June 26, 2019

We arrived at Manaus a little after midnight so by then it was June 27. Earl is the hostess with the mostess who met us at the airport, helped us get on the bus, and provided much needed information on the way to the boat dock.

We arrived at the boat dock where the crew did a great job handling our baggage and making for a smooth transition to our rooms. The cooks prepared a meal which we ate around 2 am. It was after 3 am before we went to sleep due to a room inspection by the Coast Guard. It is the festival of the bulls according to Earl and there are many boats on the river during this time. We awoke to a glorious sunrise and a breakfast of eggs, plantains and papaya.

We spent the morning unpacking medical and personal supplies for our patients we will see tomorrow. We had a lesson from Earl about the Amazon, Brazil and Brazilian states.

We treated our first patient by telemedicine and motor boat. A three year old was experiencing a rash, one of the crew members had photos and the little girl needed more medication. We were able to supply comparable medication and it was delivered via motor boat.

We spent the afternoon counting, labeling and bagging medication and vitamins in preparation for our first clinic tomorrow.

The cooks provided us with a special treat: avocado milkshake!

We ended our day in one of the Amazon River tributaries where we delivered tile to the fruit juice factory. Here is where we saw river dolphins, several small farms, and a neighborhood of young children who were thrilled with the soccer ball and candy we shared with them. Two members of our mission team, Michael and Zeke stayed at the factory to help continue with the build.

The CBM mission is evident and we saw the results of Christ, Life and Health where Jesus goes everything gets better.

June 27, 2019

We awake to another beautiful God given sunrise. We stopped in Sao Sebastiao and picked up a few more crew members including a dental assistant, a dentist, a minister and youth leaders. Our devotion this morning focused on Ephesians 4, equipping the saints, where Earl reminded us that the job of the church is to make disciples.

We traveled to Mt. Oliveiras, a remote village located in the everglades, where we held our first clinic. Dental extractions, a baby’s fetal heartbeat, and complaints of itching were included in the first clinic. I think we will all make improvements before our next clinic.

We ended the day holding a church service and witnessed the making of disciples with Willie baptizing three people and equipping the minister with an example of baptism. What a glorious ending to this beautiful evening where we saw a flock of five macaws gracefully flying with the most majestic cloud streaked sunset as the backdrop!

June 28, 2019

Today started with breakfast at 7am. Diandra provided a devotion to the group from Isaiah 53: 1-7 where Jesus was portrayed as not very handsome. She asked us all how we could not love someone who did all of this for us? Taking our past sins and future sins from us. TJ Parnell also provided devotions to the group this morning and from Isaiah as well. Isaiah 55: 8-15. TJ emphasized verse 11 when the Lords work goes, it does not come back empty.

Our clinic started at 9 am in the village of Caribe. We finished our clinic day at 5:30 pm and held church services by candle light with the village in their beautiful church. The children left the service with glow sticks and candy!

June 29, 2019

The sunrises continue to be beautiful. We left Caribe shortly after our morning devotion. Our morning devotions were provided by Santana and Valerie who focused on Philippians. We left shortly after devotions we arrived in Livramento. The team took a walk through the village where there is a school in addition to a church. The team was thrilled to see pet parrots. In this village, our patients bathed in the river prior to coming to the clinic. We got a chance to see the village children play soccer. We worshipped again in the village church. We ended the day in Jacarequara where we docked the boat for the night and will hold a clinic tomorrow. We continue to be amazed at the steadfastness of Earl and Ruth Anne’s ministry. Earl’s passion is evident in all he does and says.

June 30, 2019

We awoke in the town of Jacarequara where mothers were already bathing their babies and children in preparation for today’s clinic. We are all missing our families and long for the time we will have cell service. We think our families will all talk about our whereabouts at church. Judson and Jinho provided our devotions. Judson reminded us of the need to always want to grow and have a hunger for God. This comes from Philippians 3: 12 and Hebrews 12:1. Jinho spoke of Obadiah as an unsung, humble hero who trusted the Lord wholly just as we should (I Kings 18:1-4). Today was a long clinic which ended with two baptisms in the Amazon River and a communion service at the church. We had a special treat with ice cream and a game of UNO. USA and Brazil tie. We are in awe of Gods work making a difference for the Amazonians.

July 1, 2019

We awoke again in the town of Jacarequara. The devotion time started with Michael speaking about that in order to elevate God, we need to humble ourselves. 1 Samuel 24:6-7.

Eliza used Galatians 6:1-2 and 11. Alicia spoke that here in Galatians, Christians should let one another know if we are doing something we should not. She also spoke about raising up her children in the way of the Lord. After devotions we left Jacarequara, we traveled to the Reserve to try to get some shopping in and the village was empty except for one person. We tried another village where again, no one was present. Earl told us that people go town the end of the month to get their money. We did finally stop at a small village (Inajatuba and treated many after lunch. This village was on a hillside with pigs and chickens running freely.

This was a milestone day for us because right before we arrive in Inajatube, we were able to get cell service. TJ was the first to alert us. We rejoiced that we were able to speak to our families and let them know we were safe and well. We had not had contact since Thursday. Almost five days.

We also ended the day with a meal of pizza and another game of Uno. And, we picked up Mike and Zeke at the Fruit Factory and parked for the night. It will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings!

July 2, 2019

Today was a change of pace. We started with devotions from Rose who shared the story of how God used her through her physical trials to get to where she is with being involved in the boat ministry. She used Psalm 100:1-5 as her text. Be thankful every day. She nearly brought the team to tears! Brenda’s devotion focused on the beauty surrounding us, our contentment and joy and that our love goes beyond the boundaries of our separate countries. Psalm 8:1 and Psalm 19:1. Justin provided some toe tapping bluegrass music to end the morning devotion session.

We then spent the morning at the fruit factory digging for sand, sifting sand, mixing concrete and carrying buckets of concrete to the brick masons. Thank goodness God sent rain while we were working here; it helped keep us from overheating on a hot, humid day. Many thanks to Mike for bring fresh water to the team to keep us hydrated. We finished around 11:30 am. Many stated the shower after this work was the best we had all week! It was a most interesting morning for certain!

We traveled to Sao Sebastian and explored the greenhouse and Santana’s jewelry. Most of the team bought her beautiful jewelry for friends and family! We also saw the church. The walking tour was just what we needed!

Several of the team went into town to watch a soccer game on TV between Brazil and Argentina. Brazil wins!

July 3, 2019

We awoke in Sao Sebastiao this morning. Earl spent time sharing the history of his mission work. The team spoke later and noticed that Earl gives the entire God to glory! He challenged us to set goals, pray and journal. The team treated a few more families with both medical and dental treatments. We feel as if we were treated as royalty on the trip and were never made uncomfortable with our surroundings. We enjoyed air conditioning, great food, naps in Redes (I totally know this is spelled wrong lol) but most of all we saw Christ, Life and Health and where Jesus goes everything gets better.