I can't take it anymore! Please follow our new journey:
http://ourlovefromafrica.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
It all comes crashing down - Sunday, May 13
I believe I have been dragging my feet on updatin my blog of this day. I'm not a touchy feely sort of person. "Feelings" are not my strong point.....but this day, I felt more emotion in my life than I had in a really long time. Hopefully, I can convey them in a way that will be understood.
Here we go......
We left Caribi during breakfast this morning. We had to get an early start so we could get to both unscheduled villages today. It took about an hour to get there, but we had to go slow – you could definitely tell we were getting into the narrow parts of the river. The tree tops that were underwater were very close to the boat. We took it easy, but still got to Monte das Oliveras there in plenty of time.
We could not pull all the way into the village - the shore was pretty shallow so the hull would get stuck, so we pulled up as close as we could. The Brazilian workers got out ( I mean jumped into the Amazon and swam) to attach the boat to some trees and to make a sort of "plank" that the people could board the ship on.
The people here were different. The village was different. Right off the bat I noticed a huge difference. Look at the picture above - do you see anything missing? Livestock – all the other villages we had been to at this point had animals running around – goats, chickens, roosters, dogs, baby chicks. This village had nothing – well, they had one very malnourished dog. It had a very erie feeling....almost a feeling of constant dred among these people. NO ONE smiled, they made very little eye contact. They were hopeless - there was no other way to say or describe this.
Earl had told us about this little boy they met the first time they went to this village that was 6 months old and weighed 4 pounds. Can you imagine??? 4 pounds at 6 months old! We ended up seeing him and he was now 2 years old and weighed 14 pounds. He has a little brother we is 9 months old and weighs 18!
Earl and Ruth Ann gave his mother and father formula for him for a year. Ruth Ann said this is the best she has seen him look. The BEST? This is the BEST???? How can this be? His little brother was a little chunker. This little boy was miserable. My heart broke for him. All I wanted to do was help him - but I could do nothing.
All of the villages had their share of couples who varied wildly in age, but this village had one that was still a bit shocking to me. Dad was 47, mom was 26 and they had 8 children! I wonder how old she was when she had her first?
The last family of the day broke my heart. The mom had a three year old and then 16 month boy-girl twins. Ruth Ann told me a story about this lady. Last year, she watched this family arrive by boat. Mom had a 2 year and 8 month old twins. The father left them in the boat and expected Mom to get them all out and onto the medical boat. I thought....ok, how did she do that? Anyway, as she was collecting her medicine from the pharmacy, she tol Ruth Ann she might be pregnant. I offered to hold her son since another lady, Barbara, was already holding the little girl. She passed him through the pharmacy window. His name was Luiz. He was beautiful. He was super sweet, and surprisingly calm. He had noproblems with me holding him. I felt all warm inside. After a moment, he put his head on my shoulder and cuddled up in my neck. Do you remember holding a newborn and they just happen to find the right place where they can put their head where it is under your chin, yet still on your neck? That is where is laid. I think I fell in love with this sweet thing! I had to stop what I was doing. I rubbed his back and he continued to lay there and I continued to rub his back and sing gently in his ear. We did this until Mom came back. Mom was not pregnant - just extremly malnourished. Wow, that was an eye opener. Earl said she was asking to trade fruit for milk. Apparently a couple of the villagers were asking to trade. Earl said they can’t start doing that – it will lead to a slipperly slope. I felt myself instantly get angry. I was thinking, "You know this woman and her family AND the village are starving but you refuse to do anything!" Then, I realized.....he was right. Remember, this was the village that "heard" we were around and radioed - did I really think we could trade with them and it wouldn't turn out that allt he villages would want to do this? Reality #1 - this really sucks! The feeling I absolutely abhore feeling is - helplessness! There was NOTHING I could do. NOTHING, and that is a horrible feeling. I am a do-er by nature. There is no such thing as no - you just have to find a way to YES!
