Amazon Outreach PCA Mission Trip - Final Update

We are traveling back to Manaus, enjoying a very relaxing day!  As we travel down the river we are throwing soccer balls and balloons filled with candy and a Bible verse (thanks to the 3rd graders) to people along the river.  This week has been incredible.  We have grown closer as a team and as a body of believers.  One of my favorite experiences this week was going to the church service in El Shadai.  God's pressence was immenent as we worshiped.  At one point in the service, we sang "Come, now is the Time to Worship" and the Americans were singing in English while the Brazillians were singing in Portuguese.  It gave us a tiny taste of what Heaven would be like. 

 

As Mr. Ellis mentioned in yesterday's blog, the things we were able to do in the villages, by God's grace, were much like scenes from the Bible.  VBS and love were wonderful methods of communication for the children.  The men's ministry was more successful that we could have imagined thanks to God's greatness.  Dentistry, healthcare and eyeglass fitting was also great.  One woman that Mr. Green fit for glasses said that all she wanted was to be able to read her Bible and she couldn't because of her poor sight.  Needless to say, she was so excited when she got her glasses.  The iShare was a great tool as well.  Many people were open to watching the presentation of the gospel.  

 

We were sad to say goodbye to the village people, but our mission field is not only foreign countries or remote villages.  We cannot wait to see all of you.  Thank you for all your prayers, continue to pray for a safe trip home! 

 

Blessings - Blair (Senior Student at Prestonwood Christian Academy}

Amazon Outreach PCA Update

We are on our way back to Manaus.  We will first stop in Parintins to fuel up and Lord willing will be back to Manaus by late Friday night or early Saturday morning.  This team has worked from dawn until night every day.  The last two days in the villages were right out of the Bible!  We had the blessing of working primarily in Varrevento and also El Shaddai.  The water well in El Shaddai was completed and we had a phenomenal praise and worship service with the church there last night.  Rick Briscoe, Landen and Heather sang Revelation Song A Capella + Rick sang How Great Thou Art.  The people in the village were Blown Away by that level of talent.

 

Yesterdays ministry included VBS, giving out eyeglasses, powerful ministry to men (best I have EVER seen - as many came to Christ - this is rare in a village for the men to have the courage to profess faith in Christ), dentistry, medical statuion, manicures, completing the water well...  One of the other special things that happened was that there was a woman that was extremely ill and needed to be transported to Parintins for us to care for her.  She was in a very difficult place to reach - up on a hill so Brandon Briscoe, Mike and Michael Shell had to hand carry her on a stretcher down a pretty treacherous hill.  It was a scene from Scripture.

 

We had a special time of prayer for Cody Novak today as he has his chemotherapy treatments.  We have a special video greeting from the kids in the village for Cody!!!

 

We have thousands of pictures and it hard to capture all of them for you over satellite so I am sending one of our trip leader Landen Ellis with a girl in a village today.

 

God has been very faithful.  We are so thankful for each and every prayer.

 

Christ Is Life!  Johnson Ellis

 

Visit www.amazonoutreach.com to learn more about this powerful ministry of Christ and to see how you can be involved!

Amazon Outreach PCA trip Update

Hi everyone!  Today was a great day filled with VBS.  This time, we got to play with the kids after doing the VBS session.  This was my favorite part of the day.  The children are so precious and have the sweetest spirits.  They love when Americans play with them and hug them.  We played soccer, tag, blew bubble and threw frisbees.  I got to play with two little girls, Natalia and Gabriella, and they were so sweet.  The girls took joy in such simple things as crayons, hugs and bubbles.  Today I (and the rest of the team) were able to fully grasp the reason Jesus calls us to have a childlike faith, full of joy, purity and love.  Mr. Briscoe had a unike opportunity tonight.  He was able to talk to the praise team and choir of Pastor Elmer's church and share his heart about worship.  Each day I am falling more in love with Brazil, particularly the children and I believe I can speak for the whole team and say that we are having one of the best experiences of our lives.  God's creation is incredible; the scenery, they people, and the relationships he is allowing us to develop with each other as well as with the Brazilian people.  Our translators are such a special gift!  They all have different personalities and strive to serve us.  It is awesome to get to know them better as the trip goes on.  They have such a heart for God's ministry and their joy is contagious.  Please pray for safe travel to the village and for energy and strength as we continue our mission.  We miss each and every one of you!

Blair    

 

 

Please go to   www.amazonoutreach.com   to read more about this exciting ministry and how you can get involved!!

Good News from the Amazon!

One of the reasons that I love coming to the Amazon is that we have no access to television, internet and newspapers and all the bad news that we have been inundated with in the US for the past year.  I attached a picture of the PCA students that are working their hearts out on this trip!  I have been amazed at how the students have fully stepped up to the leadership plate and they are the ones taking charge of getting the task done.  This picture is in an auditorium where our students ministered to 500 high school students in Parintins yesterday.  They led in some powerful worship and gave their testimonies.  Thank you so much for you gifts to make it possible for this team to go.  We leave this evening for the villages where we will spend the next few days in Varevento Village (which means Whirlwind in English).  Rick Briscoe spent some time this evening pouring himself into training and encouraring the key music leadership team here at the First Baptist Church of Parintins.

