Dear Pastors, family, and friends,

We salute you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful Friend we have in Jesus. I know of no better love than the love of our Lord. Most of you may begin the new school year in August or September. In Brazil, the school year begins January/ February and ends in November, with graduation in the beginning of December. Our summer months are December to February.

We begin this new year focusing on the theme of “Know the Love of God” from Ephesians 3:19. This year the Lord burdened my heart to teach deaf and hearing to know the Love of God. There are two different words in Portuguese for “know.” The first word is “saber” which means know of, know about, know how. The second word is “conhecer” which means “have been to the place, have a personal encounter with a person or thing.” Many do not understand what it means to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Also, many do not know how to have relationships with others.

We got some emails from members of some churches telling us that they are praying that the Lord will protect us. We thank the Lord continually for His goodness and His care for us. One night as we returned home from church, we found the gate open and the back door unlocked. We could not remember if we made sure the gate was shut before leaving for church. Marcelo and I went in to see if there was any disturbance. My wife and girls waited in the car. We returned to the car and told them that there was no disturbance and that we could go ahead and enter the house. I needed to drop Marcelo off at his home. It was pretty scary for me but much more for my wife and my daughters. While I was on the way to drop Marcelo off, Roniya told my wife that maybe the Lord wanted to teach us to be like David. We need to trust in the Name of the Lord and not be afraid. That is a great real life lesson for us! When I returned home, my wife and my daughters shared with me what they had learned from this situation. They prayed together and each one of them asked the Lord to forgive them for losing faith in the Lord, and that in the name of the Lord, we know He is with us.

Renato, who was saved back in October 2024, has been meeting with me on Monday nights for discipleship and has been telling me that he is ready for baptism. This is an exciting time for him to show that he is ready to obey the Lord in believer’s baptism! We are working to schedule the date. He really has a desire to witness to his friends. My wife has started discipling Erika, who was also saved during our Sunday School hour. She is really showing an interest in learning more! WE LOVE HUNGRY SOULS!

Some of you may wonder if I got new hearing aids. Yes, I did! It takes time to get used to hearing aids! I had to reschedule my flight a week later in order to get hearing aids. I thank the Lord for providing the funds for the hearing aids and the rental car and the flight ticket. Thank you for your generous hearts and prayers. In addition, we thank you for Christmas gifts and love offerings, as well as some funds for church building. The Lord is so good! May the Lord bless you for your gifts, that your joy may abound in the Lord.

May God bless you richly,

Michael, Ruth, Giovanna and Roniya Douglas

Contact us by Email: cmrdouglas3@gmail.com or text us at (636) 575-7781 / our website: https://www.thedouglasepistles.org

Sending Church: Harvest Baptist Church of the Deaf -1314 Old 1314 Old Three Notch Road, Ringgold, GA 30736

office email: contact@harvestdeaf.org