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!!!

This is what it's all about...

It is overwhelming to even think of where to begin to sum up the month of February.  How can I share the experiences I had so that you too might experience them?  The month of February was a month of new experiences, friendships, challenges and lots of learning.  As a quick recap, I was asked to travel during the month of February to help translate for a team of 5 medical students from MUSC in South Carolina who are about to start their time of residency.  February began by meeting 5 strangers and ended with 5 new friends (Ben, Ian, Jonathan, Matt and Young).  I guess the best way to do this update is to start with the first trip and go from there...so here we go...

2/2/09 - 2/9/09 Prainha, Pará

Our first adventure began with a line boat trip to Prainha, a small city along the Amazon River.  We left Santarém early evening in time to watch the amazing sunset over the Amazon River and get settled into our hammocks for the evening.  We were packed onto that boat like sardines in a can.  It is definitely an experience to travel by line boat.  We were all very thrilled to arrive in Prainha about 4:00am and get a little more sleep before setting up and beginning clinics.  School in Prainha was still out on break so we setup our clinics in the school building.  We got everything setup in the morning and began clinics in the afternoon.  We had each doctor with a translator and then we had our Brazilian dentist working as well.  I was pretty nervous about translating.  I remember thinking, "Lord, I am not sure I am ready for this.  You are really going to have to help me here.  Not only am I speaking another language but I am having to translate things I have never needed to talk about in Portuguese before."  God, as always, was so faithful.  It was so incredible to be able to attend to the physical and spiritual needs of the people.  Knowing that when all seems hopeless there is hope in Jesus Christ.  Each day of our trip we either had clinics the whole day or just in the morning.  People would begin lining up at 3 and 4am to be able to get a consult and also wait in the extreme heat of the day.  Can you imagine being that desperate in the US?  We definitely take advantage of so many things in the States.  We were very busy in Prainha and I will have to admit, I never thought it would be so mentally and physically draining to sit and translate but it really does a number on you.  Prainha was also a little bit of a stretch for me as there were about 20 of us staying all in one home with one bathroom that ran out of water every other day.  I know the Lord was working in my life during the week I was there.  There was a lot of room for bad attitudes to creep in but God was faithful and helped :).  We had 3 nights of church services out on the road in front of the pastor'

s home where many of the team was staying.  One night I was able to be a part of the praise and worship team; which I really enjoyed as that was a huge part of growing up for me.  Probably the greatest reward of being in Prainha was being able to pray with people and also see people that we had invited come to the church services.  Prainha is a tough city with a lot of resistance to the Gospel.  But praise the Lord walls are falling down in that city.

2/14/09-2/15/09 Pinduri, Pará

The next adventure would be a two day boat trip on the Amazon River on our PAZ boat "Portador da Luz" which means "light bringer".  This time we would be going to an actual river community unlike Prainha which was a small city.  We would be living, bathing and sleeping on the PAZ boat.  Ever thought about taking a shower with water from the Amazon River?  Have you ever seen a mosquito the size of a bird or almost ;)?  Or how about slept in a hammock on a boat and had to jump up in the middle of the night to lower tarps because there is a torrential downpour?  These are just some of the adventures to be had on a river trip.  On this trip we actually did our clinics on the boat as there was not a place on land to setup.  This community seemed to be spread out and it amazed me how people came from whatever distance to have a medical consult or to see the dentist.  The community of Pinduri does not have a PAZ church started yet.  This is a brand new project so Saturday night we had a church service out in a big soccer field.  If I am not mistaken, 7 people gave their lives to the Lord.  This is just the beginning of a great work of God in Pinduri.  The people are hungry for the Lord and ready to see their community changed.

