Amazon jungle city: Manaus

My time spent in Manaus was definitely one of the most interesting parts of my journey.  Manaus is a city on the edge of the jungle and has a really mixed feel.  I lived and worked with John and Kathy, long term missionaries to Brasil and uncle and aunt to Melissa, one of my team mates.  John and Kathy have pioneered work both in Sao Paulo and now in Manaus.  They blessed us so much with nice food and I had a mattress for the first time in weeks which helped improve my health no end!

 

As John is a co-pastor of a local church he asked the three of us to lead a morning for the teenage girls of the church.  I spoke (with the aid of a translator!) about the story of Esther from the Bible and we shared how valuable they are to God.  We then answered lots of questions about boyfriends and relationships and what it means to be a missionary!

The Amazon basin area is home to many indigenous communities, many of whom are Indian tribes.  Some of these tribes have sent representatives to live in camps in Manaus to show the government and others how they have been mistreated.  In the camp or settlement which we visited, living conditions are poor…little access to running water and very basic ‘housing’.  The settlement itself is fascinating as there are over 20 separate tribes amongst the 2000 inhabitants and they are choosing to live in community to make their voice heard.

Myself and Kathy visited the settlement a number of times and I loved it..well I didn’t love the fact that people were living in such poor conditions but I loved listening to peoples stories and helping practically in peoples lives.  One young mum, Regiana explained that her cousin had just had a baby and needed baby clothes and that she was also struggling herself.  As well buying the babies clothes I was also able to purchase jewellery made by Regiana as this is how she tries to make her living.  At a short service held in the community, Regiana gave her life to Jesus and others asked for prayer.  All in all a special time and really made me think about returning to Manaus in the future.

We then made our way to the Brazilian border on a night bus and crossed over to Guyana.

Rio and the journey north......

Our time in Rio continued with living and working in another favela, clearly controlled by drug lords whose associates occupied every street corner complete with guns and walkie talkies!   As a team we got to work in the local schools, community recording studio and pray for our neighbours.  During this time I tried but with no success to get an extension on my visa with the Federal Police who were on strike.

After this intense week we were given a flat owned by a bikini model whose father is a well known Brazilian footballer for a few days…we may have been crammed in as our team went  to over 30 people but the swimming pool and sauna on site was such a blessing!  The team also got to do some sightseeing in Rio visiting Christ the Redeemer statue and some of the famous beaches.  We also met as a team a number of times to resolve some issues and pray and discuss what to do with our vehicles…sell, sail or scrap were the three main options talked about!

On our way to the North of Brasil we stopped for a couple of nights in Porto Seguro, the ‘birth place’ of modern Brasil as founded by the Portuguese.  A few of my team mates then volunteered kindly to leave early so that we could make the drive to Salvador for my last attempt at getting my visa extended..otherwise I was about to be in Brasil illegally!  Thankfully when I went to the Federal Police at Salvador airport on Day 89 (out of 90) of my original visa they dealt with the matter promptly and I walked out of the office able to stay in this diverse country till just before Christmas!  

When the rest of the team arrived we spent time praying in the historic part of the city, especially in the part that was famous for being used as a ‘whipping post’ for slaves.  As we were praying, local people approached us for prayer, including one lady who had been on drugs for a number of years and was desperate for a fresh start.  Truly humbling times.

After Salvador we then made our last road trip to Fortaleza, on the north east coast.  Here our organisation, Iris, has a base and the day after we arrived were given keys to a new property.  We have spent much of our time renovating this new property ready to be used as a community house both for those wanting to come out of sex working and off the streets as well as the missionaries working alongside them.

We have also worked in the favela close by, helped with the childrens work and gone out late at night onto the streets to feed homeless people and speak and pray with sex workers who are wanting a different life.  Hunting for God’s treasures in the darkness is definitely one of my favourite things to do!

A number of the team have not been too well including myself which I think is probably related to just feeling tired generally..our next and probably final stop in Brasil will be Manaus, the ‘Amazon city’ before heading to Guyana!

Thank you for reading.  God bless and love and miss you lots! x

 

One year on.....

Well I’ve now been left the UK a whole year now and today our team celebrated our first anniversary of being on the road.   There has been talk of wanting to ‘finish well’ as well as some reminiscing.  Our team is currently the largest it has ever been at over 30 people and we are now down to 4 vehicles and no pop up campers to use for storage or sleeping!  Downsizing once again is in progress…..! 

