October 2018
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1. Through Christ, we get to celebrate LIFE! We all had a wonderful time celebrating Wilson's birthday in August. |
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2. We celebrated JESUS at a ladies tea in Islândia, Peru. It was fun helping Tacila put it all together. |
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3. Each lady invited a friend to hear about Jesus! |
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4. What a joy to see the women from this church participating in the event! |
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5. The reconstruction of the old church in Islândia, Peru is progressing. The roof and walls are done! Now they are working on building a bathroom, which is a real luxury! |
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6. Wilson scheduled a trip with Pr. Hélio recently to visit and preach in five remote churches in Ticuna Indian villages to encourage the pastors and leaders and evaluate ministries and ministry needs. |
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7. Pr. Hélio is a simple and humble man of God. He is a warrior who has planted 12 churches. We were blessed to able to help with four of them. |
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8. Here's a proud Ticuna indian mama with her 3 mo. Old baby sleeping in a hammock. |
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9. Children work and have responsibilities from little on. |
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10. Mom is frying bananas on a typical cook stove; an open fire, built on top of a mud/clay base over a wooden floor. |
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11. Planting a new church in the Ticuna Indian village of Jordania. |
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12. The worship service was held in this new church! |
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13. It was such a blessing to see the women, men, youth and children worship the Lord in song during each service that was held. |
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14. Here's a glimpse of a few of those worship services… |
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15. Here's a glimpse of a few of those worship services… |
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16. Here's a glimpse of a few of those worship services… |
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17. How do people who have little or no money tithe? They give what they have, manioc flour, bananas (that the pastosr can sell when he comes to Benjamin Constant), gas for the pastor to make his visits, etc. |
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18. The JOY and PRESENCE of the Lord was so powerful during one service, that the people began to express their love and adoration for the Lord in song and dance that lasted over an hour. No one wanted to stop! |
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19. Planting churches! We had an outdoor service at the village of São João, Brazil, where the church was being constructed. Wilson mounted a screen and showed the movie of Mary Magdalene and the youth sang. |
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20. It was hard work hauling the wood up to the construction site. Lucas accompanied every step! |
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21. We had a great group of workers to begin constructing the church! They cut trees, cleared the land, hauled wood and installed the support and cross beams! |
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22. In September, I began administering the teacher training course, The Dynamic Teacher, once again. It's a full group with 48 teachers signed up. |
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23. We had an awesome time learning the qualifications and qualities of a children's Bible teacher. |
September 2018
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1. Pastor Larry from Amazon Basin Ministries is thankful for our partnership and the use of the mission boats to reach communities like Porto Espiritual where the light of Jesus is surrounding by the darkness. |
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2. The middle of July, we welcomed Ben and Jessica's team of missionaries and missionaries in training from Pioneers Mission serving in Pulcalpa, Peru . We met in Cavalo Cocha to encourage and support the new church plant. |
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3. We hired a local cook and had the privilege of having our meals with Pr. Edgardo and Corina, who pastor the new church plant in Cavalo Cocha. |
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4. After a wonderful time studying God's Word each morning, we were ready to carry out the ministries of the day. |
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5. The team ministered in 3 children's services during the week. What an awesome time we had! Here is just a glimpse: PRAISE TIME… |
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6. The team ministered in 3 children's services during the week. What an awesome time we had! Here is just a glimpse: PRAISE TIME… |
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7. WORSHIP… Teaching the Bible Lesson on the Lost Lamb. |
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8. The kids had a great time acting out the Bible story - Jesus Calms the Sea. |
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9. Our space was limited, but the kids had a great time reviewing each lesson by coloring activity pages. |
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10. Our space was limited, but the kids had a great time reviewing each lesson by coloring activity pages. |
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11. The story of David and Goliath went so well, the team did a repeat performance during the last church service! |
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12. It's always a blessing to have the opportunity to teach dental hygiene and give the children fluoride treatments. |
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13. Now it's your turn to show us how to brush your teeth! |
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14. Corina teaching the importance of dental hygiene telling the story of "Little Tooth" |
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15. Team Leader, Ceci, gave a wonderful devotional for the ladies. |
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16. A boat load of church members from the church plants in San Juan do Camucheiro and San Pablo came to participate in the activities that last day. |
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17. Ceci shared how God completely transforms our lives when we trust in Him using the transformation of a butterfly as an example. Christ makes us beautiful just like the butterflies these ladies colored. Aren't they amazing?! |
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18. Ceci shared how God completely transforms our lives when we trust in Him using the transformation of a butterfly as an example. Christ makes us beautiful just like the butterflies these ladies colored. Aren't they amazing?! |
