We began our Amazon Adventure on Tuesday, April 20, after school. After piling into several vehicles, we headed to the boat dock in Belem, where we boarded our river boat to head up the Amazon River to Breves. The boat had two main levels. The lower level had openings leading to the hold. The lower level was also the area that had the most hammock hanging space. We tried to find space as far from the engine as possible when we picked our "sleeping" area. The second level had small cabins and more hammock space. Our group rented one of these cabins to put all our stuff into. There have been many robberies on these types of boats, and we didn't want anything "walking" away during the night at any of the stops. The top of the boat had a railing and chairs for sitting. There was also a bar, which we avoided. :o)
The river boat is operated by the Bom Jesus (Good Jesus) Company.
After hanging our hammocks, where we would sleep that night, we enjoyed our voyage up the Amazon River.
This boat is public river transportation, and MANY people use this method of travel. We stopped several times to allow more passengers on or off (mostly on). Sometimes a smaller Bom Jesus boat would pull up to the side and passengers would come off of those. This was to make the trip faster, as the large boat would not have to dock. At about 4am, we docked at the only port the boat stops at on the trip up to Breves.
As soon as people got on, they would hang their hammock wherever they could find a tiny space. We learned quickly to be in our hammocks any time people entered, and to take up as much space as possible, to prevent strangers from hanging their "beds" between us.
How many hammocks can you count in this picture?I see thirteen.
This picture gives you a pretty good idea of how crowded the sleeping area was.Now just imagine people in all those hammocks, and many more hammocks wedged in at future stops.
Sunrise on the river boat.~~~
Work Time
We arrived in Breves at about 8am on Wednesday, April 21. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we set off for the church to get started on the work.
We mostly did painting on the inside of the church.
The scaffolding was precarious at best for painting the high areas.
We did a whole lot of yard clean-up on the outside.
The students did a great job removing garbage, hauling old building materials, repairing the fence, and hauling dirt piles to low lying area.
Here is a "tiny" cockroach that was uncovered in the refuse. Other things uncovered were a rat's nest and numerous bugs, lizards, and spiders.
Tara Gilpin, our secondary History teacher, and I walked to the local grocery store to purchase food for lunch. We then made 50+ sandwiches to serve with chips and pop.
We were a dirty, but satisfied group by the end of our work time.
We had enough time to walk back to the hotel, get a shower, rest for a short bit, then return for the evening service.
~~~
Evening Worship
The students did a great job leading the whole service at the church in Breves. They planned and led the songs, skits, and Bible studies, and prepared for the after worship prayer times.
Our HS Praise Band led our singing time.
Caleb Patton, our computer whiz kid, ran the powerpoints.
Caleb is also the young man who was able to rescue almost ALL my pictures from the crashed camera card, making these blog posts possible. Three cheers for Caleb! He is my computer/camera HERO!
Nathanael and Andrew in the "Chair Skit."
This skit is about having faith and using it.
The kids prepared three different Bible studies, and led them as part of the service.
We mostly did painting on the inside of the church.
The scaffolding was precarious at best for painting the high areas.
We did a whole lot of yard clean-up on the outside.
The students did a great job removing garbage, hauling old building materials, repairing the fence, and hauling dirt piles to low lying area.
Here is a "tiny" cockroach that was uncovered in the refuse. Other things uncovered were a rat's nest and numerous bugs, lizards, and spiders.
Tara Gilpin, our secondary History teacher, and I walked to the local grocery store to purchase food for lunch. We then made 50+ sandwiches to serve with chips and pop.
We were a dirty, but satisfied group by the end of our work time.We had enough time to walk back to the hotel, get a shower, rest for a short bit, then return for the evening service.
~~~
Evening Worship
The students did a great job leading the whole service at the church in Breves. They planned and led the songs, skits, and Bible studies, and prepared for the after worship prayer times.
Our HS Praise Band led our singing time.
Caleb Patton, our computer whiz kid, ran the powerpoints.Caleb is also the young man who was able to rescue almost ALL my pictures from the crashed camera card, making these blog posts possible. Three cheers for Caleb! He is my computer/camera HERO!
Nathanael and Andrew in the "Chair Skit."This skit is about having faith and using it.
The kids prepared three different Bible studies, and led them as part of the service.~~~
After the worship service (about 9:30pm), our group went out for pizza.
Pizzas in Brazil just don't look like those in the States.
Look at how many things, some quite unusual, are on this pizza...eggs, peas, carrots, salami, tomatoes, green peppers, grass clippings (okay, maybe not...I think that might be oregano), and cheese.
The "interesting" pizzas didn't keep the hungry kids from eating.
~~~
School Visit
We had completed our work at the church the previous day, so visited a local, public school the morning of the day we left for Portel.
The school is held in the old church building.
Our kids shared with all the classes, telling the students about themselves, what country they were from, and that Jesus loves them.
After their time in the classrooms, our students spent some time praying for the teachers and students at school.
Nathanael, Ms. Debbie Dinstel (secondary Science teacher), & Freddie after the sharing and prayer time.
Mr. Tim Stewart, our secondary English teacher, spends some time talking to a student.
Some of the students from the school.
Our hotel in Breves, Hotel Parauhau. The room Dennis and I were in was the middle balcony room on the right.
Here is the pool at the Hotel Parauhau.
Let's just say, we didn't use the pool during our one-night stay in Breves. Swimming with piranhas was more appealing than that pool.
We hired a cart to carry our luggage and equipment down to the port when we left Breves. We had a keyboard and stand in a heavy, wooden box, two large trunks filled with tools, rakes, shovels and other yard tools, and all our suitcases and backpacks. We were glad that we didn't have to lug all this stuff to the port. The hired men even loaded it all on the Bom Jesus Express boat that would take us over to Portel, the next stop on our adventure.
After the worship service (about 9:30pm), our group went out for pizza.
Pizzas in Brazil just don't look like those in the States.Look at how many things, some quite unusual, are on this pizza...eggs, peas, carrots, salami, tomatoes, green peppers, grass clippings (okay, maybe not...I think that might be oregano), and cheese.
The "interesting" pizzas didn't keep the hungry kids from eating.~~~
School Visit
We had completed our work at the church the previous day, so visited a local, public school the morning of the day we left for Portel.
The school is held in the old church building.
Our kids shared with all the classes, telling the students about themselves, what country they were from, and that Jesus loves them.
After their time in the classrooms, our students spent some time praying for the teachers and students at school.
Nathanael, Ms. Debbie Dinstel (secondary Science teacher), & Freddie after the sharing and prayer time.
Mr. Tim Stewart, our secondary English teacher, spends some time talking to a student.
Some of the students from the school.
Our hotel in Breves, Hotel Parauhau. The room Dennis and I were in was the middle balcony room on the right.
Here is the pool at the Hotel Parauhau.Let's just say, we didn't use the pool during our one-night stay in Breves. Swimming with piranhas was more appealing than that pool.
We hired a cart to carry our luggage and equipment down to the port when we left Breves. We had a keyboard and stand in a heavy, wooden box, two large trunks filled with tools, rakes, shovels and other yard tools, and all our suitcases and backpacks. We were glad that we didn't have to lug all this stuff to the port. The hired men even loaded it all on the Bom Jesus Express boat that would take us over to Portel, the next stop on our adventure.
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