Tom and Linda Gilmer : April 2023 Prayer Letter

Dr. Thomas and Mrs. Linda Gilmer – Church Planter, Bible Translation in São Paulo, Brazil

April 2023
Dear Friends of Zion:
Your faithful prayers and generous offerings have resulted in another month of ministry, with God’s blessings. Praise the Lord! Thank you so much.

Last month we requested prayer for the health and salvation of a 100-year-old Jewess. Our first contact with her family was through a godly lady who gave monthly offerings to help us in the early stages of the newly-formed Trinitarian Bible Society of Brazil over fifty years ago. Her granddaughter was dating the son of the Jewess who is now near death. Many personal contacts and Bible studies ensued over many years, but no definite declaration of faith for salvation. To accept Jesus as Messiah was to deny Judaism! Contacts became incidental, but I kept them on my prayer list. Then in January I received a call. The Jewess, now 100 years old, was in a state of coma in a hospital over an hour’s drive from where we live. “I have been praying she would not die before she’s saved!” the caller said. I promised to do all we could to win her to Christ.

This has led to many hospital visits. When she first regained consciousness, Linda had a beautiful visit with her, a clear time of witness. When Linda asked her if Jesus is God, she replied, “Yes!” On subsequent visits, even when she was not awake, I read the Bible and prayed, thanking God for His plan of salvation and inviting her to trust Jesus as Savior. Her son and even a medical doctor stated that, as I prayed, her numbers on the ICU unit would improve, and she became calmer and smiled. She even said “Amen!” as I finished praying.

A rabbi who visited her saw a copy of Pastor Alexandre’s book, ISRAEL, THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD, on the night stand. He requested a copy! “I know the author. He was my student at the University of São Paulo.” As an added blessing, Pastor Alexandre’s mother, an ardent witness and lover of Israel, is one of her caretakers. Pastor Alexandre is the president of our Jewish Ministries outreach here in Brazil.
Thank you all for your patience in praying for our work, which involves not just months but years of sowing, watering, and finally reaping. The son of the 100-year-old Jewess now lives in another state but is usually here at his mother’s bedside. He says he believes, but he has much baggage from his involvement with Kabbalah, a mystic form of Judaism.

May God richly bless you all.
Yours for the Messiah,
Tom and Linda Gilmer