Belem at night from the top of our hotel.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Espirit de Santo - beautiful young girl who visited us on the boat.
This family visited us at the house. Big brother wanted all of his siblings to have a family picture taken. Porto de Moz
Anna - Villa Mendoza
Clay - a leader in the church at Porto de Moz
This young boy was at the small group I attended in Altamira. Not sure who he is but I love this shot. He was very shy so I had to sneak this one in...
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
More Early favorites
This is Leonardo. He lives in Villa Mendonza, the first village we visited. He was so cute, such a ham and made all of us smile. You may see more of him later.
This is also in Villa Mendoza. We were teaching the kids a little English. This little guy was really shy and didn't appear to be interested in learning English. I have another one of him sleeping at his desk...
A common sight. A boat tied to the dock in Espirit de Santo.
An afternoon storm coming in over Espirit de Santo.
Water lily.
Some early favorites
This little girl was dressed up for her picture, including the necklace she made during kids' church the night before.
Took this one from the boat. We couldn't dock here, we anchored and rowed to shore.
The Maranatha III was our home for while on the river. The bathrooms are to the left, kitchen to the right, you can see the redes (hammocks) hanging for afternoon naps. It was cold and rainy during this trip so the tarps were down creating the blue glow...
This is a shot from the balcony of the guest house in Altamira over looking the city with the amazingly huge Xingu river in the distance.
The Xingu was as smooth as glass this evening in spite of the storm clouds looming.
God was and is and will always be in control.
It’s good to be home after my mission trip to Brazil. God was in control throughout the entire trip. He made it quite obvious that He was making the decisions, not us or the airlines or anyone else.
We began at the airport in Columbus with favor when they opened an additional ticket counter to serve us. We got everything checked, got on the plane and began our trip with ease, for a little while. Our flight to JFK in New York was lengthened as we circled the airport several times. Prayers were said and we found out from the pilot that the reason we were circling is that the landing gear didn’t want to come down. When it finally did they wanted to do some testing before touching down. We were welcomed at JFK by fire trucks and emergency vehicles. It was at this point that we knew God was going to show us He was in charge of it all.
We missed our connection in Sao Paulo that would take us onto Rio and Belem in time to catch our flight to Altamira where we would meet up with Pastor Steve, Zeke and the long term missionaries. The TAM airlines employee informed us that there was not another flight to Altamira until the 11th (it was the 6th). Our hearts sunk but we knew God had a plan and we began praying together with urgency. The TAM employees got us on a flight to Belem. We met Pastor Steve and Richie there for a few days of evangelism and tourism. It wasn’t what we had planned but clearly what God wanted for us.
At the end of our first day in Belem we were expressing frustration about being “tourists”. We were missing Zeke who was in Altamira and feeling as though the enemy had won a little bit of our time and joy. Once again God showed us that He was in control and we were exactly where He wanted us to be. We were sitting on the steps of the hotel, having a devotion time, expressing out frustration and praying when Sandra walked out in front of us as if she stepped onto a stage. Holding two bags of crushed pop cans in her hands and telling us (in Portuguese) about her situation. God had heard us saying we didn’t come to be tourists and immediately said, “Fine, show me what you came here for.” We prayed with her, held her, hugged her and cried with her. She spilled her pain out and accepted the Lord right there on the steps of the hotel. We had been feeling as though our mission trip had not started because we had been delayed and prevented from reaching out “destination”. God showed us that our mission is wherever He tells us it is at that moment.
He stressed that to me the entire trip. Our mission was and is not in Brazil alone. Our mission field is wherever our feet walk each day of our lives. It may be in Brazil if that is where He sends us, it may be in Africa or China or India. Most likely it’s on the sidewalk in front of our house, it’s in the cubicle next to us at work, in the restaurant where we eat dinner and in the church we attend each Sunday. God showed me very clearly that while Brazil is full of lost people who need to know about Jesus, the streets around my house are filled with people who also need to know Him. They may not have the physical needs or be as remote as the people in Brazil but they are just as broken, just as desperate, just as eternally lost.
Overall the trip was wonderful. Our time on the river meeting the warm, sweet, shy people who live in the villages along the Xingu River was amazing. We worshipped with them, taught the kids some English, had some Sunday school lessons with them and just had fun with them as Jesus would. In Porto de Moz our Kids’ Camp was a success with more than 80 kids attending, doing crafts, getting treats, playing games and learning about how much God loves them.
It was a blessing to meet the long term missionaries of the Xingu Mission. (Xingu.org) This is not an easy assignment from God. They live with bugs that burrow into their feet and lay eggs; spiders, snakes and fire ants. The live with constant heat and humidity (my hair was never dry!!). There are infections, bacteria and viruses that we never see here at home. There is mud and sand everywhere and the noise in the towns was enough to make me crazy; dogs that bark continuously, roosters who have no idea what time of day it really is and cars that blast advertisements at deafening decibels.
