(1Th. 1:2-3) We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith that produces work, love that prompts labor, and hope in Jesus that inspires endurance:we have seen evidence of all of this since we last wrote you in mid-July.And we thank God for this, because it is abundant proof of your ongoing prayer support for us and the ministries of our colleagues at JAMI, the Brazilian Baptist mission agency with whom we minister.

Love:Our friend Lee Spitzer visited for two weeks in July, and he made a huge contribution to the 8 new missionaries during a one-week intensive "missionary life" class Ann and I taught.We are grateful to American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, who allowed Lee to put aside his responsibilities as regional executive minister so he could share and counsel with us.He introduced a way missionaries can see God at work by understanding their spiritual journeys.The course focused on how these new missionaries could build healthy and faithful relationships with God, their national colleagues, their missionary colleagues, and their supporting churches.

Faith:Then Ann left for two weeks in the US, where she helped with International Ministries' World Mission Conference and the Conference for Missionaries that immediately followed.During both conferences she was able to share our experiences (with you!) in building a strong, vital network of churches and individuals committed to this ministry of training a new generation of Brazilian missionaries.We thank God for the opportunity she had to see many of you, and even to visit our families in Washington State.

Hope in Jesus:Our first mission exposure team arrived in mid-August only one day after Ann returned to Brazil.First Baptist Church of Portland, Oregon is one of our major supporting churches—not only now but when we served in the Philippines, too—and Dr. Marian Boehr put together a fantastic group of 7 people plus 2 more from Grace Baptist Church to come and be part of what JAMI and the National Baptist Convention of Brazil are doing.They saw many miracles of hope and endurance during their 12 days with us.Here is just one.

Pastor Jefferson planted Shekinah Baptist Church in the roughest favela in Belo Horizonte 12 years ago while he was still a seminary student.In just the last 6 years, God has used this church to transform its community and it has grown to over 900 members.God is changing the lives of the drug traffickers that once ruled the area, to the point that now more than 200 have renounced violence and the drug trade and are members of the church.But they do so at the risk of their lives:a drug dealer who is no longer part of the system and who gives up his guns is immediate prey for anyone who wants to settle old scores.While we met with Pr. Jefferson and his team, we heard three shots outside the church.Soon another pastor rushed in with the news that a young man who committed his life to Jesus only 15 days before had been gunned down right in front of the church.We wept and prayed with Pr. Jefferson as he told us the young man's story and how he had returned too soon from a church safe house against everyone's advice.Bullets hit him in the forehead, the temple, and the heart.The next day we heard the miracle of hope and endurance:the young man lived, and sustained no permanent injuries to brain, eyes, or heart.Pr. Jefferson said he should have been dead three times, but was saved to be a witness in his community to the amazing power of God.

Faith working with love that inspires hope in often hopeless situations – this is the essence of the good news of Jesus.We thank God for your partnership with us in this ministry.Thank you for your prayers that strengthen us, your emails and notes that encourage us and for your financial gifts that sustain us.We are particularly grateful for the gifts given through the World Mission Offering that help support us as well as all of our ABC missionary colleagues.We couldn't do it without you!

Em Cristo,

Ann and Bruce

Elena and Asa