The young people from High Road Academy, the school our girls went to while they were in Canada, shared powerful testimonies at church on Sunday, about real struggles and how God is helping them get through.
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Tres Poderes
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How do you plant churches? You just start doing it.
There are always many reasons why we cannot get started just yet. Things are not planned well. We do not have mature leaders. It will cost us money and time. Etc. And yet God’s church continues to grow. Our strategy is to cut the rope that secures our boat to the shore and to let God’s wind and currents direct us.
One of our key leaders has many friends in Tres Poderes. He lived there for awhile. City officials were giving away lots of land. We acquired two lots for our church. Some guys went out and built a fence around the property and drove a stake into the ground with our name on it.
Tres Poderes is three hours from Marabá, on the road to Quatro Bocas. We drove out there this week. What is God’s plan for this church? We are not sure yet.
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High Road Team
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We are so pleased that High Road Academy has sent a team to Marabá. Deanna’s nephew Zach is on this team. Zach was born in Brazil, and lived here until he was 14. The group hit the ground running. They arrived at noon. That evening they ministered with testimonies and a drama at the Youth Service. Two ladies from our neighbourhood gave their hearts to Jesus at the alter call at the end of the service.
Thank you for all who prayed and gave to allow this team to come and encourage us!
Interior Road
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How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!S)’>
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;U)’> of delights. | | | |
3. What exactly is my part in God’s plan?
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;U)’> of delights. | | | |
March 13, 2013, the team in Pacajá is breaking ground for their new building. The church-planting team is constructing a multi-purpose building which in which will be used for an English School, and where the church can start to meet. This is phase one of a larger project.
Birthdays
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Little Emily turned one last week! This is a big deal here, and Cesar and Eliete did what they could to throw a special celebration.
Deborah, in Deanna’s girl’s group, turned 12. She wrote a thank-you letter. “When you hug me, I feel like I have value…I have never met such happy people…even if we have to move away I will never forget you…” plus she wrote about lessons she is learning from the Bible studies.
Pacajá
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I had the privilege of going to the new Pacajá Church on Sunday. There was a middle-aged couple, a dad and his young son, a teen-ager, plus the four Wilsons, Ferreira and Fernanda and their two beautiful girls, and myself.
I was reminded of the words that John Wimber told a Canadian pastor, when a church was just starting up in Canada, “Enjoy this stage. It will not stay small for long.” These were also my thoughts, for this church-planting team. Ferreira and Fernanda were both beaming all through the service, and Keith and Marsha exuded joy and sincerity.
After the service Marsha brought out fresh corn cake, from their own corn. The day before they had a pomonha-making (special food made from fresh corn) party at their house. Next week is a big bar-be-que, after the soccer game, which is turning out to be a great way to connect with the community.
May God continue to bless them with grace and favor.
Alpha
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Phil and Jen ran our second Alpha Course on Friday night. This time we were divided into two groups. We ate a very nice meal, prepared by Ivanildo and Monica, at two tables. We watched a half-hour video about Jesus, and then we met in our small groups. There were two questions: 1. Who do you think Jesus is? 2. If you could meet Jesus walking down the street, as a person, what question would you ask Him? Everyone was pretty open to share their views. The problem was more how to close the discussion time after about 45 minutes, which is a good problem.
Altamira
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Many of the long-term missionaries were able to gather for a very good day of meetings. We sought God together for unity, and to try to understand together His direction for our future. We know there are spiritual attacks that are doing all they can to fracture and weaken us in whatever ways possible, but as we talk together, and pray together, God strengthens us. It would have been nice if others of the team could have been there too, but with travels and furlough it doesn’t always work out. I look forward to the day when we can have an annual large-group meeting with some key Brazilian leaders too, as we continue to learn to pass the challenges of working together in a foreign country as servant-leaders.
Rich Nathan and Craig Heselton once talked to me about the value of committing to being a life-long learner. The longer I am in leadership, the more I see the wisdom of this commitment.
Here are some verses that really spoke to me as I prepared myself for the day of meetings. I was very encouraged, and I understand that everyone who participated was very encouraged.
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My Prayers for the Xingu Mission
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We celebrated my 52nd birthday this week. In the 1980s, during the five years I was a grader operator in the Yukon, I first started to seriously dream of being a missionary to another land. Along the way, the Lord has greatly encouraged us. “I see you as a huge bridge, from North America to the mission field, with people crossing over it.” Again, “I see a hallway with many doors, and you helping people to open the doors to pass through.” These are my memories of words spoken over us. I thank God for all the people serving in countless ways who enabled this to happen.
Sometimes I wonder:
1. What is God’s plan for world missions for the next 20 years?
2. What would another Missionary Sending Movement look like in our generation if it really started to grow explosively?
3. What exactly is my part in God’s plan?
While the big questions cause me to wonder, kind of like I am looking into the fog that occasionally lifts for a few minutes, I find that our next little step is usually very clear.
*** I invite you to pray with me as the Xingu Mission works towards our goal of planting 1,000 churches under the leadership of a national church-planting movement. Here is a cut-and-paste from my prayer journal as a starting place.
*** I invite you to email me if the Lord shows you anything while praying for us.
MY PRAYERS FOR THE XINGU MISSION
I pray for a healthy mission w solid friendships all around. Please unite us deeply.
Please enable me to provide strong, healthy leadership to a robust, motivated team of servant leaders.
Please give us a team that loves to be together and to work together, who are supportive of my leadership. Thank You for all who are here. Please give us one vision as we move forward.
Please let us continue to grow into a healthy decentralized team that greatly encourages one another and who laugh together.
Please help us identify and remove any elephants in any rooms. Please let this be a safe mission, one in which all of us can speak freely and openly. Please open our eyes to any attacks against us.
Please give us a fun off-site missionary training, strategizing, planning event per year.
Please anoint me to write and to positively influence the direction of our mission in this way.
I ask that You would care for the formation and release of the Northern Brazilian leadership team, that the mission could graciously hand things over and step away when the time is right.
XM Leadership – Please give me the ability to clearly hear You, to honor the others on the team, to build the decentralized model You have given us, the courage to obey You, the ability to SPEAK CLEARLY, to always leave people feeling encouraged, and to plant a national church-planting movement.
