Tuesday-Thursday, August 14-16, 2012

Thursday, August 16, 2012, 6:30 a.m.

 

Bom dia from Manaus!  I had satellite issues Tuesday, so I wasn't able to post our blog.  Yesterday, we had a busy

day, so I never found time to post.  So this morning, I am posting two blogs.  Happy reading!

 

Tuesday night, Marcos (one of the translators) invited his father, Don, and two sisters onto the boat to tell us about
their orphanage, Monte Salem.  Don moved here in 1988 when he was 24 years old.  He got married, and his
wife felt called to start an orphanage.  They started a school first.  The school currently has about 170 kids.
A few years later, they started the orphanage, Monte Salem.  They currently have 10 kids in there now.  Yesterday, we worked
with them.  A group of our men helped clear some brush near the entrance road.  Another group of us played
with the kids for a little while.  I helped in the group that repainted some areas of one of their main buildings.
During our lunch and siesta time, we took the boat over to a small beach to have a baptism ceremony for
Brian.  Andrew and Izzy baptized him.  After the baptism, a few of us went for a little swim.  We went back to
the orphange to finish up our brush clearing and painting.  Earlier in the morning, a 13-year-old boy named
Lucas was dropped off there at the orphanage.  He had been in prison the past two months for stealing and dealing drugs.
Just before we left that evening, the workers at Monte Salem had baked him a birthday cake.  It was his birthday!  How
awesome was it that a big group of Americans happened to be there!  Natalie sang him happy birthday in
Chinese.  Our whole group sang to him in English.  Then the translators and Monte Salem kids sang in Portuguese.
Izzy prayed for him.  When we were leaving, he asked if we were coming back tomorrow.  When we said we weren't,
he was kind of sad.  He said he didn't want us to leave.  Lucas will remember this day for the rest of his life.  That's
what we do here in the Amazonas.  We plant seeds and water other missionaries'  seeds.  We also took up a love
offering among ourselves to give to Don to use for whatever he needs at the orphanage.

 

Today, we have a free day in Manaus.  We will tour the city and do some shopping.  We will enjoy our last meal
together at Gaucho's, a Brazilian steakhouse.  Our flight back to the United States leaves at 11:50 p.m.  We will
arrive back in Tampa (after a short layover in Miami) at 8:40 a.m.  Tchau!  - Bekah

 

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Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 2:00 p.m.

 

Boa Tarde from The Mighty Amazon!  We just left Nossa Sra. Aparecida.  We were
able to see a few patients in the medical, eyeglasses, and dental clinic.  There were quite
a few kids for VBS.  The VBS workers performed The Good Samaritan skit for the kids. 
We held a small church service before we left.  I was on the boat packing supply kits in
Publix reusable bags.  The kits had some clothes, shoes, hats, soap, toothbrushes, and
toothpaste.  There were several families who were happy to receive these bags!  The first
lady who received one was a believer.  Her name was Luciula.  The village doesn't have a
church building, so she opens up her home to use as the church.  We are currently under way
back to Manaus today.  Tomorrow we are going to work in an orphanage in Manaus.  We
will help them any way we can.  We are going to donate kids clothes, toys, and
hoola hoops.  We just finished another fabulous lunch prepared by our awesome cooks.  It's
always a scrumptious buffet.  They love feeding us!  The boat captain and crew have been
amazing, too!  They clean this boat 2-3 times per day.  The bathrooms are sparkling white all day
and night. They are always happy, and they laugh with us as we try to learn Portuguese phrases.
The translators are our lifeline to the villagers.  We could not work without them.  So many times, a
villager has just started talking to me, and all I can do is stare blankly at them and say, "Nao falo
Portuguese."  Usually there's a translator nearby who will happily translate for me.  The trip back
to Manaus is a time for some much-needed rest and relaxation for everyone.  Tchau!  - Bekah

Monday, August 13, 2012

August 13, 2012, 12:17 p.m.

 

Yesterday we left Boa Vista right after lunch and came here to
Italiano.  We sent a small group of people out on the speed boat
to let the surrounding people know we were here and would be
opening our clinics today.  The rest of us stayed behind and played
soccer games with the Brazilians!  Even our boat crew came out
and played with us.  I've never played soccer a day in my life, much
less with Brazilian women!  The men play much more aggressively,
of course, so thankfully we had enough men to play each other!
It was a great afternoon building relationships over their favorite sport.

