We are sending a team to build a church, conduct children’s ministries and lead a training conference for pastors and church workers in Piaui, Brazil. The trip dates are July 21 - August 1, 2008 and the cost is $2,600 or $2,450 with a valid visa. We will also be working with the local churches in community evangelism. There are still a few spots available, so if God is leading you to join us on this mission, please contact Mark Webb.
Vista Grande sent a team to Brazil July 17 - July 27, 2007 to build a church in Juazeido, in the state of Piaui
. The team members were: Gina and Doug Wamble, Richard Boughton, Tim Druckenmiller, David Boncler, Terry Warren, Lori Carrington, Keith Sennate, David Weber, Mark Weber and Mark Webb. Also joining them were Lori’s brother, David Smith from San Diego; Chris Watson, Terry’s son-in-law from Greeley; and William Webb, Mark’s father from Indiana. Along with the actual construction, ministry opportunities include distributing clothes, prayer-walking, evangelizing and having a dedication service in the new church.
July, 2007 Trip Update - Please visit the Photo Gallery to enjoy more pictures!
Juazeiro, Piaui
The town of Juazeiro is a small, dusty town about 3 hours by bus (2 hours if Florencio is driving) from Teresina. Two ladies we called “The Grandmas” had been praying for a church in their town for over 30 years. They knew that God would send missionaries to build a church for them and we were blessed to be the tools God used to answer their prayers.
The team was mostly made up of volunteers from Vista Grande B.C. in Colorado Springs, but also included individuals from San Diego, Northern Colorado, Indiana and Florida. We stayed 20 km away in the town of Castilo do Piaui (Piaui’s castle) and worked with the 1st Baptist church of Castilo and Pr. (Pastor) Wilson. Pr. Wilson and his church were a blessing to us. He will be pastoring both churches until God provides a pastor for Juazeiro. We had the dedication service on Saturday, July 20 and there were about 300 in attendance.
Another blessing was to work with Pr. Machado from Luzilandia. We were able to build his church last year and now he was leading a team of men on their own mission trip. We were also able to be part of four services: Friday night, dedication service on Saturday and both Sunday services. The gospel message was clearly preached at each service. We met many people searching for God and asking many questions, but no decisions were made while we were there.
July, 2006 report from Mark Webb
In July 2006, a group of eleven from Vista Grande went to Luzilandia, Brazil to construct a church. We got to see God do some amazing things on this trip. Before we even got out of the country, spiritual warfare was happening and God was in control the whole way. Our flight out of Denver was delayed an hour which caused us to miss our flight out of Atlanta. We were scheduled for the next flight, but that flight was overbooked by 26 people! None of us had confirmed seats. Eleven strangers gave up their seats (tempted by varying amounts of Delta dollars) for us to continue to Miami. Richard and Patti Boughton were standing in the cabin waiting for two people to give up their seats.
Luzilandia is a 5 hour bus ride north of Teresina, the state capitol Piaui. Luzilandia has a population of 25000 and only two Protestant churches. Piaui is the poorest and least evangelized state in Brazil, but over the last 4 years CMU has built 11 churches within that state. This was the first Baptist church in this town.
We arrived late Saturday night and worked full days on Sunday and Monday and a half day on Tuesday. The dedication service was Tuesday night and over 400 people were packed into a church built for 200. There was a lot of excitement in the town as to why a bunch of Americans were building a church. The Holy Spirit had been moving during those days and about 20 people responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While the main mission is to provide a temple for the local church to use for ministry, any decisions made while we are there is icing on the cake. There is now a building where the Gospel will be preached, lives will be changed and people will be saved until Jesus returns.
After an intense period of difficult travel and hard work, it was nice to relax for a day in Manaus and spend time on the Amazon River. There are wonders of God’s creation on that river that you will never see anywhere else. We will be scheduling a team for next summer so please be praying about your involvement with the Brazilian missions.
