NACOTO AND WORKERS

You may ask, what were the difficulties of this month, then!? The hardest for me has been the church in Nacoto, but also there were some difficulties with workers at the school.
Praise God, He has solved the problem with the workers, giving pai Jeff much grace before the labor department and, though we feel for their lives, they are not working at the school any more and the atmosphere has been freed from their bad attitudes and behaviors. It is during times like these that we see who are the ones truly faithful to the ministry and we rejoice because of those who stood by pai Jeff’s side even against their own family, for the sake of what was right!

At Nacoto, António, the main leader who has been through the Discipleship School, the Vocational Training and has just come back from Inhaminga in July, has fallen into sin, leaving his wife, and taking another woman. My heart just sank when I received the news through ambassador Abdul.

Mãe Nicky, Jorge and I went to talk with him about the situation, hear his side of the story and challenge him with the Word to make his life right before God. He said he would, in front of Fátima (his wife), her family, us and the church on Sunday. He didn’t fulfill his word and later said he had lied just in fear of us.

Still we went back to the church this past Sunday and spoke about repentance. There was a move and many came forward to repent. Yet, António repented from having lied but not of living in adultery.

My spirit was so heavy, I couldn’t go home without telling him the danger of the road he was deciding to take, and how serious and sad that was. I felt something like the apostle Paul probably felt when he heard about the problems in Corinth. I started to understand why Paul would write the churches with tears, and how he fought and struggled in the spirit for their lives. I said all I had in my heart, but still he wouldn’t change.

We’ve just received news that he is considering leaving this other woman, but won’t go back to Fátima, but he won’t tell us why. The community, his family, and even himself have testified of her faithfulness to him, and she is living at her family’s house, without being with another man.

There are other things happening in the church, but we know they are just a consequence of what happened with the leader. Ambassadors Abdul and Lucas have been staying there and will go back after the Conference to lead the church until things are right again and God raises someone to faithfully take care of the church.

We count on each of your prayers for this situation, and for wisdom for the leaders as they make the necessary decisions.