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April 14 Olivia Turns 14!Hi Everyone, We are sure proud of our 14 year old! We were just out on a boat trip together with a team from Ontario. It was amazing to watch our girls pitching in, holding crying babies during the sermons, translating for the English speakers and just, in general, growing up. How did that happen? I kind of miss the early years, when they were little, but I am trying to adapt. Rick. June 11 MaranhãoAs we are considering planting a new base, the area of Marabá continues to come to mind. We have heard about a train that takes passengers from Marabá to a coastal town called São Luiz, the capital of the state of Maranhão. This train would be about $200 cheaper than flying in and out, and might be a good option for ministry teams. So we decided to check it out, our family of 6 plus Heather, a short termer who is visiting us. When we got to Marabá information about the train and hotels on the other end, etc., all seemed pretty sketchy, and expensive. BUT, we were told, São Luiz was only 5 or 6 hours away by car, on good roads! So off we went in our car, mid-morning, ready to be at the coast by mid-afternoon. Along the way we were told it was 7 hours away, then 8, then on one ferry crossing a river, well into our trip, a lady told us it was about 14 hours from there! In the end it was about 14 hours each way from Marabá, and the roads were mostly Not Good. And the train option looks really good, though we still have not actually tried it.
As this was a survey trip, we had a good chance to look over many towns and villages, and a few cities. We had a good time together as a family. And there was a lot of time to reflect and pray about how we can actually start a church planting movement. We need to let these ideas perc a bit, and continue talking to our leadership teams here in Altamira.
End. June 03 Annika turns 15!June 1 Annika turned 15. She was one when we moved to Brazil.
We thank the Lord for all these years. July 06 BubblesWe went as a family with the Heselton Ministry Team. We don't often go as a family with teams because it adds six more people to the boat. However, Richie's boat, the Maranata 3, was able to handle the team of 17, plus our family, plus the Kubacki family, plus the Wilson family. The our children did really well. Annika is really stepping forward as a translator, especially during the ministry times after the services.
The day after we got home from the trip Deanna and I flew to Belem to translate for the team for their day in Belem, and then to spend the week-end together. Our children lived between our house and the Kubackis, who also have four children and live in the Mission Community which is kind of in our backyard.
We are very happy to all be home together again!
Thank you for your prayers for us and for our family.
Rick. June 10 Three of the Girls Love Swimming in SwampsIt was hot in the car so we stopped for a break where a creek crossed the road. June 03 BirthdaysApril, May and June are birthday months for us. Our girls turned 14, 12 and 10. Now we'll wait for November when Bella turns 8.
We are so pleased that Dennis and Evie Stranges arrived here with a team last night from Sunbury Ohio. Their daughter Anna turned 15 today, here in Brasil!
We are looking forward to a full month of ministry with three teams and several missionary trips as well as local meetings.
Elba and Angelita left today for the national Vineyard meetings in Brasilia.
After this month things will change around here as the Dolans and Bouthilliers go on furlough, and the Bergquists and Van Hulles move to Porto de Moz.
Please remember to pray for the Mirante Church as the Dolans and Bergquists are key players in leadership.
Please pray also for my leadership of the mission.
Thank you,
Rick Bergen. May 30 ReptilesMay 29, 2006
- We had 28 of the neighborhood men over at a Men's Group barbeque last night. It went very well.
- One of the missionary short termer girls broke her nose playing soccer yesterday afternoon.
- Someone found a 4 foot long boa constrictor in the henhouse yesterday.
- Our girls are doing very well healthwise.
- Someone killed a 6 meter long anaconda in the swamp creek where the kids swim and pulled it up on the road about a week ago. Ross and Tim took some photos. (They did not kill it with the spear gun as shown. That was for the photo.)
- Our Mirante church is around 200 people every Sunday. Now that Elba is leaving on furlough we'll be the main pastors for the next four months.
- Olivia caught a 3 foot lizard yesterday and while she was holding it by the tail in the house the tail came off.
- Some of the missionary guys are going upriver by motorboat to a Village Church today. Boa Esperança.
- Annika turns 14 in two days.
- We have a ministry team of 21 scheduled to arrive Friday. But all their VARIG flights were suddenly cancelled. We have not heard how the rebooking is going.
That's all I can think of for today,
Rick. February 13 Back in BrazilToday completes our second week back in Brazil after furlough.
We praise the Lord for a safe trip, no lost luggage, and that we are back home again. It surprises me again how long it takes for us to get going here again but slowly we are getting unpacked and getting back into the swing of things.
We received a warm welcome from everyone and are very encouraged by how the work is moving forward and the feeling of teamwork here. May the Lord continue to give us grace to spread the good news, to work together to a common goal of planting 1,000 healthy churches. September 29 Ohio ItineraryWe plan to leave Abbotsford tomorrow, Friday, for about three weeks in the Ohio area. Here is our tentative schedule.
Oct 1, Saturday, , arrive in Columbus 22:14 hours: Flight 1630 Delta Oct 2, Sunday – church in Delaware Oct 3, Fremont with Rick Provard / Bill Herzog Oct 4-6, Cleveland Oct 7-12 stay with Danny and Penny Oct 13-18 stay with Craig and Linda Oct 19 Ft Wayne – Jim and Colleen Obergfell Oct 20 Indianapolis – Chris and Sarah Jaros Oct 21 return to Columbus Oct 22 depart for Seattle and then Abbotsford 7:10 AM
Rick. September 22 Back in BCWell, I had a plan but we are forced to regroup.
