It is has been a difficult few years for us. We weathered the economic downturn pretty well, but about the time the economy began to improve donations began to drop off for us. We spent a couple of years with declining income which left us with no choice but to stop a couple of church planting efforts that were in the early stages. We also had to put our plans to expand into the northeast of Brazil on hold.
Giving to Living Bread has rebounded some, but not to the level it was a few years ago. About a year and a half ago we had another one of our church plants become fully self-sustaining. This along with the stabilization of our support allowed us to begin a new era of growth in our kingdom minded work among the global poor. In November of last year we finally expanded into the northeast, the poorest region in Brazil, with church planting efforts in three different cities.
In June Patrick was visiting Brazil to participate in a training conference for our Brazilian leadership and church planting teams. While there he joined the other leaders in visiting communities in Santa Catarina, the state just north of our existing work in southern Brazil. We are in the process of launching a church plant in this area, our fourth in Brazil since November.
Our resources are not where we need them to be, but we are once again expanding our efforts in Brazil and Thailand. There is no shortage of need or opportunities for us to make a significant impact in the lives of struggling people. We have the leadership in place, a proven model, and godly people who are willing to pour out themselves for the sake of Christ. What we lack are sufficient resources to accomplish the task.
Will you pray for us? Will you join us by committing to regular partnership? We cannot do it on our own.