XM, Author at Xingu Mission

October 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Family,

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

It has been an exciting time in our church recently. Our numbers have continued to rise and each week we see new people starting a walk with Jesus! We feel very blessed to be part of what God is doing here. As we stated before, we have been so encouraged with our rising numbers in the church, but because of our small building we have run out of room. Lately we have been discussing the option of going to two services. We believe that for our church to continue to grow, we will need to find a solution to our lack of space. We are not yet in the financial position to afford new construction, therefore we believe two services is our best option. Please keep that in your prayers.

Vineyard Macapá

Our small group. In the second picture, Marcelo is on the left – for more on his story, keep reading J

Mexican Food Night at our small group

Teaching a class

We have also been discussing the planting of a second Vineyard in Macapá. Denise and I knew that at some point we would be planting a church, but were a bit unsure exactly when this would happen. Lately, we have been having talks with Pastor Felipe along with some other leaders about the two of us planting, and it seems like the reality of this happening is beginning to take shape. Although there is a ton of planning that needs to occur, Denise and I are looking at November 2017 as a send-off date. This would be after our planned furlough next year. We are SO looking forward to sharing our plans with all of our U.S. friends!

This last week we had a baptism for some of the new Christians at Vineyard Macapá.

The five people who were baptized this week.

A few more pictures of our baptism

One of those baptized was a young man named Marcelo.

Marcelo showed up at our church about a month ago. Shortly after he became part of our small group, Denise and I began to spend some time with him. One evening Marcelo shared the fascinating story of how he ended up at Vineyard Macapá. A few months before, Marcelo was brought to the hospital because he had passed out multiple times in a day. After running tests, the doctors were perplexed because apparently Marcelo’s heart had stopped multiple times throughout the day, but they were unable to find any reason for it. (Marcelo continues to be monitored by his doctors, but no cause has been found and he has had no further symptoms. We continue to pray for him.) The fascinating thing about this story is what Marcelo says he experienced while his heart was stopped. He says that he saw a figure radiating with love and kindness. This figure came close and embraced him. This figure didn’t speak, but Marcelo felt assured by the figure that everything was going to be alright. He also said that even though the figure didn’t speak, he instantly knew the figure was Jesus.

After waking up, Marcelo was a bit confused about what to do with what he had just experienced. He hadn’t grown up in the church and didn’t know many people who attended a church. A few days later, Marcelo ran into an old friend who had recently recommitted his life to Jesus and was attending Vineyard Macapá. Marcelo right away asked if he could join his friend at the upcoming church service. That Sunday night during ministry time, Marcelo came forward and made a commitment to walk with Jesus. It’s been amazing watching Marcelo grow. Every time he is talking about Jesus, his face just lights up. Every time we pray, tears of joy stream down his face. It is encountering people like Marcelo that makes any hardships of our job totally worth it.

We would appreciate your prayers for:

The logistics and needs that will come with a second church service.
Continued growth in Marcelo and the many new converts in our church.
More salvations.
Wisdom and provision for a 2017 church plant.

Thanks again for your prayers and support. We always love to hear from you.

In His Service,

Christopher & Denise

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

Walking with the Broken

Hello to all my Friends and Supporters!

I hope you enjoyed hearing from Ronã last month. Even though you haven’t gotten to meet him in person yet, I hope you at least feel that you know him a little bit better.
We are both feeling settled back here in Altamira, and have been very busy. As I said before, Ronã has been working at CDR teaching English as well as helping with the worship team at church.

For those of you who don’t really know my history, I would like to share some of my story. When I started going to Vineyard Tuttle Crossing back between 2006-2007, I was not in a good place in my life. It had been several years since I had gone to church. I was in a very difficult marriage with a man who was an alcoholic and verbally abusive. I also had my own problems with an addiction to marijuana. At VTC, I found a home and a refuge. Being there was very different from many of my previous experiences in churches. I felt that the people there really showed me love and grace despite my many failures. After about a year, I met a member of the church who was a recovering alcoholic. I asked her if she could help me with my addiction, and she agreed. She showed me how to the 12 Steps, and after that, my life was forever changed.

