April 8, 2005

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our work is going well in Salvador, Brazil. Things are going along as normal, plus we’ve added a few activities to our schedule. We begin the day with prayer meetings at church Monday through Friday at 7:30 a.m. Gordon has visited some churches and congregations and this week is visiting a number of congregations in the southern part of the state. He is showing the congregations that they have some help and prayer from the organized churches and church leaders. The family has visited a number of the congregations. We have found exciting programs that meet the members’ needs and invite others to become a part of the fellowship. Gordon preaches, serves the Lord’s Supper, and is there to answer questions. We are an encouragement to the congregations and the evangelists. Often they live in remote places and appreciate Christian fellowship and guests. The photograph on this page shows some of the work we encountered on one of the visits to a congregation. The lay evangelists have introduced choreography, which attracts many youth from the community and demonstrates the value of youth in the congregation.

Dorothy has begun teaching an English class to some youth in the church twice a week. The class is a combination of grammar and conversation, as the young people want both help in their studies at school and to learn to speak English correctly. As Gordon enjoys visiting congregations and demonstrating his love for them, teaching is a joy to Dorothy.

The major news we have to report is that our assignment has been changed. Since the churches we work with can now be led by Brazilians, we have effectively worked ourselves out of a job. The Independent Presbyterian Church is starting a new project in northeast Brazil. They want to start a number of new churches further up the coast, near Recife. So we will be coming to the United States in July for our interpretation assignment. We will be based in Decatur, Georgia,for about a year,beginning in July 2005. We will live at Mission Haven, the community for missionaries on interpretation assignment where we lived the last time that we were in the United States. That address is given at the top of this letter.

We will arrive in July to attend meetings and will take a vacation. Then in mid-August we will be available to speak at churches, conferences, and other events. Our email address will remain the same. When we know more about our time in the United States, we will be in touch with you.

In Christ,

Gordon and Dorothy Gartrell

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 44