Amor E Esperanca

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MichelleBuchanan

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Michelle Buchanan
Michelle

2018-03-27T21:44:00.000-05:00

Hi BLOG https://bit.ly/2GdxhSh Michelle

2017-05-22T12:38:00.000-05:00

good morning BLOG

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All the best
Michelle Buchanan

TCA 2016 - Days 3 & 4

2016-03-05T04:02:00.000-06:00

Bom Dia!

Bugs, bugs, and even more bugs, but besides that the past two villages have
been heavenly. On Wednesday, Kelsie Ferrell, was a big hit during women's
ministry as word got around of her hairdressing skills. During VBS, we were
all swooning as we witnessed JB Bowman and Colin Wiegand play with all the
little kids during morning VBS. It was so sweet to see them carry the girls
around, and in turn, watch the little girls adore them. Our whole group was
blown away by how welcomed we were in that village. As you can probably
guess, we have not won a single soccer game against the Brazilians. Yet.
That night, Kelsie Ferrell and Jessica Pitts shared their testimonies during
the evening service followed by a skit. Thursday, during morning VBS, the
kids enthusiastically swept us away to an impromptu boys vs. girls soccer
game. Junior, Poppy Eriksen, nearly took a little boy out in her
determination to score a goal. As Mr. Williamson so elegantly put it, "You
gotta do what you gotta do!" The girls unfortunately did not win even with
Poppy's gladiatorial drive. During the evening service, Madison Helms and
Caitlin Hickney shared their testimonies with the village. After our group
returned to the boat, we surprised our translators with a party to celebrate
their love and hard work this week. We each were assigned a translator to
serve during their dinner. It was a special time in which we each went up to
the microphone and spent a minute praising the translators for their
wonderful qualities. Best part of the night was eating queso again for the
first time...in what feels like forever.

Love,
Melanie Marshall and Caitlin Hickney...

TCA 2016 - Tuesday

2016-03-02T07:15:00.002-06:00

HELLLOOOOIIIIII!!!!!!

UPDATES!!!!!!
-the engine is still broken...
- all the skinny popcorn is gone:(
-Rose Delph took an unfortunate tumble, but recovered in a moment's
notice
- Davis, Mr. Williamson, and Callie Orten have also had unfortunate
falls..... RIP plastic chairs
-Macey Walker, challenged in a soda chugging competition, failed
miserably
- Haley Kate Patterson vs. mud... mud pulled through with a victory
-Three sweet girls have not failed to be locked in the shower every
night thus far
-Another sweet soul endured this pain, but in the end was rescued by
the removal of the bathroom door
-Shoutout to Julia Eggleton for waking up an entire village with her
sleeping talking
- from the wise words of Max Merrifield, "Moist towelettes"

BUT... all is well:-)

Thankfully we were able to experience a full day because the boats
actually made it on time. Poppy Eriksen, at first misunderstanding the
secret conversation between the translator and a Brazilian woman, was
pleasantly surprised when the woman returned with a beautifully hand crafted
necklace for her. Caitlin Hickney and Lili Figueroa made sweet connections
with teen girls and broke the language barrier through laughter and
relatable teenage conversations. Mr. Woodward and others were encouraged by
the Brazilian men who, unlike the majority of the village men, stepped up as
fathers and spiritual leaders. Caroline Pierce had the courage to share her
testimony in front of not only our entire team, but the entire village.
Caitlin Hickney and Travis Harrison emotionally portrayed the roles of God
and man, and no matter what sin we think separates us, God overpowers all
with love. Jack Bolton was uplifted by the dedication of Mr.Henegar to his
job as a dentist, despite the amount of blood seen. Ethan and Max Merrifield
were introduced to a new perspective of contentment through simple games of
hacky sack and silly songs sung at VBS. Dr. McFerren made it a priority to
not only mend the physical needs of the villagers but to more importantly
check up on their spiritual well-being. To say the least, we were all
encouraged by the hope and spiritual maturity of the Brazilians in the
village today. We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for our team
and the villagers tomorrow! Please keep us in your prayers, and if at all
possible send more skinny popcorn.

xoxo,
Three sweet girls still stuck in the shower

Fw: TCA 2016 Trip - Monday

2016-03-02T07:15:00.000-06:00

Boa Tarde!

After a long day of travel, we all made it to Brazil safely. We boarded the
Amor e Esperanca shortly after midnight and made our way down the river.
Please pray for our trip. Shortly after leaving Manaus, the Amor's engine
started experiencing some problems, so the crews connected the translators'
boat, the Linda e Esperanca, to ours. They have been towing us down the
river ever since, but we are still moving and able to reach the villages!
Sunday night we stopped in a small city, Belle Vista, to attend a church
service where Molly Henegar shared her testimony. Also, the drama team, led
by Caitlin Hickney and Travis Harrison, performed the Lifehouse "Everything"
skit, depicting how temptation and sin tear us away from Jesus, but He
continues to pursue us. We also had a sweet time celebrating the Lord's
Supper with the Brazilian congregation.

