CHRIST FOR THE AMAZON VALLEY

MR. AND MRS. DAVID M. lAYLESS CAIXA POSTAL 926 BELEM. PARA, BRAZIL
SPONSOR / FORWARDING AGENT
Rldg*cr*it Chrltllan Church / J Ff*d BoyUtt
53CX) Eait.rn Avenue S. E. W "00 Eoilerr* Avenue S. E.
Albuquerque, N. M. 87108 Albuquerque, N. M. 87108
May, 1980, Newsletter
Dear Friends in Christ,
The eleven churches here set goals of 32% growth in 1980. By March 31 they had
baptized 51, twelve over the goal for the first quarter. There has never been
growth such as the churches are having now.
In January Dale Mason and I began working in Cidade Nova (New City), a housing
addition which will have 300,000 people when finished. We work with Wellington
Ribeiro there, evangelizing and training men. The church began in March, and
has over a dozen members, about half of thera men. There are baptisms about
every week.
In our evangelism we walk down the street offering to teach the Bible to men we
meet. About half accept it. We teach about Christ in a simple and imitatable
way. Several of the new men are learning to evangelize and participate regular
ly. We are always teaching about 20 men.
In March Wellington travelled 24 hours by bus to his home state of Ceara to
evangelize his relatives. In April he went back to baptize 16 of them. In
May he plans to go again to teach the men to read and evangelize.
In the Agulha church, which our family attends, Antonio, the leader, fell into
sin. Three men he had trained were chosen as leaders. The church's 20% growth
in 1979, to 73 members, continues at about 20%, One of the three evangelizes in
Tenone, a town three miles away, where he lives. He has strong hopes of begin
ning the church there very soon with 4 men and their families.
_Gaili.ne went up 14% in April, to $2.16 a gallon. The cost of living in Belem
rose 79,137o in 1979. Prices have risen 307o since December, but the dollar still
brings the same amount of money it did then. That means it buys 30% less than
in December. We hope for a rise in the rate of exchange of dollars soon. We
have a little car now that gets 21.5 miles per gallon of gas.
Webeen sick with a'^Te^l^bed Ui_,) .but are recovered now, Joanne Is ex
cited about the high school trip she's taking for the first time. I'm directing
the band in the Sound of Music and Oklahoma, among other numbers, John announced
a Sherlock Holmes presentation recently in a 4th grade program.
As prices continue to rise faster and faster we are thankful for the support
you send, making it possible to go where we need to go to evangelize and give
orientation, with this $2,16 gas, XlBtrrapfiad-ing nv-ar 1/2 times .as much time in
ellsm this vear as I did ^-^-str^yeaJL, . due to..jn0^^pp.Qr4LLinltis, Also I give
orientation to leaders in three churches. This is all possible because of your;
support. It gets more and more expensive to work here, Hi^ever, the results
are getting better and _bet_t^r^
Yours in Christ.
iy 3
PRESENTING
David & Beverly Bayless, Missionaries
Christ For The Amazon l/a//ey
Caixa Postal 926 66,000 Belem, Para, Brazil
(Write to them at this address Air Mail only)
Or Phone: Dial 011-55-91-227-0220
Beverly David
Joanne (16)
These Missionaries are Sponsored by
RIDGECREST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
5300 Eastern Avenue. S.E.
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, 87108
Forwarding Agent
J FRED BAYLESS
5300 Eastern Avenue. S.E.
Albuquerque, N.M.. 87108
John (10)
ore 0 1980
NOW IN THE 22nd YEAR OF SERVICE IN BRAZIL
Davidand BeverlyBaylessbegan workingin Belem, the principalcity
of the Amazon Valley, in 1959. This capital city has over a million
population.
The work they are engaged in primarily is church planting and train
ing leaders in the churches. This includes preparation and printing of
study material, and personally showing potential leaders how to
evangelize in beginning a new church, and building up existing chur
ches.
The twelve Churches of Christ in the area range in size from fewer
than 10 members to over 150. Recently they have been growing at an
annual rate of over 30%.
Beverly teaches ladies in one church, and in another is training ladies
to teach Sunday school. She takes excellent care of the familyand sews
a lot for the family and many others.
Joanne is a Sophomore in high school and John is in the 5th grade in
a Christian English-Speaking school. Joanne plays in the band, which
David directs for relaxation.
Inflationin Brazilis running over 100% annually. In a recent 8 month
period food prices rose 150%. The rate of exchange of the dollar is not
keeping up with these increases. Gasoline costs $2.40 per gallon. For
these reasons the Bayless family is very thankful to the churches and in
dividuals who have been faithful in sustaining this work for over 23
years. We thank God for them, and want all to know that we plan to
continue in the work.
Your letters are welcome! Send letters (Vz ounce) with 31C postage,
plainly marked "Air Mail". Send all mail to:
Caixa Postal 926
66000 Belem, Para, Brazil
Or phone us! Dial 011-55-91-227-0220 after 6:00 p.m. CST, which
is 9:00 p.m. Brazil Time.
November 1980