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.

 


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