April Prayer Letter

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.

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!

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. 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