Tuesday ( 9-16-09)Bom Dia do Lago do Janauca! Good morning from the lake of Janauca, which is along the Amazon in beautiful Brazil. The light of day greeted us with the beautiful cool of morning. Some of our team members are early risers. Quiet footsteps and the sounds of running water are among the first sounds we hear.

We all arose and prepared for the day. Breakfast and devotional as usual were great. Soon it was time to go into the new village for the day. We setup the dental supplies, the pharmacy and the eyeglasses tables and supplies in one large room that is adjacent to the village school and the Catholic Church sanctuary. The villagers arrived to join those already waiting to sign up for medical and dental services.

This village was such a pleasure to serve in. They had such a hunger for something more. Many of them listened in very closely when the word was spoken. Chiago (xiago- the boy with the seizures who just accepted Christ yesterday) was from this village and we got to live closely with him for the day. It was a pleasure to see him in good health. He and his friends attended the informal youth service and really paid attention to the message with his friends. We prayed with them and gave them Bibles to take.

Not long after our services were done for the day, we challenged them to a soccer match. It was a pretty competitive game. And the Americans won… of course we did have a few Brazilian boys on our team helping us out. This was a very exciting game because there was so much support from the local people. They all came to watch and cheered on their team. .. it was great.

The whole team is doing great. We are all getting to know each other well and are working well in each of the ministries. It is pretty hot during the days but nothing too bad. The evenings are nice and I think most everyone is sleeping well. Of course we miss our families and friends but we are so happy to be here serving the Lord.

The joy of the Lord is our strength and it was such a blessing to minister to the beautiful people of the Amazon because of the love of Jesus that is our everything!

Written by Carol and Amanda (143)

Sunday 9-13-09

Today started with a beautiful sunrise along one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. We all arose and prepared to start a day of serving the Lord. We ate breakfast, and headed off the boat to do our daily devotional in the church at the Village we were working at for the day. This is something that we normally do on the boat without the villagers, but today the new pastor asked us to do the morning devotion on land which seemed appropriate since it is Sunday.

After the devotion we all departed to begin the different ministries we volunteered for. VBS and optical remained in the church while medical and dental were down close to the river in a pavilion. Many people came from all around to receive help through our ministries and every single person we helped was prayed over. Each ministry proved fruitful. There was no idle time at the doctor, dentist and optical locations from 9-5 (with a lunch break of course).

After the day of serving, some of us challenged the Brazilian boys to a game of soccer. Of course, we were no match for them but it was fun to try (and slightly painful)… We suffered a great loss scoring only 1 point to their 6. After the game, including multiple soccer balls to the face, fire ants bites and cow patty explosions, we gathered together for prayer and invited them to come to the Sunday night service. To our great pleasure some of them showed up and actually sat listening intently to the service. A seed has been planted and we are so grateful to watch as God pulls them in.

Finally, at the end of the evening we sat and shared the events of the day. God is working in this village and we pray that it will have a lasting effect.

Written by Amanda Starr (143)

 

Sunday 9-13-09

Today started with a beautiful sunrise along one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. We all arose and prepared to start a day of serving the Lord. We ate breakfast, and headed off the boat to do our daily devotional in the church at the Village we were working at for the day. This is something that we normally do on the boat without the villagers, but today the new pastor asked us to do the morning devotion on land which seemed appropriate since it is Sunday.

After the devotion we all departed to begin the different ministries we volunteered for. VBS and optical remained in the church while medical and dental were down close to the river in a pavilion. Many people came from all around to receive help through our ministries and every single person we helped was prayed over. Each ministry proved fruitful. There was no idle time at the doctor, dentist and optical locations from 9-5 (with a lunch break of course).

After the day of serving, some of us challenged the Brazilian boys to a game of soccer. Of course, we were no match for them but it was fun to try (and slightly painful)… We suffered a great loss scoring only 1 point to their 6. After the game, including multiple soccer balls to the face, fire ants bites and cow patty explosions, we gathered together for prayer and invited them to come to the Sunday night service. To our great pleasure some of them showed up and actually sat listening intently to the service. A seed has been planted and we are so grateful to watch as God pulls them in.

Finally, at the end of the evening we sat and shared the events of the day. God is working in this village and we pray that it will have a lasting effect.

