Professional Documents
Culture Documents
unit*
VOLUME XXX
January-March 2011
NUMBER 1
Immersed In the open sea for a night and a day. In hard travelling In and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, and struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my
brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that's not the half of it, when you throw In the daily pressures and anxieties of all the church
es. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone Is
duped into sin, an angry fire burns In my gut.
If 1 have to "brag" about myself, I'll brag about the humiliations that made me like Jesus. The eter nal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I'm not lying. Remember the time I was In Damascus and the governor of King Aretes posted guards at the city gates to arrest me? 1crawled through a window In the wall, was let down in a basket, and had to run for my life.
The Messaae: II Corinthians 11:23-33
participated in similar programs). One of the dea cons painted the mural for the backdrop, one lady
made the robes for the kids and others decorated
practicing and a wonderful program was presented to a packed house. Afterwards we enjoyed a potluck dinner together. As is our custom, we have a New Year's service to remember the old and pray in the new
around a communion service.
serving the
Lord. The first
The church had a chili supper, the kids sold cakes and our members completed what funds were lacking for 10
kids to attend.
Some of our kids
They all came bock with a renewed inner spirit, and since then have participated more actively.
centers, and on the beaches. They took charge of the Wednesday and Saturday night meetings plusSunday services in Carcavelos and Setubal. Special music, mimes, and some mini-classes were part of their program. Our youth participated insome of the activities, and no doubt, were inspired to do the same type of thing. YWAM is one of the missions that the Church supports. Pray much
fruit will come from their efforts.
An International Wedding
About five months ago, one of our deacons, Bro. Almeida, brought a request to our Friday morning prayer group. His daughter, Miriam, was corresponding online with a young man, Sean, in Florida. They were brought together by their mutual interest as artists. You can imagine the concern of their parents. When they started talking about marriage, prayers were intensified. In November 2010 Sean came to Portugal to meet Miriam and her family personally. He came and won
over the whole family and plans were made for the wedding. It took a
while to overcome all of the American and Portuguese bureaucracy. D/ck and Robert
Pre-marital counselling was done by Robert and Derlani Fife and they
were married on February 5th. The civil ceremony was first and then Dick performed the religious ceremony in English with Robert translating it into Portuguese. Sean's family was able to participate via SKYPE. Having fulfilled the requirements of the law, Dick & Robert pronounced them husband and wife and presented Mr. & Mrs. Sean Balsano to all. All is well that ends well-a real modern day
miracle. Please pray for them as they are residing a Sean's home in Lakeland, Florida.
women sponsored a special meeting on a Saturday evening. The theme was "A
Woman After God's Own Heart." There were over 50 of us, including women from
^ ^
Mission Services
ADDRESSES
Dick & Sarah Robison Rua Por do Sol, 29 2775-680 Carcavelos Portugal
011-351-21-456-1596 (Church) E-Mail: assai-do-para@hotmail.com or: rdrlslr@gmail.com www.swccAustin.org (English) www.iccportugal.org (Portuguese)
Phil & Dot Wiltshire 4824 Westbourne Dr.
ness the baptism of a young man, Andre, on Saturday afternoon. His family is from Belem, Brazil, where we
were many years ago. He and his wife, Miriam don't
live too far from the Church. She was a member
Family and
Friends
We are saddened
friend, Peggy.
PRAYER Co-workers in Portugal
World leaders Sean & Miriam Balsano
PRAISE
Miles Jackson Parker Robison Celia Berrier Emma Berrier Jesse Berrier
Anniversaries
Rachel & Josh Jackson - March 2
VOLUME XXX
July-September 2011
NUMBER 3
LIVING SACRIFICES
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and opprove what God's
wiil is his good, pleasing, and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2.
I. Pick UP another's load to rest - Matthew 11:25-30. 2. Be a slave to be free - Romans 6:16-20.
3. Become weak to become strong - II Corinthians 12:7-10. 4. Live bv dvina - 11 Corinthians 4:10, II. 5. To be number 1. be a servant - Mark 10:43; to be exalted, humble yourself. 6.1 Corinthians
1:20 - to be wise, become as a fool.
&
P'
shopping centers and in schools. They also took charge of prayer meeting and Sunday services. After about 10 days,
JOCUM went north in
Portugal and the AME Group went to Spain to work with Erick and Sira in Murcia. They participated in Church services, a Missionary Conference, and a VBS. One of the group, a JBC student Tom Sears stayed on for a month to have a greater experience and to improve his Spanish. Erick had high praise for him and his work with the youth.
Tom said "it was his best summer ever."
Tom Sears
Some others of this group mode the following comments: Kelli said, "I was so impressed with the genuine spirit the Corcavelos Church has to sen^e others." The Luallens were thankful for the experi ence and to meet everyone and learn about the culture. Jandirrah thanked the church for their kindness and hospitality. It was evident that the DaSilvas had prepared the group well in their Spanish Ministry
in Knoxville, TN.
preaching in Spain
ber." Our family is certainly doing its part. We had three children. six grandkids and now our ninth great grandchild has arrived.
