Friday, June 4, 2010

Gabriel

A quiet soul. A kid who didn't say much. I quickly was drawn to him. I would carry him and swing him around in circles. His demeanor didn't change much. The nurses told me he was little sick. Although he was gentle in spirit, I felt this kid reserved energy. It was bound by his illness while we are there, but I'm praying that he does get better. There was something about Gabriel. I couldn't put my finger on it. We all were drawn in.


Tropical Rain Storm

On a hot day after working in the blazing sun, Kiersti and I decided to eat on the roof. Austin decided to join us. Off in the distance was a huge rain cloud. We were excited for it to come over our way and cool us off. A few moments later, sprinkles began. We all looked at each other and decided to continue having our lunch in the rain. A few seconds later DOWNPOUR! No joke! It was a tropical rainstorm! It was the best meal of our lives!!! I remembered us making the comment that food always tastes better outside!


A minute later, a few more of our friends joined us on the roof. Drenched, we were laughing, dancing, singing, and having a great time! The rain kept coming down harder. It was surreal. Definitely unique to the Amazon & being on the boat. I laugh at the amount of times I had to change close due to me being wet on this trip! Austin got these sweet pictures of us in the rain!



Monday, May 31, 2010

Wiped Clean in the Amazon

Ally, KyLea, and Kiersti all got baptized in the Amazon! The water where Kiersti was baptized was flesh-eating! So her and JP quickly took a shower as soon as they were done in the water!



The Song of this Village

The partially blind woman led the woman in a song. It's an amazing story of mercy, grace, forgiveness, and life!

Will We Have A New Sister?

The story of the 2 sisters opened up another opportunity for a woman to ask questions about her faith and how she can have a relationship with God. She was asking away and we answered her questions, regarding works, and how "do you know" ... We prayed over her and her family, and asked the woman of the village to put a hand over her - tears streamed down her eyes. We also prayed over the 2 sisters with the woman of the village. It was extremely powerful.

Death or Life



We took off right were we ended village #1. When walking to the homes and inviting the woman to join us later, we came by an 80 year old woman who was sensitive to light and partially blind. She couldn't be in the sun. We spent the morning with her and shared the gospel with her knowing this was our one shot. We invited her to the women's meeting, knowing their was a chance she would not make it. As 4pm drew nearer (yes, we changed our meeting time to 4pm)... we were gathering the women to a shaded bench. I look over my left shoulder and their is the woman we met this morning, walking alone, as the hot sun shines upon her. I ran to her. I asked her why she had come outside, and her response was that she wanted to come to our meeting! That was the start of God working through us!



Brittani shared her testimony & story of verbal and emotional abuse. Her story opened up opportunities for a pair of sisters to share their story and how they accepted Jesus. In response, their father held a knife to their throats and threatened to kill them. "It's God or me!" ...the girls chose God. He disowned them and kicked them out of his home. The sisters left but continued to pray for their father. 3 months later, their father accepted Jesus!

Colors and Paint

These buds grow on trees and when you open them inside, there are little pebbles that you can use to "paint" - as we did on our arms ... and as they use for their homes.