 

The team is planning to continue similar work in the Caribbean beginning in January 2013 after a break in December....for me I am waiting to hear from God what He has for me next…I really don’t know at the moment!

We are currently in Rio on a campsite having a couple of chill days before we go to work in another favela back in the city. Two weeks ago we worked with a church in Cabo Frio, home to Carole on our team.  As part of our work there I worked with a drug and alcohol rehab, helped lead a youth meeting as well as doing airport runs for team members returning to the team (one took 12 hours on Brazilian Independence Day..there were just a few extra people around that day!!)   

Last week the team was split between working in the largest favela in Rio (Rocina) and helping at a church that has recently started and comes under the umbrella of our organisation Iris.  We were sad to learn today that 7 people lost their lives in Rocina yesterday as part of ongoing gang warfare.    The reality of life in Rio, the host city of both the next World Cup and Olympics is certainly very striking and contrasting!

 

Thank you for reading and for your continued support and friendship.  I will hopefully see many of you in December! God bless you all lots x.

Brasil: the journey continues....

After my break in Cabo Frio, I went to meet Natalie, one of my team mates in Rio as she was flying back in to rejoin the team.  As well as doing a couple of touristy things, we also had some ‘divine encounters’.  One was meeting a mother and toddler sleeping rough on the beach just near our hostel…Mum clearly was not at all well but we were able to chat with her and ensure that she had enough food, clothes and nappies for her little one..as well as giving him some much needed attention (the social worker in me wanted to do lots more but I knew that if I had called the police or someone else in authority then they probably would have just moved her on…sad but true).

A second very memorable incident involved Natalie, myself, our room mate from our hostel and a Brazilian young man armed with a knife (which funnily enough I didn’t see until later!!)  I’ll let Natalie tell the story….

‘On the roads of Rio de Janeiro we were stopped by a young man. He asked for our phones and got out his knife! After a first nervous moment I told him in Portuguese: "God loves you brother! You don't need to do it!" Now he was confused and still wanted our stuff. We kept talking to him about God's love. He looked lost and asked if we could talk.  We sat down on the steps on the middle of the street.  He shared his story.  When we started to pray for him, he stopped us and gave us his knife.  He lives on the street and robs people every day.  We encouraged him to go home.  The girl with us has a connection to an NGO that helps to get people off the streets.  He gave her his phone number of the phone that he stole yesterday!  When saying goodbye he asked us for forgiveness and refused to take his knife back!  Such a cool encounter!  Thank you Jesus!’

Our next stop was Sao Paulo and has been since.  We have been staying with a lovely host Brazilian family who own their own restaurant which means we have been given lots of nice food to eat!  I have been working on some logistical arrangements for team members rejoining the team after breaks as well as doing airport and bus runs. 

Last week myself and Rachael spent time at one of our Iris bases in two favelas here in Sao Paulo.  We worked alongside another international team playing with the children, chatting and praying with people and feeding people who were hungry.  The drug problem was very obvious as well as the poverty and I am full of admiration for parents who are raising their children well in that environment.  I also got to translate for the team as I had the best Portuguese available!  We will hopefully be returning here with our own team in September.

I have also been taking some time to pray, read and fast and prepare myself for the rest of the team arriving at the weekend!  I am very conscious now that I have been away from the UK for nearly a year now..and I think having had some time to myself I have got a little homesick…but I continue to know that is the adventure of a lifetime which I am meant to be on and that friends and family back in the UK will be glad to see me when I return sometime before Christmas!

BRASIL: here and loving it!

[Sorry for the lack of update for a few weeks…we’ve not had much internet access at times.  Thank you Gail for reminding me to update my blog!]

So half of the team crossed the border on the 29^th June from Uruguay to Brasil (or Brazil for us Brits!) and were greeted by torrential rain…which did not impress me much but I guess it is winter!  For me this is my fourth time in Brasil!  Our first stop was Porto Alegre where we worked with a local Baptist church.  They were so hospitable towards us and gave us plenty of opportunities to speak in their services.  One guy came into the building off the streets because he said that when he saw some of our team he saw an angel standing there…wow..but no I didn’t get to see it in case you’re wondering.   Needless to say he returned home that day a different man from the one who came in!  Thank you God!

