Hey Friends and Family!

It is kind of hard to believe that we have been here for six months already! Time has truly flown by as we have begun to settle into new rhythms and ways of life here in lovely Brazil. 

Six months in there are three aspects of being here that standout the most. Our Brazilian friends have a drastically different approach to inhabiting time than we do in the States. Generally speaking, the tend to prioritize relationality over efficiency. They are warm, engaging, and genuinely curious about others. Because of this they tend to have more margin in their schedules and have make the time to invest in relationships. Brazilians are very hospitable and we have been very much the recipients of this hospitality! What a blessing. 

The other side of this is that well – the pace and efficiency of everything else is equally slowed down. Finding peanut butter could require a visit to three different grocery stores. Navigating the federal police system to file all required documentation is very time consuming. A simple trip to the bank can take hours.  Working in foreign missions sometimes amounts to what is essentially standing in line at the DMV several days a week in order to comply with local law or process. And yet if you are able to maintain the same same attitude and posture that Jesus exhibits, namely that our Father is always at work around us, you often find divine appointments in even the most mundane of circumstances. 

We are also incredibly grateful to be serving with our fellow missionaries: Christopher, Denise, and Bob. Their love, guidance, and perseverance serve as a remarkable example of Christlikeness. Being able to serve as part of a larger team has made these first six months more manageable than they would have otherwise been. Christian mission is always best accomplished in community. 

Much Love, 

Derek, Amanda, Selah, Amaris, Josiah, and Adalee

In December we hosted a Christmas-cookie decorating party and invited the entire neighborhood as a come and go event. Overall we had around 40 people come through and it was a blast! 

Snowflakes are not something that people who live in the tropics typically associate with Christmas. However, once we showed everyone how to make these crafts it ended up being more popular than the cookie decorating! Our neighbors wanted to decorate our carport so we left up until Epiphany as a collective thanksgiving. 

We made several new connections with people we did not know before, and likewise many of the people who came met neighbors they had not otherwise know yet. 

As a result of this we have decided to start a monthly brunch gathering. There seems to be some enthusiasm for this and our next monthly gathering is this coming Saturday the 28th! 

Additionally, we are endeavoring to have at least one family over for a meal, or go to their house for a meal, on a weekly basis. 

Our purpose in all of this is to begin to notice what our Father is doing in our neighbors lives and then join Him in how He is already working. Our job in this season is gathering and being attentive to how the Holy Spirit is already at work. 

Please pray for us in these gathering practices. 

Our first service in our new location is this coming Sunday, January 29th!

All that remains is some last minute setup and we will be prepared to receive our Vineyard Viva family and new first time guest into our new worship space!

Thank you to everyone who has advised, prayed, and given financially to make this possible. We look forward to a fruitful work in Macapa as a result of this labor. 

We issued a challenge to the community to be very intentional about inviting people, and to ask God to place people into our hearts and minds that He would have us invite. Please pray for these conversations and people being invited. 

• Christmas season good but hard. We enjoyed making some new traditions, were able to practices some of our traditions (we made room for our Christmas tree decorations when we moved), and generally had a relaxing and worshipful Christmas season. And just like in South Texas it was 80 degree and rainy!  We did miss seeing our families, and had to navigate some tough emotions with our kids, however, they displayed a remarkable resilience. 
• So much of our prayers during this transition have revolved around community for our kiddos. It has been delightful to see the neighborhood kids begin to include them into teh community. They have a group of friends that they regularly play with. Additionally, we try to join in with the neighborhood pickup futebol games at our neighborhood field.
• We are acquiring enough basic language proficiency that are day-to-day interactions are reasonably self-sufficient, fluid, and can be fun. Our new friends are all pretty patient with us, but eager to help. Some of the dudes at church like teaching me (Derek) slang. When I use it in a future conversations they practically double over with laughter. 
• Amanda’s headaches have greatly improved. At the time of this newsletter it has been quite some time since she has needed to take her special medicine. Thank you all for praying for this. 
• I started the last semester of my Master’s program! If everything goes well I will be heading back to the States for graduation in May. This program has been especially life-giving for me: laying some important groundwork for our missions activity and setting some things in motion that will be with me for the remainder of my life. Ill be writing more about this in the future. 

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. 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 currently taken care of thanks to your generosity.  There are always needs here in the churches and if you would like to contribute additional resources please use the link below!

