In English

News From our Family

East Timor February 2017

THOUGHT

Bible Text: Matthew 3.8-12

"Give fruit that show repentance ... The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire...".

The way we live our lives day by day says a lot of who and what we are in God.

For a Christian, it does not make sense to live based on appearances. The one who lives like that can fool people around, and can even fool himself. But will never fool the Lord because there is no place where this person can hide from Him.

Our lives should be an example of orderly and proper conduct, walking firmly on righteousness and honesty, guided by biblical parameters.

The text makes an analogy between the Christian and a tree with fruit, also stating that the tree that bears no fruit only serves to be burned. This is a sad comparison, however, in current days it is extremely relevant and important to reflect on what and who we are in God's kingdom.

Who are you in the kingdom? What you have done in and for the Kingdom of God?

Think about it, do not allow yourself to live a life of deception thinking that the appearances will take you to heaven. Remember the ax is laid at the root, and with a shovel He will clear the threshing floor separating the wheat from the chaff.

May your life and righteous conduct lead not only you, but also those who, somehow, find in you the inspiration to follow and serve the Lord, so that you become like a fruitful tree, and not like fuel to increase the fire .

Live Jesus Fully!

ABOUT US

Since our last letter in November 2016, many things happened in our lives, and we will try now, in a few lines, to write a summary so that everyone can understand, rejoice with us and also pray for us.

We praise God for the anniversary of Sandra on 7 December; that day we also received the good news that Sandra was pregnant.

At the end of December we could take a break and take a few days out. We went to Bali, Indonesia, which is an obligatory transit place for those who want to leave or enter East Timor. It was a very good time to rest, we could relax a bit from the rush that was the second half of the year. During these days of vacation, taking advantage from being in Bali, where there are good hospitals with better trained doctors and with better conditions than here in East Timor, Sandra had an appointment with a gynecologist. It was very hard for us to find out that the baby was already dead. The doctor advised us to do, as soon as possible, curettage. So on 30th December, Sandra was admitted to to the hospital, and on the 31st in the morning she went through the procedure. Thank God everything went very well. It was very sad for all of us; to Sandra, of course, it was much more, but we are grateful for the good hand of the Lord who took care of us at that time and provided everything that was necessary and also because we were in a place with great doctors and also great resources.

We thank JAMI-CBN, our mission board, for the support and assistance that we were given. We also thank the WEFC (WoodlandEvangelicalFreeChurch), in the person of Pastor Ivan, who spared no effort to help us, and we thank TTC, our insurance agency, that even when they let us know that we would not be reimbursed by insurance company AETNA, they also told us that they would make use of a mercy fund to help us.

We thank Bira and Rita, at the PIBB, our mother church, who lovingly sent us books so that João Pedro can study at home and not be outdated for his future. After six months on their way, the books arrived in late January. And in January the João Pedro also had his return to school. It's great to see how he is loved by his friends at school, and in the streets, because there is not one place that we go here in Aileu without having someone asking for João.

ACTIVITIES

Martin who will be the English teacher starting
his internship at Cocoon

The last half of 2016 was full, but by the grace and infinite mercy of God, we could do everything that was planned and that could be done.

In late November we could hire the six teachers that we had proposed to WEFC, our partner-church on Shallom Maubisse project.

In December we tried to move forward with the negotiations for the land that we need in order to build the Shallom Centre - Maubisse. With the exchange of ‘Suco’ Chief (a position similar to ‘perfeiro’ in Brazil), Wilson, the new chief, has supported us and has made efforts so that everything can be ready.

Teachers during Portuguese language classes

After the vacation at the end of the year, 2017 has started well for us. At the beginning of the school year in Shallom Centre - Dili, we had the opportunity to have our four preschool teachers going through two weeks of training to feel how it is to start teaching activities in a preschool. It was very good because they could see what they will have to face when we start the Shallom Centre - Maubisse. Martin, who is pictured above, began a period of six months of training in a Christian

Teachers during the lessons of pedagogic techniques

NGO which runs a preschool and English language courses for youth and adults. So the next six months he will be trained at school and he’ll improve his English so that in the second semester he can be Professor of English Shallom Centre - Maubisse.

