The Retreat With Bandits

In our prayer letters we continually ask for prayer for safety. This is for good reason.  We held a women's retreat for over 100 Brazilian's and the Women Of Grace Team, over a three day weekend. It was a great time until Sunday morning at dawn five armed men arrived at the camp.

They held Ellen at gun point for around 15 minutes taking her around to the different dorms where the American's and key organizers of the event sleep. They took money, cell phones, cameras, bags and jewelry. At the end they discharging their weapon at the ground in front of Ellen then fled with a substantial amount of booty.

We are praising God the the Bandits did not injure anyone physically. Please continually keep our safety in prayer. The violence in the the Belem region continues to rise and the rate of incidents increases daily.

This Old House

The porch at our home plays a key role in greeting visitors, eating dinner, lunch and hanging out in the hammocks with friends. The railing surrounding the porch was built with poor quality wood which has been eaten away by termites, weather and ants.

In August we have a team visiting us to help us with this problem. They will bring labor and funds to remodel an important part of our home.

While they are here for about a week, there are plans to visit ministry points and see a few parts of the river including our Cotijuba location. Pray that the Lord keeps them safe and we do not have the same issues that the Women's team encountered.

There is one special couple on the team, Denny and Sue Mathes. This will be their third visit to the field and some of the locals here still remember their last trip. So pray that it will be a special time as they take on the role of team leaders in this endeavor.