The mom had her hands full, so I carried the little boy out for her. I didn’t want to let him go! He was so comfortable in my arms and I was comfortable with him in my arms. I followed her very slowly to the end of the plank. She turned around and held out her arms. He did not lean to her like I would have thought, so I had to lean for the both of us to get him back to her. When I walked back up the plank, Sharon said, "Oh, that was the mom who told me I could keep him and take him back to the states with me." Of course, I started crying. I was hoping that she was joking, but by some of the other comments, I'm not too sure.
We did not get out and have a service at this village. And again, I got very angry. As I was trying to hold back my tears, I was thinking, why not get out and share Christ with these people? Of ALL the villages, they needed him the most! This was a bad call......bad, bad call. Although, it was probably a good thing because I would have really wanted to take him home after spending an hour or two with him in my arms!
Here we go......
We left Caribi during breakfast this morning. We had to get an early start so we could get to both unscheduled villages today. It took about an hour to get there, but we had to go slow – you could definitely tell we were getting into the narrow parts of the river. The tree tops that were underwater were very close to the boat. We took it easy, but still got to Monte das Oliveras there in plenty of time.
This is one of the first homes in the village - I think there might be 6 or 7 total.
We could not pull all the way into the village - the shore was pretty shallow so the hull would get stuck, so we pulled up as close as we could. The Brazilian workers got out ( I mean jumped into the Amazon and swam) to attach the boat to some trees and to make a sort of "plank" that the people could board the ship on.
The people here were different. The village was different. Right off the bat I noticed a huge difference. Look at the picture above - do you see anything missing? Livestock – all the other villages we had been to at this point had animals running around – goats, chickens, roosters, dogs, baby chicks. This village had nothing – well, they had one very malnourished dog. It had a very erie feeling....almost a feeling of constant dred among these people. NO ONE smiled, they made very little eye contact. They were hopeless - there was no other way to say or describe this.
Earl had told us about this little boy they met the first time they went to this village that was 6 months old and weighed 4 pounds. Can you imagine??? 4 pounds at 6 months old! We ended up seeing him and he was now 2 years old and weighed 14 pounds. He has a little brother we is 9 months old and weighs 18!
This is the him - the 2 year old who weighs 14 pounds.
Earl and Ruth Ann gave his mother and father formula for him for a year. Ruth Ann said this is the best she has seen him look. The BEST? This is the BEST???? How can this be? His little brother was a little chunker. This little boy was miserable. My heart broke for him. All I wanted to do was help him - but I could do nothing.
All of the villages had their share of couples who varied wildly in age, but this village had one that was still a bit shocking to me. Dad was 47, mom was 26 and they had 8 children! I wonder how old she was when she had her first?
The last family of the day broke my heart. The mom had a three year old and then 16 month boy-girl twins. Ruth Ann told me a story about this lady. Last year, she watched this family arrive by boat. Mom had a 2 year and 8 month old twins. The father left them in the boat and expected Mom to get them all out and onto the medical boat. I thought....ok, how did she do that? Anyway, as she was collecting her medicine from the pharmacy, she tol Ruth Ann she might be pregnant. I offered to hold her son since another lady, Barbara, was already holding the little girl. She passed him through the pharmacy window. His name was Luiz. He was beautiful. He was super sweet, and surprisingly calm. He had noproblems with me holding him. I felt all warm inside. After a moment, he put his head on my shoulder and cuddled up in my neck. Do you remember holding a newborn and they just happen to find the right place where they can put their head where it is under your chin, yet still on your neck? That is where is laid. I think I fell in love with this sweet thing! I had to stop what I was doing. I rubbed his back and he continued to lay there and I continued to rub his back and sing gently in his ear. We did this until Mom came back. Mom was not pregnant - just extremly malnourished. Wow, that was an eye opener. Earl said she was asking to trade fruit for milk. Apparently a couple of the villagers were asking to trade. Earl said they can’t start doing that – it will lead to a slipperly slope. I felt myself instantly get angry. I was thinking, "You know this woman and her family AND the village are starving but you refuse to do anything!" Then, I realized.....he was right. Remember, this was the village that "heard" we were around and radioed - did I really think we could trade with them and it wouldn't turn out that allt he villages would want to do this? Reality #1 - this really sucks! The feeling I absolutely abhore feeling is - helplessness! There was NOTHING I could do. NOTHING, and that is a horrible feeling. I am a do-er by nature. There is no such thing as no - you just have to find a way to YES!
