Eastlick Update Feb o8

Many of you already recieived this update as an email update, but I wanted to put it on our blog. included below is a PS with up to date news from the end of Feb the first 2 weeks of March. Check it out please....

How is everyone? We are all fine. We have had a very busy last 2 months and STILL are in the process of getting internet in our home, so we have not kept up as we’d like. They do have an antenna up and finally go the right kind of router. Now they have to raise their base tower higher to get us or make a new base up on the hill by us. It is funny how they just figure things out as they go but that’s the way it is here I guess….

We had such a great time in January. Talita and her boyfriend Matt came to visit and we took a little mini vacation for 4 days. We got to go into the interior and see virgin jungle. We hiked for miles in the jungle, saw waterfalls and swam in the natural pools at the bases of the falls. We got to walk on cables up in the treetops and repel down them. (Sorry Matt!) We saw the Amazon’s biggest dam and the lake it created. We swam with the pink dolphins although they did not get as close to us as we would’ve liked. We also got to experience the van breaking down and God providing the help we needed right on time. We then were able to drive it home 2 hours on “a wing and a prayer”. Hey the adventure never stops!

In January Grace Fellowship from Augusta Georgia sent a team and helped us with our 2nd “Summer festival”- youth camp. (It’s summer here guys.) It was so cool what God did. We had 130 youth at the camp. We had 3 days of intense worship, word, ministry and FUN. The team of 11 from Georgia really was used by God to “stir it up” down here but also they shared how they were “blown away” by the Brazilians’ love for God, for them and their tremendous passion! They shared how they received much more than they gave. It was such a cool exchange. They also ministered in church services and youth groups as well as attend one of our Sunday service experiences. God also really used them to encourage and stir up Israel and Lulu. They got to translate and pray for people with them and see God touch lives and minister healing and it really kinda “ruined them for the ordinary. We are so excited about what God is doing in Grace Fellowship and what he will do thru the friendships and covenant relationships we are entering into with them. Thanks Pastor Wade and Pastor Brian!

We also had Laura and Carla Webster come from Crossroads and o a “mini-internship”. Thanks so much girls to you and your family for “pushing thru” obstacles and spending the money to come and be a part of what God is doing here. It was so cool to have folks form home to come and see what we are doing. They got to do visits with us, experience a little of the middle of the night praying, 3 day lock in, youth group, impact services, Portuguese lessons, evangelism and they got to see a little of the Amazon river and jungle. They took a LOT of pictures and videos and Laura took a LOT of notes. So talk to them and see what God is doing here. I know Laura wants to come again and is willing to help bring a team, so all you northerners up there who want to come, talk to her about what God is doing here and talk to Pastor Mark and the 4th base team about how you can come. Feel free to drop us a line as well.

We also had a “March for Jesus” in our neighborhood and handed out hundreds of invitations for church as well as doing break dance and impromptu testimonies through out the neighborhood. The people seemed to really enjoy it. The youth leadership team has grown in maturity and in numbers with more than 20 leaders. The youth group itself averages about 80 youth but have had over 100 twice this past month. We are preparing some of our first missionaries and trying to work thru details of a team to go into the interior to Parintins in March. Please pray for that and consider sponsoring a Brazilian missionary on that trip. Each one will need $100 to go. It is a 2 week outreach into a city of about 200,000 people. Parintins is probably the most idolatrous, immoral city in all the north of Brazil. If you feel lead to help with that, you can write a check to Crossroads and mail it to :
CCC , 1668 Crossroads Lane, Freeport IL 61032

On the memo write: Eastlick’s, Parintins mission. You will receive giving credit at tax time. Send us an email as well and we will let you know who that money goes to and give a full report of the trip.

Dulce continues to lead the youth praise team and has been asked to raise up a Sunday praise team as well. She also continues to provide leadership for the ministry “Baby Love” that takes care of our toddlers during service. I have begun to train a little more and build on the relationships I have at some of the Jiu Jitsu academies in preparation for the team that my Nephew Jake and a friend of ours Mike are putting together. I also continue to lead weekly evangelism teams and we are working doing home visits and youth discipleship. The kids are busy with school and Israel with his break dancing and Lulu her ballet. She is into the keyboards (Piano) and he is into guitar as well. It is such a blessing to see the talent God has given them develop. (I wish I could do that stuff!) Please pray for Israel. We are going this week to do exams and see if they can take the rest of his screws out of his elbow and restore it to 100% range of motion. (Yeah he break dances with one arm basically, pretty amazing.) Talita is finishing her first year of University at UW Platteville and working her way thru it so well. We really thank God for our kids and what great kids they are! Thank you for keeping them in prayer.


Once again we have to thank you all for your continual prayer and support. We are doing taxes right now and we are so encouraged with how God has supplied our needs. We fund our youth ministry and evangelistic events largely out of pocket as well as our trips so your support is so needed and appreciated. For example, we were able to invest over $2000 into the youth camp giving scholarships for kids in need and getting materials for the camp and the team so we could give these kids our best for God. We gave discounts and scholarships to more than 50 people. Each one doing what he could and God supplying the difference. God provided the $2000 we invested during my trip to the USA in December. Each time we have had a pressing need God has come thru and it’s been thru folks like you all! Your prayers and giving is making a difference in our lives and in the lives of hundreds of Brazilians here in Manaus! THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH! GOD BLESS YOU!!!! PLEASE KEEP ON PRAYING FOR US!



We Love you guys!

Jon and Dulce, Talita, Israel, and Lulu



P.S. I just got back from a 2 week trip into the interior to Urucara. We went to give the Pastors there a break and kind of evaluate what needs to be done there to help it grow. We took a small team of 5, most of which are also slated for the Parintins team. It was such a great time. We really encouraged the people there. Though the congregation is small and struggling we were able to bring in 18 visitors and had 6 give their lives to the Lord. We also had daily missions training and it was so cool to see how God really used the team. They really just grew in confidence so much and were so effective conecting with people. We did an experiement taking only the money we had raised selling used clothes and a bunch of used clothes to sell there. We actually supported ourselves from that and made it back home with 40 cents to spare. It was quite the mission adventure and I lost about 5 pounds doing it!

We still hope to pull off the Parintins trip but it was postponed until June or July due to the more pressing need in Urucara. Keep us in prayer as we do our fund raisers. Thanks so much and GOD BLESS!