September   2001

Dear Praying Friends: Thank you for your faithful prayers, words of encouragement, and financial support. We praise the Lord for you and for your partnership in the ministry of reaching lost souls with the gospel of Jesus Christ. You are a blessing to us. We have had some very encouraging meetings with supporting churches and pastors in the past few months, and the Lord continues to bless us with reports from the mission field. We continue to learn more about the Lord's perfect time in all things. We had planned on remaining here in the United States until we finished our furlough in December or January. Due to soem unforseen circumstances, our missionary colleagues in Brasilia decided to return to the United States for an undetermined period of time. That meant that there was no one in Central Brasil who could take care of the business of several new churches. On July 24th, I returned to Brasil for a few days and was able to get many of our needs taken care of concerning these young churches. I also had the privilege of visiting with the church family at Maranatha Baptist Church, the new congregation at Bethel Baptist Church, and several of our national pastors in the area. I returned home on August 1st, very tired, but greatly encouraged with reports from the field. Pastor Edilson and Silvana continue to grow in their ministry at Maranatha Baptist Church. Thank you for remembering them in prayer! As always, we want to remind you of the need for prayer for more workers for Central Brasil. During my visit, I was able to participate in one of the two Vacation Bible Schools that were conducted by the member sof Maranatha Baptist Church. The first BVS was held at Maranatha the week before I arrived. There was good attendance, with 12 decisions for salvation! The attendance at Bethel Baptist Church, was also well attended. There were over 90 children in attendance for most of the five day school!! There were 13 decisions for salvationa nd many first time visitors. How we praise the Lord for these decisions and for the people we were able to reach with the gospel mesage through this ministry. As always, the response of our members was a great encouragement to me. To see many new converts inviting local children and helping the teachers during the program gave us great joy. What a blessing it was to see those young Christians getting right into the ministry! Our two Bible school students, Elenice and Fernanda, were able to be home in Recanto das Emas for thier mid-term break in July. They have been a great blessing to the churches during their break. Fernanda told us that their time was very busy, but so beneficial as they applied the lessons they had been learning during the past semester. We praise the Lord for their willingnes to work at school to help with their tuition. There has been an increase in the cost for tuition, so they are facing a lack of funds at the end of each month. Pray with us for this need. These two students have been a great testimony to many as they continue to trust the Lord for every need. We would also like to thank you for your faithful prayers for our family during the past two months. Ray Jr. and Matthew are finishing their summer ministry at Northland Baptist Bible Camp, and will spend almost two weeks with us before they return to school and other ministries. For those of you who have kept in touch with us through e-mail, you know than Annette had been diagnosed with Bell's palsy. The doctors saw her in the emergency room on June 28th and began treatment immediately. AFter five weeks of treatment and rest, the Lord has blessed with almost complete physical recovery. Our family has been able to begin traveling to supporting churches again and we are enjoying the time with our Christian "family". What a joy it is for us to be able to report on your ministry to the people of Maranatha Baptist Church and Bethel Baptist Church in Recanto das Emas. We praise the Lord for each of you!

In His Service, Ray & Annette Ronk & Family