Dear Family & Friends,

Wow has the time passed by and here we are in December already! We are presently in the New England area visiting dear friends from the English, Portuguese and French speaking churches. They have all received us with great love and hospitality. We are being hosted in the home of Russ & Chris Ventura, very dear friends that have made us feel so at home! Their input, prayer and encouragement is beyond value to us at this very important juncture of our life and ministry.

Our first Sunday here Dale and I tag-team shared in the Hanover, MA Foursquare Church pastored by John & Lori Hatcher; It is a lovely church and the people were so receptive. It was a tremendous blessing. John & Lori are not only our former Supervisors but very dear and precious friends. Their church is flourishing and fruit-bearing. It was nourishing just being there.

That very afternoon we were guests at the Haitian (French speaking) Brockton, MA Church. Pastor Andre Paul and his congregation were a great blessing to see and share with. They took us to dinner and their church board shared and interacted with us until time to head for our evening service.

That same Sunday night Dale and I spoke in two different Portuguese speaking Foursquare Churches; Dale spoke in the Malden, MA church and I spoke to the Brockton, MA church. Pastors Cairo & Iracy Marques and their son & daughter-in-law, Roberto & Marcia, Leo & Mariangela, were our host pastors. God ministered to all of our lives and hearts with special prayer for teens, couples and any who were specifically in the midst of deep trials of their faith.

A very unique and interesting experience followed on Thurs evening at the Plymouth, MA Portuguese speaking Foursquare church; Pastors Elvis & Daniele were our host pastors and their incredibly exuberant 30's something (age-wise) congregation of about 40+ members could not have been any more loving and receptive than they were! What a fun time!

On Saturday night we braved our first "snowstorm" (remember we are Californians) in order to go to Lynn, MA; north of Boston and join in with between 50-60 Portuguese speaking leaders in their divisional Christmas dinner. It was just marvelous. A delicious and irresistible Brazilian Christmas extravaganza! This was hosted by Pastors John & Eliana Runyon of Lynn. It was catered by Pastor Ozmar & Iara Godoy de Oliviera (a never to be forgotten menu!) I will only mention one mouthwatering delicacy: mousse of passion fruit, (maracuja) in Portuguese! Oh was it ever delicious.

Supervisors Jim & Melinda Scott were there and shared stimulating and encouraging Christmas greetings. They are very dear and long time friends. We had much to catch up on. It was a great evening and every seat was taken in spite of the "snowstorm". What faithful and courageous folks live here in the NE. :)

This past Sunday we were in the Foxboro, MA Foursquare Church with pastor's Mike & Mary Bave. It was such a precious and Spirit-anointed time! They are very sensitive and humble leaders and God is in their midst. We joined them and 3 other families for a wonderful and outstanding lunch and time of fellowship around the Pats vs Dolphins game; needless to say the opening of game created an electrifying atmosphere but by the end...rather sad :( to say the least. Remember that New Englanders really, really, really take sports very seriously. May they all recuperate before next Sunday. :)

Sunday night was the joyous experience of being in Pastor Eduardo & Livania's Portuguese Speaking Foursquare church in Weymouth, MA. The presence of the Lord was so manifest that I could not hold back the tears. We shared the Lord's Supper together and God by His Spirit was ministering richly to all of our lives. One precious lady had just very recently been healed completely of a serious kidney ailment which was going to require surgery. We all joined her as she shared her testimony in praising the Lord for this miraculous answer. To our utter amazement Cairinho (the pastor's son of 13) played the keyboard with the worship team and just blew us away. We remember him as a little kid. We had the joy of seeing the great work the Lord is doing in their little son Venisios' (Vinnie's) life, and body, as he receives ongoing healing from some physical needs that stem from his difficult birth.

We were able to visit with some very dear friends last night here in Bridgewater and enjoy the good report of all that God is doing in their lives. I forgot to mention that I brought my color analysis equipment with me, at my daughter's request, and have been able to utilize it in the consignment shop of a friend, to do "colors" for some ladies who desired that service. I always have a great deal of FUN doing color-analysis for folks! By the way I have been able to update my website if you would like to check it out. You will find it at: www.yourpersonalpalette.homestead.com

That is all for now, Christmas blessing to all of you and all of yours from us! You are dear and precious to us and we pray for the most meaningful Christmas you have ever had; not centered in what you might be receiving but in what you might be able to share with others. Isn't this the present day challenge for all of us. Don't forget the needy in your family, church or area during this time. Doing anything for them is, in essence, doing it for Christ.

