![Alexandre and Valeria, with Valeria's father, mother, and sister still in the baptismal tank [photo - South American Division]](https://cdn.adventistcontent.org/images/5df200974469ba078555eb4c/7a2ba1e2fec9350c9faf73ed2332416673f3faf1/1200x/3Si1659060053288.jpeg)
Valéria dos Santos Silva, 29, and Carlos Alexandre Mendonça da Silva, 38, started studying the Bible after an internet search for Bible study videos, through which they found TV Novo Tempo. There they began to dedicate themselves to studying and, as time went by, sharing God's love with their families.
"I [encountered] Novo Tempo in 2019. One day, I felt a need to seek God more; I just didn't know how to do it, until the Holy Spirit touched my heart and spoke to my mind for me to seek something on YouTube, because until then, I used the tool only for frivolous things that didn't edify me in anything. I started to search the ‘Bible Studies’ toolbar, and the first one that appeared to me was the Easy Bible program," recalls Valéria.
At the same time, Valéria started her studies and shared with her husband, who was also beginning to learn about the Bible. At first, he didn't believe a study done through the internet could lead to important revelations, but she wouldn't give up or let him give up. "I had the idea of doing my studies close to 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 some methods to get her husband's attention for his studies. "There were moments during the study that I knew I could get his attention. I would press 'pause,' I would turn the video back a little to show it, and I would ask what he thought. And so it fed his curiosity to know more about that subject that, until then, was all new to us. After a short time, we were already watching the studies together daily."
Baptisms
After conducting about 30 Bible studies with the help of Jair Mendonça and his wife, Maria, who cleared up 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 because of the pandemic."
The couple was baptized in the interior of Amazonas during the pandemic
From then on, they didn't just keep their new knowledge to themselves; they began to share it with some friends and family. "First, we talked about what God had done and was doing in our lives, and we offered the study," Alexandre explains. 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 give us feedback on what they thought of the study or if there were still any questions."
This method, however, was not very effective. "We decided to offer to pass the study in person. We took one day a week to go to the person's house, and we did it all together. That way, we saw that we were on the right track," says Alexandre.
The smiles after baptism reveal the joy of the missionary couple
The videos helped evangelize the couple who had a hard time concentrating on reading the Bible. "The video format makes us have a greater concentration because Novo Tempo's studies have a wonderful dynamic. They are clear, simple, and direct, making all the studies very interesting, that catch our attention and touch our hearts. So good, it's impossible to [watch] just one," the couple reports.
Alexandre'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 wonderful studies began to be harvested this month. Her parents, Shirleuda Moreira dos Santos and Valdiney Freitas da Silva, and her sister, Vanessa dos Santos Silva, decided to become Seventh-day Adventists. The newly baptized believers have now started their studies with their third child. And so the missionary family grows, multiplying stories of encounters with Jesus.