Goldemberg and Jackie Mission Update November 2019
Taking the Gospel to the Quilombolas in Bahia, Brazil
including Children's Day 2019 highlights
Dear Brothers in Christ and partners in our mission,
We want the Grace and Peace of Jesus to be with you all. Here we are daily testing God’s love and His provision in every area. Last October 20 we had the opportunity to speak in the church where we are attending (the Presbyterian of Itacare) about the challenges of missionary work based on the text of Acts 8: 1-8. At the time, we saw through the message preached by Goldemberg that the problems of the church in Jerusalem were not able to prevent the beginning of the second missionary movement: the spread of the gospel among the Samaritans, which happened after the great growth of the church in Jerusalem. We can see that church growth must occur horizontally and vertically simultaneously.
Understanding the need for this growth and our responsibility to make Christ known and glorified among all peoples, we face the challenge of bringing the good news to the Quilombolas of rural Itacaré, Bahia, Brazil.
Working to Better Understand our Target Communities
As we have already shared, the Itacaré region has seven Quilombola communities and we are starting the relationship process in two of them: João Rodrigues and Santo Amaro.
Community of João Rodrigues
The community of João Rodrigues calls itself a follower of Roman Catholicism. Its leader is Mr. Manoel Cupim. The village has a very different characteristic from the others: their houses are far apart, some Quilombolas live in the city and keep their fields in the countryside. It is possible to access this village by dirt road, but most houses are on the river banks. This makes it impossible for us to move between one house and another.
The people of João Rodrigues meet monthly at the local association’s headquarters and discuss community issues. At one of these meetings, we had the opportunity to talk about our desire to live with them and show them God’s love. After some questioning, we were granted permission to carry out a program to commemorate children’s day and a toy manufacturing workshop with recycled material. We had the help and support of Sisters Milca and Sofia, Itacaré Presbyterian Church, and Sister Matildes, mother of Goldemberg.
Community of Santo Amaro
The Santo Amaro community is a practitioner of Candomblé. The village consists of two terraces, one on each side of the river. It is led by Wellington. He is nicknamed ‘Etinho’ and a mother and sister who are ‘holy mothers’ on the spot. Unlike João Rodrigues, the houses are built close to each other and very close to the banks of the Contas river. Etinho has been very interested in our work.
On October 18th, we held a program with children with play, storytelling and a toy manufacturing workshop with recycled material. The activities were carried out at the local school. This school is unfortunately very precarious and has only one room for classes for students from first to fourth grade. All classes and studying are in the morning shift. The event was attended by a couple of missionaries Adelvan and Marilú, members of the Presbyterian Church of Itabuna (PIB – the sending church of Goldemberg) and also by Pastor Wdson and his sister-in-law Milca, from Itacaré Presbyterian Church.
On November 6 we had a meeting with the mothers of the children who study at the local school. Thanks be to God, we made a commitment to start tutoring twice a week for children up to the 4th grade, the president of the association committed to make the land available and pick us up by speedboat on the necessary days. We will bear the costs of the motorboat fuel, on average of $13.00 USD per week. May God grant us the financial supporters, as we do not have these resources. We also need financial support to acquire teaching materials for the classes.
Important Brazil Meeting "ProQuilombola" (for Quilombolas)
This November 14-16, 2019, is the Pro-Quilombola Meeting of Brazil. This meeting is at the First Presbyterian Church of Vitória, in the state of Espirito do Santo (Holy Spirit). The meeting theme is: “Look up and see the fields of the Lord”. The purpose of the meeting is to promote unity, encouragement, strengthening, reflection, awareness and missionary mobilization. Participants from all regions are expected, including Quilombola believers. The core will be missionaries, pastors, mission leaders, representatives of mission agencies and seminarians. In addition, people who love missions will attend as will all those who want to get involved or know more about the Quilombola mission challenge.
We are preparing to attend the event. There we will learn more about following up, sharing and hearing testimonies from others of this work. We have already been able to pay the registration, but there is still significant costs not covered. These are fuel supply (about 600 miles one way), lodging and food expenses during travel. If you wish to bless us by contributing to our trip, please do!
Prayer Requests
- For our spiritual, family life and physical and financial support;
- Open new relationship opportunities in João Rodrigues community and strategies for reaching homes;
- For the work of reinforcement classes in the community of Santo Amaro and supply with the costs of mobility and school supplies;
- For more open doors in the relationship with parents;
- By purchasing a small motor boat for more access to communities;
- For the rest of the resources for our trip to the Pro-quilombola Meeting.
In the Name of and for the Glory of Christ
Goldemberg and Jackie
November 2019