Christ for Sao Luis: A TEAM MINISTRYTO SAO LUIS.

MARANHAO, BRAZIL
NEWSLETTER
March/April 1992
Volume no. 5, Issue no. 1

LLoU

GREETINGS EDOM

GARY, ROSIE & IAN FINLEY

FOR CONTRIBUTIONS AND STATESIDE CORRESPONDENCE:
Christ for Sao Luis

Gary & Rosie Finley

Calumet Street Christian Church 2240 East Calumet Street

Centralia, IL 62801

Church Office: (618) 533-4421 Forwarding Agents Floyd & Leia Johnson: (618) 532-4476
FOR CORRESPONDENCE ONLY:

(PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS ADDRESS)

Gary & Rosie Finley
Caixa Postal 1088

65000 Sao Luis, Maranhao, Brazil, South America

To Call Us From the U.S. Dial: 011-55-98-226-1391

S that is Lately Ihave been having arecurring nightmare. OK, maybe a bit dramatic, but some nights as I drift off to sleep a scary H
thought comes crowding into my mind, it starts off like this:
^

'P(cn^ "Dm t

1992. Our family has been in the U.S. for the past four months on W Hfurlough. Our reservations for the flight back to Brazil are set for the ^ following week. The terms of our tickets do not allow us to reschedule Q

^ M The wall calendar says that it is near the end of November ^

Hwe are scheduled to report to the last two of our supporting churches O which requesteda presentation. O
S decided that we really need to have you folks come here some ^ Sunday for a presentation before you head back to Brazil, now when is o Sit that you will be leaving?'' Iapologetically explain the limits of our ^
^ weren't we notified about this sooner!" he demands to know. Iexplain ^
the notices which had appeared in our newsletter months before our O schedule. Suddenly the warm, cheery voice turns hostile. "Why o

jjr the date of our flight. We are looking overour listof things still left to o F do before we leave. The following Sunday (ourlast before the flight) 2

^ Suddenly, the phone rings. The voice on the other end is warm H Hand cheery. "How are you guys getting along?" they ask. We talk for a O while. Finally the caller says: "At the board meeting the other night we O

furlough actually began, the personal letters which we sent to each of O

our supporting churches pleading for opportunities to present our O

office asking if our letters had been received (the secretary assured us ^
sured us "he is very dependable").

work, the personal telephone call we had placed to the their church O
the missions chairman had all of our information and would be con- M

tacting us if they wanted us to come, "Don't worry about it she as- S M

None ofthis seemingly mattered. My caller first assured us that H

as he referred to a friend who works in the U.S. customs sen/ice that ]q

some talk about taking out large adds in several Christian publications, ^
just to let our other supporters know what kind of people we really ^
were
X

we could expect no further support from his church, then snickered

could quite easily have our passports revoked! Finally there was m
O

telephone. Whew, it was all just a dream. At least I hope so. Hmm, I wonder who could be calling at this hour? "Hello?"

Suddenly, Iam brought back to reality by the ringing of the 0

Special tor Easter

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central belief of the Christian faith. The

apostle Paul tells us that without Christ's resurrection our faith and preaching are

useless and we are to be pitied more than all men, (1 Cor. 15:12-19). But we know that the resurrection is fact and thus, celebrate it every year on the day called
Easter.

Brazil, being a predominantly Catholic nation, places much of the emphasis during the "Semana Santa" (Holy Week), on the death and suffering of our Lord on

the cross, as well as, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Neighborhood resident's
make life-size stuffed effigies of Judas - often In the likeness of the year's villain {Saddam Hussein was very popular last year), and hang them from telephone poles or carry them through the streets. Little emphasis is placed upon the victory that
was achieved through Christ's resurrection.

Because of this, we have planned a special Easter service to celebrate the resurrection. This will be a new experience for many of our neighbors and contacts. We will present a dramatic narrative of the events of the Passion Week, concluding with the victorious resurrection. Much planning and prayer have gone into this

service. We will give special invitations to all of the people that we study with, as well as other friends and neighbors. Please pray that through the Scripture, our songs, prayers, decorations, and refreshments; we can show the Glory of God in the resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Also pray that this service will

attract more people to participate in our worship services, Bible talks, and individual
studies.

We Are Truly Grateful

In November of last year we sent a letter to several Illinois churches describ ing an urgent financial need that had arisen as the result of the unexpected depar ture of one of our supporting churches. In December, we made mention of the
same need through our newsletter.