2/16/09-2/18/09 Porto Novo, Pará

The third trip would be a little break from traveling on the muddy Amazon to traveling on the beautiful Tapajós.  Porto Novo is a community only a little over an hour drive away from Santarém but we went by boat which took about 3 or 4 hours.  On this trip, I asked the boat captain Geraldo, to take the visiting American doctors on a ride through the jungle at night in his small boat.  I went as their translator.  What an incredible experience and treat!  Just the sounds in the jungle at night are amazing.  My favorite part was when he rowed us out more towards the open part of the river and we just looked up at the sky which was painted with stars.  It is hard to explain but in that moment I couldn't help but think about the marvelous Creator we have.  The Chris Tomlin worship song came into my head How Great Is Our God and He truly is so great.  On our last morning in Porto Novo, an elderly lady came in for a consult.  She was the sweetest little thing.  I think she just wanted to come and chat because she already knew she had diabetes and she was already doing everything right to take care of her condition.  She treated me like I was her best friend and was absolutely precious.  When she was about to leave she hugged me and gave me kisses.  She even returned after a few minutes to bring me a fruit spread that she made.  When I encounter people like this it just is further reminder of why I am here and how much I love these people.

2/21/09-2/24/09 Surubiauçu, Pará

For this trip we were back on the Amazon.  We set our clinics up in what looked like a bar as it is used for parties after soccer games.  The people in these communities are so desperate for medicine.  One such gentlemen we saw did have a problem with his eye that Dr. Jonathan noticed right away.  I had the opportunity to look through the doctor's instrument into his eye and see a huge blood vessel completely blocking his vision in that eye.  While in this community, we were able to have two church services.  The first night, the turnout was amazing.  People came from down the river and all around to participate and a few people gave their lives to Jesus.  It is amazing to see the sacrifice people make to go to church in these communities.  Whether it is the pouring down rain or there are tons of bugs the people make the effort.  It was a humbling experience.  From the time the team arrived, I told them about alligator hunting and they were all pumped and really wanted to go.  So on the very last trip we were able to get 3 of them on an alligator hunt.  About 9:30 our second night, we set out on an adventure.  I was very nervous.  Our two Brazilian guides and alligator experts were telling us how they had killed alligators that gave 150kg of meat.  That was enough to freak me out.  I can't even imagine an alligator that big nor did I want to encounter one.  So off we went on our journey back through the brush of the Amazon out onto a lake.  We were gone for several hours.  After just a short time, one of the Brazilian men spotted a small alligator.  He slowly put his hand down and grabbed him up out of the water.  Each of the doctors held him and took pictures as a "momento" of their trip to the Amazon.  Then they all said it was my turn but I only managed to grab his tail for a quick picture.  We let him go and continued our search for a larger animal that could be used for food.  Our Brazilian guides continued to call the alligators and they responded all around us in the dark of the night but we never did encounter another alligator after we let the little guy go.  I will have to admit I was kind of relieved because he would have ridden back in the boat with us.  YIKES!!!

Lessons Learned...

After a month of traveling with the team of doctors, I learned many things.  One thing I learned is how to cure stomachaches, headaches, worms and several other common ailments among the people of the Amazon.  Just call me Dr. Claire ha!  Another lesson I learned is to be flexible and show the love of Christ and realize that even when I am tired and really don't feel I can continue that there is a person that Jesus loves waiting for just a few minutes of my time.  The last lesson that really hit home for me during these trips came from a devotion that Pastor Nilson gave one morning on the boat.  He spoke out of Genesis 12:1-2 "The Lord said to Abraham, 'Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father's house to the land that I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing'."  As he was speaking, it really struck me that this is what I have done.  I have left my land, the USA and my family and my father's home and gone to the land the Lord put in my heart which is Brazil.  It was so encouraging to later hear the promise the Lord gave Abraham that He would make him into a great nation and bless him and make his name great, etc...  For me, I could care less about having a name that is great in this world.  It is enough for me to just be able to be a blessing to others in need.  I know that the Lord working through me will bless others and I am so thankful for the opportunity I had in the month of February to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  Words alone cannot express my gratitude to all of you who have enabled me through your prayers and financial support to bring Jesus to the people of the Amazon Basin.

Please continue to pray for me as I will be joining on other trips in the future and also as I take on some new projects.  One of these projects is being the point person for a 4 year Bible school.  This Bible school is different because it is all on a device similar to an iPod, called a MegaVoice.  All 4 years of Bible school are on this small device and have been translated into Portuguese.  It is a study from Genesis to Revelation.  My responsibility is to keep in touch with our leaders all over the Amazon Basin and monitor the progress of the course.  As I monitor the course, I will report to the ministry that provides the materials for this course on a regular basis as to the progress of each group of students.  This program will be very useful out in the river communities where a Bible education of this nature is not available.  