The mom had her hands full, so I carried the little boy out for her. I didn’t want to let him go! He was so comfortable in my arms and I was comfortable with him in my arms. I followed her very slowly to the end of the plank. She turned around and held out her arms. He did not lean to her like I would have thought, so I had to lean for the both of us to get him back to her. When I walked back up the plank, Sharon said, "Oh, that was the mom who told me I could keep him and take him back to the states with me." Of course, I started crying. I was hoping that she was joking, but by some of the other comments, I'm not too sure.
We did not get out and have a service at this village. And again, I got very angry. As I was trying to hold back my tears, I was thinking, why not get out and share Christ with these people? Of ALL the villages, they needed him the most! This was a bad call......bad, bad call. Although, it was probably a good thing because I would have really wanted to take him home after spending an hour or two with him in my arms!
This is Luiz.
This little boy - gorgeous and sweet - is the vehicle that God used to break my heart for what breaks his. I went back to the cabin and cried for an hour. I was finally able to dry my eyes long enough to write a prayer:
"Lord, you have used this little boy to touch me in a way that I truly feel my heart is broken. I want to help him, I want to take him home with me. Why, Lord? Why all of this? How do you want me to proceed with this new information? I need your spirit and your strength to do and proceed in your will moving forward. My job, my money, my stress, my house, my car, my clothes...nothing compares to his fight for food and for life. Where do you want me to go? Where do you want me to proceed? What does this look like in our life?"
ADOPTION.
Saturday, May 12th
We woke up in the same village as yesterday and had breakfast, devotions and another clinic. It was pretty busy, but we were done pretty quickly.
We left about 10:30 and arrived at Caribi about 11:45. We ate lunch and then opened the clinic about 1:30. We all thought that we wouldn’t be at this village very long because there was NO ONE there. Well, that all changed in about 20 minutes. This was by far the busiest we have been. The people from the neighboring village, Cesareia, came over as well as the people in the village where we actually pulled in at. These people were very sick and we handed out a lot of antibiotics. It seemed like we kept treating and treating and treating. The doctor that was supposed to come on this trip fell and either hurt his knee or broke soemthing, I can't remember. We have an RN and an OT - so, it has been rather difficult to diagnos some of the issues. The nurse was great - but she was an ICU nurse, not a family practice nurse! In the end we all pulled together and helped as many people as we could.
EXCITING! A village farther up river, where we had not planned to go, radioed down because they “heard” the medical boat was close. They asked us to come saying they were very sick and needed us. This is an awesome testament about how valuable the work Earl and Ruth Ann have done here. The people “hear” even though there are no telephones! Another village radioed as well and asked us to come there. Two villages that were not on the list needed us. How cool!
The church service tonight was a small one, but it was a lot of fun. I am beginning to get the picture – cater to the children and the parents will come. The service was a bit different, Flavia told the same story, but in a different way, so it still held our attention. Flavia had everyone sing Happy Birthday to Cathy in Portuguese. It was very cool. I think she wanted to cry….
We had Brazilian "Pizza" for dinner tonight. And it was very....interesting! It was a pizza crust with spam like meat, polka keilbosa, peas, corn, cheese, onions and olives. I chocked it down, but it wasn't as bad as I had originially thought. The Brazilians put ketchup and mayo on as a topping as well.
In some ways I feel like I have been here forever and in others it still feels like I have just arrived!
We left about 10:30 and arrived at Caribi about 11:45. We ate lunch and then opened the clinic about 1:30. We all thought that we wouldn’t be at this village very long because there was NO ONE there. Well, that all changed in about 20 minutes. This was by far the busiest we have been. The people from the neighboring village, Cesareia, came over as well as the people in the village where we actually pulled in at. These people were very sick and we handed out a lot of antibiotics. It seemed like we kept treating and treating and treating. The doctor that was supposed to come on this trip fell and either hurt his knee or broke soemthing, I can't remember. We have an RN and an OT - so, it has been rather difficult to diagnos some of the issues. The nurse was great - but she was an ICU nurse, not a family practice nurse! In the end we all pulled together and helped as many people as we could.
