Days 4 & 5!

Friends & Family, below are highlights from Days 4 & 5.

 

Tuesday, Day 4.

 

Another awesome day on the Amazon! We were able to spend the whole day with another village. It has been an awesome experience watching so many ministries at work. God specifically pulled this team together and gave each person a gift and purpose for this trip. During our morning meeting, some people shared some of the things that stood out to them. I will try to relay as many highlights to you as possible.

 

First, during the morning meeting, the Lord allowed some deep conversation to come about.  Bekah shared some of her heart. It was neat to see how the Lord put certain things on her heart to share with us because she was able give her testimony to the village in an evening service. At the bottom of this blog, you will see Words for _______ (different missionaries on the trip). Bekah will explain her experience in more detail.

 

Johnny and I worked with photos again. For the second day, I was stunned at how much joy one photo brought these people. The thing that stuck out to me the most was an elderly man. We gave him a photograph of himself and when we handed it to him, we watched him walk off... staring deeply at the photo of himself... unbothered by anything else. That was a touching moment.

 

One of the locals touched Brent's heart. This man, Francisco, lives in the village that we visted the day before. He (and a friend of his) knew what our next village visit would be, so they traveled about 30 minutes up the river  just to see the team again. During men's time, Francisco shared his testimony. Once he became a believer in Jesus Christ, his life changed dramatically. Francisco went from living a life of partying and drinking to being a spiritual leader of the tribe. On a side note, Francisco is a farmer and fisherman. To share his love with some of the guys on our trip, he took them out fishing to his "secret" fishing spot (this is a HUGE deal and a major sign of respect). While there, he showed the guys how he catches his fish- he uses a sphere to catch fish that range from 3-8 feet and nets to catch the smaller fish. Being the photographer, my role leads me to be quite observant. I noticed that on both days, Francisco and his friend looked up to our guys so much. He would follow them around with a huge smile on his face. It was touching to see how friends were made. **This part is being added in** We are currently in our nightly meeting and Francisco and his friend just brought their little boat to ours... we are approximately 60 minutes from their village. Earlier in the day they promised some of the guys that they were going to find pineapples today and bring them to us... THEY DID! What an impact our men's ministry made on these two men to use their precious resources on Americans... Americans that have enough fuel and food on their boat. Speechless.

 

Kandace was able to meet a man named Manuel. Manuel is 98 years old and the oldest man in his village. He suffers from Cataracs. On November 29, he will be 99 years years old. Kandace experienced a touching moment with Manuel when she touched his face and noticed that he had no wrinkles... amazing. Manuel shared that he does know Jesus and will be baptized with water next month. Kandace assured him that he has already been baptized with the Holy Spirit. A quote from Manuel- "When I preach the gospel, I feel better". Amazing!

 

Words from Rebecca: I was praying the night before last for God to show me His love so I could love on the people of the Amazon. I met a lady in the eyeglass ministry who has just accepted Christ 2 months ago. Her husband has malaria yet she had a permanent smile on her face. We met up again at the end of the church service and I noticed she was smiling at me again. As I hugged her goodbye she didn't want to let go. I then thought that's how God is. He just wants to  be with us all the time giving us hugs nonstop and not wanting to leave the embrace. It's so fitting that we went over Chapter 3 of Crazy Love because it tackled what God's love really looks like. Chan said it was always hard for him to understand since he didn't have a dad who was extra lovable. He says in the book that loving God is not just having hours and hours of devotions. He describes the Love of God in terms of loving his own children. He says his whole relationship with God took a major turn when he became a father himself. He said his daughter would greet him by running out to the driveway and jumping into his arms before he could get out of the car. I don't have my own kids yet but that lady not wanting to let go of me and her desire to just be with me was amazing. One of the verses I had prayed over this woman earlier was Zepheniah 3:17 which shows God's great love for us. It says, "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
I love this image of God being so delighted in us that he sings over us and that he constantly says, Child of God, everything will be okay. Let me love you. Let me hold your hand. Let me hug you. Let me wipe away your tears and fears. We are so wanted  by God. I loved being wanted by this lady. How much more does God want to give us everhything and be our all in all?  Rebecca Schleifer

 

Words from Leslie: After dinner last night we went on a crocodile hunt. I jumped on the first six person boat out in the pitch dark. Six Americans and two Brazilian people. Of course, we cannot communicate but fully trust our guides. As I looked up in the sky I was amazed by the brightness of the stars. I whispered under my breathe what an amazing thing God created. We pulled up to a village with a bowl of food to give to the village. In return, we received a "crocodile hunter" to join our group. As we ventured out into the dark and somewhat scary waters of the Amazon River we stumbled across our first crocodile.They were unable to capture the first one however, it didn't take long to find another one close by.This one was easy to catch using a noose on a pole. Later, we determine the crocodile was a female. She was approximately two feet long. They duck taped her mouth and passed her around the boat for pictures. The crocodile started jerking when Darby got a hold of her. As I was holding the crocodile for a picture it peed on my leg. I should have known this would happen since most animals pee when they are scared but I was so caught up in the moment that I could only laugh out loud with the rest of the group. After the pictures we traveled back to the boat to show off the crocodile to the rest of the group.

 

The crocodile is just one of the many animals I have seen on the trip so far. Some others include: pigs, dogs, monkey's, cats, and pink dolphins. The sunsets and sunrises are breathe taking. I am totally surrounded by God's creations and loving every minute of it. There is nothing greater then focusing all your time and attention to God every day with no distractions. I am realizing the importance of fellowship and community more and more each day. I don't miss my cell phone, watch or calendar. Praise God for his peace and blessings he is bestowing upon me during my time on the Amazon River. We left the United States as brothers and sisters in Christ but I am certain we will return a family united together for one cause. Disciples to all nations.............

 

Words from Rebekah:  After sharing a small portion of my testimony on the boat during morning devotions, Phyllis asked me to share it with the ladies during our ladies ministry time.  After Olivia showed them all how to make soap, we all sat in a circle and I told them the story of my life in America (through a translator, of course).  I told them how I was raised in a Christian home and accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was a little girl, but that through some trials in my life, I got mad at God and didn't want to live for Him anymore.  I told them of my struggles with alcohol and drugs, and how someone was kind enough to tell me about a church in Tampa with Celebrate Recovery.  I explained that the program helped people with all kinds of bad things in their life.  I told them that everyone there was so loving because they had Jesus in their heart.  I shared my favorite Bible verses at the end (Isaiah 1:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Jeremiah 29:11).  Alcohol is a huge problem in these villages.  The women said they could really identify with my struggles.  They were so thankful that I shared my story with them.  It really impacted them.  Later that night, we had an impromptu church service, and Andrew asked me to share my testimony with the whole village.  I was a little nervous about talking in front of the women AND men, but God was there.  The whole village was attentive.  They were listening.  I wanted them to know that whether you live in Brazil or America, we all have similar problems, but God is there to take them from us.  Talking with the American guys later that night, they told me that the men could also really identify with the struggles of alcohol.  Many of the villagers that are Christians talked about after receiving Christ, they no longer wanted to drink or go to the festivals. 