I ask that you would pray about joining with me on a regular basis as a financial supporter as well.  Exciting things are happening here in the Amazon Basin and as we say at all of our PAZ churches "Isto é só o começo" (This is just the beginning)!

To see pictures from February follow the links below:

February Part 1

February Part 2

Coming Soon...

An update is long overdue from me.  I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.  I spent mine away from my family for the first time.  Thankfully, I was surrounded by my second family here in Brazil.  I also was blessed to have a friend, Rachel, from the States stay with me for almost a month.  It was nice to have company.  Rachel and I had a lot of fun together and now I am adjusting to life without her here.  I wanted to use this blog entry to talk more about what is coming up in 2009.

Thursday, starts the bi-annual PAZ Leadership Conference.  This is a 5 day conference at our campgrounds in Alter do Chão with leaders from all of the PAZ bases.  We will have morning and evening sessions with a speaker from South Africa (yay for preaching in English haha).  I am really looking forward to this time with leaders from all over the Amazon Basin of Brazil.  There should be about 400 or so in attendance I believe.  When I return from this conference, we have one day back at home and then all of the American missionaries have a retreat for a couple of days.  So starting on Thursday, I will be gone for about a week and a half.  The theme for the leadership conference is faith.  We are getting ready to launch a new campaign of 1000 churches by 2014.  We currently have 500.  The conference will be a great time to catch more of the vision for the Amazon and to increase our faith.  

Another exciting thing about this year, is that it looks like I will be traveling quite a bit to help with translating.  I guess that is a testimony to the Lord's faithfulness in regard to my portuguese.  It is almost certain that I will be going on a 9 day medical trip sometime in the beginning of February.  There are several doctors that are needing some type of internship credit that will be coming from the US and they will each need their own translator.  I am really excited to get out on the river.  Since I have been back there have not been many boat trips so I am excited for the opportunity to go in February.  Also, it is exciting because my leadership is wanting me to travel more this year as we will have many trips.  So in 2009, I am looking forward to getting more involved and being more hands on here in the Amazon.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support.  Please let me know of any prayer requests you all may have.  I want to be standing and believing with each of you just as you do with me!  God Bless and may the Lord reveal His heart and desires for each of you in 2009!

Did You really choose me Lord???

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit -- fruit that will last." John 15:16a

As I think back over the past couple of weeks, I am truly humbled by the fact that the Lord has called me here to Brazil to serve Him.  It is such an honor to be here and be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people of the Amazon Basin of Brazil.  I am nothing special and am definitely not worthy but Jesus in me is what the world needs!  From my last update, you may remember that I was leaving to work at the Encontro (Encounter) for adolescents.  The 3 days of the Encontro were incredible.  There were almost 200 adolescents who participated in the weekend retreat and of the 200, about 120 were girls!  We had our work cut out for us :).  I worked doing anything and everything I was asked to do from cleaning bathrooms to doing skits, washing dishes to praying for young girls.  I mentioned in my last update that I was going to play a "patricinha" in one of the skits and also the Holy Spirit in a couple of skits.  Well, I do have a picture of me as a "patricinha" and the picture of me as the Holy Spirit is unfortunately on someone else's camera but hopefully I can get ahold of it to show you all. 

 Also, due to the importance of the girl's really focusing on the Lord, I was not able to take photos actually during the sessions.  

My absolute favorite part of the Encontro was being able to pray for the young girls.  I can't really explain how it feels to have young girls come up to you crying because their father never wanted them and wanted them to be aborted or because they don't feel loved in their own home.  Or young girls crying because they have already been so used and abused by the things the world has to offer.  My heart broke for them as I took them in my arms and prayed for them, as I looked into their eyes and told them they are beautiful and that even when our earthly father fails we can know that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us so very much and will never fail us.  Our Heavenly Father has always wanted us and will never leave us.  The Encontro for me was truly amazing!

A week later, we had a baptism for those who went to the Encontro who had never been baptized before.  100 adolescents were baptized last Sunday at a local residence here in Santarém.  Once again, it was such a privilege to be a part of such an important decision in the lives of these young people.  