After the two weeks of training, our teachers - Celina, Lourensa, João Carlos and José Soares - started to be trained by us and this tranining that will continue until the end of June. Unfortunately, José Soares is not in the above picture because he suffered a motorcycle fall and was hurt a lot.

Regarding Kamael Foun, our hearts every day are filled with more with joy as we see God's care on this job.

Duarte and Ana have done a great job in the leadership of the church; with much love and commitment both of them have been engaged in the work to which the Lord has called them.

The greatest new about Kamael Foun is that, at the end of January, the church building was finally ready and so on 6 February the inauguration of the Temple of the National Baptist Church KamaelFoun was held. It was a dream come true! Hallelujah! And it was gratifying to see all the brothers and sisters, and even those who are not members of the church, committing themselves to help. It was also very gratifying to have the brothers of Baptist Church Fountainhead, our church in Dili, participating and rejoicing with us that day.

Duarte and Ana made great efforts to organize everything, and everything was very well done. Me and Sandra have no words to express how happy we were to see it finished, the work and the temple ready. Now the brothers in Kamael Foun have their own meeting place to learn more about God's Word and worship Him as He deserves.

Special

WE GIVE THANKS

•For the care of God with Sandra.

•For the inauguration of the Temple Baptist Church National Kamael Foun.

•The start of João Pedro school.

•The training started with the teachers.

•For every church and people who have invested in our ministry.

Prayer Requests

ØFor the progress of the work in Kamael Foun, now under the leadership of Duarte and Ana.

ØFor our physical health so that the Lord strengthen us and give us physical and spiritual strength.

ØFor our finances so that we have conditions to keep working according to our planning.

ØFor the missionary advance of JAMI in East Timor, so that God awakes more committed people to be with us in this nation.

ØFor the teachers of the future Shallom Maubisse Center: Celina, Lourensa, João Carlos, Jose Soares and Martin.

Missionáries:

Pastor José Guerreiro Júnior,

Sandra e João Pedro.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Missionaries: Guerreiro, Sandra and João Pedro (John) Email: j joseguerreiro1973@gmail.com sandras2guerreiro@gmail.com Facebook: Jose Guerreiro Junior     Sandra Guerreiro: Whatsapp  +670 7327 4163                     +670 7368 3560