EXCITING! A village farther up river, where we had not planned to go, radioed down because they “heard” the medical boat was close. They asked us to come saying they were very sick and needed us. This is an awesome testament about how valuable the work Earl and Ruth Ann have done here. The people “hear” even though there are no telephones! Another village radioed as well and asked us to come there. Two villages that were not on the list needed us. How cool!
The church service tonight was a small one, but it was a lot of fun. I am beginning to get the picture – cater to the children and the parents will come. The service was a bit different, Flavia told the same story, but in a different way, so it still held our attention. Flavia had everyone sing Happy Birthday to Cathy in Portuguese. It was very cool. I think she wanted to cry….
We had Brazilian "Pizza" for dinner tonight. And it was very....interesting! It was a pizza crust with spam like meat, polka keilbosa, peas, corn, cheese, onions and olives. I chocked it down, but it wasn't as bad as I had originially thought. The Brazilians put ketchup and mayo on as a topping as well.
In some ways I feel like I have been here forever and in others it still feels like I have just arrived!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Friday, May 11th
We opened clinic pretty early – 8:45. This was also the quickest clinic. Seemed everyone was there and waiting to be seen. We had a little service in the school and it seemed that every child was there. Some adults came too. We sang our songs in Portugese and the villagers sang some songs in English. I held this adorable baby boy. So sweet!
I am amazed at how content these children are! He let out just a little cry towards the end and his mama knew he was hungry.
Here is the portch with a couple of their animals
After service we left and ate an early lunch. We traveled to the next village Jacarequara. They tried to go to this village the last trip but no one was there. It seems they had all gone to the city for their monthly trip to pick up supplies and the little bit they get from the government. We pulled in and this was the WORST village by far that we had been to!
Trash was strewn about everywhere and the stench of urine was overwhelming at times. No one waved to us like they did at previous villages. It was an erie feeling – especially seeing how large the village was. We definitely did not feel welcome. The green house in the above pictures actually shut all of their windows and the door when we pulled up.....very creepy feeling. We opened the clinic up at 2, but didn’t get anyone in until 2:30. Apparently, they had to clean the church so the people filling out the medical cards could sit down and register the people. It was bad! Once the clinic started rolling it was VERY BUSY! The amount of people that came was probably double what we had done so far. Clinic was over about 5 and Ruth Ann and I had to stocked the pharmacy because it was depleted in a big way. Earl said we were having church at 7. Kathy and I went exploring – just a bit off the boat. This one little girl walked by me and grabbed my hand and kissed it. She was so cute! This village was not like the others – these people didn’t seem “happy”. You could see the hard life on their faces. The kids seemed very happy in church. I think it is Earl’s way with the kids – he makes them feel loved and gives them hope. Hardly any parents came – I think 3 and there was probably 25 – 30 kids.
Earl & Ruth Ann have not been coming to this village for very long and they do not have a pastor here. You can most definitely tell! No hope in their faces. Flavia told the story about Noah and the ark – of course it was all in Portugese, but you could tell what she was talking about.
Over dinner, Earl tried to trick everyone that she was really talking about Jonah and the whale. I think he actually got one of the few guys that came on the medical part. It was pretty funny! Earl did warn us to lock our doors this night, but compared with how I felt when we arrived at the village, I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had there and at the service. It was a good day!
Should I review the shower again?
Cold, Colder or Coldest.....take your pick!
Isn't he a cutie pie????
I am amazed at how content these children are! He let out just a little cry towards the end and his mama knew he was hungry.
Thatched Home - with covered portch
Here is the portch with a couple of their animals
After service we left and ate an early lunch. We traveled to the next village Jacarequara. They tried to go to this village the last trip but no one was there. It seems they had all gone to the city for their monthly trip to pick up supplies and the little bit they get from the government. We pulled in and this was the WORST village by far that we had been to!
See how flooded this village is? The river is almost to the homes!
