Truck Blues

It's been a month since I shared about our truck troubles. Clyde had the mechanics rebuild the engine. The trip home to Uruara' went smooth. We spent 2 weeks in Uruara' and had to come back already. We needed to take Nate to Belem to get his passport renewed and meet up with a team from Ohio. It was gonna be a week of fun. We headed out and 60 km down the road, Clyde pulled over. I figured it was a potty stop. When he got out and lifted up the hood, I heard the strange noise. Clyde knew what it was as it was the same sound he dealt with on the last trip he took to Altamira. It was overheating again! Disbelief hit him along with frustration. He just spent 2 weeks and LOTS of money to rebuild the engine. He knew the system and God ordained our stop right next to a spring of water. We filled up our water bottles and had a few extras Clyde threw in the back "just in case". Staying flexible, I didn't really know what was ahead of us, but trusting God it would turn out okay.

This is what "frustrated" looks like

Well, God is always wanting to give us good stuff. Even in the midst of trials, He is good! ALL the time. I haven't walked through death and sickness to testify of His goodness, but in every trial we have endured so far, He has been good and I don't expect that to ever change no matter what the situation. AMEN!!!

One stop we made was at a cacau farm. The biggest cacau we ever saw. It's one of the kids' favorites! (This is the plant that gives us chocolate)

We are living in one of the richest soil regions for growing the cacau tree.

Draining the radiator to see if that would help go a little further than just 3km.

So it took us 7 hours to go about 25 miles of the 111 miles!! God provided shade, water, a kind neighbor at every stop one of these things comforted us. At one point in the beginning, Clyde pulled over after just 3km and he unhooked a hose. A screw fell down into the engine. He couldn't find it. I took the kids up to a palm branch shelter where folks usually wait for a ride on the TRansAmazon Hwy. I gathered the kids and we prayed that God would allow him to find the screw soon and be able to get it back on so we could start the engine. Without it, we couldn't go any further. Within a short time, the screw was found and put back on!

IN EVERYTHING, PRESENT YOUR NEEDS TO HIM! HE WILL PROVIDE A WAY!!!

The dirtiest and cutest kids!

We got to the nearest big town about 5pm. We decided it was best to send the truck on the bed of a bigger rig. First truck we talked to was ready when we were! Miracle! We quickly rounded up tickets to send me and 3 of the kids on a bus to Altamira(some 90 km). We hustled to eat lunch at 5:30pm before the bus took off. We were dirty from the dust and heat and tired beyond words. I personally don't like the buses. We've seen how fast and crazy they drive. The driver seemed nice, professional, but you just have to trust that he had never had an accident or that he would drive with caution or not fall asleep. I placed our lives in God's hands and had tears in my eyes as I surrendered it over to His will. He will NEVER leave us or forsake us. The kids and I feel asleep and the drive went smooth all the way til the mission gates! Thank you Lord. We arrived in Altamira after dark. Clyde followed another hour later in tact with Maddy!

Wednesday, it will make 3 weeks that we have been in Altamira waiting for the truck to get fixed. It's been a process of trail and error. They can't figure out why it keeps over heating. Because we rebuilt it last month, it's under their warranty. One big problem is they are not putting our car in priority. Please keep Clyde in your prayers as he is frustrated with the amount of time it's taking.

Keep us in your prayers. We have both been discouraged. Sometimes missionary life isn't all it's seems to be. We don't believe that God wants us to give up but the battle is there and we need the force to overcome no matter what.

Furlough is coming up and it's a big price tag. The truck and selling it and buying another new truck is also a huge price tag. The building project in Uruara' is lacking funds to get Poli and Nega into a house and have a mtg area.

We know we have put our dependance in the Lord as He is the only ONE to fix our temporary problems. It's His ministry. He'll take care of it in His timing!

I thank Him in advance for the preparations He has made for us to meet ALL our needs. I am so mindful that this is not about death of family member, like our friend Pastor Clenildo is facing right now or illness that needs a miracle like our friend's son is needing. I praise God we are walking a different lesson right now. My heart goes out to those suffering!

May the Lord minister to those suffering and feeling helpless. May His light enter their darkness. Are you feeling in the dark? Are you feeling blue?

Lift up your heads!

He IS in control!

Just wanted to update you on our happenings these past few weeks. Clyde returned from a great trip to Maribel and headed off for a quick trip to Altamira. About 60km into the trip the truck broke down. He called on the SAT phone to let me know what was happening. What should of taken about 4 hours on the 111mi trip took him 16 hours to get the truck to Altamira. A big bed truck passing on the road stopped and loaded the Ford up(challenging procedure without ramps)and took the truck the rest of the way. Mechanics told him the motor was fried. He ended up running around for 2 weeks buying parts as the mechanics needed them and replaced everything on the motor. We joined him by day 10 and spent the weekend with him and waited for the truck to be fixed. We praise God for the funds that have been coming in the past few months. He allowed us the money to pay for the repairs with what was in saving and the extra that had come in from generous folks.

We know that it is totally in His control! The sad news is that the truck still isn't right yet. It's lacking power as we think the turbo needs to be replaced. On the way home, the truck couldn't get up hills without being in 1st or 2nd gear. A few times we had to put in 4Wheel drive. Also, God protected us as we made the trip. When we pulled into Uruara' we heard a strange sound coming out of the back of the truck. Clyde took it in to a mechanic and found out that there were broken parts all in the driver's back wheel and a thin wire holding the brakes together. One fast brake to avoid a pot hole or oncoming vehicle could of sent us in a roll over. Clyde had to brake often with this same scenario!!! God is more than faithful!

Clyde had to take off to Maribel again and the truck sits waiting for parts to arrive.