News from our family

East Timor, November 2016

THOUGHT Biblical text: Galatians 2:16 " we know that no one is justified by observing the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, we also believe in Christ Jesus to be justified by faith in Christ.” Justified - a word like any other, but when related to our spiritual lives and our relationship with Christ, it acquires a huge connotation. Who are we, that we may be worthy of such love and such expression of care? We are so imperfect and flawed that sometimes we drown and plunged into our own egos and vanity, and so we "justify" ourselves and we massage our consciences by saying that God’s care is a right that we have. Thus, justification, when seen with spiritual bias, becomes so complex to us, mere mortals, that we are not able to understand that are not our merits or our actions that guarantee our salvation. None of that can justify us before God, nor redeem us from our guilt or eliminate our sins. We are justified by the saving and redeeming Grace that comes from the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, shedding his blood for us. Love is what justifies us: the love of God and His Son, and that alone. ABOUT US With the grace of God, and happy to serve Him, we have walked well in this nation and always making progress in the proclamation of the Gospel. Since our last letter, from September, many things happened and in everything we have seen the hand of the Lord leading us, mostly in our family life. By now we have already finalized our moving from Díli to Aileu with the necessary arrangements and repairs in the new house. Now our house is finally ready and we have been able to enjoy the comfort that the Lord has provided for us here. Our garden is already producing vegetables. After a long time, we could eat arugula again, and we often have cabbage. João Pedro has surprised us, here in Aileu, because he is already very well mingled with his new colleagues and everywhere we go in Aileu we always hear someone asking for him. This greatly pleased us. At the end of October, we had to go to Bali due to some delays with our visa process. We took the opportunity to stay there for five days and to rest for a while. Although we had to leave Timor without previous planning, it was a good time nonetheless, thanks to God. ACTIVITIES As for our activities, we had lots of things to do in these last months. On early October, we were very happy with the visit of the team of WEFC (Woodland Evangelical Free Church). It provided good conversation time, prayers and sharing the blessings of the Lord. They were able to visit Maubisse and to pray for the project Shallom Maubisse. In Kamael Foun, we have continued to provide the necessary support to Duarte and Ana, the pastoral couple who took charge of Baptist Church National Kamael Foun. The construction of the building is almost over and we praise God for the commitment and dedication of each of our brothers that, even with little resources, have been devoted in the construction of our definitive temple. The meetings keep happening and we have gone there every two weeks and we very glad to see the good work that Duarte and Ana have done in the community. In these months, we also have been engaged in literary production, so that people have material written in their own language to read, study and learn. I finished the translation of the magazine Step by Step with Christ - Volume 1, so that our churches here in East Timor may have a quality material for discipling new converts. I could also finish a resource that I had been working through for some time and which consist of a course for diaconal formation. This is because we observed this need since our arrival in East Timor and now, thank God, we may have a ready handout. Duarte is already starting the training of two brothers in Kamael Foun to take the diaconate ministry, Joseph and Julius, dear brothers that are committed to the work of God. Another material produced was a booklet with Biblical studies on tithes and offerings that, in a very simple way, easy to understand, seeks to teach Church members about the importance of Tithes and Offerings. Sandra has been engaged a "lot" in preparation for the Shallom Maubisse project, and this includes the ongoing translation of material for the teachers that will be hired and trained for the future school in Maubisse. As for Shallom Maubisse Center project, we have started to make the arrangements so that next year we can start the construction of the building and, possibly in June, we can start pre-school classes. It’s still a lot to do but we believe in the power and action of God for all this happening. We faced many difficulties to interview the candidates for teachers. We tried three times and we could not do it, first because our car broke down on the way, second due to the elections of chief of village and finally due to a virus that I had. But the love and power of God has always triumphed and prevailed, and, recently, we managed to interview the candidates and in the week from 21 to 25 November we'll be performing a selection process to hire five teachers who will then start their training in early December. And so we have walking, with many challenges and work, but in everything the Lord has strengthened us!

WE GIVE THANKS For the development of the work. For complete change and reform of our new home. For the good adaptation of João Pedro in Aileu By the visit of the WEFC team. For every church and people who have invested in our ministry.

PRAYER REQUESTS For the work in Kamael Foun, now under the leadership of Duarte and Ana. For our physical health so that the Lord strengthen us and give us physical and spiritual strenght. For our finances so that we are able to follow as our planning. For missionary advancement of JAMI in East Timor so that God awakes more servants to be with us in this nation. For the selection and training of teachers in Maubisse. For the process to get the land and documentation to start the construction in March 2017. By JAMI, our mission agency, board, base, and its missionaries around the world preaching the gospel of Christ Missionaries. Pastor José Guerreiro Junior, Sandra and John Peter .

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  Guerreiro Family

Missionáries: Guerreiro, Sandra and João Pedro Email: joseguerreiro1973@gmail.com sandras2guerreiro@gmail.com Facebook: José Guerreiro Junior     Sandra Guerreiro Whatsapp: +670 7327 4163                     +670 7368  3560

