Friday, February 08, 2008 – From the Helm

We arrived in Kwata late yesterday afternoon.  Terry and I had an opportunity so sit and visit with Grand Chief Manuel and his precious mother, Ester.  These are the responsible parties God used for us to gain access to the Mundurucu Nation back in 2003.  We were docked outside the nation, ministering in the village of Vila Canuma with a group from Hardin Baptist Church, Kentucky.  Chief Manuel came to our vessel with a sick child to see if our docs could help.  In visiting with the chief, he shared that he knew my name through the Satere Maue Tribe on the upper Urupadi River, two days travel from here.  He asked if we would spend a day helping his people.  We did and the relationship of love and trust I cherish today was born.

We held services last night.  The building was filled to capacity.  Many, many children here – mostly little girls.  A truly beautiful people.  At the end of the service, Mama Ester asked us to hold a VBS for the children.  Our answer was yes, of course.

 - This morning, we had the work with the children while Mark, Larry and Steve made a number of house calls accompanied by Chief Manuel.  By 11:00 AM, we had done all we had come to do and not do.  As we were leaving, the leadership called me over and asked that we include Kwata for two days of work the next time we came.  They also invited me to come to their historical festival in April.  Just have to wait and see.

- It’s 2:00 PM and the team is out on a nature walk here in Paraua.  We arrived a little bit ago and most of the villagers are either out in the fields or elsewhere.  We had not scheduled to stop here this trip.  It’s good to see those who are here anyway.  Our plan is to depart in an hour or so for our final stop in the Nation – Sauru.

Several of our team have picked up a head and chest cold of some kind.  They all seem to be on the mend now – were just uncomfortable for a day or so.  Just part of the deal sometimes… The “work” part of our time together has come to a close.  We start the trek homeward in the morning.  A good time for reflection and debriefing.  We all look forward to the cruise.

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