August 24. 2026
The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made. The Lord is near to all He has made. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. Psalm145:17,18
Hi everyone,
It’s time to give a brief update on things down here in Brazil.
Naomi went home the last week of June, and granddaughter Rebeca came for three weeks and Jess came for ten days and so was good for them to be here to help while she was gone.
The last part of June, Skip was hospitalized with a bad bladder infection and stayed 2 nights and then he came home, and three days later he was back with troubles with intestines. They stopped totally. He was three days this time. This was the first week in July. It took another week when he got home to get things back to near normal and some adjusting with the medications to get him back to his normal routine. He is doing much better. He has lots of leg trouble -swollen because of circulation problems, occasionally he has cramps which make him quite uncomfortable. He does his therapy twice a week and also still does speech therapy which has been helping, and he can make himself understood much better.
I was diagnosed with Parkinson in January, the last Time I had a medical checkup. I fell 3 times last of February through mid-March. This disease gets one rigid and then loses balance. I use a walker when I am outside or have someone who takes my arm in case I have problem. Slowed me down a bit but I am slowly getting used to the inconvenience of getting around. Medication is helping.
Skip and I celebrated our 66-year Anniversary on Aug 13th. We spent a nice quiet day at home.
The church celebrated 43 years on May 1st. Our attendance has been down recently because of lots of rain and winter weather. However, we have quite a number of older young people coming out. Praying we can get a ministry with them.
Our church is planting a church in another town by the name of Braganca Paulista, forty-five minutes from us. Pastor and family go there in morning and hold services, and then our services are at night.
Our ladies are still finishing the course on "Obedience" by Elisabeth Elliot. We have been so blessed by this study.
In recent weeks we have witnessed to a few ladies who come by to help with Skip. We ask the question: Do you know where you will spend eternity when you die? Answer is always, “I hope it will be in Heaven” . One lady said She never thought about it.
Praise the Lord:
for taking care of our health needs
for taking care of our families
for you who faithfully pray for our needs
for older young folks coming out
Pray:
for our health needs
for those who we have witnessed to that the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts
for our older young folks who are coming that they will remain firm in the Lord
for our women's ministry -that more women will come out
Yours from Brazil,
Wayne (Skip) and Betty Harkins