Dr. Sandy Simmons

Dear Friends and Family,

These past two months have certainly been busy, and your prayers and
gifts have gone a long way toward making these among the happiest and
most exciting days of my ministry. Thank you so much for your continued
contributions and prayers. I would like to give a special word of thanks
to those who faithfully furnish me Bibles and musical instruments. You
have been such a blessing to so many through your hands-on approach to
missions. Thank you so much, and may the Lord bless you abundantly in
all that you do in His Name.

Two months ago I was invited to be the orchestra conductor for a large
interstate music conference at the Bacacheri Baptist Church here in
Curitiba. Orchestra people from all over the area came and participated,
including at least one from the local state symphony orchestra. There
were so many in attendance that the worship service at the end had to be
repeated in its entirety. The pastor of Bacacheri Baptist gave a
stirring message on treating God as holy, even as we praise Him in
music. Many non-Christians came to hear the choirs and orchestra, and
they heard the Gospel message in music and in the sermon. Musical events
are among our most powerful evangelistic tools in Brazil. Please pray
for Christian musicians in Brazil who have the opportunity to share
Jesus through their music; pray that they will faithfully give their
best in rehearsals and performance, because they represent the Gospel
story. Also, please pray that this open door will continue to reach out
to the countless thousands of lost souls right here in our city and beyond.

The little Presbyterian church where I serve as a music consultant and
English teacher has begun a choir, and I am their conductor. They are
learning to sing by reading music, and they are really doing a wonderful
job of it. The church is a two-story house that has a sort of
store-front as an entry. We have already had the experience of people
walking in off the streets when they heard the music during a rehearsal.
They come in and just sit and listen with smiles and looks of wonder on
their faces. Pray with me that this little choir will act as heralds to
the whole neighborhood, singing of the Redeemer with all their hearts.
Pray that more people will come in and hear the music and want to know
more about the Lord Jesus.

The university orchestra continues to thrive and play for churches
around the area, as well as other events. Several in the orchestra are
playing instruments that some of you have donated, and they are so
grateful for the opportunity to play good instruments. Not everybody in
the orchestra is a Christian. Pray that through our concerts at
churches, the sermons they hear, and our prayers during rehearsals that
these folks will come to know the Lord and the joy of playing to His glory.

Seven years ago when I first began to teach at FEPAR University, I had a
young first-year medical student named Felipe who studied the violin. He
studied with me all six years of medical school, and I have been praying
for him for seven years now. He graduated from medical school in 2009,
and is doing his residency at our FEPAR hospital. He came by to see me
this morning and asked me if he could come and be a part of the
orchestra. He said that he is constantly doing surgery now, but he seems
to always be off on Saturday afternoons. I was thrilled to have this
contact with him again. So, let us pray together that Felipe will find
the Lord through the orchestra.

The Women’s Missionary Society of my little church recently celebrated
their fourth anniversary of existence. They asked me to speak to the
group, and they invited all of the state WMS executives to come. Our
little church was packed, even though it was raining and cold outside.
(Weather has a huge effect on what we do since there is never any
heating or air-conditioning, and those who have to ride buses suffer in
rainy and cold conditions). I talked to them about bold, courageous
women of the past (like Esther and Corrie Ten Boom) who rose to the
occasion when faced with unexpected and difficult circumstances in their
lives. Then I challenged them to be heroines of the faith, being
faithful regardless of the circumstances of their lives. I have already
been invited to speak again to a different group next month. Please be
in prayer with me that I might minister to these women who are so hungry
for encouragement and for the Word of God.

One of my flute students told me that God is calling her to missions.
She is willing to go, but her family is so poor that they cannot afford
to send her to seminary. Pray with me that the Lord will make a way for
Emanuele to fulfill her calling and that He will give her a peace about
her preparation for His work.

Our semester is coming to an end, and the recital will take place in
only three weeks. As we wind up our semester, please pray with me for
all my students, that they will be open and willing to follow the Lord
wherever He may lead. Thank you again for your incredible love and
support. Remember, you can always contact me through
ssimmons@coopstudies.org, or support the ministry by writing directly to
IICS at P.O. Box 12147, Overland Park, KS 66282. May the Lord bless and
keep each of you, guiding you in your own ministries.

Your sister in Christ,
Sandy Simmons

Dear Friends and Family,

Another year has come and gone, and life and ministry in Brazil just continue to get better and better. You have contributed greatly to that by your faithful prayers and gifts for the work. Thank you so very much. You mean so much to me. May the Lord richly bless you in all that you do in His Name.