Monday morning we met our translators as well as the pastor who will be
leading us on this trip. Our seniors are leading devotions every morning and
night. Melanie Marshall led the group this morning by reading Psalm 8. We
arrived later than expected to our first village since towing a boat takes
longer and low water levels near the village caused us to go slowly.
Despite these setbacks, we spent a lot of time getting to know each other
better. When we finally reached the village, we set up VBS, sang songs, and
colored with the kids. Bubbles or "bolhas" are a huge hit! Even though we
do not speak the same language, a smile and hug are understood by everyone.

Speed boats shuttled villagers to our boat so doctors and nurses could treat
their physical needs. A special shout-out to freshman Caroline Tate for
stepping up and helping Dr. Henegar pull teeth! During our evening worship
and devotional time, seniors Lili Figueroa, Gavin Jones, Savannah Bass and
Melanie Marshall shared the "One Word" they have each chosen to focus on
throughout this year. Madison Helms and Savannah Bass along with Mr.
Williamson then led the group on a discussion of two chapters in the book
our team is reading this week, "The Cure." Even though we did not get to
spend a full day in the village, it was still a sweet time to love on our
Brazilian brothers and sisters in Christ. We eagerly await a full day of
VBS and various other ministries in tomorrow's village. Please pray for our
team's health and safety as we minister to the villages this week!

Tchau!
-Lili Figueroa, Melanie Marshall, and Jessica Pitts

Fw: TCA 2016 Trip - Monday

2016-03-02T07:14:00.002-06:00

TCA 2016 - Tuesday

2016-03-02T07:14:00.000-06:00

PCA trip 2015 (God is Good All the time)

2015-03-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

Bom Dia (or "Good Morning") from the Amazon River! Although we've had many
bug bites, a few stomach aches, and several sunburns, God has been working
through us for His glory these past couple of days.

On Wednesday, we split the day between two villages ... Santo Antonio and
Sagrado. The time spent in Santo Antonio was filled with door-to-door
evangelism, VBS, and a soccer match. We were able to share God's Love with
the women, men and children through our amazing Brazilian translators. After
we said "goodbyes" to our new friends in Santo Antonio, we departed and
stopped at a small beach and swam in the river (where most of our sunburns
occurred.) After a short swim and a couple of card games on the boat, we
arrived in Sagrado.

Sagrado was a smaller village than the past villages we had visited, but the
people were still filled with the same joy we experienced in the other
villages. During the day, Melody Jayroe, Caroline Ford, and Kacey Halbert
gave away reading glasses to villagers, who had a difficult time seeing.
Through the translators, they were able to talk to the people, pray with
them, and tell them about God's love. When the villagers were given a pair
of glasses, the joy they felt was contagious. The happiness we've
experienced in these villages is so different from the happiness we see back
home. At home, a lot of happiness is found through possessions, but we've
learned through these villagers that possessions do not equate to happiness.

During our men's ministry, Connor Ryan, Ryan Caldwell and Phillip Hazelip
shared their testimonies, while Mackenzie Cruse and Emily Cassil shared
theirs during women's ministry.

The following day, Thursday, Bryce Young and Caroline Ford used an
EvangeCube again to speak to a group of teenagers about the Gospel. After
Bryce presented the Gospel with his EvangeCube, five teenage boys had a
conversion moment and began their new walk with Christ. After praying with
them, Melody Jayroe and Michael Zebe gave their soccer cleats to two of the
villagers who had began their relationship with Christ.

It is now Friday and we have left the beautiful jungles and are traveling
back to Manaus on the amazing Amazon River. While we are physically the
same 34 people who left Dallas almost one week ago, the hearts of each one
of us have changed. Our prayer for ourselves is that our change would
remain in tact as we each walk back into our communities, and that we would
be immediately be known as someone who is "different." Please join us in
this prayer.

As Mr. Beeson refers to us as ...

#TheFinishers (or "The Underclassmen")

Ryan Caldwell
Emily Cassil
MacKenzie Cruse
Kacey Halbert
Caroline Ford
Melody Jayroe
Bryce Young

