Dear Praying Friends,
Hello from the freezing cold Southern Cone of Brazil! We are in the middle of winter and dipping into the 20’s at night, but thankfully that is only a condition of the outside weather, and not our hearts. This past week threw us for a loop, but you all have helped us stay steady and encouraged during this trial of our family. My wife once wrote a hymn called “A Welcome Visitor” and in the chorus she wrote, “Yes, in the night season, He comes calling. He’ll catch your tears as they’re falling. Just call on Him and believe, He’s a Welcome Visitor indeed.” God is a Welcome Visitor and boy, have those words based on Psalms 16:7 been proven true for us this week as we have been in our own night season. For those of you who may not know, our family drove our youngest son to the airport last Monday (7/12) and while we were on the 7 hour round trip some thieves broke the window of our bedroom, entered our home, and robbed us. As we made it home that evening tired from the long drive, we were chatting about being glad we had made it back. When we rounded the curve on our dirt road, Sheri noticed a light coming from the side door of the house. I think we knew in that moment that something was wrong. We pulled up to the gate that was swinging open and I ran inside to see what had happened. The refrigerator and freezer were opened and things were strewn across the floor. Sheri quickly followed me and we saw the devastation the men had left behind. Amelia remained in the car until we knew it was safe for her to enter. I was in shock as I looked around and searched for clues to where they had entered the house. I heard Sheri call out, “They killed the dog!” and I ran to the living room where we found it’s body lying in a massive pool of blood by the fireplace. It was barbaric and we didn’t want Amelia to see it, so we quickly removed it. They stole TV’s, our laptop, my bass, Wyatt’s guitar, and other things, along with having made a huge mess. There was not an area that they didn’t rifle through while they rummaged through our home. They were in a hurry and apparently something scared them because they tried to take the microwave but left it sitting out on the table as if they had dropped it and ran. One of them also had grabbed my tool box but dropped it on the ground, handle still standing. After looking around each nook and cranny, closet and bathroom, I made sure Sheri and Amelia were okay. I gathered them into my arms and we all huddled together as we processed what had taken place. Even though we have been through this before while living in the Amazon, this was our first break-in here in the south. Honestly, I do not really have words to describe how it feels to walk in on a scene like we did last Monday. Today makes a week since it happened and we are all still reeling. The police never came to our home to investigate, although I did go down and file a report. I was told it is up to us to watch for our things being sold online or around town, but basically the police will do nothing. We learned that another farm across the road was broken into on Friday, so everyone here is on high alert. I have bolted our windows shut and we are going to have bars placed on them, as well as have a security camera system installed. I have to see to all of this immediately and I covet your prayers for our farm and family until we can get everything done. We had a friend giving away dogs, so we scooped up 3 of them in the hopes that we can deter anyone else from entering our property. Now, we know that God has allowed this to happen. We may not know why, but we trust Him. He knows what He is doing. I am not surprised that something occurred right now because we have been making a push towards evangelism and discipleship lately with our church. The devil hates the advancement of the Gospel, so he is not going to let us work without some opposition on his end. This is not a week any of us would like to repeat however, and I humbly ask that you continue to pray for my wife and daughter to have peace at night to be able to sleep and peace when they are alone. So many of you have stayed in contact with us throughout this ordeal, and we are so very grateful. Your prayers and encouragement have helped us. We will continue to fight the good fight here for the Lord; we just have some new battle scars that need tending to at present. I cannot help but wonder what victory is lying just ahead in this ministry God has called us to here. It must be a big one. One of our members has taken on the challenge of personal soul winning and had just set up a new preaching point for us in the worst area of our city. We will be heading there this week to present the Gospel in this new home for the very first time. If we understand spiritual warfare, we know we have crossed into a territory that is a stronghold for the enemy. While we are gathering ourselves up from the robbery, we will still move forward to try and win more people for Christ. That is why we are here and it is exactly what God has called us to do. Our church also needs to see God’s power through this experience and we want it to build their faith as well. So, just pray for us as we run back into the battle towards the enemy with the Sword of the Lord held high and firm in our grasp. Lastly, can I just remind you of the importance of your missions program? Not just the financial side, but the prayer and encouragement side. We have seen first hand this week what it is like to have scores of Christians lifting us up in prayer and sending us Scripture to comfort us. It has unequivocally been these two things that have sustained us. You are so important to us and the ministry of countless other missionaries on the mission field. We cannot do it without you. Sheri and Amelia are sending their appreciation as well. We love you all and with God’s help we will overcome yet another obstacle and we will claim the victory! As my wife always says, “Let’s just keep on keeping on”. In Christ, Mark and Sheri Edwards