Permit me to update you on the work here in Curitiba. As many of you know, I took a short furlough in North Carolina from the last week of December through the end of February. I stayed in the mission house of Ardmore Baptis Church in Winston-Salem and was deeply and warmly blessed by that church and its ministries. While I was there I met a homeless man that I have named “Charlie”for my own prayer purposes. When he asked me for help to catch a city bus to the homeless shelter, I saw a great sadness in his eyes. He was well-dressed but seemed so vulnerable and to have a certain resignation about his troubles. I shared Jesus with him briefly before I gave him the mere two dollar bus fare. But his sad face has haunted me ever since. There was just something about Charlie that told me I should continue to pray for him. Would you pray with me for Charlie, please? I know the Lord has something in mind for him, even though we will probably never know what it is this side of heaven.

When I returned to Curitiba on the 26th of February, I arrived just in time to start classes at Fepar University three days later. Many of my students have graduated and moved on, but there are many new ones to take their places. Bruna is back in Curitiba now and is studying cello with me. Please continue to pray for her and for her mom. Thanks to the generosity of some of you I was able to bring back a really nice violin for Liliane. I taught Liniane to play violin on about the worst instrument I’ve ever seen, and she has played at church and with our orchestra at all of our evangelistic concerts. Liliane has really come alive in music and also plays handchimes with the group I teach. She has moved into a leadership position for the music in her church, and the two of us talk a lot about theology and music in the church. Her husband is also a Christian and works with young teens at their church. This couple has a teenaged son and daughter who are now learning to play the viola and the flute (also instruments that you have contributed). Emanuele, the daughter, feels called to missions and is carefully saving her money for seminary. Please pray for this lovely family as they seek God’s leadership in their lives.

I also returned to Curitiba with an alto saxophone for João (John in English). He works on the maintenance crew at Fepar and has dreamed all of his life of having the opportunity to play an alto sax. When I presented the sax that you sent to him, he rejoiced in the Lord at that moment and proclaimed, “I will only play this saxophone for the Lord Jesus!” He studies with me now, and soon he will play in the Fepar Orchestra.

At the very first cell meeting held at my home when I got back, George came a little early. George is the artist who traveled all the way to Israel looking for Jesus. When he heard about the English Sunday School class that I taught, he came in off the streets and finally found Jesus. He remained faithful in his new-found faith all the time I was gone, and when I met him at the door on cell night, he greeted me with a long, memorized Scripture from Luke. You will remember that George has visual problems, so one of you generously sent him a large-print version of the Bible. He is now devouring it, and even memorizing it. Thank you for that kind of love, that reached out to George and helped him to grow.

The first week that I was back at the university I saw Ezequiel working on the street. He was so excited to see me and even came and chatted with me at lunch. He told me that he is growing in the Lord, but he is concerned about the new employees at the supermarket across the street from Fepar, because they don’t know the Lord. I gave him a box of Bibles and he was out there in a flash, telling those folks about Jesus as they came on their break and giving each of them a Bible. These Bibles come from the Brazilian Bible Society and are sent by one of you. What a huge difference those Bibles make in lives! Please continue to pray for Ezequiel. His health is simply not good, and he has a wife and child to care for. As we enter another winter season with renewed threats of the H1N1 virus, please pray for Ezequiel and his ministry on the street.

About six years ago a lady in my apartment building asked me for a Bible for her little boy. I happily gave her one, and I was delighted when she asked me for another one just for her. I never dreamed of the enormous impact those Bibles would make. She and a neighbor began to read and study together. Two or three times she asked me for yet another Bible, and I always wondered what she was doing with them. Last week she told me that she was so hungry for the Bible that she would sit with her pen in hand and mark places that were especially meaningful to her or that she wondered about. She told me that she had honestly worn out every Bible I had given her. Now she is asking me to help her to study the Bible. She is not a Christian, but she is earnestly seeking. Please pray that our schedules can be worked out so that we can sit, together with her neighbor, and study the Bible. Please pray for her salvation, for she is very near. Pray that the Lord will remove all barriers and confusion from her mind and put in its place the Light of Christ and the peace that passes all understanding.

The orchestra has returned after two and a half months of vacation, and there is an enthusiasm that seems to be growing. We have new music and the musicians are rising to the challenge. One of the songs that we play is a Camp Kirkland arrangement of the hymn, “God of Grace and God of Glory”. It is pretty difficult for most of our players, but they are really doing their best to play this grand old hymn. As we rehearsed last week, I thought about the words and how appropriate they are for these times in which we live: “grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the living of these days.” How very much we all need the Lord’s wisdom and courage.

