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
Prayer Request
1. For continued physical health.
2. To be able to close our monthly ministry funding gap.
3. For language learning.
4. For our relationship building efforts.
5. For our kids to make friends in the new neighborhood.
Partners Meeting -Save The Date
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.
Family Update
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.
Church Expansion
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!
New Pastors at Vineyard Viva
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.
Support
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.
Zoom Meetings. You’ve lived ’em. You know ’em. You love ’em (or at least I hope you will love this one).
Agenda:
Introductions
Blaylock Share Stories and Pictures
We Pray With and For One Another
If you would like to join please click the link below. If you don’t have Zoom installed don’t worry. It will open up an internet tab and launch from your web browser.
Meeting is at 7:00 pm CST on Sunday September 18, 2022.
This last month has been an exciting time here in Macapa. We have licensed two new couples as pastors, started a building project at Vineyard Macapa, leased a new church space for Vineyard Viva, and been able to provide for some of the needs of people in our community.
Our family is doing okay. We had some physical health challenges this month, which we are starting to get on the other side of. We were able to purchase a missions vehicle and have been back in full swing with school – both for the kids and Derek’s graduate degree.
We are looking forward to our quarterly partnership call this coming Sunday night and will provide some family updates, fun stories, and pray for one another. Hope to see many of you there.
Prayer Request
1. Physical Health – We have had a round of illness, and nearly needed to make a trip to the ER.
2. Vineyard Macapa – children’s classroom expansion project. That everything goes well with construction, neighbors, and expenses.
3. Vineyard Viva – We signed the lease on a new location. Pray for finances and resolution of the details.
4. Discernment as we are looking at new neighborhoods for our family to move into.
5. Prayer for language learning!
6. For our kids to be able to make some friends.
Quarterly Partners Meeting Next Week
September 18, 2022 @ 7:00 pm C.S.T.
We will have our first quarterly zoom get together next week. I’m looking forward to seeing those of you who can make it.
Look for an email towards the end of the week with the zoom link!
If you cannot make the meeting it will be recorded.
Remember the Poor
One of the three core tenants that we are dedicating our entire lives to is this idea, given to us by Jesus, that we remember the poor and do what we can for those who are in need.
The founder of our movement, John Wimber, once said “I believe that the main reason God’s hand has stayed on the Vineyard is because of our commitment to the poor and needy. Serving the poor just isn’t an option for us. It is a life or death matter. This was entrusted to us.”
To that end, Amanda and I have become friends with someone here in the community. They are a single parent, who is struggling with all of the demands that come along with that responsibility. They are also faithfully investing in their relationship with Jesus. The situation with their current living arrangement had become very unhealthy and they needed to make a change for the sake of their wellbeing and their child’s wellbeing.
Amanda and I, along with the other missionaries, were able to come together and provide some resources for them to get a safe place to live, and some of the appliances needed to make a fresh start in a better environment.
The ministry funds that you all provide make this sort of ministry possible. Thank You!
Kingdom Investment
The above pictures show Vineyard Macapa, which is the first church planted by the Vineyard here in the city. The church is in Zone Norte – the North Side – and serves in the more economically depressed area of the city. That grassy area is actually a city street that the city has neglected.
This neighborhood serves as the locus for the lives of many of the people here. They live here, work here, shop here, and worship here. Many of them do not even have a vehicle and the congregation is composed largely of those who live within walking distance.
The church has the unique opportunity to serve the neighborhood, especially the neighborhood kids! They even have a small group during the week especially for them. Caring for these precious kiddos has also made a way for relational connection with their parents and many families have joined the church through their kids connecting here first.
Last month we spoke about how the Vineyard is invested in multi-generational impact, especially when it comes to our core tenant of Raising Up Future Leaders! I believe in faith that some of the next generation of pastors will be trained in the faith starting in these very classrooms.
Because of the opportunity we have it was necessary for us to turn the open space pictured above into two new classrooms to serve these amazing kids! Construction is underway and the ministry funds that you donate made this possible! Once Again – Thank You!
New Pastors at Vineyard Macapa
Meet Leo and Leda Vasconcelos!
Leo and Leda were licensed this month to serve as the assistant pastors of Vineyard Macapa 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. Leo and Leda are amazingly talented pastors and musicians and they are already loving and serving their neighborhood well. They quit their old jobs to become interns over this last season in order to step into this role. They are giving their all for the sake of the Good News!
Vineyard Macapa was especially hard hit during the pandemic and lost their old senior pastors due to life circumstances. The leadership team at the church stepped up and the Meyer’s have been overseeing the church during this difficult time. Leo and Leda have been heavily investing in the church and the community and this is the start of a wonderful new season of growth and fruitfulness.
Check our our interview with Leo and Leda below.
Support
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 $300 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.
