A couple of weekends ago the kids of the Brazilian church in Newark, NJ begged some of us to take them to New York City after church. After a lot of pleading, a few of us relented and took them on a sort of "urban hike" around the city. We had a nice day, and here are some photos we took. Click the link to see the album. In the group photo I'm the goofy looking guy in the back with glasses and a stocking cap. Christiane, my wife, is wearing a white coat. Our daughter is the one with dark hair and a pink coat, and our son is the little guy in the orange coat.
It's nice to be able to do something like that outing every so often. If we plan ahead next time we might be able to make more of the day. Money is always an issue. Life in the northeastern United States is very expensive, and a lot of people take a second and even third job to keep things going. Our tiny two-bedroom, third floor apartment costs us $1000 a month, and that's considered a good deal by most around here. In other words, nothing worth living in can be found for less. With costs like that, it isn't easy to have money remaining for entertainment or ministry.
Last year for several months I worked a second job teaching English as a Second Language. I left home at 7:30 every morning to work at AT&T, then got home around 6:30 pm and took a shower to leave for my second job by 7:30 pm. Normally I didn't get home again until after 10:30 pm. It was wearisome, and I wasn't able to spend hardly any time with my family, and less still with the church. Attending weeknight gatherings of the church were out of the question, as I was working, and there was precious little time for preparing lessons for Sunday School or a sermon if I was called upon to preach.
This past December I stopped working at Harvest English Institute. I was exhausted, and had believed that a better-paying job I'd interviewed for was working out. The new job didn't come through, inexplicably, but I don't really regret leaving the ESL teaching. I've been able to focus more on preparing lessons for the adult Sunday School class (I'm starting a series with them on the Spiritual Disciplines) and will now be preaching once a month (there are two other men on the rotation). Time has also been freed up in the evenings for family and for church gatherings, and I am considering how to further assist the mission of the church.
Unfortunately, the financial need has not decreased. Most urgent are my bills from Harding University. Though I graduated in 1999, I have had a hard time keeping up with the school debt since moving to New Jersey. If this and other financial concerns are not straightened out soon, I will be forced to take a second job again. I would really rather avoid this.
Letters are being prepared and sent out to churches that supported our work in Brazil, as well as to other churches that may opt to assist us in Brazilian evangelism here in the northeastern United States. We need to raise at least $600 a month in pledges, the amount I earned with my second job teaching English, in order to make the school payments and be able to minister here. This may seem like a lot, but three churches could easily take $200 each and fully resolve the issue for us.
Please pray for us as we look for the support we need to be able to do the work of ministry. I don't mind at all being bi-vocational, but for it to work I need to have free time available in order to actually proclaim the Good News that Jesus is Lord. Could you please commit to praying for us and this ministry on a daily basis? It would be much appreciated.
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