PCA TEAM-2015 Day 1-2

2015-03-11T07:43:00.000-05:00

Oi from Brazil! We are having an amazing time and The Lord is moving in so
many ways! Our first day of traveling was long due to delays, but when we
arrived those delays were worth it. On our long journey down the Amazon
River we have made relationships with each other, the translators, and even
the amazing crew. We spent most of the time playing card games, journaling,
eating good Brazilian food, and seeing Gods beautiful creation. Each morning
we have started the day with a devotion time, as Mr. Beeson would call it,
"church." The first morning as we were traveling down the river, Birkley
Oliver shared the first devotion about God's love for everyone. The next
morning, right before our first day in the village, Caroline Carpenter
shared about how there is more to the American Dream, and the key is that we
use the Dream to glorify God. When we arrived at the first village, we were
greeted with warm smiles and joyful people. Each of us tried different
things at first, but eventually each of us found where we were needed. These
past few days have been filled with VBS, men's and women's ministry,
medical/dental ministry, door-to-door evangelism, and of course, a soccer
match. When we first arrived we gathered all the kids from the village and
taught them songs in Portuguese, followed by crafts and games. After one of
the soccer matches, Bryce Young and Caroline Ford shared the Gospel using an
Evangecube. We had the opportunity to have a Worship Service at the end of
Monday, where to local pastor spoke along with Caroline Raub and Landon Lott
who shared their testimonies. Specifically, Jenell Wyatt shared her
testimony with one of the translators during the medical ministry. This
impacted the translator greatly as it showed that we think we are only
coming here to minister, but we are also being ministered too.

Today, March 10th, Philip Hazelip led the church service with his devotion
about how the time on the boat gave us time to see God's creation in a
different perspective, and not get caught up in the worldy things going on
back home. Our day in the second village was different than most because of
how developed it was. This is one of the biggest villages Mr. Beeson said he
has ever been in. Each of us had to take on a bigger role and get out of our
comfort zone more to reach more of the people. Caroline Carpenter, Sara
Sterling, Birkley Oliver, Eric Stevenson, Rebecca Birkenmeier, Carol Young,
and Scott Carpenter got to witness in the home of an elderly lady and her
two kids (both 22 years old). She shared their struggles and we were able
to pray and comfort them. Each of them were taken back, butt God blessed us
even more through them. Also Hannah Causey, Philip Hazelip, Connor Ryan, and
Mackenzie Cruze had the opportunity to share the Gospel with a mother and
her two children. The mother was a believer, but the daughter was still
questioning why God allowed certain things to happen in this world, as her
nephew had an incurable disease. Through their testimonies and the Holy
Spirit, the mother accepted Christ into her life. Everyone in that room
realized how accepting Christ was a personal decision.

Although we are half way through the trip, we are all missing home and each
of our families. Scott Carpenter misses his little puppy Jace. This trip is
surreal and we can't wait to share all of the experiences we've had. To all
the families we love you and miss you!

XOXO <3
Sara Sterling
Hannah Causey
Caroline Carpenter
Birkley Oliver

Day 3 - Castanho

2015-03-06T10:51:00.000-06:00

OI,

MORALE IS LOW(for some)...

So here's the run down..

-Allison Jackson currently looks like a cooked lobster

-Mr. Williamson's feet are the size of Brazil

-Mr. Delph is suffering from a bad reaction of his malaria pill and the sun, resulting in feet even bigger than Mr. Williamson's

-Cathy Jean almost passed out while attempting to aid Thiago in Dental care

-Meredith Cole has two ulcers under her tongue but with the help of numbing medicine she's feeling great... well maybe she's not feeling anything but same difference!

-Melanie Marshall is still shaking from dropping the alligator the previous night

-Multiple people making fashion statements with socks and Chacos due to bubbling bulging blisters

-EVERYONE has various bug bites scattered around their bodies oozing with unknown substances....(just kidding but they really do itch)

-BUT............................................ no one has died:)

-All of the oatmeal chocolate cookies have ceased to exist, therefore morale. is. low.

Dear fellow viewers, tonight we will be explaining our journey into the deepest parts of the Amazonas river thus far.

Happy Birthday Sarah!!!!!! The sun rose this morning which I'm sure must have been very pretty if we had been awake to see it. Upon arriving at the village of the day, we were greeted by a stampede of eager children. So naturally VBS started off with a bang decorating cups, singing, and dancing. Women's ministry had a great turnout; from the perspective of Sherry Glosser and Milcah the women loved having the opportunity to be pampered with hair and nails. Despite the lopsided braids and poorly painted nails the women surely felt the love of the Lord through the sweet conversations they experienced. It was truly heartwarming to see women who have so little gain so much joy from these small acts of kindness. Poppy Erikson was led by Corey Page to the eye care clinic where she was deeply moved by the work of Mr. Woodward who was able to relate to the elderly men and form a relationship in which he was able to lead them to Christ. During door to door Jessica Pitts and Riley Crow amongst others had a moving experience in the home of a devoted Christian family, where with the help of a guitar, they were able to worship together in unity proving how big our God is.

Meanwhile in the medical department Angel, Peyton Travis, Brooke Herman, Emily Parnell, and Macy Walker helped alongside Dr. Heber with the general health of the villagers. The most drastic case of the day was a young girl who had an ingrown earing needing to be lanced out. As she bravely held the hand of Brooke Herman this young girl barely even shed a tear not due to pain but due to the loss of her most prized earing. In the dental department Thiago, aided by Kenzie Glosser and Brooke Herman managed to make an incredible retraction of a very large and infected tooth of a 16 year old female. She was deeply moved by our gentle and loving hands inspiring her to join the service we gave later that evening. During this service Molly Legaband and Stephanie Woffard preformed the sin solution demonstration, Joey shared his moving testimony, and Mr. Wood elegantly and passionately shared the gospel and love of Jesus to the group of interested villagers. Some who were deeply moved repeated the prayer to accept Christ and then later received a New Testament from our team.

