Living By Faith and Homeward Bound

Bom Dia! Today is the team's last day of ministry...they will stop at a village to serve for about half a day somewhere along the Amazon River on their 30+ hour boat ride back to Manaus... which started Thursday night when they boarded the boat after the evening worship service in Enseada.

Captain "Hi" and crew will push on traveling all day today and through the night so that the team can arrive Manaus early Saturday morning in time to head to the airport and catch their flight back to Miami and then on to Dallas.

Here's what you can pray for today and tomorrow:
- Health of the team, especially those dealing with sinus pressure and are soon to board flights
- Safe travels today (boat ride back) and tomorrow (flying home)...that the team would make their connections and that all bags would make it back home
- For the villagers whose lives have been impacted this week...that the Lord would use the local team to foster continued transformation of the hearts of those in the Amazon region and that God would be glorified through the teams that will come in the future!

Thanks again for your prayers and support for this team!

Blessings,
Angela Ardis
(Brazil trip - August 2007)

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.." Colossians 2:6-7

His Transforming Power

Bom Dia! Last night was a good night for the team, as they planted seeds in Sao Jose. Today the team is in the village of Enseada where there are about 50 families.

The team especially needs your prayers today because this village has a reputation for being extremely unwelcoming to Christian believers. In fact, the villagers have thrown rocks at believers on previous visits in effort to send them on their way...but thanks to God's transforming power through His gift of grace, the main instigator of the rock throwing...he and his family recently became Christians. As such, the team is hoping to receive a warmer welcome today but would certainly appreciate your prayers that God would remove the roadblocks and open the hearts of the villagers to receive the good News!

The medical and dental teams are already working, and the other teams are preparing and rounding up folks to participate in the women's, children's, and sports ministries later this morning. The schedule is the same as yesterday.

Tonight after the worship service the team will begin the long journey back to Manaus (over 30 hours in total)....traveling all night tonight, working half day tomorrow and then continuing to travel in the afternoon and throughout Friday night to reach Manaus early Saturday morning.

Here's what you can pray for today:

- Health of the team...in additional to the allergies/sinus infections and stomach issues that are troubling a few, one of team members has pink eye in both eyes. Prayers for healing!!

- Strength and endurance for the team...that the Lord would sustain an insatiable appetite for the team to share the gift of grace with the villagers and that the team would not feel weary from multiple days in the Amazon's heat and humidity

- The long boat ride back...for the Lord to guide captain "Hi" and the crew as they navigate the dark river at night

- For the flights back...that the team would make their connections and that all bags would make it back home

- For follow-up with the villagers that the team has met this week...that the local team would continue to foster and grow the seeds that have been planted this week

Thanks again for your prayers and have a blessed day!

Angela Ardis

(Brazil trip - August 2007)

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 15:5-6

Spreading the Good News!

Boa Tarde! (Good Afternoon)

Yesterday was a great day for the team. The sports team was able to share Christ with some of the men after playing soccer, and 5 accepted Christ. Several others also accepted Christ in the evening service. Praise God for those changed hearts!!

This morning (Wednesday), they arrived in a village called Sao Jose. There is another village nearby, and combined, there are about 25 families. The team will have the same schedule as yesterday (see blog below).

The Amazon River is really high right now, so part of this village is flooded. As a result, the medical/dental teams are working directly from the boat rather than up in the village. Tim said there was a line of eager patients waiting to be seen along the front of the boat; this is one of the biggest crowd drawers. Patients may live in the village they are visiting or come from a nearby village by boat. There is an administrator taking names and asking about their condition to keep the process efficient, which is important given the amount of people needing treatment. Typical treatments are for upset stomachs, depression, worms (primarily in kids), minor cuts or non-healing wounds. The dentist spends his time pulling teeth as they don't have equipment to handle much else.

The children's and women's ministries are going well, and the sports team I'm sure will enjoy getting beat at soccer again today if they are able to find a big enough patch of dry land to play. The children's team usually starts VBS at 10:00a so they walk around the village until then letting the kiddos know where to meet. The children's team typically holds two VBS sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Today, they cancelled school so that the kids could attend the morning VBS activities. There are usually 2-3 Brazilian translators working with our team and one will play guitar while the others teach the words and motions of the songs to the kids. Our team will join in too...either in front of the class or mixed in with the kids. Then they'll tell a bible story and do an associated craft.

The women's team will meet with the women of the village. Usually consists of 7-10 women from the village. A village "woman" could be anywhere from 13 to 70... women grow up a lot quicker than N. Americans due to their responsibility at such an early age. The team will love on these women and share tips for proper hygiene and health maintenance. One or two of the girls from our team will share their testimony and what a personal relationship with Christ has done for them, and hopefully the vulnerability of our team will spur on great discussions with the women of the village.

The team really needs prayers for a handful of folks who are not feeling well (allergies, sinus infections, and a couple stomach issues). Prayers that God will provide them healing and the strength to give of themselves to the villagers, in spite of their ailments.

Other things you can pray for today:
- That the Holy Spirit to do a mighty work through the team
- For boldness
- For open hearts of the villagers to receive the free gift of grace
- For strength and endurance for the team

Thanks for your prayers!

Blessings,
Angela Ardis
(Brazil trip - August 2007)


"He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Luke 10:2

First Full Day in a Village

Bom Dia! (Good Morning!)

All is well on the JJ Mesquita. The team traveled all night and visited two very small villages today with about 10 families each. The families in theses villages make their living by fishing, growing corn or hunting animals in the jungle.

