Of course, as soon as I said that I could get back on, I couldn't get back on any more. Our connection of late has been soooooo very slow and tedious that it is difficult just to get e-mail and post text on the site. This should have been up weeks ago, but I simply couldn't get on blogger to put it up.
Why I came to Macapa Now, in 2007
Written by Connie Wragge
Ministry Leader
PhotoMission
www.photomission.com
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:9-10
Why I came to Macapá Now, in 2007:
After spending months in prayer, I believed God was asking me “to go”.
I know Eduardo through an online ministry we are both part of, PhotoMission.com.
What has God shown me about the church planting work Eduardo and Luciene are doing in Macapá:
It is a minute-by-minute walk of faith.
The enemy tries to break their zeal all the time.
This family needs the prayers of God’s people, all the time.
The church here has vibrancy for Christ and a desire to serve Him.
The church here has a median chronological age of 17. The oldest worship team leader at a Thursday night small group Bible study I attended was 14 years old. On Sunday night, the church listened attentively as Eduardo taught from Joshua 5-6 and followed along in their Portuguese Bibles.
Due to the social culture in warm climates, people are always phoning the Schmidts and stopping by to visit. While we all understand the nature of ministry is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, two people (Eduardo and Luciene) are doing the work of 20 people. This affects the amount of personal time the Schmidts get to spend with their four children, and the amount of time they get to spend with each other.
Internet connections are very slow, making it difficult to stay connected with the outside world on a regular basis. My experience: most often, it took 15-20 minutes to get connected to the internet on a dial-up modem.
Often, new ministry ideas are put on hold.
Satan uses various methods to keep help from arriving in the form of short-term mission teams and pastors who could help implement new ministry ideas and in general just offer encouragement to this couple by helping them to press on, and press forward.
In closing, this must be one of the toughest mission fields on the planet. There are a few other Christians here, who are doing Kingdom-building work. There are even more people here who are part of cults and various false faiths who are doing creative things with far more funds than the Schmidts have, to entice the people in the city of Macapá to “enter through the wide gate”.
How anyone reading this story of the work in Macapá can help:
Write the names of Eduardo and Luciene Schmidt in your prayer journal, and pray regularly for this family.
As God leads you, come here and serve Christ.
Give to the financial cost of stabilizing Vineyard Church of Macapá. Here’s where you can mail a gift of any amount:
Buck or Luciene Schmidt
C/O Vineyard Tuttle Crossing
5400 Avery Road
Dublin, OH 43016
Gifts made out to Vineyard Tuttle Crossing, and earmarked for the Schmidt’s may be tax deductible, check with your tax preparer for more information.
posted by Eduardo Buck at Sunday, November 18, 2007
