December Amazon Update!

This month our church hosted a “dinner of love” for married couples in and outside of the church.  It was a huge success and we had a lot of fun.  Elba spoke about the challenges of being married and shared some tools to help resolve conflict and improve communications.  Specifically, about how men need to feel respected and woman need to feel loved.  She also shared the importance of having Jesus be the center of our relationship and reinforced the importance of using our marriage as an expression of God’s love for us and the community.  After the talks, we played some games with the couples like kissing each other for a minute straight, cuddling for a minute, and BINGO.  Then we had a raffle and the winner won a getaway weekend trip with their loved one.  All in all we believe that everyone had a great time, and the ones that were far from Christ drew a little closer. 

We had a great time with the leadership and the church in Recife encouraging and teaching different tools to help grow their church.  They are a young group of believers that are very energetic and passionate for the Lord.  They have had many challenges since the church was formed but we walked away very encouraged because the Lord is doing a great work there and lives are being transformed.  Please pray for more of God’s presence and favor upon this church.     

We found these masked superheroes in our backyard (thanks to my Mom and sister who recently came and visited).  They said that their goal was to fight crime, eat M&M’s and promote justice throughout the world.  Also, this is a picture of Elba and I scuba diving in Recife.  This was the first time either of us have ever scuba dived.  I believe in North America you must go through training and get certified, but that was not the case here in Brazil, 10 minute of instructions and they threw you in the water.  It was a blast and thankfully we had a trained person with us the whole time.  We also went to a mall and took this impromptu photo with Santa.  It turned out pretty good and we hope that you enjoy.  The Christmas season was in full gear in Recife. 

Thanks for all your prayers for us.  Please have a great CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio  43215

Or On-line donations at:

http://www.xingu.org/14d_dolan_donation.html

November Amazon Update

I am writing this update from Recife in Brazil and it was an adventure to get here (see below).  We are here visiting a church and getting to know the leadership better and possibly ordaining a Pastor.  Recife is very far from Altamira and we only get to visit the church once per year.  We will also be visiting with another pastor as well who is interested in joining our church movement.  We are staying in a favela called “circle of fire”.  Not sure why they call it circle of fire and I think I will leave it that way.  Below is the view from our window.  Please pray for wisdom and favor for us.

Thank you so much for your prayers for Elba.  On our last update the doctor drained the infection and we were waiting to see if the infection would go away.  Unfortunately, it did not and instead, began to grow again.  The doctors recommended that Elba go back to Maraba and have the infection surgically removed.  We left the following day by car for another 530 kilometer drive along the rough terrain of the Amazon highway.  We arrived safely but beat up from the roads.  The following day Elba had her surgery and it was a success.  He removed the infection, which was a little smaller than a golf ball, and we got it biopsied.  In good taste, I will omit the photo.  Moving forward to today, the infection seems to be completely gone and the test results show no sign of cancer.  AMEN!!!  Thanks again for all your prayers. 

Before leaving to visit the church in Recife we had 5 couples get married in our church.  All of the couples have been living together for many years if not decades.  However, since starting to participate in the church, the Holy Spirit has been convicting them to start living a more righteous lifestyle.  The couples were so excited and you could sense a renewal of love between the couples.  It was really special and a great celebration.  One of the other cool things was that there was a father and daughter who got married to their significant other.  It was special for him to be able to walk his daughter down the aisle, and then turn around and wait for his soon to be bride to come down the aisle (photo 1).  We are so proud of these couple to buck the trend of the culture and get married.  We know that the Lord is pleased as well. 

                                                                              

On a much lighter note, here are some pictures of the girls at a local water park, and dressed up for a school project called “Festival of the Nations”. 

Please continue to pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional health for us.  Please pray!

