On behalf of the entire Brazil Mission Team I would like to thank you, the COH congregation and all of our prayer partners for the support that you have provided us over the past few months and this past week while we were on the river in Brazil. The trip was fantastic and was a true blessing for all of us.I know that we will do a presentation to the church soon and you will see all of the pictures and hear the great stories from the trip, so we will save our report until that time. I will mention that we visited 5 villages (Terra Preta (Bares Indians), Saraca’, Ingles’, another Terra Preta, and Igarape’-Acu’) during our week stay on the river. We left Manaus at about 3:30 a.m. the morning we arrived and never saw another automobile, store, or American until we returned to Manaus on Saturday morning . We had 2 Brazilian dentists on the boat and one medical person, and they gave healthcare to 277 villagers during our trip. During that time we also did VBS at 4 villages, built a latrine, painted a church, and attended several church services. Our youth played untold hours of soccer in the villages and threw Frisbees for hours at a time with the local children.
Reverend Djard and the Brazilians on our boat were such a joy for our whole team. They are passionate about their faith in Christ and their mission to help those in need along the rivers of the Amazon region. They prayed passionately, sang with great enthusiasm (and often) and filled the boat with laughter from dawn to dusk. And it was all contagious! We were embraced as family.
We will share lots of memories from the trip when we have the opportunity. Missions will also have a great booth and show at the Ministry Fair on the 24th, so everyone should plan to stop by and let us tell you about our work in Brazil.
Again, thanks to everyone for your support, and a special thanks to our Missions Team Leader, Linda Frakes, (and to ’3′) for putting the trip together and making sure that none of us are still in Brazil. All are home safely and thankful for a truly great experience in the work of Christ.
John Johnson
