Hello,

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  As we are starting anew, we are holding on to this verse.  Thankfully, it is not just for us, it is for you as well.  Thanks for all your prayers.  If you want to be more a part of our team financially, please click below.

Happy New Year!  Thank you so much for all your prayers for our move to Belém.  We made it, and I can honestly say, “Toto, we are not in Altamira anymore.”  We moved into our rental house on January 6^th.  As you can imagine, we are still in the process of getting settled into and adjusting to life in a BIG city.  WOW, I forgot what that was like.  It has its pluses and minuses.  One thing I like about our house is that I have hardly seen a cockroach or a rat.  That is a plus!  In our other place, this seemed to be a daily tradition.  The traffic stinks, but finding what you want to buy at the stores is excellent. 

To be honest, we are humbled that God got this place for us to live.  The rent is a little over $900.00 per month, which is the most we have ever paid and a strain on our finances.  However, the reason we made this choice is that we are living in an area that does not have walls.  Almost all the houses in Brazil have walls in front of their homes for security purposes, which makes it very difficult to get to know your neighbors.  None of the places in our housing complex have walls, and we have been able to walk around to get to know people and start relationships.  Since we have few connections in Belem, we believe this is money spent well.  Here is a picture of my friend Manoel.  He lives near us and has been super helpful in orienting us to Belem and meeting other people. 

We had our farewell send-off from the Mirante church.  It was bittersweet, leaving so many loved ones, but exciting to get the opportunity to do it all over again.  We also passed over the senior pastor role to Elba’s sister Nira.  She is capable, and we believe the Lord has called her into this new role.  We are still in constant communication with the church.  Elba will continue to mentor Nira through this transition. 

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We got the girls enrolled in a new school, and they had just finished their first week.  So they were excited and nervous all at the same time.  But, by the power of the Lord and all of your prayers.  They like the school and have been making friends. 

Much love, Steve, Elba, Camilly, and Alyssa

We appreciate your continued prayers:

·         Please pray that we will identify the new senior pastor of the Belém church plant.

·         Please pray that the Lord will continue to reveal His plans to the church and us.

·         Please pray for our church, leadership, and congregation to help people draw close to God as we navigate this time and leadership transition. 

·         Please pray for the rejection of this virus from your loved ones and its eradication.

·         Please pray for our family, especially our girls, in this next phase of our lives.  

·         Please pray for our spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, and financial health.  

Much love, Steve, Elba, Camilly, and Alyssa

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