Power corrupts, but absolute power is kind of neat!

Things got off to a running start this morning. Sue was preparing lunch to take out to the Blazers as they are leaving on furlough in the states tomorrow, when we got a call from Tim saying that the zoning document for church property was approved, and all the payments and signing of documents could be done that afternoon. Sue spent time on the phone talking with Tim and the bank, which was amazingly cooperative in the process, while I managed to not burn things that were cooking on the stove. Fortunately, Sue finish in time to put all the parts of the lunch together.

Leaving home, we stopped by the bank to take out investments in the church's name, get a large check approved for paying the owner and then write about a half dozen checks for realtors and other agencies that had to be paid off in the process.
After years of praying, fund raising and looking for land, it all came together and the money was there to pay off everything in cash!
Over these past four years, in spite of many frustrations that were involved, we could see God’s perfect timing in this process right down to this day. The zoning permit, lost in a mess of a department at city hall, was found and approved. We ended up eating the lunch made for the Blazers with them, and then Tim (church president), Sue (first treasurer) and I (vice-president) traveled over to the registry of deeds to finish the process.

And so this was an historic day in the ministry God called us to in Bauru, as well as a celebration of all things great and small that God has done throughout this process!

The check and the contract finalizing a long journey to the promised land.

Tim Blazer signing as president of the church.

The former owners shaking hands with the representatives of the new owner.

A new beginning on the horizon for New Life Baptist Community.

Last Saturday was a wedding celebration in spite of the rain for one of the couples from church. Emerson was saved during their pre-marital counseling time. We walked over to the service, which was only two blocks away, together under a big umbrella. It just wasn’t as romantic as I’d hoped it would be, between mud and broken sidewalk and watching our step like a couple of oldies.

Then Sunday, along with being Mother’s Day, was a tearful farewell service for the whole Blazer family (and they’re only going to be gone for a year). The next good-bye in June, for colleague Sue Lodico, will be a permanent one.

Monday night as folks were coming into our small group, one came in and said that a guy wearing a mask and carrying a gun was riding around the block on his bicycle. We made sure everything was locked once everyone was inside, and someone joked that with the doors shut maybe we should turn off the lights as well - or I think it was meant as a joke. That kind of stuff happened in São Paulo, but not nice Bauru.