Dia Gratia July 2022 Update

Hey, guys, it's Kyle and Krista Fox; we're going to share a quick update with you guys. 

So, we're currently in year seven here in Belem, Brazil. And one of the things that we wanted to just say first and foremost is thank you. 

We want to thank you so much for praying and supporting us financially. We've been extremely well taken care of here. God's been using you, our supporters, in a really awesome way to care for us, enabling us to do so much. There's a lot of fruit we get to see every day because of your support, so we just want to say thank you! 

Calvary Chapel Belem Update

A quick update for Calvary Chapel Belem. The church has been growing and growing; we're having to buy more chairs, and we keep running out of space. That's a good problem to have. 

But we're also seeing God grow us deeper in our relationships with one another as a church. We are learning how to become a church, use the gifts that God's given each of us, and use the resources that God's given us to minister to one another so that the church is edified. We're really seeing that happen, and that's an awesome thing to behold. 

We've been praying about this church for years and working hard, unsure how things would work out. Now it feels like we've kind of turned a corner where the church is becoming more established, operating in the way we should be in terms of ministering to one another. 

Coffee Shop Ministry

Our coffee shop has been up and running since February of this year, and it's amazing. We're using an event called "Open House" in the middle of the week on Wednesdays, where we've got live music, and we share about the Lord in an apologetics approach. We are seeing students from the university and neighbors come into the building, which is just what we hoped the coffee shop would do. 

Our desire for the coffee shop is to open up doors for relationships within our community, and it's just an awesome thing to see that happening. We also serve nitro cold brew, which nobody else has in northern Brazil, which is fun. 

Church Leadership

We are in the process of raising leaders in the church. So, one of the things that you can pray about is for God to show us who those people are. This is a huge prayer request for us because the more people we have coming, the more people we need to take care of, and we need more and more leaders to help.

Women's Ministry

So part of the church that I'm super excited about is our women's leadership team. We have about four women on the team, and it's been wonderful helping them grow their ministries. We now have a woman overseeing the women's discipleship, one over the Calvary Kids Club, and another helping to run the coffee shop. It's just been great to spend time with them and to see the Lord bringing in more people. 

As mentioned above, we're praying for more leaders, so pray for the women's leadership team as well. 

Proverbs 24:11 Ministry

The Proverbs 24:11 ministry is going well, and we're still going to the streets weekly. But this year, I felt we needed to focus on prevention education. 

River Trips

So, we've been making more river trips - about 20 to 30-hour boat rides from Belem, where we live, and the church. We minister to these river communities about the broken family dynamic, what makes them vulnerable according to God's word, what they need, what they don't have, and the facts about human trafficking. It's been really great. 

Dental Missions

However, our recent trip was a little different. Two lovely ladies from the States, Inga-Lill Guzik and Janelle Resnick, came out for dental missions with our team and us. So the trip was a little different than usual, but we had a good response from the community because of the dental work, and they did a great job. 

Calvary Chapel Aurora

We also had Calvary Chapel Aurora out about a month ago. They sent a team of, I think, eight guys from their school, and that was a huge blessing and encouragement to us as well.

Banquets

The Proverbs ministry has continued the last couple of months with our monthly banquets for individuals from prostitution and human trafficking. These banquets happen the first Saturday of each month, but we had never had anybody come off the streets until May. The very first person was a transgender prostitute. We usually know everybody on the streets, but it was the first time we had met him. He was the only one there - we had musicians and a full dinner - but he felt blessed. 

At the beginning of June, we had four individuals from the street camp at our second banquet. It was neat because one of the women that came, our team and I had been talking to for five years down on the streets. So now we're beginning to see more fruit, and even more, they're trusting us. It's the fifth year of the ministry, and I know it takes four to five years to even see anything with a ministry like this. So now, in that fifth year, we are starting to see them trust us and want to spend more time with us, which is really encouraging. 

Fox Family Update

As far as our Fox Family update, we're doing good. 

Aidan

Aidan has been back in the States for a couple of years now. I think he's finding adulting difficult as it's hard for everybody his age. Please keep him in prayer as he searches for God's will and what to do. 

Liam

Liam, our youngest, just finished his junior year of high school, and he's doing really well. He has his eyes set on the Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, or an ROTC program through a university in the States. Please pray for him too because he's really a Brazilian boy now, and he's apprehensive and sad about leaving his home here. 

Krista

I'm doing well personally, and I have a lot going on in my life that I'm really excited about. I've started my doctorate in counseling with an emphasis on trauma, which has come in huge, not just for women of our church but also for people we minister to on the streets. 

I've also joined a ministry under Brenda Leavenworth, doing podcasts for women in leadership. It's been really different for me, but really exciting to work with some lovely ladies in various positions all over the world.

Kyle

I'm doing well too. It is an interesting time because, for the last four years, we've been praying and praying about opening this coffee shop. And now that it's open and running, it's just an awesome place to be. I'm feeling really fulfilled and excited about the coffee shop, ministry, and the help from Kelvin and Heloisa, who are helping in that area. I hope to continue seeing the coffee shop ministry grow and become a strong part of the work here. 

I want to start my master's degree program at some point. I don't know if it will work for this year, but perhaps next year. I also hope to grow as a leader, helping our other leaders fulfill their potential within the church.

We have one more prayer request...

We've lived in our house probably longer than any other house in the last 20 years of marriage. We've been in this house for seven years, and the owners of the house are lovely people from the Baptist Mission. They've allowed us to stay for years longer than they originally wanted. They have wanted to sell it but have allowed us to stay until Liam graduates high school so he wouldn't have to be moved around a lot. 

So, our prayer is that they would let us stay, we could find a way to buy it, or the Lord would show up and give us another place to live in about a year. Finding a home here is difficult, and we have been so blessed with these last seven years here, so it would be very special if you could also join us in prayer for that.

Thank You!

Thank you guys for watching. And thank you so much, once again, for your support and prayer. We love you guys; God bless you all; bye-bye.