Family News

East Timor  September 2016

THOUGHT Bible Text: Acts 1: 4-5. “One occasion, as he ate with them, he gave them this command:" Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of my Father of I spoke to them. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Knowing the right time of the Lord is something that, at least for Western culture, is very difficult as we are always eager and hasty in our acting, speaking and doing. Jesus, in his final instructions to the disciples befored Ascending into heaven, told them to wait for the promise in Jerusalem. The interesting fact is that after they had been with Jesus for three years, witnessing all that Jesus did, they still needed to wait for the fulfillment of the promise. But, soon after, Jesus gives them an order that when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, they should go and testify about Jesus to the ends of the earth. In our walk with Jesus, we have to learn to live these same stages in our lives. We must spend time learning about Jesus. Similarly, we must wait for the fulfillment of the promise, that is, we must learn to wait and understand how to identify God’s right time. The condition for the fulfillment of God's promise in our lives is to be always ready to march, to advance. We were not called to be endlessly waiting, but to wait and also to move in God’s time, since this is the way to conquer lives for the Kingdom of God. Acting this way, we fulfill the commandment of Jesus to our lives. ABOUT US Well, in this letter we bring lots of news and changes, and we hope that you can rejoice with us. On August 16, we moved to Aileu village which is 46 kilometers from Dili, the East Timor capital. We will stay based in Aileu in order to start a new mission here in this country. Now we are well settled, having almost completed our move from Díli. We only need to make some additional furniture, so that everything can be neat. João Pedro has started going to school here in Aileu and, thank God, he has been very well welcomed by his classmates. He is loving the new school. We are also happy because on September 8 me and Sandra will complete nine years of marriage. Then, on September 9, we celebrate the eighth anniversary of João Pedro. We praise God for, during this time, he has guided us and taken care for us. In our last letter, we had made ​​a special request to apply for an international health insurance. With the agreement signed with WEFC (Woodland Evangelical Free Church) we were able to get the support and the amount required for the payment of the insurance. ACTIVITIES Well, as you have already read, we moved to Aileu to start a new project in Maubisse, a village located one hour away from Aileu. But we did not abandoned the church in Kamael Foun. We left there a pastoral couple, Duarte and Ana, whom we have been training and dedicating to pastoral ministry. Duarte and Ana are Timorese and had been trained by me in 2014 to serve in deacons in Baptist Church Fountainhead in Dili. With the opening of the National Baptist Church Kamael Foun, and since this couple had excelled in all the training, we, Sandra and Me, invited them to engage with us in this work so that they could be trained to take the local leadership role as pastors. So they were trained and tested for one year and a half. Finally, in July 2016, Duarte was consecrated to the ministry and vested as pastor of the Baptist Church Kamael Foun. In Kamael Foun, me and Sandra continue with visits each 2 weeks and providing guidance and all the support to Duarte and Ana. We act as church counselors until they feel full confidence and move forward with their ministry. After Duarte's consecration we focused on our moving and many times we had to drive up the mountain to deal with the renting of the house and, then, to begin the reform of the house. So sometimes we came on a Thursday and worked here until Sunday and this was the routine until our house had a normal bathroom, a tidier kitchen and walls newly painted. It was very a busy and tiring time but it was gratifying to see the hand of the Lord helping us at every step, even when the mason that we had hired let us down. At that time, the Lord used a missionary couple who already reside here in Aileu and they borrowed us a mason who was doing work for them for three weeks. God is good! Now in Aileu, already settled, are rushing in order to renew our work visas and student visa to João Pedro. And due to a change in the process to obtain a work visa from the local authorities, our current work visa expired and we had to change our visas into tourist visas for a period of sixty days. Anyway, the application of the new work visa is in progress. In September, we will also be starting the process in order to get the necessary documentation for the opening of Shallon Center in Maubisse. This includes commitments with the Ministry of Education, the land lease contracts in Kanorema Village, teachers recruitment and training.

REASONS FOR THANKSGIVING For the pastoral consecration of Duarte. For our move to Aileu. For our 9th wedding anniversary on the 8th of September. The anniversary of eight years of João Pedro on 9th of September. For every church and people who have invested in our ministry.

PRAYER REQUESTS For the works in Kamael Foun, so that they can advance now under the leadership of Duarte and Ana. For our physical health so that the Lord strengthen us and give us physical and spiritual strength For our finances: so that we have conditions to advance with our planning The missionary advance of JAMI in East Timor so that God awakes more vocated people to be with us in this nation. For those works that will soon be started in Kanorema, Maubisse -  So that God is in command of everything. For JAMI, our mission agency, and its missionaries around the world preaching the gospel of Christ. Missionaries: Pastor José Guerreiro Junior, Sandra and John Peter

  Guerreiro Family

Missionáries: Guerreiro, Sandra and João Pedro Email: joseguerreiro1973@gmail.com sandras2guerreiro@gmail.com Facebook: José Guerreiro Junior     Sandra Guerreiro Whatsapp: +670 7327 4163                     +670 7368  3560

