This past July, the mother of one of our best missionary friends here, Rocco Ditrolio, became seriously ill. So Rocco needed me to translate for a week for a team from the U.S. in the small town of Las Lomitas in the northern province of Formosa, Argentina. There are a couple of other churches in the town, but they have very legalistic tendencies, not to mention there are also Jehovah's Witnesses there. The AG of Argentina had been planning a church plant there for a couple years now, and the team from the U.S. was one of three teams that went there to minister and evangelize. We evangelized with clowns, skits, and testimonies in the plaza, and we were also surprised when they let us do so in the elementary and high schools in the town. One girl on the team shared her testimony with a high school about Jesus saved her from an abusive environment as a kid. She then asked how many wanted to accept Christ into their hearts. At least like 20 teenagers raised their hands! God really did some amazing things in the first services of this new church there. Many people came to know Him in the altar calls.

In August I had a great time translating for David Wells, the superintendent of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, in Henderson and sharing our heritage with him there. My violin students and I are using our gifts for evangelism at the front door of our church. People are very responsive to it.

On the first Monday of this month I was invited to give a violin workshop at a private school for the deaf. I explained how the violin works and how it's different from the guitar, and I shared with them the characteristics of my electric violin. I showed them a couple videos of some excellent performances.

This is one of my favorites:


One thing that I found fascinating is that one girl there who had no hearing at all put her hand to the speaker to be able to "feel" the music and sense the different vibrations.

Click to enlarge

At the end, I gave several of them a chance to play. They were very glad that I came, and I had a great time.

~~~

Lucas has been an excellent student and has advanced greatly in the last couple of months. In one of our prayer meetings, God gave him a vision of becoming a pastor someday. He is showing a genuine calling to work in God´s kingdom and I am glad to teach him.

Last Sunday we had the privilege of playing a couple songs in the Women in Action meeting. Lucas, Melina, and Arianna all did a wonderful job. Melina gave a sample violin class to a volunteer, then I shared my vision with them, talking about how I look to develop a unique sound in music ministry to attract people's attention to God's kingdom.

God bless you all and thank you for your continued support!

Hi everyone! Back in March, I took a 4-day course on the philosophy behind the Suzuki method of teaching music to enhance my violin teaching skills. In the Suzuki method, the student's learning of music is as similar to learning his native language as possible. The student listens a lot and imitates his instructor and learns music reading later on. I was given many different tips and exercises for improving my teaching. The course was provided by a Suzuki center here in the city, and the instructor is a member of the Suzuki Association. Here is a picture of him showing us a sample class with one of his students.

Wonderful news: María and her daughter Arianna have returned to our church, and Arianna is taking up violin again. Pray that she will grow in knowledge and love for Jesus Christ and make great progress in music for God's Kingdom!

A couple days ago, Lucas shared with me some things he's experiencing in his public school. Three people he knows there live in horrible circumstances and have talked about committing suicide. At least two of them have attempted it. Their names are Tomás, Martín, and Eduardo. Please pray that God will use Lucas in a supernatural way to share the light of the Gospel with these people who have such desperate needs and introduce them to Jesus Christ.

Stefanía's parents feel that they need to return to Paraguay this year to be with her mom's father who is having some complicated health issues. Pray that God will heal him completely and take away all pain, and that He will put a divine peace that passes understanding in the hearts and minds of every family member involved.

God bless you all very much, and thank you for your continued support. Any questions or comments, don't hesitate to let me know: jjbradbury@gmail.com

Generally during the first months of the year, there's a bit less activity since its summer. College students leave the city to be with their families, and people go on vacation for a couple weeks. But I've used the time to work up close with my students for an hour a day so that they know the best way to practice. So far the progress has been amazing! Melina has finished all the pieces in Book 1 and is halfway through Book 2, making her one of my top students along with Stefanía! David and Lucas have made excellent progress as well. I will soon be making many more arrangements for them to play in evangelism and church presentations.

On the first Saturday of this month, I was invited by a music teacher from one of the Christian music schools I've taught at to play my violin for her grandma's 90th birthday. She's in very good health and really only looks like 70. I played some classical pieces, hymns, and some modern worship songs. I could sense a real presence of God as we celebrated her life and her family shared powerful testimonies of her intercession for her family and her faithfulness to God. What a legacy!

Happy New Year! Last month music ministry went well as I was invited by an old friend from Bible college to play the violin with his church band for their Christmas special. They do great music and I had a wonderful time. Christmas presentation in our church also went well. Our band members worked hard to prepare the songs and it sounded very well done. We did Jesus Messiah and Unspeakable Joy by Chris Tomlin among other songs. We also did a puppet show for the kids.

I'm believing that God has wonderful new plans to show us this year along with more students and music education! Since most of my violin students at the church are beginners and quite young (12 to 16 years old) I have decided to work 1 hour every day individually with most of them for the next 6 months or so to thoroughly instill in them good practicing habits and ensure that they progress to their maximum potential in God's ministry for them. Stefanía and her brother Tomás are back from Paraguay again to help out too. Pray that we outdo ourselves this year in music presentation and drawing people into God's life-changing presence.