Team Member Profile: Glenn A. Hair

Hometown: N. Charleston, SC
Favorite Verse: Jeremiah 32:27
Hobbies: Walking, volunteering, & Twitter/Facebook
Family: 3 beautiful & saved children - April, 32; Justin, 21; & Rebecca, 9
Spiritual strengths: prayer, encouragement, & organization

This will be my 3rd mission trip (all to Brazil). God provided me an opportunity to get involved in missions in 2009 when I was laid off from my accounting job. I had been feeling a desire to do more after Jesus healed me of my alcohol/drug addiction in October of 2006. I knew I needed to do something that would be challenging, stretching & uncomfortable. As I began to search for what that was, my friend Amie Heath approached me about joining her team to Brazil & she can be very persuasive. I had all the usual "excuses" that satan uses to keep us from doing His will like I knew there was no way I could raise that much money, I I don't have time, & I can't speak the language. All of these, of course, proved to be easily overcome because I was doing His will.
After I arrived in Brazil for the first time in March 2010 & found out about the incredible need in the Amazon Basin, I knew I would be doing this for as long as I am able & God is willing. I absolutely fell in love with the people of Brazil. They have so little, but are so very happy, friendly, & lovable. Much to my surprise, I learned that there are 35,000 unreached villages (villages, not people) in the Amazon Basin. I was & am still blown away by this number & the incredible opportunity that it represents. We are blessed to work with http://www.projectamazon.org/ whose mission is to plant 100,000 churches, 1,000 by 2014. What an incredible organization & vision! Please join me by praying for our entire team as we head to Brazil March 2, 2012. Please pray for wisdom, discernment, guidance, & protection. We've got a great team & can't wait to get down there & change lives! May God be glorified!

Team Member Profile: Kristy Page

Hometown: Macon, GA
Favorite Verse: Philippians 4:13
Hobbies: I love to travel. I have a bucket list of things that I hope to do before I go home to be with the Lord and every year I make it a goal to check something off the list.
Favorite Dessert: homemade banana pudding
Family: I have two wonderful boys, Damon-16 and Ken Jr-6 and a cat named Sacha. God has such a sense of humor. We went to the pound to get a dog and came home with a cat. (We are dog lovers, not cat lovers,ha!)
Spiritual Strengths: being an encourager and the spirit of discernment

I am very excited about this trip. It has been on my heart for over two years and the timing wasn't right. I love people and can't wait to see what the Lord does with me on this trip. I am open to wherever He needs me to serve. I'm especially excited about being in another culture to experience how others worship the Lord. I am completely surrended to what the Lord has for me to do, learn and observe during this trip.

It has been awesome watching God work to open the doors for me to participate on this trip. He has moved mountains in such a short time on financial funding and providing care for my children while I am away. The one fear I have is snakes! I have jumped out of an airplane, swam with dolphins, worked with the scariest criminals, but nothing scares me except snakes. I don't have a fear of dying, there is just something about them. So pray that God delievers me from my fear before we arrive or clears my path every day of snakes!

I am excited for this team God has put together. We are very diverse but yet mesh very well. I can't wait to serve along side by side with them. I'm excited to tell others about what God has done in my life before this trip, on this trip and after this trip. I know this trip will take me to another level of relationship with my Lord and I'm so excited!

Team Member Profile: Laura Ashley

Hometown: Carmel, NY
Favorite Verse: Psalm 119:105
Hobbies: baking, volunteering, traveling, sports, reading, and spending time with family & friends
Favorite Dessert: frozen yogurt
Pets: Charlie Knapp, our 2 year old Chiweenie (part Chihuahua and part Dachshund)
Spiritual Strengths: energetic, teamwork, organization, helping others, positive attitude, empathetic

