Our Trip to Portugal

The main reason for our trip to Portugal was to visit Carlos's father, Mr. Viana, that will complete 100 years old on the 4th of December. But it was also a needed time to rest, recuperate and relax, and meet good old family and friends.

He has done all things well

Sara is recovering at home after a huge operation to a burst appendix. She lost some kilos, as you can see, and we stopped temporarily our normal routine of outreach / fundraising activities until we feel it's time to resume activities. Now things are still not "normal" but God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.

All things do work together for the good... even if some things are very hard to go through and we can't find a way out for a time, let us always keep the faith for in due time we shall reap if we faint not. He has done ALL THINGS WELL.

Mar 7:37  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

One Story About Faith

   I was 18 years old and on my way to Ethiopia with another missionary friend. Neither of us had been there before, I had never been to Africa period. So I felt rather uncertain. We landed in Frankfurt, Germany, and on arrival at the train station, we started talking to two people who turned out to be from Ethiopia. They introduced us to their church and the locals there. We didn't have any finances for the tickets, and the deadline for the flight was getting closer as the days passed.
   For a couple of days prior I had been experiencing odd twinges in the right side of my stomach. The twinges quickly turned into sharp, stabbing pain, but up till that point I had never been really sick before and so I ignored it. Early one morning, the day before our departure, I woke up with a start; nothing had woken me, but something wasn't right. I stood up and blacked out.

Compelled to sleep on the damp ground...

Compelled to sleep on the damp ground month after month, exposed to drenching showers, and getting the lower extremities wetted two or three times every day, living on native food (with the exception of sugarless coffee, during the journey to the north and the latter half of the return journey), and that food the manioc roots and meal, which contain so much un-combined starch that the eyes become affected (as in the case of animals fed for experiment on pure gluten or starch), and being exposed during many hours each day in comparative inaction to the direct rays of the sun, the thermometer standing above 96 Deg. in the shade—these constitute a more pitiful hygiene than any missionaries who may follow will ever have to endure. I do not mention these privations as if I considered them to be "sacrifices", for I think that the word ought never to be applied to any thing we can do for Him who came down from heaven and died for us; but I suppose it is necessary to notice them, in order that no un-favourable opinion may be formed from my experience as to what that of others might be, if less exposed to the vicissitudes of the weather and change of diet.

Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, by David Livingstone, chapter 25.

Pictures Which Can Never Be Forgotten

David Livingstone wrote the following as he was crossing the North of Angola on his way to East Africa:

I have often thought, in traveling through their land, that it presents pictures of beauty which angels might enjoy. How often have I beheld, in still mornings, scenes the very essence of beauty, and all bathed in a quiet air of delicious warmth! yet the occasional soft motion imparted a pleasing sensation of coolness as of a fan. Green grassy meadows, the cattle feeding, the goats browsing, the kids skipping, the groups of herd-boys with miniature bows, arrows, and spears; the women wending their way to the river with watering-pots poised jauntily on their heads; men sewing under the shady banians; and old gray-headed fathers sitting on the ground, with staff in hand, listening to the morning gossip, while others carry trees or branches to repair their hedges; and all this, flooded with the bright African sunshine, and the birds singing among the branches before the heat of the day has become intense, form pictures which can never be forgotten.
 
(Missionary Travels and Researches in South Arica, chapter 22, by David Livingstone)

One Day With The Poor

July 18, 2012

Mandela's Day: We prepare a nice meal and went to visit about fifteen families and a creche of poor children where we served the soup. Everybody was so gratefull and happy including us.

The Preparation:Two pots of meat and veggie soup

Sara serves the soup to the children

The kids eat orderly at the creche

Now is time for singing and say goodbye

Off we went to the field to share the soup with families 

Time to say good bye and, thank you people for your gratefulness!

 

 

A Few Hours on the Mountain

Cooking bread (eaten with chocolate sauce) and marshmallows on improvised coals on the mountains, while sipping coffee with the kids makes a difference on our moods and brings togetherness and new inspiration.
Although the mountains seem barren and dry during winter in South Africa there's plenty of beauty and peace and a bit of adventure as we go out and explore the terrain looking for beautiful stones.
Enjoy the pictures.

