The community comes together for the week-end before Christmas for a Children’s event, a volleyball game, a “Marrieds vs Singles” soccer game, and other similar festivities.

Via heads down the hill to help with the Children’s Christmas Event.

Two of these three boys are brothers. Their mother was murdered last year, so they live with their aging grandparents just outside the church gate. I get the feeling they would like to be done with childhood so they could earn some money, earn the respect of those around them, and make their way in the world. They always want to show me how strong they are, and how hard they can work, and the love to play with my cell phone. Unfortunately, I hardly have any time for them, and their story is common in our neighbourhood.

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Natal = Merry Christmas

Even though Anni and Via have lived in Canada for three and a half years, when they come home for Christmas they still jump right in, and they can still speak Portuguese.

At the Children’s Christmas Party, Emma helps Aline organize an event.

At the Christmas Youth Service, Anni played the keyboard.

Some of the neighbourhood boys watch the Christmas play. Monica made the artificial tree in the background by recycling two-litre pop bottles.

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While red hibiscus flowers have yellow dots in the middle, white hibiscuses have red dots. Do you think God thought this through on purpose, or do you think He created a formula for hibiscus-flower, color-combinations, and then was Himself surprised at how beautiful they turned out?

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God values time with us, His people, and He appreciates it when we believe He will keep His promises.

“And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

Genesis 15:6 NIV

“There are many reasons not to worry.” Bella Bergen, December, 2014.

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Here is a devotional thought from Bella’s journal. Apostle Paul sets a high standard for us to follow, “when we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly” 1 Cor. 4: 12b-13a.

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Two of the Girl’s Group had birthdays. Bella, Emma, and Aline lead this group while Deanna is gone. This week I made several trips to the hospital with Bruno, who got his leg broken in difficult circumstances. His sister always comes along to help Bruno get through the hospital system. She waits with him all day, in some cases, even though she has 5 children and is a single mom. It turns out his sister is his aunt, and the mom of one of these girls (Bruno’s grandmother took him in as a baby. His mom lives across town, and doesn’t want anything to do with him). The grandma came over and told me more of their story this week. I find our lives being woven together with this family in more and more ways. In the book Christy, by Catharine Marshall, Miss Alice tells Christy that her “neighbor” is the person who is always being woven back into her life. I often think of that quote, and wonder how I can help the people God is weaving into my life.

Two Birthdays Are Celebrated!

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Hello All my Wonderful Friends!

