The Village Day 2

Hello from the River!  We are all having such an amazing and eye-opening experience.  I don't think there is one of us who will make it home with the same outlook on their lives as when they left. 

 

Our first day in the Village was definitely more fruitful than any of us had expected.  All ministries experienced a kind of joy and excitement that we know could only be from our God.  We are moving down to another tribe for our 2nd day of ministry and are excited to see what our Lord is going to do there. 

 

On a sidenote, I don't think any of us were prepared for how beautiful this place is.  We have worshipped underneath the most star filled sky - getting to witness the Southern Cross, the Milky Way and what we think is Venus.  (Or Mars, but its not red so we're going with Venus.)

 

We know this isn't much, but we wanted you all to know that we're alive, healthy and contemplating not coming home (just kidding...sort of). The ladies survived an alligator excursion and are ready to swim with the piranahs tomorrow (also just kidding...)

 

We'll write more later in the week!  We truly appreciate your prayers!

 

All for HIS glory,
The Village Team

The Village day 1

Bom Dia!  (Good Day in Portuguese)  We have arrived and are all healthy and excited to be here!  However, over 20 of our checked bags were not so lucky in their journey and were left stranded on the runway in Atlanta.  Delta has promised to deliver our long lost baggage to us wherever we are on the Amazon, however, we're not keeping our fingers crossed for this.
We are on a boat…the Amor E Esperanca to be exact – about 15 hours down the Amazon and have branched off onto the Madeirinha River.  Late this morning we were able to witness the meeting of the Rio Negro and the Solimões River – which was quite the sight!  To see to 2 rivers come together but not mix was a reminder of elementary science fair days where you explored how oil and water do not mix.  We were all fascinated.  
Our first night on the boat wasn't as restful as we had all hoped – swaying back and forth on the hammocks didn't provide the most peaceful sleeping environment, but was memorable and fun. There was much laughter this morning!  We are all looking forward to calmer waters from less traffic on the river tonight.  However, this did not stop us from having a wonderful and team-building day on the Amazon!  We have prepped for our first day in ministry with the Indians tomorrow and expect to be there mid morning.  As we are typing, we are watching cows meander on the river bank and pink dolphins jumping in the water.  Our God is very creative!
Please continue to pray for our heatlh and safety, and our impact on our the villagers – we are so excited to see what God has in store for this journey! 
For His Glory,
The Village Team
 

Eastwood day 1

A great trip so far...Far from much loved families and friends, but enjoying the fellowship with dear brothers and sisters...Lee Ann, I am praying for you...Thanks for making it possible for me to be here and to serve God for His Kingdom advancement in the Amazon...Duggar

Boat life is interesting and different. But AWESOME! Nothing more or less. The villagers are open to us. The kids are adorable and wonderful and the adults are understanding. I couldn't ask for anything more. I never stop sweating....or getting eaten alive. Oh well. Amazon boat life is cool! Oh, and mom just inhaled a bug. Jordan

Thank you to all who have made this possible. Boat life is indeed interesting and the villagers have been very receptive to the gospel. We ran three different clinics today...medical, dental, and eye glass. What a beautiful sight to see their faces light up when they could read their bibles once again. We also had the opportunity to do a VBS for 30+ children, and had a separate time of ministry for the men and women. Before we returned to the boat, we had a sweet time of prayer, a bible lesson and singing. They all walked us back to the boat. Apparently they don't see "outsiders" but twice a year. More later, Kathleene

Well, we went to our fist village today. I helped with VBS and blew a large quantity of bubbles. In the afternnoon i helped with Women's ministry. The women are very open!!! Boat life is good except for the first night of motion sickness for me. I am so glad God blessed us with the opportunity to go on this Trip!!! I love you Dad, Mom, Marg, and Bud! ~Ansley

Having a great time in the Amazon..worked in the pharmacy today which was exhausting and definitely more difficult without my family of pharmacists!! -Laura

