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 :)

Day 3

Family & Friends:

 

What an amazing trip so far. Day 3, which was also our first full day in the villages, was a huge success. We spent the majority of the day in a village that consists of 30+ families. Later in the afternoon we visited a village that was up the river a bit. That village consisted of less than 10 families. There were a number of things that we focused on: men's ministry, women's ministry, VBS (vacation bible school for the children), dental, eye wear, medical and evangelism. Typically, Amazon Outreach pairs two groups together to make those ministries function. Praise the Lord for allowing us to still implement each of those ministries with only one team and a few extras.

 

During our nightly meeting, we shared with the group the things that stood out to us. I will try to relay as many things as possible to you.

 

First, VBS had a huge turn out! The joy on these kids faces was unbelievable. When we get back to the U.S., we will have a link for friends and family to see all the photos. You will see how much joy the children got out of games, singing, and crafts!

 

Our women's ministry was a hit! There were so many more women that turned out than we could have anticipated. A theme that many of us have noticed (from previous mission trips), is that women's ministry is very difficult... mainly because they are holding babies and have kids running in searching for them. This can be a bit disruptive. In the U.S., we would quickly eliminate that behavior. We learned that it is important to work with those cultural factors. The women had SO many women turn out that it was almost overwhelming. Thankfully, the Lord had equipped the team to work under such pressure!

 

The men were able to have some quality time together. They were able to share testimonies and encourage one another in the Lord. They also were able to share a game of soccer... I'm sure you can image who won that game (if you didn't know, Brazilians LOVE soccer)! The men were also able to spend some time talking and praying with the Chief of the village. He is a believer in Jesus Christ. Our prayer for him, and we ask that you join us, is that the Holy Spirit would continue to move in his life, that he would continue to lead his village towards faith and righteousness, and that this legacy would continue from generation to generation.

 

The medical team consists of a doctor and a physician's assistant (Heather from the Tampa team). One of the things that Heather mentioned is that at home, she see's patients and is able to "fix" what is going on. Here in the Amazon, people are suffering from things like Type 1 Diabetes and Malaria. It broke her (and many others) heart knowing that medically speaking, there isn't much that can be done. Situations like this, as Heather shared, make us realize how much we need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. That our true mission here, goes far beyond some medicine, but to eternity. Next was a story about a medical miracle. One lady, according to the people of the village and the local missionaries that are working with us, had cancer that was so bad- she was miserable. She recently prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, and she was healed... when we saw here, nobody suspected that anything was ever wrong with her. Her story is a testimony to so many people of the village.

 

The dental team was a huge blessing to the village. He pulled teeth that were so rotten that it was painful to live with. One story shared, was about a man who had a tooth that no doctor would pull. The tooth, rather than looking like a normal root, sprung out into the gums making it nearly impossible to pull. This young man even went to the closest city, but was told the tooth required much surgery. Our dentist was able to pull the tooth with NO problems! Praise God!

 

The eye wear team had no idea what kind of ministry they would be in for. The way it is set up, in one of the open shelters, medical, dental and pharmacy set up stations. After each family tried on eye wear, Rebecca and the eye wear team would then ask questions like- do you know why we are here? Do you know who Jesus is? Simple questions like that led to some amazing talks.

 

Photos. Something we, as Americans see on a regular basis. It is nothing surprising or extremely special to us. Andrew's team last year printed photos for some of the village. We decided to do the same this year. I (Kim) was able to do the photography since I work with it a lot. We had each family come together to take a family photograph and gave them a hard copy of it. The reaction- amazing! They looked at themselves on this paper... for the first time in their lives. Some people said that once they received them they just looked and laughed. Then they went from neighbor to neighbor showing off their photo. For me, it was a blessing to see that something so simple brings so much joy.

 

Below are some specific prayer requests for people of the village. Kandace, one of our missionaries was so touched by the people she met, that she wrote down information about them. I hope we all take what she did to heart and do something similar to remember who these people are so we can pray specifically for them. I want to mention of few of these people and ask that you would join us in prayer for them.

 

Maria Aimunda is a little over 80 years old (one of a few elderly people in the village). He is very regal, quiet and still.

 

Pedro (village leader mentioned before). Please pray for a stronger relationship with Christ. Men are watching him. Please pray that they don't abuse alcohol or anything else. Also that the men of this village will be who they are called to be in Christ Jesus.

 

Jose accepted Christ into his heart. Please pray for his health.

 

Amarildo has 4 kids. He is shy at first and gave some confusing information regarding whether or not he accepted Jesus Christ. Please pray for his faith.

 

Luiza, 23, has a 3 month old baby. Please pray for the health of them both.

 

Deborah has a 2 month old baby. She accepted Christ! Please pray for the Lord to make her path straight.
The time we spent in this village was powerful. We were able to reach people, share the love through goods, and able to see some people trust their lives to Jesus Christ.

Day 1

Dear Family and Friends, we made it! I am writing this blog from the Amazon River, Brazil.

