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 :)