\L
Wi
Alexander Jackson
to learn to have courage. To be father or mother is the biggest act of courage that somebody can have, because it is to display every type of pain, mainly of the uncertainty to be acting incorrectly and of the
fear to lose something so loved. To Lose? How? He is not ours! He was only on loan!" --Jose
Saramago, Famous Portuguese Writer and Poet.
Teaciiing Opportunities
Goodbye Again
been
MAdriana Almeida
Sunday School in a rotational order with
^ other teachers.
Dick has
teaching Fernando/
We hove told you about the Paul Family before. They come to Portugal in 2000 to sen/e in the Brazilian Embassy. They placed their membership here in Corcavelos in 2001 and were very active with kids and music. It was difficult to say goodbye when they
were transferred to Croatia in 2007 for a
about the Inquisition in Portugal & Spain. They had studied it in public schools years ago & wanted
more information. He also has
couple of years. They were transferred bock to Portugal, something that rarely happens. So we were twice blessed by having them here for 2 more years. Now they have been assigned to the Brazilian Embassy in San Salvador. El Salvador. They hove arrived there and are adjusting to their new assign
ment.
were presented with a commemorative plate withi the Church picture dedicated to the Paul Family. One of our deacons presented o pointing he did of one of the Paul's favourite scenes of the coast here and the Sunday School kids brought drawings & notes for them. It was an emotional time for all. After the service, we all enjoyed a farewell dinner together. So it's Goodbye again, but we know that they will be a blessing wherever they go.
Another Blessing
Petterson, Tatiana and Clara Corneiro have been attending the Church in Carcavelos. They ore Brazilian Missionaries from Central Brazil who worked with Billy Loft in Paraguay. Small world. Mony years ago when we went to work in Brazil with Bill & Ginny Loft, Billy was about 2 yrs. old. Recently, they presented their work in Paraguay during the Sunday
School hour.
W' ! hi'ti .m ,
Birthday cake
emplo^r
birthday. Her
an interestwith_ the ^
gave
her
1.
-4
^ ^
Mission Services
ADDRESSES
Miss/onaries;
years waiting through the Portuguese Health System. We do not have the funds to have this done privately.
We will reside in our house in Knoxville, Tennessee,
at 1214 Hendron Chapel Rd, Knoxville, Tennessee 37920. As time permits we will be able to make some visits to individual supporters and Churches. We do not have a telephone yet. We ask you to send us an email rdrl slr@gmaiLcom for a personal report. We thank you all for your prayers and
support. God is faithfull
davs PRAISE
God's direction
PRAYER
Elliott Jackson
Mark Phegley
Anna Robison David Robison
Jim Phegley
Dick Robison Emilia Berrier
Anniversaries
David/Toni Robison
August 6
VOLUME XXX
April-June 2011
NUMBER 2
TRUST-SADNESS-VICTORYi
"I, Paul, have been sent on a special mission by the Messiah, Jesus, planned by God himself. I write this to God's congregation in Corinth, and to believers all over Achala province. May all the gifts and
benefits that come from God our Father and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours! Timothy, someone you know and trust. Joins me In this greeting.
The Rescue
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that per son just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfortwe get a full measure of that, too. When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you're just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know that you're going to make it, no doubt about it. We don't want you In the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn't think we were going to make it. We felt like we'd been sent to death
row that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead
of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totallynot a bad idea
since he's the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he'll do it
again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operationI don't want you in the dark about that either, I can see your faces even now, lifted In praise for God's deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part."
The Message: II Corinthians 1:3-11
financially help us with this ministry. Presently, we have 15 active members in the Church who have little financial conditions to
help with the monthly budget that we need. Thus my wife and I have other jobs that help pay for
Our 3 kids are going to school and are as active as they can be in the Church and athletics. Lucas plays the drums in the Church Praise Group. Wilson, a former professional soccer player,
coaches his kids and co-coaches a Church team
Lydia International
We have mentioned the Lydias various times in the Pioneer. It is based on the story of Lydia in Acts 16. It's both international and transdenominational. It is an intercessory group that Sarah belongs to that prays for the church, the community, the country and the world. The three-fold emphasis of Lydia is prayer, God's word and missions. There are groups meeting all over Portugal. Now is the time for the "changing of the guard." Grace and Colin Lovell are returning to England after 43 years of mission work. She was the Lydia national coordinator for over 25 years. For some time Grace was praying for someone to take her place, preferably a younger Portuguese woman. Praise God her prayer
was answered when Maria
-iose Siqueira accepted the challenge. Molly Osborne, the ^ E u r o p e a n coordinator, came from England for the installation of our new leader and a
ship role.
Mora Baptisms
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Feijoada-Youth Camp
Wilson
country has version, but we are partial to the Brazilian variety as we lived there 15 years. The young people are also planning a garage sale in the near future.
