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!

• Fall 2010 Newsletter Online

  Filed under Family, Ministry
  Nov 4

  We have a new newsletter online! Take a look here:

  Fall 2010 Newsletter

  Please email us if you’d like to be added to our email update list and receive newsletters and updates several times a year.

• Good Stuff Happening!

  Filed under Business, Family, Health, Ministry
  Mar 3

  Where would we be without the Lord? And where would we be without you all? It’s good to be part of this fantastic Body with a very smart Head.

  We mentioned in our first update of the year that we are expecting NEW things for 2010. Well, several new things are already happening. Let’s praise the Lord together.

  Have you ever heard of “suddenlies”? Like when the Lord intervenes in a surprising way? Graham Cooke describes it this way,

  “In a ‘suddenly,’ God invades our lives in such a way that it excites us on one level and frightens us on another. We become a walking paradox: everything has changed, yet everything is the same.”

  Well, it’s barely March and we have already experienced four “suddenlies.”

  1. Coming out of 2009 we were distraught at our financial situation. It was very obvious that we had to continue to look for work here since our donor support was extremely low. I was frustrated with having to give English classes at night, when all I really want to do (and am prepared academically to do) is work in nutrition. So, I outright asked the Lord to get me out of English classes. Then, suddenly, the secretary of health of Porto de Moz (a day’s travel away) offered me my old position. The blessing is that they will pay me almost twice what they did before, and I’ll only have to work 1 week per month! And get this: one thing that impressed the health department is the voluntary involvement of an American doctor (who is with the Xingu Mission in Porto). The secretary told me that he prays over his patients in the exam room (she stuck out her hand emphatically to imply the laying on of hands) in such a way that people feel loved on and cared for. Obviously, the health system in Porto is desperate for qualified professionals and open to an invasion from heaven, so I’m on it! Plus, I’ll be able to help out at our old church while I’m there (YAY!), so it’ll be like going on a missions trip once a month. Both Railson and I really sense the Lord’s anointing over this opportunity. I’ll begin (again) on the 21st-27th of this month, so pray for me.
  2. Combining perfectly with my commitment in Porto, Railson, too has been called on to provide Internet technology there for the city offices. It was no small miracle that he won the bid, considering that we have been flat broke since the beginning of the year. His business has very little financial movement on record, but the mayor believes in him and his team. Please pray, however, that we will not lose this contract due to delays in getting the official paperwork delivered. The work is important because the proceeds will feed plans for the Foundation, as well as help pay off some of our debts. The implantation should begin this month, once the paperwork has been approved by the city of Porto de Moz.
  3. A third “suddenly” was when the local mining company called on Railson for much the same reason as Porto de Moz. They need a wireless network implanted ASAP in two communities. Again, Railson’s business won the bid by a sheer miracle. So, if both projects go as planned (and we need your prayers for this!) there will be enough resource to feed importation, which will, in turn, feed the Foundation eventually (or at least that’s what we think!).
  4. The fourth “suddenly” was when the same mining business invited me to supervise the foodservice kitchen for a few hours each morning. I thought they wouldn’t accept the fact that I’ll be absent for a week each month (in Porto), but it was not a problem for them. The salary will be a full month’s salary, plus family benefits & transportation. It’s not a lot of money, but at least it’s stable, and will help even out the fluctuations we experience with donor support. I’ll probably begin next week. (Pray that my lack of official registration as a Brazilian nutritionist will not be a hinderance!)

  We thought you might like to know about these happenings since you have long heard our bemoanings about finances and the need for provision. We believe this is the Lord’s way of providing, so we are happy for it. Railson’s projects are usually completed in 30-60 days, and my work is part-time because we always want to be available for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Plus, I won’t have to work nights after June (when the semester ends), so will be able to be more involved with the local Paz church plant. (Churches here generally have more activities at night when it’s cooler.)

  Speaking of the church plant, we are expecting to have a team of bikers come down from Macapa (7 hours away over a dirt/mud “highway”) to help with building renovations. Yes, the church has finally found a new location!! No old stigmas remain. But for now we are meeting in one of the member’s homes, which has been a total blessing. On Sunday, the presence of the Lord was so sweet and powerful…

  Wish you were here,
  the Gils

• Praises

  Filed under Business, Family, Ministry
  Feb 5

  Hello from wet, landslidey Brazil. Would you accept a muddy hug?
  A few praises to share with you…

  1. The Igreja da Paz hasn’t given up on it’s mission to plant a church in Monte Dourado. (Not that we tout the Igreja da Paz banner, but the individuals involved have a genuine love for the community and a desire to bring people to Christ.) The alternative base in Macapá (7 hours away by bus) has picked up the vision. A team of 6 were at our house last month for breakfast. We are encouraged that they seem to have a realistic, as well as prophetic, notion of what church planting takes in our unique community. With the Lord’s guidance they will avoid the pitfalls of the past. For now we are meeting in the home of one of the church families. I will be ministering the Word on Sunday. The base is in the process of negotiating the renovation of a rental building, but we are not in a hurry to move to the building. Things are great at the house for now!