Hey Friends and Family!

Merry Christmas!

I hope that this season of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany is a restful and worshipful season for you. 

In this newsletter we have a some skim updates and I share a few thoughts on incarnation and spiritual formation. 

Last newsletter we asked that you pray for physical health, ministry funding, language learning, relationship building, and friends for our kids. 

Please know that God is answering all of these prayers! More on that below. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

Much Love,

Derek, Amanda, Selah, Amaris, Josiah, and Adalee

• We celebrated Thanksgiving with the other Vineyard Missionaries here in Macapa. It was really great to have a mixture of old favorite foods along with new fare from Brazil! 
• This was also our first time traveling intra-country as a family. We flew into a new city and then had to drive several hours to reach our destination. It was a good learning experience!
• We have been watching the World Cup – both at our house and in public with other people. Watching Brazil’s team live with new friends is a very fun experience! The Brazilians are very passionate about their futebol!
• Malls are still much more of a thing here than in the state and they go all out for Christmas. This was a live marching band in the mall!
• Our dog Snickers is growing and healthy. He has been a delightful addition to our family and our kids have especially enjoyed having him around. He has been good for our hearts!
• Our physical health feels like it is settling into a normal equilibrium after the initial struggles of adjusting to a new environment. Thank you for praying!
• Our ministry funding gap has been closed for the time being! Thank you all for your generosity!
• We have found an excellent language instructor and our entire family is taking lessons. Our new friends frequently compliment us on our language usage and comprehension! 
• Our kids have made new friends here in the neighborhood. They frequently get together to play. This has been wonderful and this is an answer to prayer!. 
• We are getting to know more neighbors as well. This weekend we are hosting a cookie decorating party and have a lot of people from the neighborhood coming over!
• We are settling in and preparing for new Christmas traditions here in Brazil. However, we did make space to bring down our Christmas Tree decorations. That is such an important tradition for us and it was worth the effort! Our tree is up and decorated. 
• We feel very well loved and taken care of by you all – Thank You!

As many of you know, I am currently working on my Master’s degree in Christian Spiritual Formation and Leadership. It has been one of the most formative and life-giving things that I have ever done. As you can imagine, we do spend some time learning about various spiritual practices that can be facilitate deeper intimacy with Jesus and our character formation. In my studies one that that has become  apparent to me in the modern spiritual formation movement is that it tends to neglect some of the outward-focused, ministerial disciplines as a means of discipleship. 

You can learn all about prayer, scripture reading, meditation, fasting, silence, solitude, confession, and  reconciliation. All of these are very important disciplines but they are all also inwardly focused. Far less time and attention is given to those external disciplines that also open us up to receive God’s love and be formed into Christlikeness. 

One of my favorite discipleship books of all time is called The Art of Neighboring. The thing that I love about it is that it gives a very practical guide for how to truly “move into the neighborhood” as a representative of The Word through basic acts of connection, generosity, and goodness. 

The first step is simple in premise, and only requires some intentionality on our part. Make a map of the 8 or so closet houses to you (like on the cover) and just get to know these neighbors names. My experience is that if you live in a modern suburb that you likely would not be able to completely fill this map out on your first try. Because, well, it’s hard to get to know people and everyone is busy. And there is no shame in that, however, it does not have to stay that way for you. 

The first practical step in incarnating our neighborhood with the love and goodness of Jesus begins with getting to know the names of those who live closest to us. And then, begin to pray for them. It won’t be long before God shows you some very particle ways to show His goodness in their life. He wants to answer those prayers, because He deeply loves you neighbors. 

This is the first step that Amanda and I are taking here in our new neighborhood. Using this map to learn the names of those closest to us and beginning to pray for them. 

This spiritual formation practice will facilitate you becoming more open to the receiving and giving of God’s love through participating with Him in his own love for your neighbors. 

To that end: This weekend we are hosting a neighborhood Christmas cookie decorating party. We have invited the neighborhood over and we are excited for the new connections we are going to make! Please be in prayer for us and we endeavor to be good neighbors to our new friends!

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. Additionally our short-term ministry funding needs gap appears to have been met as well Thank you!  There are always needs here in the churches and if you would like to contribute additional resources please use the link below!

Hey Friends and Family!

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

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. 