Easter
There was a Sunrise Service at the local beach with several churches. Afterwards the Church served a breakfast for all who wanted to come. Our
ing service.
Mother's Day
Mother's Day in Portugal is on the 1st
Sunday in May. Around 20 mothers were pres
ent and received a red rose.
Paul
Greek Vocabulary
Dick has been
helping Guilherme
and Wilson
Spindola, 2 of the
church leaders in Carcavelos delve
ing
of
key
New
Gu//herme, Dick &. Wilson
Testament words.
Mission Services
ADDRESSES
Dick & Sarah Robison Ruo Por do Sol, 29 2775-680 Carcovelos
year, Alexander & Karina attended a couple's retreat which influenced greatly. Several weeks later they were
get all the necessary Brazilian docu ments together, but finally on May 15th they were married here by Robert Fife. Many of their co-workers were here and were touched by the ceremony.
At the reception
PRAISE
April 14 May 5
June 7
Anniversaries
Jim & Ann Phegley Jesse & Celia Berrier April 9 May 29
iMtuau
VOLUME XXX
October-December 2011
NUMBER 4
"We thank you, God, we thank youyour Name is our favorite word; your mighty works are all we talk about
You say, I'm calling this meeting to order, I'm ready to set things right.
God rules, he brings this one down to his knees, pulls that one upon her feet. God has a cup in his hand A bowl of wine, full to the brim. He draws from it and pours.
When the earth goes topsy-turvy And nobody knows which end is up,
I had it all down,
I put everything in place again. I say to the smart alecks, 'That's enough.'
to the bullies, 'Not so fast.'
And I'm telling the story of God Eternal, Singing the praises of Jacob's God.
Don't raise your fist against High God. Don't raise your voice against Rock of Ages.
He's the One from east to west; From desert to mountains, he's The One.
"iuttii
JjjV we did see a specialist and he said that IDID NOT NEED _
a hip replacement. I had an inflamed bursa. As you can
understand, we were relieved and thank God. you, and oth-
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didn't see as well, but it's not ready. He only needed new
It's not every day that you turn 80, but Dick did on
gr
his fruit/flower
September 8, 2011. The day began with 2 ladies from the Carcavelos Church bringing a fruit and flower basket to eelebrate the occasion. We went out for a nice lunch. And, to
was a special time. Also, it's not every day that you
celebrate 60 years of marriage, but we did October 12, 2011. It didn't go unnoticed by the ladies of the Church. They came bringing a balloon, a gen erous gift, refreshments, and a loving spirit. Did you realize that a half of our married life has been spent in
Portugal!
In Portugal, they say that there aren't two things without the 3rd, so Sarah also had a special day -- her 79th birthday. We have been blessed by a num
ber of visitors since we have been
11^^ ^
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grandsons)
Berriers, Mil<e Biehi (our son-in-law) with Robisons
of'
Tennessee*
Knoxville, TN 37920. Due to hail damage, our insurance company has replaced the roof. PTL! As time permits we will be able to make some visits to individual supporters and Churches. Our telephone number is 910-551-4131.
Churches in Portugal
The Church in Setubai had a spe
cial service and meal to mark their 10 years. The Church in Carcavelos cele
brated 27 years at our present location. Robert Fife had the privilege of speaking at the baby dedication for 2 of his latest grandchildren, Gabriel and Nicole, (see pictures, next page)
Setubai Anniversary
Carcavelos Anniversary
and Fountain City. Vaidecy and Mirna H DaSilva are doing a great job. They Qj
Communion Service - Hispanic Church, Fountain City
the work. Billy and Betty Loft recently brought a group from Nicaragua for a concert at Woodlawn. It was great to see the Lofts after so many years.
I
Robisons and Arrellanos
II .
Convention
in
Atlanta, GA to promote The Worid Convention to be held in Goiania in July 2012. They returned with the
DaSilvas from Atlanta, visited friends in the area, and
Mission Services
ADDRESSES
Missionaries:
Powder Springs, GA 30127 Telephone: 770-943-4668 Please make checks payable to:
PORTUGAL CHRISTIAN MISSION
PRAISE
God's care for us Phone calls & e-mail
& letters
PRAYER
Billy Graham Campaign Portugal
World Political Leaders Countries hit with disasters
Tyler Robison
Jason Barnhart
Oct. 10
Ann Phegley
Sorah Robison Joshua Jackson Jamie Berrier Mike Biehl
Oct. 20 Oct. 26 Nov. 3 Nov. 4 Nov. 20 Nov. 27 Dec. 1 Dec. 15 Dec. 17 Dec. 30
f.
UiLskoig a(lc>foiAr woiulerfulfamily, fr-Le-nxU, anclfaitkfulsu|)f)otters a very AAerry CkfLstmas QncLa+4a)3f5y New tjear.
Love Dlttfe S Sarak