Much love,
Dale & Patti Downs :) :)

Dear Family & Friends,

We find ourselves in Woodbridge, VA at the home of our daughter, Dawn and her husband Ray; We also have two precious grandchildren here, Quinn & Quincy. We finished our FMI training last Friday, headed home to Indio, washed clothes repacked, spoke in Hemet, CA, at our wonderful Foursquare Church there on Sunday morning and Cliff & Vickie Ingle accompanied us. We had a great time! We were hosted by Pastors Ron & Denise Hernandez; they are very dear and their church is a precious community of believers of all ages.

We set out, all packed-up, on Monday morning, after breakfast with Carlos & Tammy Pena; Carlos will be taking our church plant and moving forward with it. We know God has a real call on his life for pastoring. He has a heart for people and loves discipling them; just what is really needed.

We stopped our first night in Denver to see Debbie, Naomi & Declan; then on to Decatur, Ill. where we were hosted by Dr. Warren & Linda Jesek, very dear friends from our epoch in Decatur. We left after a few hours (literally) of sleep and headed for Woodbridge and Dawn & Ray, where we are now.

We have more work to complete on our status with FMI. We must receive the formal letter of invitation from the Brazilian church; we understand that it is forthcoming. Then we must formalize our job description and have it authorized by the receiving church. We are working on all of these things at once. Next, we must submit two budgets to the FMI financial department showing our budget for set-up costs and our budget for yearly support for living expenses and for ministry expenses.

As soon as the above things are in order and we receive approval for fund-raising we will begin that aspect of our process. We will be traveling around to visit churches, meeting with District Mission's Reps and contacting all who would like to partner with us in this new chapter of our ministry to the Brazilian Foursquare Church.

Right at this very moment we are a little nostalgic as we have bid Denise farewell for we don't know how long. She was home from Guam on a TDY with the Air force. After her course and duty in FL she came up to Dawn's for a few days to be with us. Please remember her in prayer as she heads back to Guam during these next few days. We already miss her much.

I need to bring this to a close right now; but I will be back sooner this time, to give you some words of encouragement that the Lord has been dropping into my heart. You are all very loved and we pray that all is well with you as you head into the wonderful Thanksgiving season. May we all recognize how very much we have to be thankful for. God is so good and He never leaves us nor forsakes us. :) I'm so glad to remember that!

God bless dear, dear ones,
Our love,
Dale & Patti

Exciting Weeks Ahead!

Dear Family & Friends,

We are preparing for our departure to FMI's Missions Training this coming Tuesday, Oct. 27th. We will be in training venues daily until Nov. 6th. The books we have had to read have been wonderful. We have especially enjoyed John Amstutz's book "Disciples of All Nations". This is so well written and so challenging. I wish I had read this book 40 years ago and then re-read it yearly, but it was just written this year. There is a study guide, present in the book, created by Gary Matsdorf and it is excellent for doing in a class with others. It is not information that I have not known, but it is formulated and shared in a unique and anointed manner that prompts the heart and spirit to process it all anew, and draws you up to a new level of understanding The Great Commission of Christ for all of us. I just really recommend this book for every church and every leader.

We want all of you to be able to follow our "adventure", so I'm going to share a tentative itinerary for the months of Nov. & Dec. As the Training venue closes on Friday, Nov. 6th we will head back home to Indio, wash cloths, check mail and re-pack to leave for the east coast. We will be re-uniting with our daughter Denise, who will be here on the mainland for a TDY with the Air force. She will have a few days in Virginia at Dawn (our oldest daughter), Ray and their children, Quinn & Quincy's home. We will be there until Denise's departure back to Guam where she is stationed. We will also be visiting the Mt. Vernon Foursquare Church, where our children attend. We look forward to seeing many dear and long-time friends while there.

Near the end of November we will be heading north to New England to visit the Portuguese-speaking Foursquare Churches in the NE area. They have all been very supportive of our plan to accept FMI's invitation to return to Brazil for a season of mentoring and supportive serving.
We will be blessed to accept several other invitations to share in our English-speaking churches that desire to reconnect with us, and give prayer support to what is happening in our lives and the Brazilian church.

We want to thank Dr. Cairo Marques & his very dear wife, Iracy, who have been 100% with us in this project and been so encouraging. They share oversight of the Portuguese-speaking churches under the leadership of Jim & Melinda Scott, the New England Supervisors.