Written by Amanda Starr (143)

Sunday 9-13-09

Today started with a beautiful sunrise along one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. We all arose and prepared to start a day of serving the Lord. We ate breakfast, and headed off the boat to do our daily devotional in the church at the Village we were working at for the day. This is something that we normally do on the boat without the villagers, but today the new pastor asked us to do the morning devotion on land which seemed appropriate since it is Sunday.

After the devotion we all departed to begin the different ministries we volunteered for. VBS and optical remained in the church while medical and dental were down close to the river in a pavilion. Many people came from all around to receive help through our ministries and every single person we helped was prayed over. Each ministry proved fruitful. There was no idle time at the doctor, dentist and optical locations from 9-5 (with a lunch break of course).

After the day of serving, some of us challenged the Brazilian boys to a game of soccer. Of course, we were no match for them but it was fun to try (and slightly painful)… We suffered a great loss scoring only 1 point to their 6. After the game, including multiple soccer balls to the face, fire ants bites and cow patty explosions, we gathered together for prayer and invited them to come to the Sunday night service. To our great pleasure some of them showed up and actually sat listening intently to the service. A seed has been planted and we are so grateful to watch as God pulls them in.

Finally, at the end of the evening we sat and shared the events of the day. God is working in this village and we pray that it will have a lasting effect.

Written by Amanda Starr (143)

Yesterday was quite the interesting day. Most of the team met at the Dallas airport at 1:15pm on Friday September 11, 2009. Others of us left from Houston and Memphis. We all united in Atlanta to jump aboard a Delta flight to Manaus, Brazil. For the most part everything went smoothly…. until we arrived in Brazil… Once we got off the plane (at 4:30am) we realized that a few of our team members were missing some very important pieces of luggage. Our leader, Rick, was surprised to find that his bag containing all of his clothes did not make it to Brazil. Two team members from Mississippi also had a bag that did not make it. The final piece of luggage that was missing belonged to our dentist from Houston. Everyone was understanding and accepting that this might just be a lesson from the Lord of some sort. God is super funny like that.

Once we stepped foot on the boat it was like coming home. I was lucky enough to be returning to see great friends that I had met in June. The people that were first timers all fell in love at first sight with the amazing beauty that we had been talking about for months. This trip is a new adventure for Amazon Outreach. We are working with a new pastor from Manaus. This means for us, that this trip is not planned. We are being forced to go with the flow of Pastor Marco!

Everyone ate breakfast as soon as we walked onto the boat, and followed it up by taking a morning nap. By this point most of us had been awake for 24 hours. It was a 7 hour boat trip from Manaus to the first village so we had plenty of time to get settled in and catch up on some sleep.

After naps, we had lunch and got to know each other. There is a nice variety of different people here. Some who have been here many times and some first timers… all different ages… in all different walks of life, an amazing team assembled by God, ready to serve Him in serving the Amazonian people.

We got all of the family packs and VBS stuff organized and had the opportunity to hear from the Pastor of the main church and the village Ley pastor.

Throughout the day the temperature began to rise and we were all hot so we decided to jump into the Amazon River and swim around. A few people started climbing up to the top floor of the boat and jumping in all together. It was a great way to have some fun and cool off. After swimming we got cleaned up for dinner then headed over to the church for their 42nd anniversary celebration, which was an amazing conclusion to the first day of missions on the Amazon River.

My final thought for the day is one of remembrance with a heavy heart. I am spending time in Brazil, while my heart is actually back in Texas. I would like to add an embrace of love extended to those left behind in the sudden wake of Michael Todd Fuqua's death. I love you all, and I wish that I was there to attend his memorial. Know that I am praying for you all!

Yesterday was quite the interesting day. Most of the team met at the Dallas airport at 1:15pm on Friday September 11, 2009. Others of us left from Houston and Memphis. We all united in Atlanta to jump aboard a Delta flight to Manaus, Brazil. For the most part everything went smoothly…. until we arrived in Brazil… Once we got off the plane (at 4:30am) we realized that a few of our team members were missing some very important pieces of luggage. Our leader, Rick, was surprised to find that his bag containing all of his clothes did not make it to Brazil. Two team members from Mississippi also had a bag that did not make it. The final piece of luggage that was missing belonged to our dentist from Houston. Everyone was understanding and accepting that this might just be a lesson from the Lord of some sort. God is super funny like that.

