Day 5 Sue's blog

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Sue's Blog on Sol Nascente

If I wrote alll the things I have to say, it would end up being a book, so I will try to be brief. Saying goodbye to Sol Nascente last night was very difficult. We waved goodbye to a few of the closest friends beneath a huge full moon until our boat pulled away from the shore. Of all the villages I have visited over the last nine years, this is the village that I love the most. This is why I chose to come with the Alabama team instead of my home team who is heading to other villages in a few weeks. Of all the people in the world, I consider Erika one of my dearest friends even though we live at opposite ends of the earth. Getting to spend these days with her and Vanderley and Emmanuelle serving in their villages has been one of the biggest blessings of my life. I was astounded at the changes they have brought to Sol Nascente. Many of these changes have been possible because of Jay and the Eastwood Presbyterian Church. The village now has a beautiful church with a sound system and a small air conditioner. It has a full library for the people. Erika lives in the Missionary House that is attached to the church. I love the wonderful playground, Eastwood Parque, that the village children enjoy each day. It was so fun to see other playgrounds popping up in some of the other villages. This shows that Erika and Vanderley's ministry has had a far reaching influence over the entire lake area. These missionaries are the real thing! They not only talk the talk, but the walk the walk. Their level of committment to Christ has deeply touched my life and encouraged me to try to be a better person.

So many things happened at Sol Nascente during the two days we spent there. We tried some new things in VBS this year since this village has believers that are being discipled. The children learned how to pray using the 5 Finger Prayer and made fun foam hands with words on each finger in Portuguese. We improvised and made looped handles for the hands out of pipe cleaners. Children of all ages were totally fascinated with pipe cleaners. Who would have thought? The next day we gave each child a simple pipe cleaner and thrilled them! We let the children role play a wedding after hearing the Bible story about the Jesus' first miracle at the wedding at Cana of Galiee. We had a real wedding veil, donated flowers from a villager's yard, a bow tie for the groom (a fun foam visor turned around backwards and fastened in front), and of course pipe cleaner wedding rings. Each child got a Burger King crown to decorate. We hope it made them aware that Christians wait for God to choose their life mate and get married. There was a real wedding in the village not long ago which was an example for the people to follow. I think the highlight of VBS was the Easter Egg Hunt! After hearing the story of the Resurrection and opening a set of Resurrection Eggs (which they loved), we had a traditional American Easter Egg Hunt. It was the funniest thing to see these children run like crazy to find 300 eggs stuffed with Portuguese verses about New Life in Christ and some bon-bons. Of course the village children (and adults) were delighted with the Glo Bracelets that were given out after dark after worship services. We could see them glowing from the boat as the children darted back and forth on their way to their humble homes..

Another memory from Sol Nascente was the powerful service we had in the church on Tuesday afternoon. There was a dedication of the gifts brought from Eastwood: four heavy wooden rocking chairs for the women who hand craft colorful rugs and kitchen towels, a beautiful full communion set, and the most exquisite baptismal font built by Dr. Jack Hinton. The cedar came from woods behind their home. A whole family and precious little Emmanuelle were baptized. It was the sweetest moment, and I am so thankful I got to see it. The church was packed and many people stood outside the building. We concluded the service with a very meaningful time of communion.

The most unforgettable thing happened to me at Sol Nascente. God had a Divine appointment waiting for me. Years ago a relationship was built between some members of my Texas team and a woman named Nia. Julie Jackson, I hope you are reading this blog because this is for you, too. For two years in a row our team came to Sol Nascente, and this was before teams could choose their village destinations. Julie and Nia had many conversations about salvation and Heaven. After two years Nia fully understood the saving grace of Jesus Christ and was assured of her place in Heaven. Later that year, Nia died of cancer. On the first day of our visit here, I asked Erika to take me to Nia's family. I met Luis Carlos and his fourteen year old daughter, Rafaela, and one of his sons. Most of their children are grown and have moved away from Sol Nascente. Luis Carlos is one of the men who physically built the church building, but he does not come near the church now. He is not interested in the things of God but says he believes. We talked at great length about many things and about Nia. The son said he definitely was not saved and not interested at all. Rafaela is not saved at this time, but after all the conversations with me, the teenagers and young ladies from our team, she said she is not quite sure YET, but her tears let us know that her heart is softening and she is becoming less resistant. I was deeply touched when I looked outside the church on Tuesday afternoon and saw Luis Carlos all cleaned up, dressed up, and standing there a few yards from the open door. He stayed the entire time. Rafaela was inside the church and listened to the pastor's message which was excellent. It was dark by the time the service ended and all the family packs had been handed out. My heart was heavy, because I hated having to say goodbye to Sol Nascente. But Luis Carlos and Rafaela walked with us beneath the big full moon all the way to the Linda Esperanca. Luis Carlos pointed to the moon and said the Portuguese word for it and said, "Nia" and pointed up. He said, "Deus" and touched his heart. He said, "Hug Julie." The father and daughter stood on the shore by the boat for at least two hours and did not turn to leave until the boat finally pulled away. This action showed that our visit meant very much to them. I will never forget seeing them wave until the boat was out of sight.

We are now on our long voyage back to Manaus. It is the 4th of July and the girls have planned a big red, white, and blue party for tonight. It was been a relaxing day on the boat. A morning rain storm on the Amazon was the perfect opportunity for a nice long nap for our tired bodies. Tomorrow morning we will shop at "Stuckey"s. If anyone from Texas sees Timmy Lambert, tell him that I have not forgotten my promise of a stuffed pirhana for him! We will have a couple of rooms at the Tropical Hotel (now with a new name and new owners) for hot showers and some rest before our trip home. If we are lucky, we will get to go to the Brazilian steakhouse before our flight home.

I am so glad to said yes when God called me to the Amazon this summer. So many times I almost said no. I will return home a different person. I have never felt such peace and such joy and such assurance that God will always take care of me and my family just like he has all of my life. He is in control of every detail of our lives. Even in times of sorrow and uncertainty, I am reminded and amazed by His overwhelming grace. I am glad that I can recognize His voice when He speaks to me. I consider it a great privilege to have spent these last few days with this incredible team of missionaries. God bless everyone who took the time to read my blog which did not turn out to be short.