Our Sent Prayer Letters

Below I include the past Prayer Letters we sent out so that anyone who wishes to catch up on our history can start here and scroll down. This first prayer letter is from March, 2006:


Dear Brethren in Christ,

Time flies so fast! Last time we wrote we were about to get married! The Lord has been doing some amazing things in our lives here in Araraquara. We have more prayer requests, but before we share those things it’s only fair to let you know how the Lord answered our prayers, right?

Our wedding went wonderful. The Lord blessed us with a very sweet time and a beautiful ceremony. The great thing about it is that several of our unsaved friends and family heard the gospel clearly. We pray that the seed planted would grow to the glory of Christ!

As for our housing situation, we stayed two weeks with Aunt Klara and then found a house to rent. Our time with Klara went very well. We believe she is saved, based on her testimony, but unfortunately she has no interest in anything related to “church.” We pray that by our continued love she might see that she needs to be active in serving her Creator and God.

As for our home, it is the coziest place on earth! We rented a small one-bedroom house but now it is our home sweet home. I love the way my wife organizes and pretties the house. The Lord answered our prayers there too! I’m glad that our real home is heaven, though, and how we look forward to being there!

Our marriage is giving us plenty to think about. I’m glad we get opportunities to put in practice all the wonderful principles we see in God’s Word regarding love, communication, patience, and looking out for one another. It’s wonderful to see my wife growing everyday into a more submissive child of God. Meanwhile, I have a lot to learn about being the loving husband God wants me to be.

Work has suffered many changes too. The more the Lord directs us the more we realize how refined is His will. Recently the Lord has brought Pastor Cláudio and me closer together, which has helped in the ministry. More and more the Lord shows me where He wants me and how He wants things done. I am now working on an exciting project: working with the church members to reach unbelievers they know and to strengthen them in the process. Without this strengthening a church would only grow in numbers.

Speaking of contacts, allow me to share a couple of prayer requests. I’d like to pray for Édson, the owner of a local bike shop. He has accepted the gospel and shown unusual interest in the Bible. Every time I come by and share the Word he enjoys it and is very grateful. Please pray that we can start a Bible study at his home so that through his leadership his family can be saved as well.

The other prayer request is for Renato, a man I met in the supermarket. I had been there three times to see him, and the next time I went there he wasn’t there at all! He had been fired. But our conversations peaked his interest and he came looking for me. Now we have each other’s address, so I pray that we soon can start a Bible study with him. He is rather influential in a local Catholic church. Let’s see where the Lord is going with this.

We have recently come back from the conference of the grace churches down here. It was very edifying to all, especially to the leaders. Yet the Lord used some problems to open the eyes of some leaders to the need of strengthening the families through the leader at home, the man. A big prayer request of mine is that the men would be strengthened in the Word to effectively lead and teach their families.

Brethren, thank you so much for your love and support! Please pray with us.

To and through Christ, Paul and Mariana




This next one is from April through June, 2006:

Dear Brethren,

Greetings in Christ Jesus!

We were about to send out a prayer letter asking for prayer that we might be able to go to the USA when the Lord showed us His will and it was different than our plans. Some circumstances seemed to fit: some brethren close to the BBI had already offered us a place to stay and the BBI had already accepted Mariana as a student. The visa was the only major thing lacking. That is, besides God’s permission.

But now He has shown us He wants us to stay right where we are. What’s amazing is that He used these things to show us how much we were needed here. In my thoughts our presence wasn’t being that effective, but the brethren here assured us otherwise. It’s funny – we asked them to pray about our going to the States, just as we asked some of you already. But they prayed that we stay! If this were a battle of prayers, I would say they won! But in truth we know that Christ is the real winner and we all are winners in Him!

We love the ministry here. One of my favorite things to do is to teach a group of young men from church. We meet every Tuesday and Thursday nights, and go over the basics of God’s precious Word. They have tons of questions every time!

I also enjoy my meetings with Cláudio every week. It feels weird that I’m the one teaching him, an experienced pastor, but that’s how he wants it. In practice, though, he teaches me a lot while I teach him, so that I’m never sure who ends us teaching more… But does that matter? After the meeting we both feel full, fed with the precious Word, nurtured in the Fellowship of His Son.

Mariana is also pretty busy with her meetings with some women from church. She’s teaching them at the same time that I’m away teaching the boys, plus a couple of other times during the week. I’m not surprised at her personal growth neither at her growth in the ministry. Though she is somewhat young in the faith, it is the Lord who works through the life of a yielded servant. In other words, I’m not surprised because this growth is not from her but from Christ!

So while we teach we learn, while we love we’re loved back, while we sing we hear the choir of God singing in our hearts. I’m grateful to be in the Lord’s work. Though there are troubles, I would never choose anything else!