Telephone communciations are not available to us right now so if you have tried to text or call, this is the reason there has been no response. God has been so good to us. The crew and the missionary team we are with are wonderful. All of our Eastwood Youth has been outstanding in helping. We had to unpack all of the boxes and luggage with meds, dental supplies, gifts for people of Amazon and then separate out into 250 bags. Adults and youth alike worked hard in the heat and humity. God is honoring us interaction with these wonderful people. Everyone is doing well and are blessed by the work we are doing. Continue to pray for us. We miss everyone..............one thing we are looking forward to when we get home is ice........a glass filled with ice! We will blog again. Please let others at Eastwood know of the blog so they can track what we are doing. We send our love and prayers for the Uganda team that will be leaving Thursday. Ginger

PCA Day 5

Yesterday was yet another amazing day in the Amazon. We served in a village along the river again, bigger than the one we had served the previous day. We held VBS with the children again, performing the Christmas story with costumes, a clinic, and a dental station where Dr. Eli pulled many teeth. This station is where i spent most of the day assisting Eli. In these villages the people tend to not brush their teeth, leaving them rotten, and leading some into death. Dr. Eli, a full time missionary dentist, yanked teeth from strong Brazilians throughout the day, one lady having 12 pulled, leaving only a few teeth. I saw God's love through Dr. Eli who had devoted his life to this work, saving these people's lives. Throughout the heated day, Dr. Eli only took a short lunch break, and was out once again pulling teeth out of his love for the people. The eyes of Christ are reflected through these joyous children, as they giggle and laugh with all of the students. These children have nothing and yet they are the most happy kids i have ever seen. The first day when we visited the invasion area in Patintins, i encountered a group of girls. They were so happy to spend time with us, and a smile was spread on almost every child's face. At the end of the day multiple girls gave me their suckers or worksheets out of thankfulness, but one little girl's gift touched my heart the most. Earlier that day i had given her one of my rubber bands that i had been wearing, and when we returned in the afternoon she came back with one of her beautiful silver bangals to give me. It struck me that these children were so willing to give away their few things, to me who had much more, because of how much they loved us.

One man in the village today decided to accept Christ after hearing Bill Squiric's testimony. As well as this man, many others gave their lives as translaters, students, and adults shared the Gospel through tracks and testimonies. The most touching part of the day occured at the place where the well had been drilled to supply local villagers with clean water. In honor of Mr. Ellis and his father, this well was dedicated and prayed over by all of us. Here i realized that God truly does answer prayers. Though it seemed unlikely at first, we were blessed with this great opportunity.

It was humorous to watch Eric and Michael paint little girls nails and play with their hair. The Brazilians beat the Americans in soccer, yet again, 17 to 0. Also, three of our very students decided to be baptized in the Amazon river, which was a very precious moment for all of us. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!!!!!!!!!!

We are airing up soccer balls to throw out to the small villages we pass on the way back to Manaus. The little kids swim out into the river to get the soccer balls and the baloons filled with bible verses and candy. It's like gold to them. Tonight we are going to cook dinner for the boat crew and the translators who have been serving us all week. We're going to throw a little party for them and serve them to show our appreciation for what they do.

It has definitely a trip that we are all going to remember and cherish throughout the rest of our lives. Thank you for all the prayers and support!

Heather Burns and Eric Shell 

 

Amazon PCA Update

Yesterday we worked in the village of Palhau which on a tributary of the Amazon called the Caburi.  The kids and parents on the team gave their all to show the love of Christ to this village. It was a lot of fun to see about 60 children chasing around Claire and Chris Cowman, Eric Shell, Brennan Beeson, Sheridan, Mr Green and Chelsea Huss around the village!  Heather Causey had a little boy follow her the entire day.  I am going to check her suitcase to make sure she is not sneaking him home!

