More about Sao Felix

Our friend Josh Pflederer who traveled with Clyde put together a great video on this trip and I invite you to check it out.
Please go to his blog called "Between Here and There" located on the side of this page! Thanks!

A Letter From Clyde

After many years of praying, dreaming and visualizing about the mid-upper Xingu River, I was finally able to see part of it for myself.
I took a small team to the ranching community called Sao Felix do Xingu in our new (to us) Ford Ranger pickup and drove some 500 km in about 8 hours.
This was my fourth trip there and each time the road seems to get shorter. When we arrived, we went straight to the dock and talked to our boat driver about our trip. I knew ahead of time that there weren’t that many people that lived on this stretch of the Xingu. He confirmed by naming the families and communities. We were a bit discouraged, but my fellow missionary, Josh Pflederer and I made the decision to go anyway.
The next morning we loaded up the truck with our belongings, food and ice and headed down to the boat ramp to load up the boat and fuel up and head down river towards Altamira.
It always amazes me that their are rivers so huge and long and never dry up. In this case the Xingu River is 1200 miles long with it’s headwaters beginning in the state of Mato Grosso and eventually dumping in the mighty Amazon. I spent the first 2 years living in Altamira(located on the mid-lower Xingu) and the last 2 years in Porto de Moz(located on the lower-mouth of the Xingu). I had always wanted to see the middle to upper section and now we were starting to see that part I had only imagined. I had known that many sections of the Xingu (Amazon for that matter) had been logged for the purpose of the wood itself, but mainly to raise cattle. As we continuted down river we had seen that the riverbanks were untouched and virgin jungle like that of years ago. When I asked the boat driver about the trees along the riverbank, he had said that the land owners aren’t supposed to cut them but beyond the banks were pastures home to thousands of cattle that utilize the land.
After passing through several series of islands we came to a little house up off the banks. I had told the driver that we wanted to stop at every house that had a permanent resident. Many homes are temporary shelters for ranch hands and fishermen and are abandoned in the rainy season when the water is high. So we stopped and proceeded up to the house. We noticed a young mom named Sylvia and her young son. She had been washing dishes in an outside sink. Nothing but a platform with a board and a bucket of water. We greeted her and explained who we were and our purpose in the trip. After 20 minutes or so of talking and finding out where the majority of the people live, we asked if we could pray for her. She responded by telling us that her marriage was very difficult and about over. I asked Aline, one of the Brazilian team members from Maraba’ to pray for her. Aline prayed for her and I prayed for her husband that “his eyes would be opened and surrender to Jesus.” We really sensed the Lord touching Sylvia. It was a great start to the trip.

We continued down the river and stopped at what seemed like a dirt road that met up with the river. There we met and talked to a couple local guys who were “canoe taxi’s”. These guys shuttled people across the river leaving at 7am and returning at 1pm. Each canoe could fit 3 motorcycles and several people. I would have liked to see it be done as it wasn’t a calm stretch of river. There we found out a lot of information about the area called “Pombal”. Up to 400 families live inland off the main road and spread out in several communities. There are also two churches already established.

Continuing down stream we saw a huge “clear cut” area and several “white cows”. We stopped and talked to the landowner and found ourselves impressed by this river mans skills. He was building two boats at the same time. One was a cattle barge and he was using only hand tools. I was impressed as I myself am a carpenter. To build something that detailed with a couple hand tools and a file. I would have a hard time coming close to his detail with all my power tools.
This man also raised cattle, pigs and chickens. He also had several “American” dogs which I think are hounds. I felt a sense of being close to home knowing we shared the same name. His wife heated up some fresh “cows milk” to go with our coffee. Brazilians are so generous, even if they have very little, they always offer a fresh cup of coffee.
Afterwards, we hiked up to the top of the hill behind his house to check out the view. It was spectacular. The Xingu and it’s tributaries and all it’s islands. After we headed back to his house, a local cowboy showed up on his horse. He lived “just over the hill”-(7 km about a one hour ride away). We found out that his wife is a believer and goes to a church in the inland. After sharing with them we continued on our journey downstream and looked for an island to prepare camp and eat dinner.