 

Ananda (translator) and I spoke to a woman in the village this morning, and
she said she's never seen a missionary boat here.  Praise God for guiding
us here!  Pray as we minister to these people today, that as we meet their
physical needs, they would see the Great Physician working through us.

 

Here's a note from Joanna Loyd from our team.  She's an ARNP.

 

"I spent a day and a half with the Brazilian doctor soaking up
every piece of knowledge he could give me, taking notes and
doing exams.  He is also a new doctor, just out of medical school
1 month ago.  We saw 60+ patients the first day and saw diagnoses
like fungal skin infections, ringworm, migraines, hypertension,
possible heart disease, and acid reflux.  We even saw 2 kids with
pneumonia.  The doctor left yesterday, and from here on out, it's me...
something I didn't expect.  Those of you who know me know that I'm a
quick learner, have a great education from Vanderbilt, and love taking
care of people.  But I'm treating patients with which I have very limited experience,
like kids, women with gynecological problems and people
who are fairly healthy.  My training is with very sick patients in the ICU. 
I covet your prayers for wisdom, knowledge, and safety for these
patients.  I saw patients today with diagnoses such as headaches,
miscarriages, nausea, acid reflux, inflammation of the gallbladder,
gynecological problems, and infectious bacteria... possibly shigella. 
One family came from an area where there was flooding
in their house, which is near a flooded cemetery.  They
have been drinking the same floodwaters from the cemetery. 
The Lord only knows what bacteria, hepatitis, and other infections
they have because of this.  All of these villagers live a 4-hour boat ride from
any medical care.
 
I know I'm here for a reason and these people need attention. 
I know that the Lord has me on this trip for a reason, and I'm willing to
be uncomfortable for His glory.  He is calming me, giving me wisdom, and
bringing diagnoses to mind... this I KNOW.  My team is praying for me.  The
translators are used to dispensing medications in the pharmacy, and they are
reminding me of the dosages for the various medications that I'm not used to prescribing.
While I'm working in the medical clinic meeting physical needs, I'm thankful
that everyone else is able to meet their spiritual needs and spread the gospel. 
We are so thankful for your prayers!"

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sunday, August 12, 2012, 10:40 a.m.

 

Greetings from Boa Vista!  Today is Father's Day in Brazil, so they are having a huge party here at this village,
and most are not interested in coming to receive medical or dental care, much less to chat and get to
know us.  Some of us are on the boat right now because of the chuva!  Chuva is Portuguese for rain.  This
storm is quite windy.  There are white caps on the river.  The rest of the team is up in the village giving a few
of the villagers some medical and dental care, distributing eyeglasses and medications.  We will leave here at
lunchtime and try to find opportunities to serve in other villages.  The men from our team have been packing
fishing gear and tools to give to the men of the villages.  Linda and I are here writing the blog. 

 

Yesterday in Sao Joao Batista, we had all of our clinics and ministries open.  The medical clinic saw 44 patients. 
The dentist arrived at lunchtime, and she got right to work after lunch.  While the women were waiting in the clinics,
Linda, Jacqueline, and I got to hold some cute babies and meet some nice teenage girls and mothers.  Late in
the afternoon, we gathered about 20 women in the church to talk with them and give them some family packs
containing soaps, lotions, vitamins, washcloths, and Daughter of the King bracelet kits.  Most of the women
were believers, and we had an opportunity to pray with them and for them before we left.  Right outside the church,
Cody and Ananda were taking family pictures with our polaroid camera.  They put the pictures in a little craft
foam frame with stickers.  They really seemed to enjoy that.  The men on our team were really encouraged by the
large group of men who participated in their meeting.  Francisco shared his testimony with them.  Izzy preached
a little sermon.  One man accepted Jesus.  The children had a great time in VBS!  We saw them playing with
the hoola hoops we brought from Hoola for Happiness.  They were jumping rope and playing soccer, too. 

 

After another delicious dinner cooked by the awesome cooks here on the boat, we had our devotion, and went
to our hammocks early.  Tchau for now from Linda and Bekah!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Saturday, August 11, 2012, 6:57 a.m.

