ORU and Parintins

For 3 weeks, I had the privilege of accompanying a great group of young people from Oral Roberts University to the island city of Parintins.  Each year, I accompany the teams that come from this college and we always make a trip to Parintins but this year we stayed the entire time there as opposed to doing other trips close to Santarem.  It took my responsibility to another level and it was a stretch to be away from "home" for so long.  The trip was amazing and team even better.  I fit right in with them and they seemed to like me haha.  In Parintins we had several different opportunities, being construction work, visiting a local English school and giving out Bibles, taking a river trip to two communities, doing a presentation in a local elementary school and many opportunities for the team to preach, share testimonies and do skits.  The local PAZ church in Parintins is growing leaps and bounds and is currently in the process of having their new building built.  Right now they have two packed services on Sunday's and are still growing.  The team helped with the beginning stages of the project and even during our 3 weeks, we were able to see much progress.  My main role was in translating during services and other events.  The team was able to visit several times a local English school as an evangelistic tool.  One day in particular there was a nice breakfast setup for us and the students where each student was given a Bible as a gift.  Praise the Lord for the work He is doing in Parintins, which for those of you have followed the blog for the past few years, know that it's a city with a very demonic festival each year.  The festival was this past week but during our stay we did a prayer walk and prayed breaking down strongholds over that city and over the people.  Parintins will be known as a city for Jesus and not the festival of the bull!  Here are some pictures of the trip:

                         After a Sunday service celebrating a couple of birthdays

                        A 15th birthday party - cultural experience for the team

                                     Out on the river, on top of the boat =)

                                                Church Construction

                                    Giving a Children's Bible to a young girl

                                      With some of the English students

At the PAZ church in Vila Amazonia

                       Translating a Sunday message given by team leader, Jessica

                 The team with Pastor Samuel and the Portuguese Bibles they received

                                         At a local elementary school

                                   Youth service w/ such a pretty little girl

                                                          The team

Starting tonight is our annual Congresso.  A 3-night evangelistic crusade in the soccer stadium.  Please be in prayer for the event, for protection for the people working and participating and for many salvations.

Thank you for your prayers and support =)

Not your ordinary Tuesday...

The last week in April, I had the privilege of traveling with a medical team from Joyce Meyer's Ministries.  Their team was around 30 people which made our whole group 70+ with boat 3 different boat crews, missionaries, cooks and brazilian pastors.  We traveled to the small city of Curuá where 5 days of dental and medical clinics and ministry were awaiting us.  At the end of the week, over 3,000 people received treatment and 484 made decisions for Christ!

As I mentioned in my last blog, I was scheduled to translate for a midwife from Denmark.  The first day of clinics we were able to see many pregnant women and even do ultrasounds on them.  It was quite an emotional experience seeing their faces when they saw their baby for the first time.  I joked around wondering if we would have any deliveries during our 5 days of clinics...well, that brings me to the "not so ordinary Tuesday"...

The day began just like any other day.  We were up early and arrived at the clinic about  7:30 to be greeted by huge lines of patients waiting.  As Christina (midwife) and I arrived in our room, one of the local nurses came announcing that at the other end of the building a lady had just given birth.  We quickly ran down to the room where I had the privilege (had no choice haha) to see up close the process in the first couple of hours after birth.  It was a stretch for me as I don't like hospitals and blood but at the same time it was an amazing experience (once my head stopped spinning haha).  That was just the beginning of the adrenaline for the day.  For the rest of the day several women came in with labor pains.  One was sent off on a speed boat to get an emergency C-section as her baby was breech.  Around 4pm a woman arrived in extreme pain and wanting to push.  The problem was that she was only 7 months pregnant and Curuá doesn't have the adequate facilities for a pre-term birth.  She was only dilated 3cm. but it was her 7th child which worried the midwife and a neo natal nurse on the team.  With the river being very dangerous to go by speed boat, our only choice was to take a pickup truck with all of us (driver, midwife, neo natal nurse, pregnant woman and myself as the translator) piled in for a 2 1/2 hour bumpy ride to the nearest city with a hospital and pray to God that the woman didn't give birth along the way.  We prayed that God would stop her labor as we started our journey.  We got to the city of Obidos around 8pm and praise the Lord the labor had stopped and she was still only at 3cm.  They decided to admit her to the hospital though to keep an eye on her and the baby.  We made sure she was taken care of before stopping to get some dinner and heading back for another 2 1/2 hour bumpy ride back to Curuá.  We arrived around midnight and I was exhausted.  That's what I call adventure in missions!  Here are some pictures from the trip:

                                               The team in Curuá

                                             Lines to get medical treatment

                                                 The city of Curuá

                                    Sweet baby girl born on Tuesday morning

          On the way to the hospital...mom in between midwife & neo-natal nurse

Mission accomplished...leaving the hospital in Obidos with Midwife Christina & our driver

        Cutest little baby that just laughed so much when I smiled at her at the hospital

                                                   Precious angel

Stay tuned for the next update next week about my 3 week trip to Parintins with the ORU team...thanks for all prayers and support!

Claire

Highlight Reel...

Since my last post I have been on two river trips, participated in our yearly youth/young adult camp during Carnaval and been working with cell group and discipleship ministry among other things.  Here is a quick highlight about each one:

• Trip to Orivis:  I went back to the community of Orivis with a team from Canada.  It was a team of all men and they were ready to do lots of construction.  This trip I was the main translator so I translated in the 2 services that were held and also took the team members to make house visits and share the Gospel.  It was a wonderful trip and since then, the church building has been completed and inaugurated.  Praise the Lord!
• Famintos Por Deus Acamp (Hungry for God Camp):  I went as a camper for our 5 day long camp.  It was an amazing time in the presence of God.  The main theme was being hungry for God and the importance of intimacy with the Lord.  Of course, it was a lot of fun too with old friends and making new friends.
• Trip to Estrada D:  This trip was with Seacoast Church from SC.  I look forward to this team coming every year because they have become like family to me.  We headed to the city of Monte Alegre by a speed boat and from there went out by trucks to the community Estrada D.  There the project was the roof and floor of the church building.  This trip was different because we didn't have our PAZ boat.  We stayed at a campgrounds and each day went to the work site.  It presented many challenges but God did and is still doing a mighty work in Monte Alegre, Estrada D and other nearby places.  
• Cell group and Discipleship:  Recently, I had become pretty down with my cell group and the fact that it wasn't growing.  Praise the Lord because now we are having visitors and most haven't made decisions for Christ yet or are away from Him.  Please be praying for each one to make a strong commitment to walk with Christ.  I also am currently discipling 4 young girls.  It is a blessing and a big responsibility to be leading these young women in the ways of the Lord.

Tomorrow, I am heading out with a team to the community of Curuá.  It is a community of around 17,000 people so it is very large in comparison to the places we typically go.  We will be taking 3 boats.  The team of 31 come from different places in the US and all over the world.  They are mostly health professionals.  We will be doing 5 days straight of health clinics.  I will be translating for a lady from Denmark who is a registered midwife.  Maybe we will be delivering some babies haha.  Who knows?!  I do know that God has a mighty work planned for this trip.  Please be praying and I will be ready to give a report when I arrive home in Santarém.  

Some pictures from the last couple of trips...

Church in Orivis

Making a house visit :)

It was dead and I was still freaking out haha

Friends in Orivis

Estrada D

Translating

Local worker's precious little girl

Children showing off the salvation bracelets :)