Family News

East Timor, May 2016

SHORT MEDITATION Bible Text: Matthew 2:13 "...an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in dream and said," Get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, ... ". Obedience to God is something amazing and simultaneously frightening, it's a step of faith as if we walk like we were in a dark place where we could not see anything in front of us. To obey the Lord is a principle that should be carefully followed by all who profess the Christian faith. It brings blessing to our lives and creates in us a sense of dependence on the Lord, and this is important because we do depend on the Lord for our salvation. When we obey, we believe, and when we believe, then we are faithful and that brings joy to the heart of our Father and Lord. May we learn to obey the Lord, instead of questioning him about what we think would be best for us. Do as He told you to do and this will surely be the best for you. ABOUT US Concerning these months that have passed since our last letter, we have many joys to celebrate with you. João returned to his classes normally. His teachers, from Portugal, arrived only in March due to a bureaucratic problem between Portugal and East Timor. It took a while but thank God now everything is fine. On April we went to visit the city/nation of Singapore and the Woodland Evangelical Free Church, and then we had one week holiday in Bali. On April we also celebrated the 43 birthday of pastor José Guerreiro. As for health we are well and thank God we are now well addapted to the Asian climate. We praise God for that. ACTIVITIES On March we started the activities of the STM (Sentru Teolojia in Misaun)[1]. It is a basic course in theology followig a modular system. In Brazil it is best known as theological journey. As a test, we began the course with four students: the pastors of Baptist Fountain Church and also Duarte and Ana, couple who we are training to take over the church in Kamael Foun as pastors. At Easter we also did a nice picnic with members of Kamael Foun and others residents of the village and neighbors. On total there were 40 people present at that picnic and it was a very nice time of fellowship and sharing the Word of God. It was very gratifying to see the face of each participant with joy and happiness, as they bathed in the sea, ate, played and talked. On March we also made ​​a visit to the village of Maubisse. On this visit we were very blessed and able to talk with the head of the ‘suco’[2] and we explained about wanting to open a school in the Maubisse region. Surprisingly, he directed us to a site in that region that requires indeed a school since there are no pre-schools there. Both the head of the ‘suco’ and the village chief (Kanorema) told us that the local government may give us the land for school construction. On April we received a visit from Pastor Ivan Liew and a Lady named Chia Fook Min. He is pastor of missions and she is leading intercession ministry of Woodland Evangelical Free Church. At that time we visited again the region of Maubisse and the Village of Kanorema so that pastor Ivan could see the terrain and know in what ways are we working forward regarding the partnership that they are proposing to us. It was after that time that we, by invitation of WEFC, went to visit Singapore and that Church so that its members and leadership could meet us and talk with us. It was a very good time, we met with the church leadership, the leadership for missions and church members and we walked through very beautiful places of the city. We have been greatly blessed by the members of this church who put in all their efforts and kindness to help us and meet our needs. Towards Woodland Evangelical Free Church we want to express our immense gratitude for the affection that everyone showed us. Now we are waiting for the church leadership's response on the continuation of the project in Maubisse. We know this is a difficult decision and they need time to pray and receive the guidance of the Lord, for this is a long term project. SPECIAL REQUEST On April, an event with a missionary from another organization here in East Timor called our attention to the need for international health insurance. Since the health service here in Timor is poor, it is necessary to have an international health insurance. In 2014 we made ​​an insurance of that kind, but since 2015, when it expired, we have not had the conditions to renew it due to the high value involved. Our request is that who feel touched by the Lord and have possibility, may help us. We do not want to constrain anyone with the request to help us, but it's something we really need.

REASONS OF GRATITUDE The care of God in our lives. The doors opened in Maubisse. By Guerreiro’s birthday on 30 April. The visit we received and by the time we had in Singapore with the brothers of WEFC For every church and people who have invested in our ministry.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• The works in Kamael Foun and the new challenge in Maubisse village.
• For our physical health so that the Lord strengthen us and give us physical and spiritual strength.
• For our finances: We need to make our health insurance, and as of today we cannot afford it.
• For the missionary of JAMI in East Timor so that God awakes more vocated people to be with us in this nation.
• By JAMI, our mission agency, and its missionaries around the world preaching the gospel of Christ.

Missionários:

Pastor José Guerreiro Junior,

Sandra e João Pedro.