A witness to change

Guest Blogger: Tom Pflederer (Josh's dad)

 The daily afternoon bath in the Amazon.
 
This is our third time visiting our kids in Brazil, and no trip has provided a more relentless flow of diverse experiences and impressions than this one.  After an exhausting and stressful flight, we spent our first few days in Manaus not settling in, but packing boxes and preparing to move out.  It was long enough to see both sides of city living--the congestion and the dirtiness and lack of security, balanced by the convenience in shopping and church options. 

The move was unlike any other I've seen--who moves by rope and pulley from the second floor, then by truck and boat and tractor and wagon?  We got a first hand look at Asas de Socorro, the aviation ministry where Josh works, and witnessed the dramatic arrival from Ohio of a donated Cessna.  I spent a day working with Josh, seeing what he does.  I shower and shave without hot water and--if I wait until after 9:00 pm, when generator that powers this community goes off--without light.  I sleep on the top bunk with Connie below me, usually sweating our way through the night with a battery-powered fan.

Lowering a heavy, Brazilian hardwood, wardrobe from the second floor balcony.

The transfer from truck to boat was made on the ramp used by the float planes when they are pulled from the lake to the hangar.

Arriving at the school.

Everyone chips in to help unloading the cargo from the boat and transferring it to Josh and Brin's new house.

And I got to meet Benny, the 71-year-old Pentcostal pastor/pilot who was the subject of one of Josh's blogs a couple months ago. Benny has survived a variety of crashes, is pretty casual about pre-flight safety checks, and flies without a seatbelt.  Nevertheless, Josh and I and a couple other mechanic friends accepted Benny's invitation to fly in to his fishing cabin on a remote lake in the jungle, where we caught around 70 pounds of peacock bass.

Pastor Benny piloting our fishing boat, his plane and floating house in the background.

Josh, Tom, Andrés and Joel with our haul (Andrés and Joel are fellow mechanics).

But more than anything else, I have been completely fascinated by this Puraquequara community (called PQQ).

PQQ was started in the early 50's not as a school, but as a print shop.  The ultimate goal of a tribal linguistic missionary is to make the Bible available in the language of a new people group, and for all of western Brazil, it is in PQQ that those Bibles are printed.  It is a far more complex task than one would think.

The rocks are a popular swimming spot at the school until the river comes up and covers them during the rainy season.

Mark, who has been the print shop guy here for almost 40 years, gave me a window into his world--developing unique fonts and keyboards for each tribal language, transitioning to computers in 1992, facing problems with layout and binding and production, struggling with changing technology and limited funds, working most of the time completely by himself, giving up the tribal work he was trained for and loved, spending his life printing books because there was no-one else to do it. 

Mark and his print shop (we're going to let the Cubs shirt slide, only because it was probably a donation).

Still, his shelves are full of copies of New Testaments in strange languages, most spoken only by a few thousand people, evidence of his faithful, unheralded plodding service over four decades.  Mark is a wealth of knowledge and history, but when we part he expresses appreciation for my interest.  He says hardly anyone ever asks questions about his work and really listens to his story.

Of all the perks and curiosities of living at PQQ-- the jungle sounds, candy drops from the sky, swimming in the Amazon, eating peacock bass grilled over an open fire--it's the people who live here who have captivated me most. Like Mark, most of them have some very personal connection with an indigenous people group somewhere in the Amazon Basin, where they have left their hearts and to whom they long someday to return.

Janelle, our nearest neighbor, grew up as a missionary kid in Colombia, living with a tribe there until her family was forced by the government to leave.  Her parents still live there in the city, still trying to minister to their tribe as they are able.  Lots of people here have some connection with the Yanamami Indians, whom we have been told used to have no word in their language for "forgiveness."  It was a graceless culture, based on retribution and consequences.  If your wife slept in too long, you would go and poke her with a hot stick.  Eroch got malaria five times during the four years he lived with the Kulina Indians, says it was the most difficult thing he ever did, and is living now at PQQ trying to figure out the next step.

I will not be here long enough to hear all the stories of the incredibly unique people who live at PQQ.  Brin says every one of them is like a one-in-a-thousand person in the U. S., treasures to be mined.  I am looking forward to hot showers and snuggling with my wife again.  But I am deeply grateful that the Lord in His providence and perfect timing has brought my son's family to this place.

