Hi, praying ones,

Thank you for continuing to hold us up in prayer this week.  It's Thursday, the fourth day of the distribution.  Weariness in body is accumulating, but we are soaring in the Spirit, because the God who lives in us is NOT tired!!  That was an encouragement to us today as we served the needs of 64 disabled people!  Whew!  They just kept coming in!  In some cases we just made repairs to the chair someone already had and we also gave away one or two Brazilian chairs that had belonged to people who got new chairs today.

One gentleman who came late in the day had been waiting since last year for a chair.  Apparently we had run out of chairs last year when he came, or at least we didn't have something that was better for him than what he already had.  He made it another year, but you should have seen the condition of his chair when he arrived.  The left foot support was broken and hanging and the left caster wheel was missing altogether!  (He said it had broken last week.)  Imagine how precarious it was for him to get around.  And what does he do for a living?  He sells candy at red lights, moving among the cars while they are stopped.  Once again, we did not have any chairs that were as light and maneuverable as what he had, but just about an hour before it was his turn to be served, someone had been fitted with a new chair and left behind their old one.  With a few adjustments and some parts removed from the old chair to put on the new one, he left in much better shape than he had arrived.

We had several folks who had been paralyzed by gunshot wounds or car accidents, and one young lady lost both legs in a motorcycle accident two years ago.  She was (and still is) an accomplished athlete.  Prior to the accident, she was on the national women's soccer team, and now she represents Brazil in the Paralympics in swimming.

We also had some very complicated cases today that required hours and hours of sustained effort on the part of the therapists and mechanics to complete.  How they labored with diligence and dependence on God for His guidance and strength!  And He did not fail them!  Those families left knowing that they had been in the midst of the activity of God.  One family in particular was here all day and the long-worked-on chair was finally finished about 7:30 this evening.  They were so touched by the way they were treated and the care their family member was given that all three wanted to receive Christ as Savior!  Praise His name!  In all, 22 people accepted Christ today!  Oh, joy!!!  The gospel bracelets have been a tremendous help, but we are almost out of them, so next time we need to bring more!  For heaven's sake, make a note, someone.  : )

We have one more day of ministry and not many chairs remain so we will have to see if what we have will serve the needs of those who come.  Continue to pray that God will draw hearts to Himself and give us strength for another day of being the hands and feet of Jesus.  What a privilege!!

Wowed by His love,

Susan Cross, for the team