 

Words from Lance: Hi Mom & Dad! Lance was able to assist in the dental ministry yesterday. He assisted Eli in the pulling of teeth. When I asked Lance what the biggest difference was from the patients here in Amazon versus the patients in his fathers' practice... he said that it was how differently they reacted emotionally. In the U.S., the loss of teeth has so many cultural implications. We, as Americans, are judged for that. In the Amazon, the loss of teeth means the loss of pain... so it is not a bad thing. Interesting observation on Lance's part!

 

Wednesday, Day 5.

 

The village we visited today was a bit smaller than the villages we visited earlier this week. In the morning, a majority of the village was gone at a tribal meeting of the villages and others were on their monthly boat run to get groceries/goods to survive on... (It was their payday).

 

The men started off the day with a time of sharing the word (through Izzy) and prayer. Our team of guys are able to relate to the men here on so many levels. As Francisco said, the more real you allow yourself to get, the more you realize how simliar you are.

 

We only had a few women this morning... 3 to be exact. We decided to do a women's bible study. One of the things that the Lord put on my heart before this trip was the idea some people may not have complete assurance of their salvation. I asked the question "on a scale of 1-100, how sure are you that you are going to heaven"? None of the women said 100 percent, so we used a tool that I had from my time with Campus Crusade for Christ- the knowing God personally booklet. There are verses in that booklet that allow us to be certain of our faith. The word says that we can "KNOW" we have eternal life. I pray that these women remember that verse and trust that their eternity is already sealed.

 

VBS is a ministry that allows people's hearts to feel such joy. Even though we, as Americans, cannot communicate with words... a smile says so much. As Harry said, seeing the joy on these kids faces is worth it all. The little things make these kids happy... like crayons and candy. Which is why we thank all those who donated to these kids... your supplies go further than you know!

 

Please continue to pray for our team! Joy is brought to the team knowing that their loved one's are following their trip and praying for them :)

Day 3

Family & Friends:

 

What an amazing trip so far. Day 3, which was also our first full day in the villages, was a huge success. We spent the majority of the day in a village that consists of 30+ families. Later in the afternoon we visited a village that was up the river a bit. That village consisted of less than 10 families. There were a number of things that we focused on: men's ministry, women's ministry, VBS (vacation bible school for the children), dental, eye wear, medical and evangelism. Typically, Amazon Outreach pairs two groups together to make those ministries function. Praise the Lord for allowing us to still implement each of those ministries with only one team and a few extras.

 

During our nightly meeting, we shared with the group the things that stood out to us. I will try to relay as many things as possible to you.

 

First, VBS had a huge turn out! The joy on these kids faces was unbelievable. When we get back to the U.S., we will have a link for friends and family to see all the photos. You will see how much joy the children got out of games, singing, and crafts!

 

Our women's ministry was a hit! There were so many more women that turned out than we could have anticipated. A theme that many of us have noticed (from previous mission trips), is that women's ministry is very difficult... mainly because they are holding babies and have kids running in searching for them. This can be a bit disruptive. In the U.S., we would quickly eliminate that behavior. We learned that it is important to work with those cultural factors. The women had SO many women turn out that it was almost overwhelming. Thankfully, the Lord had equipped the team to work under such pressure!

 

The men were able to have some quality time together. They were able to share testimonies and encourage one another in the Lord. They also were able to share a game of soccer... I'm sure you can image who won that game (if you didn't know, Brazilians LOVE soccer)! The men were also able to spend some time talking and praying with the Chief of the village. He is a believer in Jesus Christ. Our prayer for him, and we ask that you join us, is that the Holy Spirit would continue to move in his life, that he would continue to lead his village towards faith and righteousness, and that this legacy would continue from generation to generation.

 

The medical team consists of a doctor and a physician's assistant (Heather from the Tampa team). One of the things that Heather mentioned is that at home, she see's patients and is able to "fix" what is going on. Here in the Amazon, people are suffering from things like Type 1 Diabetes and Malaria. It broke her (and many others) heart knowing that medically speaking, there isn't much that can be done. Situations like this, as Heather shared, make us realize how much we need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. That our true mission here, goes far beyond some medicine, but to eternity. Next was a story about a medical miracle. One lady, according to the people of the village and the local missionaries that are working with us, had cancer that was so bad- she was miserable. She recently prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, and she was healed... when we saw here, nobody suspected that anything was ever wrong with her. Her story is a testimony to so many people of the village.

 

The dental team was a huge blessing to the village. He pulled teeth that were so rotten that it was painful to live with. One story shared, was about a man who had a tooth that no doctor would pull. The tooth, rather than looking like a normal root, sprung out into the gums making it nearly impossible to pull. This young man even went to the closest city, but was told the tooth required much surgery. Our dentist was able to pull the tooth with NO problems! Praise God!

 

The eye wear team had no idea what kind of ministry they would be in for. The way it is set up, in one of the open shelters, medical, dental and pharmacy set up stations. After each family tried on eye wear, Rebecca and the eye wear team would then ask questions like- do you know why we are here? Do you know who Jesus is? Simple questions like that led to some amazing talks.

 

Photos. Something we, as Americans see on a regular basis. It is nothing surprising or extremely special to us. Andrew's team last year printed photos for some of the village. We decided to do the same this year. I (Kim) was able to do the photography since I work with it a lot. We had each family come together to take a family photograph and gave them a hard copy of it. The reaction- amazing! They looked at themselves on this paper... for the first time in their lives. Some people said that once they received them they just looked and laughed. Then they went from neighbor to neighbor showing off their photo. For me, it was a blessing to see that something so simple brings so much joy.

 

Below are some specific prayer requests for people of the village. Kandace, one of our missionaries was so touched by the people she met, that she wrote down information about them. I hope we all take what she did to heart and do something similar to remember who these people are so we can pray specifically for them. I want to mention of few of these people and ask that you would join us in prayer for them.

 

Maria Aimunda is a little over 80 years old (one of a few elderly people in the village). He is very regal, quiet and still.

 

Pedro (village leader mentioned before). Please pray for a stronger relationship with Christ. Men are watching him. Please pray that they don't abuse alcohol or anything else. Also that the men of this village will be who they are called to be in Christ Jesus.

 

Jose accepted Christ into his heart. Please pray for his health.

 

Amarildo has 4 kids. He is shy at first and gave some confusing information regarding whether or not he accepted Jesus Christ. Please pray for his faith.

 

Luiza, 23, has a 3 month old baby. Please pray for the health of them both.

 

Deborah has a 2 month old baby. She accepted Christ! Please pray for the Lord to make her path straight.
The time we spent in this village was powerful. We were able to reach people, share the love through goods, and able to see some people trust their lives to Jesus Christ.

Day 1

Dear Family and Friends, we made it! I am writing this blog from the Amazon River, Brazil.

 

Our journey started last night around midnight (although for a few, it started a bit earlier). Most of us met at church (Davis Islands Campus of South Tampa Fellowship), traveled down to Miami, took a 7:40am flight and arrived around 12:20pm in Manaus, Brazil. A short bus-ride later and we were aboard our new home! The boat we are on is just like the pictures (snoop around the Amazon Outreach website if you are curious).

