A letter from Gordon and Dorothy Gartrell, preparing to return to Brazil
January 2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We’re in the final stage of countdown! We spent two weeks in Toronto at an ecumenical orientation and then ten days in Louisville, Ky., learning about working in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). We are so excited to finally be returning to Brazil after four years of searching for a church or mission assignment. It has been a difficult period of waiting and wondering when our prayers would be answered. It’s not always easy to wait, but Isaiah 40.31 tells us “Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." We have waited and now we are returning to Brazil. We will “soar on wings like eagles” on Feb. 7. Only with your prayers and the Lord’s strength will we not grow weary and become faint.
Our children will be staying in the United States. John, our oldest son, has a small computer business in South Carolina while our daughter, Elizabeth, is a senior at Georgia State University in Atlanta, majoring in social work. Daniel, our youngest son, is a senior in high school. He will be going to the Naval Academy in June. It will be different returning to Brazil without our children. They have always played a strong part in our ministry, opening many doors to branch out our ministry in new areas. They are very excited for us that we finally have the opportunity to Brazil, yet at the same time they are jealous that they won't be able to go now.
We will live in a suburb of Belem, Para, at the mouth of the Amazon River. It will be warm, sunny and very green with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. It will rain every day and be warm all year since it is only one degree south of the equator. Belem is an interesting city, full of people with diverse backgrounds and many different experiences. It has grown a lot in the last 20 years, as people have come there for job opportunities, better medical care, and better education, as well as to meet various basic needs. We aren’t familiar with the actual city of Belem, but we know we will be working with a Brazilian pastor and our job assignment will be church planting and evangelism training.
We will be working with the United Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPU). This church reaches out to people who lack basic everyday needs such as proper housing, good medical care and nutritional food, to name a few. The national church wants to encourage church growth, so they have called us to help a small congregation grow while teaching them evangelistic techniques and building leadership skills. When the church has grown and strong leaders are in place, then with their help we will begin new work. In the IPU you only need three churches to begin a presbytery. Thus the goal is to create an entire presbytery in the area. The current presbytery covers over 1,000 miles. We will begin working with the Sacramenta Congregation in the Ananindeua suburb of Belem. The congregation is small, with about 30 regular attendees, many of them children. When we have a chance to see the church and the neighborhood, then we can rent a house or apartment and will let you know our mailing address.
Please pray for us as we begin this new challenge in our ministry. We invite you to partner with us through supporting our ministry with prayer, encouragement and financial contributions. Charitable gifts from individuals for our sending and support account can be made to our ECO account #E200489 (see the link below) and gifts from churches can be made to our DMS account #D506355. Thank you.
We always enjoy hearing from our friends, family and about church activities. Please email us (dorothy.gartrell@pcusa.org or gordon.gartrell@pcusa.org) or send a letter as soon as we have a mailing address.
Thank you for your interest in and prayers for our ministry!
In Christ,
Gordon and Dorothy Gartrell
The 2012 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, Brazil, p. 27
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