I am still sending out the Encouraging Word six days a week and also continue my internet ministry of the Bible studies that I do. Please pray for these ministries as they reach people who often remain unchurched. I have one person whose husband is abusive and won’t let her go to church, read a Bible, or even talk about the Lord. She receives the Encouraging Word at work and has written me several times to thank me for that one connection she has with the Lord she loves. Her name is Lídia. Please pray for her.

Fabrício and Andrea, my Budhist students are back studying classical guitar this semester. Please pray that the Lord will open doors for better communication about the Gospel with them. Pray that their hearts will open to hear and accept the story of Jesus. I am also working with two large groups in the Open University to the Third Age (Elderly) this semester. Among these large groups there are only two Christians that I know about. In our first two classes there was mass confusion, a lot of complaining about the lack of organization, and people showing up for the wrong groups. The director of this department is not a Christian. She called me into her office to talk about all of the confusion that we were having with these large numbers. She said to me that she knew that I sometimes prayed with the women. Then she appealed to me to pray with them to bring them calm and peace. Her name is Denise, and she is a lovely person, but she needs to know Jesus. Please pray that the right moment will arrive so that I can present Jesus to her.

Once again I want to thank you for your prayers, your contributions to this ministry, and for the many gifts of Bibles, musical instruments, music, and accessories that I use every day in my work at Fepar. You are so faithful and such a vital part of my work. May God bless you all! Remember if you wish to contact me at any time, my email is ssimmons@coopstudies.org. Should you wish to send a contribution to the ministry, please send it in my name to IICS, P.O. Box 12147, Overland Park, KS 66282. May you all have a wonderful Easter celebration this Sunday.

Your sister in Christ
Sandy Simmons

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy New Year to each and every one of you! I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your prayers and contributions to my ministry in Brazil during the year of 2009. Many wonderful things happened during the past year, and your faithfulness played a large part in it. May your 2010 be a wonderful year of blessings from the Lord and great service in His Name! I am currently on a short furlough in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a guest of Ardmore Baptist Church, staying in their mission house. I will be here between the dates of December 22, 2009 until February 25, 2010, a furlough of just two months. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to take a few days off and get a little rest, but I will be going back to Brazil before you know it!

The month of December was very, very busy for me, as it always is for musicians in the Lord’s service. The Fepar University orchestra and the English Congregation choir of First Baptist Church Curitiba teamed up for three evangelistic performances of our Christmas Cantata. The music was a combination of favorites from past cantatas, chosen according to the text that led us through the Christmas story and the meaning of Christ made man. The narration was written and presented by Pr. Acácio Nascimento of the Champagnat Presbyterian Church. His wife, Cíntia, read the English version, and he read the Portuguese version and preached. The first performance was in a shopping center, where many people gathered to hear. The second was at the English service of First Baptist Church. The third and final performance was at a remote mission of First Baptist way out in the suburbs that is still meeting in a large tent, because they have no building. All three performances went very well, and the Gospel was preached to many people who had not heard it before.

The handchime choir of Champagnat Presbyterian Church also gave three performances, as did the Recorder Consort of Fepar University. The recorder group played at a locale that is one of the most interesting in Curitiba. It is called the “Bosque de Jesus” or the “Jesus Woods”. It is a small park run by a group of evangelical women who work with troubled peoples, especially the youth and Indians. They offer a special Christmas service to the city of Curitiba each year, with a drama presentation of the birth of Christ, and an opportunity for people to hear the Gospel through preaching and music under a canopy in the woods. It is a lovely place of peace and rest, and it was our privilege to participate in this time of worship and evangelism.

The student recital was also in December, the auditorium was full, and spirits were high as some students played for the first time before an audience. Thanks to the generosity of some of you, I was able to give Bibles to many of those students who did not have one before. Please pray that I might have more impact on the lives of my students. The hardest to reach are the medical students who have so little time to just chat. Many of the students come in from churches, through the extension department, wanting to develop their skills as musicians to use in their churches. We have long conversations about spiritual growth, the appropriateness of certain kinds of music in the church, and the application of Scripture in the music ministry. I really need your prayers for wisdom as I deal with these students.

You remember George, the Japanese artist who came to the Lord through our cell group. He is still very active and growing as a Christian. The cell is on vacation until I return from furlough at the end of February. Please continue to pray for George, that he will remain firm in his newfound faith and continue to follow Jesus. George is so thrilled by his new relationship with Christ that he just wants to give all the time. He does not have much money, so he gives paintings and vegetables from his garden. I have been the beneficiary of two paintings and some wonderful greens. Thank the Lord with me for the change that has come about in his life.