 

Once we arrived on the boat we unloaded our belongings and had lunch. The crew made us a great American lunch: hamburgers and fries! By this point, we had been traveling more than 12 hours... and if you haven't traveled recently, the act of sitting for 12+ hours can cause you to feel just as tired as a full work day. So, some of the group tested out our bed for the next 11 days- hammocks... they were comfy!

 

Later that evening, we met as a group. We shared a little about who we are and why we felt God called us to the Amazon River. We spent some time in prayer and worship. Rebecca and Francisco, our devotion leaders, led us in a devotion. As a group, we will be reading the book Crazy Love as our devotion. Did you know that there are more than 3,000 types of trees within one square mile of the amazon forest? The book and our leaders challenged us to think about how great our God is... much more great than we can really fathom.

 

To get to the village that we will be working with, we have to travel down the river approximately 24 hours. Since we are traveling, it actually seemed "cold" to many of us while sleeping! Heather and Andrew noticed music from different villages throughout the night as we passed by.

 

This morning, after breakfast, we spent more time in prayer and worship. Rebecca led us in a devotion and gave us a challenge to ponder: If we were only given X amount of time left to live, would that change how we are living our lives? Then, Brent shared his testimony with the group. The sharing of our testimonies not only allows us to get to know one another, but it also allows us to see how the Lord specifically allowed us to go through certain trials to make us who we are. When hearing testimonies from others, I often think of James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because of the testing of your faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work for  us to be complete in Christ Jesus."

 

We would like to thank ALL of you who donated goods for this trip. I was overwhelemed as we unpacked suitcase after suitcase of clothes, candy, meds, blankets, toys, etc. for the people of the villages!

Day 1-2

Dear Family and Friends, we made it! I am writing this blog from the Amazon River, Brazil.

 

Our journey started last night around midnight (although for a few, it started a bit earlier). Most of us met at church (Davis Islands Campus of South

 

Tampa Fellowship), traveled down to Miami, took a 7:40am flight and arrived around 12:20pm in Manaus, Brazil. A short bus-ride later and we were

 

aboard our new home! The boat we are on is just like the pictures (snoop around the Amazon Outreach website if you are curious).

 

Once we arrived on the boat we unloaded our belongings and had lunch. The crew made us a great American lunch: hamburgers and fries! By this

 

point, we had been traveling more than 12 hours... and if you haven't traveled recently, the act of sitting for 12+ hours can cause you to feel just as

 

tired as a full work day. So, some of the group tested out our bed for the next 11 days- hammocks... they were comfy!

 

Later that evening, we met as a group. We shared a little about who we are and why we felt God called us to the Amazon River. We spent some time

 

in prayer and worship. Rebecca and Francisco, our devotion leaders, led us in a devotion. As a group, we will be reading the book Crazy Love as our

 

devotion. Did you know that there are more than 3,000 types of trees within one square mile of the amazon forest? The book and our leaders

 

challenged us to think about how great our God is... much more great than we can really fathom.

 

To get to the village that we will be working with, we have to travel down the river approximately 24 hours. Since we are traveling, it actually seemed

 

"cold" to many of us while sleeping! Heather and Andrew noticed music from different villages throughout the night as we passed by.

 

This morning, after breakfast, we spent more time in prayer and worship. Rebecca led us in a devotion and gave us a challenge to ponder: If we were

 

only given X amount of time left to live, would that change how we are living our lives? Then, Brent shared his testimony with the group. The sharing of

 

our testimonies not only allows us to get to know one another, but it also allows us to see how the Lord specifically allowed us to go through certain

 

trials to make us who we are. When hearing testimonies from others, I often think of James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face

 

trials of many kinds, because of the testing of your faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work for  us to be complete in Christ

 

Jesus."

 

We would like to thank ALL of you who donated goods for this trip. I was overwhelemed as we unpacked suitcase after suitcase of clothes, candy,

 

meds, blankets, toys, etc. for the people of the villages!       

 

Until next time!

BTCP Last Day

Oi from the Amor e Esperanca

 

Today has been a travel day for us. The last ministry we did is the balloon ministry. It's tradition that on the ride

 

back, we fill balloons with candy and a Bible verse and throw them out into the river for the kids. At many of the

 

homes we passed, the kids were waiting for us in their small boats and would paddle after the balloons looking

 

for their 'bon bon' (candy in Portugese). We each had fun taking our turn throwing the balloons out.

 

Tonight we had a party for the interpreters and boat crew.  We served them instead of them serving us as they have all week.  They are all amazing, sweet servants.

 

It's a 30 hour boat ride from the last village to Manaus where we will catch our flights. Both teams will be taking

 

the same flight from Brazil to Miami tomorrow, with an overnight layover in Miami. From there, the Dallas team

 

flies to Nashville and then home and the Indianapolis team flies to D.C. and then home.

 

The trip has been amazing and life changing--it's an experience that none of us will ever forget. This morning,

 

we each shared our favorite trip moment that truly touched us the most and for each of us, that moment had to do with God's work using each of us to help others.

 

This will be the last blog for the Bent Tree and College Park group (although we are truly 1 group now!). We can't wait to get home and see our friends and our family! Without our supporters and our families, none of us could be here helping those who need it.

 

We simply can't say "Obrigada - Thank you" enough!

 

Obrigada and Deus te abencoe (Thank you and God Bless You)!!

 

 

BTCP Day 7

Oi from San Benedito,

 

It's another partly cloudy breezy day.  We awoke to another magnificent sunrise on the river,

 

Amazon Outreach has not visited this village before. It is small, maybe 4-5 families live here, however, word

 

spread very quickly that we were here and people from the neighboring village came over. Word travels fast

 

on the river and families started arriving by boat before 8:00 a.m. for medical and dental care. Between 8am

 

and noon, the medical team saw 105 people and prescribed many meds to help with infections, worms, and

 

other conditions. Our dental team was very busy pulling teeth, literally. We noticed a woman listening to Pastor's message to the Men,

 

she had been at the Woman's ministry meeting in San Antonio the day before and had travelled to this village to see us again, her name was Luci. 

 

Phyllis, Linda, Della and Peggy took her aside to speak with her.  She had heard the gospel before and

 

believed but was uncertain of her eternal destiny.  Luci is certain of that now!

 

The men received fishing packets and heard a word from Pastor Abimael.  We had about 27 children at VBS,

 

it was their first VBS experience.   Rosalee our dentist worked on patients all morning along with Leslie.  We

 

also provided eye glasses to about 26 villagers. 

 

Rose, a member of our crew, an interpreter, was working at the eyeglass station, part of the reading test is

 

scripture verses, so she asked a lady named Maria about her eternal destiny.  A short while later, Maria was

 

certain of her eternal destiny.

 

Pastor Abimael wanted us to have some time to swim, so after lunch we did partake and "swam the Am"! 

 

There was a nice sandy beach at this village and a great big tree that many of our more adventerous team

 

members, Peter, Chris, Jamie, Bethany, Becky  and Josiah and even a few translators, Rose and Rachel

 

climbed up and jumped into the water. It's how the Brazilian's did it, probably much more gracefully though! It

 

was tons of fun!  Many others of the team swam as well.

 

We made our way to Parintins to drop off Michael and Leah, our young missionaries; and Pastor and his wife. 