Through the process of the steps, I found freedom from addiction, but I also found a new way of life. I had a wisdom and a clarity that I had never experienced before. I understood how to manage my life and my emotions in ways that I never had before. I knew when to say no. I stopped taking responsibility for the feelings and opinions of others. I had boundaries! I knew how to protect myself in healthy ways. And I knew how to have relationships. How to be vulnerable and transparent, yet still an individual. It was a miracle.

Since that time, I have always wanted to help others in the same way that I was helped, but I wasn’t sure if I would ever have the opportunity. When I came to Brazil, I really had no idea what would lay ahead for me. I just knew that I was following the call of God. The past 4 years have presented many challenges for me, and it seemed that the road was not straight.

Now, it seems that the road has led me back to where I started in Altamira. At first, it felt as though I was going backwards, but I have quickly learned that is not at all the case.

As I said before, I have been helping the missionaries, Art and Cyndi Rae, with a group called Living Waters. Living Waters is a healing care program designed to guide people to find God in the midst of their brokenness and pain. It helps them identify how the past is effecting their present. It touches on many of the same principles used in the 12 steps.

I have told you a little before about the dysfunction in families here in Brazil, but as I work with helping others in these groups, I realize just how profound it is. Many people were past around as children from their grandparents to an aunt or uncle or even to strangers who were willing to take them in. Very few grew up with both a father and mother present. They suffered severe neglect due to poverty and lack of concern. They were even sometimes treated like slaves, expected to work just as hard as adults. I can conservatively say that at least half of the women I have talked to have suffered some sort of sexual abuse as children. The stories that I hear break my heart on a regular basis.

I feel deeply privileged to have the tools needed to help these very broken people. I get to walk with them along the path to their healing. I get to see God touch these dark places with his profound compassion and grace. To be honest with you, nothing has ever felt so rewarding.

My current goal is to see if their is a possibility for me to start a 12 step program here in Altamira. I am already working with a few individuals, walking them through the steps. I am praying to see if this is something God would like me to pursue. Please, pray with me for discernment and direction.

Bless you all!

Love, Allison and Ronã

Donate Online to Ronã and Allison/Xingu

Aug, 26

August 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for your prayers and support. As always, they have been greatly appreciated.

We wanted to give a short update of some things that are going on here in Macapá. As we stating in our last newsletter, after all the excitement from the last few months, Denise and I have looked forward to slowing things down a bit to focus on needs within our church. Here are a few things we are excited about.

One question Denise and I continuously ask our leaders is “what kind of church do we want to be?” The reason we ask this question is because we believe it is easy to lose touch with what we are doing and why we are doing it. It is easy to gravitate toward just going through the motions. Two priorities that we want to establish as a church are creating a sense of family where we can have fun together and having a church where people can grow in their faith. We have tried to prioritize both of these values.

To encourage an atmosphere of family and fun, we had an all-church party a few weeks ago. It was a blast. There were games, music, food etc. We also had a lot of visitors from the neighborhood. We will definitely do this again!

Here are a few pictures from our party. We were very involved in our games J

The second strong value for our church is discipleship which we believe primarily takes place in a small group context. Our home group has been doing great! Prior to Denise and me coming to Macapá small groups where non-existent in the church because church was never trained on how to run a small group. This has been something that Denise and I have worked hard on. Denise and I co-lead a group with our good friends Diego and Sidneia who are new to small group leadership. Denise and I have worked side-by-side with them, slowly handing over increasing levels of responsibility so that eventually they will become the sole leaders and Denise and I will leave to start another group.

A couple pictures from our Small Group

Us with Diego and Sidneia, our Small Group co-leaders

One thing that our group has started is what we call “Mexican Night”. Every fourth week we get together and attempt to make Mexican food. Mexican food is not at all common in Brazil. This has become a fun night where we invite our non-churchgoing friends to come experience Mexican food. We have people making tortillas, people making guacamole, people making the salsa and so on. It always turns out to be a fun night. Our group has many new members because of Mexican night.