Ezequiel continues to serve the Lord, as well. I saw him just before Christmas, and he was still very much on fire for the Lord. I was able to give him a shirt and food for his family as a Christmas gift; it was the first one he had ever received. He told me before I even gave it to him that he was so grateful to me, for I had led him to the Lord who had changed his life and the life of his family. Ezequiel is a good friend now; he helps me distribute Bibles and tracts, and I give him a little money for the work. It is not much, but it furnishes him with lunch sometimes. The poverty in which he lives is more than most of us could ever imagine. But he is out there working every day, carrying people’s groceries, helping load and unload trucks, and helping people change tires—small services that are of great help to those who need it. This is the way he earns his living. Ezequiel was a victim of the Swine Flu, but he survived. However, his health has taken a downward turn as a result of the flu, and he has respiratory problems that have lingered for months now. Please pray for his health and safety as he works on the streets, and praise the Lord for his desire to share the Gospel with the people he meets.

Bruna has come home from Madrid and is back in Curitiba. She will be studying music theory and history with me this semester, as well as cello. It will be good to have the opportunity to work with her face-to-face and attempt to bring her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Please pray for Bruna and her mother, who are both still seeking but have not yet accepted the Lord.

My work load with the FATI program at Fepar University (Open University for the Aged) will more than double next semester with more opportunities than ever for witnessing to them. The last time we met I was able to share with them about George’s salvation experience. Many of them had never heard anything like that before. Some of them looked troubled, some looked puzzled, but some of them simply rejoiced that George had found the life he needed. All of them know that I am a missionary and that I am going to share Jesus with them. But they also know that I love them, and they love me, too. They permit me to say whatever the Lord leads me to say, even if they don’t want to hear it, because they are loving women. Please pray for this group of nearly 100 women. Pray for my stamina in the time period that I have to work with them each week, for it is very demanding work and requires much energy and preparation.

I wish to ask special prayer for my cell group which meets in my living room every Wednesday night. I have witnessed tremendous spiritual growth in the participants over the past six months, and three of them feel called into full-time Christian service. This is a very special group of people, mostly in their late twenties and early thirties. Pray that the Lord will grant me wisdom in my work with them, and that they will continue to grow and have a hunger for the Word.

I was privileged to come to the U.S. in December with six Brazilians, all of whom either sing in my choir or play in my orchestra. Two of them were invited to play cello and oboe with a local harpist (the daughter of former IICS missionaries Dr. Jim and Rosemary Davidson) for Christmas services at three churches. I had written the arrangement for them, and it has resulted in a commission from the music ministry at Ardmore Baptist Church to write music for harp and strings. Please pray for me as I seek the inspiration from the Lord to write this music. He is the Author, I am the pen.

Once again I want to thank you for your faithfulness in giving, your love and expressions of encouragement, and your daily prayers on my behalf. You have such an important role in this ministry, and without you I simply could not do it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Remember, should you need to contact me you can always reach me at this email address: ssimmons@coopstudies org. If you would like to send a gift to this ministry, you may send it in my name to IICS, P.O. Box 12147, Overland Park, KS 66282.

I will be leaving to return to Brazil on the 25th of February. Please remember to pray for me as I rest and resupply for the ministry. May the Lord bless you all!

Your missionary on the field, serving the Lord through music,
Sandy Simmons

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy New Year to all of you! What a wonderful year was 2008 for the work in Brazil! All of this good work was because you were willing to participate with your prayers and your gifts. Thank you so very much for your generosity and love during this past year. May we have many more years ahead to share in this joyful ministry!

The time of year from Thanksgiving to Christmas is the busiest time of year for musicians, and this time was certainly no exception. We had recitals, concerts, and Christmas presentations everywhere. There were many wonderful experiences during this season, and I would like to share some with you.

In late November I was in class with my elderly ladies group that I teach at the university through the Open University for the Elderly project. We were rehearsing with the handchimes for our presentation on the recital only two weeks away. Someone came through the room while we were practicing and left a door open. The wind was rushing through and blowing the music off the stands, so one of the ladies, Miriam, decided to close the door (Miriam is the lady from my last newsletter who Dr. Davidson teaches piano, and we gave her the words to a hymn that she was learning on the piano). She missed the step up to the door and fell so hard! She broke her shoulder and had to go to the hospital. I prayed so hard for her during the next week. On Thursday, our class day, she was back! Her arm was in a sling, but she was back, wanting to play with at least one hand. I was so grateful to the Lord that I gathered my ladies around the table and told them I thought that we should pray together and give thanks to the Lord for bringing Miriam back to us. We sat down and held hands, and I prayed with them for the first time. None of them are Christians, but they were willing to let me pray. As I finished the prayer, one of them spontaneously began to pray, perhaps for the first time in her life! When she finished, they all spontaneously began to pray the Lord’s Prayer. It was a cherished moment and one that showed me that they are open and hungry for the Lord. Pray with me as I begin the new semester in February, that I will faithfully present Jesus to them, and that they will continue to feel the hunger and the need for Jesus in their lives.