 

It was hard to say good bye, they were all such spirit-led leaders.  Pastor Abimael became our Pastor for the

 

days we were here, an excellent Godly leader.  We will miss them. 

 

As we are blogging, we saw a dolphin jump out of the water, they don't have pigment in their skin, so they

 

appear to be pink/translucent color. 

 

Geraldo and another member of our crew took several groups out on the Amazon for some crocodile hunting,

 

the second trip had success.  It was a sight to see Geraldo literally reach out of the small motor boat and grab

 

a crocodile, albiet a small one, but still reaching your hand in the Amazon in the dark!  The sounds of the jungle

 

were amazing to hear. Tonight and tomorrow, we will be on the move on the boat for 30 hours making our way to Manaus.  

 

Good Night from the Amazon!

 

 

BT/CP-DAY 6

Oi from Santo Antonio,

 

This is our second and final day in this village.   We started at 9:00 a.m, with Woman's Ministry, VBS and more medical and dental services, along with fitting villagers for eye glasses. 

 

We saw our first dolphins today off the shore. 

 

One of the villagers a woman named Sebastione (Saba) showed us her home and garden which was quite impressive.   She then took us on a short hike into the jungle to the field where they grow Maniok, they pull the roots and grind it into powder.  We saw Brazil nut trees, banana trees and cashew trees.  Who knew nuts grew on trees!   She was so kind to us, we later shared the Gospel of Jesus with her, which she graciously accepted, praise God! Today there were many more divine appointments that we will be able to tell you about after we arrive home. 

 

We had a short service in the village at the close of today. There was so much joy. The children sang and danced to 2 of the VBS songs that they learned. The parents really enjoyed seeing what the children had learned about. The team also sang songs in Portuguese. Pastor Abimeal invited people to come forward if they wanted to receive Christ at the end of service and about 15 adults and children came forward. We prayed over them.

 

Tomorrow will be our last day visiting a village, only half day. It's hard to believe that our trip will be over after tomorrow and we'll all be heading back home. We've all had such an amazing time and can't wait to share all the other stories you haven't heard yet. God Bless all who've been praying for us! Obrigada (Thank you!)

 

Boa Noite! (Good-night)

BTBF/CP-Day 5

Oi from San Antonio (not in Texas!) ,

 

It is about 5:00  p.m. local time, the sun is starting to set and as I'm writing this a double rainbow has appeared off the side of the boat, God is showing off again!

 

We took a long ride from the last Village at night.  We watched the shoreline and shone our flashlights on the shore hoping to see some alligators, but no luck.  However, we did hear many interesting sounds in the rainforest, it was impressive.   We watched the moon come up, a sight to see on the river. 

 

We made our way to San Antonio, this is the largest village we have visited so far.  It has a large school and paved streets and power lines for electricity.  This is the first time Amazon Outreach has visited.  We were welcomed with much appreciation.  A Brazilian doctor joined us today, from Parantins, she was a welcome addition to us and the village.

 

The head of the school gave the children the day off so they could attend VBS. After that, just about any thing we did made us quite popular!  We did the usual, a lesson, some snacks, a craft and songs.  The children were very well behaved here.  There were about 140 kids (those are just the small children).  Pastor Abimiel met with the 13-17 year old children, along with Jamie, Maggie, Bethany, Becky, and our young missionary couple, Micheal and Leah.

 

After our morning activites we did he usual retreat to the boat for another excellent lunch by Chef Claudio.  While we were preparing about 30 children jumped in the river and were swimming along side the boat, we all started waving and cheering.  The children were chanting, Bethany, Jamie and Maggie's names to come in the water.  The next thing we knew, our girls were jumping in off the boat, then Sam and Josiah joined in and finally Anthony.  As soon as Anthony went in all the children started splashing him, so many he couldn't even get in the river!  

 

This was the first day it rained, but as God would have it, He waited until we were done with our morning activities.  We took a break and it cleared up in time for the afternoon.  The weather has been perfect, not much hotter than Texas, we've had cloud cover and a nice breeze, Yeah God!

 

Our team has really come together in unity.  It is amazing how a bunch of strangers can come and live on a boat in a small space, sleeping inches from each other, working all day together, eating and worshiping and get along.  We have become a well-oiled machine for God's work, spreading His love and care. We have all made some new friends, it will be hard to leave and go our separate ways. Thank all of you who have prayed for unity, God is answering your prayers.

 

Today, Carla and Claudia were seeing patients in the clinic. A patient, Emanuel, had fallen 15 years ago and has had pain ever since. There wasn't much we could do for him and told him that Jesus heals. We prayed and he asked Jesus into his heart and for healing also. Praise the Lord!

 

There is so much that happened today, more people who've accepted Christ and more miracles, more stories to tell when we get home! Thank you for all the prayers. Boa Noite!

BTBF/CP-Day 4

Oi (hello) from Santa Terezinha!

 

Personal Messages

 

Dear Maureen, Micah and Jubilee - We're fully engaged and having a great tiem and seeing results. The

 

people are very nice. There are good attitudes all around. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday. Have a

 

great time on your trip. Please return my library books. Thanks. We love you....Rob and Josiah

 

Dear Dad (Ron Mills) and my stepdad, Tim. Happy Fathers Day! Too bad I wasn't there to share this day with

 

you, but I am sure that we'll celebrate when I get home. Have a great day! (Dad don't watch too much

 

NASCAR). I love you...Sam

 

Dear John and Dad Swenson - Happy Father's Day!! ...love, Susan.

 

God's amazing creation!! Showered outdoors under a million stars. No one, but God could have created this.

 

God has protected us with no bug bites or pirahna or alligator bites! Spent the morning at the clinic diagnosing

 

and treating many patients. - Carla Johnson

 

Happy Father's Day daddy! I hope you are out on the golf course! Sorry I am not there with you!
I am doing well, mostly working with the eye glasses. The kids are adorable I may bring a few home! :) I miss

 

you and the rest of the family! Tell everyone hello and I love them! See you Saturday at 2! :) - Tracie

 

Tim, I love and miss you.  (hate not knowing!) no service, just Jesus Service.  Prayed for you, lab & Koreans. I

 

have been on pharmaceutical!  Blondes can count!  And I can now prescribe in Portugese! Hope to be in

 

touch w/you soon! - Nancy H.

 

To Kevin Suddeth - Happy Father's Day Dad! To Mike D. and the rest of my family - Love and miss you guys...

 

- Steph S.

 

To Larry York and Glenn Hatcher: Happy Father's Day! I can't say this year that I'm sorry I didn't get to be with

 

you on Father's Day, because this year there was a bigger purpose. Very happy to be here. :-) I'm sure you

 

understand. I do hope you've had a wonderful day with the love ones who are there and I do miss you all. We can all celebrate sometime when I get back. Justin: Even though you're not a dad, yet, just wanted to say love you! Miss you bunches.

 

-Kris H.

 

To Jeff Houvener- Happy Father's Day! I'm sorry that I'm not home to share this day with you but I know that

 

Mom and Nolan are making it special. I miss you all very much and I think about you all the time. I am have the

 

time of my life! To Mom- I have gone and I am growing!