One of my favorite parts of this trip was seeing the beauty of God’s creation. I wonder what percentage of the world had seen this piece of His handwork-swirling rapids, huge trees, big white birds, river turles, even alligators soaking the rays on the beaches. And the fish we caught! Anytime we started in motion, we put the fishing lines out. Two to three lines about 50 yards out with various colored lures. As we approached the rapids, we’d get a sense of “brace yourselves” and then “BAM” fish-on!!!! Whether tucunare(peacock bass), Caibro(Bicuda) or Cachorra(Dog fish), they were all a blast to fish and try to reel in. Many got off...whether breaking the line or the lure ripping out of thier mouths. It was so exciting watching my young buddy, Francisco, fight and reel in fish for the first time using a “real” fishing rod. He couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. We had plenty of fish to eat and had lots of food left over. That’s a change if you’ve been on any “Brazilian” mission trips. Our main purpose for this 4 day river trip was to see the “need” of ministry on that section of the Xingu and the reality of the “ribeirinho” river people population. Many people if not most drank only river water. I mentioned to some about our water filters. They seemed to be very excited about clean, filtered water. This could obviously be part of meeting some immediate health issues as well as a great way to continue our relationships with these people.


We finally made it to our destination. Vila Sao Sebastiao by the morning of the third day. A small river community of about 5-6 houses, a Catholic church and a center hall. All built with wood or mud thatch walls and palm thatch roofs. Unfortunately only one family, a couple with thier 7 year old daughter, was there at the time we arrived. After talking with the mom we ventured into the jungle down a path in the direction of the noise of a chainsaw. Finally after a short trip of about 20 minutes, we met the Dad. He was carving out a dugout canoe with his Stihl chainsaw. A brazilnut tree had fallen in a wind storm 7 years earlier and had laid there until this man decided to turn it into something useful. He first had to get the governments permission to use this fallen tree for himself. Government officials actually went to the site and gave him the okay. I was a little surprised at the regulations needed to cut up a “naturally fallen tree” to be used as a “poor person’s canoe”. He continued to mention that the land he was living on for the past 30 years was now becoming a “national environmental park” and was being
threatened to be kicked off. Another issue was the lack of education there in the remote. Although his 7 year old daughter still lived with them, the majority of the river children at a young age are sent to town to study and be raised by a relative or friend or friend of a friend. I see both sides to the story. Either stay as a family and live where there’s no school and be illiterate or move to the city and get an education. I think either way is difficult. In fact it is a very hard life living on the river and off the land. Many stay at their homes for months at a time and hardly ever go into town. I could write a book (maybe I already am).

After 4 days on the river we returned to Sao Felix. We decided to take the fifth day to make a survey trip by road. We passed through several small ranching and farming towns that seemed to be thriving. On several occasions we got stuck in the “cattle drives” on the road. Their were hundreds of cattle at a time often bumping into the truck and hitting the side mirrors.One guy I talked to on the ferry said that there are over 12,000 voters. I can only imagine then between 30K-50K people living in that part of the region. We observed that most of the villages/towns already had several churches and I would consider that they’re being reached. It was a beautiful drive and we covered about 300 Kilometers in about 6 hours. It sure beats a boat when\if the roads are good.

I am so happy to have made this trip and to have seen a better layout of the rivers and land that are closer to Sao Felix. It helps us see how the kingdom of God is advancing in the areas that are more easily accessible.

I’m constantly looking at the maps and asking God and others “Where is the greatest need?” “What is Your heart for us?” “Where do we start?”
In comparing the various regions where we’ve worked, Porto de Moz, for example, the region of the Middle\ Upper Iriri-Xingu is ten times the size. It’s 150,000sq miles. Where and how should we focus to be more efffective in such a vast region? We are excited and nervous at the same time. I plan on doing several more survery trips to seek the Lord’s will for this area! Bottom line is Jesus says “To seek and save the lost.” But, He also says the poor we will always have. We need the mind of Christ. Please be praying with us about these decisions and our next steps as a family and mission team.
The trip was great and eye opening and definitely beneficial as we begin to see a little more clearly the land that God is calling us to.
This week I’m out again on another survey trip, but from the other end. I look forward to sharing my trip with when I return.

