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Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for your prayers and support. They are always very greatly appreciated.

Things have been going really well for us lately. Denise is now at the six month point of her pregnancy! It’s been so cool being able to feel the baby moving around inside her belly. We can’t believe that in three months we will be bringing a baby home! We are a bit nervous, but mostly excited!

Denise and our baby

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One slight complication is that Denise has a hernia. She believes she actually got this hernia when she was young, but it was never taken care of. As the baby has grown, the hernia is being pushed out and has begun to show itself again. Because of the strain of giving birth, her doctor has recommended a C-section. During this surgery, the doctor will also take care of the hernia. This has been a bit of a disappointment, but Denise has moved past it and now feels complete peace about the plan.

We are having a lot of fun seeing what God is already doing through our new church plant. We planted our church six weeks ago with eight other individuals. We have enjoyed growing closer to the team and seeing deeper relationships develop. We also have had new people beginning to show up which is very exciting. The last three weeks we have seen between 20 and 30 at our services. We are working hard trying to connect with all the new people and help them feel part of what we are doing.

Church Party

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Here is Bob Lesher from VCDC who is part of our church plant, too.

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I want to take a minute to share a little personal triumph in my life. As I’ve mentioned in past updates, learning Portuguese has been a battle for me. It has definitely been a “two steps forward, one step back” process. Over the last year, I have seen some huge leaps and advances in my Portuguese, but one thing has always felt out of reach – preaching in Portuguese. Although I have been meeting and counseling individuals in Portuguese for a while now, when it comes to preaching, Denise has continued to translate for me. You see, not only has Portuguese been difficult, but since I was young I have had a deep rooted fear of speaking in front of groups of people to the point of having panic attacks. Since arriving in Brazil my thought has always been, “How could I possibly preach in Portuguese when I can barely do it in English?”

While on my furlough back in the States, I was lying in bed one morning and had a thought cross my mind, “When you return to Brazil you need to begin to preach in Portuguese.” Initially I ignored the thought, but I just couldn’t get it out of my mind. I began to sense that this was really the Holy Spirit speaking to me. Although the thought of preaching in Portuguese terrified me, I made a commitment in that moment to be obedient soon after I returned to Brazil.

I’m happy to report that this last Sunday, I did my sermon in Portuguese. I was nervous beforehand, but once I started, it felt so much more comfortable than I expected it to be! Everyone was very encouraging and supportive. People were actually taking notes! I remember thinking, “I can’t believe they actually understand all this!” I know I have a ways to go, but this step was a huge one for me.

Me preaching in Portuguese

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Prayer Requests:

1) Please pray for continued growth and health of our new church plant, and for relational connections in our new neighborhood.

2) For continued grace to preach in Portuguese.

3) Good health for Denise and our baby.

Thanks again for your prayers and support. We love to hear from you, even if it’s just a quick hello.

In His Service,

Christopher and Denise

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

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