What a long day of traveling! We finally arrived to Manaus and the boat around 3am and they had a SNACK waiting for us. We had a “grilled cheese with ham” and then we went to our room and unpacked and got settled in for the night. We got to bed around 430am and got up around 0930 and breakfast was hot and ready for us a 10am. After breakfast we helped unpack all the suitcases and sorted medications and put them into small baggies with instructions in Portuguese to give directly to the patients from the pharmacy. We also sorted, glasses, sunglasses, clothes, sandals and hats. We then had lunch promptly at noon and had delicious rice, beans, chicken and pork and we cant forget dessert! After lunch we continued to sort medications and vitamins into 30 day supplies. It was a very productive day.

We started the day with learning new songs in Portuguese- man are we going to need A LOT of practice. Well of course after we met promptly at 7 and had a delicious breakfast. Our devotional this morning was from Donna and she spoke about prayer and we read Scripture from 1 John 5:14-15. It was a great start to our beautiful morning. We enjoyed laying in the redi while we traveled to our first stop. We arrived at the village of Boralho and the pastor did a short lesson and had prayer and we started working. We saw 49 people with 2 tooth extractions and 4 fillings. The villagers were so sweet and appreciative. Everyone was all smiles except for our sweet 22yo girl who just had one of teeth removed. When we were finished working we headed back to the dock for the night. After dinner we enjoyed fellowship in the dining room playing Uno together. We were sent to our rooms early due to too many creepy, crawly 4 eyed friends.

Fortunately this morning most of our friends were gone. We sang more new songs and practiced the 5 letter song so we can sing at church on Sunday. Our devotional was about the attitudes and coming to God with an open, grateful heart. We got to our destination early to Saracura and people were already waiting anxiously in line to see us. We saw 89 people and 18 people had dental procedures. Max could have seen more patients but we had to leave because a big ship was coming in and we would have gotten “blown” away. We did 2 procedures today- 1 teenage boy who needed a boil lanced on his buttocks and another elderly male who had a large cyst on his arm.

This morning our devotional was about how just one person or belief can make a huge impact on others. She compared this to how the Pharisees were around Jesus all the time but still didn’t believe and questioned him. In the village there was a huge tree with dead roots but in the middle was one tall, healthy tree-this can be us as a Christian influencing others. We went to one village in the morning, Ilhas dad Oncas and saw 32 patients and 5 dental patients. We then traveled to Guariba in the afternoon and saw 34 patient and 4 at the dentist. We made a house call (Kim and Summer) to a nearby village to see 2 patients who were not strong enough to travel to the boat to see us. One was 103 and the other was 84yo. We had quite a long walk back to the village as the water was extremely low. We enjoyed visiting them and she was actually quite healthy for her age. She did not complain and when we left she kissed out hands and blessed us. We played Uno after dinner but played by the crazy Brazilinan rules

This morning our devotional was done by Don and we took communion. He talked about who is waiting on God to answer a prayer for us and how we have to submit to God’s will and timing. Sometimes our selfishness hinders our prayers. We sang one of my favorite songs- Oceans- in Portuguese and English. We tried to stop at a village but the water was too low so we had to go down the river and the people had to come to us in their boats. The morning was very busy and crowded but the people were very appreciative. A couple people had braces already. You could tell there were people from different villages as some had nicer clothes and tennis shoes and some people could not read. There was a married couple in their 30’s who brought a LARGE boat with ~25-30 people in it. They were both teachers and had been married for almost 15 years but she was unable to get pregnant. This is the village that we took a small boat to for church. It was so hot that evening that we had service in an open community building that was covered and not in the actual church. We sang and Daniel gave a message. They were so thankful we were there and kept saying how much we had given up to be there with them but really we gave up nothing and we are learning lesson from them. They are grateful and content with what they have and do not take things for granted. My heart broke when we were leaving as the little girls were following us on the shore line and waving, making heart signs and yelling bye America. That day we saw 95 people at Isla Bentes.

Our devotional was about God’s beauty and the 6 days of creation. Sometimes we get so busy in our daily lives that we do not take the time to truly appreciate Gods beauty. This morning the water was low so we did not get to go to the village that was planned but we did go across the river to Aguia and saw 49 people. Today Daniel did leave us and returned to his home village.

Day 7 Tuesday September 10th

This morning the Americans cooked breakfast for the first time in the history of the boat. We got to the kitchen ~0545 and of course the crew was already there cutting up fruit and prepping food for the day. We made pancakes with applesauce and they used maple syrup for the first time- a few of them seemed to enjoy it. We also made avocado toast with scrambled eggs on top- not sure they were loving this American favorite as much. We then had devotionals by Lori who talk about how as Christians we need to surround ourselves with Godly people and be an example to others. She also encouraged us with scripture from Matthew 11:28- which says come to me all of you who are weary and broken and I will give you rest. We were able to start our day ~0900 and we saw a lot of students who left school early and we expect to see even more this afternoon. After lunch ~8 of us went to the “floating grocery store” and had ice cream which was a nice COLD treat.

We arrived at Sao Sebastian last night and again there was another late night swim party. Our devotionals we spoke again about God’s timing and to trust in Him and NOT WORRY. We got off the boat and walked to Santana’s house. We all really enjoyed getting to see the city and getting some physical activity. She was a great host and gave us all a tour of the beautiful garden and the chicken palace. We sat outside on the porch and enjoyed fellowship and then we went shopping at her jewelry shop. We enjoyed a short nap and then took a small boat to a beach and enjoyed swimming- some more than others. It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze. At dinner we all shared where we were at the time we found out about 9/11 and we even had one person who had not been born yet. It was interesting to share our experiences with each other.

We slept in! Breakfast was at 9am and then devotionals and spoke about Joy and the difference between happiness and that true Joy is only found in God and NOT defined by situations, circumstances or other people. We then shared 1 thing that we wanted to try to focus on and change once we got home in our daily lives. We talked about not wasting time and money on things we don’t need but just “want” and how we need to not be so quick to throw things away and try to give/shar with others. We also wanted to try to take the importance off of having “name brand” things. We are enjoying our last day of fellowship together and soaking in the sun on the top deck.