PS,

MORAL IS THE OPPOSITE OF LOW!!!!!!!!! GOD IS DOING AMAZING THINGS HERE

With love,

three junior girls

TCA Amazon Trip - Day 2

2015-03-05T06:17:00.000-06:00

Bom Dia!!! Day 2 of Amazon Trip 2k15 was a success!!

Today was an eventful day because we visited not one but two villages! In
the morning we visited Botafogo, a village with about 30 families. After the
absolutely stunning sunrise, we were greeted by a beautiful village. At
first, the villagers needed a little encouragement to come out of their
homes. The clinic was busy from the get-go, with our wonderful doctor and
dentist seeing patients one after another. A big shout out to them for all
their hard work! VBS was exciting for the little kids, with plenty of
activities (including LOTS of bubbles) to play with. It's great to see their
sweet smiles and have them humble us continually with their generous nature.
Even though they were shy in the beginning, the villagers were all so nice,
and genuinely happy to welcome us into their homes.

Before lunch time, a group from our team went early to the second village,
Aguia (which means eagle). Some of us, including myself (Lili Figueroa)
went door to door inviting people to VBS and other ministries. We were
walking along with our group and we happened to notice three young girls
shyly accompanying us. Priscila, our amazing translator, asked the girls if
they were following us. They guiltily admitted that yes they had been
following us. Guiding us from house to house, the girls led us around the
village. The youngest girl was surprised to see us taking photos of their
village. We told them we wanted to have memories of their beautiful village
and God's incredible nature. That girl formed a sweet bond with Addy Gibson
and they became inseparable friends. By the way, VBS was a huge success and
the kids were super engaged and intrigued by the stories we had to share.
While VBS was occurring in the school, other teams were visiting houses,
door to door.

In the midst of VBS, I (Lauren Roquemore), noticed three young mothers
hesitantly standing outside the door of the school. Each had a small child
in her arms and they seemed quite shy. I approached them, not realizing the
amazing experiences God had in store for me. The women and I began by
talking about their families and lives. I really connected with a young
women named Flavia who was only twenty-two years old yet already had two
daughters. Poppy Eriksen, Monica Choi, and Caitlin Hickney showed up at just
the right moment. All four of us started talking to them about our own
testimonies and their faith with the LORD. We had the opportunity to share
with them the difference between works and grace. We read to them from the
Portuguese New Testament which deeply connected with them on a whole new
level. We formed a day-long relationship by spending time with them in both
villages. They even invited us into their own homes in the afternoon, giving
us new fruits to try and lots of love. Even though these women have such
different lives than us, we really connected with struggles similar to our
own.

In the evening, by some type of miracle, the Americans managed to tie the
Brazilians in the soccer game. Unfortunately, the girls who played next were
not so successful. :( For the children too young to play, it was an
opportunity for us to play with them by simply kicking a soccer ball around.
After the soccer game, we all gathered for a church service. Caitlin Hickney
and Chase Rea led a skit that brought some tears to the audience. This
powerful drama without words illustrated how much God loves and will fight
to protect us from distractions and temptations. It was very difficult to
say goodbye to the sweet people of these villages who welcomed us with such
love.

The night brought new adventures for everyone with the chance to go
alligator hunting!! Groups of seven were put into small motor boats and
spent about twenty minutes each searching the waters. Sizes of these
intimating reptiles ranged from one foot to almost seven feet! However we
were unable to catch the seven footer of course! But it was still
exhilarating to be so close to these creatures in the Amazon River. What an
amazing day this was!! We are so excited for the rest of this week and can't
wait to see all the amazing things God has planned.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support. We'll see you
soon! -Lauren Roquemore, Poppy Eriksen, Lili Figueroa

TCA Day 1 - Santo Antonio (Campinas Area)

