Dear Pastors, Supporters, and Praying Friends,

Greetings in the Lord Jesus Christ! We hope this letter finds you doing well. As Paul wrote in I Corinthians 2:3-5:
“And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not
with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” Sometimes it appears hopeless to grow in grace and
knowledge of the Lord and be a changed person, BUT in the power of God, there is always hope! It may seem
insignificant, but it is amazing to see how the Spirit has made an impact in the lives of simple, faithful believers. It
is even more amazing how the Lord can change a difficult person into a new person for Jesus.

Sergio is a Christian, a strong-willed deaf leader and member for many years of Bible Baptist church where we
serve. He has been faithful to the church since it opened last year. I was told that he is a difficult man to
communicate and serve with. In the last 6 months, I have been teaching him one-on-one from the book of John
and James. He told me that he has learned a lot more through one-on-one meetings and has understood some
Portuguese better. After one-on-one Bible study with him and getting to know him personally, I have seen the
Lord work in his life and praise the Lord for his faithfulness in going
to church. He has memorized 1 John 4:8 and has also stood before me
to teach what he learned for the last two months of studying chapter 1
in the book of John. I can see the changes in him. We admire the
response from him and his wife, Edna, when any situations arise: “We
just want to focus on Christ.” How important it is to have quality time
with individual believers.

One elderly deaf lady, Sonia, is a dear lady with a strong will. Other people say she is a difficult woman, and she
does have a bad temper. In a separate Bible study, my wife taught the women’s group the same lessons as I taught
the men. While we were studying the book of James, Sonia admitted that she has an awfully bad temper, that she
wants to be a better person, and that she needs to have a better temperament. Other women have had similar
responses. My wife gathered the ladies’ hand to hand in a
circle and prayed. My wife told me that she is seeing a
transforming faith in each woman who is coming to church
faithfully despite the pandemic.

In the past months, Auceilia, who could not and did not read
the Bible, diligently marked yellow highlights in her Bible
and took pictures of it. She then contacted my wife, asking
what those verses or words mean and my wife explained each to her. She has even tried to memorize verses and
has given effort to read her Bible. Others who know her were surprised that she now knows some answers and
understands spiritual things. It is the POWER of God that works for those who are thirsty and hungry after His
righteousness. What is even more a blessing is that she has a burden to witness to people she knows, and she
wants to teach people what she has learned. She traveled one week to visit her friend and tried to evangelize her
friend. Here is more of Auceilia’s story, which shows absolutely the power of God: she went to school for the
first time when she was ten years old; she received language at a late age; she is not hindered today to learn to
write and read Portuguese. Who is the King of Kings and the Lord of the impossible?!

Recently three churches asked me to speak at their church. Again, how amazing is God, using weakness to show
His power I preached “The Garden of God” in Jundiai, where Stephen and his family serve. Stephen voice
interpreted for me while I preached in sign language. It was an amazing first experience for Stephen and the
church there. As for the other two churches, I spoke in Portuguese: yes, using my voice! As many of you know, I
am hard of hearing, and I preach better with sign language than spoken language, especially here in Brazil. By the
grace of God, I shared a short testimony with one church during their missions’
conference about the deaf work in the city. I preached a message in another city
about our relationship and intimacy with God in the garden. After I finished
preaching, I told my wife that I had no idea what I was saying, but the Lord
touched many hearts that night. The pastor of the church knows American sign
language, so he interpreted for my wife because I do not speak Portuguese and
sign at the same time. This all may sound very confusing but praise the Lord that
the Spirit of God is moving and let all the glory be to our God.

In July, we will pack the things that belong to the deaf church and put them in a place for storage. The deaf
church will move, along with the hearing church (Temple Baptist Church), to a rental place for services at the end
of July. Temple Baptist Church has sold the current church building and bought a nearby building. They will
begin construction soon and will be finished in 18 months, Lord willing. Our fellow-missionary, Bro. Dan
Bennett, will return in August and will resume pastoring the deaf church in September.

In the next three months we will be preparing to move once again, this time it will be for a furlough. The Lord is
so good! Yes, all the time! We have funds for our flight and a vehicle upon arriving in the USA. We are praying
for a few new supporting churches as our financial support is 20% short. If you would like us to come to your
church to share what the Lord has done for our family and ministry, please contact us by email at
cmrdouglas3@gmail.com.

Have a blessed summer, while we try to keep ourselves warm during the cold wintry months here in Brazil. Please
continue to remember us in your prayers. May the Lord be with you continually. We love you.

In Christ Alone,
Michael, Ruth, Giovanna, and Roniya