The Fepar orchestra gave two Christmas performances this year, and both were received wonderfully with full audiences. The Gospel was proclaimed at both of them. We are very careful to do that at every concert, but the Christmas season is a particularly good time to make the Christ in the manger of Bethlehem real to the people who come to hear us play. We joined forces with the Fepar choir and the handbells from First Baptist Church, and played and sang the wonderful tidings of Christmas.

I participated in the orchestras of two churches for their Christmas presentations, and attended a third one. I played French horn in the orchestra of my own church, First Baptist of Curitiba, for five of six performances. So many people came forward at these presentations to give their lives to Jesus that I lost count! The presentation at First Baptist is one of the biggest events in town, and we averaged 4,000 in attendance each night. The price for a ticket is food for the poor, and the church this year was challenged in a special way. Our neighboring state, Santa Catarina, suffered terrible floods all over the state during late November and early December. Thousands of people lost their homes and all that they owned as tons of water poured into their streets and houses from heavy rains and mud slides. So, this year’s Christmas presentation was an opportunity to gather food and clothing and even toys for the victims of the floods. One of my former students from the Baptist seminary here in Curitiba is now the minister of music at another Baptist church on the outskirts of town. He invited me to play cello in the single performance of his Christmas presentation. The church was totally packed, with standing room only, and most of them were visitors. Not having much room on the podium with such a large choir and orchestra, the drama that was accompanied by the music was simple, about a construction worker remodeling the church. During this play he finds Jesus in a very moving moment, then immediately begins to share his new faith with his fellow workers. At the end of the presentation, people were invited to accept Christ as their Savior, and very many of those visitors gave their lives to Jesus right there. It was a beautiful moment. After the last performance on the 23rd, I packed my suitcase and went to Brasília to spend the next couple of days with missionary friends. One of my former students from the Rio seminary is the minister of music at their church. We went to the performance, and it was wonderful, too. Again, people gave their lives to Christ at the end of the performance. Please pray with me for the follow-up ministry to all of these new believers. Pray that they will find a church home and grow in the Lord, and that people will be willing to mentor them and help them focus on Jesus through the years ahead.

Please continue to pray for Bruna and her mother in Spain, who both need to know the Lord. Also, continue to pray for my students at Fepar University:  Eros, Felipe, and Fabrício, who have been exposed again and again to the Gospel, but have never made a decision for Jesus. Then, let us remember Simei, a young minister of music who studies cello with me. He shares with me the difficulties and frustrations of working in a small church, and we have many special moments of prayer and counseling together. Pray that I might have the wisdom and leading from the Lord in all that I say to him. I would ask also that you pray with my colleague, Dr. Jim Davidson, and me that we might meet the challenges of the new semester with love and the Word of Christ for our students. Pray for our performing groups, the Fepar choir and orchestra, that we might always be focused on our mission to take Jesus to the lost, and that we might grow in number and strength.

My Sunday School class in English is one of my greatest joys in my ministry here in Curitiba. As we begin a new year of studies from the Bible, please pray with me that the Lord will continue to supply the lessons, enrich our knowledge of His Word, and draw those who attend the classes to Himself. We always have visitors, and most of them are just in and out. Pray that we might have the wisdom to reach out to them and bring them into the class to stay. Also continue to pray for the Encouraging Word ministry, as I still send out a Bible verse and devotional thought each morning to more than one hundred people. I trust in the Lord’s promise that His Word will not come back void, and that people will come to know Jesus personally through this ministry.

Thank you again for all your prayers and contributions in 2008!  How very much we cherish you and love you for sustaining the ministry and keeping us on the field! May your new year, 2009, be the best of your lives as you walk with the Lord and enjoy rich fellowship in Him. May He protect you from all harm and guide you in your Christian growth.  Remember, you can participate in this ministry through your prayers and by sending your contributions in my name to IICS, P.O. Box 12147, Overland Park, KS 66282-2147. You can always contact me through email at ssimmons@coopstudies.org.  Thank you so much for a wonderful year in 2008. I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us here in Curitiba in 2009!

Your sister in Christ, Sandy