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19. Ben and Jessica did a wonderful job making preparations for the trip, leading the team and participating and helping in all the activities. |
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20. At the end of the week we all travelled by speed boat to Benjamin Constant. We hosted the team in our homes and simple hotel for a night, took them on a tour of the town and Islândia. Peru and participated in the 22 anniversary of a local church where Wilson preached. |
August 2018
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1. The teachers from a local church came to our house once a week for a month to cut out flannelgraph figures of the kit a mission team brought down. |
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2. Here are the two main teachers, Rosângela e Mônica, who are really excited to start using this amazing recourse to teach God's Word to the children in their church! |
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3. We welcomed this mission team of 8 from New Life Christian Church in Morton, IL. the middle of June. From left to right: Bryce, Frank, Rob, Brady, Marilee, Tara and Olivia. (Tracy is taking the picture) |
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4. Marilee, the team leader, and her husband Rob are enjoying the boat ride to the first village. |
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5. The first village we visited was São José where we preach every two weeks. Try walking on these suspended sidewalks. It's quite a challenge! |
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6. It was great to get to know the people in the village. The team watched and played a rousing game of volleyball in the afternoon. |
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7. We held the evening service on the front porch of a house and Children's Church with over 50 kids packed into the kitchen out back. |
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8. We had a wonderful time of praise and worship and taught the lesson, The Wordless Book. All the kids received a beaded bracelet with the Wordless Book colors. |
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9. Tara led an awesome women's devotional and craft time in two of the villages. |
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10. Here is the group of ladies from Islândia, Peru. |
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11. We had a lot of fun teaching dental hygiene and giving fluoride treatments to the kids in two villages. |
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12. The kids were so proud of their brand new toothbrushes. |
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13. The team helped with the children's program every day. We had a time of Praise and Worship, Bible lessons, Activity Pages and Fun and Games! |
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14. The team helped with the children's program every day. We had a time of Praise and Worship, Bible lessons, Activity Pages and Fun and Games! |
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15. Ben helped Marilee and Tara find the right pair of reading glasses for each person. |
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16. Amazing relationships were built that week! The kids stuck to Olivia, Bryce and Brady like magnets. Many of them received a love they have never felt at home… GOD'S LOVE! |
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17. While in Islândia, the team worked HARD to carry these boards weighing over 100 lbs. to the church site. |
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18. Our workers, Fransisco and Tino, helped lay the foundation of the church, which is suspended six meters from the ground due to the flood waters that flow beneath it for six months every year. |
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19. Phase two of the construction was to lay the cross beams of the floor of the church. |
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20. Frank, Rob, Bryce and Brady did a GREAT JOB! |
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21. During our 3 days of construction in Islândia, all the boards were carried to the work site, the foundation was built, cross beams put in place and the floor finished… WORK ACCOMPLISHED! |
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22. The last church service with Pr. Nestor, in the Ticuna Indian village of Lauro Saudré, was a tremendous blessing to us all. |
July 2018
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1. Pr. Edison from Buen Suceso, Peru, is now the proud owner of this canoe purchased with funds from the churches in England. Now he can visit and preach in Santa Teresa and Japón since he coordinates those areas! |
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2. The church in Buen Suceso didn't know Wilson's team was coming, but gathered together at the last minute for a wonderful time learning God's Word and fellowship. |
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3. Hiking up to the village of Santa Teresa |
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4. Worshipping the Lord in Santa Teresa |
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5. God moved mightily in Japón through a message using chemicals to share the Gospel. |
June 2018
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1. Here are 10 Sunday School Kits I was able to put together this month (each containing 2 yrs. worth of Bible lessons) ready to be delivered to churches in remote river villages. |
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2. I am also putting together and making lesson plans, visuals and everything necessary to teach the series: WHAT GOD COMPARES HIS WORD TO; light, seed, fire, etc. |
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3. We had the special privilege of welcoming Pr. Jeferson, the Executive Secretary of our misson, and his wife Lenir for 3 ½ days. It was took them on a tour of our little town, the hangar and mission boats. |
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4. It was an honor to take them to the river village of São João to participate in a service in celebration of Mother's Day. |
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5. We hold a church service in São João every 15 days. What a tremendous blessing to see one young man give his life to Christ at the end of this service. He was so moved and filled with joy! |
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6. We all went to Islandia to support the new pastor and his wife, Maurilio and Tacila, for the Mother's Day celebration service there. They are part of our ministry team here. |
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7. Wilson and I praise God for your faithful and fervent prayers for us and the mission ministries in this region. He is faithful to hear and answer everyone of them according to His plans and purposes! |
May 2018
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1. Wilson was blessed to be able to preach in Islândia, Peru once again. |
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2. Wilson was blessed to be able to baptize four brothers and sisters in Christ there. |
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3. In April, we held a graduation ceremony for 16 people who took the teacher training course, The Dynamic Teacher, that Tacila taught.
