Huge yellow full moon over the Amazon - millions of stars in the night sky, the Southern Cross - all these things make us ever so aware of how great is our God. The night air is cool in comparison to the scorching heat from the day. We have had two magnificent days and nights here on the Amazon. Our hearts are so full. There is no peace like the peace that comes as we serve! This year's trip is quite different from the trips we have taken over the past eight years. The villages we are visiting are very large. Barreirinha is actually a small city.
On Saturday we visited Terra Preta Village and served approximately 313 families. Terra Preta was at one time a very violent village, but now it is full of gracious, loving people. Many of the ministries such as eyeglasses served 85 people. There were 80 in the medical clinic. The Women's Ministry brought truth to the women in some highly creative ways. The 45 Brazilian ladies were very responsive to the message about gifts that are ours from God. The VBS had around 200 children! The VBS featured our youth who presented The Fruits of the Spirit in a lively skit that involved the children.
Sunday we moved on the village Cameta'. We took a deep breath as we saw the steep stone steps leading to the hilltop village. We found that there were 66 steps, but we were going up and down them with ease by the end of the day. We were thankful that no one fell. We certainly appreciate the awesome Brazilian interpreters who carried our big boxes of supplies on their heads. This village has 5000 people! The lines were long for the morning and afternoon ministries. The fine doctors worked with 99 patients. Our darling Brazilian dentist, Danielle, has wowed us all with her calm and gentle ways, not to mention her youth. VBS has done an amazing job considering the large numbers of children. Today they had 157! The morning lesson was on The Good Samaritan, and the afternoon lesson was on The Lost Sheep. The evangelism team has gone into private homes of the people and spent hours visiting with the people and hearing their stories. It has been very productive. The Women's Ministry passed out a total of 32 gift bags that were greatly appreciated.
We all have countless stories to tell about how this trip has already impacted our lives! The testimonies that have been shared on the boat, the testimonies given in the evening worship services, and the mircles we have heard about and have seen with our own eyes are changing us from the inside out. It is so wonderful to be a part of a team that is working together with a single-minded purpose. Stay tuned for the next blog. Monday will be unique, because it will be the very first time that the Amazon Outreach boat is going to be allowed into this village. SR Blogger
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