Prayer Letter

May 2026

Dear Friends and Family,

Peace of Christ. I praise God for your continued prayers and support of love as we press on together.

Many things have changed for my wife and I since the beginning of the year. We moved to another city to begin a new church plant. This has been what we felt a calling to do, and what I presented and planned during my time in the US visiting churches. We wanted to continue the community outreach project that was pretty well established and growing, plus much more.

Well of course, on this journey we would meet many obstacles. The evil one doesn't want light being shed on his darkness. I recently heard a Christian scientist speak of how light is constantly moving and never stops, and on the contrary, “darkness” doesn’t ever move because it’s only the absence of light.

What we see with our new challenges is that “darkness” has gotten very comfortable in our new mission field, and every time we shed the light of the Gospel somewhere, the darkness hates it, and we feel the consequences many times. The kids and youth that we work with have a spirit of violence that I haven’t quite faced since arriving in Cabo Verde, and they learn it from their home situations for sure.

Last year we had less financial support but more teachers and volunteers (also while doing full time ministry elsewhere). This year we have more financial support (Praise God) but have lost almost all of our teachers with little to no volunteers. Isn’t it interesting how when we only had a community outreach project we had less push back and more help, but now that we want to plant a church, a community of believers, we feel the resistance. The church is like a lighthouse, a beacon of hope in the darkness.

We’ve also faced obstacles getting settled into our new home as many repairs were needed, and issues getting water and electricity transferred into our name. The water is very limited in this city as well. This may not seem like much but it can really interfere with other ministry work when you’re constantly trying to take care of your basic needs. But in all things we give thanks to our Lord the giver of all things.

While in the US last year I cared for my grandfather who was a great pastor for over 70 years and a great mentor of mine. When I left and said goodbye in August, I knew it would be our last hug. He passed less than 2 months of me returning to the field. I admit that I didn’t handle it very well. I didn’t take my time to grieve and reflect. The weight of this joined with the above changes had left me very low.

My hero passed on, and it felt like I was going out into an impossible mission. These things affected much of my attitude and motivations. I would describe much of this time as “survival mode”. The darkness I spoke of seemed to be surrounding me now, almost like having one small light as I’m walking through a cave alone.

But I’m thankful for my wife who has been a beacon of hope for me personally. With her encouragement, we now have two lights! And as I have been able to disciple my nephew and other men, we now have even more lights in this dark area. The light is overcoming the darkness one soul at a time. What could not be, now is, because of the I Am.

The light of the Gospel message is the power unto the wicked’s salvation. Just as we once identified as wicked, but now we wear righteous robes of Christ covering our guilt and shame.

As we press on, we ask prayer for courage, endurance, and perseverance. The support, the space, and the people are all in place, we now just need to go be the light.

• Pray for prayer meetings, Bible studies and church services to begin at full force.
• Pray for my family as my dear Aunt Sharon recently passed. Also pray for a couple of recent cancer diagnoses in our family.
• Pray for my wife Oliver’s health to stay strong. I recently had salmonella poisoning but have recovered.

“In Him was life; and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” – John 1:4–5