2015-03-04T04:40:00.000-06:00

Oi team! It is day one in the beautiful country of Brazil, and we are
already blown away by all the ways the Lord has shown His love through
protection. We'd like to tell you our modern version of the story of Exodus.
(Dave Delph= Moses; Amazon team= Israelites). As you know by now, our first
flight was cancelled, and it only got more difficult from there. We'd like
to call this, Israelites stuck in slavery under the Dallas airport. After 4
hours in the Dallas airport, our flight got delayed an hour, giving us a
total of 5 hours in the airport before boarding our plane to Miami. After
running out of room in the overhead compartments, we wandered the terminals
looking for baggage claim in the Miami Airport. This, my friends, is the 40
years of wandering the desert. We then found ourselves at the TAM Airlines
kiosk at 3:30 am waiting for boarding passes. Keep in mind, we haven't eaten
or slept since Dallas. Currently, praying for provision. A hunt ensued for
bagels (aka manna), which most would say was unsuccessful. Let's just say
it's called Dunkin' Donuts for a reason (subpar bagels). It was only fitting
for us to grumble through the manna provided. (#grumble). Why did we have to
wait for our boarding passes? Since we had to change airlines, our boarding
passes given to us in Dallas were not sufficient for TAM, causing us to have
to wait for new ones. After 3 more hours in the Miami airport, we finally
began to board the plane. Then, tragedy struck.
In line to board the plane, Ellie Buchanan realized she didn't have her VISA
(she had her sister's). By the grace of God, the TAM Airlines worker only
checked her passport, allowing her to board the plane. We were finally free!
Just kidding...immigration awaited us when we landed. After a lot of prayer
from the group and conversation back and forth with the immigration worker,
he thankfully had a change of heart, showed mercy on Ellie and allowed her
to enter the country. After the Lord brought us through Satan's first round
of trials, we made it to the Promise Land. (#milkandhoney).
After loading the boat, we were off to the races. Oh, contraire. Satan
hadn't given up just yet. We had been en route for less than 30 minutes when
the Coast Guard approached our translator boat for an inspection. A
miniscule error in paperwork required the boat to turn around. As 63
Americans joined together in prayer, we opened our eyes to see the
translator boat turning around to travel with us again. What a
blessing!!!!!!!!!!!! #success #Heisable #getbehindusSatan
Now for our first day in the village. We had an eventful day of VBS,
dental/medical ministry, eye glass ministry, door-to-door, women's/men's
ministry, gospel presentations in the schools, and futebol (soccer) games.
VBS was a hit, successfully led and organized by Ellie Buchanan. (What a
rockstar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (Ellie didn't write this part, this isn't
self-praise) (#awesomesauce). Also, special thanks to our Academy Award
winning serpent, Ben Thorton, during the skit of Adam and Eve. (With a show
like that, I would've eaten the apple too ;-) ).
STORY TIME!!!!!!!!!!!
First, let's hear from Mary Clayton Wood. While inviting villagers to come
to VBS, Mary Clayton led her team of Peyton Travis, Brooke Herman, and Macey
Walker to nearby houses. After being in conversation with a woman and
praying with her, she asked them if they would speak to her mother. She
brought her mother into the room who appeared to be in her mid-sixties. One
of the group members was able to connect with her through sharing her
testimony-- it's so cool to see how the story of the Lord's love and
redemption can bring two completely different people together! What a
reminder that we all struggle in the same ways, and the Lord's love is
universal!
Tonight Corey Paige shared a story of encouragement that she witnessed
through Joe Foster. While working in the eye glass ministry, Corey became
overwhelmed by the abundance of villagers in need of help. She quickly
became focused on getting through villagers as efficiently as possible to
help as many as they could. She soon looked over to Joe Foster who had her
same job, and saw that he had physically helped only 1/3 of the people that
she had. Confused, she stopped to watch. She realized that Joe was not only
helping them physically, but spiritually as well. Joe took time with each
individual person to intentionally talk with them about the gospel of Christ
and the subject of their eternity, always ending with a prayer. Joe reminded
us all of the beauty of intentionality, and the true reason we are here-- to
tell others about the awesome love of Jesus!
We are so thankful for all of y'alls prayers, support, and love sent our
way. Keep it comin!!! The Lord has provided abundantly, and it's only been a
few days! We know that the Lord has BIG plans for this trip because of
Satan's persistence in trying to slow our efforts. But greater is He who is
in us, than he who is in the world! We are so excited to see what He has in
store, and share it will you all in this blog. Stay tuned!!!

XOXO,
@StephanieWofford
@MollyLegband
@KenzieCimpl
@Illegalimmigrant123 (ellie hehe)

2015-03-01T20:40:00.000-06:00

2015-02-28T18:54:00.001-06:00

Day 5 - Costa Do Barroso (Part 2) and Bela Vista

2014-03-06T20:28:00.000-06:00

We're back!!

Today was another incredible day in the Amazon! We began our day with
singing "Mighty to Save" in both Portuguese and English (Emily says this is
the highlight of her trip). Our God is UNIVERSAL and this worship was such a
cool picture of that.

In the first village (part 2), we did our regular ministries. We met a sweet
family going door-to-door that passionately shared with us about their
thriving mantioch trade and their other business endeavors such as cattle,
carpentry, and potato farming. They joked around with us in Portuguese,
forgetting and not really caring that we could not understand anything being
said. It was interesting to see the different roles of women in this
conservative "Assembly of God" village. The two most eventful things in this
village: Steve Williamson almost stepped on a snake and screamed like a girl
during door-to-door... and all of the Americanos were able to pray for the
pastor of the village. The pastor and family were brought to tears and
filled with hope for their village and the continued sharing of the Gospel.