 

To our loving fathers, Doug Meyer and Vimal Mehta. The trip has been amazing. We have continued to grow closer with God and with our fellow visionaries. The Brazilian people are amazingly kind and gentle. We treated more patients than we can remember today. It's difficult to help them without all of the labs, scans, and support that we are accustomed to in the U.S. By the grace of God, we have been able to see and help hundreds of patients over the past few days. We are both safe and having an amazing experience!

 

Hi Barry, Dom, and Dad!  We love you and miss you and hope you got to golf today.  Happy Day!  Love you lots, Phyllis and Linda

 

General Notes
   
Glory be to God! God used both my weakness in my knee and my love of horses to connect me with Cecilia

 

who accepted Christ today. There is so much love and kindness and we were singing to Jesus and it all just

 

started with me sitting there with my Portugese dictionary and starting a conversation. Cecilia led me to the

 

horses where we talked about many things and Cecila stated that she's known about God for some time.

 

Carol, translator, came over to help the conversation to go deeper where they both shared their love for Christ

 

and Cecilia asked if she could pray to accept Christ. Cecilia and I shared that we love each other and

 

acknowledged that we're sisters in Christ forever (lots of hugging...). Pastor Abim ael invited me to the

 

Christian church in Parantins. - Susan Roddy
       
This morning we started out the day very early. At 2am, Gary's hammock came untied and we were all

 

awakened by a thud when poor Gary hit the floor. After ensuring that he was okay, we all went back to bed for a

 

couple more hours. The sunrises here are absolutely amazing and for those who aren't morning people, it's

 

definitely worth getting up early. We sat down for breakfast and then shared some prayer and devotional time.

 

We hit the village early and set up all of our stations; medical, dental, eyeglasses, men's worship, women's

 

worship, and vacation bible school for the children.

 

At first, we weren't sure that we would be able to provide medical care to the villagers. Without a Brazilian

 

doctor we weren't going to be able to administer medications, but the village President said he would be

 

responsible for the people, which allowed us to provide them with complete medical care...Praise God! The

 

morning was filled with treating sprains, headaches, worms, a dislocated shoulder, a few surface wounds,

 

fungal infections, and a bunch of other stuff. There was a young boy in the group of patients that had a broken

 

arm that was still in the process of healing, but was healing wrong. Due to the fact that there isn't a doc to

 

follow up, Peter wasn't able to put a cast on the arm. After prayer, he found an aircast that meant that he was

 

able to treat the arm. Praise God! In total, they saw 178 patients!

 

The dental group was busy in the morning pulling teeth. In total, they pulled 48 teeth; 40 patients!!

 

The two ladies working eyeglasses, Tracie and Camilla, gave 100 villagers reading glasses today.
     
Those of us in Vacation Bible School, spent the morning teaching about Moses and the Ten Commandments.

 

Carol, Rachel, and Jay led the children in song. Michael and Jamie led the object lesson where they taught the

 

children about Christ's ability to cleanse us of our sins. After that, Sam (Moses); Peggy, Brenda, Maggie, and

 

Kristin (Israelites) put on a skit while Steph read the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments. The children

 

were given a craft and then colored their pictures of Moses. We were all a big hit when we passed out

 

Twizzlers! 125 children learned about Moses and the Ten Commandments! In the afternoon, we told the story

 

of "The Blind Bartameus."

 

After the lesson, we pulled out the games to play with the kids. Sam and Anthony, with the help of our

 

translator, Carol, taught the kids how to play baseball! Sam and Josiah played frisbee with the children while

 

Kristin and Steph blew bubbles for the kids to pop. The young and teen girls weren't interested in playing

 

baseball so Jamie, Bethany, Maggie, and Steph grabbed some nail polish and painted their nails....many,

 

many nails! We played with water balloons with the children and taught them how to play "Pontu, Pontu,

 

Gonzu" (Duck, Duck, Goose).

 

Chris took many pictures throughout the village today and took 28 family pictures, which we printed and then

 

framed and gave to the families! They were much appreciative.

 

After a lot of talking and sharing, the Catholic leader in the village accepted Christ. He was sitting close to

 

Michael's presentation to the teen boys.  After Jay (translator) shared his testimony and Michael shared about

 

giving your sins to Jesus, the older man approached Jay and Michael and told them that every time he hears

 

the people who visit his village talking about Jesus and the Gospel he gets emotional.  Jay spent some time

 

ministering to him and he ended up trusting Jesus for his salvation.  Please keep this man in your prayers as

 

he will face much persecution. Pastor Abimael will be coming back to the village the first weekend of July and

 

offered to pay for the villagers gas (they travel by boat) so that they can go to bible study in another village.

 

It was a great day! We had multiple women and men pray to accept Christ!! Thank you for all the prayers!

 

As a final note, Happy Father's Day to all the fathers who are reading this!!

 

God Bless!

BTBF/College Park-Day3

Oi from Palhal, Brazil!

 

We enjoyed wonderful meals today on top deck of the boat.  It is amazing what Chef Claudio can make on a boat with a small kitchen to feed all of us.  We are still in the same Village as yesterday.   Last night as we slept on the boat in the middle of the Amazon the water was so still you could see a perfect reflection of the moon, and the stars were something to behold.  God in His Majesty.

 

Here are some highlights from the day:

 

227 children attended Vacation Bible School, learned about God's forgiveness and love. We sang with them, did crafts centered around what they were learning, and played with them. And of course, we had our amazing skits with our all star cast. Today we had extra fun playing with water balloons and bubbles. We've discovered they are nuts over coloring because crayons are not something they often have.

 

As a result of a water well that was not working for 4 months, 145 Villagers were treated for Worms and Parasites, Peter our attending doctor his wife Abbey and their team were very busy.  Villagers were lined up for treatment in 5 lines!  The good news is that some of the crew and local men repaired the well, which was a big blessing for the Village.

 

Rosali and Leslie stayed busy again today extracting teeth. They saw 32 patients and extracted 33 teeth today.

 

The Men's Ministry headed by Duane, taught 60 men about salvation and the hope found in Jesus, 20 of them choosing to put their faith in our Lord Jesus.  They also distributed hooks, lures, and pocket knives to aid them in their fishing efforts.

 

The Women had time away from the children who were in VBS.  During that time Linda, Phyllis and Becky spoke them about prayer, they ended with a group of woman praying for healing for 6 women who were physically ill, there were woman standing outside the building, about 60 woman just to hear the preaching and praying.

 

Today we set up Salon Amazon for the ladies in the village. Stephanie, Linda, Kristin, Tracie and Bethany treated the woman to manicures and french hair braids.

 

At the end of the day we Pastor Abimaiel led a short service. Peter and Jaime shared their testimonies and we  concluded with handing out 55 family packs.

 

Thank you for all the prayers that have already gone up and please continue to pray for any barriers to be broken down. For God's love to show through us.

 

It's only 8 pm and this blogger ready to call it a night. Boa Noite!

BTBF/College Park-Day2 Part2

This was written last night, but we had a hard time getting a good connection. A bit delayed, but here it is!

