TCA Day 1 - Santo Antonio (Campinas Area)

Oi team! It is day one in the beautiful country of Brazil, and we are
already blown away by all the ways the Lord has shown His love through
protection. We'd like to tell you our modern version of the story of Exodus.
(Dave Delph= Moses; Amazon team= Israelites). As you know by now, our first
flight was cancelled, and it only got more difficult from there. We'd like
to call this, Israelites stuck in slavery under the Dallas airport. After 4
hours in the Dallas airport, our flight got delayed an hour, giving us a
total of 5 hours in the airport before boarding our plane to Miami. After
running out of room in the overhead compartments, we wandered the terminals
looking for baggage claim in the Miami Airport. This, my friends, is the 40
years of wandering the desert. We then found ourselves at the TAM Airlines
kiosk at 3:30 am waiting for boarding passes. Keep in mind, we haven't eaten
or slept since Dallas. Currently, praying for provision. A hunt ensued for
bagels (aka manna), which most would say was unsuccessful. Let's just say
it's called Dunkin' Donuts for a reason (subpar bagels). It was only fitting
for us to grumble through the manna provided. (#grumble). Why did we have to
wait for our boarding passes? Since we had to change airlines, our boarding
passes given to us in Dallas were not sufficient for TAM, causing us to have
to wait for new ones. After 3 more hours in the Miami airport, we finally
began to board the plane. Then, tragedy struck.
In line to board the plane, Ellie Buchanan realized she didn't have her VISA
(she had her sister's). By the grace of God, the TAM Airlines worker only
checked her passport, allowing her to board the plane. We were finally free!
Just kidding...immigration awaited us when we landed. After a lot of prayer
from the group and conversation back and forth with the immigration worker,
he thankfully had a change of heart, showed mercy on Ellie and allowed her
to enter the country. After the Lord brought us through Satan's first round
of trials, we made it to the Promise Land. (#milkandhoney).
After loading the boat, we were off to the races. Oh, contraire. Satan
hadn't given up just yet. We had been en route for less than 30 minutes when
the Coast Guard approached our translator boat for an inspection. A
miniscule error in paperwork required the boat to turn around. As 63
Americans joined together in prayer, we opened our eyes to see the
translator boat turning around to travel with us again. What a
blessing!!!!!!!!!!!! #success #Heisable #getbehindusSatan
Now for our first day in the village. We had an eventful day of VBS,
dental/medical ministry, eye glass ministry, door-to-door, women's/men's
ministry, gospel presentations in the schools, and futebol (soccer) games.
VBS was a hit, successfully led and organized by Ellie Buchanan. (What a
rockstar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (Ellie didn't write this part, this isn't
self-praise) (#awesomesauce). Also, special thanks to our Academy Award
winning serpent, Ben Thorton, during the skit of Adam and Eve. (With a show
like that, I would've eaten the apple too ;-) ).
STORY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!
First, let's hear from Mary Clayton Wood. While inviting villagers to come
to VBS, Mary Clayton led her team of Peyton Travis, Brooke Herman, and Macey
Walker to nearby houses. After being in conversation with a woman and
praying with her, she asked them if they would speak to her mother. She
brought her mother into the room who appeared to be in her mid-sixties. One
of the group members was able to connect with her through sharing her
testimony-- it's so cool to see how the story of the Lord's love and
redemption can bring two completely different people together! What a
reminder that we all struggle in the same ways, and the Lord's love is
universal!
Tonight Corey Paige shared a story of encouragement that she witnessed
through Joe Foster. While working in the eye glass ministry, Corey became
overwhelmed by the abundance of villagers in need of help. She quickly
became focused on getting through villagers as efficiently as possible to
help as many as they could. She soon looked over to Joe Foster who had her
same job, and saw that he had physically helped only 1/3 of the people that
she had. Confused, she stopped to watch. She realized that Joe was not only
helping them physically, but spiritually as well. Joe took time with each
individual person to intentionally talk with them about the gospel of Christ
and the subject of their eternity, always ending with a prayer. Joe reminded
us all of the beauty of intentionality, and the true reason we are here-- to
tell others about the awesome love of Jesus!
We are so thankful for all of y'alls prayers, support, and love sent our
way. Keep it comin!!! The Lord has provided abundantly, and it's only been a
few days! We know that the Lord has BIG plans for this trip because of
Satan's persistence in trying to slow our efforts. But greater is He who is
in us, than he who is in the world! We are so excited to see what He has in
store, and share it will you all in this blog. Stay tuned!!!

XOXO,
@StephanieWofford
@MollyLegband
@KenzieCimpl
@Illegalimmigrant123 (ellie hehe)

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Day 5 - Costa Do Barroso (Part 2) and Bela Vista

We're back!!