With the holiday season upon us, there is a lot going on here for me.  The cell group that I am involved with will be having a big Christmas party on the 17th of December.  The idea is to invite people who do not know Jesus as their Lord & Saviour to the party to enjoy a type of variety show explaining the true meaning of Christmas followed by a dinner.  Please be in prayer for this as their are so many people who need to hear the Good News of Jesus!  Also, on Saturday I will have a guest arriving to stay with me for a little less than a month.  Rachel, was my roommate here in Brazil last summer and she is returning to visit.  It will be nice to have a friend staying here with me.  The other exciting thing happening this Saturday is the wedding of my friend and first disciple here in Brazil, Aline.  I will actually be a bridesmaid in the wedding and hope to share more about this in the next update.  Here is a picture of Aline and I about a month ago.

Also, if any of you all have Skype please add me because I would love to be able to talk with you.  Just search my full name and you will find me!

Conferences, Evangelistic Outreach and Encounters...

Wow!  Are we seriously already more than halfway through November???  Well, I have now been here in Santarém, Brazil for 2 1/2 months and an update from me is long overdue.  The week of October 21-26, there were two big conferences going on here at our main PAZ church.  The first conference was the MDA Conference.  This is a national conference that happens every year and is for pastors and leaders from all over Brazil.  Just to explain really quickly, MDA is a model used in the PAZ churches with an emphasis on one-on-one discipleship  and cell groups (small groups).  The heart shows the MDA Vision.  This year I decided to participate in the conference and it was a great experience.  Speakers from all over Brazil came to speak and impart the vision of having a “cell church” and the importance of one-on-one discipleship.  The conference was Tuesday - Saturday early morning to early afternoon.  Each day was filled with a wonderful time of worship and teaching.

During the same week, beginning on Wednesday night we began our big cell group celebration.  Wednesday night is the night most of our cell groups meet all over the city of Santarém.  On this particular night, there were several groups multiplying.  When a group grows to a certain size, the group multiplies and then there are 2 groups.  It was planned that at 8pm a few of the pastors from Igreja da Paz would speak for a few minutes on the television and that when Pastor Abe said the word “fogo” (fire) people in all of the cell groups would set off fireworks all over the city.  Just imagine more than 2,000 cell groups setting off fireworks all over the city.  It was quite a sound!  

Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights were the big celebration of the multiplication of so many groups.  Each night was filled with music, preaching and lots of celebrating.  The cell groups at the church are divided into regions which are represented by different colors.  Many people came dressed to support their region.  

Another big event recently was Minha Esperança Brasil (My Hope Brazil).  This was a 3 night evangelistic project that was shown on TV in all of Brazil in association with the Billy Graham Association.  The first two nights were 30 minute programs with brief testimonies from well-known Brazilians and brief messages from Billy and Franklin Graham.  On the third night, the movie “A Vow to Cherish” was shown.  The idea behind this project was to invite people to your home each night to watch the program as an evangelistic outreach to the unsaved.  I am not sure of the final numbers but I believe that just from our main PAZ church here in Santarém, there were over 1,000 decisions for Christ made.  Just think of all the other churches participating in the whole of Brazil!!!  God is awesome!

I am really excited because this weekend I will be working at the Encontro (Encounter) for adolescents.  Some of you may remember that I went on this same retreat for adults at the end of September.  This time I get to be behind the scenes working.  I will doing many different things including being a part of the drama pieces.  I get to be the Holy Spirit, an angel, one of the ten virgins and also a patricinha (a prissy girl that dresses all in pink).  I will try to get pictures to show you all.  Please pray for this weekend that the youth would be open to the work the Lord wants to do in each of their hearts.

Be looking for another update soon with more news about what is going on here in the Amazon!   

Camping is so much fun!

Interesting Story/Fact

Ok so its been awhile since I have updated and I have been trying to keep track of stories and things that go on that I find interesting to be able to use in my updates.  Something you may be interested to know is that I ride a motorcycle here in Brazil on a weekly basis.  Yes, Cautious Claire rides a motorcycle.  Well, actually its a taxi but on a motorcycle.  Its quite convenient.  But seriously, pray for my safety not only on the motorcycle but just in general.  I do a lot of walking in the city as well.  

