And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Colossians 1:21

Greetings in Christ!!!!!

We have been here in Brazil for just over 7 years now.  And the Lord has been doing some amazing things in our mists.  We hope you have followed along and are rejoicing with us for all of His goodness towards us, towards you and towards the people, we minister to.

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Romans12:5

When we arrived in Brazil in 2011, knowing that God had called us, we were excited to go into the jungle and encounter all that the Lord had ordained for us to do..

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10

What a wonderful 7 years it has been.  We look forward to the future and what He still has for us to walk in.  There have been relatively few low points, and those mostly surround our ignorance of customs between our differing cultures.

On our last trip, July 17th through August 8th, we did encounter a difficult situation.  One of our leaders from the village church, through fear, had gone into the neighboring village where we are planting a church and convinced the chief that we should not have a house there.

Even while writing this, I know it sounds silly, but it was a serious thing.

I was in the village alone, Melissa and our children were continuing their home school routines before traveling to meet me in the latter part of the trip.  But upon encountering this situation, I was really missing her comfort and consolations.

We are still not sure what happened exactly, but it really hampered some relationships and has caused us to slow down and even back up a little. With prayer, we are sure all will work out fine.

We find comfort in the scriptures.  Paul the Apostle wrote, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” II Corinthians 12:9  Jesus also said, “In the world, ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

The rest of the trip was AWESOME!

 

Our morning classes in Vila Nova (the main village) are continuing to grow, the people are seeking the Lord, studying His word, and trying to do what is right.  The classes are going so well that we will expand the teaching area in our jungle house and build classroom style tables to accommodate more people.

We had a great turnout in the nightly church services too.

I knew that Melissa would be coming up river on the 25th, so Valdici, Raimunda and myself traveled downriver in our ministry boat 3 hrs and visited 2 other communities.  We ended up holding church services in both communities, receiving the open door to return anytime, with the invite to come and work there.  Perhaps God will call one of our disciples to head back in the future and start a new work?  Let’s pray for this.

As we left to return up river again, we encountered the “BIG” boat, in which Melissa, Josiah, Veronica and Benjamin were in.  They were very excited to see us pull up, and quickly packed their things and promptly left with us to arrive in the village 7 hours earlier than they had planned.  This is because the ministry boat travels so much faster than the passenger boat they were on.  3 hours back up the river and we arrived at our jungle house just before dark.  I had already prepared the mosquito nets and hammocks for their arrival.

The fishing was tremendous on this trip.  I know I don’t usually share a fishing report with everyone.  But, with the water on it’s way down now, and the fish all coming back into the lakes and rivers, Josiah, Benjamin and I caught Peacock Bass every evening before Church services.

And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 
John 21:6

We believe the harvest is upon us here.  We believe that with the harvest, there will be an expansion of ministry. Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. John 4:35

Please pray for Oscar and Analucia.  They, with their 4 children, are praying about moving up river to start a church plant at a village we have been to 3 other times over the past few years.

Please pray for Guirlermi and Elsamara.  They, with their 2 little ones are praying about moving down river and starting a church plant where Guirlermi grew up.

Please pray for Valdici.  He continues to preach the word in Aldeia Nova (the 2nd village spoken of above).  He believes God is moving him in the same direction as Oscar and Guirlermi.

Please pray for Emerson and Marissa.  They are from Aldeia Nova and have been up river preaching and spreading the gospel to family and friends.  Pray that they would grow in grace and truth, and receive all that the Lord has for them.

Please pray for both villages, Vila Nova and Aldeia Nova, along with the villages and communities we are outreaching to.

Please pray for our continued trips in and out of the jungle.  We are almost dividing our time in half right now between there and the city.  We would like to spend more time in the jungle, visiting and supporting those villages we are reaching out to.

God bless you all in Christ Jesus,
May He make His face to shine upon you,
Brad and Melissa, Josiah, Veronica, and Benjamin.