Billy Graham is quoted as saying that there are essentially only three keys to successful ministry: prayer, prayer and prayer. Isn’t it wonderful to have the opportunity to pray together with people from all over the world?

We consider ourselves blessed to live in a country where it is still politically correct to mention Christ in Christmas. He is, as always and forever, the glory of the season. In Brazil, the Portuguese language gives us an advantage here. Since the Portuguese term for Christmas, Natal, comes from the same root as the word for "birth," Christmastime is literally the celebration of The Birth. Consequently, in Portuguese-speaking nations one can scarcely avoid mentioning the true reason for the season—the birth of Christ Jesus—when speaking of Christmas. So, we’ll take advantage of this invitation to shout out a resounding Feliz Natal! to you from the heart of the Amazon. May the Christ of Christmas be with you in tangible ways this season and may the celebration of The Birth remain in your heart throughout the year.

Since we are grateful for what Lord has done in 2008, our Christmas greetings would be incomplete without stopping to reminisce on some of the year’s highlights. The apostle Paul speaks of "many thanksgivings to God" which were blessings made possible by the participation of the believers in the financial sustenance of the ministry. (2 Cor. 9:12) Certainly, our year was full of many such thanksgivings. Here are a few of them:

As you know, each of our projects is made possible by donations from people who care. We know it’s not always easy to give, especially when the economy is questionable, but like the believers in the Macedonian church, our supporters have shown their willingness to give "according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability". (2 Cor. 8:3) Our hope is that we may continue to abound together in generosity toward those in greater need than ourselves in 2009. We are grateful to each individual who has united his or her heart with ours in this common purpose.

You may be curious to know how your prayers for our church’s leadership team were answered. Well, the answer has a name—two, actually, Márcio and Renata.

This dynamic pastoral couple served as associate pastor of the Igreja da Paz in the Amazonian city of Oriximiná until July when they moved to Monte Dourado to take over the leadership of our local fellowship. Márcio is an ex-military police officer (we often jokingly observe: ‘now the church will get some discipline!’) who understands spiritual roots of violence, crime and poverty. Renata is a school teacher with a compassionate heart and a patient spirit. Together they are just the prescription that our church needed.

Thank you for your prayers during some of the more challenging moments of our church’s journey earlier this year. As we have seen, it was well worth the price. In the last few months, many old members have returned to church and new visitors have come to almost every service. At least a few make the decision for Christ every week, which is what we live for! Pastor Márcio is zealous for evangelism, and his police stories can drive the fear of God into just about anyone!

Please continue to hold us up in prayer as we cooperate together for the salvation of the Jari valley, participating in the local church. Our ministry styles are different, but our goal is the same. We hope to contribute from our experiences with Igreja da Vinha until we are able to plant another church, or until the Lord leads otherwise. Meanwhile, we are happy to be involved in the work of Igreja da Paz, especially considering that it is composed of a large number of future leaders and evangelists with whom we have developed a strong bond in the past two years.

Márcio and Renata have the desire to remain with the church for the next ten years or so and as such are carefully establishing themselves in town. Please pray specifically for a good school transition for their two children and for adequate housing (they are currently in a small apartment located above the church).

(right) Community health teams routinely go to the streets to spread messages related to contagious and chronic diseases, oral health, and hygiene. Naturally, nutrition accompanies all of these messages, whether preventative or therapeutic, making it a privilege to be part. Even though health professionals are often poorly equipped and underpaid, they are dedicated to their vocation. The community comes in droves to hear their presentations and take advantage of free consultations with the doctor, nurse, dentist or nutritionist.

We are excited that the introduction of nutrition consultations at the public hospital has been well-received by the hospital board as well as by the community. We even were given a special room, known as the Nutrition Room, which we were able to decorate with beautiful nutrition posters donated by a U.S. company. Heidi runs consultations twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays. The head nutritionist (who is officially accountable for the legal aspects of the work in lieu of Heidi’s lack of papers) demonstrated wanting to continue in partnership through the coming year, and a second, less experienced Brazilian nutritionist is in training with Heidi in infant/maternal consultation.

If you would like to support our work with mothers and children in this area, consider monthly sponsorship, or sending a useful item such as:

Please, no pacifiers or bottles.

For more information or details on sending a package to Brazil, write, email or call us in Brazil.

(above) Igreja da Paz, prayer service, August 2008