Hello everyone...we are in Castanhal (Al´s hometown) now and with his family. We most definitely need your prayers as we try to minister to this family. One of the extended family members has already met with Al - it was very emotional since his life is in jeopardy as we speak. He is a criminal who is presently being chased down. Someone was shot and killed the other day because the assasin mistook him for our family member. Also, we have been spending quite a bit of time with our more immediate family members and need opportunities to share the gospel with them. We have also already met with some family and friends who are believers and are supporting us in this task. This month will not be easy, although it is so good to be with and love on our family. Hava is also suffering with quite a few mosquito bites even with a mosquito net and repellent. Al and I have also suffered a bit with not being able to sleep for one reason or another. Our family is very happy to see us and spend time with us, but we know that spiritually speaking, we are not wanted here. Attacks have already begun in the spiritual realm - but we are confident that HE who began a good work will be faithful to complete it!

Our time in Santarem was well worth the trip - our efforts to find some members of the Jewish community and begin relationships with them were successful! We now have a way to maintaining contact in this region - BARUCH HA SHEM! We were also so very blessed to have time with family and friends while we were there. We feel refreshed and it worked out nicely that we were there first before coming here. Please keep praying for Salvation!

I'm gonna do my best to catch you up on odds and ends here.  We leave on thursday morning to fly to Belém and Castanhal where Al's family lives.  We will be there through the end of August.  This pictures are not necessarily in order, but are some things I thought you might like to see.  Also, many of you have asked about Hava.  She's doing better.  She has 2 new molars and she seems to be much happier now that they are peeking through.  She is still not eating as we would like (not many vegetables that she can stomach), but she sleeps fine and is staying hydrated.  I hope in our next post to put up pictures of our friends (believers and non) for you to pray for.  Here go the short captions of things from here and there over the past month:

Hava passing out baby gifts you sent in her name
Saying goodbye to Machado
Hava and tio Eli in the cabin in the boat on the way back to town
A catholic wedding
Hava in a hammock
A fish
A monkey
Some fruit (jambo)
Eli and Rachel wondering why the electricity keeps going out for the speaker
Al speaking about bearing fruit (sign says: guard your foot as you enter the house of the LORD)
Eli and his buds, Netto and Danilo
Hava and Neto
River orchid
En route to next house
Eli gives his testimony, Rachel translates, Machado gives the teaching of salvation, lady and daughter give their hearts to the LORD

Believing girl we found out was Jewish - she didn't know it
Passing out more baby gifts you sent via Hava
Eli and Rachel doing what we do
Al doing what he does
Hava's first steps to musical stardom
Cutie pie on the beach!
Eli and his bud, Inacio!
Sunrise on the Amazon

Hava and "cousin" Vitor

This was Wednesday night at the same church where we did the musical night (from which we have no pictures :o(...)...They wanted me to come back for their prayer service to sing again - minus my trusty guitarrist who had already gone back stateside. :o(

This is a review of the return to Santana do Ituquí which happened last Friday.  Dad, Al, Josias and another friend went back to do some bible studying with the people.  They had quite an opportunity to minister and will be making frequent trips back, by road and river. This one happens to be by road (in a previous post was our trip via river)- the plant in the beginning is called "Shut the door" - it withers at a touch, but will open again later.

From our trip to Almeirim:

This is Al and Machado (the local evangelist) doing some mid-week evanglism at the city square.  The girl Machado is talking to accepted salvation that night.  Of the 2 girls Al was talking to, the blonde was very talkative and seemed to be quite sensitive as she was moved to tears while we all talked to her.  But the dark-headed girl next to her came to the service the following night and accepted salvation there!

This is a very common river-style village near the city of Almeirim - the village of the Barros Family.  Not many were home that day, but we did find a mother and daughter who both accepted salvation that very day and who both came with a friend to the service in Almeirim the next night.

This is one of the boats we traveled on.  There is no way a video or pictures can do it justice, but let's just say this boat was one of the emptier ones!

