Elephants in the Sky

This picture (taken by Steve Dolan) is related to the section under "Flood"

Sky

Before you go spreading rumors, allow me the explain that we don't really have elephants in the sky here. It is merely a reference to a very interesting conversation Camilly (4 yrs old) and I had today on the "pula-pula," aka trampoline, today.

Although...last night we did herd some cows out of our yard and a month ago we shewed out a horse. Normally animals are right outside our yard, but recently they've felt the need to come in. In the past month we've also had a bat and a rat in our house but unfortunantely, the rat is still somewhere in here.

On that note...sorry it's taken so long for me to update. Much has been going on. Here's a little peek into my life here...

Flood

Saturday night, before Easter, it rained hard all night long. But what's new, right? I mean, this is the rainforest afterall.

Well, when you've got a city in the rainforest, you have dams. And when you have two dams break following a night of heavy rain, you get a flood. And that's what happened.

And it came without warning. Without the luxary of local news covering the fragile dams, without police sirens or goverment assistence.

It went from an ordinary Amazonian rain to a devastating flood in less than two hours. Just enough time for most people to excape to dry land.

I'd never experienced anything like it in my life. Friends I had made, friends whose houses I would go to weekly, were suddenly left with the only the clothes on their backs. The little possessions they worked so hard to purchase, were washed away in filfthy flood water.

And as the day progressed, we opened up our house for about 15 friends to sleep in, without the convinience of electricy, as our power had been knocked out for a couple days.

Within 24 hours the waters receded, it all happened so fast and so unexpected that I don't know if I would have believed it had I not seen it. On Easter I was looking, in shock, upon a friends house that was entirely submerged in water. The next day I was in their house helping them clean.

It was hard to watch hundreds of people lose possessions, to watch as the city officials did virtually nothing, to watch people throw out their ruined pairs of shoes and few stuffed animals. It was hard to watch as other children dug through this same trash, trying to salvage the unsalvageable. It was hard watching a mother wash off her child who was covered in 'mud', with water that was just as dirty. It was hard to watch as people tried to salvage disease infested beds, because it was just too much, too valuable, for them to throw out onto the street.

It was a blessing to see the hope in the community, to gather with friends to help make and pass out soup, to sing praises with families in the street, to pray for others in their time of need, to open up my closet and open up our home. It was a blessing to host families in our church and to visit with them and their children. It was a blessing to be there and help and offer hope.

Immediately following the flood, we spent a lot of time delivering food to different people, and trying to assist families how we could. Days after the flood, we were able to help purchase new beds and stoves for families.

Thank you for all who kept Altamira in your prayers; God's presence was very real and powerful here.

Adventures

The Friday before Easter, I road my bike a few kilometers with some friends to Angélica's uncle's house. Behind his house is a stream that runs through the rainforest. It was gorgeous and an incredible experience! I loved hanging out with the youth in such a tranquil, peaceful place.

A couple weekends ago Chelsea turned 21 and so her and I and a different group of youth traveled up to the waterfalls. There was about 15 of us packed into a truck. On the way there we first hit a 'pot hole' that was so big, half the truck went underground and one girl bailed out through the window (which was touching the ground.) The guys all helped lift the truck out and we were on our way again until we hit a particular bridge. Most the 'bridges' here are merely pieces of wood layed down...but this bridge was missing the wood. So we parked the truck and walked there. All in all, we walked about 7 kilometers till we reached the waterfall and caves. It was an amazing experience and I loved the adventure. I love being in the Amazon!

Teaching

This past weekend I got to teach at Aplha Circles which is a Portuguese-English small group which meets at the church on Friday nights. The number of people who attend always varies, but about 30 people are generally expected. We play games, have skits, and a teaching in English which is then translated, and afterwards we break up into small groups to discuss the teaching and our thoughts about it, in English. I taught about the power of love and in the small group discussion, one lady told me that this was the same thing she was studying that morning in her devotions. Cool!

On Saturday I was asked if I could speak that night at the youth service and I agreed. I wanted to speak in Portuguese, but as I didn't have enough time to both prepare a talk and translate it into portuguese, I let Cleide translate for me. I spoke on how a walk with God is more than just crying out 'Lord, Lord' and how it's more than just doing good works and coming to God with prayer requests. It was a cool experience, and afterwards I had a few people tell me how the message was so relevant to their lives and what they needed to hear. Gracias a Deus!

I loved having the opportunity and experience of teaching at these two events.

Friends

One of the great experiences I've had here, is just befriending people and building relationships with all sorts of people. I have made amazing friends at our Vineyard (Mirante) and the Central Vineyard. I've also become great friends with a few girls who just moved here from another city, and a few girls who I know because I work out with their moms at the gym. It's been such a great experience getting to know these people and build relationships with them!

Assurini

Tomorrow I am leaving with Chelsea, Patty, and my portuguese teacher Claudia to go to the Assurini which is an Indian reserve along the Xingu River. I will be teaching Art and Theatre in portuguese. Pray that we have safe travels, that I may speak portuguese well, and that we will have a fun time!! I'm really excited :)

Thank you for everybody who has been keeping Brasil in your prayers. Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment in my life; physical, emotional, and spiritual strength; and that my portuguese will continue to improve.

Happy Birthday MOM!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!