Leite Family Ministry

Many of you have inquired about the details of the Leite Family Ministry. To give you a better idea, here is an overview of the plan we have. Having said that, keep us in prayer as we try to follow the details of the L-rd's leading and not our own.

Our ministry will basically be two-fold:
1. To support missionaries and their ministries through evangelism and discipleship
2. To support missionaries and their families through compassionate relationships

Our idea is to go, either just as a family or preparing mission teams, to places where we already have contacts who need support. This can include any evangelical ministry, country and people group. We want to spend time with them in their daily ministry activities and support those who are being evangelized and/or discipled. We also want to provide special activities or events where we can share as a family or as a team through our gifts and talents. Having had quite a bit of experience with mission teams, we feel that many times, although their efforts are much needed and appreciated, they are somewhat sporadic and inconsistent with the true focus of the missionaries' ministry. In the event of taking mission teams, we would like to do a more comprehensive training for these teams prior to traveling so that they will have a fuller spiritual experience through culture and language in missions. In these instances, we will use our resources here in the US (people who are from those specific areas and cultures) to meet with the team members and provide them with cultural and liguistic tips to enhance their expereience.

On the second hand, we feel that many times, missionaries do most of the ministering and are rarely ministered to. We want to take some time with these families to sit, chat, share and pray together. We want them to know they are loved and appreciated and that they have someone, even for a week or two, who is committed to them and to their family. We would like to spend time with their children as well as we compile some research about their unique circumstances at such formative times in their lives. We wouild like to be able to attend mission meetings, where missionaries get together, where we can share some music and encouragement with them. Eventually, we would like to use our research of missionary families on the field to minister to families state-side who are contemplating going into overseas missions.

Our first project is called PROJECT AMO (Amazon Muiscal Outreach) - set for the summer of 2008.

In Portuguese, AMO means "I love." We are presently preparing a musical team to go to the Amazon region of Brazil (where Rachel's parents now serve) to present a co-labored musical with the Brazilian musicians in the city of Santarem as well as some of the poorer river villages. This team is preparing separate skits and training sessions for the people in that area. At this point, we have started our fund-raising for Project AMO. We need to raise close to $50,000 for the entire team and expenses for these productions in Brazil. Please pray about how you, your family, your friends and/or church/congregation would be led to give to this project. For more details on this particular project, please email Rachel at: projamo@yahoo.com

We have other projects (where we have contacts) in the making including, but not limited to: Kenya, Nigeria, China, Italy, Ukraine, Germany, Israel, Costa Rica and Taiwan. Our family has also begun fund-raising for the Leite Family Ministry. If you, your family, friends or church/congregation feel led to particiapte in our lives in any way - be it through prayer, financial support or participating directly in a missions project, please contact Al or Rachel at: leitefam@yahoo.com

Thank you for your interest in our lives. Please keep us uplifted in prayer as we seek to honor the L-rd, His name and His will throughout the world.

~the Leites~