But we would never be here without your help in the Lord, Brethren! Thanks for being part of this ministry! Thank God that our labor in Him is never in vain, amen?

Please keep in prayer the above mentioned meetings, and also that we rest in the Lord for all of our other needs and requests. Let us join in prayer that we trust Him completely in all things!

In His Complete Love,

Paul and Mariana




This one covers July 2006 through May 2007:


Dear Brethren,

Greetings in Christ Jesus!

For some of you the last you heard of us was a few months ago, and we had postponed our trip to the U.S. Also, Pastor Cláudio was growing as a man of God, the church was growing too, and so were we. Well, we’re growing, the church is growing, and so is Cláudio, not to mention the men’s group, women’s group, girl’s group, and guys’ group. But some things have changed very much in the last few months.

The church here in Araraquara has been shedding the Light of Christ for some 30 years, yet all this time they haven’t had a full-time pastor. Knowing God’s will, we began to pray for this aspect of the ministry here. Though unexpected to many, and seemingly strange to some, the way in which God has begun to answer this prayer is beautiful. Pastor Cláudio felt the Lord’s hand directing him to leave the position he occupied as pastor. So he stepped down from the pastorate. He knew that in practical terms he wasn’t caring for the church the way a pastor does. He was only teaching them on the weekends. During the week he struggled to balance his duties at home and work, plus time for preparing his messages. Thus, as long as he held the title of “Pastor” there would be no room for a real pastor to develop.

Now there is. And as you can tell, our ministry here changed a bit. I still help with the preaching, but now the other leaders picked up the slack. Perhaps the Lord is using this to sharpen their spiritual leadership for what is to come. Though we can’t say there is a prospect, we are confident that this time is God’s way of preparing the church to live in trusting dependence of its Head, Jesus Christ. As long as a church depends on men, it never becomes the living organism the Body of Christ is meant to be.

As for us, we continue ministering to the church, but not as a substitute pastor. Besides the small group studies we have with the ladies, men, and youth, we have also begun a parenting course with two families. Strong families help strengthen the Family of God.
Our hope to go to the U.S. is still alive, waiting for God’s timing.

The annual conference is coming up in February. This time it will be in Araraquara, and we’re expecting a wonderful dive into the refreshing Word of God, not to mention the fellowship in Him. Folks here are always asking about the progress of the Conference Center down in Tijucas, eager for the days in which we can meet in our own grounds.

Many thanks for those who have continued in prayerful support. Thanks also for those who’ve kept in touch. By the way, those characters on the top of the page are for your use. Did you know that email is the one of the easiest ways for long-distance encouragement? We’d love to hear from more of you.

January – May 2007 Update

Folks, I am sorry about the delay of the above letter. I have had trouble sending out the prayer letter. Now that I’m back at it, there’s no sense in sending old news only. I will send an update because though the events before mentioned are important, they’ve had repercussions worthy of mention.

One of such outcomes is the presence of our new “son.” In answer to prayer, the Lord has brought up a young man who desires to prepare for the ministry. He wants to be a pastor! Much joy has come to our hearts along with this young fellow. Juliano is a childhood friend from Tijucas, and now he has moved in with us to train in a more intense way. Not all disciples get to move in with their masters, but for us it has worked out this way.

The beauty of it is that it all happened at the annual conference we had in February. He was so fired up for Christ during the conference that he made his life decision right there. He left father, mother, and little sister behind, as well as all his extended family, friends, and brethren at the churches down south, and came 900 kilometers north to live with Mariana and I.

Consequently, we’ve had to move into a larger house, and the Lord was so present during our house shifting! He provided a great house for a relatively small rent, and we were able to move almost everything from one house to the other in one weekend! [Not that we have that much… ha, ha] Now we are better equipped to open our house to others, and we hope to have many visitors soon.

Please pray for Juliano. He’s 16, spends his mornings at school and his afternoons in training, and his life has changed quite a bit. The adjustment is tough, and the temptation to give up the Lord’s will is constant.

Please also pray for a young man named Felipe. He has shown interest in the things of the Lord but is not sure where God wants him. Felipe is also 16 and has a high level of maturity and commitment to the Lord. Felipe and Juliano are the two young men I’m training with more intensity, while continuing to prepare the church for a full-time pastor.

We thank God for all of you who care, who pray, and who give of yourselves to the Lord and His work. Thanks to Him and to you, our lives are cared for so that we have freedom to minister. I wish to recognize before God and you all that our financial needs have all been met from the beginning until now. We know that God is faithful. The real pleasure is being able to be used by Him in His faithfulness with other fellow warriors of the faith. I trust all of you could confirm that God has also cared for all your real needs. That’s just Who He is!

