Dear Praying and Supporting Friends,
Ministry News
The last few months have been both a blessing and a challenge. We
have had several saved, and in April, we had visitors every week at church. It was very exciting. Alex, who is 13, has come to a few teen meetings after accepting Christ when he came in for some food.
We had our ladies’ meeting on April 5th and were excited to have two new churches join us. It was a great blessing, and we have heard back from the pastor’s wives, who are pleased with the growth their ladies have shown since the meeting.
We had our missions conference in May, and we were extremely pleased with the growth in the church’s Faith Promise. We are now able to take on three more missionaries, bringing our total missionaries to 22.
Everything was going very smoothly till our missions conference. God has chosen to bring our church through a deep valley. On the third day of the conference, our most faithful families 13-year-old son, Gustavo, had a bizarrely swollen neck. We advised them to go to the hospital right away. After 2 weeks of antibiotics and tests, they discovered he has acute leukemia T. At the same time, nearly every family in our church went through some difficult event, either in relationships, finances, or health.
Personal News
We were not immune to the trials. On the Monday after the conference, Rebekah could not even walk. We went to the ER and have had various exams. We have discovered that she has disk degeneration in multiple parts of her spine. She has been in pain and very lightheaded as the nerves are also being pinched. We are seeking medical advice and physical therapy. We trust that God has great plan for our family and church as he puts us through the refining fire.
Prayer requests
- Pray for Gustavo as he faces chemo and radiation.
- We also have our national MBIB missions conference coming up in July, along with a special day scheduled for our church in July to bring in friends and families. Pray that God will bless our efforts.
In His Service,
Bryan and Rebekah Johnson
São Caetano do Sul, Brazil