Since that time, three new churches have begun supporting our work here in Sao Luis. Additionally, several of our existing supporters have increased their giving for 1992. We thank you for your concerned response. We look forward to keeping you informed about the progress of this work. We pray that the Lord will bless your stewardship with a bountiful harvest both here, and in the communities where you
serve Him.

As always, we are truly grateful for all of you who steadfastly support this work month after month. God has certainly demonstrated His ability to provide for our needs through the continued faithfulness of His people.

Just A Reminder
If your church would like to schedule a presentation of our work sometime during August, September, October or early November of this year, please contact our forwarding agents Floyd & Leia Johnson by phone or by letter {the address and phone number are listed on the front of the newsletter). Please give them two or three possi ble dates. They will relay the information to us, and we will give you a definite
answer as soon as possible.

We look forward to seeing everyone this summer. We have a lot of experi ences, plans, stories and ideas that we are anxious to share with you.

Please Take Note

You have probably heard the comedian who says: " I was rotten as a boy, so rotten in fact that I came home from school one day and found out that my parents had
moved and didn't leave a forwarding address. I didn't think too much of it until after 1 found them, they did the same thing again the next week!"

I don't think that we have been all that rotten, but we did just find out that our sponsoring church has moved. Actually, they are still meeting at the same location; but, due to implementation of the 911 emergency system their address has been
changed.

ter is different. Please take note of the new address when you send a contribution, or
wish to correspond with our forwarding agents: '
Christ for Sao Luis Calumet Street Christian Church
2240 East Calumet Street

You may have already noticed that the U.S. address on the front of our newslet

Centralia, IL 62801

Christ for Sao Luis:

A TEAM MINISTRY TO SAO LUIS, MARANHAO, BRAZIL

NEWSLETTER
June 1992

Volume no. 5, Issue no. 2

GDEETINGS FDOM

GARY, ROSIE & IAN FINLEY

FOR CONTRIBUTIONS AND STATESIDE CORRESPONDENCE:
Christ for Sao Luis

Gary & Rosie Finley

Calumet Street Christian Church 2240 East Calumet Street

Centralia, IL 62801

Church Office: (618) 533-4421 Forwarding Agents Floyd & Leia Johnson: (618) 532-4476
FOR CORRESPONDENCE ONLY:

(PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS ADDRESS) Gary & Rosie Finley
Caixa Postal 1088

65000 Sao Luis, Maranhao, Brazil, South America

To Call Us From the U.S. Dial: 011 -55-98-226-1391

'An Answered Prayer

I must admit, we were pessimistic about how many would attend; but our wonderful Lord really blessed us, in spite of our lack of faith. We had 22 adults, 3 older children, 3 younger children, 2 babysitters and 4 team members in attendance at
our Easter Service! That was 34 people in John and Ruth's living room! Despite the heat and crowded conditions it was a very nice service. Many of the people who

attended participated in reading passages from the Gospels that describe the last week of Jesus' earthly life. His crucifixion, and His victorious resurrection. We had special
music (instrumental and vocal), decorations and lots of good refreshments afterwards.

I pray that we truly glorified our God in the presentation of Jesus' resurrection.
This service also helped us realize that we need a larger meeting place, as soon as possible. Please pray for this. We do want to thank everyone for their prayers on behalf of this special program. Our Lord certainly answered them. Please pray also that we will have the opportunity to study individually with those who attended the
service.

CK. ^
We are pleased to hear that several of our supporting churches have already
contacted us and scheduled a date for us to present our work during our upcoming

furlough. We are stillwaiting to hear from about half of our regular supporters. We look forward to the opportunity to report on the progress of our work. We are also anxious for the opportunity to see each of you once again. If your church has not already done so, please contact our forwarding agents Floyd & Lela Johnson at the phone number or mailing address printed on the front of this newsletter. We hope to
see you soon!

ft

It Never Hurts to Ask

tt

If no one is able to respond to the request we are about to make, we under stand completely. If we were asking to borrow a sofa, or a dinette set we would probably have several offers. Those are the sort of things that you often find stored
in the corners of the basement.

Most families however, don't have an extra car just sitting around the house

collecting dust. We recently asked several of our fellow missionaries working in Brazil how they arrange for a car to use during their furloughs. We were surprised by the number who said that people in their supporting churches have often been
able to loan them a vehicle.

So, in order to be responsible stewards of the resources which the Lord has provided we feel that we at least need to make our need known.

Our furlough begins on July 26 and continues through November 29 (four months). We are in need of a safe, dependable auto that we can use during that time. We will need to make six or more full-day trips, so we need a vehicle that still
has a few good miles left in it.

