Bon Dia

Bon dia from Terezinha in the Cubari area! 

 

The amazing Amazon team has witnessed our Awesome God in action.
Where to start telling you about the trip so far - alligator or boat donkey or lots coming to Christ or sewing machines?? Our first task was to sort through all the donations, put away the various medicines and vitamins.

We have visited three villages. 

The first was on the Rio Mamaru beyond Parintins.  Early morning, a fisherman cast his net on the still water and it was a visible example of God casting His net on the Brazilian people. Our fun highlight was a donkey arriving in a dugout.  The owner said the donkey balanced the boat! We held medical and dental clinics, eye testing, VBS, Mens and Womens ministry and the hair/nail ministry. A beautiful 90 year women had a minor complaint of pain in joints - she looked great.  We saw a very tiny baby - less than 5 pounds. We were all busy morning to night. In Parintins, we picked up Abimael, the mission pastor from the First Baptist Church of Parintins. He has been turning the fields and planting seeds of faith in this area for Christ. We were the watering can.

The second two villages were upriver from Parintins on a tributary that Bent Tree has adopted but not yet visited. First village was Pal Hal in Caburi. The village president came to medical and asked us to visit his 99 yr old mom.  All ministries set up and slaved in God's vineyard.  Men's ministry had a great turn out and many were saved.  This is so excellent because if you save the dad, he will become spiritual head of the house. Women's ministry had many women come and they were very receptive to the message. Hair ministry cut many heads of hair and gave the little girls hair adornments. 

The last village was Terezinha.  The sunrise that morning was so incredible.  As a boat left to fish, the ripples spread across the calm water - my prayer was that our visit would spread ripples of belief across the village. These villages were well established, people healthy, and a joy to visit.
Two hand operated Singer sewing machines were brought down. The first receipent was a pastor wife (sews a lot by hand) and her daughter.  They will teach others how to use.  The second will be given to another village.
We went alligator hunting on two different nights.  The first night, we got a small gator less than two feet (released).  The second night, a 10 foot one was caught and brought up to boat but not in as too big. The highlight of these boat trips was the stars in the clear sky.  We saw the Southern Cross and Big Dipper, Milky Way, and many, many more.
Our boat team has been such a great support in translating, feeding us (way too well), doing our laundry, and just keeping us safe on the river.  We thank them and pray for their continued presence in the ministry.   
Continue to pray for us as we finish our visit Terezinha and head back to Manaus. 
All the team members will have great experinces and stories to relate when we arrive home in Dallas area, California, and Ohio.

 

In the beginning

Boa Noite (good evening).

 

We all know to be flexible when heading to Brasil, and this trip has been a real testimony as to why.  God delayed our flight in Dallas which made us miss our connection in Atlanta.  We spent a night and half a day exploring Atlanta and growing together as a team. 

 

We arrived in Manaus around midnight on Friday.  The crew and translators were waiting for us in the airport with a warm welcome.  We all hardly had time to pick out our hammocks before passing out in them.

 

The experience moved from surreal to intimate when we woke up to a beautiful sunrise on the Amazon shoreline.  We had been 'boating' all night towards Parintins.  We will need to travel another 12 hours to Parintins, which gives us just enough time to organize our supplies which had been divided among our luggage.   Pills were counted, assorted, and bagged.  VBS supplies were gathered and prepared.  Fish hooks, hygenics, clothing, toys, and candy were all on the list.

 

We stopped in Parintins long enough to pick up abimael, who is one of the pastors and guides for this region.  We then had to travel another 6 hours down the Mamuru River to Mocambo.  We had another delay the following morning because of an intense fog.  Although beautiful, it was too thick to navigate for several hours.

 

Hearing that we were going to Mocambo brought joy to many of the "veterans" on this trip.  Myself and several others had visited this village in the past and had already made many relationships with people they cannot wait to see again.  This joy was soon experienced by everyone as we begin describing some of the previous experiences and people at this amazing village.

 

One thing we know for sure on this trip is that we know nothing for sure.  Our plans have changed so many times already, and we have a feeling it will continue to do so.  God has an amazing plan for us the next week and we cannot wait to see what He will do.

 

Because the Amazon is flooded at the moment, many families have been driven from their flooded homes.  The church has started a small village right outside of Mocambo where 40 families will live.  We spent our entire day serving these families and many of the other families of the surrounding villages.  VBS and Medical and Pharmacy were all crammed into the only building that has a roof at the moment.  This village is so new that the walls of this building were not even built.  (this kept us cool!). 

 

Dental setup shop in the boats surgical (air conditioned) room.  Brandon said "This was the hardest I have ever worked in the Amazon without even stepping off the boat".

 

It is starting to rain now, so I have to stop, but we will write another as soon as possible.

 

We love you all, and thanks for keeping up with our trip!!  Enjoy the pictures!

 

-Brian Reinhart

(We will try to rotate "bloggers" every day).

 

Flooding.  40 new families, bela Vista..

Hello From Brasil

Hello to all of our awesome friends and family!  We are able to get a GPS signal at various spots will try to keep you all updated with pictures and stories.

 

Currently, we are on the Mamuru Riber at a village called Mocambo. 

 

We will have stories and pictures to follow. 

 

Love,

Amor e Esparanca.