Looking for a safe place to make the fire and enjoy the view

A Song in the Heart

Newsletter July 31st

A Song in the Heart

This week when I woke up one morning things didn’t look so bright and I had a burden on my heart and some real problems to face and I thought of sharing the burden with others as soon as they would waken but instead the Lord impressed my heart that they had burdens of their own. Why not help bear and lighten their burdens instead of burdening them with mine and just them that old song came to my mind so forcibly that I began to sing it aloud.

You remember this song. “There is sunshine in my soul today. More glorious and bright and shines on any living way for Jesus is my Light. There’s music in my heart today, a carol to my King and Jesus listening can hear the song I cannot sing. There’s sunshine in my soul today.” Most of the words from the old song came back to me and soon as the others had heard they were all singing. Then my own burden seemed much lighter and I can assure you, the day for all of us was brighter and some of the problems which seemed insurmountable were half solved.

Did you ever try singing one of the old Gospel songs of victory the first thing in the morning before the old Devil has a chance to show his teeth or blow his hot breath on you? Oh, it isn’t easy but it does work. Try it sometime especially when you don’t feel like singing. But I confess that it’s hard to sing the old Gospel songs with joy and satisfaction unless there is a song in your own heart. Psalm 77:60 says: “He will give songs in the night, songs in the heart,”

Before they call, I will answer

This is a story written by a doctor who worked in Africa.

      One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).
     We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates).
      'And it is our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drug stores down forest pathways.

What the People Say

Dear Sara,

Good day. This is a message of gratitude for sparing your time to pray with me on Thursday the 26 April at Middleburg filling station. I actually was thinking of committing suicide and meeting you was just an answer from God. Having gone through a rough patch in my life and trying to be best mother and Wife has come with a price for me. I am truly grateful and trust that God strengthens you as you continue to be a blessing even to those you don’t know. Bless your heart.

M.

Footprints on the rock

   I stumbled upon the fact that there is a giant footprint on granite relatively close to where we live here in South Africa. It's an amazing discovery yet hardly known. It sure proves the veracity of the Bible like nothing else does. For more details about this giant footprint visit the following websites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRuxw-nZoJw

http://numbi.hubpages.com/hub/African-Mystery-Goliaths-Footprint

http://www.chrissiesmeer.co.za/giantfootprint.html

   Interested in knowing more about these giants on the Earth mentioned in Genesis 6:4 I found an interesting Bible Study about this subject.

 

Giants on the Earth

There has been much speculation about the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6. The incident involving angels and the daughters of men is mentioned not only in the Bible, but in many other Christian, Jewish and Muslim writings. Many scholars believe that these Fallen Angels, as some call them, because of their strength, intelligence and spiritual powers, became mythological gods in various ancient cultures. This opinion is corroborated by so many Bible verses that it merits a class on the subject.  The foundation verses for it are the following 

Birthday Service

IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY AND THEY WERE HAVING A SPECIAL SERVICE FOR ME IN THE PLACE, in the beautiful banquet rooms of the Villa Sweden where I had my Sunday services. So they were celebrating this particular Sunday and there was quite a group there, and nearly every place was filled. I was sitting at the speakers’ tables, facing everyone when suddenly I found, as I went to reach for the cup of coffee to put it to my lips, that I couldn’t move my right arm! I had had a stroke!

To Reflect

The next time you encounter a difficult obstacle or problem, smile and say, “Here’s my opportunity.”

Read more in Think About It

Humility

   Oh, how few Christians make humility the object of great loving and how little it’s preached. Yet in Luke 18:14, we find this statement: “Everyone that exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.”

   You know, so many times I’ve thought of this little illustration, of a young preacher. When ascending a platform to preach, he was quite sure of himself, and regarded his sermon as something that was going to be quite a good deal. He had put a great deal of thought into it and he had some well-prepared notes, and he was quite sure he was going to make a very good impression on the audience and folks would tell him afterwards what a fine sermon that was.

