The Comings Family

We are Andrew and Itacyara Comings, Missionaries with Baptist Mid-Missions to Brazil.  We currently serve at the Cariri Baptist Seminary located in the city of Crato in the northeastern state of Ceará, Brazil. We two sons: Michael (6) and Nathan (1).

Andrew

Andrew Comings was born in Ithaca, New York.  He was raised in a Christian home where he consistently heard the Gospel, and saw it lived out in the lives of his parents.  Andrew made a profession of faith at an early age, though he struggled with God's will for his life throughout his teenage years.

When Andrew was ten years old, a missionary to Brazil gave a presentation at the church where Andrew's father was pastoring.  The pictures made a big impression on him, and he began to think about the possibility of missions.  When Andrew was seventeen, that same missionary invited him to spend two months with him in Brazil.  Those two months changed Andrew's life.

After returning to the US, Andrew began to prepare for missionary service.  He worked with a professional puppet team for a time, and this opened up the doors for him to return to Brazil in 1994, with the purpose of starting a puppet ministry there. 

For two years Andrew worked and studied at the Cariri Baptist Seminary in Northeastern Brazil. He and Itacyara met in February of 1996, and began dating shortly thereafter.

In June of 1966 Andrew returned to the US, and in September he began his studies at Spurgeon Baptist Bible College. He graduated in May of 2000, and he and Itacyara were married in Brazil in July of that same year.

Itacyara

Itacyara (or Tassie, as she is commonly called in the US) was born in the northeastern Brazilian city of São Luís, capitol of the state of Marahão.  Her family was Roman Catholic, and she learned very little of Christ during her growing-up years.

When she was 16, a high-school friend accepted Christ, and Itacyara began to notice a marked difference in his life.  Wanting to know more about this Jesus who could so radically transform a person, she went to a small, independant Baptist church in her neighborhood.  There, she heard the Gospel for the first time, and accepted Christ as her Savior.

Itacyara encountered a fair amount of resistence from her family as she began to share her faith with him.  It came to the point where her father forbade her from going to church.  One month later, he was killed in a work-related accident.

Deeply saddened by the death of her unsaved father, Itacyara resolved to re-double her efforts to win the rest of her family for Christ.  She also got involved in evangelistic programs at her church.  Feeling God's call on her life for missions, she enrolled at the Cariri Baptist Seminary in January of 1996.  She graduated in December of 1999 with a Bachelor's degree in Religious Education.

Ministries

Andrew and Itacyara are currently involved in many aspects of missionary work in Northeast Brazil. Andrew is the ministry internship coordinator for the Cariri Baptist Seminary, and teaches the Introduction to Doctrine course. He is currently serving as director for the Iguatu Baptist Camp, and produces Cidade Feliz (Happy City), a children's program broadcast on local TV.

Besides helping Andrew with the above activities Itacyara teaches English at the Cariri Baptist Seminary, and has an effective counseling ministry with the young ladies of our church. She is currently attending a Brazilian university to get a language arts degree.

Contact Info

US Mailing Address:
Box 173 4798 South Florida Ave.
Lakeland, FL 33813

Brazilian Mailing Address
Seminário Batista do Cariri
C.P. 1007
Crato, CE 63100-970
Brazil, SA

Telephone (in Brazil):
011-55-88-9961-6345

e-mail
andrew@comingstobrazil.com