Over the past year, I have contemplated participating in a missions trip through my church, Seacoast. I joined Seacoast when I moved to Charleston, just over two years ago and immediately joined the volunteer team at Kidscoast (K-2nd grade). While researching different missions trips, something about the Brazil trip resonated with me and I decided to go for it! I know that God has something special in mind for this trip and I can’t wait to see how he will use me and my talents to benefit the mission efforts.
At first, I did have some concerns about leaving my husband, my work, and the country for an extended amount of time. The more I thought about it, any concern that I had was really just an excuse. I felt confident that somehow I would make this work; come up with the money, take the time off of work, and let myself come out of my ‘comfort zone’ to take part in something amazing. I am truly blessed that my employer allows for me to have the time off and is supportive to associates who are looking for unique opportunities such as this. My husband and family have also been totally supportive of the trip (I plan to get him a recordable hallmark book for while I am away hehe). I am grateful for all the amazing people I have in my life and for all the blessings I have already experienced.
While preparing for this missions opportunity, I have been overwhelmed with a sense that something great is going to happen in and through me. Leading up to the trip, I will be praying for good health, financial support, a positive outlook, as well as a closer relationship to God. This will be my first global mission trip experience and my first time to Brazil. I am excited for this experience! I believe the best way to receive is to give and that everyone should serve where they can. I know this trip will change my life and I anticipate being stretched to the limit both mentally and physically.

Team Member Profile: Nicole Robson

Hometown: Hollywood, FL
Favorite Verse: Psalm 27
Hobbies: yard work, movies & walking
Favorite Dessert: tiramisu
Pets: a kitty named Misu, who is part Maine Coon
Spiritual Strengths: building relationships, organization

As I think about the Brazil 2012 trip, I find myself encountering many different emotions. This is my 1st mission trip and really, only my 2nd time out of the country (if you don't count a handful of trips to Canada and Mexico!). This past year, I've tried to immerse myself in the church and have been working on deepening my relationship with Jesus Christ and really felt that it was time to step out of my comfort zone and do a trip. It was funny the way it happened (God works in mysterious ways, doesn't he?)--I had sort of focused my energy on another trip later in the year to South Africa and out of the blue got a call from one of the Brazil trip leaders letting me know that a spot had opened up and would I be interested in joining the team. As she and I spoke, I really felt God whispering in my heart letting me know that this was the trip he wanted me on. As I said, there are so many emotions that one feels when thinking about an undertaking like this...some things kind of silly, and some things not so much, such as, 1. how will I come up with the money required to make this possible? 2. am I ready to travel to another country with 9 people I barely know?, 3. what do I pack for the Brazilian rainforest? But perhaps the most important question and/or thought of all is, 4. how does God want to work through me in Brazil and will I be up to the challenge? This I have been praying on every night. I pray that he will allow me to be a blessing to not only my team, but to the people of Brazil. I pray that he is preparing all the hearts of those who are involved in this trip. I pray for financial support...I pray for strength (because I know I can sometimes have wimpy tendencies and really don't want to be a burden to anybody)...I pray that he will allow me to step outside of myself and all my day to day worries, etc. and really be humble and open to the many blessings that are sure to come out of this trip. The blessings I have already experienced have taken my breath away: getting a support check in the mail from someone completely unexpected, discussing the trip particulars with friends and family who are so intrigued/excited about it, becoming more involved with the church and making friends with the people on my team to name a few.

The Final Countdown

We are in full swing planning our trip to Brazil in 2012! The blog shows you a good update on where we have been and the history of the teams, but we are excited about this year and what it has in store for us. Our relationship with Project Amazon is stronger than ever....they are our family on the ground in Brazil and our prayers are lifted daily for their teams as they evangelize on the front lines.

We also have an amazing team this year:
Laura Ashley
Tommy Elliott
Glenn Hair
Amie Heath
Jerry Miner
Kristy Page
John Peckham
Nicole Robson
Chuck Sumner
John Tucker

God has bless us with very specific talents and the work He has in store for each of is has already been prepared in advance. We covet your prayers as we are in full swing raising both financial and prayer support!

Stay tuned to get further updates on our planning!

Mapping the Amazon

PAZ currently has 15 bases in Brazil with one more to open this year. Mapping director John Eisenmann’s goal is for each base to have a GPS unit to save us from the trouble of having to ship units around the country and incur the associated costs. Since the number of church plants from those bases is smaller in number, one unit should meet their needs and be able to keep up as they grow. In Santarem, they already have hundreds of church plants in place, scattered in a 24 hr travel radius of the city (or more). To capture all of these churches with the two units we have will take upwards of two years because of the transportation issues associate with traveling by boat. Plus we are planning to plant another 75 churches this year alone!