   So he ascended the steps of the platform with his head held high in considerable pride and self-assurance — there wasn’t much need of heavy leaning on the Holy Spirit, he was so sure of himself. But you know, when he got to preaching he couldn’t get his stride. He stumbled and fumbled and he lost his thought at times, and he didn’t feel the anointing of the Lord. So, when he’d finished, he came down quite different than he had gone up. His head was hanging low, and as he passed a faithful old elder sitting on the front seat, the elder touched his arm and whispered to him: “Oh son, had you gone up the way you came down, you could have come down, the way you went up.”

   Oh, external teaching and preaching can’t give humility, it must be the Holy Spirit of God. How much there can be of even active and earnest religion, and yet not Christ-like humility. Grace of humility is surely scarce.

By Virgina Brand Berg

Don't Go Until the Lights Come On

One late afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, wanting to be alone, I entered a strange cathedral & sat down amid the silence & semi-darkness. It was a gloomy place at that hour. The stained glass windows were especially forbidding. Presently a caretaker approached me, and thinking he wished me to leave so that he could lock up, I started to go. "Oh no," he whispered, "don't go until the lights come on!" So I waited. The room became darker, the shadows deepened, the windows were ugly & repelling & I wanted so much to leave. Then suddenly the street lights came on in full & the whole scene was changed!

What a transformation! I thought I had never seen such exquisite coloring, such Heavenly suggestiveness as the windows gave forth in their wonderful coloring! Everything was enhanced with unearthly beauty that fed my soul, and I wanted to capture and keep it forever!

Then I thought of the darkness which had shrouded many times my spirit, and how inexplicably it can vanish with the joy of the Lord coming in & His light flooding the soul. "The Lord will lighten my darkness!" (2nd Samuel 22:29) I had learned a secret from that old caretaker, yes I had!--Don't go until the lights come on!

By Virginia Brand Berg

The Time of the End

There are few things that naturally interest me; one of them is the end time prophecy. I don't have to make an effort to enjoy that, it comes naturally. There was a time when I only read things about that, my spiritual food were strong articles and chapters of the Bible that would deal with that. Then I realized that it was a very narrow diet of spiritual food and would affect me spiritually if I persist on reading and reflecting only on that.

A Very PRESENT Help

 

God is our refuge and strength, a very PRESENT help in trouble (Psalm 46:1)

LIFE is a succession of present moments. The past actually doesn’t exist and the future also doesn’t exist, the only thing that exists is the present. Life is lived in the present. The only thing we retain from the past is the memory of it, but holding on to the past is so bad as if you would refuse to go to the toilet to eliminate the waste food of yesterday.

What yesterday was a delicious meal that you enjoyed so much, today is a stinking and unpleasant waste that you need to eliminate from your system. If your system doesn’t eliminate correctly you get fat and sick. The same for our spirits. The past, whether good or bad is gone and holding on to it just causes your spirit to get sick and you lose happiness.

Even God, He is the great I AM, not the I was nor the I will be . He is a very Present help in trouble. He is, not was or will be. The only life we have to live is NOW. There are beautiful things happening right now in your life, in my life. Now, now, now! Jesus is present right now! Call on Him now if you are tempted to fear the future or hold on to the past. He IS your Saviour today, not tomorrow, not yesterday!

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Read other short Bible comments in Feeding Reading 

Feeding Reading

You are important

by Carlos Viana

But you don't feel like that! You think about all the people that are "more important" than you. People that have more favour with God and men because they are "good", they are "loving", they are "more blessed", and they don’t have all these weaknesses that you have.
In your eyes, somehow, they are way above out of your reach. You try not to get jealous, or bitter. You struggle with all these thoughts and feelings, and you feel such a mess.