  2. Thanks to a missionary friend in Thailand, we will soon have a digital camera again. We are blessed at the Lord’s kindness in meeting simple, yet important, needs such as this one. Thank you, Deborah, for being sensitive!

  3. Railson’s constant “volunteer” work in communications is beginning to have financial implications. The several ISPs he has assisted over the past two years have written him excellent certificates of recomendation, which have been instrumental in gaining credibility in the field. He is now negotiating two projects for the implantation of Internet service, one here in Monte Dourado, the other in Porto de Moz. This testifies to the fact that God doesn’t let ANY act of faith & kindness go without results. Railson has constantly worked himself into the dough (the technical community) through faith. We want to see communications implanted by the Kingdom around here! (See Matt. 13:33, Luke 19:12-13)

  4. One of the legal battles we were facing has been won. A client who owed us around US$4500 was sentenced to pay by judicial order. The case was seen by the judge and quickly resoved (thank you, Jesus, for making it swift!), although guy tried every way to get out of it. The down side is that the payment will be received in 18 installments and we will have to pay the lawyer still, but at least the judge benefitted us with a hefty margin for interest.

  Thank you for standing with us and giving of yourself through attention, prayers, kindness and finances to Kingdom work in Brazil. We want to reach more and more Brazilians for Christ.

  Blessings,
  Heidi & troop

• New Donation Address!!

  Filed under Ministry
  Jan 30

  We want to send a huge THANK YOU to all of our faithful supporters!

  We are blessed to announce that we have new friends on the field. Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Hood River has kindly stepped up to assist with the routing our our supporters’ tax-deductible donations.

  We met the pastor & his wife at the Vineyard conference in Albany we went to when we were last in Oregon. While they are not physically on the field with us in the Amazon, they along with many of you, are just as important to the process of evangelization as we who are on Brazilian soil, through your prayers and financial support of the work. We can’t do it without you.

  Effective immediately, please write checks to VCF, designating your donation to the Gils. Send to the following address:

  • Vineyard Christian Fellowship (VCF)
    508 9^th St.
    Hood River, OR  97031

  Your donation, whether one-time or ongoing, continues to be an essential part of our ministry, and we are deeply grateful for it!

  Please note that Life Christian Center will no longer be processing our donations. See our Donation page for more information or to give online. You may now choose one-time giving or recurring monthly donations (which saves the hassle of remembering).

  Again, we are very appreciative of your support, and hope these changes are not inconvenient for you!

  In Christ,
  the Gils

• 2010 Update

  Filed under Business, Family, Health, Ministry
  Jan 9

  Dear Friends and Partners,

  We realize this letter is a little lengthy, but our access to communications is sporadic, so please forgive us for putting a lot in one letter. Grab a cup of coffee and read on.

  First, Happy New Year! We are so grateful for the grace of God which has brought us through another year. We are confident that this year will be replete with NEW STUFF in God. Each time we say ‘Happy New Year’ the word ‘New’ just keeps ringing in our spirits. For sure, we are READY for some good new adventures!!

  Even with new calendars in hand, our old priorities still remain in full force. We are passionate for Brazil. Each time we witness the needless suffering, so often the end result of political corruption, our hearts yearn for divine justice. (So many millions injured across Brazil…) The social crises—domestic violence, addictions of all sorts, promiscuity, vigilante justice, skewed distribution of wealth, mafias, witchcraft, horribly inadequate health care—constantly motivate us to use every resource we possess in creative ways such that we make the biggest change possible. And naturally, it’s the Kingdom which is the vehicle that brings true change.

  • We work towards equipping and edifying the local church through teaching, worship, and discipleship.
  • We work towards making a relevant contribution to community health care and demonstrating Christ’s compassion in relevant ways through professional work in dietetics.
  • We work towards developing meaningful relationships with people at all levels through digital integration (helping make computers accessible to the youth and disadvantaged).

  But with continuous financial constraints, all the above efforts have suffered a large degree of frustration. We are not yet working at nearly the capacity we envision.

  Maybe it’s that I am too “Brazilian” or that Railson’s strategies reach too far outside the traditional lines, but we don’t see ourselves fitting in neatly with conventional, church agenda-based evangelism. Firstly, it’s important for our supporters to appreciate the fact that many of our potential converts, leaders, workers, etc. are actually our own colleagues and extended family. Since our family is essentially Brazilian, the expectation the community has of us is different that that of other missionaries. Put in other words, we don’t work at an outpost; we work at home, a situation very different from most mission set-ups, and one which, in our case, actually allows for greater collaboration. At the same time it requires that we keep everything we do, as well as every motive in our hearts, deeply accountable to them—the Brazilians, whether in English or in Portuguese, for a lifetime.