Those of you who are prayer-partners, please continue to hold us up in this respect. We are in a "applicant/candidate" status in the sending process, even though we were approached by our director, Jonathan Hall of FMI, and we must complete the entire process. It is a wonderful and enriching training and we are benefiting greatly. Just please continue to pray with us, as this is totally a "faith" venture on our part and we are completely reliant on God for this season of the journey.

We especially want to thank so many of you who made great sacrifices in your budgets for our "Missionary Trip" to investigate the demographics and the"climate" of receptivity in Brazil; it was really overwhelming and we have had so many pastors and leaders share their desire to receive us back into the Brazilian Church for this season of ministry. We also share this great burden in our own hearts. We thank you for making that 3 months of ministry possible; we could not have gone without all the kindness and generosity of each one of you, as God prompted your hearts. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

As soon as we move from "applicant/candidate" status to "appointed" status we can formally do deputation to undergird our permanent return to Brazil. We desire your prayer for us as we complete all that is required. God will have to do the rest. Thank you dear family and friends for your loving prayers and support as we walk this path of faith. It is definitely a new level of trust for us and may God be glorified by our obedience and steadfastness in staying the course.

God bless until the next update,

Much love,
Dale & Patti

Dear Family & Friends,

This is an unforgettable experience!!!! Today, I'm sitting in the recording studio at LIFE Pacific College and it is absolutely incredible! We are here with the members and friends of the "Pilgrims" Quartet, of LIFE Bible College renown, during the late 1960's, recording an updated version of the songs that ministered to our generation during those days. All of these dear life-time friends and ministry colleagues had come together, while we were in Brazil, and planned a wonderful benefit concert to encourage us along the path of our potential return to Brazil for a season of further ministry. The concert will take place tomorrow night, Saturday, Oct. 17th on the campus of LIFE in San Dimas, CA.

We have so many people to thank and there is no earthly way to show our deep, deep gratitude for their selfless contribution of time, energy and resources, but we want all of you to know of their love and tireless work on our behalf. Please pray for the Lord to return to each one, many fold, all that has been sacrificed for this event and subsequent CD recording, which is being done as we speak.

You can catch pictures of the recording session in progress on Dale's FB page and possibly on mine before the day is over. We want to mention the folks who have made this possible. First of all we want to thank Pastor Jack Hayford for his participation, encouragement, prayer and recorded DVD introduction and commendation, of the project, and the quartet's participation. We are grateful to Bob Barnum, Steve Willis, Steve Von Hoff and Terry Runyon; the members of the quartet, and also for all the logistics of this incredible and unforgettable week-end. You wouldn't believe how much work has been involved! We thank Debbie Brown, of Christian Assembly and lifetime friend, originally from Iowa, Patti's home state, as well as, Linda Willis, Steve's wife and Karen (Willis) Teal, Steve's sister; they have been an integral part of all of the hospitality we are enjoying.

A very special thanks to Brad Palsma of LIFE Pacific College and Dr.s Robert Flores and James Walls, as well as, all the staff that have opened wide, the doors and of all these facilities for our use and enjoyment. A special thanks to Shawn Fitzlaff who has unbelievable patience as we do the studio work. We are so very grateful for all of this; we really do not know what to say; we are speechless. We pray that the Lord will return to each one of you, dear family and friends, many fold your loving work and sacrifice!

If you are in the area please know that you are invited to enjoy this night of celebration of 40 years for the Pilgrims and be a part of the "encouragement" team for Dale & I as we continue to walk in faith through this unbelievable and miraculous epoch of our lives and ministry.

The campus is located at; 1100 Covina Blvd., San Dimas, CA and the concert will be taking place on Sat. night Oct. 17th at 8:00 PM, though the doors will be open at 7:00 PM; If you simply get on campus, someone will be here to direct you to "The Loop" in the Roy Hicks, Jr. Building, where the concert will be held.

Thanks to each and every one of you who have been following with us during this great adventure, and have held our hands, as we walk through this door, and prayed for each an every step with us. May the Christ of the Church bless you.

