Thursday Feb 22nd

First village of our trip. Unfortunately we did not see as many people as we hoped due to the river being down and their wells had run dry, so they moved somewhere else until the river rises.

I volunteered to give my devotional this morning which was based on Galatians 5:13, serving others.

We sang songs in English and in Portuguese, I know I butchered the language but it alot of fun.

I volunteered to be a dental assistant, my dentist is Brazilian, her name is Liz. After she showed me what was needed for extractions, fillings and cleanings, etc I did okay. Thank goodness for Google translate! By the end of the trip Liz will speak better English and I may understand Portuguese better . After we finished with patients we washed all the instruments we used, that had been soaking in bleach water after each use. We dried them, placed them in packing envelopes to be sterilized for tomorrow. Liz reorganize the instrument cabinet so we can locate things better for the rest of the trip.

I'm thankful for an air-conditioned room to work in and a wonderful, patient dentist to work with. I will admit it was a long day...but I'm sure each day will be better. The first day is harder because you just don't know what to expect.

The cooks and food have been wonderful. Something new and different to try each meal.

I thank God and Northside for this awesome opportunity. It's my second trip with CBM and as long as I am able I will return.

Woke up and ate breakfast. Then I enjoyed learning about the planning and the geographical traveling we would be doing. Then we enjoyed lunch. Then we packed supplies and got organized for our first village on day 2. Then I just enjoyed the nature and the scenery. Watched the sunset and saw the stars and moon. Then we played games till it was time for us to go to bed.

Got up at 6 am and watched the sunset. Then ate breakfast. Did prayer and a devotional. Learned worship songs in portugese. That was pretty neat. The lady on the boat named Santana is really funny. We then got to the village and started helping take care of the villages medical needs. We probably saw 50-75 patients. Half of the village was gone because their well had dried out because of no rain and so half of the village was out getting water. I was “the runner”, kind of doing a little bit of everything. Restocking in the pharmacy, and greeting the villagers. I loved greeting people and learning some of the Portuguese language. I Had 2 kids challenge me to a soccer match and laugh when I said I wasn’t very good in Portuguese. After all the Villagers left we came up and watched the sunset then arrived at our next village. Then we ate dinner and played card games till it was time for bed. So far the biggest take away that I’ve had on this trip, is that we have so many options to chose from and it causes us anxiety and stress and we get worried about things that don’t matter. The lord has a plan for us and will take care of all our needs. I feel like we struggle to live in the present moment and really take everything in and not take the little things for granted. These people are very present and living in moment. Are the people that I have got to talked to and greet have been super grateful and appreciative of the smallest things.

Got up and watched the sunrise. Then ate breakfast. Then we did some more singing in Portuguese and English so the Brazilians could learn & practice a little English. Then I gave a devotional and my testimony. Then we came down and prepared for the day. We served about 75 people. One thing I realized about this village is that all the men wanted to shake my handed when I greeted them. Learn some more Portuguese terms. Met 2 really cool dudes who I told that me and Reid were brothers and that he sucks at soccer. Had a conversation with them. Then me and Reid explored the village off the boat. Then we came in and ate a snack. Then me and Reid came to the top deck and hit a workout. Then we ate dinner. Then we played cards till it was time for bed

We woke up to enjoy breakfast and worship on the top deck. We sang songs in Portuguese and English stating “thank you Jesus!

Liz the Brazilian dentist shared her beautiful testimony of being chosen by Jesus, she didn’t choose him, he chose her. A life dedicated to serving and being obedient to him!

As the doctor on the boat it has been a true blessing! Identifying that the village didn’t have clean water due to the low river conditions and focusing on treating & preventing infections among the village.

This evening was the first Amazon rainfall, giving us all time to reflect on this amazing journey together and slow down!

The most beautiful part of this mission is watching our group fall into and utilize every spiritual gift that we know we were given and those that we had not come to realize yet.

My heart will always remember the precious faces of the children from the Amazon and the beauty Jesus has given each one of their smiles to us as we pull up to their village!