In Christ-
Clyde

Update

It's been busy and slow all at the same time since June. We have been hanging back at the mission in Maraba' these past few months for many reasons.
Clyde was stopped on our survey trip by the government officials and was told he was not legal to drive until he gets a Brazilian driver's license. So he got right on it and ended up taking Brazilian Driver's Ed! Lots of hours in the classroom, hours behind the wheel and hours driving a motorcycle too so he could test for his license for motorcycle.
Well, he passed!!!! I am so proud of him cause it was all in formal portuguese and tough!
Still waiting the new card to show his endorsement. The blessing that came out of doing the course was new friendships.

With having to commit to so many hours to get his license, it was another reason to stay put because our mission leaders, Rick and Deanna and family needed to prepare to leave for furlough to Canada.
In this time we had a team from Richmond Canada come for about 10 days and we had a wonderful time with them. They ministered to the kids here at the new church plant and many kids experienced the Holy Spirit for the first time, including our children. Many were saved and many were touched and transformed in some way. We are still seeing the fruit of this team!
Now we are busy as the Bergen Family are gone, we have stepped up to fill in the gaps. We are working with the Leos(Lions in Portg) who are a Brazilian family that moved from Altamira to be apart of the work here in Maraba' and work with the Bergens. They are a talented couple and it's been pleasure working with them. A few weeks ago the church had it's first baptism service. It was a delight to see the kids come and show growth in their hunger for Jesus. Every single child has a rough family life and they are the first fruits that will bring in their families! AMEN!!

This week, Clyde focuses on the bigger picture as he, along with another fellow missionary, Josh Pflederer, head back to Sao Felix and do a survey trip up the Xingu. They have a small team of Brazilians to go with them. Clyde has been studying maps and coloring and laminating them for the trip. He's excited to see what God has on this trip. Please keep him and the team in your prayers as they will be traveling by boat for several days stopping village to village. The goal is to build relationship, share Jesus and feel out the people for their needs spiritually.
If you haven't already seen our clip on youtube, please visit it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v4r-aJYqQs
Copy and paste in your browser window to view the clip.

I look forward to putting together another video to document this next trip.

Enjoy, God Bless and thanks for your support!

First Exploratory Trip to Sao Felix

We have been looking forward to this moment for a long time and finally we did it!
The family took the road trip well. We made good time on the fairly well paved highway from Maraba' to Sao Felix. The trip is about 360km and the last 100 km or so are not paved. We stayed with some friends that Clyde met last year when he went on his exploratory trip in June. We stayed with a couple who are Brazilian missionaries to the Indigenous people called the Kayapo'(Ky-ah-poh) We met a few indians while we were there, but they were city folk who lived in Sao Felix. There are many who live in the city and many more that live out in their villages on the Xingu.
We were pretty much getting a feel for the town and meeting friends. We had the chance to attend our friends' church and meet their pastor and a few of the members who attended the service. It is fun to meet people and network and that is our plan for the next few visits until we hear clearly from the Lord what it is that God is calling us to. Clyde is eager to return and head up the river to see what is out there and meet some Brazilians that live out on the river.
For now, we appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek out His will and plan for our lives as missionaries here in Brazil.

On the home front, we are living cozy in the new house the mission built and enjoying the view of the River Tocantins. The summer is here and it's hot! The kids are plugging away at school and Nate and Hannah seem to pass the time away playing outside and with the neighbor kids. The ministry in Maraba' is doing well and planning for the following year already.

We are on a fundraising campaign to raise funds for a truck for our ministry and our family needs. Please pray with us as we trust God for the finances. Thank you for your prayers and support! We are challenged by the internet here. We will try out best to update the blog as we can! Blessings to you from the Bergquist Family

Living in Maraba'

It's been nearly 6 weeks in Maraba' already. We've been building a house on the mission property and we're anxious to get in as we've been one big family with the Bergen's. They are so gracious to have us and yet it will be nice to be neighbors.

