Thank You for Your Prayers

I want to thank everyone for their prayers during carnaval (Mardi Gras).  As far as I know, everyone had a safe and peaceful trip to their respective retreats around Brazil.        In Patos we had a wonderful time of fellowship (staying up till 2 or 3 a.m. with the young people) talking about love, salvation and evangelism.  The food was plentiful and very good.  The lessons we heard made us reflect on our decisions, their consequences and opened our eyes to see God at work in the World.        I asked some people what was their favorite part of the retreat; Dylan said, "the offering" (collection).  What a surprising and wonderful answer.  Another person was lamenting that they did not spend a lot of time with most of the people at the retreat.  She spent most of her time getting to know one of the members from another congregation.  Nicholas said, "sometimes it is time better spent getting to know one person more intimately than talking with a lot of people and speaking on a superficial level."         God is maturing His Church. The retreat was a great way to start off the year in fellowship.      Thank you once again for your prayers.