Our love and prayer,

Dale & Patti

The Wind of the Spirit

Dear Family & Friends,

We are now one week into the precious life of Declan Rhys Basehore. He is definitely the MOST precious little guy I know. (No prejudice) ;)

Declan's big sister, Naomi has had, since birth, a condition known as PKU. It is a condition that requires the limiting of all the "protein" intake in her diet. Everything has to be made for her from special products that contain "a special protein" without 1 of the 7 amino acids. The result for these precious kids is, that if they are given regular food with regular protein, it causes brain damage. Since Debbie & Damian both carry the recessive genes for this the probability is high that Declan could also have this disorder. Of course we are all praying for a "good" report for him as he is being tested for PKU as we speak. We should have the results this coming Friday.

Declan is doing so well in every area, progressing along with strides and such a sweet personality. Grandma and Grandpa are really enjoying him. Debbie and Damian are very dedicated parents and are very loving with the children. Grandma has been enjoying listening to Naomi read nights, after homework. Damian, a Staff Sgt. in the Army and serving in S. Korea for a year, will need to return soon after our departure to finish his tour of duty. Please remember Debbie and the children as they get into a new routine without family nearby. She like so many "military family members" bravely and courageously offer this service to their country.

Last Saturday, Dale saw our son, First Sgt. Daniel Downs, and his assigned unit, off as they assumed their tour of duty in Afghanistan; we are all daily lifting then up for protection and wisdom as they serve in perilous places and during perilous times. After sharing a few and precious minutes of prayer and encouragement with Daniel, Dale headed out to Colorado to meet up with me and the family here to welcome Declan Rhys.

Our daughter Dawn & her husband Foursquare Chaplain, Commander Raymond Houk and their two children, Quinn (10) and Quincy (8) serve in Washington DC and are currently approaching retirement from the military and praying about full-time pastoring in the civilian world in the coming year.

Denise, our youngest, is serving with the Air Force, in Guam and is in her 7th year of enlisted duty. She is a Staff Sgt. and serves in the area of instruction for readiness, for all ranks and even on occasion other branches. She has been seriously busy during the recent typhoon scares that have threatened that island. She enjoys the local Foursquare Church on the island, pastored by Caesar & Anna Crisostomo, who have lovingly taken her under-wing in their church. :)

On the Brazilian front, we request your ongoing prayer concerning our future plans. We feel that this is God's direction for our lives at this juncture, and have had it confirmed in so many different ways, that it is hard to imagine that this would not be God's plan. Before we are able to return to Brazil for any type of ministry we must have an official letter of invitation to enter Brazil and lend ourselves to the ongoing ministry there. This letter must come from our elected President of the Brazilian Foursquare Church, Rev. Mario de Oliveira. It must be clear to him and the National Board that there is a need for our presence, and ministry gifts in the church, in Brazil. They must then officially request our deployment there, before we can return to serve.

It is certain that we do not want to be anywhere where God does not need or want us; so we are seriously praying that God will speak and move the hearts of the leaders, should it be His will for us to return to Brazil for this season. Our tenure there in the 80's, was for the specific purpose of walking the Brazilian Church through a "bridge-point" of change from North American supervision and leadership to national supervision and leadership. This we were able to accompany and then returned to the states, in Nov. of 1991; a new leadership team installed who were good men of great integrity. They led the Brazilian Foursquare Church for 4 of their most fruitful and spiritually dynamic years.

Following this administration a new leadership team took office and has lead for the subsequent 16 years. There are 2 remaining years in the current leadership's tenure. We are praying for God's direction for the Brazilian Foursquare Church and for His future selection of new leaders. Please join us in this prayer, it is a crucial time for them. Our presence this time would be mainly for the purpose of encouraging the pastors and leaders as they enter this new phase. The present model throughout many denominations, as well as our own church in Brazil, has taken on a seriously political "form" that matches closely with the nation's political model, and the majority of our spiritual shepherds not only in Foursquare, but many other Spirit-led groups, as well, feel that there is a Holy Spirit inspired wind of change calling for a less political church to emerge. We are praying for God's direction in all of this.

As we return to So. Cal, this coming week, heading for LIFE Pacific to be a part of the "Pilgrim's Quartet" 40 year reunion and concert, we are nearly speechless. This group of dear friends from the distant past, have come into our present, and with good-will in their hearts, full of generous grace, they have planned a benefit concert to help underwrite our need for self-support during this period of ministry to Brazil. Join with us as we continue to "ask, seek and knock" on all of these issues.