 

This is a village where Amazon Outreach has done some work in the past and has seen some from the community come to Christ.  One man who came to Christ by the name of Adenil has since suffered because of his faith in Christ.  He is not as welcome in the community because in his new faith he has been seen as turning his back on his own Catholic faith.  The vision of Abimael - the local evangelist that continually travels to all of the villages under the ministry of Pastor Elmer Lessa in Parintins - is for a new community to be formed a couple minutes down the river so that Adenil can worship freely with some of the other new believers.  Through prayer with Abimael we have come up with a name for this new community - Nova Esperanca - which means New Hope!  There is another local believer by the name of Igino who is a hard working rancher and he owns a beautiful piece of land there in Nova Esperanca.  There has been a simple structure raised where services can be held for discipleship in the months ahead.  We are also in the process of drilling a well here in New Hope to provide much needed clean water for this new community.  This well is of particular significance to me as we are dedicating it to my father - Perry Ellis for his years of missionary work in Brazil.  Yesterday we were in prayer because the drill motor was not working for a period of time because it had struggled to break through the rock but by God's Grace the crew of the well boat drilling team got it back up and running!

 

I have attached a picture of several of our students as they shared the story of Mary and Joseph to the kids here this morning in the village of Terezinha.  The people have overall been very receptive and welcoming of our team.  Dr Huss and his nurse assistant Brittany Gadica saw over a 100 patients in the medical clinic yesterday.  Stefan Ralston made an endless amount of trips to the boat to keep the pharmacy supplied with the needed medications that were being dispensed by Mike Beeson and Bill Squiric.  They provided the only real medical attention to the village.  Our team also dispensed several pairs of much needed eyeglasses.  It was particularly touching to see Heather Burns as she assisted the dentist yesterday.  She did all that she could to encourage the dental patients.

 

All is well with the team but please keep us in your prayers on our final day of ministry.  Lord willing we will be making our way back to Manaus early tomorrow morning.

 

Christ Is Life!  Johnson Elis

PCA Day 3 - Mission Trip - Amazon

Hello Friends and Family!! It's Lauren Kelley here and it is officially the end of day 3!! So far it has been such an awesome trip!! Today we were in the city of Parintins and we visited the school called Colegio Batista de Parintins where we held our VBS in the morning with the smaller kids and had a chapel service. After returning to the boat for lunch, our group decided to put on a skit for the afternoon chapel service for the high schoolers. In the skit, Kevin played the role of Jesus and the rest of the group played the roles of "sins" that people often struggle with. The main point of the theme was that each person acts out their sin and tries to tempt Jesus to get him to do the sin with us. Jesus refuses to be transformed to wordly things as each person tried to tempt him. At the end of the scene, Brittany played the role of a missionary and pretended to read in her Bible to be a model of Christ and conform her life like Him. Even through the language barrier, this skit had no words and we only acted to the music, which caused the students to understand much better what we were acting out. It has been so awesome getting to spend time with these children and play with them. It's so evident that they crave attention and love and it has been such a joy to share that with them!! We are leaving Parintins tonight and heading to the villages. Everyone is having a blast and we are so excited for the days to come!! Thank you so much for all your prayers and Mr. Green wanted me to tell his wife that he loves her!! AWW!!! We have had much joy making fun of Mr. Green the whole trip haha.

 

This is Mr. Green...I wanted to add just a little bit to today's blog. First, let me say that I have been so impressed with the students that we have on the trip with us. They have jumped right in and ministered to the children and students here in Parintins -- it has been very encouraging to see. It was really neat to see them perform a skit all together at the school today. Even students who are generally quieter and more "behind the scenes" participated, and the skit really ministered to the students at Colegio Batista. I anticipate that these next two days will be extremely eye-opening for them as we move to the village...this is going to be like nothing they have ever seen before! We are so blessed as well to have several adults with us who have been so helpful too...each one of them has been serving faithfully and enabling the students to do what they are doing. Overall, we can see the hand of God clearly as we work here in the Amazon. There is no other way that we could be doing the things that we are doing...we are doing this in HIS strength and not our own.

Pray specifically for God to renew us physically and mentally each day as we continue to work with these people. The heat can be very draining at times, and we always want to be able to give 100%. Pray, too, for the drilling of the water well over these next couple of days. I think it is going to be an amazing thing for our kids to see and participate in...I really believe it will revolutionize the way they look at the world. And pray for boldness in all of us, especially in our students. We will be sharing the Gospel with many people in the village over the next couple of days. Please pray that God gives us clarity and wisdom to speak His truth faithfully.

