Rain, rain go away...

I don’t know where the time goes and how it goes by so quickly. It doesn’t seem like it’s been more than a month since my last post. Many things have happened during the past month though.

Praise God the fungus on my arms has completely healed! I still have a little discoloration, but that’ll go away when I’m in the sun. Hopefully we’ll see more of the sun, now that the rainy season is dying down. We’ve had quite a few big storms over the past few months, and I was lucky enough to experience one up close and personal. It was quite the experience!

I’ve never seen a flood in real life, only from what I’ve seen on television, about other countries. It was dose of reality to walk home in one. Since Altamira is pretty hilly, all the water runs down hill. Usually when it rains, which is often here, everyone goes inside their houses or to the nearest building to stay dry. Well, Brin and I were taking a walk one day, doing photography, and just seeing the neighborhood, when it started to down pour. We started running back home, but we were pretty far away, so it didn’t take long before we just gave up trying to stay dry and walk. We were a spectacle to everyone around us. These two American women taking a stroll in the middle of the street when it was pouring rain. I had my glasses on, so I could barely see. We trudged through two feet puddles of orange muddy rainwater, sloshing in our tennis shoes while we walked. I was praying the whole time that my camera would survive the adventure. I was really happy when we returned to the house, because my camera was fine, and I got some amazing shots.

Well, when it rains, bring on the bugs! If I had one advice for someone coming to Altamira, it would be to stay off the grass. There is this teensy bug, no bigger than the size of a pen mark. Almost too little for the human eye to see. This tiny bug is called a piun, pronounced “pee-u-n”. Its bite is far from “puny” though. I think its eyes are bigger than its stomach. When it bites you, it takes a chunk out of your skin, no kidding. It also leaves a terrible scar. I guess it’s to remind you of the pain it left you. Another unfriendly bug here is the chigger. They like to go to the warm places on your body, and then bite you. Their favorite place to bite is around the lining of your underwear. The bites leave you extremely itchy. And it’s not really fun to be itchy on your “boom boom”.

Apparently it’s been a good month for birthdays, because we’ve had four birthdays we’ve gotten to celebrate. Ava’s been talking about her birthday for the past three months, and finally she turned six. Brin had a surprise birthday party at the end of April. That was a great accomplishment! She’s not easy to surprise. Kevin celebrated his birthday with delicious pumpkin bars and cream cheese icing, while we were visiting in Port de Moz. And finally, Ella celebrated her tenth birthday today on 6/7/08!

We recently returned from a boat trip from Port de Moz. It had its ups and downs. Our purpose of going there was for me to visit the area, to go on a boat trip during my stay here, and to see what they do on a filter trip. It was a very educational experience. It’s really interesting to know that you can build a water filter from all earth elements. Most of the health problems that the people that live on the river experience stem from unclean water. So the purpose of the water filter ministry is to provide a source of clean drinking water for the village people, and establish a relationship with them, so they can see Jesus through His people.

The hard part of the trip was that almost everyone got sick, including me. At first people just got diaria, from drinking the coffee, which was accidentally made with the river water. Thank goodness I don’t like coffee. Can you imagine sharing a bathroom on a boat with a bunch of sick people, when you can’t flush the toilet most of the time because of the villages around us? It isn’t the most fun in the world. Well, I also eventually got sick, maybe because I was around this girl who had been getting over her sickness. Thankfully it was the last day of our boat trip, but it was still not enjoyable none-the-less. I was glad that I was able to rest and relax, since I wasn’t in Altamira and needing to work. I’m still getting over my sickness, and it’s been over a week now, but I’m glad, because I’m over the worst of it. I just feel bad for Ella, because she is still sick, and it’s her birthday. So you could be praying against sickness for all of us.

One thing I was asked a couple of times during my visit, was if I could see myself being a missionary as a single person. I had thought about it before, and thought it was something that I would never have the desire of doing. Well, after being approached with the question again, I really wondered if I could do it. I thought it might be different if I was living on my own, or with other single friends, and not living with another family. But after getting sick, I realized that I need someone to support and care for me during my sickness’ and hard times. So I think that when I return home, I’ll take a break from mission life for a little while, or at least until God decides to bring along side a husband for me.