Today was another incredible day in the Amazon! We began our day with
singing "Mighty to Save" in both Portuguese and English (Emily says this is
the highlight of her trip). Our God is UNIVERSAL and this worship was such a
cool picture of that.

In the first village (part 2), we did our regular ministries. We met a sweet
family going door-to-door that passionately shared with us about their
thriving mantioch trade and their other business endeavors such as cattle,
carpentry, and potato farming. They joked around with us in Portuguese,
forgetting and not really caring that we could not understand anything being
said. It was interesting to see the different roles of women in this
conservative "Assembly of God" village. The two most eventful things in this
village: Steve Williamson almost stepped on a snake and screamed like a girl
during door-to-door... and all of the Americanos were able to pray for the
pastor of the village. The pastor and family were brought to tears and
filled with hope for their village and the continued sharing of the Gospel.

We traveled through lunch to the next "village" (small city-think Lindale,
TX). Most of our team shared that this has been the favorite village thus
far. We had the largest turnout for VBS and both Brazilians and Americans
felt connected to one another. Unfortunately, Americans lost another soccer
game at our afternoon service in their indoor soccer facility, but we were
still able to share the gospel. We call this a victory for sure. We sadly
left this village, waving to our new Brazilian friends left on the shore.

Tnight we tapped into our inner Swamp People and went Gator hunting. From a
12" baby gator to the 6' momma (OK...it was a little under 4 feet) we
brought onto the boat, us city people got a taste of the Amazon River at its
finest.

Boa noiche and te ama!!
-Emily and Caroline

Day 4 - Costa Do Barroso (Muddy Coast)

After traveling several hours Tuesday night, we arrived at "Muddy Coast"
village...which lives up to its name. It was another wonderful day of
medical, dental, eyeglass, VBS, door-to-door, and Women's and Men's
ministries in the morning and afternoon, and a service at 5:00 pm complete
with singing, drama, sin solution illustration (by Ellie and Kenzie), and
Joe Foster sharing the gospel. What a blessing to see our team using their
gifts to reach as many as possible in Costa Do Barroso!

Tonight we provided our crew and translators with a Tex-Mex dinner (queso,
chips, tortillas, fajita fixins, brownies, and a small gift)...thank you
Costco! It was a sweet time of encouragement and thanks for how faithfully
and selflessly they serve. We celebrated the birthday of one of the cooks
and one of the translators with cake and gifts. We served them, we cleaned
dishes, gave them the night off, then we ate and cleaned our own mess.
Great reminder of how hard it is to do what they do EVERYDAY!

It's down the river 10 min. to the same village...just one of those long
narrow villages that never seems to end! We'll spend the afternoon in Bella
Vista, the home church of one of the missionary pastors serving with us this
week. There we will share the gospel door-to-door as well as participate in
an outreach to the community through a service at night. We were hoping to
swim in at what we thought would be a beautiful lake to enjoy (dark instead
of muddy water), but was told the locals named this lake, Lake Alligator, so
we all agreed we would rather hunt the alligators rather than be hunted...so
that's what we'll do! Three groups will hunt on Thursday and three on
Friday.

What a blessing it is to see God show up in so many ways...our worship has
been special, our service has been meaningful, the love shown in the
villages and on the boat has been plentiful, and the nightly discussions and
prayer times have been rich. Thank you to those who continue to pray for
this trip and for those who have made it financially possible for us to be
here.

Rain Rain Go Away - Day 3

Bom Dia!

Today, we had an awesome day filled with VBS, women's ministry,
door-to-door, and medical ministry.

Once again, the door-to-door groups (Mary Clayton, Brooke, Kenzie,
Cathy Jean, Priscila, Jimmy, and Salma) witnessed many life changing
stories. Specifically, one 25-year-old girl feeling incredibly lost and
lonely, needing a Savior. Praise God that she found hope and life in Jesus
Christ today. Another group (Winston, Emily Calvert, Hunt Wood, Austin
Gurney, and John McClay) met a small store owner who was under the
impression that his sin was too big to forgive. We explained the concept of
grace to him, and he finally understood. Later that day, we had the
privilege of meeting his wife and three of his four children. Many thanks to
Rachael Cash, Scot Buchanan, and Kai Harrison for stepping up and leading
students in the door-to-door ministry. Jane Neuhoff and Lauren Roquemore
were able to connect with a 14-year-old wife, giving her encouragement. The
love they showed her presented her with a clear picture of her Savior. Emily
Parnell and Olivia McClay were able to go with our Brazilian pastor,
spreading word about the church service to be held later that afternoon.