Woke up and watched the sunrise. Then ate breakfast. Then sang Portuguese worship songs. Then we listened to shavons devotional. It was really good. Then we started to serve the villagers. Then me Reid and scarlett played soccer with the kids. We then had a really heart warming moment where we felt the Holy Spirit move in our hearts. The big group photo was a crazy experience. The soccer game was tied 4-4 and the kids scored a goal and won but the ball went into the river these kids sprinted down the and got in their canoe and canoed to get the ball, and then we were about to leave and we decided even though were not really suppose to give things away to give them the soccer ball. So we gave them the ball and translated this ball is for everybody. It is a gift from Jesus and he loves you guys. Then we asked for a group hug and a photo. We did this because this group of kids were so grateful and so nice and included everybody in the game even the kids.

Then the fact that they went on a canoe to go get a ball that didn’t even belong to them we felt like it was something the Holy Spirit was calling us to do. Then we took pictures on the beach and went to the next village and ate lunch. Then we served the next village and it was cool getting to see the little kids. They were climbing up mango trees and getting mangos. Then we had to treat this patient that got stung by a killer African hornet. We then needed to get her a pair of socks to help with the compression. So I ran down the hill to the boat got a new pair of socks and ran back up and gave her one of my new pairs of socks. Then me and Reid went up and explored the village and played soccer. We got whooped these were adults and they were crazy good. Then we had church service where we sang more Portuguese. Jimmy gave a little communion devotional, which was really good and then the local pastor who’s been with us geberto gave a little devotional and it was really powerful.

Day 7 Here are a few notes and observations from today.

We had two stops today.

Both had few patients with few problems.

REMEMBER: God is not keeping score. HE IS watching your hearts reaction to the patients we do see.

 By the way, this afternoon's snack s

EXCELLENT!

Here are some thoughts from the Bible verse;

Philippians 4:4-8

4:4

You should always have a happy heart to celebrate.

Jesus died for your sins!!

We celebrated communion last night to remember this. It's easy to say hard to remember.

4:5 God is always near. Sometimes hard to see until later.

4:6 Give your anxieties to God through prayer

4:8 celebrate your inner faith with outward verbal responses

As I sit here swinging in a hedgy (hammock) on a boat in the middle of the Amazon headed to Sao Sebastião, I cannot help but feel the power and beauty of all that God has created. This last week has been amazing with a wonderful group from Northside and Brazil. CBM has such a wonderful thing they have created, that shares the word of God through medical and dental care. The crew has been absolutely amazing, taking wonderful care of us throughout the day and night, allowing us to serve during the day in the villages.

I could go on an on about each of the crew members and Liz and Michael. But what the common thread was the entire trip was that they showed us love, patience, kindness, and generosity the ENTIRE time. What better way to know and see the love of Jesus in each of them and in CBM.

Here goes. I may send this in a couple parts: The moon is almost full tonight, and the reflection on the calm, wide Amazon is beautiful. The night sounds like Indiana in July. Tonight at dinner we were agreed that it was another great day. We will remember it as the day that Dr. Liz, our Brazilian dentist, did the perfect, quintessentially missionary thing. She learned that there were no dental appointments for the afternoon because all would-be patients were afraid; none had ever had dental care. So she trekked up the hill to the village and spoke to the people, focusing on the children. Prevention and dental care are important, she said. The sight of a long line of children following Dr Liz onto the boat was unforgettable. They were calm and cheerful as they waited Dr Joe and Dr Liz clean, check, and fix their teeth. Does mission work get any better than this? Bom trabalho! ( well done!) , Dr Liz. Yeay, God. — Kathy Denison

To have a crew and group that not only embraces celebrating with us, they made a cake and sweets, blew up balloons, and decorated so that we could all have a small party celebration for two of our Northside folks. One has a birthday today, 3/2 and another on the travel day tomorrow; 3/2. To have the opportunity to reach villages via boat, to serve and love others that we would normally never meet, and to make (hopefully) lifelong connections… I just have no words to express the gratitude in my heart for all that God has done these past 2 weeks and in my own heart.

I would return, and over and over again. I will be praying for the entire crew for many continued blessings. And they have so blessed me as well. And Michael as our CBM leader was outstanding. The patience and kindness and humor that exuded from him made the trip all the more wonderful and easy for us model as we faced opportunities such as language barriers and communication. The day I was able to pray with and for each of the families as they left will still be my favorite day.