We traveled through lunch to the next "village" (small city-think Lindale,
TX). Most of our team shared that this has been the favorite village thus
far. We had the largest turnout for VBS and both Brazilians and Americans
felt connected to one another. Unfortunately, Americans lost another soccer
game at our afternoon service in their indoor soccer facility, but we were
still able to share the gospel. We call this a victory for sure. We sadly
left this village, waving to our new Brazilian friends left on the shore.

Tnight we tapped into our inner Swamp People and went Gator hunting. From a
12" baby gator to the 6' momma (OK...it was a little under 4 feet) we
brought onto the boat, us city people got a taste of the Amazon River at its
finest.

Boa noiche and te ama!!
-Emily and Caroline

Day 4 - Costa Do Barroso (Muddy Coast)

2014-03-06T04:47:00.000-06:00

After traveling several hours Tuesday night, we arrived at "Muddy Coast"
village...which lives up to its name. It was another wonderful day of
medical, dental, eyeglass, VBS, door-to-door, and Women's and Men's
ministries in the morning and afternoon, and a service at 5:00 pm complete
with singing, drama, sin solution illustration (by Ellie and Kenzie), and
Joe Foster sharing the gospel. What a blessing to see our team using their
gifts to reach as many as possible in Costa Do Barroso!

Tonight we provided our crew and translators with a Tex-Mex dinner (queso,
chips, tortillas, fajita fixins, brownies, and a small gift)...thank you
Costco! It was a sweet time of encouragement and thanks for how faithfully
and selflessly they serve. We celebrated the birthday of one of the cooks
and one of the translators with cake and gifts. We served them, we cleaned
dishes, gave them the night off, then we ate and cleaned our own mess.
Great reminder of how hard it is to do what they do EVERYDAY!

It's down the river 10 min. to the same village...just one of those long
narrow villages that never seems to end! We'll spend the afternoon in Bella
Vista, the home church of one of the missionary pastors serving with us this
week. There we will share the gospel door-to-door as well as participate in
an outreach to the community through a service at night. We were hoping to
swim in at what we thought would be a beautiful lake to enjoy (dark instead
of muddy water), but was told the locals named this lake, Lake Alligator, so
we all agreed we would rather hunt the alligators rather than be hunted...so
that's what we'll do! Three groups will hunt on Thursday and three on
Friday.

What a blessing it is to see God show up in so many ways...our worship has
been special, our service has been meaningful, the love shown in the
villages and on the boat has been plentiful, and the nightly discussions and
prayer times have been rich. Thank you to those who continue to pray for
this trip and for those who have made it financially possible for us to be
here.

Rain Rain Go Away - Day 3

2014-03-04T21:02:00.000-06:00

Bom Dia!

Today, we had an awesome day filled with VBS, women's ministry,
door-to-door, and medical ministry.

Once again, the door-to-door groups (Mary Clayton, Brooke, Kenzie,
Cathy Jean, Priscila, Jimmy, and Salma) witnessed many life changing
stories. Specifically, one 25-year-old girl feeling incredibly lost and
lonely, needing a Savior. Praise God that she found hope and life in Jesus
Christ today. Another group (Winston, Emily Calvert, Hunt Wood, Austin
Gurney, and John McClay) met a small store owner who was under the
impression that his sin was too big to forgive. We explained the concept of
grace to him, and he finally understood. Later that day, we had the
privilege of meeting his wife and three of his four children. Many thanks to
Rachael Cash, Scot Buchanan, and Kai Harrison for stepping up and leading
students in the door-to-door ministry. Jane Neuhoff and Lauren Roquemore
were able to connect with a 14-year-old wife, giving her encouragement. The
love they showed her presented her with a clear picture of her Savior. Emily
Parnell and Olivia McClay were able to go with our Brazilian pastor,
spreading word about the church service to be held later that afternoon.

In women's ministry, many of the girls were blessed to hear a few of the
translator's testimonies and many of the villagers were surprised to feel
connected to girls that initially seemed so different from them. Hannah
Beckwith and Logan Landry shared their testimonies to these women and the
villagers asked questions and shared prayer requests. Tammie Parnell and
Shelly Mueller spent hours painting nails, doing hair, and conversing with
the women of the village. Caralee Gurney loved on the mothers' babies while
they were getting their nails done. The women love to see the pictures she
takes of them and their children. Kelly Foster and Lori Holstrom had a
special experience while painting a mother's (age 16) nails. They empathized
with her and shared that she can find hope in Jesus. Because of Kelly, Lori,
an amazing interpreter (Rosie), and the Lord's mighty hand, this young woman
is now a sister in Christ. Praise the Lord.