There’s not a whole lot to do while in Port de Moz, especially since communication is almost completely non-existent. I couldn’t imagine an internet connection worst than in Altamira, but Port de Moz has it beat. Well we brought back the bad internet, and so I’ve had more free time on my hands to get some things checked off on my to do list. Like writing this blog. I’ve also been having a hard time being inspired, or at least having time to write a song. I finally sat down yesterday, and finished two songs, and wrote a third, that I promised Ella for her birthday. That was a first in my lifetime!

One of the highlights of our trip was a hike that Brin and I went on. It was beautiful, and full of surprises! On our trek, Brin spotted something down the way that looked like it could’ve been an Anaconda. We were obviously hesitant as to what we should do. Should we continue to check it out, in risk of being harmed? We were brave, and we found out that it was only a log. I was busy looking at my red ant bite, when Brin grabbed me, because she heard and saw something move quickly in the woods. It scared me to death, and I was fearful of what it could be. A jaguar, a panther, or a monkey? It didn’t care about us though, so we moved on. The trees were amazing, and the view was fantastic. On our way back to the boat I slipped, in my Old Navy flip flops of course, and almost lost my sunglasses. I was more worried about what was lying underneath the murky water. Brin said we should clap so that the snakes will stay away from us, but if they feel threatened, they’ll attack. You would’ve heard a lot of clapping, and snapping from me. The only harm that was done was some bug bites and my legs got a little scrapped up from the grass and thorns. We were really in the middle of nowhere it seemed. The houses still had satellites for their TVs though.

Before we left on our trip, we went to a conference called “Intervinha”. It’s an annual conference that is held for pastors here and some American pastors travel to Brasil to listen and teach. It’s a really great idea, because it encourages the pastors, and renews their view of the mission statement for the Vineyard church. It was a real treat for me because all of the talks were translated. I also got to finally meet Danny Meyer, a pastor from Columbus. He was a good friend of my parents a long time ago, and I was friends with his son, but I still didn’t meet him until he came to Brasil for the conference. He also comes to Brasil every year. Small world! He had a word for me about what God wants for my life, which was encouraging and intimidating at the same time. I’m still praying about it, and want to talk to my friends about it, so I won’t write what it was. Let’s just say that it was huge.

There was yet another conference in Altamira, but it was involving the Indians from the remote villages. The city wants to put up a dam along the Xingu River, which will essentially drive out the Indians from some of their homes, and destroy some of the land and the food they eat. It was truly interesting to witness this event! Their attire was exactly what I would have pictured an Indian to look like when I was a kid. They wore feathers around their hair, henna all over their bodies, and loincloths instead of clothes. They also had plates in their lips, nose piercings, and gauged earlobes. They didn’t speak Portuguese, but some native language familiar to only their tribe. It was really intense. None of the people were happy at all, and the day before a guy cut off a piece of another guys ear because of a dispute. When we were watching from the bleachers, inside a local school gym, there were two Indians who were on guard with bows and arrows, ready to shoot if something went wrong. The event made the news and one of the girls, who helps nanny Mia and Ava, was interviewed by BBC. It was thought of the second biggest things that have happened in Altamira.

I also received my first love confession from Brasil. One of my CDR students, who is also only 16 years old, confessed his undying love for me. I told him it just wouldn’t work out. He seemed really genuine, and I felt bad for breaking his heart. I hope that who ever I end up marrying is half as romantic as this kid, but I think this guy was a little delusional. Our whole conversation was basically reading out of an English/Portuguese dictionary. He doesn’t really even know me. Brasilians are also a little overly romantic, they usually say a lot of nice things just to be nice. It was cute though.

At last find ourselves at the kid portion of the blog. I was having a conversation with miss Mia and she was asking me a complicated question about life and death. I told her I didn’t know the answer and this was her response. “You’re an adult, and adults know everything!” Yeah, I wish!

I got a chance to hang out with the Berquisdt kids, and Nate was quite the character. He is one of the most happiest kids I’ve ever met. It doesn’t take a lot for him to smile, or laugh, just like it doesn’t really take much for him to start crying. He says most of his words like he is singing. And usually he speaks one-word sentences, and repeats one of the favorite words that he heard you say. One day we were about to leave for the boat and he started singing to me “boat!” “going!” “Nate!” “going!”. It was so adorable! Maddy and Makenna just like asking random questions. So I got from them “Why is your name Emily?” or “Why is your hair curly?”.

I saw Alica today and she was crawling and walking. It was a sight to see after I saw her in Salvador, and just about witnessed her fall down a flight of stairs in her rolling chair. God is good.

Again, thank you for your continuous support in prayer and encouragement. It is greatly appreciated.