13 of us from Delaware Vineyard arrived in Altamira on Jan 14th. From there, we met up with about 15 long-term missionaries and boarded a boat where we reached out to Porto de Moz and several villages in the Amazon Basin.
I may add more later and will probably write more in depth thoughts regarding particular events later...but here we go for now....
The Amazon is...
- walking onto a boat with a team of strangers and walking off with a team of new best friends
- holding hands and dancing with brazilian friends in a small village school
- canoeing to local villages to invite people to that night's service
- being invited into their simple, beautiful homes
- drinking milk that came from their cow right outside
- drinking cafe com leite
- all while exchanging smiles and laughs
- praying with people in these remote Amazon villages
- becoming their friends
- witnessing the courage of five men in a village dedicate their life to God
- being encouraged by the faith of people who live difficult, demanding, and painful lifes
- praying for them, praying for the sick
- meeting genuine people
- hearing testimonies of God's goodness, grace, and love
- having the privilege of seeing the indescribable beauty of the Amazonian people
- marveling at the beauty of the rainforest
- attempting to speak portuguese
- bathing in the river
- rainy nights
- eating exotic fruits
- walking barefoot up a mountain with 3 brazilian boys and 4 other friends
- falling knee deep into "mud" and having to be rescued
- diving under a waterfall
- walking out of the falls only to see a poinsonous snake was there
- exploring the forest with two friends, looking for caves but seeing a bright blue butterfly instead
- bathing in the river
- having conversations on the top of the boat
- comparing 'stupid human tricks'
- spending time with God
- building relationships with friends
- tudo bom
God's amazing--what else is there to say?
Prayer requests: that i may pick up the language quickly, physical and spiritual stength, wisdom and discernment, saftey, courage. Pray how you feel led :)
Kyla-Feliz aniversario do brasil!!!
I love and miss you Mom (mae), Dad (pai), and Kyla (minha imra). I love and miss all my friends and family and I appriciate your support and encouragment.
(p.s. aside from the boat i have already had my first tarantula in my room and saw my first big iguana--cool, legal)
Ate logo! (i will post pictures later this week...sorry im so bad at this!)
3 comments:
I like the list. I'm excited to hear more about all the adventures in detail! I liked the one about the bright blue butterfly. Mom and dad told me about the snake thing and it sounds pretty scary to me! I'm excited for all you're learning and seeing and I'm keeping you in my prayers. Thanks for the birthday wishes. I miss you and love you!
that sounds amazing!!! i'm soooo happy for you! you are truly one of the most inspiring people i have ever met :] i can only imagine what it must be like on the river and eating exotic fruits and praying for these people and just experiencing a new culture! that's awesome. okay enough with the cheesy adjectives :] i miss you and of course am still praying for you! love <3
well said kate! i might copy and paste and put that on my blog... i haven't posted brazil stuff yet... at least the journal-ish stuff. i don't know why : ) hope you're well!
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