Thursday, November 26th, 2009 - a.k.a Thanksgiving!!!

At the break of dawn we loaded onto the speedboats and wisked down the canal to Lake Carara. Upon the opening we saw crystal clear water (in Amazon terms, meaning mucky brown) and beautiful palm trees lining the horizon. Now that we have painted you a wonderful picture...

Today we split into two groups, the first going to a surrounding village to share the gospel and provide VBS for children, and the second going to host a soccer tournament. We were on the soccer team and upon entering the speedboats to take us to the village, one of our valued members was left behind (that valued member was Audrey). After hiking up to the soccer field in Sol Nasciente we realized we were without a translator and Audrey, but through much smiling, pointing and Spanish we managed to survive until Norman and Audrey joined the team. The soccer tournament was for the four main villages that surround Lake Carara and served as the audience for the grand opening of the mission house that had been built in Sol Nasciente. We provided the teams with full uniforms inculding jerseys, shorts and socks. We played the first two games in the morning: Divino played Bucuzal and Bucuzal was victorious! For the second game it was Sol Nasciente vs. Paraiso where Sol Nasciente was the winner. The two winning teams would play each other in the afternoon for the Championship.

We returned to the Linda Esperanca for lunch and rest and shared our morning experiences amongst each other. Everyone was rather tired at this point and knew that the afternoon session was going to be pretty long. We boarded the speedboats again (this time no one was left behind) and returned to the soccer field. The consolation game was played first, Paraiso was the winner, followed by the Championship where Sol Nasciente took first place. After the tournament was over we walked over to the Mission house where Josh Rolf preached and we presented all of the teams with medals and Most Valuable Player awards. We ended the evening serving BBQ to all four villages. Lindsey and I were on the second to last speed boat to head back to the Linda Esperanca; on the way our driver pointed out the alligators in the water showing there orange eyes above the water reflecting off the light. As we entered into the connecting canal the water level was rather low causing the speed boat to get stuck and turning us around forcing us to conquer the canal by driving backwards. Suddenly there was a splash to the side, Kelly jumped out of her seat over Matt. Upon said startling, Audrey squeezed her cup to its breaking point. We are not sure what caused the splash but Lindsey is "absolutely certain" it was an Alligator. In the end, we made it back unscathed. Needless to say after a long day in the sun we were in desperate need of rest.

The lifestyle of the people inhabiting these villages is so different from ours in America, yet the children just smile all the time and are grateful for things that most would consider minute and meaningless. It is amazing to see how God is working throughout these villages, His presence is in their smiles and in their eyes, they light up at the mention of "el nome de Jesus Cristo". The villages truly embody the church through fellowship and community, through breaking of bread and walking according to God's call. "How Beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news," Romans 10:15. The people wait patiently for us to come, not because we bring them material things, but because we bring hope and good news for them and encouragement to share in their faith with other villagers.

Friday, November 27th, 2009

This morning we again headed back to our respective villages, to further witness and encourage and to again hold VBS. We had a group of about 40 children in Sol Nasciente attend our VBS, where they learned about Daniel in the Lions Den. We did crafts with them and played with them, but mostly we just loved on them and entertained them in anyway we could imagine. One of the translators explained that the reason it takes the kids a bit of time to get to VBS is that they take showers and put on their best clothes when they hear that we are coming. The amount of joy that we provide them pales in comparison to the amount of joy they provide us; it is humbling to be here and do the work that we are doing.

In the afternoon we went to Paraiso and did another VBS. When walking back we saw and petted a baby armadillo ("Tortu") that one of the villagers had found in the jungle. Then further down the walk back a young child was coming up from the river holding a large fish in one hand and a giant bird in the other, we are truly one with nature here. When we approached the end to begin walking down towards the boat, the sun was setting through the palm trees, seeing God's majesty as we walked down the hill was the essence of breathtaking.

On a lighter note, we leave you with a humorous story...

One of the groups coming back from the furthest town had the privelage of experiencing shallow water, too many people and too big of a boat. One boat took all of the girls. Because of the weight we decided it was best to have a speed boat take two of the men across the lake to deeper water, where they could be picked up later. While that was happening three guys got into a canoe to follow them, because a group of hogs were coming towards the beach (Jeff Summerlin, Jon Lantz and Lucas the translator, were in the canoe). Nelson Crowe was left behind with his bucket hat to fend off the hogs alone. Long story short, the canoe started to sink half way across the lake, Lucas and Jon were laughing while Jeff (our resident banker- who gets queezy watching 'Planet Earth') was more than a little concerned. Keep in mind he had seen multiple alligators the night before. Water kept pouring into the sides of the boat, Jon is trying to keep the boat steady, Lucas is trying to paddle, while Jeff is frantically scooping water out of the boat with his bare hands- trying to keep his body perfectly still so as not to allow more water into the boat; keep in mind the water is only three feet deep! They finally make their way about 20 feet out from the shore when they get stuck in a mud slick. At this point a panicked Jeff began screaming to stop all together and wait for the other boat to come rescue them. He made the comment: "this is the most scared I have ever been in my entire life" to which Jon replied, "this is kind of funny" while Lucas is giggling at the front of the boat. Jeff's frantic response (delivered at the top of his lungs!), "I AM A CONSERVATIVE PERSON!" Jon and Lucas busted up laughing at his concern, in fact he was pointing out "alligators" (mud chunks) around them. Lucas jumped out of the canoe and towed them into shore where they left the canoe and walked around to meet the speed boat. Jeff is still upset about this occurence and we all think, a little scarred for life.

Audrey & Lindsey S. b