• More prayer for each leader by name.
• Training, that the relatively new Christian leaders can learn to "pastor" their groups.
• Identifying more potential leaders.
• Honoring our cell group leaders at church.

Some of the practical ways we are trying to live this out:

• I handed out a prayer list with all our cell group leader, trainees and host families. Maybe we can all lift each other up daily.
• Tuesday night we all gather for training. I doubt that anyone has a study bible. They are too expensive. We have the inexpensive "pulpit" bibles. So we are making study bibles. I printed out topics with strings of verses and page numbers in small print. These are taped inside our bible covers. Then we color the verses lightly with pencil crayon and write the topic, the previous verse page number and the next verse page number. In this way we are making little "chains". Like I tell our leaders, "If you do this, you will appear wise, and you will be wise." The cell leaders also can get extra papers to help auxillary "trainees" or others in their cell.
• The church also has several discipleship groups and prayer meetings which help us grow in faith.
• A couple weeks ago we had a retreat. We told the church people to tell their cell group leaders if they wanted to come, and to pay them the R$5 entrance fee. The cell leaders told Nira who organized the outing. We also had a baptism while we were there. Once again, they told their cell leaders, and the cell leaders baptized the ones in their cell.
• More people would like to get baptized. I ask them to tell their cell group leaders, with whom we will work out the practical details like when and where.

Please pray for our small groups. It is not too far fetched that everybody could bring a friend one Sunday. Then we will have 400 people. It will be good to have a solid core of trained people who are eager to train new leaders.

And maybe we'll identify more ways to practically equip these new Christians to effectively make disciples of Jesus.

End.

• "I am the most thankful that I'm not addicted to heavy drinking any more."
• "I am the most glad I am not addicted to drugs anymore. I used to spend all my money on that."
• "What I like best is that I am not addicted to smoking anymore."
• "One day my son asked me for money to buy bread. I told him I only had 5 dollars left, and I needed that to pay our electricity bill. He didn't say anything, but went over to the couch and thought about it. Then I met some friends and we gambled and I lost the 5 dollars. I never bought the bread or paid the electrical bill. I am most glad I am not addicted to gambling anymore."
• "I have been coming to church for a month or so. I still smoke, but I've noticed I am much less nervous (stressed and angry) than I used to be. There is a real change in me. I used to get so angry at my wife and children but now I am much calmer."

The Dolans are back in Altamira again with their healthy baby, Camily, after being gone almost a month. They flew to the capital of our state for an emergency birth. We praise the Lord that they are back and all is well.

A few weeks ago we had another TLC (Training Leaders of Communities) camp at our site near Porto de Moz. About 8 years ago money was donated and we bought 400 meters of river front, 500 meters deep, or 50 acres, of dense scrub brush. We planted some fruit trees, and since then Stu and Richie have been working on improving the site.

About 100 people came, mostly pastors and lay leaders. Among the group were several people from the Mirante Church, including Célio and Lucianna. About a year ago Célio and Lucanna moved way back into the jungle to homestead. Shortly after they arrived their kerosene lamp broke and spilled all over Lucianne, badly burnnig her. Deanna visitted her in the hospital several times. In the meantime, Célio moved back to town and opened a bar just down the road from us. It was always a hub of activity. Several of there family was coming to church so they started coming. After some months they gave their hearts to the Lord. We never said anything about the bar and he continued to make his living this way from his home. About three weeks later he had a vision one day of a man laying stabbed on his floor with blood pouring out of him. He felt the Lord tell him that this was going to happen if he kept the bar going. So he promptly told his wife and shut it down.

During the last six months Célio and Lucianna have really grown in the Lord. During a public testimony time at New Year's or Christmas he publicly asked forgiveness of his family, for beating his wife etc. And Lucianna did the same thing, especially for being so ignorant to Célio. Now they are both in Escola de Líderes, our Bible School program, and always helping at the church. And their home is still a hub, but now it is a Christian hub.

Escola de Líderes

We meet Tuesday nights, for 2 hours. Another group, of youth, meet Sunday morning for 2 hours. Teaching includes the Basic Christian doctrines, Family, Church Home Groups, etc. We also require public testimonies, active involve or even leading a home Cell Group, and participation in the various church ministries such as Sunday School, Ushers, etc. The Mirante Church just graduated our first class from the one year program.

There is two photos of an older black lady writing. Her name is Creuza. I don't think she could read or write before the course started. She is very proud of herself. She gets a lot of help from her daughter and some neighbours who have finished the course. She was involved in a lot of witchcraft and all kinds of garbage before  she got saved about two years ago.

Deanna and I are teaching with Sydney, another fellow from our church. When we go on furlough we will pass the class over to Steve and Elba. They should graduate are the end of the year, or early next year.

It's the second year in a row! It's a tradition!

Last year with our new church plant we met with about 70 people upstairs on the Guest House porch. This year I forget the numbers but I think it was close to 200 showed up for the 6 a.m. service.

We had some worship, a short devotional study and testimonies. Most of the people giving testimonies were not saved a year ago. There families were broken and there was lots of fighting and feuding. It is amazing how God changes hearts, and families can be restored.

In the case of the photo called "Testimonies 1 - João" he was actually living with another girl and had been gone from home for a year. His wife and 4 and 6 year old children were so glad when he gave his heart to the Lord and came back. They have been back together since about last May and João is now in our Leadership School called Escola de Líderes. Katia, his wife, just gratuated from our first class. It is a one year program. Please pray for them as this last week they have been going through some stuff. It feels a bit like, while João has tremendous potential, he is still on the fence.

