Valéria dos Santos Silva, 29, and Carlos Alexandre Mendonça da Silva, 38, began studying the Bible after an Internet search for Bible study videos, through which they found TV Novo Tempo. There they began to devote themselves to study and, over time, to sharing God’s love with their families.
“I [encountered]Novo Tempo in 2019. One day I felt the need to seek God more; I just didn’t know how to do it, until the Holy Spirit touched my heart and spoke to me to search for something on YouTube, because until then I was only using the tool for things frivolous things that didn’t edify me in anything. I started looking in the ‘Bible Studies‘ toolbar, and the first one that popped up was the Easy Bible program,” Valeria recalls.
At the same time, Valéria began her studies and shared with her husband, who was also beginning to learn about the Bible. At first, he didn’t believe that a study done on the Internet could lead to significant revelations, but she wouldn’t give up or let him give up. “I had the idea of doing my studies near him, where he was. I would go after him with the notebook open to the program, always turning it on at a volume where he could hear, too”, she says.
The wife used certain methods to attract the attention of her husband for his studies. “There were times during the study when I knew I could get his attention. know more about this subject which, until then, was completely new to us.After a short time, we were already watching the studies together on a daily basis.
Baptisms
After conducting about 30 Bible studies with the help of Jair Mendonça and his wife, Maria, who dispelled their doubts, the couple decided to be baptized. For Valeria, it was a unique moment. “Our baptism was very special. It took place on a river, as the church was not open due to the pandemic.”
The couple were baptized inside Amazonas during the pandemic
From then on, they were not content to keep their new knowledge to themselves; they started sharing it with friends and family. “First, we talked about what God had done and was doing in our lives, and we proposed the study,” explains Alexandre. The first were done through messaging apps. “We would send the studies by sending the link via WhatsApp and asking people to watch it and then let us know what they thought of the study or if there were any further questions.”
This method, however, was not very effective. “We decided to offer to take the study in person. We took one day a week to go to the person, and we did all that together. That way, we saw that we were on the right track,” says Alexandre.
Smiles after baptism reveal the joy of the missionary couple
The videos helped evangelize the couple who had trouble concentrating on Bible reading. “The video format allows us to have greater focus because Novo Tempo’s studies have a wonderful dynamic. They are clear, simple and direct, which makes all the studies very interesting, which grab our attention and touch our hearts. So good, it’s impossible to [watch]just one,” the couple said.
Alexander’s sister, mother and aunt also descended into the baptismal waters
discipleship
In Alexandre’s family, three people were baptized last year, and for Valéria, the fruits of these beautiful studies began to be harvested this month. His parents, Shirleuda Moreira dos Santos and Valdiney Freitas da Silva, and his sister, Vanessa dos Santos Silva, decided to become Seventh-day Adventists. The newly baptized believers have now begun their studies with their third child. Thus grows the missionary family, multiplying the stories of encounters with Jesus.