Seacoast committed to helping with this project and helped provide the funds for 21 gps units!!
These will help put these Amazon Basin communities "on the map". As PAZ integrates physical data, water data and church statistics with the mapping and GIS (geographical information system) capabilities of the ArcGIS software, supporters of PAZ will be astounded to see the impact and reality of God's work through PAZ to save the forgotten communities of the Amazon!

Pastor Jason Surratt presented Jeff & Becky Hrubik with the check on their visit in June!

Project Amazon - Beyond Brazil

Project Amazon has had a presence in Japan for quite some time now with missionaries Christine and Tim Huber. They have planted several churches in Japan and they have quickly been able to adapt and minister to our brothers and sisters in Japan since the earthquake on March 11th. In July, a team from Brazil will actually be sent as short-term missionaries to help them in their rebuilding efforts. Becky Hrubik will be leading the team and some of the guys we know will be joining them: Joaquin, Ken and 6 or 7 others.

God is in the details, as He would have orchestrated that a team of women from Charleston wanted to make an impact. Prior to the disaster in Japan, these women all participated in a group making blankets with tags that said: “Jesus Loves You”. God had laid on their hearts to reach the Japanese with the love of Jesus with blankets specifically for them.
They raised money to make the fleece blankets and the tags, which specifically say: “Jesus Loves You Japan”. The ladies met seven times in the past few months to cut, sew, and collect the blankets. While praying for the Japanese in their time of disaster, they also prayed for a Christian contact in Japan to distribute the blankets as well as a way to ship them to Japan. They gathered approximately 500 blankets of all sizes.

Teaming up with PAZ, we will get these blankets to Japan. Praise be to God!!

Becky gave us some insight on the impact: "The Japanese houses are not heated and the winters there are very severe, so these are going to be such a huge blessing for this first winter after the disaster! I am sure God is going to use this for His glory and for the salvation of many, many Japanese!"

Brazil 2012

The dates on the books for Brazil 2012 - March 2nd - 12th. If you're interested in joining the team either contact John Tucker (neal7923@aol.com) or Amie Heath (amieheath@seacoast.org) and we'll get you on the list. Look for our first 2012 team meeting coming soon!

A Laptop for the Lord

We have been back a couple weeks now and just got a beautiful e-mail from the team in Brazil about a laptop that was donated and the difference it is making on the front lines. Just wanted to share that with you all.

Hey, Chuck, and Oliver -- and all who were involved in providing Verena with the laptop J
Verena was ecstatic to receive the fruit of your labors and generosity, and we’re really celebrating at how God is making the impossible possible for her. She is so passionate about her calling to serve the people of the Amazon Basin in dental ministry, yet the financial challenge has seemed insurmountable, and growing. Your laptop was an amazing boost to her, and will make a HUGE difference in her life, saving her time and money, as she won’t have to daily pay for visits to cyber-cafés to get her assignments, and then return home to stay up late hand-writing her assignments. She’s pretty excited, to say the least! Below is a translation of her letter of thanks to you, and below that is her Portuguese original. I’m attaching a couple pictures of her as well, just so you’ll know who you’ve blessed. She’s an absolute fireball, and if you knew her, you’d see a wonderful missionary in the making.
Thanks from us as well,
Betty (and Don, too!)
P.S. Please forward this to any others that need to be thanked.
P.P.S. We were excited to hear today that Verena is submitting a research project that she did with one of her teachers, and if her particular project is chosen, the school will reward her with six months to a year of a 50% scholarship on tuition! Please pray for favor for her, that she would indeed be chosen! She has very few resources otherwise.

Hi, Friends!
I truly want to thank all who contributed with the computer, from the one that helped to clean it off to the one that brought it to Brazil—really, thank you so much. This has made a huge difference in my studies. May God greatly bless each of you, and I really want and hope to see and meet you. Thank you for your confidence in me. I will continue to do my best in my studies. I know that I will be a good dentist, and will fulfill the dreams God has for me. Each one of you is already part of my story, and I believe everything will turn out right. Thank you for your support; you’ve planted in fertile soil, and the Lord will reward you for all this. We live in this world to serve one another with love and work in the kingdom of God. Congratulations, because even without knowing me, you are doing this.