 

This afternoon we were greeted at the Palhal village by many smiling faces as we came off the boat. We set up our dentistry, eye glasses station, and began VBS for the children right away. At VBS, the children enjoyed learning about Jesus from Bethany's story and demonstration. We did crafts themed around the lesson they heard, sang, and even acted out a skit telling the story of  Moses and the 10 commandments. Peggy, Brenda, Gary, Anthony, Jamie, and Maggie had the privelege of dressing up as the characters using piece of cloth and handmade tablets. Gary was a phenomenal Moses. The children watched with excitement.

 

While VBS was in session, Stephanie and Tracie stayed busy helping adults find the right reading glasses and Leslie helped the Brazilian dentist, Rosali, see a total of 36 patients and extracted13 teeth. They didn't have drilling capabilities so the only option they had was to extract them. And yes, we are able to give them anesthetic so they weren't in as much pain through the process. Rosali also gave them pain relievers to go home with.

 

We also had our american doctor, Peter, see 3 patients. One was a 10mnth. old baby with with milk burn across the top of her back. He was able to clean the wound and bandage it with antibiotics. Another, was a young girl with an infected eye. Last was an adult male who had a pinky finger injury from a mower mishap.

 

For the rest of the afternoon we enjoyed mingling and loving on these people until dinner was ready. We will go back into the same village for a little while longer tomorrow morning. This evening we had a delicious beef and fish dinner served with vegetables, rice, beans, and soup. All of the food has been wonderful, the cooks are great!

 

After dinner we packaged vitamins and family packs for tomorrows events. Now we are getting showers and ready for another goodnights rest in these amazing hammocks! Boa Noite (Good-night)!

Bent Tree/College Park Days 1&2

Oi Friends, Family, and supporters,

 

This is the first offical post of the Bent Tree (Dallas) and

 

College Park (Indianapolis) team on the Amor e Esperanca.

 

First off all, it is incredibly hard to set up a satellite and

 

laptop on a boat in the Amazon! But we did it!

 

Sleeping overnight in an airport was a first for ALL of us.  But

 

as God would have it, it prepared us to think sleeping in a

 

hammock on a moving boat is a five star accommodation.   However,

 

with over 28 people checking 56 bags and not one of them
was lost or inspected is a miracle and blessing.  This was an

 

answer to many prayers, so thank all of you who have been praying.

 

The overnight ride up the Amazon was amazing, it was hard to pay

 

attention during worship this morning as we cruised past place
after place of beauty.  The sunrise on the Amazon alone was worth

 

the travelling woes! 

 

Our first stop was a new/small village of believers who left a

 

more established village because they chose to follow Jesus.  They

 

chose to name the village "New Hope" or "Nova Esperanca". The

 

entire village is maybe 5 families, some of the crew helped clean

 

their water well.  We sang and prayed with them.  The President

 

(Leader) was asked what we could do for the village, he only

 

wanted prayer and for us to visit.  We quickly found out that

 

there is no language barrier when you are simply there for each

 

other to express love and pray together.

 

We have to get off the boat shortly to go into a much larger

 

village (100 kids!) not sure how many adults, to do Woman's

 

ministry, Vacation Bible School and Evangilism.  Pray for crowd

 

Control (Kidding).  This village is called Palhal, just up the

 

river from the last village. 

 

So far no Anaconda's, pirhanna's or any other creatures have

 

attacked!  Everyone on board wants their friends and families to

 

know we are all doing great and very grateful to be here.

 

Looking forward to all that God is going to do in us and our 

 

Brazilian friends.  Obrigada! (Thank You)

 

 

 

Last day in the Amazon

Oi,
This week has been a fun and great time! It was a hot week but still had fun. each day we did vbs, with the kids and the medical clinic and denital work on all the families and kids. today we traveled 24 hours on the boat from Sol Nascente to Manaus.It was great! when we got to manaus most of us went to the mall but Izzy, my dad, and I went to Izzy's church. the people there were nice and friendly to us. my dad did the service which was awsome and afterwards we ate with Izzy's mother and daughter. This whole week has been a blast and i can't wait to get home and see everybody!
I love you mom, daniel, cami, and gracie;

 

John Luke

 

 

 

Eastwood family,

 

We had the privelege to harvest some of the fruit of 6 years of hard labor of two faithful servants of the Lord at Igreja Presbiteriana do Sol Nascente (The Presbyterian Church at Sol Nacente).  Vanderley and Erika de Oliveira began this work in Lake Carara by loving the people and developing relationships.  They have been plowing hard ground faithfully and are gaining the trust of the people.   There is a family at Sol Nacente that has been profoundly impacted and are coming to Christ one by one.   We had the joy of seeing the first five baptisms in the church.  God is blessing the faith and perseverance of these beautiful servants of the Lord.

 

A wonderful moment for me was Erika's message to us on the last day in Sol Nascente.  In tears she told us that words could not express how thankful they are for our partnership with them in this work.  She and Vanderley, like all faithful servants of the Lord, get discouraged.   The work is difficult.  Our trip to Sol Nascente was a great encouragement to them and I believe honored our King.  Thanks be to God for all of you who sent us!  I shall assure you,God took your gifts and did something wonderful.

 

I want to give a shout out to Camille, Daniel, Cami and Gracie!  I miss you!

 

Love,
Matt

 

this is Jay.  i'm not a typist.  but i had a great team.  sonja, i'm coming home with your boys.  i miss you.  this trip was fantastic. God did great things.  He is good.
Jay. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

forth day in the Amazon

well... this is really fun, beans and rice are my new favorite meal. and spray paint desert is the bees knees...
deuces,
jackson
well, here's jesse's thingy muh bobber.

 

 

 

Dear peoples, the Amazon is crazzzzzzy!!!!!! It is no where near what I thought it would look like. It basically looks like a lake or an ocean, but its a river. It is so much fun here because your kind of living off of God's time instead of our own. You wake up when the sun hits your face and you go to sleep when it gets dark. The food is actually really good on the boat too! They try to make us southern U.S. food which I think is kind of funny, but it is preety good. I also like being around different kind of christians for once. They have different outlooks on things that get you to think about God in different ways. The language barrier is much harder here than in India and you need to use translators most of the time, but it is still really fun interacting with the people in the villages. Somehow by the power of Jesus, I also won the boat-wide arm wrestling contest for the lightweight division on Wendsday night. All these people on this boat are amazing. They are always really encouraging and I am learning new things everyday. I really wish I could talk to you right now, but I guess this is good too. Oh by the way, I stubbed my toe really bad today and it is black and blue all over. It is kinda cool to look at. Oh also, the brazilians are really good at soccer, but I like taking them on becuase it is always fun when you beat them. Pictures can't really describe this crazy enviornmnet and I can't wait to tell you all the stories I have about the time here. :)
Love,
Jesse Jones

 

Greetings from the Amazon,

 

I hope all is well back home. Here on the Amazon, we have been hard at work providing aid for the physical and spiritual needs of people living along the river. We have all experienced a great trip. It has been incredible to observe God's handiwork in nature. The star-filled sky, the river, and the land all give proof of Divine Creation. I look forward to telling you all the stories from my adventure in Brazil. Until yesterday, I took many pictures of what life is like in Brazil. The screen of the camera will never be the same after slipping in the sand and falling on the encased camera. Do not fear Mom, I will replace your camera as soon as possible. This trip has been a great experience; one that I will treasure my entire life. I long to be back home, in a place where insects do not swarm on my body. Everyone on our crew is exhausted from the heat, humidity, and hard work. I look forward to returning home; I miss you all very much.

