Latest News and Updates about the Vineyard L.C. '07 Mission trip!
Links to Porto de Moz Mission Base Missionaries:
http://www.xingu.org/Missionari
http://www.xingu.org/Missionari
http://www.xingu.org/Missionari
http://www.xingu.org/Missionari
Other links:
| Bible Verse Of The Day |
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Update Posted:
August 15, 2007 Concluding post for the Vineyard of Licking County Brazil Mission
As you know we are home and adjusting back into the routines of our lives. This Sunday will indeed
be worship/message at both celebrations, and will include a word from the team followed by lunch
and a full report with the "stories" of how God took over in every area of this mission.
It wont be your "normal" mission report - guaranteed!
Finally, I need to say a word regarding my "Espirit de Santo" update. The Catholic religion in the back
rivers of Brazil is very different from what we know as Catholic here in the U.S. It has become
a strange mixture of the voodoo spiritualisms, superstition and religion practices without
any understanding of the relationship with Christ and His atoning grace from the cross.
When the love of Christ and the need for the personal forgiveness of sins was presented, these beautiful
people were responding to something they'd never encountered. Aside from an occasional priest
traveling the river bank once or twice a year and giving them communion, these guys have
been on their own. Their religion is no reflection of the Catholic faith of the U.S.
All religions have their problems because they are man made. We all need that personal encounter
with a living Lord and Savior in our lives. I hope that helps you understand my previous post.
Jesus changes lives from the inside and that's the miracles we witnessed at Espirit de Santo!
Hope to see you Sunday!
Pastor Steve
Webmaster:
August 13, 2007 Love letters
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
I'm sure you will want to print out all the Guestbook entries for the inspiration of your soul. For that reason, I have
made a special page compiled with all of the "Love Letters" written. To access this special place, make your way
to this URL address: http://worldofparadise.webs.com/guestbook-entry-history-archive.html
The link is also in the top navigation menu for you!!
Make sure you bookmark that site to your favorites to view it quikly, and print it out so you may keep it forever.
God bless you friends and guests.
Denny
Update Posted:
August 12, 2007 
Mission Trip update from senior Pastor of the Licking County Vineyard
Dear family and friends,
It's almost 7 PM Sunday evening and we did
arrive this morning on a good, clear flight from Houston.
We had no complications coming through customs (to speak of) and everyone was excited to be back
in the good ole USA! The last couple of days were not without adventure, to say the least. We flew
to Belem Friday morning, traveled to the hotel in downtown Belem and immediately went out exploring.
We ended up eating lunch in a food court at the mall (very modern for Brazilian standards) and guess where
most ate? McDonald's and Pizza Hut! Some deserted at Cairos Ice Cream with a chipped Brazil nut
flavored dish -- unusual but very good. We spent the afternoon trying to track down good bargains
for this was essentially our only shot at souvineers (Altamira and Porto de Moz are VERY limited).
We headed back to the hotel for a little rest before going down to the peer for our evening meal and a
beautiful view of the river and riverboats. There was some entertainment on the street and in the
restaurant and there were shops all along the road down to the dock with native wears.
We came to a road and half made it across while the other half had to wait on traffic and I heart Jeanette
yell loudly, "HEY!" I ran across the street and I thought a guy had just bumped into her as I saw
him running down an alley. He had grabbed her cross necklace (a gift from her son) and took
off running. It happened so fast there was little you could do.
Donnell, Ron, and Eric had stayed back and had dinner in the hotel. We chose to continue on but
huddled closer together and I decided then that we were taking a taxi back to the hotel when we were
finished. The meal was an experience in itself which you'll need to grab one of the team members
to explain because they will all have a different rendition of the events -- but know we had a good
meal together in a beautiful setting that was very inexpensive.
We had no complications coming through customs (to speak of) and everyone was excited to be back
in the good ole USA! The last couple of days were not without adventure, to say the least. We flew
to Belem Friday morning, traveled to the hotel in downtown Belem and immediately went out exploring.