Maraba' is the biggest city we have ever lived in and so we are trying to get acquainted with it by taking adventures to the store, taking our Brazilian friends who have lived here 6-7 months with us on family nights etc. So far II can get to a few places without help! We live far from town, so it's quite the adventure.

So another 2-3 weeks and we should be in our little house. We can't wait.

Ministry wise, we are not doing near what we did in Porto de Moz, but getting more involved as time goes on.
Clyde is helping do a boys bible study and a young men's bible study. I am thinking about getting involved in a little girls group and helping with a women's group as well. Commitment is tough for me at this stage with the kids, but I want to help. Also, more than this I'm wanting to coach and teach the worship team as they are all new musicians and the worship experience. So we'll see where that goes. For now, I'm doing sunday school and Clyde is on the preaching schedule on Sundays.
The girls enjoy so much being helpers in the sunday school. Recently the girls both danced in the church dance group and did super well.

We look forward to sharing about our move into the house and for Clyde to get off on his first trip to Sao Felix.
Please be praying for us for timing and vision!
Blessings to you all during this Easter Sunday. May the sacrifice of Jesus and His resurrection be the celebration this weekend.

Make a Smilebox photobook

What It Means To Travel The Transamazon Hwy

What is it like to travel 300 miles by bus through the middle of the jungle with 4 kids?

In the State of Para', which is where we live, the TransAmazon highway (famously known) was cut back in the 1970's sometime to connect the cities. I can only imagine what it was like in the early days when they didn't have 4wheel drive and such. Today it's like traveling on the worst un-maintained back road that is pothole infested with bridges that are narrow and sketchy only held together by what looks like rail road ties and a few boards. In the rainy season the mud turns into soup and feels like snow conditions as we fish tail and spin up and down hills. The driver pulls the steering wheel hard and then lets it go to straighten out. It can by compared to an arcade game like Pole Position. In the summer, it's probably way dusty to the point of suffocation.

Anyways, spped is relative to the conditions. It would be like driving from Grants Pass to Portland in 12 hours and being jostled and vibrated in your seat for nearly the entire drive. The only reprieve is the 1 mile that is paved before and after the big towns. The rest is unbelievable.

I had lots of time to think of how to describe this to people back home. We just wouldn't tolerate this kind of travel. I mean a desperate person that has to travel on a budget takes the Greyhound cause it's cheap and takes forever. I pity the Brazilians who have no options so far as the governments don't make this a priority. That's a whole other blog I WON'T go into.

The kids did relatively well. I was praising God that Nate and Hannah slept for major portions of the bumpy trip. They would wake when we stopped but would soon drift asleep when we started up again. I think it was a way to cope. 

The part I was dreading was getting stuck and not being able to get out. It was an adventure to say the least. I prayed that it wouldn't rain so that we could get there in a decent amount of time. It was sprinkling when the bus came to pick us up at 4:30 am. I had to stay flexible on my expectations of the trip. God of course is in control and I knew we'd be okay... right?

We got about 4 hours down the road with slipping and sliding and seeing the other cars and trucks slipping and sliding. We ran into a few that had gotten stuck and we just laughed as we kept going, counting it a blessing to keep going and not be stuck with them. I knew our turn was coming and just about 9:30am, we came upon a hill that looked like the "Goliath" of all hills. It's mud ruts where deep and the hill was relatively steep. There was a truck slipping down and Motorbikes sliding down and 2 horses walking up as slow as molasses but not slipping a bit. Hmmmm?

The side of the hill looked good and I was certain he would go on the side less traveled and wait for the horses to get out of the way... but no, the driver gunned it, honked at the horses to move and went straight for the ruts!!!!! We were stuck on that hill for an hour and had several attempt with chains that broke off the back wheels. As we waited in the bus for the to get us out, we saw many trucks sliding down in our direction as we were smack in the middle of the mess. I had all the kids buckle up just incase we were hit, but nobody even got close. Finally we tried again and literally inched our way up the rest of the hill. 

