April Prayer Letter
Autor: Wellington and Tatiane | Publicado: 2014-04-03T11:38:00-07:00

<!--StartFragment-->


Hello Friends!
We had a break last January, it was a great time to spend with our own family, with one another and to have time to get things done around the house! In February we returned to our ministry activities. On Wellington first children's choir class at Promorar this year, he was welcomed with a surprise birthday party organized by the kids. They collected money among themselves to buy a gift and make him a birthday cake.




Restoration Ministries
Church celebrated 14 years last February. We had 3 services each day, Friday to
Sunday. Guests speakers preached, and bands from other churches were invited
lead worship with us. One of the services was very special to all of us. Cido’s
son named Marcio preached on Saturday. (Cido is the camp California keeper and
Marcio accepted Christ years ago when Paulo Mota, Pastor William and Jonatas
used to drive to camp every Thursday evening to lead a service). It was awesome
to see and hear the fruits of someone's work by having Marcio preach the
Gospel.

Some fruits we will see –
Praise God! Some we will never find out what happened, and some we will see
struggling but have a chance to fix! Mateus is one of those teens that grew up
attending our programs. He is Leonora’s grandson – she cooks for the short term
teams. Unfortunally he spent 8 months in Juvenal hall, but he just left. He was
hanging out with some other boys who decided to steal a car from a woman. He
says he regrets this act. The week after he left, we took him to our church
four day retreat (during Carnival). Pray for the Lord to open ways for him to
get away from this life style and friends.






<!--StartFragment-->



Also cover our family in
prayers! Pray for our health and protection both physically and spiritually. Pray
for Victor, for his beliefs and convictions to stay strong!




<!--StartFragment-->



Wellington's heart:

The church was packed on
the last day of our celebration services! As I lead worship, I asked the church
attendees who had accepted Christ in Restoration Ministries, and many people
raised their hands. It was the biggest reason of the celebration for me. Seeing
the kids that became teens and teens that became adults raising their hands was
precious!



I got good news for you!
I got back to seminary. I had to quit in 2009, I am able to go back now. I have
2 and a half years left. I have grown a lot during my time in seminary. It is a
great complement to the practical work. In the beginning, I didn't want to go.
It is far and tiring. I drive one hour on my motorcycle to get there, and I
drive in the in the tension of São Paulo heavy traffic during rush hour! It’s
dangerous, 5 motorcyclists die and about 55 get hospitalized per day in Sao
Paulo traffic.





My classes are Monday to
Friday, from 7:30 to 10:45 pm. On the way back it’s another kind of tension, I
have to drive while watching out for possible robbers. A local newspaper,
Estadao, stated 45 motorcycles are stolen EVERY DAY in Sao Paulo. Although it
is tiring just getting in and coming back, it’s been worth it! Jesus is good
and we do have to get deep in His Word in order to serve Him better! Please
pray for safety and encouragement.



Tati's Heart



On Wednesdays I dedicate
my day to the people at the Promorar slum. While our staff do Agitas and home
visits, I meet with a couple women to do discipleship, I teach English and lead
bible study with teens girls, and I meet with a group of women to share the
bible, it is our “women's tea”. At the end of last year, I was wondering how
effective the women's tea was as I didn’t see any ladies surrender their life
to Christ. I was discouraged and looking into different programs in order to
make this group step forward. Talking to a friend, she encouraged me to simply
keep equipping them with His Word and let Him work. This year, before I went
back to meet with the ladies, I met with the lady who hosts the tea for
discipleship – Aleksandra. She shared how blessed she was to host this tea in
her home, how she felt as part of God’s plan for the ladies in Promorar and how
she felt stepping forward to lead it with me. I wasn’t able to see, but God was
working in her heart. He was causing her to grow through hosting women’ tea.
Please pray for the women we meet with every Wednesday afternoon! I see the need
to start meeting with women at the Sapopemba slum. Please pray with me about it
as I need to organize my time to be able to take on more.



Business as a Mission- English School



We have two classes in
our pilot project, 24 students. Some are Christians and some aren’t. We had
some drop offs last semester, but we were able to add 6 new students who had
some knowledge in English in the current classes! More people wanted to join
but we decided not to open new classes yet. Our teacher had to travel, so me
and Michel Pupo stepped in and we are teaching this semester. At this point,
while it is a pilot project and we are implementing systems, I’m (Tati) running it and
doing all academic and administrative work. Michael is my senior teacher LOL -
he’s the only teacher! He helps me a lot as I have my other responsibilities at
Restoration Ministries.&nbsp;We also hired two young people to be out assistant
teacher with the goal of training them to lead classes in the future. They are
Erika Santos and Victor Barros (our son).



Our curriculum is Bible-based
and our teachers embrace a biblical worldview, engaging in transformational
teaching and discipleship, while helping students move towards personal and
professional growth. In one of the first classes of the year, we were learning
“free time” vocabulary. At the end of the class I wrote EC 3:1, “There is a
time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” and
told them to write it down. One non Christian student said: When we were not in
class, I missed you guys sharing bible verses. They are so meaningful to us...
I taught them vocabulary for different life seasons and how there is a time for
everything. Knowing that, they talked about how they would use their “free
time” wisely. We talked about how there is a time to “die”. That night, Cido’s
father passed away. The next morning, me, Wellington, Pastor William, and Edson
went to the funeral – down here the body has to be buried within 24 hours. The
very first thing the pastor read when he started the service was: Ec 3:1. In my
next class I shared with my students this “coincidence” and told them that the
man had just accepted Christ before he died, and that wasn’t the end for him.
We finished our class praying that day!



Keep praying for the
students' conversion, for Native American teachers who can stay for 3 to 6
months, and for me as I’m helping to put this school together from scratch.



Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this LONG post! We will try to post more often and less text!




Welington and Tatiane Barros

<!--EndFragment-->



<!--EndFragment-->