Missionary Calvin Gardner Update

February 5, 2012

Dear Praying Brethren,

Many thanks to Our Lord for you. You missed our letter last week didn’t you? Thanks for being patient with me. The week before last Peggy and Joy and I traveled to Sud Mennucci to take part in a wedding. The groom was Thiago Adorno. We knew him about 20 years ago when we worked with his family in Araraquara. At the time he was only three or four years of age. I thank the Lord that we are held in high regard with him and his family. Therein you understand what I mean when I say that it was a real honor for me to perform the ceremony and for Joy to provide all the music.

The city was only four hours away but, maybe because of Mr. Parkinson, or because of my age, the trip took a lot out of me. So I did not write an update that week. But here I am again, and I am thankful to be rested up. I travelled to the USA in December and in January almost everyone in Brazil is on vacation mode so we stayed close to home. Now that school year is started back, everyone is back at home so they will most likely be there when I come by to visit. We are pretty much ready and willing to go forward in the work of the Gospel.

The morning hours after breakfast on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week Charity and I labored reviewing some more of the translation work done on Thomas Paul Simmons’ Systematic Theology book. We did 19 more pages! Three-fourths of the book was sent to us from the translator. We have reviewed about two-thirds of what she has sent us. Sometimes finishing this job seems a long way off, but we are encouraged to keep going. I mean, if we stop, we will never get it done!

Something happened while Charity and I worked on reviewing these translations. Our brains began to feel like cardboard! Yes, we were refreshed and ready to go again in the work of the ministry and go forward we did. Sigh. Guess this tired feeling is just part of living.

Talking about books Daniel took it upon himself to get the ball rolling for publishing my studies on Soteriology, The Doctrine of Salvation. He encouraged his colleague at the Christian Publishing company where he works, to edit it and develop a nice cover for the book. This week Daniel will put the final touches on the Indexes and get an estimate for the printing of it. We will use another Christian Publisher to print the book. If you would like to have a part in this production please let me know. I expect I will need some major help to get a thousand copies printed.

Another need came up this week. The computer that Charity and Joy share, bit the dust. Among other projects Joy uses the computer to promote and manage the Book Ministry, online as well as through the mail. Charity uses this same computer for all the accounting for the various ministries. After seven years of faithful work it finally gave up the ghost. It began falling apart the last month or so. When it became clear that it was going the way of the world, I got another one ordered for them right away. The work they do on it is very important and ongoing. It cost $800. I do not want to be a burden on anyone, however, if you would like to help on this expense please let me know.

Thank you again for your faithfulness to pray for us and the work. I stopped by Celestino’s house and set up a Bible Study for this Saturday afternoon. We have been holding these Bible studies for more than a year. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to preach the gospel there.

We have opportunities to visit the homes of those we visited earlier in the hospitals now that everyone is back to their homes. Please pray with me to speak the Gospel as I ought to speak (Eph. 6.20)

Yours in Our Lord,
Bro. Calvin G. Gardner

It is the greatest loss of all when we have lost the spirit of prayer; for, if we lose other things, we may recover them by prayer – Richard Sibbes