On the 28th of February 2001, Buck and Luciene moved to the Amazon Basin of Brazil. We lived in Macapá, right on the equator. Why would a web designer give up his career and take his family from their comfortable life in Columbus, Ohio, USA, to live on the Amazon River? We came with a vision to save the Amazon, to tell people about Jesus, and plant a Vineyard church. We have planted a church, and we are turning it over to the national leaders, heading back to the States in Sept. 2009.

 
Photos- The recent baptism on Saturday the 23rd of April, some recent construction photos, a horny butt spider, a river trip, etc.

We worshipped, prayed, and then baptized 8 new believers last Saturday.


Mike Trengrove and Eduardo Schmidt (in the back row) with the 8 that were baptized.


Some recent construction photos.


Here is Alfonso, working on cementing the ceiling.


Sidani is working on getting the doors and windows hung.


It's starting to look like a real house now, with the windows and doors in.


Josiah is inspecting his room as the tiles are being put in his bathroom. He has been praying that God would provide so we could finish his room, so he is so happy to see it actually happening.


Raquel is doing her breathing treatments before school.


We took a river trip recently and stayed at a friend's house. I had the opportunity to share in a gathering at the family's house, and had one accept Christ (one that was baptized, see above), and one set free of adictions, praise God!!


This was the shack we stayed in.


This is our view from the shack on a foggy morning.


This spider has a horny butt, it has like these gold spikes on it's butt, and it's body is silver. It looks like bad news. The girls found it in the yard. They just told me today that there are now four or five of them. I am going to have to kill these suckers sooner or later I guess, though I hesitate to kill anything that eats mosquitoes. :-)


Hope that there weren't too many photos all at once. Finally got the computer working well enough to get some photos put up, so I had some catching up to do.
posted by Eduardo Buck at Tuesday, April 26, 2005

 

We just had a baptism this past Saturday. We baptized 8 people. We worshipped together, baptized them, then had a potluck meal together, and swam and played and talked, and just had a good time. It was a real blessing. I hope to have photos up within a couple of days. Please pray for these new believers, that they would remain firm, and continue to grow in the knowledge of the grace of God.

As you may know from our last newsletter, we have a new baby boy on the way. The baby is due sometime around May 19^th, give or take 7 days either way, so anywhere from May 12^th on. We have a special urgent prayer request with the pregnancy and the baby.

We need at least a thousand dollars, above our regular support, before the baby comes. Here in Brazil, they don’t bill you. You pay up front or you don’t get into the hospital. While the thought of having the baby at home is exciting, we would both really prefer having the baby in the hospital in case there are any complications. Please pray with us that God would supply this need.

Please lift Luciene up in prayer, she has been having a lot of pain. The baby is really active, and has been kicking a lot. Luciene thinks that the baby will be born soon, within a couple of weeks. She has a bad flu right now, and is in bed with a fever, which is even more difficult because of the pregnancy. Raquel has been having coughing attacks, but almost always at night, which has us perplexed. We are trying to figure out what at night is different, that is perhaps aggravating her asthma. Josiah has some kind of eye infection.

Thanks so much for your prayers, we appreciate it soooooo much!
posted by Eduardo Buck at Tuesday, April 26, 2005

 
I saw this story about the police in Rio, and how many die every year, on the front page of Yahoo today. So sad. This must break God's heart. Please pray for Brazil, that there will be a new spiritual awakening, that there will be revival that will stop the corruption and bring new life to this country.
posted by Eduardo Buck at Tuesday, April 26, 2005

 


The church is growing. We were having problems getting enough chairs
in the sanctuary. We had begun to look for another building, but we
were able to stay in our current building. The apartment behind the
church became available, which is a real blessing, as we rented the
apartment to use for the children's ministry, and ripped out the wall
between the sanctuary and old children's room to give us about twice
the space for the new sanctuary. It is much more comfortable and will
serve our needs for a while longer.

We just did an ultrasound, and found out that the baby is a boy. We
are still trying to decide a name, pray that we could pick just the
right name for our new baby boy. The baby is due sometime around May
19th, give or take 7 days either way.

The construction project is in the final stage. We were not able to
complete it, but we are very close. We need US$30,000 to be able to
finish covering the second floor, finish the electrical, put in the
flooring, put glass in the windows and doors, and plaster and paint.
We are praying that God would supply everything we need to finish the
construction so that we can begin to receive teams, and to have rooms
finished so that we can move in before the baby comes in May. After a
year and a half of all five in our one room shack, everyone is looking
forward to having their own space in the new house. The girls are so
excited that they will have their own room, and eventually have real
beds instead of sleeping in hammocks.

Transportation for the church has been a challenge. We have been
trying to rent vans and busses to bring people from distant
neighborhoods, but they have been very unreliable. I have also been
picking people up in the truck, but since we are in the middle of
rainy season in one of the rainiest places in the world, that has had
mixed results. A couple of times people have just been soaked in a
downpour. By Brazilian law, if we get a cover for the truck bed, put
in benches and seatbelts, we can carry people in the back. That would
increase our load from 5 to at least 12 or 14. We need US$3,000 for
this project. This will help not only with church transportation, but
also in transporting teams.

I have long been praying for God to open doors for us to begin to
minister through medical missions once again. God has given us some
contacts that are willing to help us get the government approval.
Please pray that God would give us favor, and that He would open doors
that no man can shut. There is a dentist and a doctor interested in
coming down in July. Please pray that everything would work out with
that.

There is also a great opportunity to have Tommy Ray O'Dell and his
family with us at the end of July or the beginning of August for some
special ministry. We are trying right now to make arrangements to
rent the stadium in town, and all the details to make a big campaign
like this work. See more about the O'Dell family, and even hear some
of their music, at http://www.tommyray.org. Please lift this up in
prayer. I really think that this is something that God may use to
begin to open up Macapá to the Gospel in new ways.

subscribe to our e-mail prayer letter by sending an e-mail to Schmidt_Newsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

See our portuguese church site at www.vinhamacapa.com



posted by Eduardo Buck at Monday, April 18, 2005

 
Our Rottweiler bitch, Lily, is in heat. Zadok has been really jealous of her, and I saw them stuck together this morning, so I guess we will be having some puppies in a couple of months. She isn't too good of a mother though. Most of the puppies died from the last litter. Maybe she will get better with the next litter. One can certainly hope :-)
posted by Eduardo Buck at Monday, April 18, 2005

 
We are still having problems, I have swapped modems, reinstalled windows, everything I can think to do, and finally got connected again today, but still having problems, can't get e-mail for some reason. Again, I am sorry for any delay in getting back to anyone, hopefully we will get this hammered out sometime soon. Eduardo Buck
posted by Eduardo Buck at Sunday, April 17, 2005

 
I got a new modem, got it installed, and I am back online. Will be trying to catch up on my communication, sorry for any delay.
posted by Eduardo Buck at Wednesday, April 13, 2005

 
We are having problems getting connected. I think there is something wrong with my modem. I haven't been able to get e-mail all day either. Sorry if my replies are delayed, I am doing the best I can.
posted by Eduardo Buck at Saturday, April 09, 2005