hope and healing for those suffering families. Please pray for salvation to continue to come to this slum, and that the power of God will transform every single precious member of this community.
Aaron evangelizing children for Christ.
On a personal note, our four children are doing great and loving São Paulo! Joshua just started his second semester of medical school and is loving it! He plans on working as a missionary doctor in the Amazon region where access to medical help is extremely difficult. Sometimes the sick have to travel for days by boat before they can reach help. So, when news goes out that there is a doctor in one of the villages, people come from all over, and then we also get a chance to tell them about Jesus and how they can have eternal life. Thank you so much for your investment in his life and ministry!
Joshua is in his first year of medical school here in São Paulo.
Christina is in her last year of high school and is leading an adolescent life group. She loves helping the kids come closer to Jesus! Gracie is in ninth grade and is our artist! She dreams of drawing cartoons for Paz Kids someday and has just finished a few electronic puppets so she can animate them! She is taking drawing and art classes from a seasoned artist and is learning so much! And our youngest, Abraham, is in sixth grade and is growing so fast. He just passed up Gracie! I think he will pass me up next!
Christina, Joshua, Gracie and Abraham in our weekly Bible series.
Gracie leading Children's Evangelism in the slums.
Our Abraham is growing up!
Thank you so much for partnering with us here in Brazil! You are a huge part of our ministry, and we could never thank you enough for your missionary hearts. We love you and appreciate you more than we could ever say! Please receive a big, big hug from all of us! We love you!
With all our love,
Aaron & Esther — Joshua, Christina, Gracie, and Abraham
Esther and I in our weekly sci-fi Bible program for children.
Part of the Metro Ministries team.