In women's ministry, many of the girls were blessed to hear a few of the
translator's testimonies and many of the villagers were surprised to feel
connected to girls that initially seemed so different from them. Hannah
Beckwith and Logan Landry shared their testimonies to these women and the
villagers asked questions and shared prayer requests. Tammie Parnell and
Shelly Mueller spent hours painting nails, doing hair, and conversing with
the women of the village. Caralee Gurney loved on the mothers' babies while
they were getting their nails done. The women love to see the pictures she
takes of them and their children. Kelly Foster and Lori Holstrom had a
special experience while painting a mother's (age 16) nails. They empathized
with her and shared that she can find hope in Jesus. Because of Kelly, Lori,
an amazing interpreter (Rosie), and the Lord's mighty hand, this young woman
is now a sister in Christ. Praise the Lord.

Today in VBS, we talked again about the fruit of the Spirit. Ellie
Buchanan and Hayley Quigley's long hours of hard work in preparation for
this trip have paid off, as the kids love the activities prepared for them.
The kids loved painting bags and a poster that now hangs in their village.
They learned what these qualities looked like through a skit put on by Gavin
Jones and Travis Josephs. Tara Williamson, Tori Holstrom, Caroline McClay,
Hayden Foster, and Susie Feldman spent the entire day helping the
organization of VBS. They were crucial in facilitating the painting,
coloring, and snacks. Caroline Cash, assisted by Steve Williamson presented
Sin Solution to the kids, explaining that the cross took all sin, connecting
us back to God. Shannon Jones once again starred in the Brasilieros V
Americanos soccer game. Aaron Feldman and Addison Heritage helped lead the
kids in many games and soccer, drawing a crowd because of their high energy.
Many of the kids seen today have been following our boat from village to
village, and it was neat to continue to connect with them on a deeper level.

In the medical ministry, the doctors and nurse Lauren Delph worked for
hours, seeing dozens of patients. During the long wait to see a doctor,
Christiana Konstans, Jessie Harrison, and Natalie Jones passed out tracts
and Bibles to the villagers. Natalie was able to share her testimony with
the women in line, giving them hope and a positive outlook on motherhood and
the responsibility of raising children. Reagan Rice has been a huge help to
Brazilian dentist, Thiago.

At our evening service, Kenzie Cimpl and Jack Mueller shared powerful
testimonies that were extremely relatable to the villagers. The drama team,
led by Emily Davidson, performed the "Everything" skit, touching the
villagers and the Americans despite the lack of words. Joe Foster presented
the Gospel through a soccer ball, which allowed the most macho of men to
connect to our message of hope.

The day only continued to get better as our team bonded through worship,
Scripture, and share time back on the boat.

For parents: your wonderful children are safe, healthy, and having a
fantastic time sharing God's love with the Brazilians. Please continue to
pray for the health of our team and the hearts of the Brazilians.

TCHAU
Emily Calvert and Caroline Cash

Monday - Day 2

Oi!

We spent today in the village of Christo Resurrection and SF do Caninde. It
was our second day in CR, and we were able to begin our door to door
ministry
and finish seeing the long line of medical patients. This is the first time
that Americans have visited this village. On our door to door adventure me
(Emily) Caroline Cash, Hunt Wood, Mary Calyton Wood, Priscilla, and Jimmy
Davis went to the home of a middle aged Brazilian couple. They immediately
invited us to sit on the floor of their small wooden hut. After talking to
them about their fishing and Mantioch (bitter yellow Brazilian root that can
be ground into a wheat-like substance), Mary Clayton Wood asked them if they
knew the Lord and they answered by telling us the numerous stories of the
Lord's faithfulness and supernatural healing in their lives. We encouraged
the couple to step out in courage as leaders in their village. The woman
began to weep as she explained to our group that her children did not have a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Meanwhile her oldest son,
Ellisandro, was outside conversing with his friend, Charles. After praying
with the couple for the salvation of their children, Ellisandro came inside,
and we began to share the gospel with him. Immediately he began weeping and
said that a lack of courage and fear of others' judgment was holding him
back from accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior. Jimmy invited Elisandro
to pray with him, and encouraged him to step up and follow Christ. Praise
God he did. After praying with Jimmy, all rejoiced with "Gloria Deus". What
a testament of God's faithfulness and sovereignty.

In the second village, the smallest of villages to be visited this week, we
led VBS, medical, and dental ministries, ending the day with a church
service. During this time, Joe Foster and Olivia McClay shared their
testimonies, Sin Solution was presented, and the Everything skit was
performed. After this time, family packs (clothes and toys) were passed out
and a soccer game started. Brazilians won in a close game.

We will get back to you tomorrow with more testimonies and stories of God's
love.

Ps: Charles, the friend of Ellisandro, came to know Christ later today as
Jimmy and our translator, Priscilla, shared the gospel with him. He is
known as the village drunk but is now connected with a mentor to help him
overcome his struggle.

Pps: we are currently writing from the boat's bathroom to escape the slew of
moths and various Brazilian insects that were drawn to the light of the
computer.

Beijos!!!
Caroline Cash and Emily Calvert