 

Our journey started last night around midnight (although for a few, it started a bit earlier). Most of us met at church (Davis Islands Campus of South Tampa Fellowship), traveled down to Miami, took a 7:40am flight and arrived around 12:20pm in Manaus, Brazil. A short bus-ride later and we were aboard our new home! The boat we are on is just like the pictures (snoop around the Amazon Outreach website if you are curious).

 

Once we arrived on the boat we unloaded our belongings and had lunch. The crew made us a great American lunch: hamburgers and fries! By this point, we had been traveling more than 12 hours... and if you haven't traveled recently, the act of sitting for 12+ hours can cause you to feel just as tired as a full work day. So, some of the group tested out our bed for the next 11 days- hammocks... they were comfy!

 

Later that evening, we met as a group. We shared a little about who we are and why we felt God called us to the Amazon River. We spent some time in prayer and worship. Rebecca and Francisco, our devotion leaders, led us in a devotion. As a group, we will be reading the book Crazy Love as our devotion. Did you know that there are more than 3,000 types of trees within one square mile of the amazon forest? The book and our leaders challenged us to think about how great our God is... much more great than we can really fathom.

 

To get to the village that we will be working with, we have to travel down the river approximately 24 hours. Since we are traveling, it actually seemed "cold" to many of us while sleeping! Heather and Andrew noticed music from different villages throughout the night as we passed by.

 

This morning, after breakfast, we spent more time in prayer and worship. Rebecca led us in a devotion and gave us a challenge to ponder: If we were only given X amount of time left to live, would that change how we are living our lives? Then, Brent shared his testimony with the group. The sharing of our testimonies not only allows us to get to know one another, but it also allows us to see how the Lord specifically allowed us to go through certain trials to make us who we are. When hearing testimonies from others, I often think of James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because of the testing of your faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work for  us to be complete in Christ Jesus."

 

We would like to thank ALL of you who donated goods for this trip. I was overwhelemed as we unpacked suitcase after suitcase of clothes, candy, meds, blankets, toys, etc. for the people of the villages!

Day 1-2

Dear Family and Friends, we made it! I am writing this blog from the Amazon River, Brazil.

 

Our journey started last night around midnight (although for a few, it started a bit earlier). Most of us met at church (Davis Islands Campus of South

 

Tampa Fellowship), traveled down to Miami, took a 7:40am flight and arrived around 12:20pm in Manaus, Brazil. A short bus-ride later and we were

 

aboard our new home! The boat we are on is just like the pictures (snoop around the Amazon Outreach website if you are curious).

 

Once we arrived on the boat we unloaded our belongings and had lunch. The crew made us a great American lunch: hamburgers and fries! By this

 

point, we had been traveling more than 12 hours... and if you haven't traveled recently, the act of sitting for 12+ hours can cause you to feel just as

 

tired as a full work day. So, some of the group tested out our bed for the next 11 days- hammocks... they were comfy!

 

Later that evening, we met as a group. We shared a little about who we are and why we felt God called us to the Amazon River. We spent some time

 

in prayer and worship. Rebecca and Francisco, our devotion leaders, led us in a devotion. As a group, we will be reading the book Crazy Love as our

 

devotion. Did you know that there are more than 3,000 types of trees within one square mile of the amazon forest? The book and our leaders

 

challenged us to think about how great our God is... much more great than we can really fathom.

 

To get to the village that we will be working with, we have to travel down the river approximately 24 hours. Since we are traveling, it actually seemed

 

"cold" to many of us while sleeping! Heather and Andrew noticed music from different villages throughout the night as we passed by.

 

This morning, after breakfast, we spent more time in prayer and worship. Rebecca led us in a devotion and gave us a challenge to ponder: If we were

 

only given X amount of time left to live, would that change how we are living our lives? Then, Brent shared his testimony with the group. The sharing of

 

our testimonies not only allows us to get to know one another, but it also allows us to see how the Lord specifically allowed us to go through certain

 

trials to make us who we are. When hearing testimonies from others, I often think of James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face

 

trials of many kinds, because of the testing of your faith develops perseverance and perseverance must finish its work for  us to be complete in Christ

 

Jesus."

 

We would like to thank ALL of you who donated goods for this trip. I was overwhelemed as we unpacked suitcase after suitcase of clothes, candy,

 

meds, blankets, toys, etc. for the people of the villages!       

 

Until next time!

BTCP Last Day

Oi from the Amor e Esperanca

 

Today has been a travel day for us. The last ministry we did is the balloon ministry. It's tradition that on the ride

 

back, we fill balloons with candy and a Bible verse and throw them out into the river for the kids. At many of the

 

homes we passed, the kids were waiting for us in their small boats and would paddle after the balloons looking

 

for their 'bon bon' (candy in Portugese). We each had fun taking our turn throwing the balloons out.

 

Tonight we had a party for the interpreters and boat crew.  We served them instead of them serving us as they have all week.  They are all amazing, sweet servants.