Galatians 6: 9-10
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Thank you so much, may God bless you!
Your sister,
Verena Lima, in three years, Dr. Verena Lima =)

Team photo from Betty

We made it home safely! Thanks for all your prayers! Here is the photo from our missionary host (Betty Best)! It's great to be home, but I'm sure everyone on the team is having mixed emotions & processing the details of our trip like me. Please keep us in your prayers

Back in the USA! Hallelujah!

Finally landed back in the USA (Miami, that counts as the US, right?) at about 5:15am. Took about 75 minutes or so to clear customs & claim & recheck our luggage. We were heading to our concourse when we noticed an 8am flight to Charleston. We were all very excited at the possibility of getting home 5 hours earlier, so we headed to the to ticket counter to change our flight. Unfortunately, we were looking at arrivals instead of departures. We are on the earliest flight. Just an attempt by the enemy to steal our joy. Weak! Not gonna happen! We have been released on our own (dangerous!) until we regroup at 11:30 to catch our 1pm flight home. BTW, you do more walking at the Miami airport than anywhere I've ever been. Its incredible! Time for more eating & people watching. Tchau!

Update from our journey home

Quick update from our 31.5 hour adventure home. We began at 3:30am with a false alarm wake up call an hour early due to a time mix up. We tried to go back to sleep until 4:30am when we all got up for real. We departed the PAZ Guest House at 5am arriving at the Santarém airport at about 5:30 am for a 7:10 departure to Saõ Luiz via Belém only to be told our flight was delayed for 1 1/2 hours. No problem because we had plenty of layover cushion. Left Saõ Luiz around 12:55pm for flight to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, at about 3:15 pm. We've been in the middle of the first of two almost 8 hour delays. Did a little window shopping, people watching, & eating. Had my 1st burger in about 11 days! Woohoo! Scheduled to leave Brasilia at 10:55pm to arrive in Miami at 5:30am. Leave Miami at 1:00pm tomorrow & arrive in Charleston at 2:40pm. Can't wait to be back in the good old USA! Tchau!

Shop 'til you drop Saturday- Day before departure

Slept in on Saturday because we are all so very worn out. Got up for an 8:30 breakfast, then had our morning devotion & received our hand painted Brazilian shirts we ordered before we left for the Amazon River Basin (ARB). After that, we went down to the boat to finish unloading all the heavy tools, hammocks, etc. When we finished that we went down to the Orla (riverfront) to shop. From there we heading to Chihascarrea Brazilian BBQ (see photo). They basically bring you endless choice cuts of beef, chicken, & pork on a long skewer & you jab your work in exactly the piece you want & they cut it off for you. Awesome food! After that, a few of us (Jeff, Mike Savini, Glenn, Claire Helring, & Amie heading out on a Brazilian candy run & a trip by the video store for Claire & Jeff. Headed home for a bit & then, Pastor Chuck, Mike Savini, Jeff, Mike Edwards & me (Glenn) headed down to the Orla for Santarem's famous french fries (see photo of me & Mike) and ice cream. We hung out a while because the Orla was rocking!

We ended the night saying all our final goodbyes to our hosts, Don, Betty, & Jeff. They are truly amazing hosts & made us feel completely at home & are a reall blessing to our team. We all sincerely love them,It's currently 12:20am here & we have to be up at 4:30am to catch our first flight. Here is our itenary: We leave Santarem at 7:10 am Sunday & arrive in Charleston at 2:40 pm Monday. 31.5 hours in travel time including a 7.5 hour layover in Brasilia & a 7.5 hour layover in Miami. Sounds like fun so here we come!