To give you an idea, here is the team's general daily schedule:

6:30AM - wake up
7:00 - breakfast (eggs, fruit, ham, cheese, bread, juice, coffee)
7:30 - team devotional
8:00 - 12:00PM off the boat and into the village to begin serving and loving on the people
12:00 - lunch (some sort of meat plus rice & beans)
1:00 - 2:30 rest/siesta
2:30 - 6:00 back to serving the people of the village (includes an afternoon soccer game with the guys)
6:00 - dinner (more meat, rice & beans)
7:00 - church service

You might be wondering what the 'church service' is like if a village doesn't have a church or common area building structure. Many times it's finding an open area outdoors to accomodate the villagers and then worshipping just like we would here in N. America. They'll sing songs, introduce the team, one of the Americans will share their testimony while a translator translates and then Tim or the Brazilian missions pastor will preach.

Prayers for today:
- Open hearts of the villagers and that, through the work of the team, God's kingdom would be glorified and greatly increase in number
- Unity with the translators
- That the guys acclimate quickly to their hammocks and rest well in them (the girls get bunk beds in tiny rooms on the boat; whereas, the guys hang hammocks up in the common area of the boat to sleep at night)
- Sustained health of the team (a few are still dealing with allergies/sinus infections)
- For the medical and dental teams...wisdom & guidance to treat their patients
- For the women's ministry team...to share their hurts & struggles with the women of the village and how a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ & his saving grace overcomes any of our sins...past or future
- For the children's ministry team...to love on those kids & to learn from their simple, loving spirits
- For the sports team...to enjoy getting beat at soccer (because they will!) and that the Lord would open up opportunities to share Christ with the men and teenagers with whom they'll play.

Thank you so much for your prayers and have a blessed day!

Angela Ardis
(Brazil trip - August 2007)

"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples." - Psalms 96:1-3

Up the River We Will Go!

The team traveled up the Amazon river all night and all day in the JJ Mesquita, their mobile living quarters for the week. To the right is a picture of the boat. The bottom deck contains a pharmacy, rooms for the medical & dental teams to treat patients, a kitchen where all the meals are prepared and boarding for boat crew and Brazilian team. The second deck contains boarding for the American team, a common area for dining and fellowship, and the captain's seat. The top deck is sometimes used for evening devotionals or just a place to seek solitude.

While traveling on the boat today, the team (Brazilians & Americans) spent time getting to know each other as well as preparing the donation items to hand out at the villages. They arrived at Itaprangu, a fairly large city in the jungle, around 5pm tonight and plan to attend a worship service in the city at a satellite church of our host church from Manaus. The team will share testimonies and preach at the service, and then everyone will get back on the boat. They will travel all night again (30 hours in total up river from Manaus!) and arrive in their first village sometime tomorrow morning.

The team is rested but a few are dealing with sinus infections/allergies. Please pray for healing for these few! Everyone is excited to visit their first village tomorrow where they will spend the day serving and loving on the Amazon people by ministering to their medical, physical and spiritual needs.

Here's how you can pray for the team today:
- For the boat crew as they journey further up river throughout the night again and that God will guide their way along the dark river
- For team unity and that the American team would feel comfortable working with the translators.
- That the Lord would prepare the hearts and minds of the people and that they would be receptive to hearing the gospel and their hearts would be moved to learn more about Jesus if they don't know him.
- Boldness in sharing the gospel tomorrow and that no one on the team would feel insecure or ill-equipped to share Christ. Pray that the Holy Spirit would guide their words and lead them in that conversation.
- Team health & energy. The food is going to be different for some, so it's not uncommon to have a few upset stomachs...and energy because it is very hot and very humid. Specifically, pray for strength and healing for those few dealing with sinus infections/allergies


Thank you for your prayers.

Blessings,
Angela Ardis
(Brazil trip - August 2007)

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel" - Ephesians 6:19

Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord! All personal bags and all but one donation bag made it in time for the boat. Thank you for your prayers! More to come tomorrow.

God Bless.

Angela Ardis
(Brazil trip - August 2007)

Prayer and Worship

I spoke to Tim this afternoon (Sunday), and the team is still waiting on 3 bags (2 donation bags and 1 personal bag) to arrive. Thank you so much for your prayers for the bags to arrive. Thank you also for your prayers for the safe return of teh first team, as they arrived home safely late last night. Hopefully, the airline can locate the bags that are still missing before the second team heads down river. Please pray that these bags arrive before the boat leaves tonight!

The team spent today in meditation, rest and worship. They spent the morning together as a group planning and praying for the week, and tonight they are worshipping at our partner church in Manaus. What an amazing experience it is to worship with fellow Christians in another part of the world and hear them sing praise to God in Portuguese! Whether the songs are familiar or not, you cannot help but join in and feel the presence of the Lord in that place and give praise for how awesome and big God is!

Immediately after church the American team as well as the Brazilian team and translators from the church will board buses headed for the docks and the boat. They will journey all night to reach their first village.

How can you pray for the team today?
- That the 3 bags still missing arrive tonight before the team boards the boat
- For the boat crew as they journey down river throughout the night and that God will guide their way down the dark river
- For boldness for both the Americans and Brazilians as they spend their first evening together getting to know each other to build team synergy and unity
- For the hearts of the people in the first village they will visit that they will be open to hearing about God's free gift of grace and be transformed because of it

Blessings,
Angela Ardis
(Brazil trip - August 2007)

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." - Ephesians 2:8-10