Pray for the people of the Amazon!

I am sure many of you have seen even on the news in the US the flooding going on here in Brazil.  I mentioned in my previous blog that Santarém where I live is flooded in some parts.  The river has started to go down finally, praise the Lord, but we still need to continue praying.  Many people in the river communities lost their homes and have been left with nothing.  The Paz church made a short video to show some of the flooding.  Please watch this video and remember to pray for these people.  Also, please visit www.projectamazon.org if you would like to donate to help those who have lost everything.

    

Should I buy a boat?

Just a quick update to let you all know what is going on here in Santarém.  Thursday, I will be heading out onto the Amazon River for a short trip with a team of young adults from Canada.  They are from a church in Calgary but the trip is in conjunction with Samaritan's Purse.  We will leave early Thursday and return by noon on Sunday.  During the trip we are supposed to be putting up a roof on the church building.  This trip will be a new experience for me because this is a flooded community which means we go everywhere by canoe and all the buildings are on stilts, etc...  Please pray for the safety of everyone and for the name of Jesus to be glorified on this trip.  I will post later with pictures.  

And speaking of flooded communities...Santarém, the city I live in, and come to think of it many of the cities along the Amazon are every day becoming more and more flooded by the intense rainy season we have been having.  The river each day is rising.  I am beginning to think they will be docking the boats on the streets here and that maybe I myself should invest in a boat as my mode of transportation.  Just yesterday I went down to the riverfront and there are already large portions of the main road that are completely flooded which results in the shutting down of businesses, etc...  Also, in certain parts, there is only about a foot or so until the river passes the front wall.  Even if it is not raining a lot here, the rains in other areas along the Amazon push the river and cause it to rise higher and higher.  Please be praying for these cities because this has a huge impact on businesses but also the spread of disease and the dangers of flood waters.  Lets pray for a flood of the Holy Spirit instead!

Here are some pictures I took a week ago:

The sidewalk is about to be a boat parking lot!

This boat is on the street!!!