Amazon update

In July we had a large 3 night conference at our church. There were about 700+ people in attendance. The conference was really good. There was a great time of worship and the spirit of the Lord was among the people. The youth performed dances and plays demonstrating the love of Christ. Chris Weins from Canada preached that night and made the following comment about one of the things that happened that evening “After this we broke into three categories of ministry time. Interesting ~ the largest group was the one for deliverance. One girl I witnessed fell on the floor and began to shriek, it made my skin crawl. I asked a few people to help move her to the side and then the real power showed up. Elba, the pastor of the church walked over and said to the demon, shut up and listen to me, in Jesus name get out! As simple as that, it was gone and the girl was calm, too cool huh? I love the authority we have over the enemy in the name of Jesus.”

A couple of days before we left to come back to the States the guys at the church got together to build a one room schoolhouse on stilts in a remote area of the Xingu. About 25 students that live in the surrounding area will utilize the school during the week and then in the future we are going to be holding church services during the weekend. It was a lot of work with cutting wood and lifting these massively heavy pieces into place, but in two day we were able to get the roof completed. The walls and the floors will be completed at a later date.

On a personal note, Elba celebrated her birthday on July 18^th with her twin sister Nira. The church planned a surprise party for them and they were surprised. It was a lot of fun for them. The girls love their time back in the States. We had an overnight in Miami and when we got to the hotel Camilly was just amazed at how soft all the couches were and how pretty everything looked. She looked up at Elba and said “Mom, this is amazing, can we live here in the hotel?” It was pretty funny. Below are pictures of the girls at Chucky Cheese and playing in the swimming pool at Grandma’s house with their cousin Trey. Also, please pray for a complete healing for Alyssa, she has been having some fevers and a bad cough.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

July Update

This month we had our sending church, the Vineyard Church of Columbus, come and visit. We, meaning Elba, the girls and I, went on the river for about 8 days with the team. We visited several communities along the river. Each place that we visited was very good and the presence of God was real with salvations and healings. One in particular was a new community along the Majari River. We considered this visit to be the hand of God because normally the residents there are very weary and suspicious of newcomers. However, the community leaders greeted us with open arms, and they sang a song in honor of the team’s arrival. We had the privilege to share God with them and pray for people. Please pray for more continued favor for this new work and the church in Porto De Moz that will be overseeing this community. Alyssa tried to make friends with a monkey during the trip, however, the monkey ended up biting her hand and not letting go until she shook him off. OUCH! We gave her some antibiotics and everything healed well.

Another trimester ended and we another graduation for our English students. They completed the entire English course and their English has improved immensely since they started at CDR. The students put together this video for CDR and we were really touched by their comments. We are so happy that we could make such an impact in their lives. Please check out their video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpw_32EGorU . In addition, we had a lot of people graduate from our basic computer classes. As part of the class, the students are asked to participate in a community project. This semester’s project was to clean and paint the local small park that is next to CDR. The Mayor’s office got behind the work and provided us with the paint, and some personnel. It was a lot of work but by the grace of God and a lot of elbow grease we were able to get this accomplished in one day.

Alyssa celebrated her 3^rd birthday on July 4^th. She was one happy girl. She received a lot of lipstick, bubbles, bowl, pants and shoes. She loved it.




On a personal note, we were so sad to have Brazil lose. It knocked the steam out of all of us. We had a lot of people over at the house for the game and despite the loss we still had a nice time with everyone present. Below is a picture of the girls in their Brazil attire. Plus, our missionary friend Clyde Bergquist made an awesome dish called peacock bass parmesan. Then he wrote Brazil on top with olives and corn. It was enjoyed by all and he did a great job decorating the dish. Also, Marsha Wilson made the below cake to celebrate the 4^th of July and Canada day. We have some seriously talented missionaries!!!

The churches got together and we had a “March for Jesus” parade throughout Altamira. The streets were filled with countless people celebrating and praising Jesus. He is good and His love endures forever.