Please pray with us that this truck will go the distance or whatever it is we need for us to make the trips to do ministry on these challenging roads.

Thank you for your love and prayers!

Car broken down on the TransAmazon Highway about 37 miles from Uruara' on the way to Altamira which is about 74.5 miles further. The distance between Altamira and Uruara' is about 111 miles. When roads are dry and good, we make it in 3-31/2 hours. In the rainy season it can take 4 hours or more. This trip took 26 hours for Clyde.

The truck was brought in on the bed of this truck. It was traveling on the road and was nearly empty! Love how God provides!!! There is no cell reception on the roads and no Triple A services!!

The engine pulled out to start repairs

Clyde waiting patiently for them to start it for the first time with all the new parts. 2 weeks later and a few days.

Look at all those shiny new parts!!!

We are praying now for the wisdom to know which direction to go. New truck or keep driving this one with new parts!

One problem with this truck that we can not resolve is the height or clearance. We have already lifted the truck and we still can not clear many areas on the road to Maribel.

Pray with us that we will hear the Lord clearly on what to do!

Thank you!

The Bergquist Family

Church Fellowship

Thalia and Mom, Maria both new believers in the past 2 months

Rodrigo and Michelle with Nega's very choclatey Gabriel

Both are back in fellowship

Leunice and Nelson and their daughter Cibele

Leunice is our most recent new Christian and she is praying for her sweet hubby

Relaxing from a very trying week. Socorro is a counselor with Childrens Services in Uruara'

Moses and Elizete and their children. Moses committed his life last month. Elizete is on her way!

Carlinha and Mom, Socorro. Carlinha is on our leadership team.

Poli and Nega with Poliana and Samuel

Enjoying the food and company

Fun in the sun and the jungle

Our next baptism we are hoping to have next month at this same place! It was beautiful! The beautiful thing is, it's less than a mile away from our house!!

The weekend before Mother's Day, Nega and I realized that our hubby's would be out of town doing missions in Maribel on Mother's Day. So we voted for a family outing that turned into a church outing that was an absolute blast. We didn't realize what was so close to us. A friend made arrangements for what is normally a public weekend gathering place and asked for permission for our group to close it down for our use only! Wow, the turn out and the location couldn't of been more relaxing and wonderful for kids and friends to gather!

I took my camera along and had a great time taking pics. Clyde took some too!

We also had some good friends come to visit from Altamira and we enjoyed a great weekend with them!

After the gathering, new friendships have gone deeper. Enjoy the photos!

Saturday Kids Cell Group

Teaching the kids to paint easter eggs

The new addition to make room for more folks during service!

-+In time for Easter!

Clyde sharing on Easter Morning

Kids lined up with the eggs they found to make sure all were accounted for. About 27 children received eggs and a bag of goodies for Easter. Smiles were big and bright.

Easter Sunday was filled with celebration, new traditions, revelation and remembering the cost Jesus paid for all of us to have the gift of salvation.

Saturday afternoon our kids cell group learned about Redemption and how Jesus paid our price and set us free from the sentence of death. They learned a new tradition of painting eggs. They loved that.

Clyde and Poli added onto the roof to make more room for the church and just in time for Easter Sunday. Sunday morning we woke up bright and early and prepared a breakfast table. Each family brought some bread or fruit and juice or cake. We celebrated with new friends and had a wonderful time together praising the Lord and hearing the story of how Jesus went to the cross. Many children came and we put on an egg hunt for them after the service. They giggled and screamed finding their treasures. It was a great joy to see them all so excited. I could sense the pleasure the Lord has when He sees his children delighting in His blessings.

To close the service out, Poli prayed an emotional prayer filled with thankfulness. Later that night, Poli shared a part of his testimony that is very powerful and proves that Jesus is enough!

The work in Uruara' is growing and we feel God's favor on it.

Please pray for the work in Uruara' and for Poli and Nega as they sow into the lives of those calling Vineyard their home.

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!

Bergquist's in Brazil

I have put together this short clip to show what we are doing.

We are heading into a new season of another transition. As the rainy season approaches the remote area we live in(the community of Maribel) gets very difficult to travel in and out of. The roads become impassable and our poor truck gets a major workout each trip we take. We have plans to move to the city closest to Maribel called Uruara'. It's 3 hours when roads are good from Maribel. It's the largest city on the Transamazon next to Altamira. Stores, internet, schools and hospital. This isn't Maribel! Maribel is 5 houses, no churches, no health post, no power or phone lines and no internet, but the door to a work that God has called us to. The goal for us to minister here is working and living in Maribel for the dry season(June-December) and visiting bi-monthly in the rainy season(Jan-June). We have used this first season to build relationships with the river folks who live in Maribel and on the Iriri river. Our goal now is for Clyde to go in at least 2 times a month for a week at a time to disciple, have church and travel to the communities that are also hungry for the Word.

On the other weeks he is with us in Uruara' we'll be working together with a Brazilian couple to start home groups and eventually plant a church that will oversee the work in Maribel and on the Iriri river as well as the highways and biways into Uruara'.

We are excited about this as it means we are making efforts to make more disciples who can raise up more Jesus Lover's.

Pray with us as we make this transition and initiate the home groups in Uruara'.

Our main needs right now is $10K to build a ministry house where our family can live and others can visit when we are not there in the rainy season.

If you would like to help, please help today and visit our donation site by clicking HERE

Our hearts are so grateful to the love and support you have given.

God is on the move to change lives in Uruara' and Iriri region! Help us this new year 2011 get a head start!

Blessings to you and your families as you also make a new start in 2011!

In His Service,

Clyde and Kelsie Bergquist