We cruised to the next town still slipping and sliding and pulled in to a truck stop that had a restaurant behind it. It was a hoot. The bathrooms were equipped with showers for the purpose of those who literally have to get under the wheels of their stuck truck and get all muddy doing it. It was something else.

They just deal with it cause they know that as soon as the sun comes out it will dry up the mud in a short amount of time. So if your stuck and can't get out, just pray for sun and your on your way in no time. Sure enough, once we hit the road again, the sun had been out a bit and the mud felt like chalk. We weren't slipping near as much. Just the ruts turned into vibration under the wheels. A whole new attitude was created in trying to enjoy the ride. First the mud and fear of getting stuck to now the horrible vibrations that kept you from being able to sleep or read or do anything. The driver was dodging the potholes at the rate of what seemed to have been a race. It's just an experience you can't quite articulate. Well, I'm trying at least.

At about 5pm, we hit the big town that divided up the trip a bit. It's called Novo Repartimento. It means something like "New Share". The town sits at a crossing of the road that can go 3 different directions to the bigger cities.

We stopped for a potty break and grab a soda. The driver was in the driver's seat intensely starring at a guy outside, looking super serious. He excused himself after all of us were on the bus again and ready to go. I didn't understand what he was saying, but he was talking to a couple of guys outside. The driver returned and one of the guys he just talked to came into the van and said "Your going to Maraba'?" "Be careful!" as he pointed to his eyes as to say "look out". Clyde and I started asking some questions. Like "what is that all about?".

The driver started the engine up and began to pull away and talked about the "banditos"(Bandits/Robbers) on the road from Novo Repartimento to Maraba'. It's known for robberies and highjacks in search for cash and valuables like camera's, cell phones, computers etc.  They'll have groups scoping out the traffic and send word about good prospects to their friends awaiting on the roads. But there are also undercover guys who work with the truckers and bus drivers to protect those traveling. Our driver has been doing this for many years and has never been hijacked, but has seen buses right after him get taken. We got a little nervous. We just prayed and trusted the Lord for protection. Clyde took his camera off his belt loop and hid it just for precaution.

I wasn't having good thoughts about Maraba' at this point. I just wanted to get to Rick and Deanna's. Every suspicious activity put a panic in our hearts.  After several more hours on the bumpy road, I was ready to see asphalt that lead to Maraba'. It finally came at about 7 pm. 

When we hit the pavement, I knew we were safe and could enjoy the smooth ride. 

Rick had been calling on the driver's cell phone to see where we were. He planned to meet us at a gas station on his motorcycle and lead us to his place. We got there by 7:30 pm and I was so happy to see an end to this journey!!!

We pulled into the gate that lead down the driveway to the house we had seen pictures of. We also saw a outbuilding lit up and packed with people as it was Saturday night service. The driver gave a honk and all the people cheered and yelled as we pulled in. 

Getting off the bus was a trip. I felt numb from head to toe from all the vibration. My emotions were dry and fried. Hannah was alert and alive, giving smiles to everyone! I knew she was excited to be off that bus. Nate did well in waking up from the ride and being embrassed by all those who remembered him. Makenna and Maddy remembered the Bergen's and were chatting all about the trip.

It was crazy to finally have the trip over with. Looking back it was hard, but not so hard that I couldn't do it again. Do I want to do it again? Not any time soon!!!

We praise Jesus for His grace and love for us to get us through tough stuff.

Traveling with 4 kiddos wasn't unbearable, but definately challenging!

We'll try and post some more thoughts in the weeks to come!

Blessings, Kelsie

Arrival in Maraba'

Ease and comfort aren't in every situation. But I do believe God gives the grace to get through the tough challenges.

