Beginnings

Bom dia!

Thanks for checking in with us. Team one made it back to Manaus safely yesterday and are currently on their way back to the US and should arrive in Dallas at 10:10AM.

And while team one is about to being their re-entry to the US, another team is at the airport now beginning their journey to the Amazon Jungle.

How can you pray for both teams?

- Pray for team one's re-entry to the US. They'll be returning to a place so very different from what they've just experienced. Many different thoughts and emotions could surface; humility, confusion, compassion, rejuvenated spirit for the Lord, changed perspective...and much more. One of the toughest thoughts is "why was I born here in the US with all of these choices, opportunities and luxuries? What is God trying to teach me when I look at those born in the jungle with close to nothing, yet they are happy, content, enjoy their simple life and mostly choose to stay in the jungle their whole life...we, on the other hand, why do we constantly pursue the "next"?

- Pray for team one and protection from Satan. They are tired, physically, emotionally and perhaps spiritually and Satan is looking for opportunities to trip them up. Pray that the Lord would keep them rooted in Him.

- Praise God for a great trip for team one. Thank him for his provision of the opportunity and the translators, boat crew, partnership church in Manaus that help make these trips possible.

- Pray for safe travels for team two and for the Lord to prepare their hearts for his plan. Pray that he would do a mighty work in, through and to them by their obedience to his call to go on this trip.

- Pray for the villagers that team two will meet. That they would shine the light of Christ and that the Lord's kingdom would be advanced through their works.

Thanks again for your prayers.
Blessings,

Kelli Coblentz

The Long Journey Home Begins

Boa tarde!

Thank you for checking in with us.

Yesterday the team visited a village called Aninga and today they were in Boa Vista. Boa Vista was a fairly large village as it is a central hub along the river. All ministry teams were in full swing today: VBS, medical/dental, women's health and the sports team. The sports team played soccer with some of the boys in the village and several of the boys prayed to receive Christ. So that was exciting!

JP and Tim had the opportunity to share their testimonies and the Gospel on public radio, which is pretty neat! There is only one radio station in the Amazon Jungle and about 80 villages tune in to listen. They estimate that's about 10,000 people so what an amazing opportunity!

The team is doing great, though they are a bit sad that today was their last day of service. The river is extremely high and since they have to travel up river against the current to get back to Manaus, they need to start that journey. It will be a 33 hour boat ride and they will spend time resting and reflecting, individually and as a team. Some of the questions they'll think/talk through are:

- How has your perspective changed regarding God, others and yourself?

- What have you learned regarding your needs versus your wants?

- Who is better off, you or the folks living in the Amazon Jungle?

How can you pray for the team today?

- 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!

- For our team to be still with the Lord. Reflect upon what He is teaching them from this experience.

- That the Lord would prepare them for, oftentimes, the 'culture shock' of returning home.

Thank you for your prayers and support of the team!

Team 2 - you may not want to read the next bit of information, but Tim asked me to post it. The boat crew killed a poisionous snake on the boat last night. Of course the guys thought this was so cool; hence, why Tim asked me to mention it ;) It's the first time one of our teams has ever had a snake get on the boat, but the crew is up all during the night watching out for the safety of everyone and they happened to see the snake.

Have a blessed day!

Kelli Coblentz

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

All is Well

Boa Noche!

All is well on the JJ Mesquita. The team had their second day of serving in the jungle today. I'm not sure yet how their day went or what the village was like as I received the update this morning before they got started. Hopefully, I'll have more for you in the morning.

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.

People may come from other nearby villages to get medical/dental care or to attend church. They travel in small dug out canoes like the one you see in the picture.

Prayers for tonight and tomorrow:

- 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 all are getting good rest. (the girls get bunk beds in very small rooms on the boat; whereas, the guys hang hammocks up in the common area of the boat to sleep in)

- 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!

Kelli Coblentz

A Great First Day of Servin' and Lovin'

Boa tarde (good afternoon)!

Today the team arrived in their first village and had a great day of serving and loving on the villagers. The village was large, about 100 families, and it was the first time they've had a Christian team visit.

All of the ministry teams were able to work today. The children's team had VBS for the kiddos, the medical team had patients to see, the women's team helped educate the women on healthy living and the sports team (I'm sure) got beat a few times playing soccer. Typically after the guys play soccer for a while, a couple of the guys will engage in a conversation with a few guys they played with the intention of sharing Christ. About 12 guys prayed to accept Christ today.

After the team serves in each village, a church service will be held with the locals. While the teams are engaged with kids, patients, women and men they are inviting them to attend church that afternoon or evening. The service can be held in a church, if the village has one, outside in an open area or just under a few trees in the shade. Really, it's just whatever place is available.