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

June update

We had the great privilege to purchase 7 more wheelchairs for children throughout Altamira that were in need. The World Health Organization states that over 25 million people around the world are immobile and without money to buy a wheelchair. Wheelchairs are very expensive; in fact, the cost of one here in Brazil is about 4 months salary which is so much money for families of disabled children. They want to be able to provide for their child but when you are living hand to mouth, a wheelchair becomes unrealistic. Below is a picture of Micelly, she is 4 years old and is unable to talk or walk. With this new wheelchair, Micelly and her family now have greater freedom and choice, because, unfortunately, without being mobile the family as well as their child, are stuck in their house. We are so grateful and praise God for the help from the Matt Dolan Foundation to help purchase these wheelchairs.

Thank you for your prayers while Elba and I were in Brasilia at the National Vineyard Conference. It was really good to see our brother and sisters in Christ and share in the successes and struggles of ministry. There were about 200 people in attendance with some people coming as far as the USA, Canada, and England. Below is a picture of Elba sharing about church planting at one of the workshops. We were gone a total of 14 days from the girls and it was difficult. Praise God everything went well with the girls, and that we had safe passage back and forth to and from Brasilia, except, we did get sideswiped by a semi truck which broke our rear reflector, and just as we were approaching our home from the long 2 day drive, a rock hit our windshield and broke it. BOOO! However, that was soon forgotten when we saw the girls’ smiling faces running to greet us when we arrived at our house. That was precious. Here is a youtube video of the conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdwWKcxv0A8

On a personal note, all of Brazil, as well as most of the world, are pumped up for the world cup. That is no exception for the girls and Apollo. Below is a picture of them in their native Brazilian colors. Go Brazil! For me, Go USA! In addition, we just ended the rainy season but for one last good measure, the girls along with Apollo, got to play in the rain.

Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

May update

This month the church went to a local farm with a creek and held a baptism and picnic. We baptized 9 people and afterward celebrated their new birth in Christ by swimming in the creek with refreshing but freezing water and thank God free of snakes. Some people played soccer and others played volleyball in the creek. We ate lunch together and had a great time of fellowship during the rest of the afternoon. It was a great day spent together with our church. By the way, don’t let the picture of me confuse you. I am not balding; it is just the reflection of the sun off the camera. OK - I am in denial.

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 strong turnout with about 200 people in attendance. 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.

On a personal note, Camilly is growing up so fast. She just celebrated her 5^th birthday on April 18. We went to her school to surprise her with a cake and some presents. However, she was not that surprised because someone told her our secret. Kids are so resourceful. All in all it was a lot of fun. Below is a picture of Alyssa in her favorite dress. It is her coração (heart) dress. She loves it and will wear it dirty, wet, dry, or, for even two days straight.

Again, we have purchased our tickets to come back to the States and we arrive July 28^th and will be staying until October 28^th. We are all really excited to see our family and friends.

Elba and I will be driving to Brasilia to attend the Brazil National Vineyard conference. Please pray for us for safe travels, good health and no truck problems. Also, please keep Camilly and Alyssa in your prayers. We will be gone for 12 days which is a lot for us. Please pray for their safety, good health and that the Lord would comfort their heart while we are away. Thanks for all your continued thoughts and prayers. We look forward to seeing you soon. Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Happy Easter

Easter weekend turned out great. Friday, we showed the movie “The Passion”. There was a large turnout. If you have never seen the movie, it is very dramatic. It really helps visually show the suffering that our Lord bore for me and you. It is a wake-up call to realize the love that Jesus has for us. I keep thinking, WOW, my God and my Lord suffered all that for me? I know the answer is “Yes”, but, WOW! I feel so unworthy, but in that same breath, VERY BLESSED! That evening, one person came to Christ.

For Easter Sunday, we had an early morning celebration service. We started off early in the morning worshipping the Lord, and then Elba preached about the resurrection of Jesus and its importance in our lives. We finished by having breakfast together to celebrate the day. Later on that evening, Elba preached the Word of God and it was a powerful service to which 15 people came and accepted Christ into their lives. It was very emotional for a lot of the members of the church because they had been praying for months, and sometimes years for these loved ones to receive Christ. There were lots of tears of joy shed that night in the church.

