Dear friends,
Greetings from your co-workers to the Portuguese-Speaking world!
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29.11
This verse has been in our hearts since we came back to Brazil in Dec, 2001. We believe that these are the plans the Lord has for us, plans to prosper us, to give us hope and a future. As we try to do His will and work in His harvest we never forget that His plans are the best ones, and we try to seek daily His plans for our lives and ministry. So before we make any decisions we seek His plans, the counsel of Godly people and then we try to do His will. Sometimes we make plans and God laughs, and as time goes by we see that He has other plans and we have to adapt to His plans.
We would like to share some of the highlights of what God has done through us in the last couple months and present some new plans that we believe are God’s will for our lives at the present moment.
New Years Eve Service at Campo Limpo Church on Dec 31. The service started at 10:00 p.m. and at midnight we had Communion and then we had a big New Years Feast. It is a Brazilian custom to start the New Year at church seeking God’s presence and His blessing for the New Year! During the service people have the opportunity to give their testimonies of what God has done in their lives during the past year. One of the testimonies that touched us the most was Rodrigo’s. During the New Years Eve Service three year ago Rodrigo’s wife Elizabete brought him to church, Rodrigo was addicted to cocaine and he was on dope when he came to church. I (Jeff) preached that night and give the opportunity for people to become a Christian and Rodrigo says that he does not understand but he raise his hand to give his life to Christ that night. For him New Years Eve Service is very special, not only to celebrate the New Year, but to celebrate his birth in Christ. Rodrigo has been free from drugs for three years and he is being trained to become a deacon at Campo Limpo Church.
The Flamboyant Church in Campinas dedicated their new building on Jan 03. They bought a lot a few years ago and were able to build the first phase of the construction and move in. Brother Justino is responsible for this church. The Flamboyant Church was use by God to plant the churches in Americana, Piracicaba, Pedreiras and Paulinha during the 17 years that Justino has been there. Justino was my dad’s (Tom Fife) student at the seminar in Goiania back in the 70’s. Justino helped plant three other churches in Goiania before he moved to Campinas. During the time we have been in Sao Paulo we have done many events with these churches and helped Justino on many occasions. As president of the Christian Church/Church of Christ Southeast Association we were invited to the dedication.
New plans for 2010! We have counseled with our trustees and with their blessing we are planning to come to the USA March 31st, 2010 for a longer furlough this time. What do we intend to accomplish during the time we are in the USA:
1. Get Roger through his last year of High School and in to College.
2. Visit all of our supporters.
3. Raise new support.
These are the main reasons. Today we do not have enough support to continue living and working in Brazil. The devaluation of the US Dollar and the increase of prices in Brazil have been the main reason why we do not have enough support. Just so you have an idea, in eight years food as gone up an average of 450%, an example a gallon of milk was $0.80 (US Dollars) and today the gallon of milk is $3.60 US Dollars. A gallon of gasoline is $5.70 (US Dollar). We know that the Brazilian Socialist Communist Government is telling the world that Brazil is not in crises and is doing very well financially; sorry to disappoint but it is all politics propaganda. The reality is very different. Over 30% of the members at our churches have lost their jobs in the last two years and most cannot live on their salary.
During the time that we are going to stay in the USA, the work in Brazil and Mozambique that is supported by BRLM (Brazil River of Life Ministries) will continue with the same vision and purpose. Our ministry has been Evangelism, Discipleship and New Church Plants and we have men trained and equipped to continue the work without us being personally in Brazil as well as the work in Mozambique. We will continue to coordinate the ministry through e-mail and phone.
I (Jeff) will continue to write the weekly discipleship material that is use at the home prayer groups every Tuesday night in Brazil, I’ll continue to write the monthly discipleship material that it is used at all the Brazil River of Life Ministries Churches, the churches in Mozambique and other churches in the Portuguese-Speaking world, over 600 churches use our discipleship material free of charge. I’ll send this material by e-mail and we already have people responsible to print them at each location. We will continue with the Bible College, we have 10 men that are studying at the Bible College that will become evangelists and future ministers to the new church plants. Our goal is to plant 15 more churches in the cities that are around Campo Limpo Paulista and Jundiai area. If God provides the support needed we would like to plant a new church every other year.