In summary, please pray for João and Katia.

We baptised 23 people on Sunday, March 27th!

We continued trying to squish everyone into the Guest House, but finally made the plunge into the unknown...two services. None of us had ever been part of planning or organizing two services, but it seems to be going real well. One of the big advantages is that the Sunday School teachers and ushers can serve in one service, and participate in the other. So we have lots of volunteer helpers now which makes them all feel more plugged in.

I am still meeting with the engineer regarding the new buidling plans. Hopefully he will be able to start drawing them up next week.

Rick.

Thursday a team arrived of 5 single people from our sending church in Canada, Glad Tidings Fellowship. The next morning they were up bright and early to head a remote farming community by truck. 7:30 a.m. our time is 2:30 a.m. their time back home. Nevertheless, they had a great trip to visit these pioneer people, participating in a church service Friday night.

Annika was thrilled to be able to go along. It was a big experience for our whole family, sending her off without us. Uncle Ross said she did a great job, even playing the keyboard with Janaea during the worship service.

It's a muddy road out there in the rainy season. Some Brazilian leaders also went with motorbikes. When Annika saw them, some doubling their wives, their faces with huge smiles all spattered with mud, she said, "I just got goose bumps. They are making this huge effort to go out way out here to tell these people the good news about Jesus, and they are having so much fun." It really is amazing how much our Braziliain friends sacrifice to spead the good news about Jesus, and they make it look so easy we can just take it for granted. May the Lord bless them with "...all these things," according to His promise, as they strive to put "His Kingdom first."

We are getting ready to make the transition to two worship services on Sunday. I don't think any of us have been part of the leadership team of a church with multiple services, so we don't quite know what to expect. "A little apprehensive" sounds like a phrase that descibes us.

We now have three "Leadership Schools" running simultaneously, though one is just about to graduate from the one-year program, and one has just started. Many hesitate to help with Sunday School becuase then they would have to miss the worship service. Two services sounds like a great solution. Saturday Nira organized a training session for Sunday School helpers. Sure enough, they came out in force and had a great training afternoon. Steve also did an "usher ministry" training. Part of our "Leadership School" program now includes rotating through serving in these ministries as well as others such as doing a personal bible study with a new believer and being part of a home group leadership team.

During the Leadership School which Sydney, Deanna and I lead Deanna baked a cake for two of the ladies who had birthdays that week. One lady, Beta, who turned 53, had never had her own birthday cake in her life before. Creuza had very few. They simply never had extra money to buy the extra groceries needed to make a cake. They felt very blessed. It is amazing how easy it is to bless some people. And it is easy to understand why God loves a grateful heart.

Two nights and a Day. Friday night about 20 of us men from the Mirante trip headed out for our second trip together. The first one, last November, was kind of an ice breaker or introduction. We hardly knew each other, and most were very newly saved. We caught a lot of fish that trip, and went to an unchurched village called Limão. Everyone wanted to do it again.

Four months later we headed back with our fishing gear, some home made beef jerky and 10 liters of açai. We stopped at Água Preta to pick up the local leaders, Careca and Noemi. Chico Preto and his family were very happy to see us again. We ended up having another service in their house at 4:30 pm. Then we fished a bit more and headed back to Água Preto for their regularly scheduled Saturnight service.

What were the services like? A couple of our guys play guitar so we sang a few worship songs, some of our new believers gave testimonies of how God is working in their life and I shared from Luke 12 about Jesus' council to seek first the Kingdom of God. Of course I was sharing as much to our own team as the people we were visitting, and they were all as eager to recieve prayer after as to pray with others. And one teenager in Água Preta got saved. While our first trip felt more like a retreat or a fishing trip, this one was really starting to feel like a missionary journey. May God annoint us to raise up local leaders and "missionaries."

Prayer Requests:

1. Chico Preto: He is the key man and very respected in the "Limão" region. I don't think there are any Christians here yet, though of course it is hard to say what is really going on in their hearts. In any event, they are eager to learn more about God and for us to come back with more warning so they can invite all their neighbours, and have a big meal together, and for us to stay a longer time, etc.

2. Virgilha: Before he got saved he says things were much easier in some ways. At first he couldn't get work in town. Then he got a job hauling freight with a donkey and cart. He was pumped, becuase this would enable him to earn some money so his family could eat while he came with us on this trip. And we were happy too! Then Friday morning his donkey was not where he had left it, eating grass along the road. At night these guys turn their animals loose and then the first part of the next days work is to find your animal. All Friday Virgilha could not find his donkey so he could not come with us. Saturday he found it 14 kms away, where it had once lived. Yesterday, Sunday, it poured rained before our church service. On the way, in the dusk or dark and in the pouring rain, Virgilha wiped out on his bicycle and into a rough cement wall. He arrived late, soaked and all scraped up. Please pray for God's protection for him and his family.

3. Sunday we are having another baptism in the morning, then we are going to two services in the evening. Please pray for that this will be a really special service at our church as we raise up many new Sunday School teachers, greeters and church workers.

4. Tuesday, March 15, is our annual Mission board meeting. Please pray for wisdom for me and God's presence during this meeting.

5. We are really in the heart of the rainy season. When it lets up a bit we will start our new auditorium. Please pray for understanding as we build for today and for the future.