Today in VBS, we talked again about the fruit of the Spirit. Ellie
Buchanan and Hayley Quigley's long hours of hard work in preparation for
this trip have paid off, as the kids love the activities prepared for them.
The kids loved painting bags and a poster that now hangs in their village.
They learned what these qualities looked like through a skit put on by Gavin
Jones and Travis Josephs. Tara Williamson, Tori Holstrom, Caroline McClay,
Hayden Foster, and Susie Feldman spent the entire day helping the
organization of VBS. They were crucial in facilitating the painting,
coloring, and snacks. Caroline Cash, assisted by Steve Williamson presented
Sin Solution to the kids, explaining that the cross took all sin, connecting
us back to God. Shannon Jones once again starred in the Brasilieros V
Americanos soccer game. Aaron Feldman and Addison Heritage helped lead the
kids in many games and soccer, drawing a crowd because of their high energy.
Many of the kids seen today have been following our boat from village to
village, and it was neat to continue to connect with them on a deeper level.

In the medical ministry, the doctors and nurse Lauren Delph worked for
hours, seeing dozens of patients. During the long wait to see a doctor,
Christiana Konstans, Jessie Harrison, and Natalie Jones passed out tracts
and Bibles to the villagers. Natalie was able to share her testimony with
the women in line, giving them hope and a positive outlook on motherhood and
the responsibility of raising children. Reagan Rice has been a huge help to
Brazilian dentist, Thiago.

At our evening service, Kenzie Cimpl and Jack Mueller shared powerful
testimonies that were extremely relatable to the villagers. The drama team,
led by Emily Davidson, performed the "Everything" skit, touching the
villagers and the Americans despite the lack of words. Joe Foster presented
the Gospel through a soccer ball, which allowed the most macho of men to
connect to our message of hope.

The day only continued to get better as our team bonded through worship,
Scripture, and share time back on the boat.

For parents: your wonderful children are safe, healthy, and having a
fantastic time sharing God's love with the Brazilians. Please continue to
pray for the health of our team and the hearts of the Brazilians.

TCHAU
Emily Calvert and Caroline Cash

Monday - Day 2

2014-03-03T20:44:00.000-06:00

Oi!

We spent today in the village of Christo Resurrection and SF do Caninde. It
was our second day in CR, and we were able to begin our door to door
ministry
and finish seeing the long line of medical patients. This is the first time
that Americans have visited this village. On our door to door adventure me
(Emily) Caroline Cash, Hunt Wood, Mary Calyton Wood, Priscilla, and Jimmy
Davis went to the home of a middle aged Brazilian couple. They immediately
invited us to sit on the floor of their small wooden hut. After talking to
them about their fishing and Mantioch (bitter yellow Brazilian root that can
be ground into a wheat-like substance), Mary Clayton Wood asked them if they
knew the Lord and they answered by telling us the numerous stories of the
Lord's faithfulness and supernatural healing in their lives. We encouraged
the couple to step out in courage as leaders in their village. The woman
began to weep as she explained to our group that her children did not have a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Meanwhile her oldest son,
Ellisandro, was outside conversing with his friend, Charles. After praying
with the couple for the salvation of their children, Ellisandro came inside,
and we began to share the gospel with him. Immediately he began weeping and
said that a lack of courage and fear of others' judgment was holding him
back from accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior. Jimmy invited Elisandro
to pray with him, and encouraged him to step up and follow Christ. Praise
God he did. After praying with Jimmy, all rejoiced with "Gloria Deus". What
a testament of God's faithfulness and sovereignty.

In the second village, the smallest of villages to be visited this week, we
led VBS, medical, and dental ministries, ending the day with a church
service. During this time, Joe Foster and Olivia McClay shared their
testimonies, Sin Solution was presented, and the Everything skit was
performed. After this time, family packs (clothes and toys) were passed out
and a soccer game started. Brazilians won in a close game.

We will get back to you tomorrow with more testimonies and stories of God's
love.

Ps: Charles, the friend of Ellisandro, came to know Christ later today as
Jimmy and our translator, Priscilla, shared the gospel with him. He is
known as the village drunk but is now connected with a mentor to help him
overcome his struggle.

Pps: we are currently writing from the boat's bathroom to escape the slew of
moths and various Brazilian insects that were drawn to the light of the
computer.

Beijos!!!
Caroline Cash and Emily Calvert

Sunday, March 2

2014-03-02T19:29:00.000-06:00

Thank you for praying for safe travel. Everything went smoothly including
ALL BAGS making it to Manaus! We left Manaus on the Amor around 2:00 am and
arrived at our first village, Cristo Ressuscitado (Resurrected Christ), just
after noon, ate lunch, prepared for VBS and our drama production then
entered the village around 2:00. Medical, dental, VBS, eyeglasses, soccer,
women's, men's, and youth ministries took place for about 200 people! Our
5:00 pm service included songs in English and Portuguese, our drama, and
testimonies from Reagan Rice and Van Beckwith. What a blessing to see many
riveted for over an hour...trusting that the Word does not return void.

We'll spend the morning in the same village, then head on to Caninde which
is about the same size. We're weary from travel and our first day in the
sun, but headed to bed early (9:00 pm). Looking forward to what God has in
store for tomorrow.

Blessings and thank you for your continued prayer!

Test 20140301

2014-03-01T18:25:00.000-06:00

Testing ...