We would pay for the cost of insurance, maintenance and any routine repairs that are needed during the time we are using it. If you are able to help us in regard to this need, please contact our sponsoring elders in Centralia, IL at (618) 533-4421.

aUC naiioni.!

c^im atefizofi[s.! [o(7z fox u L strong, and cHii- faCilifufm6.i. U. .t.ma[.

^J^%aL. JloxA!

(<PaCm m, 0Q/)

oncE,xn-

One of the women who has been attending our Bible studies and worship services has completed the lessons which present the gospel message. She wants to be bap tized and receive Christ as her Lord and Savior. However, her husband is still unde cided. She wants to wait for him so that she does not risk alienating him. Please pray that he will soon be convicted of his need, and that together they will begin a new life
in Christ.

A young man (17 years old) who had been faithfully attending our Bible studies has been forbidden by his family from having any further contact with our church. Please pray for his encouragement, and for this situation to change.
After two years of living in Sao Luis, we have come a long way toward adapting to the local culture. One aspect that still frustrates us is the high rate of crime committed against personal property. Shortly after the publication of our last newsletter, our car was vandalized/robbed for the 5th time since our arrival. On this occasion, two

windows were broken out, our tape player was destroyed (not stolen, just intentionally destroyed), and several smaller items were also damaged or stolen. In addition to being a drain on our finances, this has created unneeded stress. Our emotions have felt the effect more than our pocket-book. Please pray that God will not allow these petty matters to rob our energy away from the work that we are here to do.
P.S. Last Sunday night during our worship hour, our car was vandalized for the
6th time.

Several letters we have received in the past month have asked if Sao Luis has been affected by the Cholera epidemic that is spreading throughout South America. Yes, Cholera reached Sao Luis shortly after the New Year's holiday. To date there have
been 2,116 cases in the State of Maranhao. 1,327 of those cases have occurred in Sao Luis. In Sao Luis, half the reported cases have been confined to an area called

"llhinha", about a five minute walk from our team office. An average of 30 new cases are being reported each day in the "llhinha" area alone. Since we take precautions with the water we drink, and the way we prepare our food, we don't believe that we
are personally at risk.

Please remember the following matters in regard to our upcoming furlough: Safety of our travel to the U.S., and from city to city as we report to our
supporting churches. The Navis family as they continue the work here during our absence. Our supervising elders as they evaluate our progress during our first term, and offer their counsel for the future of this ministry.

Progress Report "How's the Work Going?"

I would have to say that 98% of the letters we receive from supporters and friends all ask the same question "How's the work going?" Sometimes it is phrased a little differ ently, but the same basic question is almost always asked.
We thank God for that level of interest. We hope that it grows even stronger as

our work here continues to progress. In this section we want to answer that question with more detail than we can usually include in our personal responses to your letters. We hope that the information shared here will give you several ideas for requests
which you will take before our God in prayer.

Gaining an Audience for the Gospel: Our Group Bible Studies

Each week, we continue to meet new people. Our primary approach for introduce

ing them to the good news is through the group Bible studies which meet in our homes.
People whom we meet throughout the week are invited to visit, and participate in
one of these studies. The Bible studies serve several purposes. They give us an opportu

nity to build a closer relationship with those who attend. They help us to identify those who are interested in spiritual matters. They are less threatening than a regular worship service (people are thus more likely to attend them). Most importantly, they present the
Word of God in a meaningful and interesting way.

We began the first Bible study near the end of November of last year. Since then, we have invited more than 90 people to participate in the studies. 28 individuals have attended one or more of the studies. 6 individuals now attend regularly.

Presenting the Message of the Gospel

When someone demonstrates their interest in spiritual matters, we offer to study some subjects with them individually that will help them to grow in their relationship

with God. These studies present the gospel message. By the Fast lesson, the person has

all of the information they need in order to make an informed decision about accepting
Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Currently three people are studying these lessons with us. One more gentlenrian has agreed to study, but so far he hasn't scheduled a day and time to begin (he is a
foreman and works very unpredictable hours).

We will keep you informed of our progress, please pray about these opportunities.

Becoming All things to All Men

We stated in our December 1991 newsletter that our group Bible studies would be

our primary tool for evangelistic outreach throughout 1992. That continues to be true. We believe the group Bible study approach holds the best prospect for reaching entire
families. However, the idea of a group Bible study does not appeal to everyone. In order to expand our outreach to those who are not interested in the group studies we are also planning two additional activities designed to gain an audience for the gospel.
English Language Bible Studies
Since our arrival in Sao Luis Qune 1990) we have been impressed by the amount

of interest that exists among young Brazilians for learning the English language.