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio  43215

Or On-line donations at:

http://www.xingu.org/6_giving.html

We almost did not make it to Recife because the big machinery workers at the Belo Monte Hydroelectric plant went on strike and blocked the highway.  The workers burned the offices, dormitories, kitchens, and anything else that was flammable.  They displaced 12,000 workers and did significant damage.  When we were driving and getting close to the strike we saw hundreds of men leaving the area.  We were unaware of the strike until we came to the crossing line.  No one was trying to cross the line because the situation was violent and unstable.  They blocked the road with a bus, and real big earth mover.  We were in a predicament because we needed to get across so Elba could see the doctor in Maraba, as well as catch a flight to Recife.  We stopped a guy and he told us that he knew the person who was in charge.  Elba asked if he would go with her to go and talk with him.  He agreed and they went.  I stayed with the girls and was praying for great favor and mercy.  They found the man and by the grace of God told us that we could pass.  We jumped into the car and maneuvered passed the big obstacles in the road.  Two other cars followed behind us and then they decided not let anymore vehicles cross.  Later, they blew up the big earth mover and bus as you will see in the below video.  Praise the Lord for He is so good and His love endures forever.  He is control of all things. 

http://globotv.globo.com/rede-globo/jornal-nacional/v/policia-reforca-seguranca-nos-canteiros-de-obra-da-usina-de-belo-monte/2240738/

The Belo Monte Hydroelectric plant will be the third largest hydroelectric plant in the world.

October Amazon Update

We had an “encounter with God” weekend retreat for the men and women on two separate weekends.  The retreat is a time of teaching biblical principles and allowing the participant to spend devoted time to gain more of an intimate relationship with God.  During the weekend, there are a series of teachings that are presented to help the individual establish or deepen their relationship with God, help lead them through times of forgiveness and healing, and let God take their hurts, fears, doubts, and burdens and bring them to a place of freedom and restoration.

 

The teachings are also focused on God and what He can and wants to do in your life. Time is provided so that each person can interact with God on an individual basis.   During these encounters with God, God was healing people, and delivering them from their pain, fears, and strongholds.  One of the more powerful things during the retreat was when we write down our sins on a piece of paper and then burn it at the cross.  It was great and a great reminder that if we confess our sins and bring them to the Lord, He will forgive and forget!

I also had the opportunity to share at the retreat to all the married couples about our roles as men in our marriage. 

Not to be outdone by Mom and Dad, the children also had a weekend retreat and Camilly and Alyssa participated.  They had such a great time at the retreat with over 80 children participating.  They had some teachings about Jesus, played a lot of games, saw some skits, dressed up, danced, and Camilly said that she was touched by the Holy Spirit.  That’s awesome.  When they got to the church after the weekend retreat, Camilly and Alyssa participated in the worship band and sang a song.  It was a great weekend all around for them and us. 

Elba is starting to feel better and it appears that the infection is going away.  Praise the Lord!  We are so appreciative that we can come to our brother and sister and they are there to intercede for us to God.  Thank you so much!

Please pray for a complete healing for Elba, as well as our whole family.  Thanks in advance. 

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio  43215

Or On-line donations at:

http://www.xingu.org/6_giving.html

Dear large Lizard,

PLEASE get out of my house!!!!

Elba Update

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers for Elba and our family.  Elba arrived home last night from Marabá and we were really glad to have her home.  Below is a small update of what happened last week. 

Thankfully, the doctor did not feel it was necessary for Elba to stay in the hospital.  He did the surgical procedure on an outpatient basis and she went and stayed at the Bergen’s house during her stay in Marabá.  The doctor drained several cyst and did some biopsy work.  The preliminary results of the biopsy show there is no sign of cancer.  Praise the Lord!  However, they are still unable to determine what type of infection that Elba has that is causing the lumps in her breast.  After the first surgery, the lumps began to fill up again, and so Elba returned to the doctors and he drained them again.  They would like to take another larger sample but they felt that Elba needed to heal from the first and second surgery, and to give it some time to see if the second draining would resolve the problem.

Elba is now resting like any good Type A personality would rest.  ;-)

Thanks for your continued prayers! 

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio  43215

Or On-line donations at:

http://www.xingu.org/14d_dolan_donation.html

Elba

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for Elba and us.  We got Elba’s lab results on one of the lumps in her breast and they identified it as an abscess called mastitis.  The normal treatment is antibiotics but she has already been through many cycles with no effect.  Elba left this morning to Marabá to have a specialist examine the abscess with the possibility of them surgically removing.  Also, the specialist would like to get a biopsy of another lump deeper within her breast.  If they decide to remove the abscess Elba would need to stay in the hospital for 7 days to receive antibiotics via IV. 

