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Dear Friends & Family,

Thank you for your prayers and support. I know we say this often – but it’s because we mean it. We appreciate you a lot!

This newsletter is longer than usual, but that’s because it’s been an exciting month! As many of you know, we hosted a team of 12 people from Vineyard Church of Delaware County led by Michael Hansen and my brother, J.T. Our time with the VCDC team was great! We couldn’t have asked for a better group of people for our first team here in Macapá. Denise and I worked hard in preparation for the team and couldn’t be happier with how things worked out. The week before the team showed up was stressful. The bus and boat that we had lined up for the team both fell through within days of the team showing up. We had a crazy few days of scrambling, but were able to find an alternative bus and boat. Otherwise, everything worked out better than imagined.

The team arrived on a Sunday night, and after a restless night sleeping on hammocks, we were off on our 3 1/2 day boat trip down the Amazon which we planned at the beginning of our time together to serve as a team building exercise. We had a group of Brazilian helpers that joined Denise, me & the team. One thing we saw as a priority was lots interaction between the VCDC team and members from the church here in Macapá. We wanted a group of Brazilians to work alongside the team for the 2 weeks – the boat trip was a great way to break the ice and bring these two worlds together. When you are stuck on a boat for a few days, it’s amazing how fast you can let your guard down & make friends.

Photos of the team and some Vineyard Macapá helpers

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Although we haven’t yet developed a river ministry in Macapá, it is something we are praying about for our future. We looked at this as a prospecting trip. I also figured that if there are people making a trip from the U.S. to Macapá which sits on the Amazon, it would be nice for them to experience the river.

We returned to Macapá on Thursday around lunchtime. That evening we started a 3 day conference at Vineyard Macapá. It was great! We had a good turnout and the Holy Spirit did amazing things. One of the nights of the conference, we lost electricity (which is common here). Although I was a bit frustrated at first, I am glad it happened for a few reasons: 1) It makes a great story!; 2) It demonstrated to VCDC some of the twists and turns in Northern Brazil; 3) The VCDC team got to witness how great Brazilians are at rolling with the punches. Although “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade” is a saying I learned in the States, Brazilians have mastered this mentality. When we arrived at the church and all the power was out, without skipping a beat, Vineyard Macapá jumped into action. We pulled all the chairs outside and used car headlights to light up the area. Michael preached a great message! God did some awesome things that night.

Ministry time during the conference at Vineyard Macapá

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​Two of my favorite people

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Fun and games at Vineyard Macapá

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Even during the mission trip, we found a way to watch the Cavs in the finals.

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The last part of our time with the team was the biggest surprise to us. Vineyard Macapá planted a small group in the town of Sera do Navio and we wanted to utilize the team to build up the leaders & create interest for the group in the community. Sera do Navio is a small town of around 2000 people. We invited people to a night of music and fun and didn’t know how the evening would go. It was awesome with a good turnout, great music , and games that were a lot of fun – and J.T.’s message was perfect. Most exciting of all is we had a huge number of people make commitments to walk with Jesus that night!

Everybody to the left of the guy with the redshirt started walking with Christ

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After heading back to Macapá, the team had a few days to pick up souvenirs and to see the sites of Macapá. We had so much fun with the team. By the end of the trip, Denise and I were definitely tired, but were also feeling a bit sad because our time with the team was coming to an end. Our church is still talking about their wonderful experience with the VCDC team. We can’t wait for the next team to visit Macapá!

Our visit to a fort built by the Dutch many years ago

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Our boy band picture

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Four days after the team departed, Denise and I were off to Altamira for a youth worship conference. As you may remember, early this year Denise and I went to São Paulo for the same conference so we could be trained to replicate it in Northern Brazil. This time Denise and I were two of the main speakers. What a great time! Not only did we feel that we were able to bless some of the youth there, but we were very blessed ourselves. We see a great future for Vineyard Worship in Brazil!

Youth Worship Conference in Altamira

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For the next period of our life, Denise and I are going to try to slow things down and focus on Vineyard Macapá. We love traveling and special events, but feel strongly from the Lord that we are to focus on discipleship and leadership training here. This is something that Denise and I had already been doing, but are praying we can take it to another level. We are very excited and would appreciate prayer for God’s favor in this and for direction in how to encourage spiritual growth.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support. We love hearing from you.

In His Service,

Christopher & Denise Meyer

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

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