We ended up eating lunch in a food court at the mall (very modern for Brazilian standards) and guess where
most ate? McDonald's and Pizza Hut! Some deserted at Cairos Ice Cream with a chipped Brazil nut
flavored dish -- unusual but very good. We spent the afternoon trying to track down good bargains
for this was essentially our only shot at souvineers (Altamira and Porto de Moz are VERY limited).
We headed back to the hotel for a little rest before going down to the peer for our evening meal and a
beautiful view of the river and riverboats. There was some entertainment on the street and in the
restaurant and there were shops all along the road down to the dock with native wears.
We came to a road and half made it across while the other half had to wait on traffic and I heart Jeanette
yell loudly, "HEY!" I ran across the street and I thought a guy had just bumped into her as I saw
him running down an alley. He had grabbed her cross necklace (a gift from her son) and took
off running. It happened so fast there was little you could do.
Donnell, Ron, and Eric had stayed back and had dinner in the hotel. We chose to continue on but
huddled closer together and I decided then that we were taking a taxi back to the hotel when we were
finished. The meal was an experience in itself which you'll need to grab one of the team members
to explain because they will all have a different rendition of the events -- but know we had a good
meal together in a beautiful setting that was very inexpensive.
We
arose early (4 AM) on Saturday for our flight to Rio de
Janairo. We had a very long layover so we
planned a Jeep tour of Rio (4 hours but ended up being nearly 5) with a young man named Daniel as our
guide. It was incredible! Rio is georgous! Mountains on the edge of the ocean, phenomenal
beaches, views that you'll see no place else in the world. We traveled to the top of the
mountain that holds the 7th Wonder of the World by human hands. A statue of
Christ holding his hands out overlooking the entire valley! I was so captivated
that I decided to video as the escalator took us up the final steps.
Well, I didn't turn around in time so I fell into the pavement
at the top of the escalator. Aside from a vew scratches,
a destroyed diginal camera, and a huge dent to my
pride -- I'm fine. I have pictures to that point but
others will have to fill in after that!
The wind kicked up and the temperature dropped drastically in a matter of minutes
and we were only half way through the tour. We were cold but it was a great experience
for all of us and a great way to spend a long layover.
I won't bore you with those details but I did want you to know that the final weekend did have some great
highlights aside from the mission itself which words will be hard to describe. We had long hours,
sweat dripping from every pore of our bodies that we'd all do again just for the opportunity
to watch those heads bow and receive Christ was tenderly with tears streaming down
their faces.
Do plan to come next Sunday where we'll share the stories and some pictures and videos (don't worry --
we won't show you the thousands -- and I literally mean 1,000s!) but rather just give you a taste and a
fuller update. Your prayers pulled us through. Eric ended up having more mosquito bites than
Wade (quite a feat in itself), several fought off intestinal issues, sore muscles, heat fatigue,
sunburn, homesicknesses, headaches -- well you get the picture. We had 12 hours
of daylight 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM and we filled every moment and then the
services went until 9:30 or 10 PM in the evening. We ate well, slept well,
laughed a lot and cried together.
This was an incredible team and we meshed with the missionaries as if we had been family for years.
Now that's GOD AT WORK. Again, YOUR PRAYERS held us together and YOUR PRAYERS were certainly
answered! From all of us (Carole, Wade, Eric, Samantha, Jessica, Christa, Ron, Donnell, Richard,
Jeanette and me - THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS. We love you all,
Pastor Steve
planned a Jeep tour of Rio (4 hours but ended up being nearly 5) with a young man named Daniel as our
guide. It was incredible! Rio is georgous! Mountains on the edge of the ocean, phenomenal
beaches, views that you'll see no place else in the world. We traveled to the top of the
mountain that holds the 7th Wonder of the World by human hands. A statue of
Christ holding his hands out overlooking the entire valley! I was so captivated
that I decided to video as the escalator took us up the final steps.
