Sleeping in Strange Places

Uruari

Not to many people can say they've done it, but I have.  I spent the night in the "mouth of the Aligator!"  OK, so "Aligator" is the name of the community and we anchored our boat in the "mouth" of the bay, so there you have it.  Jacaré (portuguese for aligator) is a small community in Lago Grande, or Big Lake, just up the Amazon River from Santarém.  This may sound familiar to you from my recent trip to Curuai, also located on Lago Grande.  It was one of two communities that we visited this past weekend.

On Thursday morning, a group of about 15 of us headed out from Santarém, the mission health team, the boat crew, some water filter supplies, and a half dozen young adults anxious to help out.  Eight hours later we docked the Portador da Luz in Uruari, right in front of the local PAZ church.  The dentist and his assistant got right to work as did myself and a couple other doing water filter supervision.  Other headed out to spread the word about our health clinic and worship service planned for the next evening.

The following day was busy with dental and medical patients while I worked with the local pastor to make house visits and do checkups on the PAZ water filters scattered around the community while others engaged in kids ministry.  Unfortunately, it rained early in the evening, so our worship service had a slim crowd, but we took advantage of that time with those few people that lived next door to the church.

Ministering the Word in Jacaré

After the service we took off, heading for Jacaré, where we would sleep, waiting for the next morning.  Much of the same took place here, but just that the evening brought some new challenges for me.  I was asked to share the message during the evangelical service!  I'll admit, I was a bit hesitant, mostly questioning my ability to express myself in portuguese for an extended time, especially in front of a large group.  But, to the praise and glory of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, I succeeded in the challenge, conveying a message of reconciliation for those in attendance.  Now we're praying for the seeds planted, that the local worker and church there would reap the fruit of our efforts!

We love the work we are called to here in the Amazon, seeing first hand how Kingdom work overcomes climate, transportation challenges, and languages.  Thanks for your prayer and support!


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