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December 8, 2007
Hello,
It has been a while since we have written or sent out an update on things in Brazil. Alot has happened in the last several weeks. We had our first Bible Institute graduation at the Instituto Batista Biblica do Para. What a blessing it was to have two graduates that completed 3 1/2 years of study. Werlesson and Fabiana have been a blessing to us in the institute. We had 9 students altogether that studied this semester. They did a wonderful job of playing the handchimes for the service. The graduation was very special to us.
We had an ordination service for Werlesson on Sunday afternoon after the graduation and then on that night, turned the church over to him. We feel like he will do a great job with the church. Words cannot convey the emotions that I felt turning our first work over. Our hearts have become knit with these people. Our prayer is that the Lord will bless Werlesson and the church as they continue on the work there in that neighborhood.
We are now in the states. I arrived Wednesday night... Lisa arrived here a few weeks before me. We will be visiting our supporting churches aftger the first of the year. We are headed to Wyoming to see the most precious grand daughters in the world next week. We are enjoying time with our family and friends here in KY now. Right after Christmas we will be traveling to SC to our home church. Please continue to pray for us. We are praying about the location to start our next work. May God Bless each of you!
Bro Joe & Lisa
On Monday, December 10, we also received a copy of the Edge's prayer letter. It is copied below.
Dear Pastor & Friends
As we approach the time of year that we all think about our Savior’s birth, we are thankful for the gift of salvation and the privilege we have had of sharing that gift to precious Brazilians in the Amazon region of Brazil. This opportunity would not have been possible had it not been for you, our co-laborers in Christ. From the depths of our hearts and the Brazilians that have come to receive Christ as their personal Savior, thank you for giving to the Lord.
This prayer letter will be a bit difficult to write. How can you put 7 years of work into a few words? We started our work in the town of Santarem in 2000. The first service, we had 6 people present, my wife and me and our four children. From that point God has blessed. We have come to see around 75 people accept Christ as their personal Savior. Of those 75 people, around 50 of them have been baptized. 40 have served faithfully in the church and have become charter members of the Victory Baptist Church when we organized the first Sunday in December of this year. By mans standards, that is not very many. By Gods standards, those are men, women and children that will not spend an eternity in hell. What a blessing it has been to us to see them grow and tell others of our Savior.
In 2003 the Lord burdened our hearts for the need of a Bible Institute. The last Saturday night in November, we had the first graduation of the Istituto Batista Biblica do Para. Brother Werlesson and Fabiana were the first graduates. Fabiana has been a blessing to us and the church since she accepted the Lord. She has a burden to reach those that would not otherwise hear the gospel. She has learned sign language so she can take the “good news” to the deaf. She also has a desire to be a missionary. Please pray for Fabiana that the Lord will direct her in every area of her life. The Victory Baptist Church asked Brother Werlesson to be their Pastor. The vote was 100% by the church people. We feel that he and his wife Vanessa will do a great job. It was difficult turning the work over but it is exactly what we started out to do. We have literally worked ourselves out of a job. We will now take this time in the states to “wait upon the Lord to renew our strength” , visit with family and visit our supporting churches. You may see pictures of the graduation and turning over of the church by visiting our web site at wwwjoeedge.com.
The icing on the cake took place right before we left. Carlos was the neighborhood drunk. His wife had gotten saved and she along with their 5 children were faithful to the church. We had prayed for Carlos, talked with him several times but he just had no interest whatsoever. Several months ago, he started asking questions and then started doing a Bible study. About a month ago, I heard a clap at the gate. It was Carlos. The fist thing he said was Pastor, I need some help. He was sick of his life. Praise the Lord in just a little time he bowed his head and asked the Lord to come into his heart. On my last Sunday there, I had the privilege of baptizing Carlos and his wife Marcia. Please keep them in your prayers as they serve the Lord.
Lisa and I are fortunate to have partners like each of you. Our prayer is that He, our Lord Jesus Christ, will do it again. Someone has to be willing to go and others have to be willing to send. We are thankful for each of you that have made the Victory Baptist Church a reality.
Because of Calvary,
Bro. Joe & Lisa Edge
II Cor. 8:9
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