The Pflederer's new house.

Flies from the heavens

Bennie's Cessna 206 docked on a river where we fished.

When I first met Pastor Bennie I wasn't sure what to think.  He's still a bit of an enigma, even after (or maybe because of) all the stories I've heard about him.  Like the time he tied a live pig on the top of one of his airplane's floats, only to find it dangling at the end of the rope mid-flight.  I'm not sure what happened to the pig.  Bennie, on the other hand, is still going strong after almost 50 years of missionary service in Brazil.  He and his wife have overseen the planting of over 400 churches in the Amazon basin.  Bennie was a float-plane pilot before he moved to Brazil from Canada, and he continues to use aviation to help train leaders, visit churches and oversee the many believers that live in the many backwaters of the Amazon river basin.  

For several years, Asas de Socorro has been maintaining Bennie's Cessna 206 and 172, both float-planes.  For the past couple months we have been rebuilding the floats of his 172.  It's a big job, drilling out and replacing around 8,000 rivets.  We've been working with a parts supplier out of Canada and when one of their employees learned about what we were doing he decided to come down to Brazil for 2 weeks and help us with the project.  While the rebuild project has been time consuming and tedious, it's such a practical way that we are able to help Bennie and his ministry - saving him tens of thousands in dollars. 

 

Jason, who visited from Canada to help with our project, myself, Joel, and Ryan, fellow mechanics, riveting on one of the floats.

All of the old skins and parts removed from the floats, most of the parts were replaced due to 40 years of wear and corrosion.

A couple of weeks ago my father-in-law Larry and I got the chance to go fishing with Pastor Bennie.  He appears to truly delight in taking visitors on trips to the interior in his plane to secret fishing spots that he has learned about over the years.  Being from Canada, he is a fly fisherman and ties his own flies.  Over the years he's come up with a fly that the Peacock Bass can't resist.  He told us how he always takes a can of the flies with him on flights.  When he sees someone paddling a canoe on a river below he swoops in low (probably scaring the daylights out of the unsuspecting paddler in the process) and drops a jar of his special flies.  In the can is a note inviting them to his church the next time they are in town.  He says he has lost track of how many people have come through their church and eventually come to know Christ, all because of the fishing flies from the sky.

  

Larry and I on our fishing expedition.

Sometimes I can lose sight of my role in the big picture of mission work here in Brazil.  I'm reminded though, that God has called each of us to do our part in reaching the lost, and no matter our role it is equally important.  Whether it is driving rivets into floats, tossing flies out the window or, like so many of you, supporting us through prayer and financial giving.  

circumstances

While Josh has been plugging away at the hangar with enthusiasm, I (Brin) have mostly been at home, plugging away with homeschool, sports lessons, various events with Asas, but with less enthusiasm.   How I might wish life to be isn't matching up with how it really is, I murmured to myself about 5 months ago. Can't we all say this at some time or another? This incongruity prompts, and some days forces me to ask God what should be different. Do I press on, essentially ignoring that little alarm bell in my heart or do I consider that burden to do something different a trigger from God? I left myself open to both possibilities and told God I am up for whatever, I just want to see His hand in it.  I wanted to lose that nagging suspicion that all was not right. And as often occurs,  the circumstances in life impart evidence of divine providence. If we are sensitive to them.

Homeschooling is going great most days, and I really like it. And I like our home and it's proximity to little neighborhood stores and to the community center where we spend a lot of time. Other things though, have been rather trying. Our house is small and situated on a tiny lot that has no yard, in a neighborhood where it is not safe, we've discovered recently, for the girls to have liberty to play on the streets as they did in earlier months.  Our neighborhood has seen a rash of home burglaries (including our own).  Gabriella has had difficulty meeting and maintaining friendships as we often live far away from the people we minister with. For a 13 year old girl, this is a significant problem. And I empathize; in many ways her own hurts mirroring my own. 