Considering our remoteness, it was good for her to go to a larger city as the medical services are more advanced.  The problem is that we will not be able to go with her to support her in person.  The girls are in school and cannot miss this amount of days.  If they do, they will be held back for a year.  We are somewhat OK with this because we realize that this is the reality of our situation. 

The procedures will be performed at a private hospital which is somewhat unknown for us because the doctors and hospital will not give us an estimate of how much it will cost to perform the procedures.  We are not sure if Elba has to pay before getting the procedure as they do not accept health insurance from the States.   When Elba had an emergency C-section to have Camilly they would not let us in the hospital until we paid for the room and services upfront.   Will they do the same?  Lots of unknowns on many levels, but thankfully, the Lord is in control and we feel His presence upon us. 

Please pray for Elba and for a successful surgery if that is the route they choose, and all the other details will go very well.  We will keep you posted as we hear more. 

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio  43215

Or On-line donations at:

http://www.xingu.org/14d_dolan_donation.html

September Amazon Update

One of the benefits of being a missionary is receiving short term mission teams.  The Vineyard Columbus sent a team here led by Sue and Mike Burkett and they held a healing conference for all the churches.  It was a great time and we saw people get healed physically, mentally and spiritually.  One of the big healings was when Mike Burkett was praying for a young woman who lost her hearing in one of her ears.  They prayed and after praying asked if she could hear.  She said “I can hear a little bit and she felt like her ear was burning”.  Mike said “let’s keep praying”.  They kept praying and in the end this young girl said that she was able to hear completely again.  What a miracle! 

We were hoping that the miracles would transcend onto Elba and that she would be completely healed of the infection in her breast.  Unfortunately, that did not happen.  Please continue to pray for Elba.  The infection / cyst in her breast continued to grow and be very painful.  She went to the doctors and they drained out a lot of the infection and also got a biopsy.  They are sending the sample to Belo Horizonte because there is no place to get it tested here.  Please join us in prayer that the results will lead us in the right direction to get this completely healed.  We are very grateful for doctors and medicine but would love to have God heal her. 

We had a large windstorm and it brought down one of the cell towers that is located next to CDR, the Mission and our house.  The storm just came out of nowhere and caused a lot of damage.  Alyssa was outside jumping on the trampoline having the time of her life.  Praise the Lord nothing happened to her when a large branch came smashing down into our house.  Aside from the tower going down and damage to our house, the church and guest house lost parts of their roofs, as well as many other houses in the area. 

Personally, I celebrated a birthday in August.  Brazilian custom sometimes dictates that you will get an egg and flour smashed on your head.  The whole day I was walking around on eggshells, no pun intended.  Every time I would turn around, Camilly would have an egg in her hand ready to pounce.  She was relentless.  So instead of feeling the constant pursuit, I gave in, and let Camilly, Alyssa and Apollo smash eggs on my head.  Can anyone say “payback!”? 

Please pray for a complete healing for Elba, as well as our whole family.  Thanks in advance. 

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio  43215

Or On-line donations at:

http://www.xingu.org/6_giving.html

August Amazon Update

One of Elba’s passions, and the Xingu Mission’s DNA, is training leaders.  We were given the opportunity to pray and bless these new pastors at the Mirante Church.  These new pastors have shown great faith, excellent character, a calling, and a full desire to follow Jesus with all their heart.  We are so proud them.  Keith and Marsha are now serving in Pacajá and will be accompanied by Ferreira and Fernanda in the next couple of months (http://www.xingu.org/15d_pacaja.html).  Cleiton and Cristiane are serving Mirante as our youth pastors, and João is serving as our men’s and mission’s pastor.  As a church, and personally, we are so fortunate to have each of them in our lives.  We believe they will be great pastors and they will be instrumental in moving the Kingdom of God forward in Brazil. 