Mexican night

We have also been scheduling various workshops and trainings each month at our church. We just finished doing training on the Vineyard 5 Step Prayer Model last week which went super well. The leaders in our church were required to go, but we opened it up to anyone who was interested. We didn’t think we would get much of a turnout, but over 20 people showed up which was extremely surprising and exciting. Everyone seemed to really enjoy and get a lot out of it.

Something else we are really excited about that starts this month is an 8 week class where we will be investigating the difficult questions about the life of Christ. In the U.S.A. skepticism about Jesus and Christianity is commonplace. In the American culture people are encouraged and almost praised when they question things. And although I do realize that in Christianity, there is always a step of faith to be taken, I have found that digging into some these difficult questions has strengthened my faith. Here in Brazil, we believe that as a whole there is less skepticism than in the U.S., but that tide is starting to turn. Christianity is more frequently under fire here in Brazil. Every week I am being asked difficult questions about the life of Jesus from people within the church. Many are being influenced by questions raised at the schools and universities. We decided to address many of these questions in this once a week class. We will be addressing such questions as “Can the biographies of Jesus be trusted?”, “Are the Gospels that we are reading today the same as what was written 2000 years ago?”, “Does archeology contradict the Gospels?”, “Was Jesus really convinced that he was the Son of God?”, “Was Jesus’ resurrection a hoax?” and many more! Our hope is that these classes will strengthen our faith, but also equip us to know how to respond when faced with these difficult questions.

We’d appreciate your prayers for:

Continued growth, discipleship and sense of community in our church.

The raising up of new leaders.

Wisdom, encouragement and protection for Denise and me.

Thanks again for your prayers and support. We always love to hear from you.

In His Service,

Christopher & Denise

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

"Missionary By Accident"

Happy Mid-to-the-End-of-Summer Everyone!

I hope that doesn’t make you sad, but just remember that that means Fall is coming, and Fall is easily the best season :)!
So, this month, I am doing something a little different with the blog. I realized that, of course, none of you have gotten the chance to meet Ronã (Ronan), and that everything you hear is always from my side of the story. So, I wanted to give you an opportunity to at least meet him virtually! I asked him to write the blog for this month, and talk a little about his experience being a new missionary.

“Missionary by Accident”

That’s what I usually tell Allison about how my life changed after I married her. On August 23th, we will complete four months of marriage, and this missionary life has already brought us many great and unexpected experiences.

My Version of the Story

I know well that you are already aware of much of my life. You know where I live, where I work, the church I attend, what I do there, how I met Allison, when we got married and other details, but I would like to talk about a few things you don’t know about me.

Since my childhood, I have been a “church kid”. I always liked the message of the gospel, and I loved to sing and hear about Jesus. But I always had difficulty connecting with the most fundamental Christian principle: Love. Even though I attended church regularly, I always had a bad habit of judging and condemning people. I judged them for their clothes, what they ate, their tattoos, the denominations they attended and many other things. It was automatic for me. In addition, I also had a wrong view of the person of God. Just as I judged people, I also believed that God judged me the same way. My relationship with him was based on fear. That was the thing I prayed about to God. I wanted to be used by Him, but I understood that I didn’t have what was essential. I needed to be close to Him and feel compassion for people.

Since I met Allison and we have been together, that area of my life has been touched. Behind the tattoos, there is a person who is very sincere and dependent on God. Several times, I have seen Allison helping needy and dependent people and praying for them. When she is preaching with words and actions, she is also preaching to me. Last semester, we had the opportunity to work together in a city that I did not know, with people who I had never seen before. There we helped the church, caring for and teaching very needy children, helping with worship, and meeting with very poor people and praying for them. Things that I never imagined I would do. On our trip from Portel to Altamira, we prayed for a group of women who accepted Jesus. This was the first time I saw that happen, and it was very good.

I joke with Allison that I became a missionary by accident because I married her, but the truth is that I do not believe our meeting was an accident. I believe that God was answering both of our prayers. He is using us.