So, this all culminates with a superbly providential and timely visit to a New Tribes Mission boarding school where we went to see an Asas teammate (Andrés) play soccer against their team. The school (which goes by the name Puraquequara, or PQQ) was peaceful, safe, and simple. We watched the children running about barefoot, climbing trees, catching tarantulas and finishing out the afternoon with a dip in the Amazon. I fell in love. So did Gabriella. Another Asas family is already living there and it sparked the possibility of our family doing the same. And as it turns out, they have a house available and a need for a teacher/nurse/coach/whatever you can offer. Well, that could be me! So we prayed and some of you all prayed. And as my desperation grew for a new change, my prayers corresponded. We took slow steps to find out if it was even a possibility and then got approval from Asas leadership. Finally, after several months of waiting, we have been accepted. I am so thankful for God bring it about, I could not have dreamed up something better myself.

The school is only accessible by boat and only has electricity (from a generator) from 7am-9:30pm. About 8 families live on campus with about 25 students, but I am just guessing.  I will give more details about the school later, but I will answer a few questions that I know are coming. 

Q: When will you move? Which will also answer another question, what will Cleny do?

A: Josh and I made a commitment to support Cleny while she goes to school. We are celebrating with Cleny as she has finished her course and awaiting her diploma.  She plans on returning to Altamira as soon as she can.  She plans on pursuing a job in a dentist's office and also is in the midst of making plans for her wedding.  It looks like our move date will be Dec. 19th.

Q: How will this affect your work with Asas de Socorro?

Good question. It will affect it in some ways. The Asas hangar is across the river and upstream a bit from the New Tribes school. From where we live now, Josh has a 30 minute motorcycle ride in congested traffic to get to the hangar. From the school he would have a 25 minute boat ride. Not a bad way to commute to work, so long as it is not raining. It will be more difficult to attend bimonthly meetings in the city but we are sincerely committed to Asas and will make it a priority to attend all that we can. I have committed to work in the medication room at Asas one day a week, likely that will continue and I will just ride into work with Josh.

It is really a boost to have this possibility in front of us. My friend Chelsea, and a frequent character of this blog in it's early years, had given me some notes that were artfully adorned with verses. They are pretty and inspiring and so they find their way to my mirrors or walls, but one in particular has ministered profoundly.

So, while we are sitting in anticipation, hope and astounded at God's provision, we recognize we only have  a few weeks to pack up our belongs and prepare for another move.

In this photo you can see the city of Manaus (pop. 1.5 mil) in relation to the hangar, where Josh works everyday and the boarding school (PQQ)

Instead of a 35 minute, traffic-congested commute, Josh will have about a 25 minute boat ride from the school to the hangar.

The school is situated on the banks of the Amazon River, isolated by water and jungle.  Josh took this picture from a plane a few days ago. 

 

-post by Brin

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home. 

While most of you are eating, relaxing, watching TV and shopping our day is just like any other. Josh is working at the hangar, Cleny has a dermatology appointment, Ava has an orthodontic appointment (the 4th one in a week) and the girls have ballet and swim lessons. We are eating leftovers for lunch today but are looking forward to a special lunch tomorrow with expats. So even while today is just a normal day, messages from the States prompt us to contemplate the holiday. My friend Kristy in France points out how awesome it is for me to have family visit so often and Renee in Texas points out what a treat it is to have both sets of grandparents around the holidays, an obvious blessing that was lost on me while simply going about life. Sometimes, we need others around us to nudge us toward an attitude of thankfulness. 

So today I am thankful for friends and family, near and far. 

We made the most of the 7 days my parents spent with us.

For more pictures, visit here. 

And the Bergquist family that stayed with us for a weekend.

And I am thankful to see God's hand in my life. Most vividly yesterday when our family was officially accepted by New Tribes to live and participate in their boarding school on the banks of the Amazon River. We prayed and waited a long time for a response and are eager (especially Gabriella) for this new adventure. 

And I don't say this enough, so I will say it now. I am truly grateful for those of you who send messages, cards, words of encouragement and pray for our family. I truly store those up in my heart. And for those of you participating with this ministry in Brazil by praying, advising, encouraging, and giving financially or through gifts of aviation tools and even peanut butter. Our family considers it a privilege and are humbled by your care in our lives.

in the spirit of Thanksgiving

post by Brin

In my last post I spoke of our lives taking on a lovely rhythm and also alluded to some changes that might surface. That was a while ago, and today with some events behind us, I realize that rhythm had been short-term.