Thanks for your prayers and your support. We could not do this without you. And to Tara...I love you and I miss you! I can't wait to see you on Sunday!

PCA Day 2

We have made it to Brazil safe and sound! As we spent our first full day on the Amor E Esperanca as we traveled, we bonded together as a group. At first when I read the list of names of the people on the trip I thought to myself about how it was a random group of people and no one will really bond...well God has proved me sooo wrong. I know for sure now that God hand picked this group of people for a certain reason and that each and everyone of us has His plan to answer to. There are no words to explain the beauty here. You can look off the boat and see every single star that God created, and you look at the tress and realize how every single one is created by His hands. It truly takes your breath away. God is so good! This morning after waking up from a night of brutal lightening storms we ate breakfast as a group and began to go out on our first day on land. We did VBS in a place called "The Invasion." This place is where kids and teens are raising themselves as their parents go back to the jungle to get money and make a living. We sang songs of praise and worship and performed passages of scripture for the kids as their laughter filled the room. A personal favorite from the crowd was the "fruits of the sprirt" song and dance. :) We made crafts and colored pictures, and the boys lost in a game of soccer to the natural Brazilian soccer stars!! As the day continued on, more and more children joined us! They would stand at the gates questioning if they should go in or not, and the second the stepped in the gates a smile grew upon all of their faces. The place was full and overflowing with the joy and happiness of God, and people could not turn away. I personally got to share my testimony to all the kids during VBS. As I told my story I listened to the translator repeat it to the kids and thought what a mighty God we serve! He is so great that He is praised in numerous languages!! We continued to play till the late afternoon, and Mr. Green was worn out after being tackled many times! Many of our students had created a special friendship with children here in the Invasion place. I had met a beautiful little girl named Sara. Sara was probably no more than two and clung to my hip as I spun her around singing songs to her. Sara had horrible scabs near her eye and mouth, but I disregarded them and continued to play and color with the sweet little girl. As I continued to play a woman came up and asked Sara what her scar was from. Sara said nothing, she was shy and her words still sounded as gibber gabber since she was a young toddler. The woman told me that she works with a company that goes searching for child abuse throughout the village. She said that Sara's scars did not look like she had just fallen, but that she had possibly been pushed or beaten by someone. I wanted to break down crying right there. How could someone hurt such a precious child of God?? After the woman walked away I held Sara closer wanting this child to know that she is loved by me and more importantly by a God of protection! As we left the place, multiple students left in tears as they realized that they would most likely never see these children again. The bus pulled out and the children began to run after us chasing the bus down waving. It proved to us all that the simplicity of kicking a soccer ball around or braiding hair meant the world to those children. We loved them and that was all they wanted, to be loved. Her in Parintins there is a festival that goes on in June. This festival is sponsered by Coca-Cola and there are two teams, the red and the blue. Parintins is the only place that you can buy a blue Coca-Cola can. This festival is based on old folk tales and stories. The people worship demonic creatures as they partake in the competitions of the two teams. This huge and famous festival brings thousands and thousands of people to the city and also brings prostitution, drinking, gambling and many more things. Our group got the chance to have a time or worship (led by Camryn Clark and Sheridan Ellis) and prayer in the stadium where the event takes place. In a stadium where sin happens, God was worshipped. We spread out around the stadium and covered the place with prayer. We prayed that God will work among the hearts of the people of Brazil. We finished the day off with some ice cream and have headed straight to our beds, since tomorrow will be an early start. Please continue to pray for us as we are fullfilling the plan of our great God. Pray for health as a couple of our team have grown weak due to dehydration. But mainly pray for the people of Brazil and that God will continue to work in this city and open hearts and minds as we students are His hands and feet! We love and miss you all so very much! Hugs and kisses are sent to the family members and friends of those on the trip! (and Mr. Green wants to give a special shout-out to his wife he says, "I love and miss you") Thank you for all the support and prayers!

-Claire Cowman 10th Grade