I knew the toughest challenge for us was going to be the saying good bye's in Porto de Moz and traveling there to Maraba'. Which by the way, it was. I think emotionally it was tougher and logistically. We had to pack up the house, say our last good bye's to the people we invested the most in and then travel. It's so much slower once you get outside the airports in Brazil. It's not like hopping in the car and going on a nice toad trip wtih nice rest areas and restautants. Ithere are no conveniences about it. I'll share that in another blog.

All toghether in travel from PdMoz to Maraba' exept for a night over in Altamira was 24 -26 hours of boat and bus travel. I thought the bus went well. We had a great driver, we had friends and we had the posh convenience of having our private bus. But even with that you wouldn't consider it a quick zip. We left PdMoz Friday the 19th at about 6pm in the rain and arrieved in Bitora at 6 am the next morning. I got a cab with the kids and drove 40 minutes to Altamira packed to the gill with our bags. Clyde stayed back with all our house stuff on the boat and waited for a truck to come and loat it up and take it to Altamira later that morning.

The next morning we loaded up the 20 some passenger bus with all our bags again and some of our house stuff like fans and the kids' bikes at 4:30am and were on the road by 5am. We drover 12 hours and arrived in Maraba' by 7:30pm Saturday night the 21st. (See the next blog for details on what it means to travel 300 miles by bus with 4 kids).

Rick met out bus at a gas station to show us the way to thier place. They have a place on the outskirts of the city with an enormous property that reaches down to the river. His vision is big and the city is huge and more industrialized to compensate this vision.

The bus pulled into the gate and down the driveway we saw an outbuilding lit up with people all inside sitting and standing. Deana was obviously gearing the gathering up for our arrival. The driver honked the horn and everyone cheered. It was a great relief to be in Maraba'.

We thank you for your prayers over the past 3 weeks while we get our family down here. The kids did really well. Everyone is healthy and we just praise the Lord for His faithfulness to get us here safe and sound. Now we will be at the Bergen's for a short time until we can find a house and get settled here. 

A few things we need in prayer support and action support!

1. FINANCES...Starting up again takes cash.  We don't know our budget yet and don't know how our support looks either. We trust the Lord we can get into a place that won't eat up a major portion of our budget with rent and utilities. We start looking for a place Wednesday.

2. TRANSPORTATION...we are really asking the Lord for a vehicle. Clyde would love to have a truck to do his exploratory trips to Sao Felix and it would be nice to have for getting around Maraba'. It's 3 times the size of Altamira. And then of course there is the maintenance for a truck. In the mean time we will look at buying bicycles to get around with for now.

3. THE VISION... It's long term gang! We are needing to really gear up for long term and that means doing things a bit different. We are blogging to make things aware of the needs.

We're praying for a team to work with us on the field, a strong team in finances and in prayer support. As we put one foot in front of the other, we pray that our vision will inspire vision in others. 

Thank you again for your prayers and stay tuned to our blog as we update on the progress here as we are in Maraba' and in route to Sao Felix.

Blessings to you!

We made it!!!!

It's obviously not a small thing taking 4 kids and all our 10 boxes and bags from here to there.
Shuffling through airports, planes, shuttles/taxi's, hotels and boat trips is not a piece of cake. BUT, God is my Father in heaven and when I have a need, I can ask Him like any child would. I love the scripture in Luke 11:11 that talks about if a son asks his father for a fish, would the father give him a scorpion or if he asks for bread, would the father give him a stone... well, I love this scripture because of course a good father wouldn't do that. So why would God do that to us? In everthing in our lives since I have known the Lord, His promise never failed and will never fail in the future. It may not look like what we think, but it will never fail.
We are back in Brazil and it actually feels really good. I wasn't sure how I felt about coming back. I always try to put my trust in the Lord to prepare my heart and the family's heart to make us ready for wherever we are going or what we will be doing. He is SO faithful and I feel so bad that I actually doubt and compain in the natural.

