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patti & georgia
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CBO's Portuguese website
Comunidade Batista OceanicaTestimonies
"I am getting to know God
for the first time and it is great. I think He is talking to me!"
- A spiritist woman who is
attending a Bible study
"I have the biggest peace in
my heart that I have ever felt."
- An 18 year old teenager
after receiving Jesus
"My teenage daughter is
not the same daughter!"
- - An unsaved father, seeing God at work
"God has freed me from a
life of sin, cigarettes that were killing me and given me a passion
for Him." - A
mother of 3, who is a new Christian
"You mean
salvation is by faith, that's something!" -
A retired businessman who is spiritist and just started studying the book of
Romans in the Bible
Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19,20
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Dear Friends,
Greetings from Brazil! We are
excited to share with you some things God has done over the last few months
and also a few projects we are presently involved in. We thank you for
remembering us in your prayers and for your financial support. We are truly
grateful for your partnership to help us be the Light and Salt in this land.
(Check
out the encouraging testimonies on the left side of this page!)
In Christ, Patti &
Georgia
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P.S. Georgia and I will be in
Houston for a short time in October. We will be doing a presentation
at Houston’s First Baptist Church on October 23rd from 2 - 4 pm in the
Oasis room. Hope to see you!
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World Cup Soccer: Well, Brazil did not win as we had hoped, but
we had a wonderful time of fellowship as our church opened its doors to the
community to watch the games on big screens. It was the perfect opportunity
to reach out to our neighbors!
New Small Groups: God opened an
incredible door of opportunity for a new small group in our city. It is in
an influential new neighborhood where very few believers live. The majority
in our group are spiritists. (They follow the teachings of Allan Kardek.)
The group is a challenge to say the least. Some nights you can truly feel
the presence of oppression. But God who is much bigger, is doing some
amazing work as we study the book of Romans with them. Some are now visiting
our church and one young lawyer in the group is very close to receiving the
Lord. She is already praying for her husband to join our group. Pray for
this group that meets on Wednesday nights. Another small group will also
open on the campus of one of our universities.
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Teen Ministry: Georgia is training a
new group of teenagers for the formation of another youth worship band!
One of the young ladies composed a really neat worship song recently
with her sister. We also organized a youth soccer tournament to reach
the young guys. We rented a soccer club for the games and that night our
church welcomed them to a youth party where they were presented
trophies, saw video clips of the games and heard the Gospel message.
When I came to Brazil 14 years ago, I was overwhelmed with the numbers
of youth. (Over half of the population of Brazil is under 18 years old.)
I felt God wanted us to do whatever it takes to win these young people
to the Lord. We have stayed faithful to that call. In our last
discipleship class, I was so happy to see so many young people in
attendance. Many have received the Lord and are preparing for baptism.
Some youth are already serving in important ministries. Tonya Thompson
from HFBC spent a few days with us this month and taught a dance class
for teenagers and afterwards shared her testimony. Four more teenagers
were saved that night! Last Sunday one of the parents of our teenagers
received Jesus as Lord and Savior. We have been praying for this couple
for five years. What a celebration at the end of the service!
Soon to be Married: Our city had
their annual bridal expo in the convention center, and God opened a door
for our church to have a free booth there! We were the only Christian
organization participating and had a great opportunity to share Jesus
with many young couples. Thousands passed through the expo that week. We
promoted our 10-week engagement class and many from the expo are
attending!
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Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good…Psalm 107:1 |
Marriage Ministry: On our Brazilian
Valentine's day we dedicated a night for couples. They were served a
dinner, participated in a funny quiz show with door prizes and heard a
message by a Christian psychologist to strengthen their marriages.
One More for Jesus: The family that
owned the house we purchased to build our new church were unbelievers.
One by one they are coming to know Jesus. Last month, another member in
the family received Jesus. That makes number seven (7)!
Singles: Our first city-wide event
for singles, divorced and widows was held in July. We had a great
turnout. I gave a message on "How to be a Happy Single". We were
thrilled with the many decisions that night. Afterwards we had an
all-you-can eat buffet and karaoke sing-a-long that went into the wee
hours of the morning!
Pre-Teen Get Together: Our pre-teens
took on their own project to reach their friends for Jesus. They invited
their buddies to come and see a Christian film, and afterwards they had
games. The church was full of pre-teens! Many of them are now attending
a Bible study on Thursday nights, and even some of their parents who are
not Christians have been visiting our church or small groups.
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Bible Distribution: We thank those
of you that have donated for us to purchase Bibles We have had so many
great opportunities to give out Bibles and there is no greater gift we
can put in their hands. Many carry them in their backpacks & purses! One
of the girls told me she loves reading her Bible on the bus and as she
was reading it she was able to share Jesus with the lady beside her who
began to ask questions.
Discipleship: Our discipleship
classes have been a blessing as many are growing spiritually. Georgia is
in the middle of the course "Experiencing God" with a group, and we have
6 additional classes that meet on Sundays. I am also individually
discipling 4 college-aged women throughout the week.
Blankets & Hope: At the onset of
winter we invested in new blankets and hit the streets one night with a
team of thirty. As we handed out blankets to the homeless we share the
Gospel message. It was a wonderful night of evangelism. We had great
response.
Equipping & Training: Next week we
will begin another evangelism training workshop and also a leadership
workshop for Brazilian Christians in ministry.
Country Western Event: We just had
our annual Country & Western party this weekend. It is one of the
largest events we do each year to reach the community for Christ. We had
a huge turnout, from kids to the elderly. Pray for the many seeds that
were planted that night.
Passion 2010: Georgia and I will be
traveling to the city of São Paulo for "Passion" on September 3-4. We
are taking a large group of college students and will serve as
volunteers. Pray for hearts to be open to hear God. (Passion is a
ministry that Louie Giglio started for college students and has now gone
international.)
Church in Cabo Frio: Our church in
Cabo Frio began enlarging its space due to the large numbers of people
that have to stand during the service. This has been a huge test of
faith for them as they do not have enough money for the work, but God is
doing miracles each step of the way. They are hoping to finish
construction within the next few months.
Celebrate Recovery will begin its eighth cycle this month! It has been a
fabulous tool to helping people recover from drugs, traumas, bad habits
and helping people learn to forgive.
Updated CBO Web Site in Portuguese:
Our church (Comunidade Batista Oceanica)
has a new Portuguese language web site. Even though it is in Portuguese,
you still might want to take a look! You can click on the picture of our
Church in the upper left hand corner at the top of this page, or just
click this link:
http://cboceanica.com.br
(On the first page of the site, if you click on CBO Cabo Frio, it will
take you to our church's site in Cabo Frio.)
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Church at Cabo Frio
Now to him who is able to do
immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is
work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20 |
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