A little over a month ago, I was getting ready to go to cell group when we had a power outage.  This doesn´t happen all the time but it is about a weekly occurrence usually at night when we are sleeping though.  This time though it was right when it was starting to get dark.  Well, I found some candles thankfully because I had to finish getting ready.  So I ended up getting ready in the bathroom with two candles on a tiny table doing my very best to put on makeup without getting too close to the candle.  It was quite the scenario.  

To see more photos of my time here in Brazil click here

Also check out my bio on the PAZ website click here

 

Getting into the swing of things...

Wow!  An update is long overdue.  Has it really only been 5 weeks since I got here?  It seems like I have been here for so long already but yet at times I feel like I was in the US just yesterday.  Time is a funny thing.  Lots has been going on with here in the Amazon Basin of Brazil from getting adjusted to moving and getting adjusted again to weekend “Encounters” with God and learning what my role will be at the mission and building relationships with the Brazilians.

First, God is so good and faithful and He continually reminds me of that in His response to the big details of life to the very small details.  My first month here in Brazil I was blessed with the opportunity to live in the home of a missionary family as they were traveling in the US.  I was living with a Brazilian named Dolores who lived for 12 years in the US.  After my first month, I was blessed again to be able to live in the home of another missionary family (which happens to be next door to the other home) until possibly mid-March or later.  Both of these families are huge blessings to me as I am able to save on some of my expenses in the coming months (although I still desperately am in need of your one-time gifts and monthly commitments).  The first month I was here I kept think about when I would be moving into the other house and how I would be  living alone.  I like to be alone at times but I was really hoping to find someone who could live with me.  God put Dolores in my heart.  I knew she was looking for a place to stay as her parent’s home does not have space for her so I asked her what she thought.   She loved the idea.  I can tell you how good God is because her and I get along so well.  We are able to talk to each other about different things going on in our lives and to encourage each other in the Lord.  So a week ago today we moved into our “new” place for an indefinite period of time :).  

Many of you have asked me what I am/will be doing down here and the truth is, a lot of different things.  It looks like a role I will be stepping into is one of administration which is good cause that is what my degree is in.  I will be helping PAZ with various proposals for buildings, projects, etc. and also writing reports/testimonies on the progress of those particular projects to the donors.  There is also a possibility that I will trained on the accounting process here at the mission so that I am able to step in as needed.  I think it is great how the Lord has called me as a missionary and I am still able to use my degree.  I mentioned some of the other areas I will be working in in the last update so check it out.  Please be in prayer for me as there are many needs and ways to get involved.  I want to do exactly what the Lord would have me to do.

O Encontro foi TREMENDO!!!  “The Encounter was tremendous!!!”  Last weekend I went as a participant in the Encontro.  It is similar to DeColores and other weekend retreats many of you have participated in in the US.  Anyways, it was a little less than 3 days of “one-on-one” with God time.  We were not worried about the people around us but rather focused on HIM.  It was a wonderful time of refreshing for me.  It was so awesome to see one lady accept Jesus into her life and see many water baptized out in the Tapajos River (tributary to the Amazon).  The weekend was great and you should have seen the celebration when we arrived back at the church on Sunday night.  We all went in together jumping, singing and giving praise to the only One who has the power to save, set free and transform lives!  I wish I had pictures to show but as participants, we couldn’t take pictures.  Next time, I will be working the retreat and will definitely get some pictures.

Random Fact/Story:

Monday afternoon I was sitting in the living room/dining room of the new place I am living and I had the door open to get a breeze in the room.  There is an outside door that is made of iron or something and most houses it has screen in it to keep bugs and things out but this house doesn’t have it.  Anyways, I was sitting there when all of a sudden a bird flew in the house.  I freaked out for a minute and then went to shut all the doors in the house to keep the bird in one area.  The only problem is that the office doesn’t have a door.  Well, the bird kept flying back and forth in the house and I had no idea how to get him out cause he was up high and I didn’t want to hurt him in anyway.  He went back in the office so I had to direct him back to the front of the house and hopefully out the door.  It was quite the site.  I honestly wish someone would have been videotaping me.  I was screaming and laughing at the same time.  Thankfully, the cute little bird finally found his way back out the door.  I am sure this is one of many funny stories I will have in the future :).

