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Dear Friends and Family,

We appreciate your prayers and support, and wanted to give you an update on the things that have been going on in our lives and in the Macapá Vineyard.

What are some highlights over the last month?

Probably the biggest highlight was our baptism. Sunday attendance has doubled over the last number of months. And we have seen quite a number of new people in our church make decisions to follow Jesus. It was so fun and exciting celebrating with them at the baptism. I love baptisms. In a way, it connects us as Christians to those who came before us. It’s a tradition that has been practiced for thousands of years and it’s always an honor to take part in one. We are already planning out our next baptism and I can’t wait!

From our baptism

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Another recent highlight is that Steve and Elba Dolan came to visit us in Macapá. As you may recall, Steve is the leader of the Xingu Mission, the organization we work for. He has also been a mentor to me since I arrived in Brazil. Elba is the Senior Pastor of the Mirante Vineyard in Altamira, the church Denise and I were sent out from. Elba is also one of the national leaders of the Vineyard Movement in Brazil. Although we consider Steve and Elba to be our leaders, they are also good friends. We had a great time with them here in Macapá. It was also very helpful to receive advice and insight for the future of Vineyard Macapá.

Out with Steve and Elba

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Meeting with Steve, Elba, Felipe, Uana, Denise and me

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Are there any hurdles that we have been facing lately?

Although this is a good problem to have, our church building is quickly getting too small. Our numbers continue to rise weekly. We continue to buy new chairs and soon after the new chairs are filled. Currently it’s not until after worship when the children leave for Sunday school that everyone is able to find a seat. We realize that it’s only a matter of time until we won’t be able to fit additional chairs into the building. We have discussed different ideas like going to multiple services, but we do realize that more space is needed. We love a packed house! But at the same time, we don’t want our service to be uncomfortable. We talked with Steve and Elba at length about this and were thankful for their wisdom and experience. We are beginning to pray and plan for our next steps. After all, we don’t want anyone turned away because of lack of space.

Our church

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What are we looking forward to in the near future?

There are two things that Denise and I are really excited about. The first thing is the Brazil National Conference also called Intervinha. This will be taking place in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, during late May. My dad will be flying into Macapá about a week prior to Intervinha and he will be joining us in Brasilia. So excited to see my dad! This will be a very special Intervinha as Vineyard Brazil is being released as its own Association independent of the United States, and Milton Lucas will become our first National Director of the Association of Vineyard Churches in Brazil.

The other thing Denise and I are excited about is having a team from my home church in Delaware County visiting in June! This will be the first time we will be hosting a team, so we are a little nervous – but mostly excited! We can’t wait to show everyone around Macapá and show what Denise and I have been up to! My best friend and brother, J.T., will be on the team and also my good friend, Michael Hansen.

These visits and encouragement from my family, our friends and church couldn’t have come at a better time as lately I have been feeling a bit homesick. Denise and I were scheduled to take a furlough this summer, but we feel that since we moved to Macapá recently it would be valuable to be present for a while. For that reason we decided to skip our furlough this year and take it in 2017.

What would we like prayer for?

• Pray for our time with family, and that our Delaware County team/friends are blessed, too.
• Pray for our travel and for Intervinha.
• Pray for health – I have had a couple bouts of kidney stones over the last several months. Also, we are living at the epicenter of the Zika virus.
• Pray for continued spiritual breakthrough, and wisdom in discipleship and church growth.

Thank you again for your prayers, support and emails. They all mean a great deal to us.

In His Service,

Christopher and Denise Meyer

Contribution link: https://xingu.org/opportunities/giving/meyer-ministries/

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