Once we stepped foot on the boat it was like coming home. I was lucky enough to be returning to see great friends that I had met in June. The people that were first timers all fell in love at first sight with the amazing beauty that we had been talking about for months. This trip is a new adventure for Amazon Outreach. We are working with a new pastor from Manaus. This means for us, that this trip is not planned. We are being forced to go with the flow of Pastor Marco!

Everyone ate breakfast as soon as we walked onto the boat, and followed it up by taking a morning nap. By this point most of us had been awake for 24 hours. It was a 7 hour boat trip from Manaus to the first village so we had plenty of time to get settled in and catch up on some sleep.

After naps, we had lunch and got to know each other. There is a nice variety of different people here. Some who have been here many times and some first timers… all different ages… in all different walks of life, an amazing team assembled by God, ready to serve Him in serving the Amazonian people.

We got all of the family packs and VBS stuff organized and had the opportunity to hear from the Pastor of the main church and the village Ley pastor.

Throughout the day the temperature began to rise and we were all hot so we decided to jump into the Amazon River and swim around. A few people started climbing up to the top floor of the boat and jumping in all together. It was a great way to have some fun and cool off. After swimming we got cleaned up for dinner then headed over to the church for their 42nd anniversary celebration, which was an amazing conclusion to the first day of missions on the Amazon River.

My final thought for the day is one of remembrance with a heavy heart. I am spending time in Brazil, while my heart is actually back in Texas. I would like to add an embrace of love extended to those left behind in the sudden wake of Michael Todd Fuqua's death. I love you all, and I wish that I was there to attend his memorial. Know that I am praying for you all!

Wednesday on the Uaicurapa River

August 12? I think...

 

    It's been nice not knowing what time or even day it is out on the river. We could learn a lot from the people of the Amazon. God has worked so much since our last meeting. We have since spent a day and a half in Ponta Alta, and just as the first village, the people were so welcoming and gracious. I was able to move around a little bit more these days and was able to see more of where God is working. So far I have been a childrens teacher, a stylest, and an optometrist. The Children are so open to learning new things and seem excited about Jesus. We were able to take a tour of the village which was eye opening.  We held baby's (which of course didn't pee until I held him), we saw all kinds of birds and monkeys, and most importantly we were able to spend one on one time with the villagers. This village was approximately 60 families, many of which decided to make decisions of faith... Praise God!

    This has been a trip of many new experiences. New foods, new places to visit, new people to meet. Just last night 6 of us (David, Candice, Julie, Maggie, Lauren, and Abby) went out on a small boat looking for gators! We all are still here to talk about our experience.

     Today, we are in Varre Vento. This village has several Christian families that have being shunned by their community because of their faith. To whomever is reading this today, please pray that we can be of great encouragement to each and every one of them in order to restore strength and hope in their lives. Pray also that the Lord would continue to speak through us, and that without any hindurance the gospel

would be presented.  

 

Blessings and prayers from the Linda Esperanca

Linda Esperanca Update

August 7

 

    Day one was full of early patience and team building exercizes. As early as walking into the Indianapolis airport, Delta informed us that all of our checked bags needed to be taken down by 20 lb's each! We all worked together like we had been a team for years and knocked it out in no time at all. This was to be te only excitement for two more days of airplane and boat rides. Preparation for the villages through prayer and packing for each individual ministry such as dental, pharmacy, vbs, kids, adults, and spa/hair (which my wife Candice and I are involved) consumed our afternoon of day two.

 

August 9

 

    Finally, time to meet our first village! While eating breakfast, all of the cute chidren were hanging out of their hut windows awaiting our arrival with curiosity and excitement in their eyes. Towns people gathered to welcome our first steps on dry land in two days. Our different ministries hit the ground running almost immediately. Candice was painting nails, I was cutting hair, Abby was handing out perscriptions and the medical and dental teams were examining.... everyone was extremely busy! The Lord was present this day and it was obvious. Perhaps the biggest blessing thus far was the mens ministry, headed up by Jim. Approximately 40 men expressed interest in accepting Christ as their personal Savior! I have never seen God work in such a way. I'm exited to see what God has in store for us in the coming days, as I'm sure he will exceed any of our expectations.