My Frustration

When I considered marrying Allison, this was my plan: my wife will focus on missionary service, and I will help in everything that she needs, but my priority is to get a job wherever we go to help in our finances.

I thought this was the perfect plan, but I was wrong. It did not work and will not work. The missionary life requires constant change and availability. Last semester, we were in Portel, and today we are in Altamira. In just two months, we will need to travel to Belem, and we do not know where we’ll be going in 2017. The truth is that I could not get a good job, much less make money, because a good job requires a commitment of long period of time. Something I don’t have.

I do not know how it is in the U.S., but in Brazil, it is the duty of man to be the provider. This philosophy is well steeped in our culture, and we agree with it. So you can imagine how I feel. That’s right, I feel frustrated.

I talked about it with my friend, Steve Dolan, the leader of the Xingu Mission in Brazil. He explained to me that I should not feel that I am not contributing with the finances because when we are receiving your donations, this money is not only for Allison, but you are donating to both of us. It’s our money. But Steve also added something I did not expect. He told me that as a missionary, my focus should be in the ministry and providing services for free. He explained that that was the purpose of your donations, allowing us to do this work. And lastly, he explained that if I needed to increase our finances, my option would be to work on raising more support. That was a shock to me. Until now, I still have not assimilated to the idea that I will be totally dependent on donations, but I am beginning to understand that this is the path of God for us.

I am very grateful for the trust you have given us until now, and I would ask you to pray for our finances. Now I’m going to go out of my comfort zone and ask if you would consider supporting us financially?

Please also pray for …

The mother of my friend Christopher Meyer, who is being treated for cancer;

That God may help us to have children;

Insight from God for our ministry in the coming year;

My development as I study the piano.

Thank you so much for listening,

Sincerely Ronã Moura

If you would like to make a donation, below are the options.

Donate Online to Ronã and Allison/Xingu

or send your check to:

Xingu Mission

PO Box 340785
Columbus, OH 43234

-Make your check out to Xingu Mission, with Ronã and Allison* in the memo. Thanks!
-All donations are tax-deductible.
*If you don’t add our names to the memo, the funds will NOT be allocated to us.

August Amazon Update! Steve and Elba

I (Steve) first came to Brazil in June of 2001 to help build a church at Belo Monte. The first picture is of our team and we had a great time. We got the shell of the church completed and then went home. During that time from then to now, the church has experienced many leadership changes and the church reopened and closed many times. Now, there is new leadership and things have been changing. They renovated the church, the congregation is increasing in size and leadership seems more stable. Last month I was asked to share a few words at the church inauguration which was a fun and nervous time, but thankfully everyone thought I did a good job. We also got the opportunity to bless the new leadership team and the new pastor. I feel more encouraged for the future of this church. Please pray for this church, the congregation and leadership team.

Wow, we were so blessed to have 13 people get baptized during the church service. It was a really exciting time and the Holy Spirit was touching each of their lives. I really love watching people getting baptized. First, I like the public testimony that it gives to people in the community. Second, I love that during the baptism the church is singing and worshiping God. Lastly, the symbolism of letting the person be completely immersed in water being baptized into Jesus’ death on the cross and no longer being slaves to self or sin. When they are raised out of the water they are raised into a new life in Christ and are with Him forever. Praise the Lord and may His transforming power be upon each of them and us daily. I think these pictures below show that happening.

Elba and her twin sister, Nira celebrated their birthdays in July. I am so thankful that God brought Elba into my life. She is such a beautiful person inside and out and I love her dearly. She is such great wife, best friend and mother. I bought this cake in celebration of her birthday and brought it home on my dirt bike. The cake did not do too well on the way back. Obviously, I did not think that one through.

We are so proud of Camilly and Alyssa as they continue to excel in school. They both won the gold medal and they got very high marks. Good job girls!!!

Please also continue to pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional health for us.