 

Bom dia from Sao Joao Batista!  I write this blog early in the morning before breakfast, but I don't have time to try to post it
until after lunch.  The satellite works better with full sun and no clouds.  There is a better chance of those conditions
right around the lunch hour.  We spent yesterday morning in Samauma.  We divided into groups to work in our various ministries.
Andrew, Ryann, Brian, Johnny, Natalie, and Ananda worked in Vacation Bible School with the kids at the gymnasium.  Cody,
Sara, and Jacqueline worked in the eyeglasses clinic.  The need in the eyeglasses clinic at this village was sunglasses,
which we do not have enough of on this trip.  Izzy, Francisco, Mike, and Stefan worked in the men's ministry.  Like
yesterday, most of the men were out working.  I saw them chatting with a store owner for a long time.
Nadyr, Sara, Joanna, Linda and I were invited to thehouse of one of the ladies we met yesterday.  Her name was Maria
Francesca.  She was so excited to show us the house she and her husband were building.  She showed us where she currently
lived.  She showed us her daughter's house, too.  She has six children, five boys and one girl, all grown.  She and her
husband gave us some inga fruit from their tree at their new house.  I call it velvety sweetness.  When you open the pod,
there are fuzzy white sections.  Inside the fuzzy white stuff is a big black seed.  You only eat the white fuzzy part.
The flesh is very soft and sweet.  She gave us plenty to take back to the boat to share with everyone later.  She gave us
some papaya, a small green plant, some juices, and farinha.  We gave these items to the cooks on our boat.  Later, Sara
joined us, and we all talked to two teenage girls.  We chatted about everything with them, sharing with them what we do
for a living in the United States.  They shared with us what they want to do when they get out of school.  Our doctor
joined us yesterday.  We will be able to provide the medical clinic today.  Joanna is a nurse practitioner, and
she will work with him and learn how to treat the villagers.  He told us a little about himself last night.  He is 23
years old.  In Brazil, they don't have to go to medical school as long as we do in the United States.  This is his first
mission trip as a doctor.  Well, breakfast is almost served, and I certainly don't want to be late for that!  Tchau! - Bekah

August 10, 2012 - STF's first Amazon Blog!

South Tampa Fellowship (Tampa, FL) here!  We made it into Manaus at 10:15 p.m. Wednesday night.
After the usual long time getting through customs, we boarded the bus for the short
ride down to the dock where the Amore Esperanca was waiting for us.  It was midnight,
and we immediately got underway to get to our first village.  We each claimed our
hammock and got settled in for sleep.  Thankfully, there's no time zone difference,
so there's no jet lag to overcome.  We arrived at Samauma early yesterday morning. 
The head pastor came onto the boat to introduce himself and tell us a little about
the village.  This is one of the more developed villages.  There is a paved road,
cars, a couple of buses, six churches (one Catholic and five Christian), and a
small hospital clinic.  There are about 900 people here.  It's pretty evangelized
here, so he asked us to build relationships with the people.  Tell them about how
we came to know Christ and share a little about our lives with them.  After
breakfast and a short time of worship and devotion on the boat, we divided into
small groups (each with a translator) and walked around the village inviting the
people to come meet with us after lunch at 2:00 p.m.  Sara & I met with the ladies,
along with Nadyr, our translator.  We gave them manicures and pedicures.  I shared
my testimony with them while I painted their nails.  Sara asked them questions
about their families.  Nadyr knows just how to translate things and make them feel
so comfortable with us.  Andrew, Brent, Mike, Stefan, Francisco, Brian went with Izzy,
their translator, to find some men.  The men were all out working, so they didn't get
to have a meeting. Johnny & Cody went with Marcos, their translator, to give out
eyeglasses.  Several of the young girls arrived, and Marcos translated they were not
there for glasses.  They wanted a picture with Cody.  Since some of you don't know
Cody, he has light brown hair that he wears a little long on top, and baby blue eyes.
Cody obliged them and let them get their picture.  Jacqueline, Linda, and Joanna
stayed behind on the boat to finish sorting all of our supplies. The pastor asked
for an impromptu church service last night.  He asked if we would sing some worship
songs as a group, and if a couple of us would share our testimonies.  Andrew and I
shared our testimonies.  Our group sang Shout to the Lord and I Will Lift Your Name
on High.  The time now is 7:08 a.m.  Everyone is moving about the boat, getting
dressed for the day, and getting ready for breakfast.  We are stillin Samauma this
morning.  We will leave here after lunch for our next village, Caapiranga.  Our Brazilian
doctor and dentist will be joining us this afternoon.  Signing off till next time, Bekah