Ten days into our trip 8 week trip all four girls got chicken pox. We didn't know what to do for a couple of days, and holed up at Hank and Lena's ranch in Alberta. As things got worse we packed the van and drove 12 hours back home. It was a great trip while it lasted. It is especially fun visiting people we haven't seen in years, people who are interested in the Xingu and what God is doing there.
We had driven through two mountain ranges through three mountain passes. The scenery was spectacular. The Crow's Nest Pass had a foot and a half of snow while we were going through but I think it has melted now.
It feels kind of awkward to quit the trip and come home. Please pray with us as we heal and regroup.
Rick. August 09 Many Goodbyes and HellosWe have been in Canada about 10 days now. It seemed like a whirlwind as we wrapped things up to leave, left and arrived in Canada.Craig Heselton, one of our pastors and good friends, brought a team to the Xingu. We planned our departure from Altamira to be the same as their departure. We had to keep moving...preparing our house for the Bergquists to live in, saying good bye to the team and the church and spending quality time with the team. We thank God for our health and for all our good friends who helped us through these weeks.
And it is so good to reconnect with our family and friends in Canada! More than ever Canada seems like a foreign culture to me and Deanna and I are trying to slow down and understand where people are coming from. May the Lord give us wisdom and grace to feel at home in North America and Brazil...at least as at home as possible. After all, Christians are pilgrims travelling towards our real home. I will change my prayer, "May the Lord help us to fully enjoy the journey, to please Him and sense His presence by our side." July 03 SaturdayOver the years we continue to try to honor the Sabbath Rest / Family Day idea. I have been travelling a lot of Saturdays these past few months, and it is a pleasure to be home again.
I took these photos yesterday as we went for a bike ride just before lunch. June 01 Happy 13th Birthday Annika!We have our first teenager today! "God, mark us with grace and blessing! Smile! Psalm 67:1 MSG May 14 Happy 9th Birthday Emily!Emily was born shortly after we moved to Altamira. We have always been amazed at her cheeful attitude towards life. I think it was because of a lot of extra prayer while she was born. It was a turbulent time for us as a mission as we were transitioning from PAZ to Vineyard. Emily is near the top of the list of the many things for which we are so grateful to the Lord. April 18 Preparations for EasterHome Schooling is really a great option because everything is really a part of it. Deanna is doing a good job, and I help out a bit. Today Emma came out of the room where she was practicing piano (on the keyboard) and asked Isabella, "Do you know how many keys there are on the keyboard?" Bella starts thinking out loud and counting on her fingers, "Now let's see...'C sharp minor, D sharp minor...'" April 15 Olivia Turns 11Olivia turned 11 years old on April 12! Since she was born here in Brazil this reminds us that we have been here more than eleven years now. We are so thankful for our health and all our friends. One of these photos shows some of our new kitchen cupboards, another blessing for which we are very grateful. February 04 Járaraca"Dad, come quickly! The workers found a very poisenous snake!" Every so often we find a snake in our yard. Usually they are harmless...they often help keep the rat population down. When we were first preparing to move up to this house two going were giving it a thorough cleaning. A seven foot constrictor slid into the kitchen and surprised them. Another kind of snake we sometimes find is called a two headed snake. It is kind of pinkish in color and about 12-15 inches long. It is blunt at both ends and on the tail are two small black dots and a black line. When it is threatened it raises up both ends of it's body and it looks like it has two heads. But generally speaking I we find less than one snake a month. I think this one from yesterday was the most poisenous one we have found so far. It's mouth was full of whitish slime and it had needle sharp fangs. We thank the Lord that he has always protected us. January 05 Happy Birthday Deanna!January 5th is a special day for Deanna! All the missionary team that was in Altamira came to the birthday lunch, and we all wish Deanna her best year yet! The girls made her a chocolate cake with melted semi-sweet chocolate between the layers and chocolate whipping cream for icing, topped off with gumdrops carefully placed all around, and a candle that was supposed to sing Happy Birthay. We are praying for a year of health and refreshing for Deanna. January 02 New Year's Morning SurpriseThe eggs and bacon were hot we we got the question from the Bergquists, "Why is there so much smoke coming from over the wall in the field behind us?" Clyde and some of the missionaries flipped into quick action and starting stringing out a water hose. The guys shot the fireworks over the wall into an empty field, guaranteeing me no one would be hurt. We never thought the fireworks would start a grass fire in the rainy season. I was remembering the time the guys were celebrating something on shore, but as the fireworks were going off they fell over and started shooting at the boat, burning (slightly) one or two of the kids, and scaring us all (more than slightly). What is it about fireworks that keeps everyone buying more? Well, back to the grass fire in the field, we ended up beating it out with wet burlap sacks. When it was all over it was kind of fun and we were all feeling like pioneers. Our family celebrated the first day of the new year by looking at 565 photos from the last time we were in Canada, and topping off the evening with an annual fruit dipped in chocolate fondue. Our New Year's Eve tradition moved to New Year's Day because of the church in our back yard. December 25 Christmas MorningWe had a nice Christmas. I am tired because of all the extra things going on before Christmas but I am really going to try to dial back on things for a week or two and get refreshed. I am hoping to do that. This afternoon two of the missionary families came over and we played games and watched a video together. We all have kids about the same age and are good friends and it was fun. We ate snack kind of food and Clyde brought over cinnamon rolls. Earlier in the day we roasted 2 chickens in the clay oven outside and made a loaf of brown bread so that should last at least through Sunday. I am preaching again tomorrow. I am less ready than usual, but I hope to give the preparation some extra time tomorrow. |
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