 

See you Soon,
Ben Moody 

 

Everything here has been going... well.... tiring. We have had a good bit of progress in each one of the villages. I think everyone has made a new friend and some have met some old friends. I do believe that we have had a very good trip. I hope the trip home goes as smoothly as it was on the way down. We have also had a good bit of bug problems. (chiggers, gnats, flies, mosquitoes, and fleas) I look forward to seeing you all soon.

 

Sadler Hinton
 

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

 

Today we visited the village of Sororoca.  It is a small village situated on a hill

 

overlooking the Amazon River.  Approximately 30 families live in this village where men

 

work as fishermen and mothers care for the children.  This was our first visit to

 

Sororoca.

 

As a member of the medical team, our day began by creating a medical clinic underneath

 

the shade of a few trees.  Our team consisted of two physicians, two nurse practitioners

 

and a pharmacist.  Our interpreters sit with each provider and are available to relay our

 

questions to the patients.  They are our biggest asset and communicate most effectively

 

with the villagers. Most of our patients suffer from joint aches and pain, upper

 

respiratory infections and headaches.  It's pretty safe to prescribe Ibuprofen, worming

 

medicine and vitamins to every adult and child that is seen. The sickest patient seen

 

today was a 6 year-old little girl with bilateral pneumonia. She never complained...

 

Another patient, an 18 year-old boy, cut his leg with a machete, requiring 6 stitches. We

 

treated 81 patients in 99 degree weather, 100% humidity. 

 

While the medical team worked, the VBS and women's ministry teams sang, danced and played

 

volleyball with the children.  Everyone has rosey cheeks:)

 

A group of 7 from our team went on an adventure by motor-boat, to another small village

 

about a mile away from Sororcoa.  This was the first time Americans had visited their

 

village.  Their biggest obstacle was gaining access to the village by boat.  After

 

several unsuccessful attempts to reach the village (secondary to a floating rainforest of

 

grass, trees, and brush) the team was transported into the village by members of the

 

tribe.  The had a nice visit with the people and were able to conduct a service in which

 

the gospel was shared.

 

The best part of the afternoon was congregating for our evening service in which we sang

 

"Jesus Loves Me" in  English and Portuguese.  The children clapped and sang, afterwards

 

several from our team shared their testimony.  "Pastor" Matt ended the evening with a

 

short service.  There were more children than adults in attendance; however, the children

 

are well-behaved and listened for most of the service.

 

Tonight has been an evening full of entertainment.  We had a "what not to wear on the

 

Amazon" fashion show, exhibiting the leftover paraphinalia from the Eastwood yard sale.

 

There were several buck-teeth, sparkles and hats involved.  It gave us all a good laugh.

 

Later in the evening, yells, shreaks and laughter could be heard miles away [I'm sure] as

 

our group competed in a arm-wrestling competition between the Brazilian crew and the

 

Americans.  The Brazilians won. **Note- Jackson Hinton was the last American standing.

 

Tonight we are tired and most of us will be sleeping soundly because we will all be

 

taking Benadryl to find relief from our chigger and flea bites...

 

 Tomorrow we look forward to visiting our friends in the village of Sol Nascente where we
will dedicate the new playground. 

 

Emily Holcombe & Terry Watkins

 

 

 

 OY americanos! Wow! I can truly see God's hand in Brazil! the People are amazing!

 

they are very REAL! Today in the morning i helped with VBS and i absolutley in love with

 

the brazilian children! they are all bonita (beautiful). mom just let me know if you want

 

me to bring one home because i will in a heartbeat! they lovee us americans. they make us

 

feel as we are celibrities.. or at least so i think! they love saying my name. "emily

 

emily emily!" haha i am trying very hard to speak their language but its just not

 

working.. they all just stare at me like im crazy then burst out lauging. so hopefully

 

they are lauging with me not at me. (: after lunch Jay, Ben, me, and some others took the

 

speed boat and went to another village, Maranhao. it was so lovely. i am speechless at

 

God's beautiful creation. so if a third world country is magnificant then imagine what

 

heaven will be like! anyways i was able to share my testimony and norman translated for

 

me! (obri gada norman) Jay shared with the people and Vanderlay shared the gospel/ his

 

testimony with them. I thank God so much for the opportunities he has given me to share

 

the gospel with these people. two weeks ago if you ask me to share the gospel i would

 

probably be very nervous and barely be able to, and now i am much more confident sharing

 

the gospel. I quite enjoy it actually. Usually after vBS ill grab a translator (Amanda)

 

and go talk with a group of girls and then eventually share the gospel. one girl was

 

Fehananda who accepted Christ! So i now have another sister in Christ(: I cant tell you

 

how exciting it is seeing people come to Christ! It keeps me on fire for Christ and

 

encourages me to continue what God has called us to do. Be his disciples. i cant wait to

 

get home and share all the stories! i miss you owen family! i wish yall were with me so

 

bad! i love yall!
                      Emily Carmichael Owen

Third day in the Amazon

HI!
Today was a very fun day, we went to a village named Paraiso. My mom and I met lots of

 

people with great stories behind them. I (Katy) worked at vbs this morning and in that we

 

told the story of queen Esther and colored crowns for the kids to wear and take with

 

them. After we completed that we sang songs and played outside. Jesse,Jackson, and Emily

 

O., and I played soccer for about two hours and even though we lost 2 to 8 we had lots of

 

fun.  Cally spent the morning videoing all of the various activities that were taking

 

place in the village.  I (Cally) also helped in the medical triage area. We came back to

 

the boat to eat lunch rest and continue to make family bags to hand out in the village,

 

we went back to the village and made pictures with the kids and continued to give medical

 

help to the people who needed it. After about two hours it was time for the church

 

service. Becky shared her testimonial with the people of the village and met a woman who

 

had the same background and was very encouraged by her story. we came back to the boat

 

when the service was over and had a yummy dinner! Now after a long day of work we are

 

ready to get some rest for another days work tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan to go to a

 

village which no one has gone to yet but we are just as excited! We miss everyone in

 

Texas and we cant wait to get home and share more of our experiences with y'all!
We love you!(go mavs!)

 

Love Cally and Katy:)

 

 

 

Oy yall!!!
this has been the experience of a life time. the kids are so precious. mom and dad- get

 

ready to welcome a little brazilian kid into the fam, because im going to bring one

 

home...seriously. it is very hot and humid even though it is only winter here; i can only

 

imagine what its like in the summer. God working in these villages is very evident, and

 

its so wonderful to see. everyone was right, this is really changing me spiritually. God

 

working is not the only work that is evident. sadly, satan's work is visible. oh the

 

stories i have to tell yall. dont worry, im fine. quit freaking out! love everyone!!!

