Eddison Fowler

July 19, 2008

July 19, 2008 on 12:13 pm | In Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Lashonda returned to Henderson on May 24 to do a short course at Freed-Hardeman University. Vinícius and Adam stayed here for a few more days. It was great having them with us. Adam’s vocabulary grew a lot in English and Portuguese while they were here. Our relationship with all three was very good.

 

David, Wren and Judah were with us for three marvelous weeks. It was great being with them again as well. David did some filming and editing for the television program while he was here. Judah has grown and matured very much since we saw him last August. He walked at nine months, began running immediately and has not slowed down since then. He is very active, just like his dad was at this age. He gets into everything, and does it with all his might. May he be the same way in his Christian life in the future. David and Wren are great parents, as are Vinícius and Lashonda. May the Lord bless all of them.

 

The problem in Eddison’s leg and hip seems to be completely healed, along with his extreme sinusitis and rhinitis symptoms. He is destined to suffer these respiratory maladies for the rest of his life, but the headaches are less often and the pain and facial pressure less intense than earlier. Who would have thought that a slight case of asthma would complicate so much the symptoms of these problems?

 

Bryan and Marlinda were helpers and translators in the Vacation Bible School at the Eldorado congregation this week. They loved it. See pictures of the event at http://picasaweb.google.com/cocarelli/MercadoDeJerusalM.

 

The Children’s Home in Belo Horizonte is getting closer and closer to reality. Regular meetings are being held to elect the board of directors, prepare the legal documents and other necessary things. A wall is being built around the property and the city is preparing and paving the streets around it. We look forward to receiving the children and bringing them up to do His will.

 

The National Bible School begins a new quarter of classes next week. José Almeida teaches BIBLICAL GEOGRAPHY, Eddison teaches THE GENERAL EPISTLES, F.H. Gates teaches THE PRISON EPISTLES and Tiago de Jesus teaches REVELATION, PART II. Please pray that we relate God’s true message to our students, who will then relate it to their congregations and to the world. Our new office and library space is almost finished. The thermal ceiling was installed this week. We look forward to receiving all of our files, books, etc. from Campo Grande, where they have been stored for several years, and moving what we have here into this new space. The home office of the National Bible School will then be completely moved to Belo Horizonte and we can do a much better job of carrying it forward.

 

Eddison continues preaching in several local congregations, doing follow-up work with new Christians, leading the mid-week Bible study group in our home, counseling several couples and meeting regularly with several ministry leaders to listen to them, encourage them, and guide them as they do their work. Pray with us.

 

God continues to make Himself known, and His presence felt, among us. Praise Him forever!

June 8, 2008

June 8, 2008 on 6:28 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

 

Vinicius and Adam returned to Henderson, TN last Friday. It was a cry baby experience. The baby cried, the parents cried and the grandparents cried. Oh well… life continues. Vinicius begins summer classes tomorrow so they had to go back. Pray for them as they prepare for the future. Lashonda made the highest grade in class on her “anatomy” exam last week! The first exam was not as good, but now she knows how to prepare for that teacher’s tests.

 

David, Wren and Adam are coming to Belo Horizonte next week, Lord willing. They must come this month so that David can keep his permanent visa. They plan to stay three weeks. During their stay here, David is scheduled to work on videos with the recording and TV ministry. He plans to invest much of his life in this area when he returns to Brazil in the near future.

 

Our court case against the telephone company took another turn. They appealed the case, so it is not over. We had until last Friday evening to disclaim the reasons for their appeal and we learned this at noon on Friday. We had understood that it was tomorrow; the attendee at the court office had told Eddison this on May 27. We learned of this change when we arrived at the airport to carry Vinicius, Adam and two of the other campaigners who had stayed on when Lashonda left. We had to leave them there and rush to the lawyer’s office to help him prepare our case. Up to this point we had handled the case alone, but the court system requires that we have a lawyer at the level that the case has reached. Please pray with us that this can be settled soon so that we can get on with life.

 

Eddison began having pain in his left hip about three weeks ago. Since then it has spread to his whole leg. Sometimes it is in one place and sometimes in another. He is consulting a doctor and doing exams to find and treat the problem. He thinks it is a pinched nerve or something similar. Please pray for him. The pain is intense and it is difficult to stand and walk for any length of time.

