the little things that make a good vacation

I (Josh) originally wrote this post last week when we got back from Belem. Our internet was down for several days after I thought I posted it, come to find out it was never posted. So, here it is, a week later...

It's funny how little things can make a big difference. Air conditioning in our truck, for example. Without it you have to keep the windows down to keep from suffocating in the equatorial heat. But during the dry season the dust is so bad, in places it is like driving through snow. On our trip back from Belem, we passed one hill where a semi-truck was uselessly attempting to climb a dust covered hill (surprising, dust can be as slick as snow). Two more trucks waited to descend and a third was waiting nervously to take his run. We easily maneuvered around them, safely and dust-free in our air conditioned truck.

The funny thing was our air conditioner had recently gone out, not during our trip but a week earlier. After 3 return trips to the mechanic it was fixed, each time I was thinking "I hope this doesn't happen on our way to Belem". Our air conditioning functioned fine the whole way there and back. I have to think God was watching out for us.

Another little occurrence the day after we returned got me thinking again. After running some errands on my motorcycle I returned home to find a flat tire on the truck. It seems it somehow held up through all the bouncing and banging around on the TransAmazon, but sitting in my garage was too much for it. Sure, I could have changed the tire in 95 degree heat and 3 inches of red dust, but I'm sure glad I didn't have to.

We enjoyed a week at the beach as a family, and 3 days in Belem with Brin's parents. Brin and her mom flew back Sunday night, Larry (Brin's dad), the girls and I arriving 10 minutes after they did, after 14 hours on the road. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for our time away. It seems God worked in many little ways to make our time relaxing.


Two years ago, before we went to Belem the first time, we had promised to take Ella to the butterfly house as a reward for a school assignment, only to find out that it was closed. After Brin somehow explained the situation the staff allowed Ella to enter alone, for about 5 minutes. This time around it was open and we all enjoyed it together.

More Pictures Here

Off to the coast

Tomorrow we are leaving for a much needed and anticipated vacation. We'll be driving to the coast, a few hours to the east of Belem, and staying at the beach there for a week. Then we will pick up Brin's parents, who are flying into Belem. We'll stay a few days there until finally Brin and her mom will fly to Altamira and I will drive home with Brin's dad and the girls.

Travel on the TransAmazon Highway is always adventurous. It'll be about 600 miles, and should take in the neighborhood of 18 hours. This time of year, washouts and mud are not the problem, but with the dryer weather comes dust. The dust can make the roads slick, as well as eliminating visibility if you get stuck behind a truck or bus. Hopefully our next post will be more about our time at the beach, rather than the adventure it took to get there.

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São Felix and Beyond

Following is a video of my trip to São Felix. As I elude to at the end of the video, it can be quite a process to understand the needs of a certain region. How exactly should we define whether or not a community is remote? Or what if it already has a church, but it is not reaching unchurched people? Does that mean that community is unreached? These are difficult questions, but ones that need to be wrestled with as our work here expands and we look to where the most need is.

Enjoy the video, and pray with us as we explore where the Lord may be calling our family.

São Felix do Xingu

Our group at the riverfront in São Felix: Josh, Fransisco, Aline, Clyde and Allison

I confess, August truly was a pathetic month for blog posts. Nothing excuses the poor showing of 2 whole posts. Let's hope for a better September...

Meanwhile, I (Josh) just got back from a trip to São Felix with Clyde, a fellow missionary who hopes to move to São Felix in the next year. It was a long journey; 12 hours on a bus... 8 hours in a car... 4 days in a boat... 6 hours in a car... 8 hours in a car... 15 hours on a bus. I'm working on a video that I will hopefully have done in the next few days (actually so far I have just been thinking about working on it).

Until then, here are some pictures:

The main reason for the trip was to get a better picture of the need for churches in the area around São Felix, we decided to explore the Xingu River for 4 days. In a rented boat, we traveled downstream, stopping occasionally to talk to people along the way.

One of the things that struck us was the lack of houses on the river. There seemed to be much more people living inland, possibly due to the popularity of the cattle industry in that region.

Talking to the people along the river gave us a better sense of the need for churches, where the majority of the people lived, as well as a feel for their economic needs. In the above picture we talk with a man who is making a dugout canoe. His daughter lead us through a jungle trail to where he had felled the tree and was busy hollowing out the canoe.

Our boat captain, with one hand on the rudder control and the other on a string which lead to the throttle control. The motor was out of a truck , including the transmission, and had to be stopped by ducking below into the engine room and moving the shifter into neutral.

Each of the three nights on the river we found islands to sleep on. Our hammocks with mosquito nets served us well, except for the one night when we had a rain storm. We all ended up sleeping in the boat that night, and didn't get much sleep.

Allison and I enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning.

Allison, Clyde and I sit on top of the boat as we arrive back at São Felix.