Always a pleasure to be writing to all of you about the exciting things happening here in Portel. I understand that the Spring is finally starting to show its face again, and I am sure that this is pure refreshment to all of you!
This month, I have been enjoying the company of my new roommate, Manoela! She arrived about 2 weeks ago, accompanied by Christopher and Denise Meyer. It was so great to see them and spend some time with them. Manoela has already started teaching the Kid’s class, and we are adjusting to each other at home. So far, she is a great roommate who has relieved me of the terrible burden of dishes! It’s great to have someone to talk to and eat meals with. She is a true blessing to me.
As you can imagine, along with my classes and getting Manoela settled in, I have been pretty busy. It can be quite the challenge to be teacher, administer, and accountant. But of course, these are just the normal challenges that go along with, essentially, starting a small business. They are challenges that I know are worth it, and I am glad to have them.
I recently finished with my Vineyard Institute class, “Ministry to the Poor”. It was a great class in part for its relevance to my current situation. The effects of poverty are multifaceted, and what better way to explore those effects than being in the mist of it. The class highlighted for me how the Bible speaks time and time again about God’s concern and compassion for the poor. It also pointed out the many different ways that the people of God can be proactive in confronting these issues in everyday life. It helped me to often reconsider what and how I do things so that my ministry choices might provide the maximum benefit for those around me. The English school, I believe, is just one of the many ways that can help lead our community out of the claws of poverty.
This class also marks the end of my classes required to complete the VI Program. I am very excited about that, of course, because now it is behind me. But I also must say, the learning experience I gained through the program was extremely valuable to me. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in furthering their understanding of the Bible, as well as how to put its message into practice.
Over the past few months, I have also had the privilege to disciple a few women in our church. The women had expressed an interest in going deeper in their relationship with God and also having a deeper understanding of the Bible. As the time has past, it has been wonderful to see the ladies growing in their understanding of who God is, as well as personally grow closer to them. What I have tried to do with the women has been two-fold. I am taking them on a journey through the Bible as a story. I believe that if they can see the big picture of the Biblical story, the smaller parts will make sense in relationship to the whole. If they can see God’s overall plan for history, then they will be able to understand how each part fits into the ultimate plan. They will also be able to see how their individual lives have a part to play in the story. The other side that I am teaching them is how to hear the voice of God for themselves, and how to rely on the Holy Spirit for strength and wisdom in their daily lives.
Please pray for these women. Pray that the power of God comes over them, and that they would experience the love of Christ in the deep reaches of their hearts.
Last week, my students took their first test. I was very proud of how they did. The day after the test, I taught them a song in English called, “Set a Fire” by Will Reagan and United Pursuit. I will post the video below of them singing it.
Please, pray for them as well. Many of the people in this region are not accustomed to studying so a course like this one can feel overwhelming to them. Many of the schools in this part of Brazil do not really teach the students how to learn. They need courage, strength, and perseverance to continue. Please pray that God gives this to them supernaturally. 
Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement. Though I have said it many times before, I want to remind you that we are doing this together. You are just as much a part of this as I am. Your prayers, your thoughts, and your financial sacrifices all make this possible. God bless you and your family!

Love, Allison

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Baptism, Igreja da Vinha, Maraba.

March 8, 2015

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The church is continuing to do well and by the grace of God we are still seeing people come to know Christ.  However, the last few weeks we have seen attendance down.  Pray that we continue to be relevant to the unreached around us.  Elba preached at one of our churches in Brasil Novo.  The Brasil Novo church is still in its infancy but Pastor Ademir has been doing a great job pastoring this church, gathering people and teaching the Word of God.  Sorry that the picture is real fuzzy.  Please continue to keep the church and its members in your prayers, as well as all the other churches. 

CDR, our community center has been reaching out to the community to help the underprivileged with affordable education in English and computers.  This semester alone, we have around 400 students participating in our programs which is considerable more students than we had last year.  We are also providing the community with free internet access and free computer classes to the local schools.  Below are some pictures of an English class playing a game to figure out what word was on their forehead.  It is nice when you can make learning fun.  Continue to pray for more favor upon CDR, and that it will be a greater influence in the surrounding community to help people come to know Jesus as their Savior.      

Here is a picture of Camilly and Alyssa playing a dance game at our new mall in Altamira and the girls got dressed up for the occasion.  Yes, you read this correctly, we have a mall in Altamira.  Granted, it probably only takes 5 minutes to walk through its entirety, but hey, we had a good time. J  I took the next picture on international women’s day.  It is a picture of Elba’s Mom and sisters, as well as her niece Apolana, and our girls.  Elba was quite sick but struggled through (read below).  We prepared a nice breakfast on the lawn with all kinds of goodies and Apolana sang them a song.  It was really special for them. 

Please pray for Elba.  She had dengue fever, which is a mosquito born disease that has no treatment, only symptom relievers.  They call dengue “breakbone fever” because of the severe joint and muscle pain that is causes.  She is still not feeling well and now has a severe ear ache.  Please pray the Lord will heal her. 

Please continue to pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional health for us.  We need it. 

Love and blessings, 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/

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We are also wrestling with what should be the next step in our building project. Our 700 sq. ft. meeting space is no longer visitor friendly as there is just not enough room. For our Christmas celebration we had to limit how many people each family could invite so the experience would be positive instead of negative!  

 

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