The long term missionaries love the people God has sent them to love, it’s obvious, but they’re doing it with hearts that miss their families, grandchildren, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. I was touched by the sacrifices they make daily and the love and joy with which they do it all. As I’ve asked God over and over, why He sent me to Brazil, I have heard clearly that one reason was to see the missionaries and how God is using them in Brazil, to give me a heart to support them financially and through prayer.
The bottom line is God showed us clearly that He is in control of every step during the trip. I have 2989 photos to sort and edit so I’ll share some each day as I make it through them.
We began at the airport in Columbus with favor when they opened an additional ticket counter to serve us. We got everything checked, got on the plane and began our trip with ease, for a little while. Our flight to JFK in New York was lengthened as we circled the airport several times. Prayers were said and we found out from the pilot that the reason we were circling is that the landing gear didn’t want to come down. When it finally did they wanted to do some testing before touching down. We were welcomed at JFK by fire trucks and emergency vehicles. It was at this point that we knew God was going to show us He was in charge of it all.
We missed our connection in Sao Paulo that would take us onto Rio and Belem in time to catch our flight to Altamira where we would meet up with Pastor Steve, Zeke and the long term missionaries. The TAM airlines employee informed us that there was not another flight to Altamira until the 11th (it was the 6th). Our hearts sunk but we knew God had a plan and we began praying together with urgency. The TAM employees got us on a flight to Belem. We met Pastor Steve and Richie there for a few days of evangelism and tourism. It wasn’t what we had planned but clearly what God wanted for us.
At the end of our first day in Belem we were expressing frustration about being “tourists”. We were missing Zeke who was in Altamira and feeling as though the enemy had won a little bit of our time and joy. Once again God showed us that He was in control and we were exactly where He wanted us to be. We were sitting on the steps of the hotel, having a devotion time, expressing out frustration and praying when Sandra walked out in front of us as if she stepped onto a stage. Holding two bags of crushed pop cans in her hands and telling us (in Portuguese) about her situation. God had heard us saying we didn’t come to be tourists and immediately said, “Fine, show me what you came here for.” We prayed with her, held her, hugged her and cried with her. She spilled her pain out and accepted the Lord right there on the steps of the hotel. We had been feeling as though our mission trip had not started because we had been delayed and prevented from reaching out “destination”. God showed us that our mission is wherever He tells us it is at that moment.
He stressed that to me the entire trip. Our mission was and is not in Brazil alone. Our mission field is wherever our feet walk each day of our lives. It may be in Brazil if that is where He sends us, it may be in Africa or China or India. Most likely it’s on the sidewalk in front of our house, it’s in the cubicle next to us at work, in the restaurant where we eat dinner and in the church we attend each Sunday. God showed me very clearly that while Brazil is full of lost people who need to know about Jesus, the streets around my house are filled with people who also need to know Him. They may not have the physical needs or be as remote as the people in Brazil but they are just as broken, just as desperate, just as eternally lost.
Overall the trip was wonderful. Our time on the river meeting the warm, sweet, shy people who live in the villages along the Xingu River was amazing. We worshipped with them, taught the kids some English, had some Sunday school lessons with them and just had fun with them as Jesus would. In Porto de Moz our Kids’ Camp was a success with more than 80 kids attending, doing crafts, getting treats, playing games and learning about how much God loves them.
It was a blessing to meet the long term missionaries of the Xingu Mission. (Xingu.org) This is not an easy assignment from God. They live with bugs that burrow into their feet and lay eggs; spiders, snakes and fire ants. The live with constant heat and humidity (my hair was never dry!!). There are infections, bacteria and viruses that we never see here at home. There is mud and sand everywhere and the noise in the towns was enough to make me crazy; dogs that bark continuously, roosters who have no idea what time of day it really is and cars that blast advertisements at deafening decibels.
The long term missionaries love the people God has sent them to love, it’s obvious, but they’re doing it with hearts that miss their families, grandchildren, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. I was touched by the sacrifices they make daily and the love and joy with which they do it all. As I’ve asked God over and over, why He sent me to Brazil, I have heard clearly that one reason was to see the missionaries and how God is using them in Brazil, to give me a heart to support them financially and through prayer.
The bottom line is God showed us clearly that He is in control of every step during the trip. I have 2989 photos to sort and edit so I’ll share some each day as I make it through them.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Testimony
Last week I shared my testimony with the youth group. God wanted me to focus on being a new creation in Christ. I shared a few things but the one thing He keeps stressing, the one thing that brings me to tears and absolutely shows His Power, His Love, His faithfulness and His Glory is this:
Three years ago I was paralyzed with fear that made it almost impossible to leave my house and in less than 3 days I am answering His call and going to Brazil.
"Be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." 1 Corinthians 15:58
Three years ago I was paralyzed with fear that made it almost impossible to leave my house and in less than 3 days I am answering His call and going to Brazil.
"Be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." 1 Corinthians 15:58
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