God bless you, dear family, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ,

Dale & Patti

Awaiting Our New Grandson :)

Dear Family & Friends,

Dale is in Brazil tonight experiencing the last night of the São Paulo State Pastor's Convention. It has been a thrilling event and he has communicated that many positive decisions were made during this event. I (Patti) flew home on Friday 9/17-18 and was whisked home by my dear friend Vickie Ingle. A few hours later she and her husband Cliff brought dinner by and we shared a meal. A few more hours of sleep, repacked suitcase, and Carlos & Tammy Peña picked me up to whisked me back to LAX, where I headed off to Colorado to be with Debbie, our daughter, as she prepares to give birth any day to our 4th grandchild.

Damian her husband, who serves in the Army and is stationed in S. Korea, flew into the same Denver airport on the same airline and we arrived minutes apart facilitating airport journeys for Debbie and Naomi (our 6 year old granddaughter). All of this was without trying to plan it that way. It could only be the Lord and His kind facilitation of all of this travel.

All is ready here and we are only awaiting those "contractions" that make it all possible. Dale will arrive at LAX on Saturday 9/26 after an all night flight and will be preparing for a trip to Denver to join me. I know he will have much to share about the final week he spent in Brazil and we will see that you are all informed. The next few weeks are somewhat unsettling so we sincerely appreciate your continued prayer.

We need to sell our home; pack up all our remaining belongings; store them away and head off to LA to finish our Foursquare Missions Department's training update. We will need to await their official acceptance (remember this trip was a trial run) for deployment. This will all take place after we make a much awaited stop at LIFE Pacific College where "The Pilgrim's Quartet" will probably make their last formal appearance before they are called to sing before the King Himself, in Heaven. :) I'm not trying to be morbid...just imagining that we are all heading in different directions once again after this special concert. We are deeply grateful for all the background work that Debby Brown has done, assisted by each member of the quartet and other special friends, in order to make this special event possible. Dale and I have been blown away by all of the outpouring of love and excitement surrounding this event and the ministry opportunity door that continues opening into the country of Brazil for a season.

Well, I will be posting again as soon as our new grandson is bouncing on my knee. :)

God bless each one and thank you for your continued prayers.

Much love,

Dale & Patti

Blessed to Be a Blessing

Dear Family & Friends,

Last Sunday Sept. 6th we had a most interesting Sunday at the Central Church during the morning service. I must say that since my earliest memories of Brazilians they were and continue to be the most flexible and positive minded & hearted folks. The electricity was turned off in the barrio where the SEDE is located. I never heard even one complaint...amazing. Everyone just said "we'll find a way"..."God is here and so are we"...so there was a precious service that Sunday morning. It was communion Sunday and the Traditional Choir was to sing. They had happened to ask Patti to play for them and since there was no power they needed to use the "real" piano. It was really a unique time of "worship & celebration of the Lord's Supper" together with no need for all the normal accrutraments. I remembered a teaching I heard Pastor Jack give several years back entitled "What will the church do when they pull the plug?" or something like that. Well, now we know. It just goes on and God blesses and makes different options available.

On Monday Dale was hit by some sort of bug and bless his heart he was really under it. We had scheduled two appointments and we went forward with them; I dare say he probably doesn't remember much about them. We had lunch with the former head of the Missionary Information Bureau here in Sao Paulo. We enjoyed catching up with Diane Bectel after which we met with a very dear lady who ministered to our family in may practical ways while we lived in Brazil. Her name is Terezinha. She and her daughter met us for refreshments at a nearby mall and we recounted our family histories during these years of separation.

On Monday night Dale had a fever until we prayed and rebuked it in Jesus Name and immediately he began to get better and the fever went. Praise our Lord Jesus Christ! Tuesday he awoke with renewed strength and has felt only "better" each day since. Tuesday night I (Patti ) shared with a class of people who meet here at the Central Church to study "Child Evangelism". I was personally amazed at the insights the Holy Spirit highlighted for me from His interactions with children and from His very own childhood. I was meditating on what Jesus was doing when His parents found him in the Temple. He was "sitting" "listening" and "asking questions". I suddenly saw that there is a window of time in the lives of young people around 12 years of age and if we do not allow them to "sit" with us "listen" to our conversations about life with Christ, and "ask questions" someone else will and we will run a great risk of loosing their souls and lives to the kingdom of darkness. It is all too easy to shove kids onto the TV, Video games, etc., and forget to include them in our lives at this highly "vulnerable" and "open" age. I wish it were possible to regain all of the "selfish self-centered" moments I let slip by with my own children. I'm thankful that God is a God of second-chances and has redeemed many of these opportunities for us.

