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Brazil
Gordon and Dorothy Gartrell served with the IPIB for seventeen years and watched it grow in the hands of faithful Brazilians.
The goal of mission workers is to work themselves out of a job. As part of their assignment, mission workers train others to do what they do. Success comes when a mission worker is no longer needed as a teacher. Former mission co-workers Dorothy and Gordon Gartrell did just that. They ended theirstatus as mission co-workers in December 2007 when they left knowing the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB) was in good hands.
The Gartrells first served the IPIB in Tocantins. They lived in a small town and worked with five small congregations, four of which were reachable only by barge. When they left in 1994, a Brazilian lay evangelist took over the work. They continue to hear wonderful stories about new leaders in the church.
The second place they worked was Imperatriz, Maranhão, a city of 180,000 people. When they arrived, the congregation had five members, but in four years, it grew to fifty-five members, with many more regular participants.
In 2002, they began work in Salvador, Bahia, a coastal city with a strong African heritage. There they helped nurture a congregation that had been without a pastor for some time. One member, Sergio, was brain damaged from heavy drug use. He came to know the Lord, and although he wasn’t considered smart by the community, they knew him as one who always reached out to those in need. Since the Gartrells left, Sergio has become a deacon. Another man, Edicarlos, wanted to grow spiritually. He read a lot, asked many questions, and was active in a variety of church programs. Today he is an elder.
Partners/Ministries
Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB): The Rev. Assir Pereira, moderator, the Rev. Gerson Lacerda, stated clerk
United Presbyterian Church of Brazil: The Rev. Enoc Teixeira, moderator
Ecumenical Commission on Land Rights: The Rev. João Dias de Araujo, president
Presbytery Partnerships
Presbytery of East Iowa, Presbytery of Great Rivers, Presbytery of Mississippi, Presbytery of Muskingum Valley, and Presbytery of Southern New England with the IPIB; Presbytery of Denver with the Presbyterian Church of Brazil
PC(USA) General Assembly Staff
Jeanie Schmuckie, FDN
Daniel Schnuck, GAMC
Jennifer Schoettle, BOP
Thank you, God, for the Gartrells and the many others who work to strengthen our partners. We thank you for the witness of the IPIB and ask that you continue to guide and bless its ministry. Amen.
Ps. 54, 146 Ps. 28, 99
Lam 1:1–5 (6–9) 10–12 or
Jer. 40:7–41:3
1 Cor. 15:41–50; Matt. 11:25–30
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