 

Georgianna

Second day in the Amazon

hey bloggerpeople,
today was an interesting day on the river..i worked in the pharmacy with my dad and Jordan and our translator Geraldo.  We saw probably 60ishh patients and 95% were given worm meds in addition to other medicines. yum. Saw a few pigs near the "pharmacy" as well as a rooster and lots of wild chickens. only in the jungle.  Boat life is great, and the hammocks are even better..thinking of trading in my bed for one of those.  No, seriously.
peace out from the amazon jungle
laura

 

Hello everyone,
At the end of our second day we are all pretty tired. It is really hot and humid here...but probably no hotter than Montgomery. Even so a few trips back to the boat for items we needed in the pharmacy really tired me out.We saw a lot of patients, had an eyeglass clinic, did Bible school (like Eastwood this week) and had a worship service at the end of the day in the village. I shared my testimony at the service and a Brazilian pastor, Eduardo,preached. Getting to and from the clinic from the boat was a real adventure. In addition to the critters Laura mentioned, I also saw a few large lizards. Unfortunately several people got chiggers.(not me thankfully!). One of our translators is sick with some kind of stomach bug but so far no one else is sick. We do the same thing tomorrow but every day brings a new adventure. The people in the villages especially the kids seem to really look forward to our coming. Please continue to pray for us the rest of the week.
Allen

 

Hey y'all,
Today was a pretty good day, but long and hot. I worked with Sadler and Norman at the eyeglasses station and we just helped people figure out what strength glasses they needed and it was so cool to see their faces when they put on the glasses and could see clearly. We had the opportunity to pray with a few of them after we found them the right glasses. In the afternoon I hung out with some of the kids and took pictures of them and then showed them their pictures and they LOVED it. Please keep praying for our trip throughout the rest of our week!
Emily  

First Day in the Amazon!

Oye from Morgan :) Today was a good first day! Went to two villages - did a VBS with the story of David and Goliath in Sol Nascente and Esther in Bucuzal. The kids were adorable and seemed to have fun playing and coloring. God is good and I know He will continue to bless our trip and further His Kingdom! I love you, Momma and Daddy. Tchao!

 

Oye! This morning was filled with sweet reunions in Sol Nascente. 2 adults were baptized this morning in Erika and Vanderley's church and 3 children were baptized as well. It was a beautiful thing to witness in the life of this church. We also delivered the playground parts.  The villagers are so excited! This afternoon, many of our young men stayed behind and started to assemble the pieces. It is closed to being completed. I can't wait to return to Sol Nascente Thursday! This afternoon, we went to Bucuzal and did medical ministries, dental ministries,VBS, and even spent time with the women and taught them how to make soap. The people were so open and hospitable. God is giving us opportunity after opportunity to share His word and love to the people here. Our translators are awesome. Our crew is amazing. God is using each and everyone of our stories to minister to someone. It is truly beautiful. I am so happy to be here. ~Jordan:)

 

This is the Lord's Day, the Sabbath, and what a day it was.  We worshiped with the people of Sol Nascente.  Over four years ago, a husband and wife confessed Christ as their Savior and were baptized.  Today, we witnessed their daughter and 3 grandchildren be baptized.  God is at work, even in the remotest parts of the jungle along the Amazon River in Brazil. Please continue to pray for Erika and Vanderlay as they continue to do God's work here.  Having spent more than 41 hours traveling together, we have really unified and become a team.  All of Ginger's hardwork paid off.  We had no problems getting through immigration or customs.  All of our baggage arrived with all of our supplies.  Today the medical team saw 46 patients, the dental team saw 13 patients and the women's ministry had 16 women in attendance.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us financially and most importantly with your prayers.  We would not be here had you not sent us.  God bless you all.  Kathleene

Baylor Trip Update

Hello from the Jungle,

 

Yesterday was another blessed day. The whole team spent all day in Bahaia loving on the people and finishing up dental care. We had a fun VBS time in the morning where we told the kids the story of Daniel in the lions den and Lexi made an excellent lion, the kids loved it!

 

For the rest of the day most of the team split up into small groups and went from house to house ministering to people. Because it was a weekday many people were working so we had some neat opportunities to serve them and help with household chores like sweeping and cleaning. Being willing to work alongside the people opened many doors and we were able to have many conversations about Christ with the people there. Many of them are hungry for the Gospel and are anxiously awaiting the church's arrival.

 

Please keep these people in your prayers. They deeply desire community and knowledge about God's Word. We need to also pray for the future leadership of this church because this community has been scared by hypocrisy in the former church leadership. We were invited into the school for their afternoon session and it was amazing to see the Holy Spirit begin to work there. At first, the teachers were somewhat closed off to having us there interrupting the flow of the day but as time progressed they were asking us to please come back that evening. A few people on our team stepped up and gave their testimonies which was great for the students to hear.

 

We stayed out and watched the sunset with a group of the village children and marveled at God's remarkable artistic ability. It never ceases to amaze me how creative our God is and the beautiful things he has created.

 

Today we are in the village Castanhal. It is a much smaller village that neighbors Bahaia. The people here are mainly Catholic so many of them understand who Christ is but have unfortunately been strongly influenced by the corruption of the local church. Our work today has not been easy but we are trusting that God is sovereign and His name will be glorified.

 

Most of the team is hitting the mid-trip wall and many are exhausted but in our weakness He is made strong. Pray for rest, renewal and continued health for our team. Pray that God would break down walls here in this village and that people would continue to pursue getting to know the Lord even after we leave.

 

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So that blog was suppose to go out yesterday but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to send it because we took off to go back into the village and last night we were moving and could not get a signal.

 

Today... God absolutely rocked our world.

 

There are so many stories I don't even know where to begin. We showed up this morning at a village we had not originally planned on going too but of course as we all know if you want to make God laugh, make your own plans. He has been getting a pretty good laugh watching me all week long.

 

We pulled up to the village Sao Sebastiao do Jurua in a lagoon here in the Amazon, there are about three communities here in this area and no Americans have been here before (which was obvious by the way we frightened a few of the children with our super pale skin). Pastor Sasa told us that they had a problem with pediphilia which was somewhat unsettling at first because... lets be real we didn't exactly have any training for that. But we had an incredible prayer time and hit the shore ready to roll.

 

It was a surreal experience for me because this was the first village I have been to where during VBS I had to explain to the kids what the Bible was and who Jesus is. We have so many amazing stories to tell.

 

This morning, we met the president of the village who happened to be a woman. She spent a long time talking to some of our team members and around lunch time she went back to her home to eat with her husband. While she was talking with members of our team her husband, the village preist, was sitting and listening during the men's ministry. Taylor and Troy both shared their testimonies and the Lord used them in a powerful way. Her husband went home for lunch and they both talked about what they had experienced that morning. Both were overcome by the love and joy they saw from our team that they had never seen before. Long story short, they both ended up receiving Jesus as their Savior and no longer want anything to do with the corruption of the Catholic church that they lead because they want to pursue a true relationship with Christ.

 

There are a ton of great stories and we begin our boat ride back to Manaus tomorrow. Please pray for safe travels and rest as we all work to digest what the Lord has done this week. It has been such an incredible blessing to serve alongside these college students who are so passionate about God's word. Their lives have been changed forever and it has meant so much to me to get to watch my peers serve the Brazilian people so selflessly. The next generation is definitely a force to be reckoned with folks. Keep us in your prayers and keep investing in us the way you have been it truly does make a difference. See you soon! Deus Abencoe :)

 

Go Mavs
Sic Em Bears
In Christ,
Landen, Harrison & the Baylor Team