So, here's some more updated info on what we've been up to.

It is still very hard to get online and stay connected long enough to do anything worthwhile.  But we sincerely thank those of you who have stayed in touch and kept us in your prayers.  We have needed them desperately and have felt their power.

Eli flew out yesterday and is scheduled to arrive back home wednesday morning.  Keep him lifted up in prayer.  He was a huge blessing to us here, as you can imagine and we're sure he has lots of stories to tell when he arrives.

Al and Eli were so blessed to meet a couple of different jewish families here.  We hope to spend this saturday with one of those families.  But our main desire, to be able to find some of the jewish people of the amazon, has definitely been granted.  They seem to be everywhere - one girl didn't even know she was jewish, but told us stories of her great-grandmother who is still living and is jewish.  We explained to her that by tradition, she is jewish as well.  We hope to have more contact with her.  While we were in Almeirim, Machado pointed out a jewish man to us.  The other 2 families Al and Eli ran into happen to live locally.  Keep all these people in your prayers and us as well as we seek to know how G-d wants us involved in their lives.

Al, my dad, Josias and another young man will be going back to the village of Ituqui this Friday to do some follow up.  They will travel in the truck by road, so pray for their safety and for opportunities there.  Evidently, by the word we received, the village is buzzing with excitement over our time there.  What an answer to prayer!

We still have some commitments to fulfill here in town before we head out next thursday (24th) to Belém to be with Al's family for the second half of our stay.  Last week, Al's brother-in-law was held at gunpoint cowering in the back seat of his car as the thief highjacked it.  He let our brother out in the middle of town.  3 days later, they found the car in a bad neighborhood, but completely intact and with a full tank of gas!  We hope this is a stepping of point for us to speak with them about how G-d is trying to reach them by protecting them when they need Him most.  We have run into other friends here who have shared testimonies with us and if we have time, we will upload more videos and pictures.  We apologize again for the delay, but truly thank you for checking in with us and keeping us lifted up in prayer.  The enemy is all around us - we feel his presence everywhere we go.  But greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world.  May His light and presence overwhelm the places we encounter.

Be blessed and keep checking in!

We arrived yesterday from Santana do Ituquí and leave out again today to Almeirim.  It will be a LONG trip and we will be in hammocks the whole way - 17-20 hrs.  Evidently, the boat is already packed with people, so this should be interesting, to say the least.  Pray for us and especially Hava.  We will be there through Friday and should be back here in town on Saturday.  I will try to get as many videos and pictures on this post as possible, so that you can see what we have been up to.  Be blessed and may His Name be forever praised!!!

Good news and bad....good news:we now have high(er) speed internet and access when we need it - bad news: we are leaving this afternoon on the boat on the Amazon River.  Be in prayer for the people of Santana do Ituqui as we bring the message of the gospel to them.  We will be back on Sunday and leave again on Monday for another village, Almeirim.  But we will try to update on here before we leave again.

Answer to your prayers: Eli arrived safely last Friday night and we have kept him pretty busy since he's been here.  We worked on the riverfront every night since Monday.  Al and Eli were able to go out yesterday during the day and search down a Jewish family who lives here in town. They are secular and the only known Jewish family still living here, at least the only Jewish family who has not intermarried in this city.  There are probably others who have intermarried and may even be in the catholic church.  This particular family does not marry outside their family name, so the man married his third cousin.  There is no synagogue here in the city, but this particular family tries keep little traditions.

I will try to upload some videos here later of everything else we have been involved in - teaching English, evangelism on the orla, church services, a brazilian home and a quick trip to the beach.  

Hava update:  Hava has done extremely well.  Since her schedule has changed, she has been a bit cranky at times because she can't nap normally with the heat.  But she has been sleeping very well at night.  She has a little cold right now because of the air conditioning unit we have used at night.  She has a nice little tan though!  :o)  Keep her in your prayers, she has been an attracting factor to be able to speak to and bless may people.