Don Leaf

October 27, 2008

The Lord has been working slowly but steadily here in Cornélio Procópio, Paraná, Brazil.  Our average attendance has gone from 8 to 15 in our Sunday evening service.  There have been 4 times in the last 8 weeks that we had over 20 in the service.  God has added a family to our number.  Sr João was saved in the anniversary conference.  His wife was already saved.  They have two adolescent boys.  Sr João has begun a discipleship course, and we are preparing for his baptism along with the two children of one of our other families.  Sr João´s wife is saved but has not been baptized.  She asked one of our members about her situation the other day, but has not spoken to me about it yet.  I will be talking with her this week to see if she would like to be included in the baptismal service.  We are planning to have the baptismal service in December when we know that the weather will be warm.  We will have the service in an unheated swimming pool so must wait for warm weather.

Beginning last June, I began to distribute a flyer with a Gospel message and an invitation with our address and service hours.  I have been going to the different areas of the city and leaving a flyer in every home.  To this point almost 6000 flyers have been distributed.  I actually have had a couple of occasions where someone in the city has mentioned receiving the flyer.  Several times I have seen people reading the flyer after having received it.  We are praying that the Lord will use the Gospel message to touch hearts and to also open doors.

We continue to take advantage of every contact made by making visits in the homes.  Many of those we have visited have told us that they have never had a “clergy man” visit in their home, and they do not know what they should do.  Our goal is to help them to see that we are not untouchable and that they can call on us at any time.

Every third Sunday of the month, we have a special fellowship after the Sunday evening service in which we honor all those who have a birthday during that month and that have visited our services.   We give those visitors a special invitation by mail to be present in the service so they can be honored.  It has been a blessing because most of these people come to the service and hear the Word of God preached.  Then we have a great time of fellowship which allows our people to meet and bond with the visitors and with one another.  We have posted some pictures taken from our last fellowship which was on October the 19th.  Just go to our photo section on this blog and look for the Birthday Fellowship folder.

Above all, we recognize that we are in a spiritual battle which must first been fought in prayer.  As we and God´s people pray, the hearts of the people of this city will begin to open to us and to our message.  So we go out praying and trusting in the promises of prayer from our friends and  from our supporting churches.

November 10, 2008

Dear Praying Partners,

Because life is made up of events that go from one extreme to the other, the ministry has the same experiences. Shortly after our arrival here in Cornélio Procópio, we had the joy of the birth of a son to one of our families. At the writing of this letter, we are experiencing the sorrow with one of our people at the loss of her father who was an invalid due to a stroke. He was not saved, and we had been praying that the Lord would touch his heart at every visit made with him. The Lord opened the door on the last visit to really deal with him about his need to trust Christ. He said nothing, but promised to think about it. Before we could return, he went into eternity. Although we have no way of knowing with certainty if he trusted Christ or not, his daughter told us that during the past two weeks he had a more positive attitude and seemed happier. He also said that he thought that his time was coming soon. Most of the family is unsaved, and we are praying that the Lord will use our ministry to the daughter to touch the hearts of the rest of the family.

The Lord continues to bless the work. Our best attended service is on Sunday evening and the average attendance is increasing. There are now 5 children in the Sunday School. Four people will be baptized in December after the weather warms up.

We continue to use every opportunity we can to reach out into the community. So far, we have given out over six thousand flyers. There are two people with whom we are doing a weekly Bible study. Another couple has inquired about the studies. We will begin having services in the homes of our people this month. We have one family that has offered their home.

Your prayers and support for the work here in Cornélio Procópio are vitally important. The victories that we are experiencing are directly related to those prayers. We cannot thank you enough.

Prayer Requests
1. We are in need of someone who plays a musical instrument for our services.
2. Pray that the home services will bring new converts and open doors for visitation.
3. Pray for the continued growth of our people in the area of faithfulness and of witnessing.

Preaching in Cornélio Procópio,

Don & Linda Leaf