Steve and Elba Dolan in the Amazon: July 2014

July Amazon Update!

Praise the Lord that God continues to give the church grace and favor by helping others come into a loving relationship with Him. What an amazing privilege that we get to help others find Him. The church continues to receive new people into the church, and lives are being changed. We are so grateful. Please continue to pray for us to continue to reach out more into the community and be a church that is welcoming and life transforming.

We had our yearly pastors retreat this month. We had most of our pastors in the North of Brazil come for a week to get retooled, and rest. The week long retreat gave the pastors time to reflect, and reconnect with one another. The objective of the retreat was not to cram teaching down their throat but to allow them to step away from the work, rest and have some fun. We brought up a specialist from Rio de Janeiro to talk about family dynamics, what causes stress and how to identify it in their lives. It is very easy for pastors to neglect themselves and their families in an effort to help others. We have seen many people in ministry get burned out because of this very reason. We are always trying to be proactive to prevent this from happening to the pastors and leaders.

Alyssa turned 7 on July 4^th. What she wanted the most was for Brazil to win their match, and fortunately they did. We will not mention the games that proceeded this win. Alyssa had a nice birthday party, and then had a sleep over. I am not sure how much sleep was actually achieved but they had a great time. Here they all are for their princess morning breakfast. Also, Camilly and Alyssa’s hair turned green and yellow for their love of Brazilian soccer.

Please continue to pray for our spiritual, and emotional health.

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 43234

Or On-line donations at:

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

June Amazon Update!

The big highlight of this month was going to Pacajá which is about 155 miles to participate in the first church service in their brand new church / community center. Elba got the privilege to preach at their first church service in the new building. Keith and Marsha Wilson, and Ferriera and Fernanda Sousa have been working diligently to grow the church, and help people come into an intimate relationship with Christ. They have been doing an excellent job which was so evident because the place was packed. Their lives of dedication to the people of Pacajá, and responding to the call of God is a testimony to God’s work through them to touch others. It is exciting to see God expanding His kingdom in Pacajá. Please pray for the Wilsons, the Sousas, and that the Holy Spirit will continue to move in greater ways.

The news has been filled with protests here in Brazil, and a lot of the protests have become violent. The people are protesting against the poor infrastructure, education and healthcare systems. We gathered many people throughout the city to have a March for Jesus. Our gathering was very peaceful, and filled with joy and prayers. We walked around the city praying for sick people in the hospitals, for our elected officials, and for God’s peace and mercy to rule and reign throughout this city, and throughout Brazil. Elba’s voice was almost gone after the event as she helped lead the troops into prayers and spoke God’s word throughout the city.

We had a bunch of people come over to our house for the first soccer match against Croatia. Brazilians love their soccer just as much as Ohioan’s love their Ohio State Football. Everything essentially closes down during the games. Camilly and Alyssa school is letting them out early so everyone can watch the game today against Mexico. Here is a picture of everyone watching every moment intensely, and then celebrating a goal. Priceless. The next picture is our family before going to the March for Jesus. Pictured with us is our nephew Apollo, he lives next door.

Thanks for your prayers for us to be healed of our sicknesses. Praise the Lord we are feeling much better. Thanks. There are still a lot of people throughout the city with infections, stomach pains, and fevers. Please pray that this illness would be gone, and please continue to pray for our spiritual, and emotional health.

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 43234

Or On-line donations at:

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

If you look closely you can see Camilly on top of the truck. She was helping Mom share the Good News during the March for Jesus.

May Amazon Update!

For Mother’s Day, the church had a special breakfast for the moms of the church. The moms of the church were asked to bring a friend so that they could share in the fun. There was a strong turnout and we were blessed to have Penny Meyer share God’s Word with the moms to encourage their faith, and draw some of the woman closer to God. We like having these events because it is good way to invite people to the church in a non-threatening way. Plus, we wanted to bless the moms who do not have much with something very special. We hope that in the end the love of Christ was expressed.

CDR had an outreach to the local schools and the message we came to give was about “safe touch”. We did this same talk a year ago at another school because of its importance. Sexual and physical abuse is a major problem here in Altamira, Brazil, and the whole world. The implications of abuse on a child’s life can be catastrophic. Child abuse and neglect can affect all domains of development - physical, psychological, cognitive, behavioral and social - which are often interrelated. It is our hope that we could make children aware of abuse, and give them a better understanding of what is abuse. We used different mediums to teach the children the rights and wrongs of appropriate touch. The CDR students played games with the kids, the teachers performed a theatrical play about safe touching, and then Elba taught the children about safe touching. We also opened the door for students that may have or are experiencing abuse to come and talk with us or to talk with their teachers. The director of the school was so appreciative of CDR for taking the time and effort to share about safe touching. It is our great hope that through this time of interaction these children will be in a better position to ask for help and recognize when they are being abused.

The girls got the opportunity to go fishing for the first time along the river when we went to Marabá. Thankfully the only thing they caught was a couple of little fish, and not an Anaconda. Bella did a great job teaching them to be patient and when to pull the line to snag the fish. Camilly was a little freaked out when she caught her first fish. I do not think fishing will be in her future anytime soon. Also pictured is Camilly and Alyssa dancing for Mother’s day.

Please continue to pray for us. We have all been sick this last week with infections, stomach pains, and fevers. Also, continue to pray for our spiritual, and emotional health.

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 43234

Or On-line donations at:

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

While we were in Marabá we went to go see Rio 2 to celebrate Camilly’s birthday. It was a big deal and lots of fun for the girls. Also, here is a family photo of us before we went to Christopher and Denise’s wedding.

April Amazon Update!

The church continues to do well and praise the Lord we continue to see salvations. However, even though we are seeing more and more people accept Jesus as their Savior the church has only seen moderate growth. We seem to have just hit a plateau. We do not want to get wrapped up in the numbers but we do wonder why people do not make that return visit. We try our best to follow up with each person but it is hard to put our finger on the cause. In the end, we believe that we are doing the will of the Lord and we pray that they will hear from the Lord to follow His next steps for their lives.

We just started Alpha at our church. If you are not familiar with Alpha, Alpha gives everyone the opportunity to explore the meaning of life in a relaxed, friendly setting. The Alpha course usually meets once a week for 10 weeks. Sessions begin with a meal, followed by a short talk and time to discuss what's been taught. During the discussion, everyone is welcome to contribute their opinions and no question is considered hostile or too simple. Questions might include—Is there a God? Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going? We had 42 people come to our first class which is an introductory class and we asked if they would be willing to commit to the 10 week program. We had 34 people sign up. Praise the Lord! Please pray that they will hear from the Lord to continue to pursue a relationship with Him.

The girls are doing well and are back in school. Their friends are glad that they are back as well. Alyssa pulled out her front tooth and they got the opportunity to go swimming in the river. Camilly will be celebrating her 9^th birthday on the 18^th of April. We will be celebrating Easter in Marabá with Rick and Deanna Bergen and the whole Marabá church. We are excited to be with them. Please pray that our travels to Marabá and back will be successful and without incident.

May the Lord bless you this Holy Week and may you have a wonderful Easter celebrating the resurrection from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional health for us.

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa