I wanted to introduce our amazing Brazilian family, Poli and Nega and their 3 children. Samuel 3 yrs, Poliana 9 yrs and Gabriel 8 months.

Poli and Nega have moved from Altamira. They have been walking with the Lord for the past 7-8 yrs. They have a remarkable testimony of God's salvation. Poli has been a natural evangelist taking part in the motorcycle ministry out of the Central church in Altamira. He's been all over on his motorcycle sharing the Lord with villages on the highways and byways. Now, he and Nega come excited and they are giving all they have to plant a Vineyard church here in the city. We are here to support their efforts until June/July when the roads dry out and we can head back to Maribel.

Along with Poli and Nega heading up the work here in the city of Uruara', the Lord has also called 20 year old Carlinha. She is from Uruara' and was in Altamira studying to enter a state college. She found Jesus and He has been transforming her life. He had other plans for her and she is now living back in Uruara' helping us with the work here. She has a natural love for people and a dedicated love to the Lord. We are so blessed to have her apart of this work.

In Memory of Fagno

Maribel suffered a tragedy with the drowning of 20 yr old Fagno. He died in a fishing accident March 3rd. Fagno's family is still suffering greatly and the community of Maribel is still feeling the affects. We praise God for how he ordained Clyde's trip to happen right when Fagno's father received the horrifying news. Clyde was able to comfort the family and also hold a memorial service for Fagno and all those from the surrounding villages. Please pray for Moses and Katia, Fagno's immediate family as they grieve and try to put the pieces back together again. Moses is not a Christian. We keep praying and supporting him in the Lord. May His loving kindness draw Moses to His heart.

Clyde leaves for another trip to Maribel along with Poli on Monday. Please pray that the Lord guides them and leads them to divine appointments with people. Folks there are recovering the loss and I'm sure Clyde will be a visitor welcomed after all that has happened.

Next post will have pictures from his trip and pictures of the new fence that has gone up at the church property! Stay tuned!

Thank you again for your love and support! Blessings, Kelsie

March Update from Uruara'

We have been in Uruara' for the past month and getting settled in. We finally have some comforts of big city living(well, the population is about 30K, which is good size for us) with icecream, video stores, supermarket and a modest park. Along with that is also some 50 churches! That part is hard for Clyde as he is more for the unchurched. I apologize for not having any photos but our technology has suffered a few big hits and we are currently recooping. I will try to have a picture of the house and a few updated pictures for next blog.

The work here in Uruara' is something new for us. We have come in to help start with a church plant with a Brazilian couple from Altamira. Thier names are Poli and Nega. They have 3 small kids and have been a great blessing to us. The Lord orchestrates our steps and provides in ways we could never imagine. The greatest testimony we can share right now is the fact that we both had to rent houses at different times. We had no idea where each other would end up renting. We wanted the same neighborhood because of the property in which the church will be built.

We moved first and 4 days later, Poli and Nega moved. God set up our houses as such that they live on the next street from us and the coolest part is is that our yards touch!!!!! We have a fence that opens up the path/short cut to each others homes. No body else but us have access to it and so the kids go back and forth all day long enjoying the security and freedom! We both were sooo happy and blessed with this amazing set up! Thank You Jesus!

We have done the door knocking phase of inviting folks to service at Poli's place and getting homegroups started and kids home groups started as well as a Sunday service. So far it is now investing in the folks that are coming. We are not focused on numbers, although from time to time it is hard to not get discouraged when only 1 person shows up. BUT, even if 1 person shows up, it is an opportunity to be used by the Lord.

Once a month Clyde is traveling to Maribel to visit and minister. This past visit we had a special visitor from Canada come to see the work there. Dan Thiessen is on the Xtreme Mercy Canada board(Xingu Mission Canada) and a very good counselor. We had the rare priviledge to have Dan stay with us for a few days and glean wisdom and counsel from him.

He and Clyde left for Maribel and on this trip and encountered things they never imagined.

After arriving, the next morning, they headed up river in the mission boat to visit a few villages so Dan could meet the people. Get a grasp of the culture and work.

Before heading up they stopped in to see a dear friend, Moses, who was on the bank of the river. At the same time, 3 other boats pulled in bearing bad news that Moses' son had just drowned in a fishing accident. He was beside himself ready to take his own life. Clyde was there through the entire process of finding the body. Dan stayed praying for the family and understanding a family in crisis from another cultural perspective. After the body had been found, his body was sent to the school for all the villages were coming to pay their condolences and grieve for the life that was lost. After a short spontaneous service, the body was taken by line truck(a F-4000 with bench seat on the back) to Uruara' at 10pm. Clyde and Dan hopped in with others who were family as it was probably thier only ride back into Uruara'. The roads are terrible, it was raining and the tarps were down trapping in the stinch of the body. To make a long story short, the guys had quite the travel home and made it in the next day. Moses, the dad was in so much shock that he wasn't eating, drinking, sleeping and was eventually admitted into the hospital on the day of the burial. He was declining to the point of not talking. We prayed constantly for him and called on a hour by hour basis to find out how he was doing. By the 4th day or so, he was coming out of his shock.

We continue to pray for Moses because he has not yet asked Jesus into his heart. We are praying that the Lord show His mercy and love for him during this time. His wife is a Christian and has many giftings, together they have 3 beautiful girls ages 9 yrs,3 yrs and 8 months.

Please keep this family in your prayers.

Thank you for your love and support. Keep us in your prayers as we live between two ministries and houses. Transition is in our line of work!