Another joy we are sharing is seen the women bloom with growth as they study together. Mariana has been teaching through the book of Esther with the women’s group as well as developing special studies with individual ladies who are open to and needy of more instruction.
Oh, I almost forgot. Can you believe I talked the men into some homiletics (preaching) classes? My own preaching has bettered since we began. It’s a joy to receive spiritual food, but the joy is much bigger when it is “well cooked,” so to speak.

Speaking of preaching, one more thing: as we were thinking of something in which the growing young ladies could get involved to serve Christ, and upon hearing their laughter at the idea of preaching (thank God they don’t make the mistake of deeming “cultural” God’s commands in 1Tim.2:9-15), the idea of works of charity came up. With it came a project, so please pray for these young hearts as they work to bring some good to the world, and with it, the saving gospel.
Farewell and keep in touch! The Lord Jesus is always with us. May we always be with Him in obedience and dedication.
In His Complete Love, Paul and Mariana



This Prayer Letter is from June - December 2007:



Dear Brethren, fellow warriors for the cause of Christ,

Greetings in our Lord Jesus!

In our last newsletter we reported the addition to our family of Juliano, the young man from Tijucas, who came to live with us and train for the ministry. While accompanying us in the work and helping in many areas, including guitar help in church, Juliano began to question whether this was really the Lord’s will for his life. His desire to serve the Lord has not faded, but he’s not sure God is calling him to the pastorate. Thus, he decided to try another way, leaving us in mid December. We’d like to thank you all for your prayers regarding him, because his time with us was extremely profitable for us all. The more I learn about training leaders, the better, because upon our obedience to 2Tm.2:2 depends the future of the work: “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

The leadership of the church, on the other hand, has been strengthening itself in union. As we unite, each one of us is becoming more involved with the brethren, helping to care for the spiritual health of the church. One of the things we’re working on lately is to develop a family attitude toward each other, just like in good families each member cares for and protects each other member of the family. When a local church lives this sense of belonging, who wouldn’t want to be a part of it? It’s easy to sense the presence of the Father when all the brethren live as one.

We took some time off to rest between November and December, which was very refreshing. Only after periods of rest do we understand why the Lord didn’t suggest the Sabbath to Israel, but commanded it. It is such a necessity that God wisely commanded them to rest. We came back to find work much more pleasant and joyful, the brethren more willing to work with us.

Prayer warriors, I’d like to invite you to pray with us this year about the completion of our work in Araraquara. We don’t know how long the Lord wishes us to stay, but there are more cities to go to, more churches to help, more churches to start. Judging by what man sees, we’d have to stay a few more years here to structure the church to the point where it can stand strong, dependent upon the Lord only. But we don’t change hearts – God does. And since we don’t know what exactly He has planned, we pray. Please pray with us that if it pleases Him, we’ll be able to draw our work here to a close.

The church is looking at a few changes in the months ahead. We’re considering the question, “Why doesn’t the church grow more?” As we look at the possible answers, we’re going to take action; we might move the church close to downtown, increase outreach activities and charity, spreading the gospel where we go. Throughout all our activities, I pray that we can grow more into that true fellowship that goes with true relationships, something that penetrates the crust of superficial Christianity and goes deeper into the heart of God. It’s so easy to make small talk and pretend that we know what our brother is going through. But to help each other grow in Christ, we need to have real relationships, real love, and real fellowship. Only then will the brethren be united in Christ and united with Him.

So please pray with us, brothers and sisters! We are part of God’s warfare against the powers of darkness, and as such, warriors for the victory which has already been conquered by Christ. Let us fight for each other, knowing that we do not battle in vain, because we know that we’re on the victorious side! It has been said that we are most powerful when we are on our knees – let’s pray and watch the Almighty do His wonders! And to those who have been praying, THANK YOU!!! Thank you for all your prayerful support!

Oh, and if you’re reading this, it’s because you care. Praise the Lord for you. I’d like to ask you to consider one more thing: life is about relationships – first with God, than with our fellow men. I know God, and am growing in that relationship. So are you. But do you know me? Do I know you? It would be a pleasure for us to get to know you better. Please email us! Or write! Our contact info is on the top. We would be honored to answer any questions you might have, and even more honored to receive your answers to our questions. It would be so refreshing to have more true friends in Christ, even if we are so far away right now.

In Christ’s eternal love, Paul and Mariana



And this one covers almost all of 2008 (January through October):


Greetings in our Lord Jesus to our dear fellow believers!

