Railson & Heidi Gil

Christian missionaries in Pará, northern Brazil.

Railson, native to Pará, is called to developing projects which exemplify the Kingdom in practical ways, specifically through communications development and digital integration (that is, making computer technology available to disadvantaged classes). Heidi is a pediatric nutritionist and English teacher from Oregon, USA. She enjoys putting the Gospel into practice as she counsels nutritionally needy families. Our gifts bring us into contact with people of all levels, which often leads to house visits and impromptu gatherings around the Bible. We love it when God surprises our unsuspecting visitors with the tangible sense of His presence! Here you will find our current and past newsletters as well as photos of our family and region. Have fun exploring our site!

• Fire Among Riverside Shops

  Filed under Community
  Nov 2

  In mid-October a fire broke out among the shops in the popular commercial district of the city of Laranjal do Jari. This is the city which lies right across the river from Monte Dourado, where our ISP is located. We have a transmission tower and several clients in Laranjal. Fortunately, none of our equipment was damaged, but many lives were traumatized, lives of people we know. This is the community in which we hope to eventually plant a church. Reconstruction of the burnt portion of the city has begun, but that won’t repair the broken dreams of the majority. As you can imagine, these small shop owners lost practically everything they owned in the fire, and as you may have guessed there is no fire insurance. See photo album for images.

• Vinhateiros: Reaching the Community by Working with the Community’s Kids

  Filed under Community, Ministry
  Nov 2

  We were curious as to why our neighbor was looking for a vacancy in an afternoon kindergarten for her son, since her son already goes to kindergarten in the mornings. “Because there’s nothing for him to do in the afternoons, so his only option is to run around with his friends on the street. I don’t know what else to do!” After bringing up the subject with other moms from the neighborhood, we discovered that many have the same concern: there are no formal activities for small children in our neighborhood. No parks, no pool, no community center, no after-school programs. So, some moms, since they are occupied with odd jobs throughout the day, find it best to try to enroll their kids in school double-time. It didn’t take more than a few days for us to realize that God was showing us a real need around our home and church that we could meet. And that marked the beginning of the Vinhateiros (Little Vine Keepers).

  Since the beginning of October, we have been meeting with neighborhood kids aged 3-10 in the church building three times a week. Heidi leads the sessions, and discipled church moms take turns helping out. The children’s mothers are encouraged to help out by donating fruit, nuts, coconut, crackers, or whatever else they have on hand. Every session starts with prayer and praise. On Mondays we work on a craft project. On Wednesdays we go on an outing to a private park where there is plenty of space to play ball, hide-and-seek, and numerous other games. On Fridays we teach the kids how to make a healthy snack, like cashew nut and oatmeal cookies. Best yet, the neighbors, many of whom have never stepped inside the church are now super-curious about what we’re all about as a church. Our relationship with the community and our effectiveness as a Body has improved marvelously in the last four weeks. We plan to continue until the end of November, and possible re-group for the coming year.