Conference was a stretching time for our Portuguese, as we were listening to all of the sessions, talking to people in the dining hall, and also had to write and read our testimonies all in Portuguese. We feel like its been good for us.
It was also super good to mix with coworkers who are working all over this part of Brazil. There are alot of really neat people on the team here. Our field leadership has vision for the tribes to have God’s Word AND they care about their people on the ground here working. It’s very cool. But it really hit home to us again how MUCH work there is to be done here and how few there are trying to do it. 7 or 8 teams are struggling along with only one family and praying for coworkers. Others feel like they are spinning their wheels just trying to live in isolated situations with health problems and have been trying for years to get the language. And of course there are many more tribes that don’t even have missionaries or anyone bringing them God’s Word. So this is a shameless plug for more workers: if any of you are asking God what to do with your life, maybe you could ask Him about coming down here and joining the team!
And here come the pictures:
There were sessions morning, mid-afternoon, and night. But there were free hours in the afternoon to rest or play. The kids were thrilled to have lots of green space!
Isaiah got lots of attention from the other missionary kids.
Jevon and Isaiah checking to see what’s available in the snack shop.
Some kind of puffed corn snack.
People watching volleyball.
People playing volleyball.
Catching butterflies.
Kiki learned to climb and go down the old fashioned kind of slide all by herself.
With friends.
We took a short family hike in the jungle.
From up on the bluff we could see the lighthouse in the Amazon river.
And a band of little monkeys shaking the trees a ways down the hill from us. (too far away in too thick foliage to get a recognizable picture)
Chugging water – part of the hike.
Jevon making a whistle from a reed.
Cali trying to blow it. Apparently its harder than her Daddy made it look. 🙂
It’s hard to get pictures of the meetings because, for one thing, it’s kind of dark indoors, and for another thing, we are trying to pay attention and understand the Portuguese with Isaiah thumping around beside us. 🙂 But there was plenty of good singing, testimonies, teaching, and preaching, some of which we understood, and some of which was over our heads.
Boys in the puddle together.
Lined up in the dining hall.
Good place to talk.
Carl and Andreza…very cool co-workers.
The ladies had a tea one afternoon, and lots of women shared stories of how God had answered prayers from last year or how God had intervened in trials. But the story that stuck with me most of all was from a new missionary who recently went into the tribe with her husband. A lady came to her who spoke a little bit of Portuguese (just enough to go into town and buy things). This Indian woman had visited the Assemblies of God church a couple of times and didn’t really understand anything, and wanted to know about God. The new missionary woman thought for awhile, stretching her brain to find the simplest words possible, and gave the Indian woman the story of God, man’s sin, and God’s salvation in Jesus Christ, in the simplest Portuguese she could think of. Finishing, she asked “do you understand?”
“I didn’t understand almost anything you said, missionary.” the lady responded.
It’s just a wall – the language barrier. You hit it and you can’t get through. For this reason we learn languages, however long it takes.
“we will learn your language,” the Brazilian missionary woman promised, “and when we tell you God’s message in your language you will understand.”
God, please help them learn the language so people can understand and know You! And help us learn Portuguese so we can join a team and START learning a tribal langauge!
Cool tree pictures.
Jevon Danica Rich says
The need for more missionaries is overwhelming. “Perseverance” was the theme for the missionaries here that are saying with their lives, “though none go with me, still I will follow…”