Brazil

I just arrived back from Brazil, and I have been o encouraged by what God did in my life, the lives of my teammates, the lives of the BI students in Brazil, and in all the hearts of the people we came in contact with!

The trip just flew by! We left on the 29th, and we arrived to Palavra De Vida Norte on the 30th around 12 pm.

Here is a brief overview:

Saturday we went to the Landfill ministry, Creative Hands, and got to play with kids, love on them, and share Christ with them.

Sunday we went to two different churches. One in the morning and one at night. After the evening service we went to Pizza Hut and ate some good pizza.

Monday we went to the River Community. That is where my heart lies. We went two hours north up the Amazon, to a community, Igarape Grande, that can only be reached by boat. We spent the night there, sleeping in hammocks. While we were there we were not allowed to share the gospel outright, but we could live it. And live it we did. We played soccer with the kids in the rain, went swimming in the Amazon, and I got to help Jonas, a local guy, work making charcoal.

Tuesday we spent the morning in Igarape Grande, but we left late morning to head back down stream. After the two hour trip we stopped and ate at a nice Brazilian steak house right off the beach. And ended the day by swimming in the Amazon. But before we got to the swimming, Ryan Williamson baptized Jessica Pezzente, Josh Salinas, and me in the Amazon! How many people can say that?!

Wednesday we went out to a ton! of public schools. Brazilian laws say that all kids are allowed to religion class. Some schools do not have money to pay for a teacher for that. That is where M.E.B.E comes in (It is a Portuguese acronym so it will not translate properly, but means teaching and evangelizing the Bible in public schools). It was an intense day, but it was well spent!

Thursday we started the day off early, 5:45, and headed to a Tribal Ministry headquarters, were we got to learn all about tribal people, there culture, and there thinking. It was really enlightening! After that we got to go out shopping! You could barter the price, but things are more expensive when you are a Gringo. after that we went to a school for boys. The school went to the streets and rescued the boys from living in destitution, and works hard at what it does!

Friday morning we had a missionary panel board where we got to ask questions of the local missionaries. It was a learning experience! They were all so alive for God, and done for whatever God had in store for them.

Then we left.

Leaving was hard, I didn't want to. God really laid the River Community people on my heart. The are 33,000 river communities in the Amazon alone. Only 3,000 of those have any gospel presentation. What about those other 30,000 communities?

I believe that is what God has called me to do.

I will write more on it later,

but when the time comes,

are you going to be ready to help share the gospel with a lost world?!