Much love, Steve, Elba, Camilly, and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio 43234

Or On-line donations at:

https://xingu.org/opportunities/giving/dolan-ministries/

We went to Santarem so Elba could perform her nephew’s wedding. During that time we went to the mall and they had these giant balls that you can get into and roll around. The girls, along with Apollo loved it. Camilly liked pushing the ball. However, when she got inside she freaked out.

Jul, 22

July 2016 Newsletter

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

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

Two of my favorite people

Fun and games at Vineyard Macapá

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

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

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

Our boy band picture

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

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/

July Amazon Update! Steve and Elba

Thank you so much for your prayers for us and the team from Columbus and Madison County Vineyard. We had a wonderful and full week with the team and it was a blessing. When the team landed on Sunday afternoon they got directly into a few vehicles and they were off to Pacaja with Keith and Marsha Wilson which is about 250 kilometers away from Altamira. The team made it just before the church service and they were able to minister to the church congregation. They did various activities throughout the week to bless the community and encourage the workers. They participated in an English get together at CDR, home groups, an oral hygiene clinic at one of the local schools to which they passed out toothbrushes and toothpaste, they helped with a big church outreach to the community where the church provided free haircuts, health checkups, counseling service with a lawyer, documentation, and a lot of prayers. During the prayer time we had testimonies of people being healed of headaches, toothaches, emotional healing and the confirmation of God’s unlimited love for them.

After the week in Pacaja, the team came back to Altamira and they went to the Mirante church. Cindy Taylor preached to the congregation about returning to our first love in Jesus and to regain that enthusiasm that we once had in the Lord. The message appeared to touch many in the congregation and the Holy Spirit was active during ministry time. All in all it was a great time with the team and I believe that the Lord used them to minister to us and the Brazilian people. For all the team did and help participate in it would appear that it would have taken a whole month. However, they were able to squeeze all of it in a 1 week timeline.

After the team left, our whole family was back in the truck on the road again to visit the church in Marabá. The Marabá church is about 530 km away. We had a really nice time with Ivanildo and Monica who are the pastors. Elba got to preach at the church and she shared about the importance of being committed to the church, and ultimately to Christ. The church is comprised of a lot of young adults and it was encouraging to see them hungry for Christ and wanting more of Him in their lives. Praise the Lord. Please pray for the church in Marabá and its leadership.

On July 4th, Alyssa turned 9 years old. She is growing up so fast and is a real sweetheart. For her birthday she got a secret diary and a coloring set. She loves to color and beatbox. Beatboxing is one of her hobbies that she is crafting and we are always amazed at the different sounds she is able to generate. The team brought down this pie in the face game. It was a big hit at her birthday party. Camilly got a new skateboard and she is really picking it up quickly.

Please also continue to pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional health for us.

Much love, Steve, Elba, Camilly, and Alyssa

Tax deductible donations can be written and sent to:

The Xingu Mission

P.O Box 340785

Columbus, Ohio 43234

Or On-line donations at:

https://xingu.org/opportunities/giving/dolan-ministries/

One of the nights we went outside the city to look at the stars. They sky was filled and we saw many shooting stars. It was really nice. Leonard Taylor took these shots by keeping the exposure open for a long time. Then I turned on a flashlight so that we could see Alyssa and the team.

In God's Hands

Hello To My Faithful Supporters and Friends!

How I miss all of you! I miss your faces, your hugs, your smiles, and caring conversations. As the years pass by, my definition of home is always changing, but you all have a special place in my heart that says “home”.
As you may remember, Ronã and I have moved again–back to Altamira–my first home in Brazil! Once again, our lives are going through a transition. That is the life of a missionary. Home becomes something you carry with you rather than a physical place. Home becomes memories, people, and moments. The landscape is always changing.

Traveling with our friend from Portel to Breves

And typical of this Brazilian life, the transitions are never easy. Everything is always an adventure, but not always the kind of adventure you wanted! Our latest adventure came with our move from Portel to Altamira.
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to go from Portel to Altamira. There is no road that connects the two places, so you have to travel by boat. And not just one boat.