Since then we have hosted both the Bergquist family and my parents. Visitors always bring us a boost, forcing us to relax, play and eat good food. True, isn't it?! Perhaps I will post more on this topic later but right now I have to share something else.

Thanksgiving is close, but could easily become a non-event for us if friends back in the US weren't mentioning it. I bring it up now because last night forced the contemplation. Cleny called me while I was at swim lessons and in emotional, rushed words told me to come home because there was a thief in the house. When I arrived home all my neighbors were on the street in front of my house, huddled in animated discussion. And here is what happened and why I am thankful....Cleny arrived home content and relieved because she had just found out she passed her dentist assistants course. She opened the outer gate to our home which is noisy and then walked the 2 seconds to the front door, opened it and in the same moment heard a loud noise. Startled, she yelled "Ava! Mia!" and then realizing someone was inside screamed for the neighbors and ran outside without catching a glimpse of the thief (likely, thieves) which were just inside the door. I am glad she didn't see them, because it causes an entirely different emotional reaction to look into their fierce, sinister eyes and then ponder what capacity they have for evil. And to help you understand the depth of the story, only 10 days earlier, Cleny had had a gun pointed at her head while at her internship, was robbed of her cell phone, and then was locked into a room. Again, that time we were thankful she wasn't hurt at all and she only lost her cell phone.

The bathroom window rests innocently against the wall.

The timing of last nights events are extraordinary. It appears that our thieves kicked in a weak window and only had perhaps 10 seconds in our home before they heard Cleny opening the outer gate. It was enough time for them to grab a cell phone and charger (ironically Cleny left it at home so it wouldn't get mugged away from her on the street) but in the rush missed an ipod in the speaker dock, my purse and other appliances within a few meters of where they must have been. As my neighbors responded to Cleny's screams for assistance, the thieves disappeared into the jungle behind my house. And when the dust settled (literally, as the thief kicked in a window that made quite a mess), we all marveled at the astonishing timing. To add to the marvel of the thieves timing, had they arrived 20 minutes later, it could have been I and the girls who would have walked in on them, causing a frightful experience for the girls. Neighbors shared their memories of previous burglaries at our home where the thieves took almost everything. And their own experiences where thieves cared out bags of stuff, even electrical wiring and ran off, hidden somewhere in the jungle. The cops that stopped by said we are the third house on our street this past week to be robbed. 'Tis the season to be thankful, and my conversations with God are drenched with that theme

To end this post on an encouraging tone, I made acai and brazil nut bread.  Delicious and incredibly nutritive, it only adds to my thankfullness.

*Obviously, Cleny has been through a lot. City living has not been easy and school, while an incredible opportunity, has been challenging.  But she is doing great and we all celebrate with her getting her dental assistant's license. She has plans to return to Altamira and get married in January. Please pray for her.

the ongoing adventures

post by ~ Brin

It's time to bust out a new post so I looked through our pictures for some inspiration on something I could write about, or maybe the picture will be so awesome it will say it's thousand words for me. I came up with pretty pathetic options. What? Are we not doing anything picture worthy anymore? That's a pity because I go on Facebook and you all are living such marvelous lives, going on fun vacations, posing your kids for those precious first day of school pictures,  then all those posts about going out to lunch with so and so. Oh, the horror, so many fun things are happening without me. Something must be wrong with me.

Maybe yes, maybe no. But Facebook is not going to be the one telling me so.

Our family life has taken a lovely rhythm, Josh pretty much works an 8-5 job, much like all of you, but understand this is a bit of a first for our 16 year marriage. When Josh graduated from college he went into Doulos ministry working with youth (thus keeping "youth hours"), then had a youth pastor position for nine years.  When we arrived in Altamira as missionaries odd "working" hours and Josh traveling for weeks at a time was pretty much normal life. This 8-5 stuff is flipping me out. And I am getting rather...bored, maybe? The rhythm, like I said is lovely, but honestly it doesn't suit me perfectly.  I am craving something else, even if I can't quite put my finger on it. This craving prompts me to just put it all out there for God .  I am learning that as vessels consecrated to God we are called out of the ordinary. I believe that each person lives their God-given "extraordinary" differently, God custom fits each life. My rhythm changed in the last year. Without having it all figured out, I allow myself to question where is the adventurous life I crave?