Think About It

True humility is not an abject, groveling, self-despising spirit … but a right estimate of ourselves as God sees us.—Tryon Edwards

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I love humble people. They have no need to constantly prove themselves right and the other person wrong. They are at peace because they are not preoccupied with themselves. They are strong because they know that they can just be themselves, and in being themselves they glorify the God who made them. Humility is the surest sign of strength.—Thomas Merton

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Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it's thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others.—Rick Warren

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Learn to be humble but not timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. But humility is a virtue; timidity is an affliction.—Jim Rohn

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Don't imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: he won’t be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who’s always telling you that, of course, he’s nobody. Probably all you’ll think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a bit envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He won’t be thinking about himself at all. There I must stop. If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you’re not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.—C. S. Lewis

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The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. He has accepted God’s estimate of his own life: In himself, nothing; in God, everything. He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring.—A. W. Tozer

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A heart that understands what is implicit in God's tenderness is humbled beyond any hope of goodness or worth in itself.—Marian Scheele

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If you want something you've never had then you've got to do something you've never done 

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To hold resentment or bitterness in your heart is like keeping a virus in your computer. It will bring the whole system to a halt. Forgiveness is the best antivirus and you can download it for free from the Heavenly Resources Site. 

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The whole spiritual warfare is about us, swaying us to believe the truth or the lie. Once we believe then we create what we believe in.

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First you conceive, then you believe and finally you achieve

And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. Luke 17:6

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The devil has absolutely no power over us except make us believe that he has power over us
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Jonas 2:8

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After all is said and done, love is the only thing that stays
Now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1.Cor.13:13

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It's often difficult to love. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, And you have strengthened the feeble knees
Job 4:4

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Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all
Hellen Keller

God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2Timothy 1:7 

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Knowledge without wisdom is destructive

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5 

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There is a hard law… When an injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive. 

Alan Paton

“Beware lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” — Heb.12:15

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Remember, life is all about the journey. The map is inside of you already. It's called your intuition, your drive, and your dream. Follow it. You're going to be pleasantly surprised at where it will take you. Steve G. Jones

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13,14)

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Learn to like what you do before you try doing what you like.

Godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6)

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Trusting God is not a feeling, it's a decision.

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. (Psalm 56:3)

Christianity and Money

Matthew 25:14-22

We are between 5% of the world's most privileged. 95% of the world's population either suffer hunger or at least don´t have many of the basic necessities of life. 

That elite of "enlightened" that controls the world because they have so much money and influence, even those, everything they have was given by God and God loves them like any one of us, the problem is that they don't share, don't teach what they know to others, don’t benefit others, and that’s their only condemnation. The rust from their gold and silver will witness against them (James 5:1-6) Note that it’s not the gold and silver that is a witness against them, but the rust of gold and silver, namely, in that they do not used it, do not put into circulation, did not benefit others, this gold and silver accumulated rust and this witnesses against them.

Newsletters

Dear Friend,
New Year greetings,
When you think about your choices in the past you may regret them or not, but remember, if some choice you made seems to have had a bad outcome, or one that is not what you had in mind, remember that you probably haven't seen its full effect yet. What looks like a stone or a serpent may yet turn out to be bread--or even a three-course meal. Film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer Orson Welles once said, "A happy ending depends on where you stop your story." Or, as someone else put it, "Everything will be okay in the end; and if it's not okay, it's not the end yet." That principle is certainly true for those who love the Lord and look to Him for guidance, because He has promised to always work things out for our good in the end.

Last year was an intense year for us and I believe you can say the same, the battles can be fierce but the victory is even sweeter afterwards. We spent a wonderful time in Portugal and you can see some pictures here. Our family and friends were extra loving and kind to us and we enjoyed those 3 weeks greatly. (Click here to see pictures).

As we came back to SA people on the Home Affairs called Sara saying that her and her kids visa were approved until May 2015. Great news for us because it will give us time to apply for permanent residence and continue the work that God called us to do here in South Africa. That is a great answer to prayer and a confirmation of where God guides He provides.

As goals for this new year we want to continue visiting the prisons and set the captives free, either inside or outside, and be better and more useful instruments of God's peace and love to all we meet in our path.

Now these last weeks of Christmas and New Year we are enjoying having the house full with Sara's children and grand-children and indeed there is so much to be thankful for.

We are praying for you and we count it a privilege to have you as a friend. May God bless you and support you and give you faith for great victories ahead in every field of life.