It seems that each time we seek the Lord for what we should share He is giving us wonderful fresh insights in His "living" Word. Dale has been able to spend some rich quality time with many pastors and staff members from various churches in the area, ministering and listening to their hearts. On Wednesday we headed out to visit the Sao Paulo State District Office of Foursquare Churches. This is the largest state office and sets the pace for nearly all the rest. We met with the dynamic president of this district, Rev. Rocco Digilio Filho and his super competent staff. This district office is set in a beautiful 4 floor office building and makes great use of all of it. There was an entire department of publicity, with a staff of graphic designers and a radio studio, with plans for a Television studio in the near future. It was really amazing and impressive. Their theme for this year is the "Family". They have felt a tremendous need to help the pastors and leadership shore up the family structure throughout this trend-setting district which will then in-turn touch the entire Foursquare Church here in Brazil.

The State Secretary of Communications and Editor and Chief of the district's colorful ministry update "emFOCO", Rev. Waldir Kullian, kindly took time to introduce us to many of the departments and arranged for us to do a quick radio spot and shot for the "emFOCO" communication publication. It was a great blessing to see these brothers and sisters ministering with such excellence in their areas of expertise.

Tonight we will be meeting with a very dear pastor friend and his family to hear his history during these past 18 years. After our meeting and dinner we will head out to "The Valley of Blessing" a community outside of Sao Paulo where another Pastor friend and his family live to spend the night. Tomorrow morning we will be sharing with the pastors of his region in a pastors get together. Sunday will mark Patti's last Sunday here and we will be in church one last time with the Calvary International Church, long-time home of many of our children's now adult friends. Sunday evening we'll be ministering in the church of Walter de Lima located enroute to the city of Campinas. We look forward to renewing our relationship with him and knowing his congregation.

Well, folks, that is it for now. Hey, just one last thing. We had to take a taxi today to the church and when we arrived the taxi driver asked if he could come to this church; "Of course", we replied and he handed us his card. I asked him if he knew Jesus as his Savior and he said, "Yes, and I really need to be in church". Please pray for Pacheco who is going to be returning to an active Christian walk. People are just EVERYWHERE if we can get our vision re-focused on the needy world around us and on Christ's presence within us to meet the need.
God bless all of you dear ones!

We are blessed to be a blessing!!
Dale & Patti :) :)

Dear Family & Friends,

Time flies when you are having fun! And we have certainly been having an adventure. This past week we visited very long-time friends who live here in Sao Paulo and had dinner with them. Then just today I learned that this dear friend had suffered a heart attack two days before and had not realized it. We had a wonderful time of prayer with them and then left only to hear today of what had happened. I'm so glad and blessed that we were there and able to pray with them (after the fact) but before it was known what had happened. He is hospitalized and doing better. Please remember Anna & Alfredo.

Tuesday we used a rented car to go to the office of our old and dear friend Dr. Dankwart; we had to get updated physicals for our Mission's applications, so he started the process with us. It was a good visit, and as far as his findings, we are alive and well. It was a great reunion for us. He was the Dr. who cared for our whole family during the 9+ years we were here in Brazil. He just lost his wife after a long illness and so please remember him when you pray for us.

Wednesday was the day I spoke in the afternoon service in the central church, The SEDE. I experienced a great grace upon me for this service. I so appreciate any and all prayers, for us and those to whom we are ministering, because we are sensing the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to do things that seem beyond our ability. My message was from Heb. 9 thru 13. It was an expository message and dealt with the Old Covenant that was fulfilled and the arrival of the New Covenant and what it means to us. The title was "Little Miracle Tabernacles". The sense was that we are each "the temple" of the Holy Spirit. Since I have peaked your interest just send for the tape...just a joke...it wasn't taped. :)

Thursday we took a day of rest (I use that word advisedly) as we drove to several sights to check out important things with regards to our eventual return. We saw the available apartment and that was very helpful. It is definitely adaquate and has a lovely view. Geographically it is located too far from the city IF our work brings us daily to the city. So...we are praying and thinking about where our work should be based upon our return.

Let me just say that it is not possible to think..."Oh, I'll just run here and there and then get back". Travel in this city is absolutely a nightmare. This is not a negative confession...it is the truth. There are daily many deaths of "motorcyclists" who are errand boys. They travel between the lanes (on the lines) in a city of 20+ million and at least a million cars. Just while you are slowing at a stop light 5 or more of these "motorcyclists" will zoom on each side of your car and startle the life out of you. It would be so easy to hit one without knowing he was coming. Thanks for the prayer for safety, as we take a few trial runs through this incredible traffic. I (Patti) have not sat behind the wheel; Dale is, as usual, on the cutting edge of every impossibility.