The boat with the tarps is a home.
Notice the satellite dish? How does that even WORK? Those are NOT power lines like we have in America - they are generator lines. They get generator power a couple of hours a day - usually when it is dark.
This boy is brushing his teeth so he can come in and get his teeth checked by the dentist! Notice the water.....later, many kids were taking their bath at this same spot!
Trash was strewn about everywhere and the stench of urine was overwhelming at times. No one waved to us like they did at previous villages. It was an erie feeling – especially seeing how large the village was. We definitely did not feel welcome. The green house in the above pictures actually shut all of their windows and the door when we pulled up.....very creepy feeling. We opened the clinic up at 2, but didn’t get anyone in until 2:30. Apparently, they had to clean the church so the people filling out the medical cards could sit down and register the people. It was bad! Once the clinic started rolling it was VERY BUSY! The amount of people that came was probably double what we had done so far. Clinic was over about 5 and Ruth Ann and I had to stocked the pharmacy because it was depleted in a big way. Earl said we were having church at 7. Kathy and I went exploring – just a bit off the boat. This one little girl walked by me and grabbed my hand and kissed it. She was so cute! This village was not like the others – these people didn’t seem “happy”. You could see the hard life on their faces. The kids seemed very happy in church. I think it is Earl’s way with the kids – he makes them feel loved and gives them hope. Hardly any parents came – I think 3 and there was probably 25 – 30 kids.
This man and his wife were two of the only adults at the church service. He is one of the only people who profess to be Christians at this village.
Earl & Ruth Ann have not been coming to this village for very long and they do not have a pastor here. You can most definitely tell! No hope in their faces. Flavia told the story about Noah and the ark – of course it was all in Portugese, but you could tell what she was talking about.
Over dinner, Earl tried to trick everyone that she was really talking about Jonah and the whale. I think he actually got one of the few guys that came on the medical part. It was pretty funny! Earl did warn us to lock our doors this night, but compared with how I felt when we arrived at the village, I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had there and at the service. It was a good day!
Should I review the shower again?
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Thursday, May 10th
We ate breakfast again around 7am and had our devotionals. We are studying Galatians 1 and 5. After breakfast and devotionals, we left the construction crew at the village (with no interpreter!) and began traveling to the next village – Bom Jesus.
This village was very nice – it was clean, the people were very friendly and the homes were painted. It had a sort of appeal to it. The homes will still "shacks" by American standards, but they were much nicer. The village had some grass This village also had a rudimentary system of running water and even a water purifying system. The water purfying system was not cost effective, so they have been unable to take soemthing like that it other villages.
After we toured the village we opened the clinic. We gave out a lot of pain relievers, antacids and vitamins. Everyone looked relatively well here. We did give out some baby aspirin. They only way the boat treats high blood pressure is with baby aspirin because they can not guarantee when they will be back and you don’t want people to have a prescription for something like that and then all of a sudden stop it. We did see way too many young girls with babies – it wasn’t any easier at this village than it was at the last!
We left this village later than we expected. On our way to the next village, I was told a story about a mother who had alot of children. Apparently, she was "done" taking care of her 12 year old daughter - just couldn't handle it anymore, so she found her a man. I don't even need to tell you what happened becasue you already know......
We had wanted to get to the next village in time to have an afternoon clinic, but, it didn’t turn out that we could. We arrived in Caiaue close to dusk, so we got out of the boat and went exploring. This village was pretty nice as well. Apparently it is a growing village because they are making more houses. Some houses here had thatched roofs and others had the common tin. I couldn’t believe it, but one home had a TV! The school building here looked like a school – it had artwork up and around the walls, it had desks and chairs and a dry erase board. Brazil has 3 school sessions per day – morning, afternoon and evening. Everyone was so infatuated with us that we made them late for school. Earl finally ushered them off with promises that we would see them in the morning.
We got back on the boat and ate dinner. Earl also made us come up to the top deck so we could practice our singing!!! Yeah! I love to sing in English, better yet in Portugese! I braved the cold shower....it still is not any easier....
No wildlife today....the pink Amazon dolphin eludes me. I think I am the only one who has not seen it! Seriously!!
