"Trying to follow and leave traces of Jesus"
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News 2025
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Last traces, August 2025
14.08.
TRIP TO CURITIBA
and visit to the conference in Argentina.
In recent times, in addition to our activities currently more focused in Santa Terezinha de Itaipu, we took a trip to the city of Curitiba and its metropolitan areas.
Curitiba and its metropolitan region are a reference point, both for Brazil as a whole and for the Churches of God nationally, due to their history, churches, social work, and the theological seminary "A Boa Terra." Visiting this region had been on our agenda for several years. I (Sergio) participated in a pastors' gathering there in 2019, but Melodie hadn't yet had the opportunity. Now that we're a bit closer to the region than before, we were able to make it happen—and it was 100% positive for us.
We were able to visit all the churches there, as well as the social centers and the seminary where we stayed during those days.
Special thanks to Pastor Ivo and Dóris for hosting us at the seminary and for all the care they showed us.
The churches in the region include: Piraquara, Vila Fanny, Uberaba, Xaxim, Downtown Curitiba, São José dos Pinhais, Sítio Cercado, Pinhais, Campo Comprido, Núcleo Leiteiro da Lapa (near the city of Lapa), and Pontal do Paraná (the newest church in the region, located on the beaches of Paraná's coastline).
There are excellent social projects by "Mão Cooperadora" in: Piraquara, Uberaba, and Lindóia.
We're grateful to the pastors and leaders who took time during those days to welcome us and share a bit of the history and current reality of each place: Roni, Manoel, Julio, Antônio, Willy, Jonas, Marco Aurélio, Diogo, Marcos, Jurandir, Rogério, Ronaldo and Timoteo. Some were joined by their wives and families, others were alone because their spouses were traveling, but all received us with great warmth and dedication.
There were also some pastors who were on vacation, so we couldn't meet or get to know them better, but even from afar, through messages, they showed great willingness in helping with the logistics and organization of our time there. So, to the entire leadership team in the region—thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Special thanks to Pastor Clóvis, who acted as our guide in the city of Curitiba : )
We also had a wonderful time of fellowship and exchange of thoughts and ideas with Pastors Fábio and Marli, both in general and regarding the missions departments of Brazil and CIID.
We had the privilege of visiting and spending a few hours with two of the pioneering pastors of the region, Nelson Junges and Adelheid, where we got to know their story more closely and deepen our understanding of the beginnings of the various ministries in Curitiba and its metropolitan areas. In addition to sharing experiences from Germany— Pastor Nelson also studied at the Fritzlar seminary in Germany, and his wife, Pastor Adelheid, was born there.
It was a truly enriching experience to learn more about the life and ministry of these two pioneers in the region!
With everyone, it was a wonderful time of fellowship and good food : )
Also of prayer and intercession for one another!
In addition to the visits and meetings, we were able to participate in a few worship services and activities in Piraquara, Lapa, Pinhais, and Sítio Cercado. We're grateful for each of those experiences!
Special thanks to Pastor Roni and Pastor Diogo, who also invited us to preach in the services at Piraquara and Pinhais, respectively.
After 12 days and some 2,000 km traveled for all the visits, we arrived home marked by a unique missionary experience.
We pray that the Lord continues to guide and accompany each of the ministries in this reference region of the Churches of God in Brazil, each one in particular with their struggles and victories. May God bless and be with you always!
21 FOTOS
Later, as a family, we were also able to visit some of Curitiba's tourist attractions, such as the city's historic center, the Oscar Niemeyer museum/art gallery, the panoramic tower, the zoo, the botanical garden, and a couple of bookstores.
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Visit to the conference in Argentina
After returning from our trip to Curitiba, we arrived home and shortly afterward set out for the annual conference of the Church of God congregations in Argentina, which this year took place in the city of Montecarlo, in the province of Misiones. It was a conference we hadn't been able to attend for many years, and now we finally had the opportunity to be there. We are very grateful to God for this blessing!
The theme of the conference was "Families with Influence," and the main speakers were Pastor Norberto Kurrle and his wife Nancy from neighboring Paraguay. Blessed messages, many moments of reflection, testimonies, prayer, and fellowship—including reunions with relatives and many brothers and sisters from the various congregations across Argentina.
It was a truly enriching experience for us as a family!
We were also invited to participate in the pastors' meeting held one day before the conference. There, we learned about current projects of the pastoral team and gained a deeper understanding of their challenges and hopes for the future.
We pray that our Lord Jesus will guide and bless each of these projects and His entire work in our beloved country of Argentina!
As always, thank you so much to each of you for your support and prayers. We need it and appreciate it!
With affection, united in Christ Jesus, The Patzer Family!
Missionaries of the Kontaktmission of Germany.
Members of the Church of God from Argentina, Germany and Brazil.
