April - May 2005

Dear Praying Friends at World Baptist Fellowship Mission Office,

"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:6 is a verse that we have been working with over the last month in both our groups; Portuguese and English. Learning to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ in all our ways is an important lesson for our people to learn and they having been making some progress in this process.

We hope to be able to give you a report with pictures of baptisms in our next letter as they are scheduled for the end of May. In addition, I have been challenging our people to read their Bibles, which some have taken up to do. Please pray for your people as they learn to trust the Lord with all their heart.

May is shaping up to be a big month; Kathy is leaving on April 28th to spend the month of May in Ohio and Florida. Rebekah, who is our youngest, is graduating from college in Florida with a degree in Commercial Art and Kathy will be attending the ceremonies. Our son Michael is back in the country on leave and will get to spend some time with his mother also. He is due reassignment in July of this year.

Our oldest daughter, Dawne is making preparations for candidate school in July and looking for approval as a missionary helper with the WBF Mission Agency. She is planning on deputation this year to come back to Portugal and work with us. We have need of workers and she will be able to fulfill several very specific needs that we have here in the ministry in Portugal. I am sure as she progresses we will be sharing more with you about what she is doing.

Please pray for us; our desire is to see more families take up the challenge of working here in Portugal to preach the Gospel to those that have not heard. The main reason that I am not accompanying Kathy to our daughter's graduation is that there is no one to take over the work while I am gone. We are training our people to take responsibility for the work but there is no one right now that could take over the work and no other workers near us that can do it. I would like to extend this challenge to you, the reader of this letter: Are you where God wants you? Will you at least pray about missionary service? Until you have settled the matter about not going, how can you be sure that you shouldn't go?

Please pray for Elizabeth who is going through some trying times for her home; she has been such a blessing to us and the work. Pray for Claudio, the grandson of Antonio and Maria, for a speedy recovery after being hit by a car in the street; he is ten. Pray for souls to be saved and for believers to be faithful to the Lord. AND PLEASE pray with us for workers for the harvest field!!

We are yours for souls in Portugal,

Alan & Kathy Hart