I gave a short message to the teachers and coordinated the ceremony. |
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4. Here, the teachers are making a commitment before the Lord and their church to be Godly examples, pray for their students, prepare their lessons well and be on time! |
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5. Tacila was so proud to give each teacher their certificate! |
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6. We also presented a flannel graph to the pastor's wife and Laura, one of the teachers. |
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7. The ceremony ended with a time of celebration in God's Word as Wilson shared a message. |
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8. It's time to CELEBRATE! |
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9. Our grandson, Lucas, turned 3 this past month. |
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10. This loving, talkative, creative, active little guy is such a delight! |
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11. What an awesome time we had roasting hotdogs, making s'mores... |
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12. and having sweet fellowship with special friends. |
April 2018
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1. In March, God gave us an amazing time visiting ministry partners in South Brasil, some if which we haven't seen in years. Here are just a few... |
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2. In March, God gave us an amazing time visiting ministry partners in South Brasil, some if which we haven't seen in years. Here are just a few... |
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3. In March, God gave us an amazing time visiting ministry partners in South Brasil, some if which we haven't seen in years. Here are just a few... |
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4. God gave us a special gift for my 60th birthday... Joshua, Leighann and two of their friends, Matthew and Chris, came to visit us in Brazil. |
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5. We visited touríst spots... |
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6. ...and enjoyed some quality time together. Here we are in the sky tram overlooking the beautiful city of Balneario Camboriú and delighting in God's creation all around us. |
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7. We all thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Wilson's mom and other family members. |
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8. Grandma, you are the BEST. We love you so much! |
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9. We had the wonderful privilege of participating in the Asas de Socorro mission conference. |
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10. The messages were amazing and it was awesome to touch base with veteran missionaries and meet new ones. |
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11. We even had a Hawaiian banquet one evening… so creative and FUN! |
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12. Wilson's mom is an amazing woman who loves the Lord with all her heart. Everyone looks forward to her mouthwatering meals and desserts! |
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13. She loves to care for her garden in the same way she cares for her family… with lots of tenderness and love. She exhales the sweet smell of Jesus where ever she goes. |
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14. Wilson's mom loves crocheting… |
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15. Caring for her garden… |
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16. and surprising us all with amazing meals and mouthwatering desserts. She upholds us all in daily prayers and is a true example of a Godly woman! |
March 2018
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1. Mission team leader Marty, together with Ryan, Jacob, and Aaron, (from IL) came the beginning of February, 2018. What a tremendous blessing they were! |
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2. We visited two river villages. The 1st village we visited was Lauro Saudré. What a warm welcome they gave us when we arrived. |
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3. Jacob had a great time making friends with the local critters. This lizard can grow over two meters! We prefer him just as he is! :) |
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4. Welcome to the village of São José. |
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5. They live in homes built on stilts surrounded by suspended sidewalks. |
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6. We had the special privilege of watching the community make manioc flour. Here is one of their plantations where they pull out the plants with a firm tug but its roots. |
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7. They feed the manioc into a grinder which turns it into a wet pulp. |
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8. Then they put it into a bin to squeeze out all the liquid (far right) and sift it into fine or coarse flour (left). |
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9. At last, they place the flour in a large saucer where they bake it over the fire, stirring constantly until it is well toasted. |
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10. Maurílio is showing the smaller roots that they store for the next planting season. |
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11. It's always such a joy to fit the elderly with reading glasses. (Lauro Saudré) |
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12. Giving out reading glasses again in São José |
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13. God gave us once again the special privilege of teaching dental hygiene... |
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14. ... and giving fluoride treatments. |
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15. During Bible time, we learned that God is all powerful. He used a little man with a BIG FAITH... |
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16. ... to conquer a big giant. Ryan made an amazing giant! :) |
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17. No matter where we go, the teens and kids... |
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18. LOVE to PLAY! |
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19. We had an awesome time of worship both nights. (Lauro Saudré) |
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20. Since São João did not have a church, we had "church on a porch" with 35 villagers plus our team. |
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21. The US team sang a worship song and Wilson gave a message from God's Word. |