Right around the corner, perhaps. Josh and I continue going about our daily commitments but are currently praying and pursuing adding to our lives some changes that will involve where we live and additional ministry opportunity to our lives.  I am excited for the possibility and that winds of change seems to be blowing.

But for now we press ahead.  Below are some pictures that I was able to find to give you a feel for what we are up to. Nothing stirring or inspiring. Simply God's assignment for us currently.

Our teammates Andrés and Camila are expecting their first baby. We hang out with them the most so Ava and Mia are also looking forward to helping care for this baby. Here is Ava alongside Camila at the baby shower playing "guess what is in the sack."

  A week ago Mia spiked a fever and started throwing up. It has now become second nature when anyone becomes sick to hang a hammock in the air conditioned room and then I run the 2 blocks to our market and buy coconut water, nature's perfect rehydrator. She recovered from her stomach bug just fine but not without passing it on to me and Ava.

 Once a week I go to the hangar to work in the med room. Each bin filled with various meds, dosages and carefully controlled exp. dates. I bring the girls with me and they homeschool themselves, with various degrees of schooling actually occurring but plenty of on-site learning instead.

A big project that the Asas mechanics are working on is completely rebuilding a set of 40 year old floats from a Cessna 172.

The old parts to the floats laid out on the floor. The reassembly will include close to 8,000 rivets.

Redemption in a Coke bottle

~post by Brin

I hosted a ladies group a few days ago modeled after what I would guess an 80’s MOPS  group looked like; a little Word, a little food, a little conversation, and always a craft. Asas de Socorro has a partnership with a Brazilian environmental organization that focuses on preserving and respecting the environment as an expression of honor to its Creator.  And this is not just a mere partnership in writing, evidenced by the new rule that everyone on our team (sometimes over 50 people) is asked to bring their own cup to meetings as plastic ones will not be provided.

So, in keeping with our enthusiasm for green, the craft we made at my meeting turned old Coca-Cola 2 liters into lovely gift boxes. I know, mock away.  But now I have a great idea for gifts to give away on furlough. Who wants to host us?!

We don’t drink pop in my home, so some of the 2 liter bottles came from me scavenging my neighbor’s trash.  And had I left them there, they would still be trash. But now they are loved; redeemed, esteemed and will contribute to the beauty in our lives. Depending on your taste, that is.

Here, look at the one Gabriella made:

Following Jesus is a life-long voyage. And at the moment, I am thinking, not altogether different than the life of a 2- liter that I pulled out of the trash. Being a Christ-follower does not mean we won’t find ourselves up to our necks in the refuse of life.  Divorce, debt, illness, drug addiction, interpersonal strife, a cranky spouse, neighbors that play their annoying music way to loud on the weekends. We all have a list, don’t we? God has this novel idea of taking our most embarrassing, disgusting, tragic and ugly situations and making them useful. Useful in the goal of becoming more Christ-like, in loving people the way Jesus loves, in refining our faith. Taking a hopeless situation and letting God recycle it to have another purpose is just part of the journey. And we do this all alongside each other, sometimes gracefully other times clumsily. Right now we are journeying with Cleide, almost 19, and Allison, 22 who are back in Altamira and frequent characters in this blog. After dating off and on, they now find themselves ushered into a more serious relationship with a baby on the way.

Why it turned out this way, I am still puzzled, as Allison had already moved in with our family here in Manaus when Cleide called to say she was pregnant.  I am puzzled because Allison arriving in Manuas, getting both a job and internship, was no small undertaking, with some of the details appearing almost miraculous. But how this could end does not puzzle me. God, in His infinite wisdom and incredible grace can use Allison and Cleide’s disobedience to bring them closer to Him, reveal portions of their heart that need change and teach them how to love tenderly and sacrificially. Nothing does that better than a baby. So, from a distance I implore her to love God, search for His voice, look for His purpose and then watch Him recycle their difficulty and turn it into treasure.

Ella goes to work

Ella celebrated her 13th birthday, and the title of the book she received says it all!