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. 

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! 

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. 

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. 

Hello Family and Friends, 

Zoom Meetings. You’ve lived ’em. You know ’em. You love ’em (or at least I hope you will love this one). 

Agenda:

1. Introductions
2. Blaylock Share Stories and Pictures
3. 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. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8382…

Meeting ID: 838 2277 0434
Passcode: 197442
One tap mobile
+15642172000,,83822770434#,,,,*197442# US

Looking forward to seeing whomever can make it!

-Derek and Amanda

Hey Friends and Family!

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. 

 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. 

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!

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!

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. 

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. 

Hello Friends and Family, 

It has truly been a whirlwind of a month! We have arrived in Macapa and are starting to settle in. In the midst of all of this change we have deeply appreciated your prayers, text, calls, and encouragement – Thank You!

Likewise, we have been warmly received by our new Brazilian neighbors, by the local churches here, and in the community. Below are some prayer request, skim updates, and an interview with the base leaders here in Macapa. 

^{As I have prayed for you all this month these words from 2 Corinthians 9 have been on my mind. The folks here at Xingu have been blown away by your generosity and in how quickly you enabled us to get to Brazil!}

“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Your generosity in supporting our family and in supporting Xingu Mission is sharing the gospel, raising leaders, and remembering the poor has an impact beyond you financial and emotional support. It results in the God receiving praise in the people who hear of your generosity and love. Thank you for everything you do, but more importantly, thank you for who you are. 

Pictured: Amanda and new neighbors. Our Street. 3/4 of the Pastoral Interns at the Airport. A Brazilian Birthday Party. Adalee’s New Buddy Liam.

Below are some of the highlights of what has happened since our last update

• We arrived safely and well. All of our luggage made it! Thanks for praying. 
• We enjoyed staying for several weeks with the Meyer family. We shared their house, enjoyed many meals together, and were able to explore the city with them. 
• We are beginning to make some new friendships here in the city! We have some wonderful neighbors, and many of them also attend the church which is also here in the neighborhood. (The church roof is the third orange roof on the left).
• We found a house! This last week we moved into a house that is in the same neighborhood as one of the Vineyard churches here in Macapa. Additionally, we already know some of the folks in this neighborhood from previous trips. We are in the process of getting everything setup and settling into a more normal rhythm of life after a crazy 15 weeks of being nomads. 
• Our new landlord is a local TV newscaster and director! He has been super accommodating and helpful to us as we are getting settled in. He has went out of his way to be of assistance and we are grateful for this relationship.
• We have applied for our official documentation and Brazilian tax-Id number. We need these two documents to enable us all to initiate all of the other important functions – utilities, cellphones, banking, ect. The lady at the Federal Police station was super helpful and accommodating.
• Over this next month we will need to finalize getting a bank account setup, purchasing a mission vehicle, and getting our house fully functional. In addition to that we are beginning new relationships in the community by sharing meals and spending time getting to know these wonderful folks!

In the video below we talk with the leaders here in Macapa. We discuss their background, how they met, how they came to be in Macapa, and answer the “why Vineyard, why here” question. 

Now that we are in Brazil using WhatsApp will be the best way to have a phone conversation. Here are our new Brazilian phone numbers:

Phone Numbers:

Derek.     +55 (96) 99158-4979

Amanda.  +55 (96) 9199-3371 

Email:

derek.blaylock@xingu.org

amanda.blaylock@xingu.org

Many of you have expressed interest in some sort of regular partnership chat. If you would like to participate please save the date!

Save the Date: September 18, 2022 @ 7:00 pm C.S.T.

We will have our first quarterly zoom get together then. Invite and additional details to follow at a later time. We will record these sessions for those that cannot make it.

Prayer Support – We have more than doubled our number over prayer supporters over the last two months! We are extremely grateful for everyone who is praying for us, and boy do we need it. We are starting a prayer support recruitment campaign with the goal of eventually having a minimum of 300 active prayer partners. We are 1/3 of the way there!

Financial Support – Our family is taken care of thanks to your generosity. Thank you! During our transition to the field we did have a few people reduce or withdraw support due to life circumstances. Because of this our ministry budget has a monthly shortfall. We are starting to fundraise to close this gap and if you would like to support our work please use the button below.

