August 2023
Dear Praying Friends,He was born in the midst of the Great Depression and struggled to make it through the war years. Antonio is 90 years old and survived a massive stroke last year. He and his wife were visiting our church this past Sunday. Talking after services, I asked him what changes he had seen in Portugal during his long life time.
His eyes misted over as he looked back into his painful past. “We all were so poor in those days, we never had enough to eat and we never knew if we were going to survive the day. Those years, we were under a dictator, so we had few freedoms. We struggled so hard just to live back then and none of us were happy.” He shook his head and looked back at me with his eyes clear and focused. “But now, we have all these new, comfortable buildings, we have electricity, air conditioning and all the modern luxuries. We have new cars, we have new clothes, we all have enough food...” and then he paused and looked deep into my eyes, “...but none of us are happy, even though we have all of these things.”
I replied, “That is why God called us here, to tell everyone that true happiness only comes through having Jesus Christ as your Savior.” He nodded, he has heard this before since his son is a faithful Baptist pastor in northern Portugal and has witnessed to his lost parents many times. Please pray for A. and his wife that while they still have life, they would be honest about their sin and place their trust only in Christ.
Thankful for the joy we have in Jesus,
Mark Hale