This village was very nice – it was clean, the people were very friendly and the homes were painted. It had a sort of appeal to it. The homes will still "shacks" by American standards, but they were much nicer. The village had some grass This village also had a rudimentary system of running water and even a water purifying system. The water purfying system was not cost effective, so they have been unable to take soemthing like that it other villages.
After we toured the village we opened the clinic. We gave out a lot of pain relievers, antacids and vitamins. Everyone looked relatively well here. We did give out some baby aspirin. They only way the boat treats high blood pressure is with baby aspirin because they can not guarantee when they will be back and you don’t want people to have a prescription for something like that and then all of a sudden stop it. We did see way too many young girls with babies – it wasn’t any easier at this village than it was at the last!
We left this village later than we expected. On our way to the next village, I was told a story about a mother who had alot of children. Apparently, she was "done" taking care of her 12 year old daughter - just couldn't handle it anymore, so she found her a man. I don't even need to tell you what happened becasue you already know......
We had wanted to get to the next village in time to have an afternoon clinic, but, it didn’t turn out that we could. We arrived in Caiaue close to dusk, so we got out of the boat and went exploring. This village was pretty nice as well. Apparently it is a growing village because they are making more houses. Some houses here had thatched roofs and others had the common tin. I couldn’t believe it, but one home had a TV! The school building here looked like a school – it had artwork up and around the walls, it had desks and chairs and a dry erase board. Brazil has 3 school sessions per day – morning, afternoon and evening. Everyone was so infatuated with us that we made them late for school. Earl finally ushered them off with promises that we would see them in the morning.
We got back on the boat and ate dinner. Earl also made us come up to the top deck so we could practice our singing!!! Yeah! I love to sing in English, better yet in Portugese! I braved the cold shower....it still is not any easier....
No wildlife today....the pink Amazon dolphin eludes me. I think I am the only one who has not seen it! Seriously!!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Wednesday, May 9th
We stopped at Sao Sebastian around 3 in the morning to pick up the dentist, his dental assistant and two nurses that the hospital was providing for this trip. The nurses were providing the flu vaccine for the elderly and the very young.
When I awoke around 6:30, we were still traveling to the first village. Breakfast is always promptly at 7am. There were so many people on this boat that a lot of us had to eat up on the top deck. While we were eating, we heard this aweful noise. It sounded like a wild boar. I could not believe how loud it was – I was almost frightened. We were all searching the jungle to see what it was – finally we spotted it! It was a red howler monkey. I didn’t think a monkey could make all that noise and at that volume! We also saw multiple parrots and McCaws. Pretty cool!
Around mid morning we pulled into our first village - Araras.
This village seemed small. We opened the clinic up about 10:30. Everyone gets vitamins and de-wormer. My first real eye-opener was the 12 year old girl who came up by herself. She was beautiful! Her card indicated that she needed pre-natal vitamins. I looked at Ruth Ann while she was talking to the girl and she confirmed that she was pregnant. I was shocked. I had already seen other girls 16, 17, 18 that were pregnant, but I could not get over the fact that she was 12. I just could not get over it the rest of the day. I mourned for her - I wish I could explain what it was like - she hung out with the children during the day. She still "played" with the other girls her age. I just couldn't get over it. I kept coming back to her. 12 years old!
When we were done with the clinic we got off the boat and explored the village. The kids flock to you and start talking to you in Portugese and you begin to feel really confused. You want to talk to them, but they can’t understand you.
A couple of us played soccer with some little girls. Of course the village had a soccer field! We are in Brazil after all! The other thing that struck me was that the people in this village looked happy. The kids seemed content and people didn’t look miserable – which is what I was expecting. I think about my boys and how they would not know what to do with themselves. Sharon was a big hit because she was talking pictures of the kids and showing them their pictures.
Some of the construction crew left when we got there to go pick up the wood for the church. When they got back, we all helped unload it. I didn’t think we were going to be able to do it, but finally, we got all the boards off that little boat!
Not long after, we had a church service with the villagers. To see the way Earl interacted with the kids was amazing! They all loved him! We also had to sing the song that Earl had, taught us in Portuguese to the villagers.