Christmas Trip 2013, part 2

2013-12-08T06:35:00.000-06:00

As we depart for our last full day of ministry we can't believe the time has gone so quiclkly. We won't forget the children we have encountered and their smiles.

One thing that stands out as a tremendous blessing and a reminder of the needs we all have but are accentuated by poverty was a medical visit turned prayer session and gospel presentation. Chuck and Felipe were headed to a house call for a lady that has had several strokes and could not walk, talk, or care for herself. Nate tagged along, mainly because he wanted to see the village (we had already done the presentation that morning). They checked the ladies vitals, meds, and talked to her husband about general health and practices for health. When they got back to the med site, Chuck asked Rebecca to go and check her blood pressure and blood sugar. Nate led Rebecca back to the house, and this time Noah tagged along. No one spoke Portuguese and all three are first timers to the Amazon. The husband spoke to Nate on the walk back and Nate could only smile and nod.

Later, Chuck asked Rebecca to make one last call, not for meds this time but for prayer. Chuck had a strong prompting from the Spirit that the lady needed prayer. Both Chuck and Nate both felt a spiritual cloud hanging heavy over the house when they had visited that first time. This time, Nate, Noah, Rebecca and Rose went to the house and all prayed for her, with Rose interpreting for them. After the first round of prayers, Rose, an amazing translator and precious sister in Christ, launched into a Full - Gospel presentation. 5 minutes, 10 minutes of laying out Jesus' love for this broken and desperate woman, lying helpless on the floor. The woman prayed to receive Christ and her spirit came to life. Noah, Rebecca, Nate and Rose prayed for her again, petitioning our Lord and Saviour, The Great Physician, to heal her body that she may testify to others the redemption she had received. As they left, our new sister in Christ gave each unprompted kisses and hugs, reaching up from her place on the floor to pull them down to her level and with smiles. Nate and Rose followed up with the wife of the pastor in that village. She told them that the lady had not been receptive to prayer or talk of any kind about spiritual things. Her husband is a heavy drinker, purchasing alcohol from a travelling alcohol salesman who comes to the village and supplies many of the men there. The stranglehold that the enemy has there in that village is definitely something we should continue to pray about. The husbands name is Manuel, travelling salesmans name is Francisco, and the sweet lady who needs to grow in her new faith in Christ is named Magdalina.

Last night the team attended a church service in Bela Vista where Rebecca and Nate gave testimonies and we sang Joy to the World and Silent Night. Although it doesn't feel like Christmas due to the climate, the carols and the multiple daily re-enactments of the Christmas story keep us focused on task.

We heard reports of the weather in Dallas and we hope everyone is ok. We will keep you informed of any flight delays once we are in Miami.

Christmas trip 2013

2013-12-06T06:29:00.001-06:00

Good Morning Friends from the Christmas on the Amazon team

It has been an amazing few days of presenting gifts and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to the children in the Amazon region of Brazil.

On Tuesday, the team spent the whole morning organizing nearly a ton of donation items that were brought by the team and purchased in Brazil. A HUGE thank you to all who donated items for this trip. We wish you were here to see the smiles as the children rifle through their gift bags and to receive the hugs of appreciation.

The last 2 days have been especially busy. Wednesday morning we visited the village of Sobrado. After our doctors and dentist provided free medical services to the village, the team presented. The presentation consists of: songs with the children; a dramatized re-creation of the birth of Jesus, God's perfect gift to us; a puppet skit about a gift for a King; the gospel presentation and lastly, distribution of the gifts! The recreation of the Christmas story is complete with props and full costume and requires most of the team to perform, both Brazillian and American. I am sure the Academy will be looking to recognize some of the stellar performances from our team members. Later that day we continued on to Novo Airao where the team received permission to present at Joaquim De Paula public school. We were well received and over 300 children at the school heard the good news of Jesus Christ.

The gift of Jesus ties nicely into the puppet skit "For The King" where 3 children decide what to give a King for his birthday. A boy decides to give the king an expensive ruby and a girl decides to give the king the biggest gift, an elephant. A girl with no money is teased when she suggests giving the king flowers or a card. When the gifts are presented in the skit the king is not happy with the first 2 gifts, he already owns many rubies and has a fleet of elephants. When the poor girl presents her gift all she has to offer the king is herself, to serve and honor him for the rest of her life. The king is pleased and anounces that her gift is the greatest gift. Isn't that what God requests of us? To do what we were created to do, worship him? Our puppeteers, Grace, Rebecca, Danelle, Noah and Thalita have done an awesome job!

Yesterday afternoon the team had a unique opportuniy to feed and swim with boto, pink fresh water dolphins. The Kautz family, Nate, Noah and Dan decided to jump in with the boto for a swim. It was awesome to get a break to do such a fun activity.

We look forward to the next few days where we will be visiting 6 more villages. The days are hot and long but the team focused on finishing strong. After a long, sweaty day the american team has offically dubed ourselves the Dirty Dozen. The showers last night were a blessing :)