Thank you all so much for your prayers, encouragement and support.  It is so nice to have a wonderful team of people supporting me and cheering me.  Also, I would like to ask for special prayer for fellow missionaries Nate and Ruth Reutter.  They lost their baby a little over a week ago.  Both of their parents are missionaries down here as well.  It has been a difficult week but God has been and continues to be so faithful in this situation.  If you would like to read their story please go to www.reutterfamily.com

Love to you all!  

Claire

Cheguei!!! (I arrived!!!)

Some days I wake up and think it is still a dream but then I get out of bed and realize I am actually here in Brazil.  I have been here in Santarem for about a week and a half and I still do not really believe that I am here and this time to live.  I am so thankful to the Lord for bringing me here to the Amazon of Brazil and to the ministry of Project Amazon.  Because of the obedience of my parents several years ago to the Lord’s call, I was exposed to a ministry that I have incredible respect for and am excited to be a part of now.

So many of you are probably wondering what I have been up to over the last week and a half.  Primarily, I have been getting adjusted to being here.  I have been blessed with the opportunity to live in someone’s house for them while they are traveling so thankfully I do not have to “set up” house yet.  I did make my first trip to the supermarket so I can actually have a real meal.  This is definitely going to be an adjustment for me because in the States, when I lived on my own, Lean Cuisine was the extent of my cooking :).  So I have some new learning experiences coming.  It has also been an adjustment getting used to the heat.  August until December are pretty much the hottest months of the year here in Santarem.  We are currently in the dry season so it only rains at times which isn’t very often.  It did rain the other night for a bit which was nice.  I think the heat seems so much more intense because there are not very many places to go for relief as very few places have air conditioning.  Other than a couple things here and there, adjusting has not been too difficult.  I have a great team here surrounding me, Brazilian friends and also the prayers of you all holding me up.  

Over the past week, I have also been learning about some of the ways I will be ministering and getting involved.  Every Wednesday we have cell group meetings which is basically a group that gets together for a time of worship, prayer, reflection on the message given at church the previous Sunday and fellowship.  I will be helping to lead a cell group of teenage boys and girls as the current leader will be traveling for several months.  I am very excited to get involved in the cell group ministry.  I also plan to participate in the Encontro (Encounter) a few weekends from now with my section of cell groups.  The Encontro is a weekend retreat where the focus is to have an encounter with God as you set aside the weekend and completely focus on Him.  I have lived here before and have never participated in an Encontro so I am really excited to be able to go in a few weeks.

Another ministry I will be working on is forming and training a team with another missionary here at PAZ to go into public schools, churches and pretty much anywhere else we can to teach about sexual purity.  We will be using a curriculum from Focus on the Family as our base and then adapting it according to the need here in Brazil.  This is an area very close to my heart and I am excited to see what the Lord has and the doors He will open with this ministry.

A couple other things I will be working on during this time is taking on some of the responsibility of communicating with people interested in short term opportunities here with PAZ and also working on getting my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification which has the potential to open many doors for the sharing of the Gospel.

Random Fact/Story:

Here in Santarem (and I guess in all of Brazil) it is election time just like in the US.  It is interesting to see the difference in the way things are done.  In the US we have bumper stickers, yard signs and televised debates.  Here, there are cars that drive by with loud sound clips and music about the candidates.  People have the candidates’ pictures put on their cars to cover the whole back window and sides of the cars.  Their are parades of motorcycles that drive up and down the waterfront promoting a candidate and little boats that go by with music and advertising.  

Well, that is it for now.  Please do keep in touch and keep me in your prayers.  If I do not get back to you right away please do not be upset.  I do not have internet in my home yet and the internet here is also very unreliable and slow at times.  I do appreciate each of you and pray for God’s blessings to be poured out on your lives and homes.  

I hope to get some pictures up on the blog soon for you all to see!

God Bless and All For His Glory,

Claire