After Porto Alegre we travelled to Curitiba, again in the South of Brasil where the team were able to attend an ‘IHOP’ conference.  When I first heard about IHOP during my time in Mozambique I thought people were talking about the International House of Pancakes when really they meant the International House of Prayer!  Apparently some of my team reckon I think about food a lot….!  The conference was a really special time and being able to sing worship songs in a mix of both Portuguese and English was great and I started to understand more Portuguese as the time went on.  The conference was a bit like a ‘pit stop’ for the team and a time for us all to be together.  We were known as the ‘hippy team’ and one lady gave one of my team mates new clothes and shoes because she thought she looked so badly dressed!!

I was very impressed that team mate Amanda’s parents came to visit with us from the States and like us slept on a church floor…my sleeping mat has certainly had some good action..and believe it or not its been pretty cold at times and many extra layers have been needed at night!

After being in Curitibia we made our way to Foz de Iguacu, a city which is on the edge of Brasil, Paraguay and Argentina.  The team again worked in partnership with a local church and led services and visited families in poorer areas.  In turn the church gave us free use of a ‘holiday site’ including a swimming pool…which despite the cold temperatures I managed to swim a good few lengths (I lasted longer than any of the guys did!)    And then I had the best birthday present of all the team…a visit to the waterfalls of Iguacu..one of nature’s seven world wonders…..simply stunning [thank you for all the birthday messages and emails]! 

The rest of the team are presently continuing the journey to Paraguay and then onto Bolivia.  However I felt it was right to go to Rio to say ‘goodbye’ to two of my lovely younger team mates who were going home/onto other things.  We are enjoying working out in practice what Jesus meant when He said to His disciples ‘As you go..’ in Matthew chapter 10 when Jesus sent them to do God’s work.  More often than not it is as we are going about our ‘daily life’ that we meet people who need Jesus in one way or another…rather than making a specific time to ‘help others’ (although that can be good too!)  I guess its about living the life of a Jesus follower with integrity.

An example of this is when Lisa, Charlotte and me found ourselves having a walk on Copacabana beach just before going to the airport, when we were approached by Rodriguez who asked us for food.  When somebody asks you for food I figure that they must be pretty desperate and we felt that this was definitely a divine appointment.  Rodriguez is 15 years old and lives on the street as his mother is unwilling to care for him.  He looked like he had been tortured to be honest and also has some physical impairments..it is quite possible that the two are linked. 

We were able to talk with him and to the annoyance of a local beach bar we ordered Rodriguez food and a coke and then prayed for him too (I’m sure staff felt that we ‘lowered the tone’).  As a social worker I found myself getting a little frustrated that we could not do anything more for him at the time, especially as Lisa had to catch her plane.  But I had peace that Rodriguez was no longer so hungry and had met people who genuinely cared enough to stop for him.  I am sure that we were not the first people he had asked for food.

After saying goodbye to Lisa and Charlotte I then hopped on a bus to Cabo Frio,a beautiful town north of Rio.  I really wanted to be able to invest in my Portuguese as sense that Brasil may be a country where God will have me longer term.  So I am currently staying with the extended family of Carole (my Brazilian team mate) and learning lots about their culture and language…and watching some of the Olympics and getting to walk on the beach and swim in the sea!  Its also the first time that I have not been with anybody from the team since this adventure started which is very strange but much needed….being big sister to many on the team is a real privilege but also not without its challenges!

Watching some of the Opening Ceremony made me proud to be British and made me miss home all at the same time although loving being here also….so I am planning to return to the UK for Christmas.  Hurrah!  God bless and love you all lots x

Uruguay: The 'dark horse' of South America

Thank you for reading my latest update – it means so much to hear from friends and family that you are keeping up with my news through my blog…I hope you find this instalment interesting!

Interesting is definitely one of the words I would use to describe our time in Uruguay as its been one of my favourite countries so far…I was not expecting it to be the case but it definitely has been!

When we crossed the border from Argentina we had no contacts or plans so were fully relying on God to show us the way…our first challenge was to get car insurance (easier said than done…we can’t let you in without car insurance said Customs but you can’t buy it at our office and we don’t know where you can…also said by Customs…!) 


After a process of negotiation they let one car go and with a very helpful tourist information office we went to the first main town to an insurance office. As is often the case the office workers were very curious about us and why we were travelling so we explained and after buying the insurance they all got up from their desks, formed a circle and prayed with us….not bad we thought for the most secular country in South America (so we are told!)