Friday morning started off with an incredible sunrise and a great breakfast. We continued with the work on the church. By this time we had built some incredible relationships with the volunteers from the church and the people of the village. For lunch we had alligator tail. We worked our final day and finished the floor and left the village at about 3pm. We were on an inlet off the Amazon river and it was covered with grass. A little bit about the grass. During the dry season the water level drops about 30 feet. At that point the grass grows and as the water level rises the roots break off and the grass continues to grows. These masses that look like islands, but they aren't, and they move down the river severely impeding transportation. On our way out we had to cut through these masses as the grass is so dense it wraps around the propeller. We went on our way after about an hour and half later. We started on our way home and decided to body surf off the back of the boat. It's actually quite fun, but let's just say I (Mike Savini). didn't pull it off like a pro. Watch in the video as I look happy and then poof, I'm gone. And there I am swimming in the middle of the Amazon as the boat pulls away. They got me in a speedboat and got me back to the boat. The team, the givers they are, laughed and laughed and laughed. So enjoy the quickest body surf ever. (Video coming soon) After that, we headed on our way and had a great trip and a lot of quality time with the team. As you can see below John Tucker can sleep anywhere. His head is resting on a water jug. It was a fantastic way to end the trip and God blessed all of us immensely. We arrived back in Santarem at about 10:30pm in a pouring rain, so we decided just to unload the essentials & return on Saturday morning to unload all the tools, cooking supplies, hammocks, & any other remaining items because we were all slap worn out.

A Trip to Lowe's

We arose on Thursday morning to another fabulous breakfast by our cook Vania (Vahn-yah). There is no way anyone lost weight on this trip even though we worked our tails off! Another long day of nailing the floor boards in place. Our team has worked extremely hard & we can finally see the fruit of our labor materializing. After lunch, Joaquin, Elvis, Evandro, & Glenn set out to the local hardware store which ending up being 25 to 30 km (about 18 miles) away by speedboat. It took us about 3 hours round trip because we had to shut the outboard motor off to paddle through several inlets that were impassable with the motor down. We ending up pulling up to a beach front store that was very small (see photo) but seemed to have everything. It was an such an isolated, remote place to have a store run by what looked like like a teenager. Mike, Pastor Chuck, Pastor Samual, Elvis, & Betty went to visit a family in the next community of Amador. They went to pray for an 88 year old women who was suffering from coughing & pain. They ended up ministering to about 20 peaople, 14 of whom accepted Jesus as their Saviour (can I get a hallejuhah?).

In the evening, we had a worship service attended by about 40 people from the local community. Amie & Glenn gave their testimonies also at that service & it was very well received. We also had a couple more people accept Christ! We have absolutely seen God move mightily in this community in us & through us.

Tour with Teenagers

Amie had the chance to meet three wonderful sisters in Christ: Lelaine, Elaine and Fabianna. They joined the team to photograph our adventure and got a great opportunity to get some shots of their grandparent's home. It gives a pretty intimate look at a family that is more affluent on the river, with wooden beds and an outside kitchen. The fish would be a typical meal for them.

God is All We Need

We woke up on Wednesday ready to hit the ground running...or the floor more like it! Mike Edwards shared a timely word and reminded us that we should be working for an audience of one. God is all we need.

For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

-John 12:43

If anyone hears me and doesn't obey me, I am not his judge. I have come to save the world, not judge it.

-John 12:47

Anyone who doesn't obey me, doesn't love me.

-John 14:24

And you are my friends if you obey me.

-John 15:14

The team continued to lay the floor of the church and met more beautiful people of Alerana. Transportation is a bit of a challenge here, as the river is quickly rising in the rainy season, so evangelism was a bit tough. We focused on some hammering and the guys had this one down. It was amazing to see Mike Savini so quickly build a relationship with one of the local missionaries, Enudo. They finished off the siding on the back of the church building and Amie paired up with some of the local girls for a photo shoot (we'll share that separately).

The evening brought a cell group gathering at the church, were 2 people gave their lives to the Lord and we heard from their local PAZ worker Elvis and John Tucker.

Day 2 in Pictures

God's creation is right in front of our face here in the Amazon that you can't miss it. We woke up early on Tuesday and had a word from God that He is a God of order. He calls us to a place under His calling and protection. Day 2 found us starting the floor of the church, evangelizing in the community, encouraging our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and praising and worshipping our Almighty Creator together.

Heading Out - Finding God in Trials

We made it back to Santarem late yesterday night and wrapped up some of our last details this morning, so we are late in getting something up for you all to take a look at and apologize as we know and appreciate all the prayers that were lifted up for our team! We'll try and give you a run down of our time in the river village community of Alerana.