With love and joy,
Carlos and Sara

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Determination
February 2012    

     
In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway,
a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
"We told them so."
"Crazy men and their crazy dreams."
"It`s foolish to chase wild visions."
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roebling's were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.
He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment. It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method, of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish, but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do. Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are. Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.     
    
 

News From Us     

This is our first Newsletter this year, which means that there was no news in Jan. The main reason was that our computer got stolen, but the Lord is merciful and thanks to the generosity of a very dear friend it was already replaced.
Five of our children were visiting for Christmas and we had an inspired and busy family time. We also had distribution of food to the poor and lots of cooked meals, thanks to the generosity of Woolworths that had plenty of food to donate in Dec and Jan. Please pray that they will continue to give a lot so we can keep supplying food for the different feeding schemes going on here in Barberton.
The second school year started very well for Jenifer and Alan. Besides doing very well in their scholastic they are also doing cross country and athletics. This week they were in Rob Ferreira School, White River running with children from five different schools and did very good, Jenifer was first in the 800 and 1200 meters and second in the 400 and 100 in the group of under fifteen girls and Alan was third in all of them for the boys group, so we are very proud of them.
We also love to receive your little notes and comments and look forward to get news from you too. If you have any special request or anything we can be a blessing with, please tell us...    
 

Freedom Within     

On our outreach front, besides meeting many wonderful and needy people that make it worth it all to be out there in the front lines we met Carol whose husband is in prison. She was broken hearted and wanted to give him something worthwhile. We suggested the book Freedom Within which she purchased and took it to her husband. A couple of weeks later another lady, friend of Carol, whose husband is also in jail, asked us if we had another copy because her husband was seeing the effect the first book was having in Carol's husband and wanted to have his personal copy.
That created in our hearts the desire to distribute as many as possible of these books free of charge to the prisoners in this area, which is known to have one of the biggest centers of high and medium security prisons in the country. "I was in prison, and ye came unto Me... And, "When saw we Thee ... in prison, and came unto Thee?" ... "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." (Mat 25:35-40)
If there is one thing that prisoners love to do is READ. They have so much time on their hands, they have to have pastimes to keep their sanity, and one of the most common is reading. So it's a great opportunity to feed them the right spiritual food. BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP. Please purchase some of these booklets so we can take them to the prisoners. (To see the content of this booklet sign up your name and e-mail in our blog Cool Waters and follow the steps in order to receive it FOR FREE in your e-mail inbox)
The price for each one is 20 RANDS and you can make a deposit in the following account and write as reference FREEDOM WITHIN.

Bank: ABSA
Name: M F Rodrigues
Account No. 92 2414 9758
Branch Code: 632005, Barberton
Reference: "Your Name" Freedom Within

Love and joy,
Carlos and Sara     


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Jesus is better to us than He was to Himself

December 2012    

 

The End of Another Year      

Another year is almost passed and this is a good time to look back and just count all the wonderful things the Lord did for us. Sometimes it is difficult to see the blessings between all the difficulties and struggles that we also go through, but if we stop and meditate a little bit we'll find lots of treasures, and some of them buried in the rubble of our trials and tests. So let us just say THANK YOU for the past year and get our hearts inspired for the yet better things that are coming ahead for us next year.
We also praying for you and that you can really relax and enjoy this holiday season. That you'll be able to put everything aside for a little time and truly spend a good time of quietness and rest with the Lord, your loved ones and of course with yourself.
We want to thank God for you and for our friendship and the blessing you have been to us also. We truly appreciate your prayers and support and pray that the next year will be full of good surprises that can surpass all your expectations and dreams. We know that with God all things are possible!
    
 

That's Real Love!      

Jesus is better to us than He was to Himself! "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head" (Matthew 8:20). Jesus never owned a home, He never had a wife or children, and it seems the only material thing He owned was His clothes.
Jesus said that it was enough that a disciple be like his master (Matthew 10:25), and Paul said, "Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content" (1 Timothy 6:8). Yet look at all that Jesus has given us besides that! All the rest are extras.
To Jesus, our happiness is worth more than money. He's willing to let us have almost anything we want as long as it's good for us. Look how Jesus tries to make it easy for us. As long as we delight ourselves in Him, He gives us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).     
 