All the best to you and yours. 

SPIRITUALITY

June 5, 2008 on 10:11 am | In Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Brother, are you serious about your spiritual life? Do you read the Word of God frequently? Is it the pattern for how you live your life?

 

Do you pray to God often? Do you pour out all of your thoughts and sentiments before Him? If He depended upon your prayers to know about your life, what would He know? Are your prayers self-centered, or do they include others as He wants?

 

Do you meditate upon Him? How many times per day do you think about Him? How often do you recognize that you, as well as all people and all things were created and are maintained by Him?

 

Do you live in a way that everyone around you knows that you are His and are with Him? Do they recognize that your attitudes, words and actions are molded by the Creator? Do you take time often to praise Him and serve Him?

 

How do you think God would answer these questions about you? He knows all things and He is not a respecter of persons. Each one of us will be judged by the relationship that he has with God while he lives here on earth.  May all of us be sincere and serious in our relationship with God. I confess that these meditations awakened me to my necessity to grow spiritually. I intend to work on this every day from now on. What about you? I love you and want to see you in heaven.

May 30, 2008

May 30, 2008 on 11:06 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Our church building is very conveniently located—just three blocks from the main downtown square of Belo Horizonte, which has a metropolitan population of about five million. There are hundreds of thousands of cars and hundreds of bus lines that pass both in front of and behind us each day, besides a bridge that borders our building and links the Central area of the city with a populous area just behind us. Besides this, the central station of the elevated city passenger train is located just one block from us. You can imagine how many people pass our building each day. Many of these also read our church billboard and visit our worship services. Besides these, most of our visitors are family and friends of our members and are invited personally, as is the case everywhere. It is very seldom that we have fewer than five first time visitors in a Sunday worship service. When they come, they appreciate our simple, sincere, Bible based worship service and mark their attendance cards asking for prayers, Bible Study or a visit from someone at church. We try to visit all of these and involve them in activities for spiritual growth.

 

In order to serve these people and help the church grow as the Lord wants, one of our greatest needs is well prepared workers. For this reason the National Bible School was started in 1989. The school is national, with several nuclei all over Brazil. Ours was the first nucleus that was recognized and is the only one that began when the school opened and has continued uninterrupted until today. Brethren in other cities around Brazil are interested in opening nuclei in their cities as well. The central office was moved to Belo Horizonte last year. We are now building an office and library space at the Central church building in order to house all of the documents and books of the school. All of the board of directors is from the greater Belo Horizonte area. The classes this quarter in the Belo Horizonte nucleus are Psalms, Minor Prophets, Revelation and Guided Practice. Please pray for us as we prepare more workers for the harvest.

May 26, 2008

May 26, 2008 on 8:18 am | In Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Our car is running great and getting excellent fuel mileage (kilometrage) after the overhaul. Praise God!

 

Eddison’s health is also great now. We praise Him and thank the doctor and medicine that helped him to get well. It turns out that the slight case of asthma was aggravating the chronic sinusitis and rhinitis to the point that neither was getting well. Once the asthma was treated, the other symptoms went away. We know this is temporary, but we thank God.

 

We also won the case hands down against the telephone company. The judge ruled completely in our favor, sentencing the defendant to dismiss all charges of fines and fees against us and to pay us punitive damages of twice what they were charging us illegally. This helped us pay the overhaul on our car. The more we live, the more proof we have that Romans 8:28 is true. We continue living and working and praying and knowing that whatever comes our way, the Lord will handle it. Praise Him!!!!

 

The annual evangelistic campaign went very well. We had good attendance overall and had dozens of first time visitors. Please pray with us that the churches carry through with the contacts and help them become strong and faithful Christians.

 

A blessing of the campaign for our family is the visit of our kids and grandkids. Lashonda, Vinicius and Adam came as leaders of the campaign group from Freed-Hardeman University. Unfortunately Lashonda had to return to FHU for a summer course that begins tomorrow, so she could not stay but a couple of days after the campaign was over. Vinicius and Adam remained, however, and plan to stay until June 6, Lord willing.

 

May the Lord continue blessing you and keeping you in His care.

May 7, 2008

May 7, 2008 on 8:08 am | In Uncategorized | 2 Comments

We wrote on Monday that we should be driving our van this week. We drove it home yesterday evening! It has never driven better. It is also very, very filthy. Grit, grime, grease and dust are all over, under and through it! We carried it to the car wash this morning, where they have the equipment and know-how to clean it thoroughly.

 

I am meeting with four of our young people this afternoon to plan the work of a group of three University Students who will be coming from the USA next month for six weeks to teach the Bible in English. This attracts Brazilian students who want to learn English, but in the process they learn the Bible. We make it clear in the advertisements that the Bible will be used as text to teach English. This also usually attracts people who are more educated and more capable of leadership. Please be praying for this ministry. It is called LST, which stands for "Let’s Start Talking".

 

Bio Gomes Nascimento, a brother from the northeastern city of Recife, is in Belo Horizonte this week teaching an intensive course on the books of Ezekiel and Daniel. The students are excited about the classes. Brother Bio is an excellent teacher.

 

May the Lord continue helping you grow where He planted you.

May 5, 2008

May 5, 2008 on 10:16 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments

CHILDREN & GRANDCHILDREN: We are very proud of our children and grandchildren. David lacks one semester finishing his degree in “Video Productions” at Cincinnati School of Arts. Wren is doing a great job of Stay At Home Mom and Wife, which is evident in the life of Judah and David. Judah walked at almost 10 months and at one year of age is already running ahead of his parents to open the car door for them. David and Wren wonder what the next two years will be like! For David, it is pay-back time. He was more than a handful at that age. They plan to visit Brazil in June and July during a break from school in order for David to renew his permanent Brazilian visa and work with the church’s television program.

 

Lashonda and Vinicius continue studying at Freed-Hardeman University. Vinicius plans to finish his bachelor’s degree in Bible and International Business in December, 2008. He is maintaining an excellent grade point average (almost 4.0) although he is married, has Adam (whom he also baby-sits while Lashonda studies), and is working two part-time jobs. Lashonda is now finishing the first semester of her associate’s degree in nursing and doing a great job of wife and mother. They also plan to visit Brazil during May and June and help direct our May Campaigns.

 

Marlinda continues her studies in Cooking at SENAC (a local trade school), where she is learning better how to cook, which she already does very well. She also continues dating Lucas, teaching Sunday school and auditing some courses in the National Bible School.

 

Bryan continues Home Schooling, singing in the United Voice Quartet (They recorded their first cd in March), playing basketball in a local club, playing his instruments and singing at home.

 

CAR PROBLEMS: The shop that maintains our van was negligent, which caused a serious problem. Eddison requested two times when he had the oil changed that they check the pressure of the oil pump because the oil light was blinking at low rpm’s. They did not honor his request. In early February he carried it in for another oil change and minor adjustments. This time he insisted that they check the pressure of the oil pump and stated that he would not remove the car from the shop until it was checked. When they removed the oil pan to check the pressure, there were metal fragments in it. This indicates the need of an overhaul. Their price for the overhaul was over $8,000 and when he hit the ceiling it came down to just over $7,000. They refused to go down any more and said that low oil pressure would not cause the problem. Eddison knew better. There was no way that we could even consider paying that much for an overhaul, and since it was their fault that it needed the overhaul to begin with, we began considering carrying the case to court. We also researched the price of this work in other shops, but it was very difficult to get them to make an estimate without having the car towed to their shop. We did not want to remove the car from the first shop, just in case we decided to carry the case to court. After almost three months of riding buses, taxis and borrowed cars to get around, we decided to remove the van and tow it to a highly recommended shop in a neighboring city. The mechanic from there had agreed and gone to the shop where the car was located to make an estimate on the work. He guaranteed that the work could be done for under $2,500. Lord willing, we will be driving the car this week. And sure enough, the total price should be a little less than $2,500.

