Dearest Friends,
But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”
Luke 18:16
So Much Joy!
While in Brazil, we had the 9th annual Agape Puppet Conference. It was an incredible conference attended by people who were passionate about sharing Jesus with people! We have 18 teams in Brazil, but not all of our teams were able to attend. I had the great privilege of sitting in on all of the classes that the other teachers were teaching, and I learned so much! I came home with new ideas for how I can do a better job with my puppet team in America and the other puppet teams around the world! Pictured above you will see a crowd of people sitting on a stage. Those are the team members who were able to come.
I had the most wonderful translators, Helena and her husband Rick. This gave me complete freedom when I was teaching to share whatever was on my heart. I found that everyone was genuinely eager to learn everything they could and more. They wanted to hear more about what God was doing around the world! Pictured above you will see my translator Helena sitting with me in a photo. Her husband Rick is the very happy man holding the very happy boy, who was the son of someone who came to the conference!
There was a man at the conference teaching puppets who was actually older than me (I know you are all shocked at this). In the photo above you will see a Presbyterian pastor sharing dialogue with one of Maurao’s puppets. He is very funny and a delight to all the children, and even the adults! Some children attended the conference with their parents. One little girl listened to me telling the story of Jesus calming the storm and hours later, drew the story on her tablet! One family attended wearing matching t-shirts that talked about Jesus and following His Light. There is a final photo where I am sitting on the steps surrounded by some children who attended the conference.
People came from all over Brazil to attend this conference because they genuinely wanted to make children a priority in their ministry. We had many Presbyterian pastors there who understood the importance of children hearing about God’s beautiful rescue plan for them. They wanted to make sure that the children in their church, and in their community, were hearing about Jesus in the best possible way! These men understood that children will either side with the cross, or they will side with the enemy. So they make them a priority.
I have been working with Fabiana and Gerson for 20 years in 2024. They are remarkably good at gathering people who have the same heart and same focus! This conference was a testimony to their ability to bring people together who share the same passion. Please pray for everyone who attended and ask the Lord to help them to hold on to all that they have learned. Please begin to pray for next year, as we will celebrate our 20th year working together in ministry, at a very special conference. I still see the smiles and tears on the peoples faces who came, and I hear their laughter and praises for the King! Thank you for sending me.
In Jesus,
Linda for all of the teams in Brazil