Hello Friends and Family, 

We leave Wednesday for Brazil! Thank you all so much for the love and support. Our family feels very well taken care, and sent off well. We appreciate everything that you have done for us, and more importantly, celebrate who you are and your faithfulness to gospel missions. 

Would you please be lifting up the following in prayer:

1.  Pray that there will be no flight delays or missed flights.  

2. We are traveling down with everything we own in suitcases. Please pray that our suitcases arrive when we do, with no issues or damages. 

3. Pray for protection from COVID. We have to test before we leave to enter the country and a positive test would delay our departure. 

4. All of us as we say our final goodbyes and for travel mercy for our kids. Long days and long flights ahead.

For text and phone calls we will use WhatsApp. WhatsApp is a Facebook service that is free and allows us to make text and phone calls over wifi connection. Please download this app if you would like to stay in touch this way. 

You can also reach us via email:

Derek.Blaylock@xingu.org

Amanda.Blaylock@xingu.org

As we expressed in our last newsletter Amanda and I would love very much to continue to engage with you all beyond our newsletters if you would like to!

Save the Date: September 18, 2022 @ 7:00 pm C.S.T.

We will have our first quarterly zoom get together then. Invite and additional details to follow at a later time. We will record these sessions for those that cannot make it. 

Since the last newsletter we have had a ton of folks sign on as prayer partners. If you are new to the newsletter more details about this and our transition are in the video below from our June newsletter. 

Clink this link to view video on Vimeo. 

Hello Friends and Family, 

This month we come off of a much needed Sabbatical and enter the final countdown until we leave for Brazil! We are excited to move down and begin our time with the wonderful Brazilian people and with Xingu Mission. It’s the final countdown! (I know the voice in your head was the lead singer from the band Europe singing that last line!) 

Amanda and I are excited to partner with you in these endeavors and we need your feedback. Below we have some ideas for how we can maintain significant connection to you all as we transition into this new season. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

As we stated in the video, Amanda and I deeply appreciate your partnership and we strongly desire to have our relationship be more pastoral and dynamic than is typically possible via newsletter alone. We are experimenting with way to facilitate better communication with you all. Please save the date for Sunday September 17th @ 7 p.m. CST for our first partnership meeting. More details and a zoom link to follow. 

Would you please provide answers to the three questions below to help us gauge wether you find this format helpful and useful? Please answer the first question and then click begin which will advance you to the next question. After answering the final question you are all set!

While visiting Tennessee to say goodbye to my (Derek’s) aunt and uncle we had the opportunity to spend multiple Sundays and Wednesday attending this wonderful Baptist church where my uncle serves as a deacon. This church really loved on our family, extended hospitality, prayed for us, is committing to prayer partnership, and is considering eventually sending short term missions teams down as our relationships develops. 

During our last Sunday worship service at the church the Lord laid on my heart that there was someone in the congregation that was struggling with pain in their right leg. This was previously unknown to me until that moment. I told the pastor and he announced this from the front and invited whomever this was to come forward during worship to receive prayer for this issue. 

An older lady did come forward and told me that she had been experiencing excruciating pain in her right leg. She was under pain management, traveled often to a pain management clinic, and at that moment she would rate her pain as an 8/10 on the pain scale. 

We prayed a simple prayer asking Jesus to heal her. She reported that immediately the pain decreased to about a 2/10 on the pain scale, and she stood up! She had gained additional flexibility and mobility in her leg, was able to stand on one foot and extend it, and was able to walk without any significant issues!

She called me a few days letter to report that her leg was still feeling great, and that her family had noticed a change in her demeanor due to her not having to live in so much pain! Even more than that, she experienced a heightened sense of God’s love for her!

In the Vineyard we have a saying that “faith is spelled R-I-S-K.” Announcing these sorts of impressions and asking for these types of healing is always a risk, and yet we lean in. The Lord does desires to show His love to people in every possible way, and that includes physical wellbeing. If you have the opportunity to pray for people – go for it! Jesus always invites us to participate in sharing his love to the world. Everyone gets to play!

As we reported in the last newsletter, we are at 100% commitment for our financial needs! Thank you all for your love and generosity. Additionally, nearly everyone has successfully setup their giving. If you have not had a chance to do so yet would you please click the button below which will take you to our secure contributions website. If you experience any issue with the system please email me at derek.blaylock@xingu.org.