We want to thank you so much for your prayers for us this last month as we were traveling to Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey. The trip was such a blessing and we would never have had the opportunity to do this without the financial generosity of our Brazilian friend. The trip was a whirlwind of different places and sites to see. Elba and I went into this trip thinking that it was going to be a great spiritual journey, however, we quickly realized that this was going to be a tourist sightseeing journey. Our schedule was packed. There were days when we would not get to the hotel until 9:00 – 10:00pm to have to wake up at 4:30am to start again. We never slept in once. Thankfully, during the busyness Elba and I did experience some really special encounters with God. One of those times was on a boat in the Sea of Galilee. The Captain of the boat happened to be a Christian and he spoke Portuguese. He sang a few worship songs in Portuguese as we sailed along the sea. It was a really emotional time. Below are just a few pictures of our trip.
This month at the church we had our annual celebration of Children’s day. Children’s day is actually a holiday and there is no school and some business close for the day. The church did something different from years past. Typically, the church will open its door during the day and have many games and activities for the children followed by a small teaching of the love of Christ. This year the church had a slumber party and the kids spent the night at the church. They played lots of games, danced, sang and watched a film. The next morning they went to a little park and played more games. They loved it!
Once a month, several men from the church who have construction experience help someone in need. There was a couple that needed to complete one of their bedrooms before the baby’s arrival. The men came and started plastering the walls. Their help really sped up the process to get the bedroom and house completed. Since I have very little skill when it comes to construction, they leave me in charge of buying the snacks. J These guys are very faithful and thank the Lord that they are part of the church, being God’s hands to the needy, and sharing the Good news of Jesus.
Last week we had our annual missionary care retreat. We invited Dan and Sandy Thiessen to come and do soul care for our missionaries. It was a really special time; a time that was needed for our spiritual health. Missionaries live a sacrificial life and they give up many things to follow the call of the Lord. In addition, they are always giving their best and it can be very draining. It is nice when we can all get together as a family, to hear one anothers heart, to pray, encourage, rest, and to just “be”. The time went by so quickly and we are grateful that the Lord allowed us this opportunity to be together. We have an amazing bunch of missionaries!
Elba was invited to come and speak at the Vineyard Columbus woman’s conference to be held in February 2017. Elba is excited about this opportunity and since it is coming up to our time to visit the States, we accepted with great enthusiasm. We will be coming back to the States on December 10th and staying in the Columbus area until February 5th. We look forward to seeing and spending time with our family during Christmas. We also look forward to seeing you. Would you like to get together? If so, write me back and let’s get something on the calendar.
Thank you so much, and please also continue to pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional health for us.
Much love, 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:
This is what happens when you are posing for a picture and the Camel decides it is time to lay down….and to lay down quickly. LOL
At the pyramids. The amount of resources and effort to construct the pyramids is mind boggling.
Special time of prayer at the Wailing Wall.
Spent the night climbing Mt Horeb where Moses received the 10 Commandments on camel and having a time of worship and prayer as the sun rose.
The Egyptian people wanted to take pictures with the Brazilians. Our guide said we could have sat there all day taking pictures with people. We asked this woman if we could have a picture with her and she was really nice.
Just in case you need a cup of coffee…You can go to Stars & Bucks….they are distant cousins to Starbucks.
