Dear praying friends and family,
What an eventful furlough it has been. Three and a half months ago we arrived here in New York, and promptly entered ‘lockdown’ with the rest of the United States – and the world, for that matter. It turned out to be a very different kind of furlough, one we never anticipated.
As many of you are now aware, shortly before we came back to the US in March the Lord had definitively closed the doors to our ministry in the city of Belém. We arrived in the States not really sure where the Lord would lead us, but knowing He had faithfully directed us up until that point. We had faced redirection before, and knew the Lord would make clear His will for us in His time.
After being home for a few weeks, the pulpit committee of our sending church asked if we would consider returning to our home in Albion and pastoring our church. Our pastor, Emily’s dad, had retired in January after 21 years in the church and 35 years in the ministry. After taking some time to pray about the possibility, and after seeking godly counsel, we concluded that this was the direction in which the Lord was leading us. We told the pulpit committee that they could consider us.
On May 31, Victory Baptist Church voted to call me (Brandon) as their pastor, and call us back to Albion to serve locally in Victory Baptist Church. We accepted the call. We are returning to Brazil on Thursday, July 7, to wrap up some things with our ministry at Igreja Batista Boas Novas, and will be returning permanently in a couple months to the ministry of Victory Baptist Church.
Please be praying for us during this time of transition. It will be a busy time as we are actively involved in ministry both in Albion and in Belém. Please be praying for our flights. Our return trip has already been cancelled and rescheduled several times. Please pray we are able to take off on Thursday. Please pray for an easy time of transition as we take care of our responsibilities and say goodbye to many dear friends in Brazil. And please be in prayer for Emily’s pregnancy. We are looking forward to finding out whether we are having a boy or a girl. We should know next week.
We will try to send out a couple more updates before we come back from Brazil. Thank you all for your prayers.
In Christ,
The Carmichaels
Neofundy: 