 

OI CHARGES: We signed a contract in December 2005 with the Oi Telephone Company which provided 24/7 internet hookup and 500 minutes of calling per month from our landline home phone and up to three cell phones. We only accepted one cell phone at that time, but during the next year and a half we signed on for the other two to which our contract gave us the right. Because of abuse in the use of our phones, in November 2007 we were forced to migrate to another type of account. The phone company slapped us with a charge of $1,100 for changing the account, but never explained why. We tried incessantly until March 2008 to resolve the problem, to no avail. The company never returned our calls or communicated with us in any way except to collect what they claimed that we owed and to threaten us if we did not pay it. We were forced to carry it to court. We had our first hearing on April 22, which ended without their giving in to our request to drop the charges or to indemnify us for all of our troubles and expenses that they caused us. They claimed that the contract was renewed and unalterable for twelve full months from the date that each new cell phone was added, subject to a fine if changed. Please pray with us for the next hearing on May 15.

 

EDDISON’S HEALTH: Aggravated by all of the external problems that were confronting him (related above) and by his chronic sinusitis and rhinitis problems, from early December to the end of April Eddison suffered sinus pressure, blocked nasal passages, headaches, phlegm in the nose and throat, nose bleeds, an incessant cough, a sore throat, a constantly hoarse voice, a pulled muscle in the chest caused by so much hard coughing, a general “down” feeling, low productivity, etc. Six specialists were consulted, hundreds of dollars worth of medicine was taken and many exams were done before he began to feel good again. The allergy specialist said he was not allergic to anything. He doubts this because of certain symptoms that he suffers. The pneumologist discovered that he suffered a light case of asthma (16 % blockage of the air passages), which when alleviated, helped him feel much better immediately. The coughing stopped, the sore chest healed, the sore throat improved immediately. Pray with us that he continues to feel well.

 

NATIONAL BIBLE SCHOOL: The National Bible School continues to prepare brothers and sisters to better serve the Lord. The Belo Horizonte nucleus continues its teaching of full-time classes. A family from Belo Jardim, Pernambuco (a three day journey by bus or car) arrived in January to study in our nucleus in Belo Horizonte. Both Adilson and Rosa are taking the classes to become better leaders in service to the kingdom. Several other cities around Brazil have expressed interest in reactivating their nuclei or opening nuclei there. Another brotherhood church leader training school contacted us this week, requesting to unite with our school. Discussion of this possibility has begun. Please pray with us in regard to these decisions and processes. Also, please pray with us as we seek to purchase and implement video conferencing in our school.

 

BAPTISMS AND SPACE PROBLEMS AT CHURCH: The Lord has blessed us with growth the past few months. Because of this we need more classroom space. Please pray with us that this problem continues to haunt us. Pray also that we be able to finish at least one extra classroom very soon so that the new converts can have a classroom all of their own.

 

CLASSES IN PALMEIRAS: Eddison is teaching a series of classes called “The Real Man” in the Palmeiras congregation in Belo Horizonte. He developed this series about fifteen years ago and has taught it several times.

 

LaJUANA’S TEACHINGS: LaJuana has taught classes on “God’s Will for the 21^st Century Woman” this quarter in the women’s class at the Central church. She was invited to teach in April 2009 in a congregational ladies’ retreat for the Rivergate Church of Christ in Madison, TN. Please pray for her as she prepares for this retreat.

 

EVANGELISTIC CAMPAIGNS IN MAY: Our annual May campaigns will be held from May 11 to 22 in several congregations in greater Belo Horizonte. Lashonda, Vinicius and Adam arrive this Friday, Lord willing, to help direct this campaign. All total, twelve students from Freed-Hardeman University plan to arrive within the next week to help with this project.

 

LOWERING DOLLAR / REAL EXCHANGE RATE: The dollar continues its downward slope. It is now trading for about 1.75 Brazilian reals per dollar. No one knows when it will stop losing value.

May God continue blessing you and yours and using you to His glory.

Eddison & Family

May 17, 2007

May 17, 2007 on 8:24 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments Yesterday was a very good day. After taking care of Bryan’s passport renewal I was able to invest my time for the Lord’s cause and organize several ministries. I instructed the secretary of the National Bible School about communicating with the nuclei of the school outside Belo Horizonte (Rio de Janeiro, Belo Jardim, Cuiabá, Uberlândia, Manaus). I also encouraged her to help us think of ways to involve all seventeen congregations in greater Belo Horizonte in all levels of the school: students, teachers and administration.