  Secondly, we have a difficult time seeing Brazilians as primarily poor and helpless. Rather, we see them as exceptionally willing, perseverant, generous and courageous, given access to knowledge and adequate resources. It always saddens us, for instance, when we see NGOs and other well-meaning social assistance organizations using images of desolation, misery, malnutrition and crises as their only tactic for luring donations. We never want it to be said that we earn our living based on donations spurred solely by Brazilians’ suffering. For us, that would be like exploiting the pain—the pain of our family. Here in Brazil, the poverty in which many live has been largely fostered by spiritual and social oppression, which only Christ can reverse. Once we learn how, through His poverty, we become rich, the whole picture changes. (2 Cor. 8:9)

  Thirdly, we (well, I, the American, at least) are constantly fascinated by the fact that the Brazilian Constitution DOES NOT FORESEE THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. This precedent is something which has historically provided an advantageous situation for the Catholic institution, but at the same time, it leaves the door wide open to evangelism, yes, in public, at all levels. And, let’s face it: this is a difficult paradigm for us North American missionaries to flow with. Just imagine the reality: prayer in Brazilian public school is politically and socially correct (it’s just a question of to whom one prays), Christ is inseparable from Christmas (it’s just a matter of keeping religion and materialism out of the holiday, as anywhere), and speaking openly about Christ on a crowded bus or at the market is rarely creates offense. So, obviously the job here is not finding space to evangelize without upsetting anyone, but rather turning dead religious norms and terminology into life-changing, soul-saving, miracle-making faith. Local churches are essential, but they no longer have to be isolated platforms for demonstrating the work of the Kingdom.

  We long to do so much more both inside and outside the walls of the church, but, as we have said, funding has been a major obstacle.

  The last year has been very challenging. When I say “very challenging” I mean in the sense of us working so severely under budget that it has affected things like our family health and our kids’ education. In a nutshell: it’s been yucky. During the past year, a few more long-term supporters had to discontinue support, and the exchange rate lost another 25%. Plus, we are once again facing the need to re-route our financial support, since LCC will no longer be able to provide this voluntary service for us.

  You might wonder about our income-generating work on the ground down here. Well, the nutrition clinic has been interesting socially and professionally, but not economically, at least not yet. And Railson’s part-time sales are very low. On the other hand, there has been a constant trickle of funds from the English classes I teach weekly.

  On the bright side, the constant lack of sufficient income has helped confirm to us that we need to think bigger in terms of fund-raising. After nine long months, our new tentmaking business is finally legalized (selah!). We have been blessed to have the voluntary assistance of businessmen in Brazil, China, and the US to help us get the framework set up for importation. Although the venture may sound very lofty and ambitious, we are just hoping to be able to get the gears turning before we all go hungry!

  Considering that Brazil’s economy is one of the top four growing economies in the world today, the future of the business appears to be bright (or at least that’s what friends in the field are telling us, and what we believe in the Lord). The business is registered for importing mainly computer and communications equipment, providing technical assistance, and possibly contracting satellite links for internet. It is not, however up and running yet for lack of capital.

  Once operating, we will not have to depend as heavily on the shifty dollar for missions support, and we will finally be able to open up the Fundação Jubileu, for attracting donations Brazil-side. We hope these two things will happen by the end of 2010.

  But the enemy is really trying to snuff us out before we begin. We have lost considerable support too early and the bills are piling up. The way we depend on donations, it’s always a guess as to how much money will come in during the month. This makes planning family life and ministry very frustrating, as you might imagine. It would be a dream to have the certainty of a minimum amount of monthly income throughout the year, or at least until the business is able to provide the return we expect.

  If you can pick up where others have had to leave off, at any amount, we would deeply appreciate it. See our donation page for several options.

  For those of you with the vision to invest, or know of someone who has, we invite you to consider joining with us to get the business off the ground, and, naturally, share in the return. A start-up of a combined $15,000 to $20,000 would do the trick.

  And still others may feel compelled to send a useful item:

  • Office supplies
  • Digital camera (ours broke and we really miss it!)
  • Clothes and shoes
  • Multi-vitamins and pre-natal vitamins (in bottles of around #60-100)
  • Calcium tablets (in small bottles as well)
  • Funds for revalidation of my OSU diploma (around $2000 –this makes the diploma valid in Brazil and allows me to be registered as a dietitian)
  • Sponsorship for my American Dietetic Association membership ($300 per year)

  Please get in touch with us via e-mail for more information and shipping tips in order to minimize the risk of exorbitant customs fees on our side.

  Thank you for making what matters to us, matter to you. And thank you for the liberty of making our needs known to you. Together, we are making a difference in our generation.

  All our love,

  Heidi