When we lived in the United States I always looked forward to winter, to sitting in a warm house, reading a book and drinking hot chocolate.  I remember being cold when I had to go outside, but there was always someplace warm you could escape to after the cold outdoors.

In the southern part of Brazil, where we live, winter weather starts in May and goes through August.  The highs are usually in the 50’s or low 60’s with lows in the mid 40’s – but occasionally they can reach the freezing point!  This never sounds very cold to those of us who grew up or still live in the northern part of the U.S., but with no heating there is no place to escape.  The first few days of the cold weather don’t seem that bad – that’s when the house is warmer than the outside air.  After that a change happens and suddenly the house and the outside feel about the same temperature.   The last to happen, and the worst, is when your house is actually colder than it is outside (especially on sunny days!).  That’s because the houses here have no insulation, so the cold gets in and it takes quite a while for it to warm up again.  It just doesn’t seem right when we wake up and can see our breath – in the house!

Space heaters do exist, but the cost of running them is quite high, so many Brazilians make do without them.  We have one that we run at night in our daughters’ room and one that we use in the bathroom when we take showers.  Did I mention yet that there are no hot water heaters?  We do have electric shower heads tries to give us hot water, but in the dead of winter even that doesn’t feel very warm!  The water that comes from the sinks and that we use to wash our hands is painfully cold in the winter.

So what do we do to try and keep warm?  One of the most important lessons I’ve learned here is that of layering clothes.  My 3 year old doesn’t especially appreciate it, but she might when she’s a little older.  We also have lots of blankets on our bed.  I used to think it was funny when our members would brag about how many blankets they had used the night before, not any more!  Other than that we drink lots of hot chocolate, tea, and coffee and wait for the occasional warm day so we can recharge and get ready to face some more of the cold.

Brandi Bivens

At first we thought Cezar was really coming because of the pretty girls in the group who also attend church regularly. That would have been natural for a boy of 15. But we soon saw that, though he enjoyed the company of the girls, and in fact of all the other youth, he was coming to church regularly even if they were not in attendance, and even when he moved to another part of town. Soon Cezar was taking part in other activities of the congregation, helping the men make sidewalks, taking part in church cleaning, and such. (more…)

The sign boards you see on the sidewalk in front of church are our first attempt to attract the people who walk and bicycle by the church - there are many people, as we found out when we moved here. Each week we have a question, such as we hear from people we talk to, and an answer to the question from the Bible. The same can be seen from both directions. We are thinking of other ways we can capitalize on this traffic past our door.

There is nothing exciting to write to you this month. That is, nothing other than the steady preaching and teaching of the Word and the outreach to whomever will listen! Out faithful Kingdom Worker volunteer couple, Chris and Cara Ewings, is busy giving instruction classes, piano lessons, working with the youth group and making visits. They find time to help at the church with finishing details - painting ironwork windows, for instance, or shoveling sand back up into the pile after it is been spread out by wind and rain.  Chris teaches Greek to our seminary student and preaches now and then.

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For those who participated from Jesus Salvador congregation in Gravataí, RS, the events of this Assembly began already on Feb. 1 when the men went to the bus station and settled in for a 20 hour trip. After arriving in Dourados the following afternoon, delegates and representatives from both congregations enjoyed fellowship, the chance to get to know each other better, and the opportunity to get a good night’s sleep before the beginning of the Assembly.

The Assembly began on Saturday, February 3, and was conducted under the theme: “Perdoados, Temos Coragem!” (Forgiven, we have courage!). The presidential report revisited the many blessings that have been evident in the short history of the ILB and was followed by other items of business. Among the topics discussed were the logo of the ILB, the value of a Seminary training program to produce future called workers, and a lengthy discussion of how and where the ILB can concentrate their efforts to bring the Gospel to other locations in Brazil. Above all, however, the Assembly was an opportunity for spiritual brothers to grow in the Christian faith. Regular devotions, two Bible classes (on Forgiveness and Christian Courage), and joint worship with the Dourados congregation helped remind everyone why the ILB exists - to fortify those in the faith, and to reach out to those who don’t know Christ.

As the Assembly came to an end, those who participated could only give thanks to God for the time well-spent and the opportunity to grow together. Please take the time to thank God as well for the blessings he has poured out on the ILB!

Today, 12 WELS missionaries serve Latin America. In addition to Puerto Rico, they reside in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil. They also travel to Colombia, Bolivia, and other places.

Missionaries learn the languages of the countries they serve, which include Spanish, Portuguese, French and Creole. This helps them share the Gospel with others, train men to be pastors, and work with these pastors to develop self-supporting congregations and church bodies.

Approximately 550 million people live in Latin America. To reach them all with the good news of salvation is a steep task. Yet we give thanks to God for providing opportunities to do so. While cultures, people, and languages vary, the goal is one: to bring more sheep into Christ’s resurrected arms

The men who desire to be pastors are very active members of their congregations. It would be a major challenge for their respective congregations, most of which are still quite small, to pull them out to a “central seminary” for three years in order to complete their seminary training. So instead, we travel to them. This allows them to keep their secular jobs to provide for their families; it allows them to continue to serve their local congregation, gaining valuable experience and already serving their brothers and sisters; and it allows them to receive seminary training—all at the same time.
By forming this LATTE team of six missionary professors, each member of the team is able to specialize in certain parts of the curriculum and, therefore, better serve the students and national churches. It is a large task. We are involved in training almost 40 men—some full-time, some part-time—in seven different countries. Because it is by God’s grace and help alone that any of us can serve him, please join us in praying for His blessing on our efforts.

Read more at the LATTE blog.