The service is usually opened up with singing and followed by one of our Brazilian team members introducing the North American team and maybe giving a short message. Typically, one of the N. American team members will share their testimony and the service is closed with more singing. It's such a beautiful thing to hear the Brazilians singing the same songs we do, but in a different language. And, such a moving experience to see God transcending languages.

How can you pray for the team tonight?

-Thank the Lord for his provision for each of our N. Americans to have this opportunity.

- Thank the Lord for the translators. Without them, the team would not be able to share the Gospel. Thank God for their hearts. They are an amazing group of people, with huge hearts to serve the villagers of the Amazon Jungle.

- Pray for the Lord to work in the hearts of those individuals that prayed to accept Christ today. We aren't sure where their hearts or intentions are in that prayer, but our God does. Pray that they would be transformed by the Holy Spirit.

- Pray for continued boldness of our team to share the Good News.

- Safe travel tonight on the boat.

- Pray for sustained energy. It is very hot and humid there and it's easy to get tired and worn down very quickly.

Thanks for checking in and thank you for your prayers!

Blessings,

Kelli Coblentz

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;I will sing of you among the peoples.For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;your faithfulness reaches to the skies.Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 57: 9-11

Still Traveling...

Boa Noche (good evening),

The team is doing well. They travelled all night and all day today...and will continue through the night. They will reach their first village early in the morning. The river they are on is very high, as I mentioned earlier. They have seen houses filled with water, a cow standing on the roof of a house under water, and people displaced from their homes with nowhere to go. As you can imagine, those folks are in desperate need of help.

They are in the middle of nowhere and are oftentimes referred to as the "forgotten people" as they don't have anyone looking after them. No 'government assistance' or 'disaster relief' exists in the jungle so please keep these folks in your prayers as they try to make life possible under such difficult circumstances.

To the right is a village that was flooded on a previous trip. It wasn't quite as bad as what our team is witnessing right now, but you can see how the cows are up to their bellies in water. In the top picture, you can see houses in the upper left. The only way to get to the houses is by boat and, most likely, the water was inside the house at some point so many of their belongings were probably ruined.

Thank you for checking in and thank you for your prayers!

Blessings,

Kelli Coblentz

Traveling on the JJ Mesquita

Bom Dia!

All is well with the team. They boarded their mobile living quarters, known as the JJ Mequita and shown to the right, and they traveled all night up the Amazon river.

To give you an idea of the layout 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 North 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.

They will be going into villages that have never been visited by a Christian team, which is exciting! I'm not sure if they'll make their first stop today or if they will continue traveling today, but everyone is excited to visit their first village where they will spend the day serving and loving on the Amazon people by ministering to their medical, physical and spiritual needs. The river they are traveling on is very high and many of the families living alongside it have been displaced from their homes, so they are in great need of care as you can imagine.

Here's how you can pray for the team today:

- For team unity and that the North American team would feel comfortable working with the translators.

- Pray that these unreached villages would be receptive to the Gospel and that they would see and believe the Good News through the team loving them right where they are.

- 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.

- Pray for the families that are in need of care and that the team will be able to reach them.

- We are having trouble with the satellite phone so please pray that the issues would be resolved so we can continue to receive updates on the team.

Thank you for your prayers and for checking in with us!

Blessings,

Kelli Coblentz

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

Team Arrives in Manaus

Bom Dia! (that's good morning in Portuguese)

The team arrived in Manaus around midnight and we want to thank you for your prayers for safe travels thus far and for protecting the donation bags because, as far as I know, they all made it through security. If you're wondering why some bags wouldn't make it through...all bags must be screened before you are allowed to exit the airport. Typically one or two bags are pulled aside after being screened because the medical/dental supplies are noticed and the security officers want to double check that we're not bringing anything illegal or unsafe into the country. We bring over large containers of ipubrofen, vitamins, antibiotics, cortizone/neosporin type creams, saline solution and other supplies for the medical/dental team. With the labels being in English and the officers not speaking/reading much English, they have the ability to confiscate the items if they aren't comfortable with our explanation of what the items are used for.

So - thanks for the prayers about the dontation items!

Today the team will probably have lunch at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian style barbeque at a churrascaria. Tasty meats of all sorts and Brazilian favorites like Guaraná soda and grilled pineapple that is to die for! They might get the opportunity to do a little site seeing in Manaus before they attend church tonight with the host church which is their door into the jungle. They will get to meet their translators and from there they will hop on the boat for the long journey into the jungle to begin the work the Lord has called them to.

How can you pray for the team today?

- For the Lord to begin forming great relationships between the North Americans and the translators so that they will be a dynamic team working together in the villages.

- For the Lord to continue preparing the hearts of the team (N.Americans and Brazilians) for what they will witness and experience during this trip.

- That the Lord would prepare the hearts and minds of the villagers 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.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:1-6

Blessings,Kelli Coblentz