We have good news! One of my most repeated prayers has been that the church in Araraquara take on the leadership structure we see in the churches established by Paul, with Bishops and Deacons, like in Philippians 1:1. I realized we needed to do as in Acts 14:23: “So when they had appointed elders in every church…” Bishops (elders) and deacons were never clearly set in our church – we just had “leaders”. But God is orderly, and He has reasons for giving us an example of a good leadership structure. The saints here have slowly and finally embraced the idea, and this past month we ordained the deacons and bishops! Wow, I’m so grateful for this step of faith! I’ve waited patiently for this to happen for more than two years, while encouraging each one of the leaders to follow the Lord’s calling and to make a commitment to His local church.

It took me months to figure out that the church wasn’t solid because the leadership hadn’t been firmly established. In a recent leader’s meeting, I brought up the subject, decided to make some changes. I wanted to set specific goals for the leadership to be established: these goals included putting the existing leaders into two categories: bishops and deacons. The way it is right now nobody knows who does what, so nothing gets done, and I’m sure you all know what I mean. All the goals are related to forming a solid leadership structure, which I understand to be the foremost need of the church (all its other problems stem from the current absent/inefficient leadership). There are four of us leaders, and all of us were involved in preaching to some extent, but pastoral work (visitation, personal confrontation or encouragement) was almost zero, except for what I had been doing.

As a result of not having clear leadership and much less a pastor, the church never learned how to support a pastor financially. Also, it developed discipline problems which have caused the church to have a bad testimony before the world and weak believers.

So we leaders got together to discuss how we could resolve this old problem, and they asked me to be their pastor, thus helping to restore the church’s health and giving them an opportunity to learn how to give towards the Lord’s work. They said I was already doing the pastor’s work, so why not recognize it publicly and teach the congregation how to support a pastor and how to work with him? As a result of my work, the church has grown some, so why not make it official? These things were in my heart already, so I decided to ask counsel with the brethren in the mission.

A week ago I told the church leaders here that I had decided to continue as a missionary while doing the pastor’s work and training new leaders. I agreed to be the official full-time pastor, even though temporarily, but I also wanted to ordain deacons and elders. We agreed, and when it was announced in church, many of the brethren came to tell us this was an answer to prayer. Some who weren’t there called in the days after to let us know how glad they were.

I believe all of this is part of the missionary’s job, being the last phase of the evangelist’s work. Until there is a permanent pastor, the missionary pastors the church while training new leaders to replace him so he can go start new churches. So in accepting the title “Pastor” I’m not changing so much what I’m doing, but it changes what the saints will be doing. It’s a big change in commitment levels!

This brings me to another victory: the church is now taking the step of faith of supporting a pastor! Never before had they taken on that responsibility. This had caused the members to get used to not giving much money towards the work. Thus, they always had the excuse that “we can’t afford to support a full-time pastor”. Meanwhile, the lack of an organized leadership structure and the lack of a real pastor allowed the church to grow weaker and smaller as the years went by… Little did the brethren know that not supporting a pastor is what kept them from affording one!

I view this opportunity as a test. I wouldn’t want to leave Araraquara without finishing what I came here to do. If I left now, things would go back to how they were. By the time I leave, I hope to have established the leadership more solidly, with even more deacons and elders than now, allowing for a smooth transition between me and the permanent pastor. I think that if I’m useful to help structure the church here I may well be used of God to help structure some of our other churches and draw a close to the missionary’s part in each church, allowing them to begin building other new churches.

Our finances have been according to God’s promise to supply all our needs. I’m wondering how much will change with the church learning to support our material needs. I presume some of you who support us financially might think there’s no more need to do such since the church here will start to give. The truth is that I don’t really know if the church will fulfill our needs or not, especially in the beginning. So I ask you to continue to follow the Lord in this matter – He led you to give, and He will lead you to stop or give to someone else according to His best. I trust the Lord to know our needs, and that’s all I need to know. As for you, it’s fair and good that you know what’s going on, and what victories the church is having.

In conclusion I’d like to say that my plan is to stay another year or two here, four at max. The victories we’re having with the church structure and with some new families, as well as with the youth have been such a reward! I feel the fire of God burning in me! Christ’s distinctive message given to the Apostle Paul continues to go forth boldly, and it’s always a joy to see people’s eyes light up when they finally understand a doctrine that had been confusing for so long!

So please pray for the leadership of the church in Araraquara, for their growth toward financial responsibility, for the church discipline to be done in love, for the new families to grow faithful, for new families to join the church, and for us to continue laboring with hope! Please join with us in grateful thanks to God for these victories, for the new families, and for always providing us all our needs through faithful supporters of His work through us! Here’s a few names to pray for: Danilo, a young evangelist in development; Yuri, a newly saved neighbor boy – may his family come to Christ too; Claudinho (15 – son of the bishop Cláudio), who is becoming more involved in the church; the new families of Eduardo and Rosemara (4 children!), and of João and Carmen – that their faith may bear fruit.

Thank you, brethren, for your constant support in prayer and in finances!

Much love to you all, Paul and Mariana