I guess we could say that during the time we will be in the USA we will work as an Executive Director for BRLM, raising support and coordinating the work from a distance.
Hope you understand our explanation and if you have any questions we are ready to answer them. We are available to speak and give reports and we would like to visit all of our supporters and visit potential new ones.
Here are some engagements that we already have for 2010 in the USA and Brazil.
April 5 – 50th Ministerial Anniversary Service of my parents (Tom and Libby Fife) at Emmanuel School of Religion.
April 14-18 – World Convention Board Meeting – Nashville, TN
May 1-2 – Missions Fair at Valley View CC – Dallas, TX
June 21-27 – Women Global Connection Convention – North Carolina (Monica is the president)
September 10-12 – Women National Convention – Brasilia, Brazil (Monica Speaker)
Missions Fair at Colonial Heights CC – Kingsport, TN
Missions Fair at First CC – Johnson City, TN
November 12-14 – National Convention – Goiania, Brazil (Jeff Speaker)
November 18-21– National Missionary Convention – Lexington, KY
Your prayers and financial support are vital for us! Please continue to pray for us, we need all the prayers we can get!
God is good all the time and all the time God is Good!
In HIS Love and Service,
Jeff, Monica, Roger, and Isaac Fife
Wow time flies! This month we are celebrating 8 years since we came back to Brazil! December 23rd, I (Jeff) had my 44th birthday; the CLP (Campo Limpo Paulista) Church did a great celebration for me! January 7th, 2010, Monica and I will celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary! It is hard to realize that Roger is 16 years-old and Isaac is 12. Talking about the boys, they did great at school this year, we are very proud of them. Roger finishes the 11th grade and Isaac the 7th grade. They had been on summer school vacation since December 2nd. They both continue to practice basketball, and they play for the city team. To celebrate how good they did at school we took the first weekend in December off and went to the beach, we had three days of lots of fun! 
The Christmas Celebration this year at the CLP Church was the responsibility of the youth group. Roger and Isaac were part of the play presented by the youth group. Roger had the principal acting part. They did a great job, as you can see we are proud of our boys! The presentation was on December 13th! 
Our family Christmas Celebration was at Monica’s parents home Dec 24th eve. My brother Faifo was in Brazil and he did come and spend the evening with us! It was a great visit! 
Monica just did an update cat-scan and she is recuperating just fine. She asked the doctor about all the pain she still has, the numbness on her face, and all the terrible headaches she has every month. The doctor told her that she will need another 3 to 5 years to recuperate from her surgery and some things may never be normal again. The doctor told her to take it easy, take her time, and that she should work less, she been working too hard. Talking about Monica, she celebrate her 40th birthday anniversary on October 13th; the CLP Church did a great celebration for her. Let’s continue to pray for Monica’s total recuperation! 
During the second semester Monica worked with the ladies at the CLP Church with a project call Dorcas Project for Mozambique, Africa. 
They did many art crafts and sold them on December 19th, all the profit will go to buy desks for the school in Mozambique. Each desk with a chair costs $50 (US Dollars). If you would like to donate a desk with a chair to the Hope School in Mozambique, please send your gift to Brazil River of Life Ministries, and write on the check memo “Desks for Mozambique.” The school has 700 students and needs 375 desks, since half of the students study in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. 
We are working on a 90 day transition at the CLP Church. Starting December 1st, I’m not the minister at CLP Church. Since we are planning to plant a new church at Jundiai in the beginning of 2010 we need more time to coordinate this new church plant. We have been working for the last 5 years at CLP Church discipling and training new leaders, and by the grace of God we have brothers that are ready to take over the work. Brother Edson is the new minister at CLP Church, and he is doing a great job. We are working together with Brother Edson and the elders at CLP Church so this transition will be smooth; the people are reacting in a good way until now. Praise the Lord! 
In November Monica was one of the speakers and worship leaders at the 2nd Women Christian Church/Church of Christ Southeast Conference in Campinas, Sao Paulo. 
