December 9, 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

Farris on upper right with the graduates of 2008.

Saturday night we had our graduation ceremony for the seminary of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil here in Londrina. The graduates named their class after me, which was a great honor. I enjoyed teaching these students very much, and I consider it a privilege that I had a small part in their preparation as future pastors.

I also enjoyed a very good relationship with the second- and third-year classes, which I taught last semester. In Christian education, both classes demonstrated great creativity as they prepared lessons plans and taught in the classroom. Music is taught in the third year, and I was very pleased when the third-year students requested that they have another year of music next year, as they feel that one year was not enough to learn all that they would like to learn in the area of music. I look forward to having more time with this class, as we study musical trends in the church, prepare meaningful liturgies for worship services and musical programs, practice choral music, and continue to learn new music in the bell choir.

Thelma teaching in Sunday school at our church.

It does not seem possible that Thelma graduated from this seminary exactly one year ago! Time seems to go by so quickly. In January, Thelma will begin her internship year at our church, working towards ordination. We have had a stressful semester where Thelma’s health has been concerned, as tests done in the States just before returning to Brazil indicated very low platelet and hemoglobin levels. This could have indicated something seriously wrong with the bone marrow, so she has had many more tests done during these months back in Brazil. The platelet and hemoglobin levels improved with medication and an iron-rich diet, indicating that the problem was not in the bone marrow. But then doctors suspected lupus. Further blood tests eventually ruled out lupus, and the final diagnosis was severe anemia and osteoarthritis. While these health issues will not necessarily be easy for her to live with, we are so grateful that it is not as serious as we had thought it might be, and the medication that Thelma is now taking is helping considerably. We appreciated the prayers of many friends during the time of uncertainty, and we ask that you continue to remember Thelma in your prayers as she deals with these health challenges.

None of this has slowed Thelma down very much, although she does try to get the amount of rest she needs to stay healthy. She has enjoyed many opportunities to teach in the church and continues to lead the project at our church that helps underprivileged children with their school work. A dedicated group of volunteer teachers kept the project going while we were in the States during the first semester of this year, and this group continues to work with Thelma, helping to make it a very meaningful program for those who participate in it.

All of us are involved in the musical activities at our church, which involve choirs and bell choirs, and Michael (who will be 17 in January) also plays in the praise band. Joel, 11, is taking guitar lessons from Michael, and I will begin giving piano lessons to Michael soon. Our boys are glad that their school year has come to a close, but both of them had a very good semester in their respective schools.

I have shared with many of you that, because of the financial situation of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil, this denomination plans to close its three seminaries at the end of 2009 and open one “center for theological excellence” near to the city of São Paulo at the beginning of 2010. We still do not know what our future will be after the Londrina seminary closes, but representatives at World Mission of the PC(USA) are exploring other possibilities for us. We ask for your continued prayers concerning rewarding future ministry.

As we look back over the events of 2008 we see how God has blessed us in so many ways, and we look forward to the blessings that we know we will experience in the year to come. With this thought, we wish you much joy during the holidays and throughout the New Year! We thank you for your interest in our ministry here and always appreciate your prayers.

Sincerely, in Christ’s service,

Farris Goodrum
for the Goodrum family

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study, p.276