Typical boats on the River

We had made arrangements to travel from Portel to a nearby city called Breves. From there, we would take another boat to Vitoria, which is about an hour drive from Altamira. Last Friday morning, we left Portel and headed to Breves. The next boat, the Gabriela, was suppose to arrive early the next morning to pick us up with all of our things. After spending the night in Breves, we dutifully loaded all of our possessions onto the dock, and waited for the boat. Not too long after, we saw the Gabriela coming, and began to get excited, but our excitement soon turned into dismay as we realized that it was not stopping. The boat passed us by. We tried to send a small boat after it, but it refused to turn around, claiming that it didn’t have enough space for our stuff!
Ronã quickly went into action trying to find another option for us. Luckily, we found another boat that would take us to a city called Gurupá, which is about the half way point of our trip. However, the boat would not leave for another 2 days. We would have to wait. We loaded our stuff onto this new boat, got a hotel, and waited.
Monday finally arrived, and we set out on the Mundial for Gurupá. We were grateful to be at least on the move, but frustrated with all the set backs. Little did we know that God had planned to use this set back to do his work.

The Beautiful River Sunset

I had sensed the Lord suggesting that I offer to do a Bible study while aboard the Mundial. I was nervous about it, so I had been praying that God would pave a way for it to happen. During dinner, Ronã had struck up a conversation with a family staying next to us. They were Christians, and were even familiar with some of the leaders from a Vineyard church in their area. I suggested to them the idea of doing the Bible study, and they accepted. So, I started going around to the people on the boat, both upstairs and downstairs, and inviting them. Many people were interested, and started going upstairs. However, one woman said that she would love to join, but she couldn’t walk upstairs because she had just had surgery. I told her that we could do the Bible study upstairs and then come and do one downstairs as well.
Once upstairs again, we all sat down and read the passage in John about the woman caught in adultery. I explained that even though this woman was a sinner, Jesus had accepted and loved her. I explained that this same acceptance was available to all those present. I asked people if they had ever experienced the presence of God. Two woman said that they had, but it had been a long time since then. We prayed for both of them to experience, again, the presence of God. Each woman also prayed to rededicate their life to Christ.
Another older woman there said that she had never experienced the presence of God. I asked her if she wanted to, and she said yes. As we began to pray for her, her hand started to tremble, then she began to cry. It was clear that the Holy Spirit was touching her. I asked her if she would like to give her life to Christ, and she said yes! She gave her life to Christ that night!

The “Upstairs” Bible Study

Soon, we went downstairs to have another Bible study. I taught the same message, and we prayed for a man who had had a few encounters with God in the past. Then, I felt lead to pray for the woman with the surgery. As soon as I started praying for her, I could see in her face a lot of emotional pain. After praying, I asked her about the surgery. It had been a cesarean to remove the remains of a lost pregnancy. She could, now, never have children again because of the nature of the pregnancy. She was heartbroken. She explained how encouraged she had felt when we came to do the Bible study with her, and when we prayed for her. She felt the comfort of the Lord.
After all of this, both Ronã and I were so thankful for how God had used us. We could see so clearly how he had used our detour to bless others.
The next morning, we arrived in Gurupá, and quickly boarded another boat to take us to Vitoria. On Wednesday morning, we finally arrived with all our things. A moving truck brought us the rest of the way to Altamira. Now, we are staying at the mission until we find a house or apartment.
It is easy for us all to be so preoccupied by our own plans that we can miss what God is doing right in front of us. Please pray for us that we become more aware, leaving our own agendas to the side, in order to obey Christ. What a blessing it is!
Thank you all for your love and support and prayers. Now that we are a married couple both living as missionaries, our expenses have increased. Please prayerfully consider supporting us financially. Truly, any amount that you choose to give will make a difference. What is most helpful is consistent, monthly support that allows us to plan for the future. You can donate at church to the Xingu Mission: Allison Rupert, or you can donate online at the link below.

We love you all! Take care.

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Neither Here nor There-Why Re-Entry Is Harder Than Culture Shock

I walk into Walmart and am immediately feeling a duality of emotions. I’m excited because there are so many choices, and yet my heart rate quickens and I feel something like a panic attack coming on because….

