| Dear Praying and Supporting Friends, Ministry Ups and Downs Sometimes ministry can be a bit trying. The last few months have been difficult. In September Rebekah suffered a concussion when a cast iron skillet that was on a shelf above her head fell on her. While she did not fracture her skull her brain did swell and she started having vision difficulty in her left eye. On top of the injury, Satan has been actively attacking. This is a common tactic Satan uses in churches all over Brazil. Our most influential family has decided to leave the church. We have not seen what the fallout will be yet but it will prove to be a trying time as we are a young and not very large church. Despite the setbacks at our church, God has opened some new frontiers for us. I was asked to take the presidency of a Brazilian Mission board. MBIB is for Brazilian Nationals who are called to start churches at home and abroad. We now gladly represent 13 nationals who are serving in 3 foreign countries as well as in Brazil. Many are serving in areas of the country that do not have a gospel witness. We are very excited to be able to serve our national pastors. Pray with us that we can encourage a spirit of missions giving among our Brazilian churches and that we can help our missionaries. Also pray with us that we can grow our mission by encouraging more Brazilians to surrender, or volunteer to serve the Lord here in Brazil or abroad. The benefit of Brazilians serving, is that they can often enter a country that is closed to American Nationals. This is a tremendous opportunity. In November, we hosted a music seminar 10 hours North of our city in Catalão, Goais. We had 6 churches represented. It was geared to help churches who have beginning choirs, and little to no musical background. There was also multiple sessions on the philosophy of music. While it was not a large group, we got great feedback from those who participated. One of our young men, Ryan, was saved earlier this year. He has been actively inviting his fellow classmates and friends on his street to church. He brought Diego, who got saved. Next he brought Wendel. Wendel was super excited to accept Jesus as his Savior. We are excited that the children are growing in the Lord. Pray with us as we disciple these children and try to reach their parents with the gospel. We have been able to witness to Diego’s dad. He was not quite ready but he invited us to come back. Pray we will be able to witness to all the parents and lead them to Christ. Family News Continue to pray for Rebekah’s full recovery. Also, after the accident the doctor ordered a full series of exams to make sure everything else is ok. They found cysts in her uterus and a mass. A biopsy was taken and we will be following this closely. The boys are doing very well. Jeff, our eldest, got engaged on Thanksgiving Day to his young lady, Rebecka. They will be married in July of 2020. Jeff and Rebecka are planning on starting deputation and returning to Brazil. David will be graduating from Hyles-Anderson in May. He has decided to do an internship for a year following his graduation. Our youngest Lee got engaged to his young lady, Elizabeth and they will be getting married in May of 2020. This will be a very busy and exciting summer for us. God has blessed us with some amazing future daughters-in-love and we are very proud of our sons. Due to the weddings and graduation we will be home for a few months. If you would like us to come to your church please let us know. In His Service, Bryan and Rebekah Johnson |
