Xingu Mission field report March 2025
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Church GrowthWe are blessed by your prayers and support! Here is how the church is growing: Within the last month, we held a class where we shared our vision, values, and ministry practices. Most of our community attended, even those who have been coming awhile. Sharing our purpose and direction provided an opportunity to discern whether this community of faith is where they want to serve. It was an encouraging time as they formally shared their desire to be a part of what we are doing here in Palmas. During this class, a few people shared their desire to serve musically in the area of worship. So, we held a follow-up short training specifically focused on our vision, values, and ministry practices for worship. We are excited to be integrating three talented musicians into our worship team. We have also started small groups, one for women and one for men. Small groups provide the context to build community and develop spiritual and personal growth through a more intimate setting. It is a joy to watch the growth happening and we pray for God to bring more people into our sphere so we can continue to share God’s love! ![]() Outside the WallsIn February, we participated in an outreach with our sister church in Taquaralto (southern part of our city) to serve that community. Together we hosted and provided support to a dental team from Brasilia. This team, Projeto Semear Sorrisos (Project Seeding Smiles), is a group of dentists and assistants that donate their time and services to give free dental care to needy areas. The project is organized and led by members of our sister church in Brasilia. In four and a half days 174 patients were treated including 362 restorations, 52 extractions, and 121 other procedures. It was a heavy schedule but a joyous time serving together and helping many people. ![]() Missionary Care RetreatIn February we participated in a missionary retreat. Once a year, the Xingu Mission holds a retreat to be proactive in caring spiritually, mentally, and emotionally for the missionaries and families. With an increase in the geographical distance between missionaries, this retreat was focused on unity. We were blessed by our speaker Joel, and it was a time of connection with God and each other, rest, and fun. We love our mission family. ![]()
PrayerPlease continue praying that God will connect us with key people and give us direction as we seek to guide this group and form a community of Christ followers. Pray for divine encounters for us to demonstrate the love of God. Pray for God’s provision and discernment as we work through some document issues and adapt our new meeting space to meet the needs of the church. Blessings in Christ, Keith and Marsha Wilson
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Newness!Thank you for your continued prayers! Over the last few months, there have been several exciting events as we slowly move forward as a new church. First, we have two young professional families interested in being part of the church! They seem to be mature Christians who are talented and seem to be humbly interested in helping the church grow. So we are very encouraged by that. Secondly, we have now rented a commercial space. We are already meeting in it though our signage and some modifications are still pending. Our group is encouraged by the change and we can see subtle signs indicating that, in their minds, we are more of a “real church” now. This step brings another level of organization to our basic functions, such as utilizing sound and AV systems, and more adequate reception and seating arrangements. In November, we held our first special worship service jointly with our sister church in Taquaralto, a community on the city’s outskirts. It was a wonderful time to seek more of the Lord’s presence and help our church understand the relevance of worship through music. As we planned the event we anticipated renting a conference room, then everything worked out for us to rent our new facility, so it was our first event there! Finally, we had the honor of hosting our first short-term team to Palmas. It was from our sending church in Columbus, Ohio. Teams provide several opportunities. They inspire a curiosity in the local community that though sometimes subtle, is significant. They also inspire a sense of expectation, again which is often subtle. Together these factors create special opportunities for us to engage in ministry. Sometimes the activity becomes more relevant because of this curiosity, like the conversational English and Thanksgiving dinner times we had with this team. Other times the team provides the willing workers needed to make a ministry event viable, like the prayer in the park event we did with this team. Finally, sometimes the expectation related to their presence provides an opportunity for a non-routine ministry time, like the midweek service we held at the Taquaralto church. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
PrayerPlease continue praying that God will connect us with key people and give us direction as we seek to guide this group and form a community of Christ followers. Pray for God’s provision and discernment as we adapt our new meeting space to meet the needs of the church. Blessings in Christ, Keith and Marsha Wilson
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