Little did I know we would be singing more and more and more in the days to come!
After church, we headed back to the boat for a late dinner. I think it was 9pm...As I reflect on this day, it amazes me at how happy these people are with nothing. The kids in the village share 2 soccer balls. They live in shacks - crowded shacks! Sometimes up to three generations in one shack! We were all talking about how this must be a hard life for them. We were so happy to be there and to help these people. It was a wonderful start to the trip!
Some more pictures from the village:
When I awoke around 6:30, we were still traveling to the first village. Breakfast is always promptly at 7am. There were so many people on this boat that a lot of us had to eat up on the top deck. While we were eating, we heard this aweful noise. It sounded like a wild boar. I could not believe how loud it was – I was almost frightened. We were all searching the jungle to see what it was – finally we spotted it! It was a red howler monkey. I didn’t think a monkey could make all that noise and at that volume! We also saw multiple parrots and McCaws. Pretty cool!
Around mid morning we pulled into our first village - Araras.
This village seemed small. We opened the clinic up about 10:30. Everyone gets vitamins and de-wormer. My first real eye-opener was the 12 year old girl who came up by herself. She was beautiful! Her card indicated that she needed pre-natal vitamins. I looked at Ruth Ann while she was talking to the girl and she confirmed that she was pregnant. I was shocked. I had already seen other girls 16, 17, 18 that were pregnant, but I could not get over the fact that she was 12. I just could not get over it the rest of the day. I mourned for her - I wish I could explain what it was like - she hung out with the children during the day. She still "played" with the other girls her age. I just couldn't get over it. I kept coming back to her. 12 years old!
When we were done with the clinic we got off the boat and explored the village. The kids flock to you and start talking to you in Portugese and you begin to feel really confused. You want to talk to them, but they can’t understand you.
Little girls we played soccer with
A couple of us played soccer with some little girls. Of course the village had a soccer field! We are in Brazil after all! The other thing that struck me was that the people in this village looked happy. The kids seemed content and people didn’t look miserable – which is what I was expecting. I think about my boys and how they would not know what to do with themselves. Sharon was a big hit because she was talking pictures of the kids and showing them their pictures.
Some of the construction crew left when we got there to go pick up the wood for the church. When they got back, we all helped unload it. I didn’t think we were going to be able to do it, but finally, we got all the boards off that little boat!
This may not look like alot of wood, but let me tell you - the shortest board was 8 feet and the longest was 12. It was work to get them out of the boat!
Not long after, we had a church service with the villagers. To see the way Earl interacted with the kids was amazing! They all loved him! We also had to sing the song that Earl had, taught us in Portuguese to the villagers.
Little did I know we would be singing more and more and more in the days to come!
After church, we headed back to the boat for a late dinner. I think it was 9pm...As I reflect on this day, it amazes me at how happy these people are with nothing. The kids in the village share 2 soccer balls. They live in shacks - crowded shacks! Sometimes up to three generations in one shack! We were all talking about how this must be a hard life for them. We were so happy to be there and to help these people. It was a wonderful start to the trip!
Some more pictures from the village:
The birds just hang out.....
Girls getting fitted for pillowcase dresses.
The first and biggest house in the village.
Tuesday, May 8th
I got up around 6:20 feeling very refreshed! I went straight to the kitchen for coffee! I didn’t realize that they make their coffee kind of like sweet tea – they make the coffee in a pot, drain the hot coffee and then they had sugar. That was a surprise since I don’t usually use sugar for my coffee, but, I’m being flexible and drinking it anyway!
This morning we spent a lot of time organizing medicines and separating them into smaller portions. We had 500 pills of vitamins in each bottle, but they only give them 60 tablets – enough for 2 months. So, we separated and separated. It was actually fun because everyone was beginning to get antsy to “do” something. I didn’t realize how much preparation went into something like this.
This is also the day the boat started really rocking. Multiple people got sick, but no one that I know of actually threw up because of it – but we sure were taking the medicine! Ruth Ann says that it doesn’t usually rock like this, but the wind and the other boats were making a lot of waves. One of the ladies in my room had Dramamine and the other had the patch. I took both!