Day 1 - Monday Departure

Our departure out on the river was late Monday night, about 10 pm, which would allow us to pass a particular critical point of our voyage in the early morning hours with sunlight, since we headed upstream about 7 hours from Santarem on the Amazon River. The team quickly hung our hammocks and put together a night watch team shift that changed on the hour. The guys were true gentlemen and let Amie get a good night's rest (yes, Amie is the one writing this). I am certain they have a different take. In the wee morning hours we came to a smaller inlet off the Amazon that would lead us up to Alerana. It was here where we faced our first test from the Lord. This time of year is rainy season and the river is ever-changing....we learned this as we tracked through thick vegetation for 5 hours to get to the village. Several of the team had to go shoreside and pull the boat, as others cut through the brush, dove to clear the props and pushed us away from trees. We finally arrived at the village late Monday afternoon and began to assess the worksite as Glenn helped in a critical move of putting a door on the bathroom and the rest helped finished the walkway to get there.

Our boat, Seja Abencoada (Be Blessed), while it is stuck in some pretty tough vegetation.

A little bit closer look at the vegetation. It doesn't look too bad until you're in the middle of it.

Our Captain, Joaquin, who also served as our construction site foreman, pastor and encourager taking a dive into the muck to clear the prop. He truely walks with the power of the Holy Spirit!

A dear and sweet family that helped us clear the boat out of the muck and would later come to know the Lord in our stay! PRAISE GOD 28 people made decisions to follow Christ while we visited.

Monday Evening Boat Loading

Here's a photo of our boat & some of the supplies we will be taking on our 7 hour trip up the Amazon to Aurana. We just finished loading the boat & are about to have dinner before heading back to the boat. The hard work starts tomorrow although loading the boat was pretty demanding. Please keep us, the boat crew, & the village we are visiting in your prayers. Next update will be Friday night or Saturday. Bye!

Sunday Wrapup

Hello again from Santarem, Brazil! It's 10:50pm (8:50 in Charleston) & everyone is hitting the sack for the night. Just wanted to post a quick update of what we did the second half of today. We all went out to lunch at a VERY popular fish restaurant near the guest house. Everyone was very happy with the food & we had some great fellowship. When we got back to the PAZ guest house, a few of us met with a local artist who is hand painting souvenir T-shirts that we each designed individually. He is very talented. I'm sure you'll see us around Seacoast wearing his handiwork soon. Finally, we attended the 5pm service at the PAZ church. The Brazilians make Seacoast look like a Baptist church. They really get their worship on! This post was originally going to go up Sunday night, but someone else needed to use the laptop. It's about 1pm Monday as I actually post this.
Right now everyone is enjoying a potluck lunch with all the PAZ missionaires before we depart to the village we will be working in this week. Going to load up all the food & other supplies on the boat in about 3 hours for a midnight departure & 7 hour boat trip. We all can't wait to get out on the river & start working! Will not be able to update until we return late Friday or early Saturday. See ya' later!

Water Filter Project

You have all heard about the need for clean water around the world. The Amazon Basin is no exception. We have clean water at our fingertips anytime we want water. This is not true along the Amazon which is the world's longest and largest river. Although fresh water is plentiful in the Basin, it is widely contaminated with microorganisms that cause many different kinds of disease, some of which are fatal. These water-borne illnesses are a leading cause of death, especially among infants and elders.

The PAZ Church water filter ministry provides potable water to the neediest people in the Basin. Currently the filters used are constructed of concrete. With the filter materials, this system weighs more than 300 lbs. Using a different material has the potential to reduce the weight by more than 50%. John Peckham and John Tucker worked with Kelly Lee of PAZ and many other organizations prior to arriving in Brazil to help provide information about potential options. Water Missions International, HydrAid, and Aqua Clara all helped with information about potential options for producing water filters from lightweight materials.

Today, Kelly, John P., John T., Dr. Knopke (President from Aqua Clara), and Becky Hrubik (PAZ Mission Co-Director) visited two river villages to observe the concrete filters in use. This trip provided on-site information about logistics, operations and maintenance needs for this important ministry. For you that use Google Earth, you may see the location we visited by going to S 2 deg 16' 29.2" latitude W 54 deg 42' 15.8" longitude.

Providing clean water has been one of our most fruitful ways of taking the Living Water to the thirsty of the Amazon. Since the beginning of the program, PAZ has installed over 10,000 water filters.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink..." - Matthew 25:34-35a NIV

How Many Loaves Do You Have?