Last week I had a self-proclaimed Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.  I thought Ella would enjoy hanging out with me and experiencing what my day is like.  It also happened to be the week of her birthday, so it turned out to be a special way to commemorate that as well.  Ella has recently shown an interest in photography (she even already has a name: Ellagant Photography).  She brought the camera and I told her to try and get some action shots of me at work.  She clearly enjoyed herself.  Understandably, she was more interested in taking pictures than learning about the components of an amphibious landing gear system, but I tried anyway.  

Here are some of her shots:

As in the U.S., meticulous records must be kept of any maintenance done on an airplane.   Here Ryan explains one of the many forms to Andrés and me.

Andrés and I working on the landing gear of the Caravan.

Inspecting the wheel hubs.

It so happened that Ella also witnessed a more serious side of our ministry.  The coordinator of our flights had received a call about the desperate need for an emergency evacuation of three children of a church worker that had been severely burned by an explosion. Complicating the situation, they were in a remote community and very far from a hospital.  The details were rather unclear at first but the gravity of the situation obvious.  Our ministry exists for these types of purposes. However,  the Caravan was in the middle of a 100 hr inspection and the 206 had left earlier in the morning for a flight in the opposite direction.  It pained us to think of the children suffering and we were at a loss to help. At lunch we prayed for the family asking God to provide some other means.  Later we learned the family hitched a ride with an IBAMA (Brazil's DNR) boat that was close by and arrived at a hospital 20+ hours later.  The kids suffered major burns over much of their bodies due to the explosion of gas that also leveled their house and hospitalized their mother.  They are currently intubated and in intensive care.

This very sad situation served as a reminder, to me and Ella, as to why aviation has such value in this region.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Brazilian and foreign missionary families that are living in remote locations throughout the Amazon.  Aviation is a modern transportation option that can be used to make remote work more accessible, more efficient, and more safe. I learned that first hand after 4 years of working on the Xingu.

   I think about that long boat ride those kids must have suffered through and how a short flight in an airplane could have prevented much of that suffering.  A sober reminder of why we do what we do. 

You are our sunshine

~post by Brin

Ava turned 9. Not yet actually, but Sundays make a good day for a party. And that we did. Ava invited various friends, from church, from Asas, and from the neighborhood. But really Ava is the sort of person who would have wanted to invite the girl she played with for 5 minutes while we waited for the bus. Not that we ride the bus a whole lot, but you get the picture. I wish I was more like her in that way. She has more friends here in Manaus than all the rest of us combined.

 To get to know Ava, here are quotes of her favorite things (that she came up with in about 10 seconds and then promptly ran out the door).

"Pinky's" (an ice cream store in Tremont, after which she also named her stuffed animal)

"how in life people trust God, I mean a little bit. Some don't."

"waterfall that's really pretty"

"strawberry gum with pus" (Yes, that's right, Brazil translates gum that has a juice center "pus")
"different languages"

"birthday parties"

"love, love, love Dr. Quinn"

"Adventures in Odyssey"

"school and Math-u-see"

We had fun making Ava's cake which is good because Ava's friends found them odd. Ava wanted a hedgehog cake because Ava and her friend Maddie had made one out of sand the year before for my birthday. And we also made a "lagarta de fogo" or poisonous caterpillar in honor of an episode that occurred to Ava just a week earlier. Here is her version: "I was going to wash my feet because I had a cut and when I came back I did not see the poisonous caterpillar on the counter and I touched it with my arm. It (the arm, not the bug) got white and then blistery and stayed for 5 days. It burned like a burn. We saw more caterpillars in the house the next days. Then we sprayed the house because of caterpillars." (It was actually because of dengue mosquitoes but we'll let it slide). Gabriella pointed out how appropriate it was that we lit the birthday candles on the caterpillar. 

And of course, to honor her father and his new passion we had a paper airplane contest of which no one hit the target, the generous bulls-eye being our pick-up truck bed.

Per Ava's request, the party ended with each participant allowed to break an egg on her (a Brazilian tradition). Her chest or her arm she hoped, but everyone chose her head. It is all fun and games until someone throws-up. At her own party, surrounded by her guests.  But Ava isn't the sort to be shy or embarrassed, so she announced she was nauseous and everyone helped her clean up in our outdoor shower.