We crossed the Rio Negro by ferry today and worked with families in a very poor village called Sao Sebastio of Iranduba. We prayed with the families of several children with special needs (e.g. cerebral palsy), played with kids, and Dr. Jim saw many patients today rather impromptu. Praise God that we were able to have medicines for all who were seen. A pastor has dedicated his life to building a church in this village and for 3 years, he worked with no financial support - laboring to build a church by himself. Praise God he is now financially supported (and his wife and 10 children) - although he probably gets less in a year than most of us get in a month. Approximately 60 people now regularly attend the church and several have given their lives to Christ in this village over the past year.
One of the boys we worked with is named Frank, approximately age 15, and has severe cerebral palsy - completely bedbound with little ability to communicate. In the past few weeks, Frank has been very sick but Dr. Jim pronounced a clean bill of health for him so for those of you have been praying for Frank, your prayers are answered. Dr. Jim said Frank was the healthiest one in his family!
Upon our return this afternoon, we were able to join the start of a March for Jesus. An estimated 150,000-200,000 Brazilians took to the streets of Manaus today to march in the name of our Savior! We walked with them for 3-4 blocks. We couldn´t understand anything that was said but the praise music was blaring from numerous bands on top of big trucks that were nothing but speakers. The phrase ´make a joyful noise to the Lord comes to mind´....
Thank you for praying for us. We are tired but all are in good health and enjoying each member of this team and our hosts. Tomorrow will be a quieter day with a little shopping in the morning, a trip to a slum in the afternoon and then church service in the evening.
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Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
In Manaus - May 30
We landed in Manaus at around 12:45 AM this morning, May 30. We processed through immigration and customs with no problems whatsoever. 44 of 45 checked bags arrived and the last one is to be delivered to our hotel today. Heads were on pillows by 3:00 AM. We will start our day at 11 with a walk (through the rain) to exchange our cash and shop for hammocks and flip-flops. Everyone is tired but in good spirits. A devotion shared in the airport yesterday morning centered around Isaiah 45:2-3. I will be challenging the team to reflect on those verses - the very opening phrase and the closing phrase in particular - and encourage you to do the same.
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Sunday, May 18, 2008
Ready To Go
Our team is assembled, we have our visas and our plane tickets and are excited to step out to see what God has in store for us in the Amazon this year. We will pack our suitcases on Tuesday, May 26, and then board a Peoria Charter shuttle to O'Hare in the evening of May 27. We will overnight near O'Hare and then fly to Miami Thursday morning, May 29. The evening of May 29 we will fly to Manaus, Brazil, 3 degrees south of the equator. Our hope is to have our heads on pillows by 5:00 AM Friday morning to catch a few hours of sleep before we begin the day in Manaus.
Our plans are to be in Manaus through Sunday evening and then depart for the jungle on Monday morning. We do not have a final destination identified yet but believe that it will be up the Rio Negro from Manaus. We will live on the Discovery boat in the jungle for the week and return to Manaus late Friday. While in the jungle village, we hope to help build a church, do VBS activities with the village children, give clothing to the families in the village and do crafts with the women. We also hope to have a small medical clinic as one of our team members is a physician.
Our team will board a plane in Manaus for Miami on Saturday, June 7, and continue on to Chicago for a very late Saturday evening arrival at O'Hare. We value your prayers for our team as well as the pastors, missionaries, friends and translators (Portuguese is the native language of Brazil) who live and work in Manaus. Please also pray for the people in the jungle village where we will work - that many would come to know Christ as their personal savior.
Our plans are to be in Manaus through Sunday evening and then depart for the jungle on Monday morning. We do not have a final destination identified yet but believe that it will be up the Rio Negro from Manaus. We will live on the Discovery boat in the jungle for the week and return to Manaus late Friday. While in the jungle village, we hope to help build a church, do VBS activities with the village children, give clothing to the families in the village and do crafts with the women. We also hope to have a small medical clinic as one of our team members is a physician.
Our team will board a plane in Manaus for Miami on Saturday, June 7, and continue on to Chicago for a very late Saturday evening arrival at O'Hare. We value your prayers for our team as well as the pastors, missionaries, friends and translators (Portuguese is the native language of Brazil) who live and work in Manaus. Please also pray for the people in the jungle village where we will work - that many would come to know Christ as their personal savior.
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