 

It's a 30 hour boat ride from the last village to Manaus where we will catch our flights. Both teams will be taking

 

the same flight from Brazil to Miami tomorrow, with an overnight layover in Miami. From there, the Dallas team

 

flies to Nashville and then home and the Indianapolis team flies to D.C. and then home.

 

The trip has been amazing and life changing--it's an experience that none of us will ever forget. This morning,

 

we each shared our favorite trip moment that truly touched us the most and for each of us, that moment had to do with God's work using each of us to help others.

 

This will be the last blog for the Bent Tree and College Park group (although we are truly 1 group now!). We can't wait to get home and see our friends and our family! Without our supporters and our families, none of us could be here helping those who need it.

 

We simply can't say "Obrigada - Thank you" enough!

 

Obrigada and Deus te abencoe (Thank you and God Bless You)!!

 

 

BTCP Day 7

Oi from San Benedito,

 

It's another partly cloudy breezy day.  We awoke to another magnificent sunrise on the river,

 

Amazon Outreach has not visited this village before. It is small, maybe 4-5 families live here, however, word

 

spread very quickly that we were here and people from the neighboring village came over. Word travels fast

 

on the river and families started arriving by boat before 8:00 a.m. for medical and dental care. Between 8am

 

and noon, the medical team saw 105 people and prescribed many meds to help with infections, worms, and

 

other conditions. Our dental team was very busy pulling teeth, literally. We noticed a woman listening to Pastor's message to the Men,

 

she had been at the Woman's ministry meeting in San Antonio the day before and had travelled to this village to see us again, her name was Luci. 

 

Phyllis, Linda, Della and Peggy took her aside to speak with her.  She had heard the gospel before and

 

believed but was uncertain of her eternal destiny.  Luci is certain of that now!

 

The men received fishing packets and heard a word from Pastor Abimael.  We had about 27 children at VBS,

 

it was their first VBS experience.   Rosalee our dentist worked on patients all morning along with Leslie.  We

 

also provided eye glasses to about 26 villagers. 

 

Rose, a member of our crew, an interpreter, was working at the eyeglass station, part of the reading test is

 

scripture verses, so she asked a lady named Maria about her eternal destiny.  A short while later, Maria was

 

certain of her eternal destiny.

 

Pastor Abimael wanted us to have some time to swim, so after lunch we did partake and "swam the Am"! 

 

There was a nice sandy beach at this village and a great big tree that many of our more adventerous team

 

members, Peter, Chris, Jamie, Bethany, Becky  and Josiah and even a few translators, Rose and Rachel

 

climbed up and jumped into the water. It's how the Brazilian's did it, probably much more gracefully though! It

 

was tons of fun!  Many others of the team swam as well.

 

We made our way to Parintins to drop off Michael and Leah, our young missionaries; and Pastor and his wife. 

 

It was hard to say good bye, they were all such spirit-led leaders.  Pastor Abimael became our Pastor for the

 

days we were here, an excellent Godly leader.  We will miss them. 

 

As we are blogging, we saw a dolphin jump out of the water, they don't have pigment in their skin, so they

 

appear to be pink/translucent color. 

 

Geraldo and another member of our crew took several groups out on the Amazon for some crocodile hunting,

 

the second trip had success.  It was a sight to see Geraldo literally reach out of the small motor boat and grab

 

a crocodile, albiet a small one, but still reaching your hand in the Amazon in the dark!  The sounds of the jungle

 

were amazing to hear. Tonight and tomorrow, we will be on the move on the boat for 30 hours making our way to Manaus.  

 

Good Night from the Amazon!

 

 

BT/CP-DAY 6

Oi from Santo Antonio,

 

This is our second and final day in this village.   We started at 9:00 a.m, with Woman's Ministry, VBS and more medical and dental services, along with fitting villagers for eye glasses. 

 

We saw our first dolphins today off the shore. 

 

One of the villagers a woman named Sebastione (Saba) showed us her home and garden which was quite impressive.   She then took us on a short hike into the jungle to the field where they grow Maniok, they pull the roots and grind it into powder.  We saw Brazil nut trees, banana trees and cashew trees.  Who knew nuts grew on trees!   She was so kind to us, we later shared the Gospel of Jesus with her, which she graciously accepted, praise God! Today there were many more divine appointments that we will be able to tell you about after we arrive home. 

 

We had a short service in the village at the close of today. There was so much joy. The children sang and danced to 2 of the VBS songs that they learned. The parents really enjoyed seeing what the children had learned about. The team also sang songs in Portuguese. Pastor Abimeal invited people to come forward if they wanted to receive Christ at the end of service and about 15 adults and children came forward. We prayed over them.

 

Tomorrow will be our last day visiting a village, only half day. It's hard to believe that our trip will be over after tomorrow and we'll all be heading back home. We've all had such an amazing time and can't wait to share all the other stories you haven't heard yet. God Bless all who've been praying for us! Obrigada (Thank you!)

 

Boa Noite! (Good-night)