Thank you so much for your prayers for our trip to Pacajá, Marabá, and Palmas.  We are now back safely after traveling around 3000 kilometers.  Our bodies arrived back busted up due to the rough terrain but praise the Lord we had a very good trip.  It was so good to see our friends who are serving faithfully to spread the Gospel.  Pacajá is just starting out and Keith and Marsha are getting to know their neighbors and building a bridge of friendship so that they can invite them to have a full relationship with Jesus.  The Marabá and Palmas churches are teaming with life.  Both are young churches with a younger congregation.  It is full of energy and God is working in their midst.  When I was in my teens I was everywhere else except in church.  Because of my past, it always seems strange to me to see the youth in church celebrating God.  It was just not what I did.  However, I am so glad because I know that if these youth follow in the ways of the Lord, they will not make the same dumb mistakes or immoral decisions that I made.  I know that their lives will be so much better in the future because of their decision to follow Jesus. 

Elba celebrated a birthday in July as well.  Alyssa’s birthday was on the 4^th and Elba’s was on the 18^th.  We surprised Elba with a small party, and some of the members of our church bought us dinner at one of the local restaurants.  We had a really nice time together.  Below is a picture of Alyssa.  One evening, the lights went out and it was very dark.  Alyssa got a candle and told us in her sincere voice that she was going to her room to have some quiet time with God.  We smiled and our hearts shined brightly.  Actually, we thought she was just saying it but I peeked into her room and was able to get this sweet picture of Alyssa with her bible.  Lord, may this be a glimpse of both Camilly and Alyssa lives forever.

 

Please pray for Elba.  She had to return to Marabá last Sunday because of an infection / cyst in her breast.  She has been on antibiotics for the last couple of months and it still has not gone away.  During our visit in Marabá she visited a specialist and he put her on a stronger antibiotic.  Unfortunately, it has not gotten better.  She returned back to Marabá so the doctor can drain it and run some test.  Generalize medicine is available here but for things requiring specialty medical care you need to go to a larger city.  This is one of the big drawbacks about living in a remote area.  Please pray for a complete healing for Elba, as well as our whole family.  Thanks in advance. 

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio  43215

Or On-line donations at:

http://www.xingu.org/6_giving.html

I took this picture while we were visiting Palmas.  It was a beautiful waterfall and the water was FREEZING.  What a relief to the very hot weather. 

July Amazon update

Elba and I, along with around 500 other people throughout Brazil went to Agudas, São Paulo for our National Vineyard Church conference.  The main speaker was Phil Strout.  Phil Strout was just elected to be the National Vineyard Church Director in the United States.  He taught for three nights about creating a church movement from the inside out.  It was really encouraging because we are already in the process of doing it, and it challenged us not to become complacent but to keep pushing out.  We had about 40 people from the North come to the conference.  It was a huge financial sacrifice for each person but we hope it will have a lifetime return. 

After coming back from the National conference we had a team from the Vineyard Church of Delaware County led by Michael Hansen come and visit.  We literally came home on Monday evening and were on the river Wednesday morning.  We visited several communities along the river for several days bringing the good news of Jesus Christ and encouraging other believers.  One of our churches was flooded due to the river’s high level.  However, we were able to meet in one of the neighbor’s house.  After the river trip, we headed back to Altamira and the team held two conferences.  One conference was led by Michael with the focus on worship and the other conference was lead by Danny Meyer about relationships, and youth.  It was a very blessed time and we are always so grateful when teams can come down to help minister to our Brazilian friends, as well as us missionaries.    

Alyssa turned 5 years old on July 4^th.  She invited her friends to come over to the house to celebrate the big occasion.  They played games, busted a big balloon filled with flour and candy inside, ate cake, and watched Alyssa open her presents.  She really loved her fairy princess outfit and Barbie.  Alyssa and her friends had a great time. 

Please continue to pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional health for us.  Also, we will be traveling from the 19^th to the 31^st visiting some of the Mirante Church church plants.  We are going to visit Pacaja, Marabá, and Palmas.  It will be a lot of driving and we need the Lord’s hand of safety and grace.  Please pray!

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio  43215

Or On-line donations at:

http://www.xingu.org/6_giving.html

Kris Lambert from the Vineyard team took this picture when we were on the river.  Pretty awesome!