I recently attended the funeral of the twenty-three-year old nephew of one of the members of our church.  He had died Christmas Eve as a result of being hit by a train (probably suicide).  It truly was a sad occasion.  The funeral was held in a very small room in the Catholic Church and officiated by a Methodist pastora (lady pastor).  With two minutes of warning they asked if I would also speak.  I was able to give a short gospel message and tried to lead the mother, family and friends to the only one that could truly comfort their hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ.  The thing that pulled at my heart the most is what I saw when we arrived at the cemetery.  It had been raining, and next to the plot where the young man was to buried were 15-20 mounds of mud and dirt next to open graves that were waiting for people to die.  The reality is that many Portuguese are dying without Christ every day.  Please pray that we will be able to reach more Portuguese before it is too late.

Lionel Martin, Portugal