Well, today Dale set out to change his ticket to remain for the Sao Paulo State Convention of Foursquare Pastors. Of course it took the entire day..."you just have to be there" to get the rhythm of this city and its traffic. He went one place and was then sent to the other side of the city to yet another. You just have to have a call for this, folks. :)

This Sunday I was asked to accompany the Communion Choir here at the central church while they sing. I practiced music I had never heard before and finally got it down on the keyboard, when word came that Sunday morning the electricity will be off in our region during the service. :) I remembered a line from a teaching that Pastor Jack Hayford did in New England while we were serving there. It was: "What will the church do if they pull the plug?" Well, I guess we will find out this Sunday.

God bless all of you and keep on praying, it is making a huge difference in everything.

Blessings,
Dale & Patti :)

Dear family & friends,

We have had an adventurous weekend and are off and running this week also. We were able to visit a church where our children had many classmates that attended. Actually quite a few are here ministering and or living still in Brazil and the church is really growing and extremely healthy. What a great blessing. Childhood friends of our children are now in roles of leadership in this church. Nathanael Fawcett one of the principal pastors spoke and it was a truly life-giving. He was as a teen-ager one of our son's best friends. They still maintain contact. What a blessing it was to hear him deliver the Word with such grace and anointing. You could feel the truth settling into each heart. We are still rejoicing over the worship and the Word which we experienced.

Later we returned to the SEDE (Central Church) and had a meeting to encourage the Deacons and Deaconesses. Dale spoke from the passage where Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. It was very meaningful and challenging.

From that meeting we immediately went to a city about 40 min. away and preached and shared in the evening service after which we returned to the center and had dinner with the pastor of the Central church and part of his family.

Monday we spent the day updating our family by Skype and studying for the Monday night Institute class which we team taught on the life of John the Baptist.

Today, Tuesday we are going together with the pastor to a meeting of regional pastors; it should be a special time. We will update you again soon. l

God bless, dear friends and family,

Our love, Dale & Patti :) :)

Dear family & friends,

Another few days have passed by and we are perceiving, a little better every day, a deeper understanding of the complicated dynamics of the culture as it has passed through so many changes in the past 18 years.

Some recent painful changes in our own US government's manner of seriously grasping "control" has enabled us now to understand the pain of "disillusionment" that takes place when long hoped for change is prohibited by spiritual forces that keep the door held shut to needed change.

The Brazilian nation has experienced many good and productive changes; the standard of living for the poor and middle class appears to have risen. The "Church" in Brazil has suffered a loss of credibility with true believers due to the insincerity of a few. I say the "Church" because there are branches of nearly every group that have suffered abuse and/or they are experiencing spiritual oppression. It is apparent in many faces that the "joy and innocence" has fled.

It is our hope and prayer that you will join with us in prayer to challenge any powerful abuse that is being experienced by the church and that not only our own "branch" will receive relief but all others as well.

With this said and the invitation issued to join us in concerted prayer, we still rejoice in the "remnant" that remains faithful to the message of the Kingdom of God, and enjoys spreading the Good News wherever they may go.

On a little more serious note and observation today;
Blessings,
Dale & Patti

Dear Friends and Family, :)

This past week-end was full of rich ministry opportunities and fellowship with churches and pastors. We were in the central church (SEDE) on Sunday morning for a "teaching" time. Dale taught on Acts chapter 10; it was so well received and we feel the language returning. We have actually spoken Portuguese with our children all of these years "now and then" and have keep a great portion, but upon our return we are remembering so much more.

The Pastor of the central church is such a very dear man and long-time friend. He and his family have gone way out of their way to meet our need of transportation, lodging and they even have provided office space in the church for us to work in. Please pray for Pastor Davi (David) and his precious family. They have made room for us at their table nearly daily and we have felt the warmth of their love and friendship. Please include in your prayers also the other pastoral staff members: Pastor Pedrinho and Pastora Ester; they serve a large congregation of 1200 congregants.