About Us      

We had a special time with the kids in the crèche that we adopted to help this year. Sara made a chocolate cake and chicken sandwiches for all of them and we all had a good time, as you can see by the pictures - Click here.
Today we had the great privilege of having all the seniors of our kids school spend some good hours in our place to celebrate the end of the school year. See pictures in the Cool Waters blog - Click here.
And talking about Cool Waters, now you can download the "Daily Might" here (882 KB), and/or the "Secrets of the Abundant Life" (55 KB) here. Before there was an error that didn't allow subscribers to download.
Again, we'd love to hear from you, for prayer requests, news, stories, anything you want to tell us.
Love and joy,
Carlos and Sara

    

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A Smile Costs Nothing but Gives Much

November 2011    

We would like your feed back     
Dear Friend,

    We would love your feedback. Maybe you have some questions or prayer requests, maybe you would like to read about a certain subject in our blog, or maybe you just have some good suggestion for us to improve in the way we are doing things.
So please if any of these is crossing your mind right now please drop a line or leave a comment, it is our pleasure to be a blessing to you and you can also be a blessing to us by giving us some input.
    There is always so much we can learn from each other and we are learning to improve in our communication skills.
    
 

Litlle by Litlle     

 
    Little by little our house is becoming beautiful. We still have some things to fix and renovate but is getting better all the time. We are having our exercise time every day by doing work in the garden. Besides being good for the garden and making looking better is also good for the spirit.
   This house was miraculous given to us by a sweet friend in Portugal eleven years ago shortly after our arrival in SA. We know the Lord wants us to to take good care of it and be good stewards. We know He has a good purpose for it to be used to facilitate our work as missionaries here in Africa.
   This house is very old and that's why it needs so many repairs to be done. We are working on it slowly, as the Lord supplies, and it’s already looking so much better.

    
 

Inspirational     

A Smile

Author Unknown

A smile costs nothing, but gives much.
It takes but a moment,
But the memory of it usually lasts forever.
None are so rich that can get along without it
And none are so poor but that can be made rich by it.
It enriches those who receive,
Without making poor those who give.
It creates sunshine in the home,
Fosters good will in business,
And is the best antidote for trouble.
And yet it cannot be begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is of no value
Unless it is given away.
Some people are too busy to give you a smile,
Give them one of yours,
For the good Lord knows that no one needs a smile so badly
As he or she who has no more smiles left to give.    
 
    
Carlos and Sara - 0835970177     
  

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"Success with People" reconciles couple

September 2011    
     
     

Barberton kitchen Soup

Every week on Sunday we pick up food donated by Woolwords in Nelspruit. We store it until Monday when Julia, one of the volunteers comes to pick it up. (Click here to see pictures)
At the moment they are feeding about sixty orphans and some very poor families and they struggle to have enough food, so they are very thankful for the meat and vegetables that they receive from us every week.
With time we intend to become more involved in this project and incorporate spiritual teaching and motivation as this people can be very dependent and lacking initiative. They really need to know the Lord in order to have faith and hope in a better future.

Reaching Out to Others

  We do two or three full days of outreach where we go out and distribute our beautiful devotional books, children CDs, DVDs with Bible stories and books that show them a way to know Jesus and develop a relationship with Him. We also distribute for free or a donation the monthly Activated Magazine which people love and always comment about.

This is our main method of fundraising, but at the same time it is a wonderful way that we have to witness to people, pray with them and help them to get closer to Jesus. It is not the easiest thing to approach people the way we do and many times it can be quite challenging for us both  physically spiritually as many people do not appreciate our efforts and don’t want to hear about the Lord, but in the other hand  it is also very rewarding and we love to do it, because every time we go out we meet many precious people that are very grateful that we came into their path.