Well, I didn't turn around in time so I fell into the pavement
at the top of the escalator. Aside from a vew scratches,
a destroyed diginal camera, and a huge dent to my
pride -- I'm fine. I have pictures to that point but
others will have to fill in after that!
The wind kicked up and the temperature dropped drastically in a matter of minutes
and we were only half way through the tour. We were cold but it was a great experience
for all of us and a great way to spend a long layover.
I won't bore you with those details but I did want you to know that the final weekend did have some great
highlights aside from the mission itself which words will be hard to describe. We had long hours,
sweat dripping from every pore of our bodies that we'd all do again just for the opportunity
to watch those heads bow and receive Christ was tenderly with tears streaming down
their faces.
Do plan to come next Sunday where we'll share the stories and some pictures and videos (don't worry --
we won't show you the thousands -- and I literally mean 1,000s!) but rather just give you a taste and a
fuller update. Your prayers pulled us through. Eric ended up having more mosquito bites than
Wade (quite a feat in itself), several fought off intestinal issues, sore muscles, heat fatigue,
sunburn, homesicknesses, headaches -- well you get the picture. We had 12 hours
of daylight 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM and we filled every moment and then the
services went until 9:30 or 10 PM in the evening. We ate well, slept well,
laughed a lot and cried together.
This was an incredible team and we meshed with the missionaries as if we had been family for years.
Now that's GOD AT WORK. Again, YOUR PRAYERS held us together and YOUR PRAYERS were certainly
answered! From all of us (Carole, Wade, Eric, Samantha, Jessica, Christa, Ron, Donnell, Richard,
Jeanette and me - THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS. We love you all,
Pastor Steve
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Webmaster:
August 12, 2007 Arrived Safely!
Good morning and happy Sunday everyone! Accoring to the airliine website, our team is back
home! " Status: Arrived Gate Early" Scheduled Time: 11:17 a.m. Actual Time: 11:11 a.m.
Seven minutes early. Seven is a number of completion!
It has been a tremendous blessing pleasing the Lord in this small way I'll be back if God wills..
This website will stay on air for a while, so feel free to leave guestbook messages. If requested,
we may save this website at this address permanently. God bless you church, and
welcome pastor Steve, and the Brazil team. In Jesus name.
Denny
Update Posted:
August 10, 2007 Wrap-up...
After two days on the river and leaving at 4 AM this morning,
we are now back in Altamira and we head to the Airport
tomorrow morning at 7 AM for the beginning of our
trek home.
It is now 11 PM and everyone is doing great --though tired.
We will be home Sunday morning, flying in from
Houston on flight #3254 Continental at 11:57 AM.
Stories to numerous to tell at this point and excited to get home.
We will spend the day in Belem tomorrow -then the day in Rio
on Saturday so keep the home fires burning a little longer.
Love you all and see you very soon. You will see a very changed
group of people when they get home. Our God reigns!
Pastor Steve
Update Posted:
August 05, 2007 [
04:05
p.m. ] Greetings once again from Brazil,
It's Tuesday morning here and we just had breakfast (bread and butter and coffee).
We have had incredible food this entire trip but we are preparing for two days/nights
on the river and moving quickly this morning. At 8 AM we will tour and hear
about the Thirst Relief filters. At nine we will load three filters on
the boat (no small task - they are solid cement). We will then take
one or two other filters by truck locally here in Porto de Moz.
We are doing other work projects today as well (putting on a new door, repairing
some barred windows, laying brick on the new Porto de Moz offices, etc.)
We will then load the boat with all of our things late this afternoon and
will be spending the night on the river in anticipation of delivering three
filters in the morning. The boat will travel beginning at 4 AM about
two hours east of here. We will deliver the filters by canoe
(yes it still leaks but not as much).
