Apostolic Friends Forum - scattered thoughts...

My thoughts...

I wish I were young again to give more of myself to the mission field...however I am glad I gave and have no regrets that He called me to be a missionary. Dear ones I must tell you the cost has been great…It has taken its toil on my body…the long hours, nights without sleep, physical work almost beyond my strength…Oh but the reward has been so great…I pause and look back down life’s journey…I see the once witchdoctors now preachers…and I have lived long enough to see my spiritual children’s children preaching the gospel! Even if there were no heaven after this life I still have been rewarded greatly for serving my fellow men and women.
My life has been one of adventure and faith a life of trusting and learning we do not need as much to live on as think we have to have. when I was younger I traveled the backlands many times with no money, sleeping wherever but my great lesson He taught me was HE watches out for his own…pure strangers have taken me in and listened as I told them the story of Jesus…
My friends and I even broke into a house once! We did have that address that someone had given us from a another state…the people were not home and we were tired, hot dusty and hungry…so we picked the lock, fixed us some of their rice for us, took showers in cold water (at least they had a bathroom and a shower) …then we all hung up our hammocks and rested…what a surprise the couple had when they got home…ha…anyway we preached Jesus to them and in time they were baptized and received the precious Holy Ghost…

I remember a message preached by Brother Stoneking maybe 20 years ago or so entitled, I choose to gamble it all…
I too have staked my eternity on the fact that men and women must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. That fact has been an overwhelming drive in my life…eternity without Christ is the most awful doom I can imagine.
I have been blessed to see them change into the image of He who called us into holiness with Him…

As many of you know we are traveling in the northeast and last night we visited a little church in the state of Ceara where I remember the conversion of the pastor’s mother and father in south Brazil some almost 30 year ago…. yet the very first visit I could tell they were hungry for God…just because they were devout catholic did not scare me…Today Brother Milton’s father has gone on to higher ground…yet because of his decision to serve the Lord he became a pillar in our south work and his father and mother helped us in south Brazil for many years. His other brother pastor’s a church in the south…Brother Milton is one of our national missionaries that our work supports for him to work full time in the harvest.

Because you pray and give souls are coming to the Lord…thank you for helping us to help others.
Your Missionaries in Brazil
Brother and Sister Alvear and family