A Short Testimony

Once I (Sara) met a young man and he bought from me the book  "Success with People" and didn’t tell me anything about what was going on in his life, but about one year later I met him again in the same place, of course I did not remember him but he remember me. He told me that he had something to tell me and explain how about one year ago he had bought that book from me when he had just break up with his fiancé, but now thanks to that book they got together again married and she was pregnant and he was so happy and thankful.
We have always lots of stories like this one and it makes it worth all the sacrifices and struggles we go through sometimes.

Jenifer and Alan

  Jenifer and Alan are out two young children, fourteen and twelve. We were homeschooling them until this year when we decided to put them in school so we could benefit from more free time to do other things and they could make new friends. We moved to Barberton and they didn’t know anybody here.
This was a very good decision we made as they are very happy, made new friends and are very busy all the time, besides the regular school, they have lots of extracurricular activities and sports and they are excelling on that.
They also are involved in a Consider the Poor ministry and every Wednesday they bring bread and milk to a poor creché where they also have some interaction with those children.
We will be posting more pictures of their activities in the cool waters blog.
They are also part of the band in the church, Alan plays drums very well and Jenifer sings beautifully. They have practice every week along with youth church activities and also participate on a cell group once a week.
We truly grateful that they adjusted so well to this new life and are growing so much. (Click here to see pictures of our children)

Life With Our Children.

April 2012 - A trip to St Lucia Estuary

We  want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you that made this blessed trip to the beach of St Lucia a reality for us and our children. We must say it was very rewarding: we had a wonderful place to stay at the self-catering Joalize Lodge at the generous invitation of Johan and Elize Combrink. We were invited for a Guided Tour through the west coast of the estuary thanks to the generosity of Jess from Euro Zulu Guided Tours and Safaris and Paul, our guide and driver, who patiently and passionately taught us about many different plants and wild animals seen on the park. We enjoyed every minute of it, and even the cold wind added to the excitement of the experience.

We also had an invitation to spend a day in Cape Vidal to see the wild life and enjoy the beach but we couldn't make it in these 2 short days and 3 nights of our stay. Thank you anyway Johan Gerber.

Then we have the wonderful restaurants from St Lucia, Ocean Basket and Sand and Reef Pizza that generously offered and a nice meal for all of us. Quintus Smalman from the Total Garage on the N2 filled the tank as he does every year we go there. And last but defenitly not least we want acknowledge Robert Bonzair from Waterberg Toyota in Modimolle that so faithfully and cheerfully services our car free of charge for the last 6 years.

What more can we say? Except remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

Alan and Jennifer

Inspirational

 

Shake it Off and Step Up

   Once upon a time, a farmer owned an old mule which tripped and fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule braying and was unable to figure out how to bring up the old animal. It grieved him that he could not pull the animal out. He'd been a good worker around the farm. Although the farmer sympathized with the mule, he called his neighbours together and told them what had happened. He had them help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and quietly put him out of his misery.

   At first, the old mule was puzzled, but as the farmer and his neighbours continued shovelling and the dirt hit his back, he had a thought: he ought to shake off the dirt and step up. And he did just that. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up." Even though he took painful blows of dirt and fought panic, he just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!

   It wasn't long before the old mule stepped up and over the lip of that well. What could have buried him actually blessed him... all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

Personal Testimonies

The Blessings of Following a Living Christ
by Carlos

Following a living Jesus

I was raised believing in Jesus. I didn’t think much about Him first, until somebody told me the story of Jesus. It was Easter time so they figured it was a good time to tell me about Jesus death. A sweet young girl in the church told me how Jesus suffered, was despised, tortured and finally killed unjustly in a very painful way, on a cross. I was 7 years old at the time, very impressionable and that story stuck with me for life.

Since then I concluded that to be a good Christian and follower of Jesus I had to follow His sample. He gave us the greatest example of altruistic love, suffering and ultimately death.  The only problem in this story is that there was no victory at all. Yes, He suffered out of love for us – and died, that’s it! So for me, to suffer, be depressed, be sad, be condemned and accused was the way to go if I wanted to be a good follower of Jesus.

That religion led me to a life a great depression in my youth, a life of negativity and almost death. Hell on earth, while longing for true freedom, joy and life. ¹