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22. Aaron taught welding classes at the hangar to our staff and a few others. |
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23. Here is Aaron, working on the mission van. |
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24. They guys progress is going well. Here they are soldering the very first truss for our next church construction! |
February 2018
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1. Wilson, Andrew and Ben are on their way to do another "gift drop" to a few unreached Indian villages nestled in the jungle. Someday, we pray God allows us to reach these isolated villages with the Good News of Jesus Christ! |
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2. We received as a donation around 20 boxes of incomplete Sunday School material for all ages. It was fun organizing everything and completing each set with lesson plans and Bible activity pages that I have been working on the past couple of years. |
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3. The Sunday School visuals we received are beautiful. This month, I was able to print up Bible Lesson plans and activity pages for each kit so we can begin distributing them among isolated churches in river villages. |
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4. Ben, Jessica, Lucas and Chloe, together with seminary teachers from São Paulo on their way to the Indian Bible seminary at Sabonete, where Jessica taught classes on health care and dental hygiene for a week. |
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5. This month, the smaller mission boat received an overhaul on the hull and a few other minor repairs. We are gearing up for another mission team that will come the beginning of February! |
January 2018
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1. Wilson flew in a few of the mature Christian Indians from
one of the more remote Indian tribes. |
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2. Sponsored by a group of men from In Touch Ministries, Renew and other
Christian organizations, a select group of mature Christian Indians, who also speak Portuguese, from
several different nations were chosen to participate in in evangelistic training seminars given at our
house for several days. |
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3. The projector equipment fits compactly into one small backpack to make it possible for the Indians to carry it through the jungle to reach isolated river communities. |
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4. The 1st training seminars ended with a special time of dedication and prayer. There will be another retreat in January. |
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5. Our goal is to reach unreached people's groups throughout the Amazon/Javarí River valleys. A powerful time of prayer was held with mission staff and a group of Indians for this purpose.
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6. Andrew, a single missionary is evangelizing Grajarí, a rural community that is located 11 kilometers from Benjamin Constant. In the middle of a spiritual battle, a lightning bolt struck the statue of Maria that guards the entrance to this village and broke it into pieces. We believe that God is breaking Satan's stronghold on this place!
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7. In December, Wilson and I attended the 100 year anniversary celebrations of the church in Manaus. We accompanied the two guest speakers: Pr. John King, from Riverside Church in Peoria, IL and Pr. Paul Randerson and his wife Mary, representing the churches from England. |
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8. In December, Wilson and I attended the 100 year anniversary celebrations of the church in Manaus. We accompanied the two guest speakers: Pr. John King, from Riverside Church in Peoria, IL and Pr. Paul Randerson and his wife Mary, representing the churches from England. |
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9. Words cannot begin to describe the powerful presence of God we experienced as we witnessed the baptism of over 5000 people being baptized in the Black River at the Ponta Negra, Manaus. |
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10. The convention and 100 year celebrations ended with an tremendous time of praise and worship at the stadium. |
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11. This is the choir that is directly behind us. There are no words that can adequately describe the amazing time of praise we shared that night! |
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12. Time of celebration in Santa Luiza. Each program ended with a time of fellowship, fruit cake and chocolate milk! |
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13. We were welcomed in Buen Sucesso with a delicious dinner of alligator and manioc. |
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14. The village of Buen Sucesso welcomed us with a banquet of alligator and manioc. |
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15. Lucas would not eat anything else. All he wanted was alligator! YUM |
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16. It was so good to see the river churches packed and praising the Lord during the Christmas programs. Here is the congregation in Buen Sucesso. |
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17. The drama team built a rustic stable and manger scene in each church we went. The shepherds are praising God for the birth of our Lord and Savior. |
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18. The members in Santa Teresa creatively decorated the church with balloons and toilet paper. The celebration we had there was wonderful! |
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19. Our celebration "tour" ended in Islândia where they team did two presentations as a tool to help evangelize their city. |
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20. We had the unique privilege of celebrating Christmas with family for the first time in over 10 years. We had a great breakfast at the Spicer's and on Christmas day, we had dinner at our house. |
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21. What fun watching Lucas open presents; plastic cars, trucks, motorcycle and airplane. (Toys that were lovingly donated from Manaus to missionary kids in our area). |
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22. Brandon graduated with honors from the nursing program December 9th. We are so proud of you Brandon and praise God for this victory. He takes the state boards the 4th of January and
will begin his new job in Cardiac ICU sometime the end of February. |