There are so many choices!

We have just returned from serving as missionaries for two years in northern Brazil and although we have lived cross culturally before this is the longest stint that I have been ‘away’. At some point, the scales tip and it stops being away and becomes home, or something like it.

Going to a new country means your senses are overwhelmed, you are soaking in a new climate, culture and sometimes language. You are overwhelmed, you long for ‘normal’ and you feel completely displaced, out of place and definitely not in Kansas anymore.

But you expect that when you pick up your life and move to a foreign land…you don’t expect it when you come back to the place you used to call ‘home’.

I have explained re-entry or reverse culture shock to others like this. Before you left your home country you were part of a beautiful puzzle, you had a shape and it meshed with the shapes of those around you. But then you pulled your piece out of that puzzle and moved to a new puzzle where for a while, turn and twist as you might you don’t fit the same. So slowly, your shape shifts and changes to fit into the new puzzle. Trouble is, when you come back that new shape that you had become to fit in the new puzzle, doesn’t just slide back in to the old puzzle. Because you are different and guess what?

So is the puzzle you left behind.

You can’t just ‘re-enter’ and pick up where you left off because you are not the same person and even though you in your mind you hit the ‘pause game’ button on life at home, the people you left behind didn’t actually pause (GASP!!) their lives went on without you and maybe, just maybe there is a new puzzle piece where you used to be.

So although you had started to feel comfortable in that foreign land, it is in fact still foreign and now that place you call home isn’t the same either so you feel out discombobulated wherever you are.

What can be done? Not a whole lot unfortunately. But for those reading this who are welcoming home missionaries or other travellers you can be patient, understand that most of their conversations will revolve around that other place, because they are trying to make themselves fit back into your puzzle by bringing a bit of the foreign puzzle into your life.

It’s confusing, and emotionally overwhelming and they are feeling a bit lost.

In the end, I wander around Walmart picking things up and putting them back down again and eventually leave with nothing. The choices overwhelm.

I don’t fit yet. But maybe, most likely, I will feel like I fit again just as we are about to go back.

That is life when you live neither here nor there.

Jun, 9

June 2016 Newsletter

Dear Friends & Family,

Thank you for your prayers and support. They continue to be greatly appreciated.

Denise and I have been in “go-mode” preparing for the upcoming visit of 12 members from my home church (Vineyard Church of Delaware County in Central Ohio). This will be the first time that Denise and I will be hosting a team, so we are basically figuring things out as we go. It has been a fun but hectic process. Right now we are putting the final touches on the trip, but we wanted to write a short update with some of last month’s highlights.

As most of you know, my dad came to visit Denise and me in Macapá. It was wonderful having him here! We had a lot of fun showing him around the city, introducing him to friends, and giving him a glimpse of our life here. Not only did we have fun, but it was also very helpful hearing his thoughts, sorting through some ideas together, and getting increased clarity concerning vision for our future. We both felt very loved and encouraged. My dad was also able to meet with the pastors and some of the leaders in our church.

Dad and me

Dad and Denise

Denise and me

My dad spent over a week with us in Macapá. From there the three of us, along with Pastor Felipe and his wife Uana, traveled to Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, for the Vineyard Brazil National Conference. This was an extremely important conference because Vineyard Brazil became an official National Association and our good friends Milton and Erika Lucas became Brazil’s first official National Directors. Various Vineyard leaders from around the world joined Brazil in celebrating this occasion. It was such a great atmosphere! Connecting with Vineyard people from all over Brazil and beyond was awesome. It felt like one big family.

Denise leading worship at the Brazilian National Conference

Milton and Erika being ordained

Our good friends Beto and Raquel. They were just sent out from Milton’s church to plant a new Vineyard Church. They were also missionaries in Italy at one time.

Please pray for:

Our time with the team coming from our home church.
The continued presence and movement of the Holy Spirit in Macapá.
Continued growth and discipleship within the church.
Wisdom to provide pastoral care for our growing church.

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

In His Service,

Christopher and Denise

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

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