Our first river trip

I guess the pictures tell so much! As you can see we did a lot and had such an amazing time this last river trip. I would have to say that it was one of the best trips that I have done on the river all the times I´v gone out. I think that the difference was that we really asked God how we could get out and interact with the community, and it was so rewarding.

We went to 3 different locations. In each place we did a seminar on the "Yes We Can" cell group training. Many people didn´t have Bibles and were hungry for the Word, and it was so awesome to be able to go to their homes with the people from the church, and teach them the Bible, then leave them a Bible to keep so they could study it on their own. It was challenging to work with pastors and leaders cross culturally as a group, but we really believe that God used our time there and we also learned a lot. Please pray that the cell groups that were started in these communities would continue and that the people that don´t know Jesus would in time come to a saving knowledge of Him, and be firm in their faith. We really believe this could be a key tool to discipling these communities.

We have been so blessed to pass out these Bibles. To the many people who gave- there are many people in the Amazon that now have the Word of God in their own home, when before were not able to. We were able to pass out reading glasses to those who couldn´t read as well, and it was so cool to see their faces when they could actually read the words :)

Not only did we have a good time teaching, we had an amazing time just spending time with the people in the community. Some of the team was able to help ladies in the villages cook, we went fishing with nets and poles, we were able to watch men cut wood and help them carry it to finish building a church and benches church. One day a bunch of us cooked up fried fish and gave them to the pastors and leaders and their families. We had a blast playing with the kids on the river beaches, visiting people in their homes and having our own Bible studies with them. I had the opportunity to read to 3 young girls in their home the creation story, which none of them had heard before. It was amazing. God showed us Jesus in these people, and it was very rewarding. Not only did we leave some teachings and Bibles, but we left some friends that many of us will be praying for, friends which have marked our lives, friends that have taught us about the joy of a simple life, and the beauty of discovering new things in His Word for the first time. We will miss these people.

We are leaving Friday the 26th for our next river trip. We will be gone until the 8th of November. We will be visiting 2 different communities, training more people to hold cell groups, passing out Bibles, and spending time visiting the people in the community, doing kids programs, and teaching in their churches. God has been so faithful in keeping us all well, with only a few days last trip of people getting sick. Please continue to pray that God would keep us safe and healthy and that we would give our all for this last 2 weeks.

We will be flying back to MN on Nov. 10. I will try and post a blog before we fly home.

God bless.