June Update - It's Never Dull Around Here

Greetings to all!  This update comes on the brink of one of the largest events in Santarém for the year.  The local church is preparing for the annual "Congresso" that will take place this coming weekend.  It will be three evenings filled with worship, teaching, dancing, and theatre all with a Gospel emphasis designed for non-believers to hear the Gospel.  The event is well know and thousands and thousands of people will attend and bring their unsaved friends.  This year Silvia and I were invited to participate in the theatre portion, so we'll be taking our places in that ministry.  Pray with us for a great event and a clear Gospel message falling on the ears of receptive souls, those prepared by our God to receive saving faith in our Lord!

I ended the month of April with a quick trip out on the Maro River to a community far from Santarèm.  We arrived there via speedboat, taking almost six hours to make the 200 Km journey.  Fellow missionaries Jeff and Joaquim and I worked together with the local villagers to prep the church construction project for a coming team of Americans.  We were blessed to share our time with those locals.  This community is located in an area where they selectively harvest lumber and sell it to make a living.  The community spent several weeks to cut and rip all the boards for their own church and then continued to make twice as many so they could donate all of the lumber for another church construction project!  What a blessing!  I love to see lives transformed and people giving all they have for the sake of the Gospel and the kingdom work going on in the Amazon Basin!  This is a true example of sacrificial living for the Gospel!  The next time you're at the gas pump with your car, remember the people on the Maro River, who pay over $16 per gallon of gas!

In May, Silvia and I were invited to attend a course given by the local church to teach how to better minister the Word within various teaching opportunities in the church.  The course was three nights a week for 13 sessions so that kept us occupied for the month of May!  We were blessed to be taught and learn by some of the local pastors.  I appreciate the efforts of the church to bring a high standard to the teaching standards within the body.  I am sure that the church will reap these benefits for years to come!  We also started a cell group that we host in our home on Saturdays!  We had been praying for this group for some time and now it's finally come true!

In June, the normalcy returned as Silvia got back to traveling with the Health Team.  They headed south of town by van and truck to arrive at five different villages to host clinics over the course of a week.  I also recently returned from a trip on the river doing water filter maintenance and training in the village of Curuai.  June also brought a couple holidays, including the city of Santarém birthday, some people birthdays, as well as a couple races for me to run in.  We also participated in the March for Jesus, where the evangelical christian churches in the city join together to have a parade and pray for the city.

Our disciples got married!

Thanks again for your love, support, prayers and partnership in the Lord's work through us in the Amazon Basin!  We continue to grow as a married couple as well, learning more and more each day about how to balance ministry and family life while not forgetting the radical lifestyle that Christ has called us all to participate in, namely that of making disciples of the nations!

Praises

Safe traveling by land and water in the name of Christ.

For the Grace-upon-Grace that is showed on us daily by our God!

Recent approval of my second one-year Religious Visa to Brazil and accompanying ID card.

Prayer Requests

Strengthening and growth of our cell groups as well as our disciples.

Time and consistency with our intimate time with the Lord and in the Word.

Consistency in our new cell group that is now meeting in our home, that it may lead to future growth!