Entry 5....... The Crusade

We went into town today and broke into teams.

While one did street evangelism the other made home visits. We visited the home of three ladies that afternoon.

In first home an elderly blind women was treated for dehydration ! She was a feisty woman, and none of us will ever forget her. Through her pain and long suffering, that day she accepted Christ’s gift of salvation. But REFUSED to let us give her a bath. ☺

In the next home we bathed a women bedridden with stomach cancer. With only her daughter to look after her and she was unable to receive the care she desperately needed. She had a had horrible infection and it took a few of us to hold her down as her wounds were cleaned. Elizabeth, one of the youngest girls on our team became a hero that day. She was able to communicate with the women and help keep her calm as best she could while she could help clean out infection inside of this woman that had been untouched for years. You couldn't help but cry as she screamed out in pain, everyone was forced to ponder the existence of evil and suffering in this world, especially when such suffering strikes a fellow believer. But in the mists of all her pain she still asked to be baptized. And that moment Deb baptized her with a bowl of water, right there in her bed. A testimony to the great strength and perseverance we find in Christ.

Our final visit we baptized a woman who has been confined to a wheelchair for the last seven years due to a botched epidural. After evaluating her Donna had high hopes that w/ the proper psychical therapy she could walk again.

It was an amazing day. We had a big gathering in an indoor/outdoor arena with face painting, smiling faces, laughter, prayer, testimonies, hugs, dramas and fellowship ...........

This is the drama team in Brazil.......

Here is CCWC getting their butts kicked by the Brazilians.....

Some got more tired than others..... hee hee hee.....

At the end of the fun and games we had a worship service where many people from the surround area came to hear the worship music and the word of God. It was beautiful.

The little girl sitting next to Laura raised her hand and said "yes" to Jesus that night. Laura explained to her what she just did and both of them embraced eachother as they finished listening to the word of God preached to the crowd by Pastor Dave Covic.

This day was perfect.............

Entry 4.........a day of work

We split into different work teams today......

Some worked on the clinic for most of the day, putting in shelves and organizing all the donated medicine. As well as treat walk in villagers with sicknesses.

One group painted the home of one of the villagers.

Some worked on a chicken coupe........ the women named it..... "The Chicken House"

And the some worked on the foundation of the new church.

At the end of the day, we only had ONE injury. NOTE TO SELF "make sure,when dealing with stubborn old nails, that you remember to move your head out of the way while struggling with the hammer" Glad you're OK ,Jeanne.... oh and thanks for the memory! ☺

Everyone bought rings and bracelets handmade by the locals. The rings were made from a fruit called "Uka". You cannot eat it, but when it grows to different sizes, you cut it from the tree, gut out the insides, and let it dry out. It becomes hard as wood. So when they catch it at the smaller size, they can slice it up and make rings. Very neat. A lot of us were given rings as well. The hearts of these people were so huge. They don't have much but they were eager to give what they had.

Entry 3........ Worship and Healing

Our group hiked 3 miles into the Amazon jungle.

At one point we had to walk across a fallen tree to cross over the stream. Now, I say stream, but when you are crossing, it seems more like the large river rapids! A little nerve racking for some but we all made it.

To get up to the village, we climbed a vertical staircase that the villagers had cut into the side of the hill. Hot, dirty, and drenched with sweat, we made it to our final destination and had the most amazing time of worship, prayer and fellowship. There wasn't a dry eye in the place as the Holy Spirit fell. This day, I have heard from many, was the favorite of all. God's pressence was so thick amongst us. There was prayer, worship, prophecy and words from the Lord to everyone! "

"Thank you Jesus, for this day......"

When we returned from the jungle, a small group went to the home of a women who nearly lost her leg due to an infection caused by a mosquito that not only bit her, but then laid eggs in her leg. She has been unable to leave her home because she cannot walk. She has depended on others to bring her food or things she needs. Our nurse, Donna, treated her infected leg and gave council on it's upkeep. Later in the week the women was well enough to walk a mile or so from her home to speak at one of our nightly services. She spoke of the faithfulness and love of Jesus Christ and was an inspiration to all of us.

Blog Entry 2 .....A day in the village

Village families visited the schoolhouse where we had set up a makeshift dressing room/triage. The girls got together and unpacked the donated clothing we brought from home and the from the Helping Hands program at our church and we were able to clothe several villagers. Every girl ran a section of the room and we allowed one family to come in at a time. This was a perfect task for our CCWC women, we were able to play "dress up" with these adorable Brazilian children. The villagers had a blast as well. Each child ended up with three new outfits. And every adult left with 2. It was a blessing for ALL of us.

While the girls played doll house, the men where outside working on the foundation of a new church. As of right now, the villagers gathered each service and sat on the ground or pieces of wood. But God wants them to have a church!

Medical treatment was also provide to the families as they came in. From skin infections, warms, serious wounds, malaria and lice..... everything in between was seen and treated.

Ceiling fans were installed in the schoolhouse to bring some relief from the hot, muggy air inside, and safety fencing was put up on the railing of the stairs.

After a hard days work , we went to the boat to eat dinner . After we cleaned up from dinner, the villagers walked down to the boat and watched our team perform the CAGE drama.

We also showed the Jesus film in the Portuguese language! We brought film projector and hung up a big white sheet and we set up a theater type atmosphere. It was so neat to think that this was the first time that they saw the gospel presented in such a way!

It ended up cutting out right before the crucifixion scene!!! Pastor Dave did what he does best..... Picked a team member to step up and explain the ending ☺ .... Angi explained, while Pastor Antonio translated, that Jesus Christ was crucified on that cross.....sacrificed for our sins and explained about the glorious hope we have when we put our trust in Him.