Brazil - Xingu Mission 1999

Brazil – Xingu Mission 1999

Brazil – Xingu Mission |1999 | by Martin Foster

Our active involvement with the Xingu Mission as a church started in 1998 when Bud & Susanne Simon visited the Cambridge Vineyard and showed parts of “The River” video and made a presentation of the Xingu Mission based in Altamira Brasil.

Art Rae (our Senior Pastor) had been in Brazil earlier in the 90’s with his family as missionaries and had got to know some of the people involved with PAZ, some of whom branched off to from the Xingu Mission, namely Rick & Deanna Bergen.

I approached the Simons and also put them in touch with Missionary Ventures Canada of whom I was a board member and volunteer staff member. I decided to try and put together a team for the fall of 1999, which turned out to be a medical/ministry team of 12. From the Cambridge Vineyard, we had Christa Leis (worship leader in training), Augusta Vieira (who spoke fluent Portuguese) Trish Henderson, 15, Debbie Runstedler, my son Aaron and myself (Martin Foster). The other 6 came from the Stratford area, including a doctor and his wife and two Mennonite nurses (one who was a midwife).

We spent our time traveling the Xingu River and its tributaries visiting small communities, providing impromptu medical care, fun and the message of Jesus, through spontaneous services, the Jesus film and just being ourselves. Our home for the two weeks was the Maranatha II, a boat of the Xingu mission. It was an excellent team, with everyone bonding well. Being together on a boat for two weeks tends to do that.

I believe it was after this trip that the Cambridge Vineyard started supporting the Xingu Mission.

The money was for expenses like fuel for their Bush plane and their boats, which were all essential for their church planting, discipline and training ministry.

I should also mention that they were planting “La Vina” (Vineyard) churches, a lot of them.

Included is a video clip of the team on the river with a song composed, sung and played by Aaron Foster Xingu Video song “Sailing Along”