Harold and Lílian Gilmer : June 2022 Prayer Letter

Harold and Lilian Gilmer – South America Director, Church Planter and Bible Translation in São Paulo, Brazil.

Dear Brethren:
“. . . Ebenezer . . . Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” (I Samuel 7.12b).

Ebenezer

Recently, when a young man was visiting our congregation, I gave him a tour of the facilities and told him how the Lord provided the tent during the pandemic. He was impressed with the organization of the Church, even in its simplicity. I spoke of our current plans of purchasing land, having a beautiful building someday, and officially organizing the Church in the spring of 2023. At that point he said something that encouraged my heart: “Even though you have these plans, you must rejoice at what the Lord has done so far.” Those words stuck with me—he was right! When we look at the three areas of ministry that the Lord has given us, we must say: Ebenezer!

Family – Yes, Family is our first ministry. I have written in one of my old Bibles: “No success in the ministry compensates the failure at home”. We must rejoice that both of our children have already trusted the Lord as their personal Savior and followed Him in baptism. We must rejoice at the Lord´s provision, health and safety, even in such bonkers times as these!

Church Planting – We must rejoice at what the Lord is doing at the Congregation. We just celebrated the fifth anniversary with a group of people that love the Lord and are eager to make Him known. This past month we saw three more people saved!

Bible Publication – We are speechless at what the Lord is doing through the Trinitarian Bible Society of Brazil. Truly, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” (Psalm 118.23). Last year alone over five million people were reached with God´s Word (over 1.2 million through complete printed copies of the Portuguese Bible and over 4 million users through Bible Apps). Speechless! This is the Lord´s doing!

An Invitation to Pray

As we reach this Ebenezer in our ministry, we are reminded of Psalm 37.4: “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” The Lord has granted us the desires of our hearts, and our focus is on fulfilling the desires of His Heart. I prayed the following and invite you to pray as well:

“Lord, please fulfill the desires of Thine Heart in and through me.”

Yours fellow servants in Brazil,
Harold, Lílian, Raphael and Danielle