We were up and at it early today at 7:00 a.m. (5:00 a.m. Chucktown time) with a team devotional from Pastor Chuck. He read to us from Matthew 15:32-34. It ends with our Lord asking His disciples, 'How many loaves do you have?'.

The question is so simple that He asks us, what do you have? He doesn't ask us for more than what we have available to us, but He wants to use ALL that we have. Our prayer during this time in Brazil is that each of us will make available to Him ALL that we have and He in turn will feed thousands.

The water team (John Tucker & John Peckham) are out in the village taking a look at the water filters in action this morning. It isn't the village we will be going to build the church, so they are getting the opportunity to see a little more of Brazil and we are praying that God will grant them wisdom as they look for the next steps in this walk. The water filters are an amazing way to share the gospel in the Amazon and Project Amazon has done an amazing job using this physical need to minister to the spiritual needs of a personal relationship with Christ Jesus.

Our more relaxed side of the team (Mike S., Mike E. and Chuck) took the morning to help shop for some of the supplies for the boat trip at the market this morning and had the opportunity to see a little of God's creation with pink dolphins at the quay side. The Brazilians are quick enterpreneurs and charge $2-3 dollars for a couple fish to lure in the dolphins. They played and frolicked as the guys tried to dream of their own businesses to take it to the next level. Chuck crossed the line when thinking a dead fish necklace would do the trick.

Glenn is still getting his beauty sleep as we rest. I (Amie) am sure God is speaking to him through some wonderful dreams and can't wait to hear the stories.

Finally, I (Amie) had the time to spend with a couple sweet sisters in Christ: Fritha and Melissa. They each have such a beautiful heart and testomonies of God's love and healing power in their lives and I am so thankful for the sisterhood He has created between us.

May each of you be blessed today as you read this and we hope to have one of the guys update this evening as we journey out to lunch and then church this evening.

Day #1in Brazil

Hello everyone from rainy Santarem, Brazil! We arrived at 6:40 am this morning to a pretty steady downpour. We were all pretty wiped out due to lack of sleep. The ones of us that are veterans of this mission trip enjoyed a reunion with our hosts Don & Betty Best (and many others) plus met a few newcomers to Project Amazon. Then we hit the sack & slept until about 1pm. When we awoke, we had an orientation session with Don, Betty, and Jeff & Fritha Turner where our itinery & all of the general rules were outlined. At that time, John Tucker, John Peckham, & Harry (Aqua Clara, third party clean water organization) went to tour Project Amazon's water filter production operation. Our trip is a dual purpose mission, construction & offer input on the direction of Project Amazon's clean water ministry. After that we all met at an ice cream parlor for a a little treat & the weather cleared up to be hot, sunny, & sticky! We then went down to the Orla (riverfront) to check out the fishing & line boat (water taxis) operations. We are all now safely back at the Project Amazon guest house where we are preparing to eat and preparing to eat dinner at about 7:15pm (5:15 in Charleston). Have a great night & I will try to update again tomorrow & Monday before we head out on the Amazon River at around midnight Monday night. Blessings!

Correction

Oops! Thought it was Wednesday, so add 24 hours to my 40!

Preparing for Mission

Hey guys! This is the initial post for our 2011 Mission Trip to Brazil. Although internet access is limited & sketchy in Brazil, we will attempt to do a better job this year of keeping you informed. First, I wanted to post the link for the mission organization that we partner with & that hosts us while we're there: http://www.projectamazon.org/. I encourage you to go to their website & learn a little about them, the country of Brazil, it's people, & the amazing things God is doing through this amazing organization. We had our final team meeting this morning & had an awesome time of prayer & anointing. As I type this we are 40 hours away from departing this Friday(3/4) at 6:15 am (we have to be at the airport at 4:30 am - Nuts!). We fly from here to Miami, then to Sao Paulo, Brazil, then to Manaus, Brazil, & finally into Santarem, Brazil, where Project Amazon is based. We arrive Saturday (3/5) at 6:40 am & we will be greeted by our hosts, Don & Betty Best, who will transport us to the guest house. I'm sure it will be nap time since we will have been traveling for 24 hours. We covet yours prayers for our protection & that Jesus will use us as His hands & feet. Stay tuned...