I was totally dreading the travel to Brazil. Hannah is now 11 months old and more active. Like reaching for the person in the seat infront of us on the plane and wanting to grab thier hair! Nate is 3 and much more chatty and active too. The girls can now take care of themselves a lot better. I was amazed at each one and how well they did. God gave us provision in the sense that we got 5 seats and had another seat on 2 different flights come up empty next to us!!!! My big joke was "buy 5 and get 1 free"! AND, American Airlines never charged us for our baggage like they advertise!!!! We saved a few hundred dollars there! All the little things added up to a huge pathway filled with ease.
The transition into Brazil was suprisingly sweet. We boarded a packed American Airlines and saw the expressions on the passengers faces when they saw our crew boarding. There were a few smiles but many rolling eyes. Our family is "Huge" in American standards. The kids are little still and I know what they were thinking. I use to think the same way! "5 hours of screaming kids??? YUCK" Our culture doesn't tolerate it well.
We made it through and many people commented that they didn't even know our kids were on the plane! "Well done KIDS!!!"
When we got in line the next day to check in to the Brazilian airline TAM, we no more pulled up with our 10 boxes and bags, 4 children and our 7 carry on's and the people in line came alive. The Brazilian women would goo goo at Hannah and started in thier cute little voices admiring her. It was also very welcoming when we could interact with them as "gringo's" and see that they were surprised we spoke thier language so well. I loved it! If Nate was on the florr singing loudly while I was busy with handwriting all 7 labels for our carry on's, they didn't make any comments or make us feel pressured that our child was misbehaving. We could "let it go". As a parent it is a hard balance from the US culture to the Brazilian way. They are polar opposites! So, we correct our children regardless and NAte was distracted by some Brazilian who "helped" us, not just watched and judged.

Ease and comfort aren't in every situation but I do believe God gives the grace to get through the tough challenges. Like for instance, we arrived in Miami and before heading to bed I talked to my sister-in-law, who just got back from India. All 4 of her kids came down with chickenpox and were throwing up on the plane that was 17 hours long plus all the other plane and train transfers they had to go through. They made it and I know it wasn't easy but His grace is sufficient to have gotten them through.

Se we are back and we are packing all our stuff from Porto de Moz and we'll move to the new city of Maraba' on the 19th of February. I'll send an update when we arrive. For now, keep us in your prayers. Blessings to you and missing you already!
Clyde and Kelsie

Pray With Us

Above are some pictures of Clyde ministering to the Brazilians and also a map of the region we will be moving to. Note Maraba' and Sao Felix do Xingu. These are the areas we are headed. 

As we head into the count down to leave for Brazil we find ourselves in an interesting place. Some would call it a pickle but the bottom line is we are asking God for the finances in order to return to Brazil the end of this month.

We have raised a support team that has been super faithful and amazingly generous. We have lived at the bottom line level for most of our time in Brazil and God has made it work for us. We never felt like we needed a lot more to live. Now that we have a vision of our own and are pursuing it, the dynamics are changing. I think many people think that foreign missions and living in 3rd world countries means cost of living is cheaper. In some regards it is true but in more ways it is not true.

As missionaries much of the work we do requires funds to go into the remote areas. We need fuel for boats and food to feed the folks who go with and we like to bless the folks we run into along the way. Remote means it's harder to get there. It requires more resources. We are the catalyst for making much of the first work possible until we start to see the nationals rise up and do the work. 

As we head into this new region, we personally are asking the Lord to provide a vehicle so that Clyde can take teams to the interior and to have transportation for our family. Maraba' is a much larger city than we have known.  We also need more monthly support to afford the bigger city and possibly pay a higher rent for a home there.  

Our Father in Heaven has this call on our lives and we are trusting Him for the finances for this vision He has put upon Clyde to pursue.

Please pray with us as we come down to the final weeks to raise this support.

It's not too big for the Lord.  We are challenged to talk about our finances with people. But how will they know if they are not told?

$70 supports our family and ministry for one day! Would you pray about supporting us for a day?

We currently average 17 days of support per month. We are short 13-14 days.

Make no mistake! $10, $20, $25 a month is an amazing gift to missions. We understand that not every family can give a full day of support. Get involved and be blessed! We need sowers!  

Email us, we'd love to hear from you!

 bergquistclan@xingu.org

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