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.