Hey Friends and Family!

It hard to believe that we have been here for three months already! This past month was a bit of a whirlwind for our family and for the churches (in a good way) here in Macapa. 

In this newsletter we have a family update, an overview of the Vineyard Viva church expansion, and an interview with our new associate pastors at Vineyard Viva – Fred and Aline!

Please know that God is Answering Your Prayers!

Last newsletter we asked for you to pray for our physical health, and that God would provide the financial resources needed for both the Vineyard Macapa children classrooms and for Vineyard Viva’s new building renovations. He has answered abundantly! Thank you for your generosity to these projects and your prayers! We have experienced improved physical wellbeing and have been able to finance the building projects. 

This is our second to last newsletter for the year as we will have one more combined for the holiday months. We hope to see you all at the Quarterly Partnership Chat!

Love, 

Derek, Amanda, Selah, Amaris, Josiah, and Adalee

Sunday November 20, 2022 @ 7:00 pm C.S.T.

Please save the date. I will send out the meeting link the week of to ensure this is easy to find in your inbox. 

This last month was quite the whirlwind:

• We celebrated Selah’s 10th Birthday! We were able to go to an indoor trampoline park here in the city and she felt very celebrated. 
• I traveled back to the states for 9 days to attend residency my Master’s Program. It was nice to see this amazing cohort I am journeying with. 
• I returned from that to only to go straight into finals week!
• Then the next week we moved into a new rent house in a new neighborhood that the Lord had drawn our hearts toward. 
• We are enjoying some of the budding friendships with some amazing people here! We had our first game night at the new house this past week!
• In Brazil they have a Kids Day in addition to Fathers Day and Mothers Day. It is a very big deal here with special activities, time off from school, and presents for the kids. Vineyard Macapa had a celebration for the neighborhood. 
• Amanda and I have been in significantly improved physical health and the kids have been feeling very well. 
• We are working on establishing new rhythms and looking forward to some new holiday traditions even as we lament the family and traditions that we will miss out on this holiday season. 

The above pictures show the before and after of the new worship space for Vineyard Viva.

Vineyard Viva currently meets in a large, one-room meeting space which we have outgrown. It also currently sits west of the city in a quiet and somewhat out-of-the-way neighborhood. God provided a perfect location in the center of Macapa much closer to where many of our existing members live. This location will also will make it easier for new members to attend due to its prime location near the city center. 

It was previously a pool hall and saloon so we needed to undertake some renovations to accommodate worship. We stepped out in faith before all of the finances were there – and God showed up big time! We currently have what we need for the renovations. 

The sanctuary will be able to accommodate 3X more than our current space, there are dedicated classrooms, and we will have a cafe/lounge area for gatherings. We need to finish painting and install air conditioners and we should be able to start having services there during the holidays!

Construction is underway and the ministry funds that you donated made this possible! 

Meet Fred and Aline Miranda!

Fred and Aline were licensed this last month to serve as the assistant pastors of Vineyard Viva with the eventual goal of taking over as the senior pastors!

Licensing in the Vineyard is not an aspirational endeavor, instead it is the process by which we recognize what God is already doing in someone’s life. Fred and Aline have been faithfully serving the Vineyard here in Macapa for eight years in a variety of administrative and ministerial capacities. This last year they took the step of faith to join the internship program and have been devoting themselves full time to training and pastoring. They have amazing hearts for the city and for the people that have been entrusted. 

Check our our interview with Fred and Aline below. 

Prayer Support – I have been working hard on laying the foundation necessary to recruit a robust prayer support network. We need it! The success of our church planting here is very much dependent upon the faithful and fervent prayer of God’s people. I have launched a family website/spiritual formation blog and setup our mailing list access. If you know someone that might be interested in receiving these updates and praying with us please send this link. They will get an introductory letter about us and the mission when they sign up. 

Financial Support – Our family is taken care of thanks to your generosity. Thank you! Due to the church growth we are investing significant ministry funds here in faith – responding to what the Father is doing. As it stands, we will need up to raise an additional $250 per month for our ministry fund. Please pray for us as we fundraise for this and if you would like to contribute please use the link below.