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.

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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.

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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. 

Tuesday nights we have beginner Bible courses for newer believers. A little over a month ago I took over it, and since then it has grown. Right now, we're teaching a course on comparative religions and sects like Catholicism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, and Islam. One of our members said she had no idea the Catholics were wrong on so many doctrines. It's so important that our people are learning to give coherent answers to those who ask tough questions about our faith. A couple of our leaders noticed that since this meeting is on a weekday, there is more traffic passing by our church and more people stopping and curiously looking inside our front doors. So they have taken it upon themselves to evangelize at the door on Tuesday nights as well.

My violin students and I have been evangelizing in the plaza with our instruments. Pray that God will use it to attract more attention to His life-changing Holy Spirit.

These past couple of weeks we have improved our evangelism methods in the plaza.  We start earlier in the day while there's more people out. Last Sunday, a guy named Darío Ramos visited our church to help with evangelism and ministry in our church. He works as a clown and is dedicated to children's ministry. He made balloons, told jokes, and did magic tricks which attracted many in the plaza. I was pleased to play background music on my violin while he did his act and shared what God has done in his life.

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Next Sunday my students will be playing in the plaza. Pray that people will be responsive to our message and that the Holy Spirit will urge them to get to know Him and become a part of His Kingdom.

A man by the name of Jorge Torres has been visiting our church a couple of times on Tuesdays. He's a part of a larger church called Visión del Futuro and works in the production of a TV show called La Otra TV on the channel "Canal Luz". On it they interview different kinds of people working for God´s Kingdom, and he asked me to be on his show as a guest. I gladly accepted and had a great time witnessing and sharing about our work here in the center of Buenos Aires with people who need Christ so much. I also enjoyed sharing about my work in music. He says the program is seen throughout Latin America and Miami.

And since we've had Father's Day since my last update, I'd like to give a shout-out to my dad who spent hours taking my brother and I to our music lessons every week in the car. He's been an excellent example of what it means to live by faith, completely dedicated to God's calling even when you don't know exactly what God has next for you.

Please pray that as soon as the institute is started, God will annoint it and everything we teach there. Pray that God will use us to help people discover their calling in God's Kingdom and invest everything in it. We're expecting great things to come!