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Dear Praying Friends, January 19, 2022
Happy New Year to all of you! Sheri and I certainly hope things are going well in each of your homes and churches as you begin a new year serving the Lord. I’m sure you can join me in praising the Lord for all that He has done in our lives and how well He has taken care of us through 2021. We may have had some tough times, but I saw God work through it all! He never changes, so we can expect the same wonderful attention from Him in 2022. Our family traveled extensively over the month of December as we made a short trip to the US for meetings in a lot of our supporting churches and were blessed by so many of you. Our two Marines were also able to take leave and be with us over the holidays, so we were thankful for how the Lord worked out everything in perfection. It was wonderful! As I look at plans for the next few years here in Lages and our outreaches in the Amazon, I am excited about all that lies ahead. Our core group here at International Bible Baptist Church continues to thrive and we are advancing in our training of one of our men to lead Bible studies in homes. The search for a building/property continues and I ask that you keep that as a priority prayer request. We need a space so that we can invite new people and visitors to come hear the Word of God preached. This leads me to tell you a story which is another urgent prayer request. Yesterday I felt the need to go visit a neighbor that I have been building a relationship with for the past several years. He is an older gentleman and very religious, albeit a non-practicing Catholic. As I drove up to his farm and descended the hill to his house, I noticed him lying in his hammock while praying the Rosary. He clutched his beads and stood to greet me before taking me on a ride through his property to show me all the advancements he has made. We looked at the new ponds he had dug and the new bee boxes he had built before winding up under a shade tree to cool off in the summer heat. We talked at length about chickens and construction before the conversation turned to religion. You see, he has been watching our online services and while he is adamant about not changing religions, he has enjoyed hearing my messages. He is on the outs with his priest because he said the priest shows no interest in getting to know the people or help them. This man has lost an adult son, so he has had heartache that I can’t imagine. He and I have built a friendship and I’ve gained his respect as a neighboring farmer which has led to him trusting me as far as what I have to say about the Lord. He finally asked me where we meet and what time our services are so that he and his wife can come visit. I want to say I was shocked, but I believe God has been working in his heart and this is the result. This is another reason we need a building so that folks like this can come to a church setting rather than to someone’s home for a service. Would you pray for this man and his salvation? I believe God laid it on my heart to go down there yesterday because He saw this man’s heart searching while running his fingers over those rosary beads. He loves Alceu and Fatima and wants to save them, so would you all join me in prayer for their souls and let’s expect God to work in their lives and convict them with the Truth from His Word! Concerning the works in the Amazon with Pastor Josivaldo, I want to thank you all for giving towards the construction costs. Very soon I hope to have some pictures to share with you of the completed addition. He has been very busy, not only with construction, but also holding meetings in neighboring villages and towns where he has preached the Gospel. I’m so proud of this young man and his dedication to the Lord for his own nation and people! Praise the Lord for his faithfulness to the cause of Christ! I know God will bless him for his efforts and many are going to be saved. On the home front, Sheri continues to heal and is now walking without a boot. She was so glad to finally go out to her chicken coop and take care of her animals. I won’t say how upset she was that the folks who kept our house while we were gone had eaten two of her roosters and a hen! Amelia just completed another round of classes for her Bible degree and is beginning a new set of courses. Pray for her as she works towards finishing school while simultaneously working in the ministry here with us. She unfortunately caught the virus and has been struggling the past week with high fevers and headaches. Her lungs appear to be okay, but she is not doing well and we want to see her get better soon. We have lots of goals to accomplish in the coming months and lots of people to reach, so pray for us to stay steady in our endeavors for the Lord here in Lages. We want to keep adding names to the Book of Life before the Lord returns and it is too late. We are thankful for each of you and your support of our ministry here in Brazil. We absolutely could not do it without your prayers and support from home. Thank you for all that you do and for every prayer that you offer! Mark and Sheri Edwards |
Ministry UpdatesFrom the Edwards Family in Lages-SC, Brazil Archives
March 2024
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