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Last traces, june 2025
12.06.
In these past months, there have been no major updates in our mission, and everything has mostly gone according to plan. These months have indeed been quite exhausting, but at the same time, we are very grateful for everything that has happened. We have divided the update into three sections:
Church of God in Santa Terezinha de Itaipu
As we mentioned in our previous updates, this is the church where we will be providing more intensive support with our mission during this time in the region, assisting them with some of the necessary pastoral services. In the past months, we have had several different types of meetings: services, house gatherings, leadership meetings, cleaning and organization sessions, youth and adolescent meetings, children's activities, etc.
We pray that the Lord continues to guide and bless this beloved church that has welcomed us with such love and care and is also contributing to our mission. We are deeply grateful for all the brothers and sisters in the Church of God in Santa Terezinha de Itaipu.
CIID Missions Department
Additionally, as we stated in our previous updates, we continue working with the team of the Church of God Missions Department at the South American level, supporting some missionary initiatives in the region and structuring the policies and guidelines of this department, which is currently in development.
We ask for prayers so that the Lord grants wisdom from above to the entire group, enabling us to carry out this work in the best possible way for the churches of God in South America.
PARAGUAY
In the past months, we were able to visit the Church of God in Bella Vista, Paraguay, where, apart from participating in a service and other church activities during those days, we also managed to visit the pioneering missionaries of the Church of God in this country, Tabita and Martin Kurrle, with whom we had a blessed exchange of thoughts on missions. According to Martin and Tabita, three pillars of their ministry and missions in general are: "Divine calling, faith, and perseverance."
Similarly, we had a meaningful time of fellowship and conversations with the current pastors of that church, Mariel and Omar Borke.
We also reconnected with Nila, who was Melodie's companion at the Bible institute in Germany, and to this day, they share a beautiful friendship. With her and her husband Ricardo, we had blessed moments, as well as with Enrique and Priscila, who generously hosted us throughout our stay in Bella Vista, Paraguay. We are truly grateful to God for allowing us to have this time of exchange with all of them.
If the Lord permits, this year and next, we plan to make a couple more visits to other regions of Paraguay.
We pray that the Lord continues to accompany and bless all the churches of God in this dear South American country.
United in Christ Jesus, The Patzer Family!
Missionaries of the Kontaktmission of Germany.
Members of the Church of God from Argentina, Germany and Brazil.
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Last traces, april 2025
15.04.
As we had conveyed in our latest reports, we have finalized the commitments agreed upon with the Northeast region of Brazil and, as planned, at the end of January this year, we moved to the triple-border region between Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina.
From the outset, we want to thank you for all the support and prayers we have received throughout this process.
We are already adapting to our new home, city, and activities. In this regard, we are grateful that our Emily is adjusting very quickly to her new school and, thanks to God, she is doing very well. We ask for prayers so that the process continues favorably. It is worth mentioning that Emily loves studying. :)
On the other hand, we summarize our activities from the past few months in four sections:
Church of God in Santa Terezinha de Itaipu
As we had agreed, the Church of God in Santa Terezinha de Itaipu is the church that welcomed us, and they did so with great warmth and care. We are very grateful for this and for all the brothers and sisters in this place!
This is the place where we will be providing more intensive support with our mission during this time.
The church also made available a part of the temple, which is under construction, as a studio for our missionary art projects.
Over the past two and a half months, we have already had blessed times of worship and fellowship with the brothers and sisters here, assisting with organization, visits, sermons, teaching, leadership, and music with various groups in the church.
Church of God in Marechal Cândido Rondon
During this time, we also participated in some summer gatherings at the Church of God in Rondon, the mother church of the one in Santa Terezinha. It is also one of the largest Churches of God in Brazil and the most influential internationally.
Currently, this church is led by Pastors Isai Hort, along with Pastors Lucas and Mônica Arnt. Our brothers and sisters from the Churches of God in Germany may remember them, as they spent several years studying and ministering there.
CIID Missions Department
We continue working with the Missions Department team of the Church of God at the South American level, supporting some missionary efforts in the region and structuring the department's guidelines and regulations currently under development.
Argentina
We were also able to take a short trip to our home country, Argentina, where Melodie could celebrate her birthday with family and where we were able to meet and talk with brothers and sisters from the cities of Dos de Mayo, San Vicente, Jardín América, and Puerto Iguazú.
The president of the Church of God in Argentina, Yoni Taron, from Jardín América, specifically requested prayers for the reform of statutes and regulations at the national level, which the church is currently undergoing.
Without further ado, as always, we sincerely thank you for your prayers and support for our mission.
With affection, united in Christ Jesus, The Patzer Family!
Missionaries of the Kontaktmission of Germany.
Members of the Church of God from Argentina, Germany and Brazil.