We'll then go deeper into the back rivers to a small village where we will
have a worship service Wednesday night. I will be preaching and
Carole and some of the team will introduce "Jr Church"
to this village. The kids are so open and receptive
to the love of Jesus.
We will be spending the night at the village (sleeping on the boat) and then leave
very early Thursday morning (again 4 AM) for our trip back to Port Victoria
and then back to Altamira (via vans) and should be back in Altamira
by 5 or 6 PM Thurdsday evening as it is about a 12 hour boat journey
from the village. We will pack everything, sleep at the guest house
and head for the airport early Friday morning and fly to
Belem/Para/Brasil. I am taking the team shopping and
seeing Belem all Friday and we will sleep at the
Zogabe Apart Hotel -- nice by Brazil standards.
We fly out of Belem early Saturday morning for Sao Paulo and then to Rio de Janairo where
we have a long layover. It is here that we will leave the airport and do a 4-5 hour day tour
of Rio and then board the evening flight for Houston, then Columbus arriving
in Columbus around 11:30 AM Sunday morning -- unless their are
flight problems. There you have it!
God has blessed every step of this journey!
Please pray
for continued health -- - Especially Richard who has had some rough
experiences (falling from his rede -hammock,
intestinal struggles, over heated, etc.) He is such a trooper and not
allowed it to hinder his experience in any way.
- Wade
has nearly 500
mosquito bites on his body (we all have some -- but he wins
the prize -- Eric comes in 2nd) but no ill side affects.
- Several of us have sinus infections, a couple
have some good sun burns, but all of us
are doing great -- believe it or not!
- Do
pray for Tim, our missionary Doctor. His fanny
pack was stolen from right over his
head last night as he slept. It has his credit cards, medical ID, money == everything.
Two of the missionaries feel they know who and are now trying to
retrieve it -- PRAY HARD about this.
We have more stories to tell you than you can imagine as well as pictures and videos, which we
will do on Sunday the 17th (I think). God has broken the heart of this team for this
mission and it has been beautiful. I can feel the Holy Spirit's approval even
as I write this note!!!!
We miss you all and can't wait to get home. Christa wants you to know that she
hasn't been sick (even though she brought everything for everything possible.)
We will see you soon and I may be able to give you an update Thursday
evening of our river trip!
We love you all.
Pastor Steve
Update Posted:
August 07, 2007
One of our members at the Vineyard of Licking County, Ohio - named Tracey Hart
wanted to share a message with us. Thank you for your support and submission!
Click here, or on the image to download this image in a full size!
If anyone else wishes to have a photo on this website,
contact me using the Guestbook, and we'll publish it.
We're all in this together in the name of Jesus!
To
contact the webmaster,
please post your message in the Guestbook. Any
sent updates are posted daily
on this website. Check back often! Who's that nerd behind all this
exciting action? Denny!
"It's such a pleasure to do work for God!" |
Left
to Right: Christa Hegenberger, Eric Kurella, Samantha Miller,
Jessica Haines, Ron Redman, Steve Osborne,
Carole Osborne, Wade Kirk, Richard Parlier, Jeanette Parlier, Donnell Wallace.
Carole Osborne, Wade Kirk, Richard Parlier, Jeanette Parlier, Donnell Wallace.
[Wallpaper: Sweet House Of Prayer; 210kb]
While our Brazil Team is away,
leave them your prayers, messages, comments, or greetings!
Messages are first sent to the webmaster for approval before appearing live on this Guestbook.
To contact webmaster: Please fill out your message in the Guestbook with your name,
and e-mail address. Any messages sent to webmaster are private. Allow one day for reply.
Messages are first sent to the webmaster for approval before appearing live on this Guestbook.
To contact webmaster: Please fill out your message in the Guestbook with your name,
and e-mail address. Any messages sent to webmaster are private. Allow one day for reply.
To
contact the webmaster, post your message in the Guestbook. |
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