 

The Good news is that God is rocking through these students here in Brazil as they boldly proclaim their passion for Christ!!!  Keep us in your prayers!

 

Christ Is Life!  Johnson Ellis

Amazon Outreach - PCA Update

Dear family and friends,

Today was our first day of ministry.  In the morning after a yummy breakfast, we went to a school and did VBS with the young kids.  They were precious!  Some of our students did a skit about the lame man who was healed, we sang songs (some in English and some in Portugese), and the kids made frisbees. The kids were so sweet, their smiles made me so happy.  When I got to play with them, even though there was a language barrier, we could understand each other because love is a universal language.  We were all able to understand smiles and hugs.  After VBS we came back and ate lunch and rested.  Then we got to go back to the school and do worship with the middle and high schoolers.  EJ, Heather, and Sheridan helped lead worship and Michael Shell and I gave a testimony.  It was awesome to get to hang out with the high schoolers because although they live in a different country, they are just like us.  Their worship and overall spirit impacted me.  They were so excited to sing about God, and when I looked out at the crowd, their worship and excitement blessed me.  One of the most powerful things we did today was going to the stadium where the satanic festival is held each year.  We spread out around the stadium and prayed and after we finished praying, there was a rainbow.  It was an incredible symbol of God's faithfulness.  Just as God gave Noah the rainbow as a promise, it was wonderful to see it and be reminded of God's presence.  The team sang some worship songs like God of this City, Revelation Song and How Great Is Our God in the center of the stadium.  It was a moment I will never forget.  The power of God and the love His people were singing about was so evident.  After dinner, we got to get ice cream...it was delicious.  Today was truly a blessing and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the week holds, so far this is one of my favorite experiences. Please keep praying for us to show God's love to the people of Brazil. Specifically pray on Tuesday for our VBS ministry at Samaritans Village in Parintins! We will be working with around 500 kids and need prayers for physical stength and endurance!  I'll keep you updated!  We miss all of you!

Blair

 

[Blair is a Senior at Prestonwood Christian Academy.  This is her first mission trip to Brazil]

Amazon Outreach email from the Amazon - Johnson Ellis

We are making our way down the Amazon to Parintins.  As I look out on the water I see the Linda Esperanca (Beautiful Hope) which is the other Amazon Outreach boat that is carrying a separate mission team from SMU and Watermark Church.  It was a great experience to fly down with their group.  So far everyone from both of our groups are doing well by God's Grace.  Chris Malinowski seems to be feeling better!  As I understand it from Pastor Elmer - the Aguas De Amor (Waters of Love) - the water well drilling boat - is in front of us up the river a bit.  Our prayer is to drill a water well in the village of Abrao (Abraham).  Please pray for this because we have been facing challenges in even having the possibility of drilling - but God knows what is best!  Pure water from a well allows the precious people in the villages to not get sick.

 

Only a God like ours could provide for 3 missions boats to be humming up the Amazon to do His work!!  It continues to show me the Love in His Heart for these people.  It takes so much for us to get to them but I have never regreted any efforts to do so over the past 19 years.  This trip has a special place in my heart because my 18 year old daughter Landen is the leader.  When I led my first trip to the Amazon in 1991 - she was just a one year old.  There is no greater joy in this life than to see your children grow up to love this same Wonderful Savior and to see them serve Him with Passion.

 

This is our first official time to send an email from our brand new satellite systems that Len Benckenstein so graciously has donated to Amazon Outreach.  Our hearts desire is to keep those of you who are back home praying and those of you who sacrifically donated so that we might be here - more  aware of what God is doing each day on the river.  It has been somewhat "comical" that I carried the satellite system down here on the plane with me.  In order to do that I was only able to bring just a handful of personal belongings.  I packed my clothes in a checked bag.  Wouldn't you know that out of 44 people and about 75 bags - mine was the only bag that did not make it down here!!!!  If you see pictures of me from this trip I probably will be wearing the same thing every day!!!  I know God is teaching me something from even this lost bag.  Do I really NEED all the things that seem to make me "comfortable" in this life?  As we pass by some of the thousands of villages down here I see people who only have one pair of clothes period - at best.  They frequently seem much more happy and content than me.  I am reminded today with as I look at my handful of personal belongings that I have - that Jesus carried out His ministry without all the STUFF that seems to weigh us down.  It is somewwhat fun and freeing to not have a bunch of things to keep up with...  Maybe I should put that more into practice in my every day life...  Simplicity.

 

Pray for us that we would bring Hope with there is no Hope.  Christ is the answer to all the world's needs and cares.  We simply want to make His Name more famous this week. 

 

With much love from ALL the group!    Christ Is Life!!!  Johnson Ellis

Amazon Outreach Blog Test Email

Good morning. This is Johnson. This is a test of the blog we will do from the Amazon. Sign up anyone you want to have an update from our mission!

Christ Is Life!