After one of our team members Charlotte emailed a bunch of organisations who work in Uruguay, we ended up partnering with a German Mennonite church whilst staying at a Salvation Army base in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital, for most of the time. The church got us involved in everything…from working with the homeless distributing clothes and food…to leading small groups…to running their youth meetings as well as preaching in church. 

For one young adults meeting myself, Amanda and Natalie from my team went to help out…when we got there they said ‘you can run the evening and by the way there are 5 visiting churches here’…we finished praying for everybody at gone midnight! I spent a lot of time speaking and praying with a young man who had been significantly abused as a child and the repercussions he was experiencing as an adult…what a huge privilege and fantastic to be able to mix my Christian faith with previously acquired social work skills!

With the Salvation Army we painted fences and cleaned wheelchairs…I loved getting my hands dirty and great to be able to bless an organisation that does so much to help people in need. Since being in Uruguay I’ve also been able to take on more of a leadership role and helped co-ordinate all the different activities which the team has got involved in…I’ve enjoyed the challenge in the main!

The church was definitely my favourite to work with so far…they cooked us great cakes and seemed very organised (always a good combination!) They were also incredibly generous towards us and took up various offerings (unknown to us) which paid for all the necessary repairs to our vehicles (they had no idea how much the repairs were going to cost but the offerings covered them and more!). 


As I explained this to the church on our last Sunday I started to cry, and then the leader did and lots of people present also…..and then the church blessed us with their beach camp…for free…which has been an amazing gift especially after the busyness of the last few weeks and getting ready for Brazil…

Yes I am very excited that on Friday some of us will be crossing the border to Brazil (whilst some wait for visas to come through)…we are planning to do Brazil in two parts with Paraguay and Bolivia in between (as you do!)

Thank you for your prayers, friendship and support. God bless you all lots!

Don’t cry for me Argentina…

Well after a crazy three days travelling including two night buses and ferries and crossing the Chilean/Argentinian border twice, we ended up back in Santiago, Chile.  Most of the team stayed with the church who had hosted us before but a couple of us went back to the base where our vehicles were to do a grand clean.  As one of our ‘homes on wheels’ had been visited by little rat friends everything needed cleaning…so my passion for therapeutic cleaning came into action!  As a team we also had to ‘downsize’ our bags as some peoples (read: some girls!) had been added to and this was beginning to impact our vehicles and fuel consumption. 

Having added two new girls to our team, we then drove to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  We arrived late at night to find that the only ‘camp ground’ available to us was actually a piece of grass outside somebody’s house (the owner gave us permission!) so we set up tents whilst some slept in vehicles….to wake up the next morning to the police standing over us telling us that the neighbourhood was very dangerous and that we could have been killed during the night (I think there may have been some exaggeration there but it was funny or concerning depending on your view point!)

Later that day as a team we felt it was right to go to a well known church in the city centre, Rey de Reyes, which has seen amazing growth over the last few years.  So we went to an afternoon service and when the leadership heard we were with Iris Ministries they invited us up to be prayed for…and when they found out where we had slept the night previous, they treated us to two nights in a nice hotel…sheer bliss!  It was also great to be able to eat a couple of good breakfasts….there’s only so much oatmeal on a tight budget a girl really wants to eat!

As a ‘thank you’ to the church, we worked with their homeless outreach which was a special time.  The team helped prepare and serve food, clean toilets and chat and share with those whose home is on the streets.  I loved chatting with the guys and learning from them…even if Argentian Spanish sounds quite different from other Latin countries!

Our last few days in Argentina were spent at the YMCA base outside the city centre which lots of the team used as a retreat time.  I also took the opportunity to do some sightseeing…Buenos Aires is described as the ‘Paris’ of South America and I can see why..stunning architecture although no Eiffel Tower! 

Just as I was feeling pretty tired having been a big sister/mum to many of the team, I got my own little treat.  You may remember that last October I accompanied Dianne from my team to Costa Rica, where her daughter in law Rhiannon had drowned swimming.  Dianne’s friend, Judy, flew to Buenos Aires for a few days to have a break with Dianne…and as a thank you for my support to Dianne, Judy invited me to their hotel for a night complete with an Italian meal.  So I got to have my own pamper time, eat some of my favourite food and use fast wifi including watching the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Thames pageant online, watch my nephew Edward play and speak to my god daughter Niamh through skype!  Thank you to Daddy God and Judy for such a special and well timed present!

Thanks for reading and God bless you lots!

Next stop: Uruguay….