On a personal note, the girls are doing well and they had a good Easter as well. They got to paint eggs with the missionary children at the mission guest house. As you can see in the above picture, the members of the church enjoyed the fruits of their labor. We also had an Easter egg hunt in our backyard, or should I say, chocolate candy hunt. Nevertheless, they had a great time.

Thanks for all your continued thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming. Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

Here is a picture of the girls just before church service on Easter Sunday. They look so beautiful!!

March update

This month we had a short term team from the Madison County Vineyard come and help with one of our local churches. The church’s pastor is Marcio from Independente II, and he is passionate for the Lord and the lost. Their church is meeting in his backyard, and for the last year they have been raising money to build a church by selling pizza during the weekend. Through the sales of the pizzas, the church was able to buy a piece of property. The Madison Vineyard came along side of Pr. Marcio and some of their congregation to help with the construction of the church building. It is really great to see sister churches from two different continents coming along side one another to support, help, encourage, and pray. The church still has a ways to go before completion, so please keep this in your prayers.

The high speed internet that we received several months ago at CDR has been a huge blessing to us and the community around CDR. CDR was given the high speed internet because of our ongoing work to teach students basic computer skills. Also we have expanded our computer program to teach people how to fix and repairs computers. We are excited for this new program, so please keep this in your prayers.

English was also a big success again and we maxed out our enrollment. English is a hot topic and many Brazilians want to learn English in hopes of furthering their lives and careers. The CDR English program is also very favorable because we provide students with native speakers, excellent teaching material, good environment, and a low monthly fee of $16.00. We are proud of the work that CDR is doing and for being an extension to the church. It is a blessing and even though CDR and the church are legally completely separate, CDR is recognized with our church. We had an end of the semester party for the English students at the church. The students came up and sang Christian English songs, and another student essentially preached the Gospel in English to everyone in attendance. It was really cool.



On a personal note, the girls are doing well. I really liked both of these photos that I took of Camilly and Alyssa playing in the rain and hugging one another. Since we are in the rainy season they both love to play in the rain. Once the rain starts, then it is time to suit up the bathing suits or just strip down to your panties. The umbrella is a pretty sorry excuse for an umbrella, but I guess that is all the fun.

Thanks for all your continued thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming. Love and blessings, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa

February update

In January, Elba and I had the pleasure of going to Agudos in southern Brazil and spending some time at a catholic seminary for the Brazil National Vineyard meeting. It was a really great time to relax and hear some very good teachings. The teachings concentrated on one of the spiritual disciplines, solitude and silence. It was nice to get away from the busyness of everyday and spend time with God. Personally, I have been trying to do this these last several months but was not hearing anything from God. I was going through a time of spiritual dryness and it was really affecting me personally and professionally. On the outside, I am sure that I looked normal and healthy, but on the inside, I was struggling. During my time at the seminary I was calling out to God to hear His voice but did not hear anything. On the last day and during our closing prayer, Penny Meyer came over and started praying for me. To be honest, when she was praying, I just wanted her to stop so I could go and eat lunch. When she got done praying, she said “the reason I came over to pray for you was because I saw a dark cloud over you filled with rain, and the cloud was over very dry ground”. Once she spoke those words I knew that it was from God and I became overwhelmed with emotions. God was using His people to speak and I was being filled up with His presence. The spiritual dryness was starting to melt away. Penny continued by saying that God will be moving me into a new direction or role within the church / mission. I welcomed that and have been seeking God for this new role. Please keep me in your prayers.

At the church, we had our first couple get married that had never lived with one another or had children before marriage. Rabelo and Elielma have been long time members of our church. During their time of dating we really encouraged and challenged them to walk out their relationship with Jesus being the center. They participated in our premarital program and walked out their relationship with God in the middle. It was a great example to the youth of our church. We are so happy that they chose this path instead of the more convenient path that is more often traveled here in Altamira.

While we were gone, the girls stayed with Elba’s Mom. She traveled two days by boat to stay with them and we were so grateful. It was really nice not to have to worry about the girls while we were gone. Below is a picture of the girls trying to be doggies. They are so sweet except when they want to eat off the floor. YUCK!

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks and blessings, much love, Steve, Elba, Camilly and Alyssa