I was one of the speakers at the National Christian Church/Church of Christ Convention in Goiania, Goias. Monica and I went to the convention and the boys stayed at Monica’s parent’s home. 
In the first weekend of November we celebrate Pirituba’s Church anniversary. This is the church where Monica’s father is the minister. Monica led the worship, and I was the speaker.
We promoted the First Southeast Christian Church/Church of Christ Convention in October for all the churches in the area. We had 8 churches present. All churches had the opportunity to participate with music, Monica led worship and I was one of the speakers. 
Brazil celebrates in October, Children Day. Monica organized a trip to an amusement park for the children at CLP Church; she had over 50 children and 10 good helpers. 
In the last weekend in September we celebrated the Campo Eliseus, Campinas Church anniversary. Monica led the worship, and I was the speaker. Brother Tiago is the minister at this church.
During the second semester we continue with the Bible College at CLP Church. In August we studied Mathew, Mark and Luke, Brother Waldiberto (Minister at Piracicaba Church) was the professor. In September we studied Church Leadership and in October, Church Plant and Growth, and I was the professor. In November we studied the Gospel of John and Brother Waldiberto was the professor. Classes will resume in February! 
Monica led the Women’s Tea in August and October for the ladies at CLP Church. And I led the Men’s Breakfast in September and November. Every first Saturday of the month we have a leadership meeting for the 4 churches closer to CLP Church, and every three months we have a leadership meeting for the 15 churches in the Southeast. I’m responsible to speak at these leadership meetings and Monica meets with the ladies to teach about children ministry and prepare for the Women Convention. 
These are only some of the highlights of what God has done through our lives during the 2nd semester, 2009! To Him be all the glory and honor! Thanks for your prayer and financial support that has made it possible for us to serve the Lord another year!
We wish you and your family a blessed 2010! May the Lord richly bless you in Christ Jesus! Happy New Year!
Campo Limpo Paulista city has approximately 90 thousand population, Jundiai has approximately ½ million. Jundiai is about 10 miles from Campo Limpo Paulista and 30 members of the Campo Limpo Church live in Jundiai including two of the elders, Ruben and Jose. The state of Sao Paulo has 40 million population and only 9% are Evangelicals-Christians.
On our vision statement it says “Reach the lost through Evangelism”. God has allowed us to promote over 200 events to reach all ages, through the many locations that we have helped plant new churches. We promote at least three big events per year to reach the children. Every other month Monica promotes a Women’s Tea and I (Jeff) promote a Men’s Breakfast. Every three months we have a big evangelistic event for the youth. As a result we have had the opportunity of baptizing almost 200 new converts into Christ.
Every month we have a Leadership and Ministry Meeting at the church in Campo Limpo for leaders of four of the churches that are under BRLM (Brazil River of Life Ministries) and every three months we have a State Meeting for leaders of 15 churches.
Our goals for the next year are: Continue with the evangelistic events and discipleship programs. Plant the Jundiai Church in the fall of 2009. We need $10,000 (US Dollars) to start up and $1,000 per month for 3 years for this church plant. Plant the Caeiras Church in the fall of 2010. Visit the mission work in Angola, September 2010.
2008 was probably the most difficult year for us since we arrived in December 2001 to work in Brazil. Monica's health was a big issue, but we are so thankful that she is doing so well after the tumor was removed from her brain. She is not back 100% to what she used to be, but is at least about 75%. With all the stress we went through last year my (Jeff) health did not hold up and I had to take some time off in January and go through a health treatment. I'm feeling a lot better.
The Convention was a blessing; 96 women were registered.
On Saturday Jan 31, we had the participation of praise bands from churches in Campinas, Campos Eliseos, Itapevi and Pirituba. 
Our speaker this year was Brother Carlos Queiroz. Brother Carlos is the Executive Director for World Vision in Brazil and Minister at the Christian Church/Church of Christ in Fortaleza in the Northeast.
The church in Campo Limpo Paulista, where we're directly involved, has matured a lot during this year - a growth of 30%! All the other churches under RLM (River of Life Ministries) grew; in October, we even planted a new church in the Northeast.
