Hello from the Amazon River - literally! We just took our first swim (for some of us) in the river and it was so refreshing!  In case you were worried - no one was eaten - yay!  :)

 

Today was such an exciting day for us!  We dedicated our second water well and not only were we able to provide this village with fresh drinking water, four children were presented with the gospel and accepted Christ into their hearts.  The angels in heaven are celebrating because we have four new members in our kingdom.  We left them with bibles and challenged them to be leaders of the younger children. 

 

We are starting on our final voyage home, so this is our last blog.  We do have some exciting boat news that occured this morning!  Two of our members got engaged!  :)

 

Praise the Lord for a safe journey and an amazing trip!  Please pray for safe travels home and We will see you in the States!

 

In His Glorious Name,
The Village Team

The Village Day 3

Bom Dia!  Sorry for the delay in updating our blog.  It has been such a full few days that we haven't had the time to really sit down and write. 

 

We are on our 4th and last full day of ministry and I feel like we are all in agreement that we don't want to leave.  We have visited a new village every day and even though they are all relatively close together, they each have their own unique 'feel' and demeanor to them.  The first village was probably the most unsure of us, the 2nd one was extremely welcoming, the 3rd was full of excitement, and our 4th is definitely the most interesting.  We are learning so much about their culture and some of the battles that they're dealing with in their community. 

 

It's hard to believe that we are almost done with our trip - I think we are all struggling with the concept that we will be leaving this beautiful place to head back to reality.  None of us will be the same after this trip - we have seen some of the most beautiful faces and have gotten to be a part of God's great calling.  The team has really bonded and new friendships have definitely been formed. 

 

We don't want to get into too many of the details of the trip because we know that we'll want to tell you all the fun things in person, but one thing we will say - it is crazy to really grasp that although we may not speak the same language, and our way of living is completely different, we have met people that we will one day get to worship with in Heaven. 

 

We'll try and write once more, but don't freak out if we don't.  We are excited to share with you our experiences and are so appreciative of your prayers while we're here. 

 

For His Glory,
The Village Team

The village day 3

Bom Dia!  Sorry for the delay in updating our blog.  It has been such a full few days that we haven't had the time to really sit down and write. 

 

We are on our 4th and last full day of ministry and I feel like we are all in agreement that we don't want to leave.  We have visited a new village every day and even though they are all relatively close together, they each have their own unique 'feel' and demeanor to them.  The first village was probably the most unsure of us, the 2nd one was extremely welcoming, the 3rd was full of excitement, and our 4th is definitely the most interesting.  We are learning so much about their culture and some of the battles that they're dealing with in their community. 

 

It's hard to believe that we are almost done with our trip - I think we are all struggling with the concept that we will be leaving this beautiful place to head back to reality.  None of us will be the same after this trip - we have seen some of the most beautiful faces and have gotten to be a part of God's great calling.  The team has really bonded and new friendships have definitely been formed. 

 

We don't want to get into too many of the details of the trip because we know that we'll want to tell you all the fun things in person, but one thing we will say - it is crazy to really grasp that although we may not speak the same language, and our way of living is completely different, we have met people that we will one day get to worship with in Heaven. 

 

We'll try and write once more, but don't freak out if we don't.  We are excited to share with you our experiences and are so appreciative of your prayers while we're here. 

 

For His Glory,
The Village Team

The village Day 3

Bom Dia!  Sorry for the delay in updating our blog.  It has been such a full few days that we haven't had the time to really sit down and write. 

 

We are on our 4th and last full day of ministry and I feel like we are all in agreement that we don't want to leave.  We have visited a new village every day and even though they are all relatively close together, they each have their own unique 'feel' and demeanor to them.  The first village was probably the most unsure of us, the 2nd one was extremely welcoming, the 3rd was full of excitement, and our 4th is definitely the most interesting.  We are learning so much about their culture and some of the battles that they're dealing with in their community. 

 

It's hard to believe that we are almost done with our trip - I think we are all struggling with the concept that we will be leaving this beautiful place to head back to reality.  None of us will be the same after this trip - we have seen some of the most beautiful faces and have gotten to be a part of God's great calling.  The team has really bonded and new friendships have definitely been formed. 

 

We don't want to get into too many of the details of the trip because we know that we'll want to tell you all the fun things in person, but one thing we will say - it is crazy to really grasp that although we may not speak the same language, and our way of living is completely different, we have met people that we will one day get to worship with in Heaven. 

 

We'll try and write once more, but don't freak out if we don't.  We are excited to share with you our experiences and are so appreciative of your prayers while we're here. 

 

For His Glory,
The Village Team

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