On Sunday night we were in a wonderful and growing work in Alphaville; a community that is somewhat "upper-class". We enjoyed a warm reception and we both had an opportunity to share with the congregation from the Word. As the congregation was worshiping I was so impressed by a mental picture from the Lord; it was a lateral view of the nation of Brazil and it was as though there was a glass ceiling over the country and it was "Sunday night from 6 PM to 8 PM" during this time I became aware that all over the nation tens of thousands of churches were all involve in powerful worship and I saw the Lord "dancing and rejoicing" on the surface of this glass ceiling. He was so excited; the verse from Zephaniah 3:17 came immediately to my spirit and I realized that the Lord was indeed "singing, spinning, leaping and shining" as His people praised and worshipped.

Dale followed this with a message from Mark 14 and the worship of Mary as she broke open the alabaster box and anointed the feet of Jesus; this box represented all her hopes and dreams of the future. It was very meaningful for all.

Afterwards there was a time of fellowship with the congregation and then we enjoyed dinner with the Pastor and members of his lovely family. When you pray please mention the names of Pastor Joao (John) Manoel and Pastora Sueli (his precious wife). Pray that God will continue to give them open doors and souls in the area where they minister.

Blessings dear ones!

Dale & Patti

Wow has time begun to fly. We have had a whirl-wind of a week. Patti had the great opportunity to attend a seminar for Women in Ministry. The guest speaker was a dear long time friend that many of you will remember; Mary Fawcett. It was a wonderful day. It was a Tea with all the trimmings and a wonderful edifying message. I was able to take the lady that oversees the women's ministries here at the central church. She was very blessed to make new friends and receive from all that took place.

On Friday Dale and I both hit the streets at 6:30 AM to catch a Taxi and head out to the South Zone where Bill & Mary Fawcett live and we spent a wonderful time visiting with them and hearing about what God is doing in their church and lives. It was an extremely edifying time.

Today we are at the central church; Dale preparing to speak on Sun. AM here in the main church and then he will minister on Sunday evening in our Foursquare church in the area known as Alfaville.

Prayer needs:
The leading of the Holy Spirit in each venue; Transportation: we checked out renting a car before even coming and it was truly cost-prohibitive for us. Pastor Davi has been absolutely remarkable about taking us around to different places; and taxi's are readily available; please pray about this for us, for we do not want to be a drain on people for transportation. It is our desire that all who transport us will be blessed and ministered to.

Dear ones, that is it for now; We want to thank all of you who are supporting us in prayer most of all; we are deeply grateful also for those who have been able to add to their prayer, financial support; our prayer is that God will return to you 100 fold that which you have shared with us.

Our love and joint prayers for Brazil!
Dale & Patti

Dear friends and family we are just reeling from all the opportunities to share the graces of Christ with brothers and sisters here in Brazil. We are really leaning on your "intercession" for us and can already feel the support of prayer.

We are reactivating our Portuguese and it is going well; we are already getting around on foot and by occasional Taxi; as well as brothers and sisters in Christ taking us to places we need to go. We are staying in a small but very convenient and adaquate hotel "flat".

Yesterday was Brazilian Father's Day and we started the day celebrating with the Senior pastor (a very old and dear friend and his family) a wonderful lunch and time of fellowship. Then we were here in the Headquarter's church in downtown Sao Paulo; there were around 1200 people in the evening service (their main service) and it was a duration of 3 hours. :) Not quite like our US services. It was a very moving and dramatic event. Many tributes, presentations, dramatic worship dances and DVD presentation and then a message on the "Pillar of Fire" as our guide through life. The pastor here is in the middle of a 7 week series on the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. They have a real live Tabernacle designed with an Ark of the Covenant made by someone in the church. There is a dramatic opening of the service with the pastor dressed as a High Priest and the Ark entering...Wow what creativity.

We will meet with leaders this week to listen to their desires regarding our involvement here in their work.

Please pray for protection and health for all of us. Last night over 500 people hugged and kissed us on the cheeks; I was not near as worried for us as I was for all of them kissing us in the same spot on the cheek...there were 3 known cases of Swine flu in the family of the congregation; so prayer for everyone's health is in order.

We are really enjoying doing all of this together. On this coming Thursday I will go with the leader of Women's Ministries to a seminar for Women in Ministry where a dear and precious Missionary friend will be the main speaker: Mary Fawcett. I can hardly wait to see her and hear her message; for those of you who remember, I know you would love to be there also.

That is all for today; Our love and gratitude to all of you our dear friends and family.

Dale & Patti

Insight For Living: My Story

Insight For Living: My Story