Earl arrived on the boat and we immediately set out for the village the construction crew would be staying to build a church. While traveling, Earl brought maps up to the top deck and showed us all the places we were going to go. Wow! Nothing like seeing this all on a map to put things into perspective! We also assigned/picked jobs for the medical part of the trip. I was going to be in the pharmacy with Ruth Ann. I was seriously disappointed at first because I wanted to be on the “front line” – but I tell you what, God knew what he was doing when he put me in the pharmacy! (Since I am typing this later, I can look back with some perspective). I was able to pick her brain about missionary life, how they started in Brazil and what the future may hold for them. It was a wonderful experience getting to know her and Earl on a more personal level.
We ate a wonderful dinner! The cooks on this boat are wonderful. I was so surprised by how much food they provided and how wonderful it tasted. I was expecting something very basic – rice and beans, but we were served so much more! Here are some pictures:
Sorting medicine...see how Dane's shirt is a weird grey-ish color? Yeah - that's becasue the heat was atrocious!
It was so incredibly hot! I was scared to death that I wasn't going to make it another week and a half! The sweat was dripping off of me! GROSS!!!
I am already missing my husband. It seems so strange that I am going through all of this without him. I just read my son, Dillan's, letter. It was so sweet! I love that boy. He has such a good heart. He will be a great man, husband and father when grows up. That fact touches my heart in ways I can not even describe! Here are some pictures of my accomodations:
That is my bunk - the bottom pink one. Looks comfy, huh?
Here is the shower. Notice the ONE handle - on or off is the only choice! Pay special attention to the white blur in the lower right corner......
Here is the white blur! Yes, it is all together. Very interesting. The floor is somewhat sloped so the water runs down from the shower to the right to a drain thing.
After dinner, it is time to shower - ugghh! Here are my choices for water temperature - cold or colder. I whine like a child, but I suck it up and take a cold shower! Tomorrow - we get down to buisness!
This morning we spent a lot of time organizing medicines and separating them into smaller portions. We had 500 pills of vitamins in each bottle, but they only give them 60 tablets – enough for 2 months. So, we separated and separated. It was actually fun because everyone was beginning to get antsy to “do” something. I didn’t realize how much preparation went into something like this.
This is also the day the boat started really rocking. Multiple people got sick, but no one that I know of actually threw up because of it – but we sure were taking the medicine! Ruth Ann says that it doesn’t usually rock like this, but the wind and the other boats were making a lot of waves. One of the ladies in my room had Dramamine and the other had the patch. I took both!
Earl arrived on the boat and we immediately set out for the village the construction crew would be staying to build a church. While traveling, Earl brought maps up to the top deck and showed us all the places we were going to go. Wow! Nothing like seeing this all on a map to put things into perspective! We also assigned/picked jobs for the medical part of the trip. I was going to be in the pharmacy with Ruth Ann. I was seriously disappointed at first because I wanted to be on the “front line” – but I tell you what, God knew what he was doing when he put me in the pharmacy! (Since I am typing this later, I can look back with some perspective). I was able to pick her brain about missionary life, how they started in Brazil and what the future may hold for them. It was a wonderful experience getting to know her and Earl on a more personal level.
We ate a wonderful dinner! The cooks on this boat are wonderful. I was so surprised by how much food they provided and how wonderful it tasted. I was expecting something very basic – rice and beans, but we were served so much more! Here are some pictures:
Sorting medicine...see how Dane's shirt is a weird grey-ish color? Yeah - that's becasue the heat was atrocious!
I am already missing my husband. It seems so strange that I am going through all of this without him. I just read my son, Dillan's, letter. It was so sweet! I love that boy. He has such a good heart. He will be a great man, husband and father when grows up. That fact touches my heart in ways I can not even describe! Here are some pictures of my accomodations:
After dinner, it is time to shower - ugghh! Here are my choices for water temperature - cold or colder. I whine like a child, but I suck it up and take a cold shower! Tomorrow - we get down to buisness!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)