 

Much of the afternoon was invested in communication with my supporting churches, scheduling our furlough itinerary. This is a very time-consuming task, which takes weeks or months to plan and work out. Our twenty churches, more or less, are scattered from Jackson, AL in the south to Plattsburgh, NY in the north to Abilene, TX in the west. They are located in the states of AL, TN, KY, IL, IN, VA, PA, NY and TX. We try to make a schedule of travels that places each church at a time that would facilitate visiting churches in their area and beyond. As we travel from TN to the north, for example, we try to schedule the churches in IN and IL on the same Sunday, the churches in VA, PA and NY the next week. On the way, we visit family. David, Wren and Judah plan to be in school at Cincinnati, OH by the time we make the trip north, so we plan to pass by their house for a day or two. Lashonda, Vinicius and Adam are at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, TN. My mother, brother and sister live in Demopolis, AL. We plan to visit all of these while we visit churches in their areas. Each church is distinct, with its own style of life, customs, communications and expectations. We have to be prepared emotionally and with different information for each visit. The Lord gave me the gift of adaptability. Not everyone in our family received this gift in great proportions.

 

Last evening we attended the worship at Venda Nova, the site of the evangelistic campaign. There were again six first-time visitors. The worship was encouraging and evangelistic. The sermon dealt with the necessity of allowing the Word of God to direct us to salvation in Christ.

 

Eddison

May 16, 2007

May 16, 2007 on 11:44 am | In Uncategorized | 2 Comments

God blessed our campaign work yesterday in the small neighborhood congregation of Nacional. We went door to door offering prayer for the residents of the neighborhood and inviting them to the worship service last night. Six first time visitors attended the worship service. Continue to pray with us that those who attended last evening and those who will come in the next few weeks will give their lives to the Lord. Also, pray for the rest of the campaign as we go to a different congregation each day through May 22.

 

Living internationally can be interesting—and at times stressful. We are required to maintain valid documents of all kinds (identification cards, passports, social security cards, drivers’ licenses), as well as making Income Tax declarations and many other things in both the USA and Brazil. Bryan, Marlinda and I took an overnight bus to Rio de Janeiro after the Bible Study Group at our house on Thursday, May 3. We had marked an appointment at the American consulate at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, May 4 to renew Marlinda and Bryan’s American passports. After finishing the process there we took an afternoon bus back home and arrived about 9:15 p.m.

 

Bryan went to the Federal Police station in Belo Horizonte two days ago and marked an appointment for 10:00 o’clock this morning to renew his Brazilian passport. LaJuana, he and I were all required to be there today. We were able to submit all of the documents and pictures necessary for the process of his passport renewal. We should receive it within a few days.

 

Our furlough is scheduled from June 15 to the end of August, Lord willing. Marlinda, Bryan and I plan to meet up with LaJuana on June 16. We should then travel together until July 27, when LaJuana returns to Brazil with Bryan in order to register him in the American School of Belo Horizonte on August 1. Marlinda and I plan to continue our travels until the end of August. Several hours today and tomorrow will be dedicated to contacting about twenty supporting churches to schedule our visits with them to report on our work and life in Brazil.

 

God bless each of you as you live and serve Him.

 

In Christ,

Eddison O’Neal Fowler

May 15, 2007

May 15, 2007 on 7:02 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Most of the campaigners arrived last Friday, Sunday and yesterday. One more should arrive today and another this Friday. The campaigners are coming from Freed-Hardeman University and from other cities in the interior of our state of Minas Gerais.

 

Lashonda, Marcus Vinicius and Adam arrived last Friday. It is a pleasure having them home. LaJuana arrived with the group on Sunday. She was invited to come when one of the campaigners had to give up the trip at the last moment. The directors asked if there were someone who had all of his documentation in order and would like to take this student’s place. Marcus suggested his mother-in-law, who had been in the USA since early March helping her mother care for her grandmother in her last days and then caring for her things after her passing on March 28. It was great to have LaJuana home too. 

 

The evangelistic campaigns begin today. For eight consecutive days we will be in different congregations each day inviting visitors to the night services. Pray with us that many souls are touched with the gospel message and that they be brought to salvation in Christ. See the schedule of the campaign below.

 

God bless,

Eddison O’Neal Fowler