WEDDING BELLS
Proverbs 23:24 says, that the parents of Godly children have cause for great joy, and what a pleasure to have children who
are wise. Kim and I have cause for great joy, in seeing Matt and Greg turning into Godly men and we feel that they have made
very wise choices in the women they chose to marry. We just got back from Ecuador and Matt's and Anabella's wedding. The outdoor
ceremony and reception was BEAUTIFUL and very moving! What an incredible time for us and all those who were able to participate.
We were also able to take in the sights while we were there, and greatly appreciate all of the hospitality that was shown
to us. The new couple just got back from their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic and are now packing up their apartment
to move back to Ecuador at the end of July. They will be teaching at the Christian school in Quito for the next two years,
and will be receiving the necessary training from HCJB to begin a radio station in our area.
Greg and Anne are looking forward to their wedding on August 23, which will take place in Anne's river community ,Paixuba.
They will be joining our team here in Itacoatiara and will be a big help to the ministry. Kim and I are planning to retire
soon and just spoil the grandkids---Ha!!
In May we had two medical teams here and were able to treat the people in almost all of our river villages. The totals
came to over 2,000 people treated. Greg pulled literally hundreds of teeth! His back and arm were aching, but he made it.
The groups left a lot of medicine for future use also. We thank you for your prayers as both groups made it through customs
just fine. They were such an encouragement to us and this ministry.
Construction on the duplex is coming along slowly. It is hard to make our weak dollars stretch for both ministry and infrastructure.
We had hoped to have Greg's apartment done by the time they got back from their honeymoon, but they may have to wait a few
weeks to move in. Even after we finish the duplex, we will still be lacking staff housing here at the base, as well as missionary
housing in the river communities. It is a great problem to have as it show that the ministry is growing by leaps and bounds,
but the financial burden sometimes feels overwhelming.
We are excited about raising fish in our lake to help defray some of our operating expenses. Last year we experimented
with 1,000 tambaqui(an Amazon fish) with very good results. This year we are raising 3,000 and hope to expand to 5,000 by
next year. If current prices hold true, we should clear after expenses for fish food etc about $25,000. The added bonus is
the stress release of throwing grain to the fish at the end of a hard day, and then watching the sun set over the lake. Yes,
we are getting old!
In a few days we will be taking a group of students from the Bible school in Belem on a three week boat trip. We will
be doing camps on two different rivers this year. Please pray for the more than 200 teens who will be participating. In past
years we have seen many decisions for Christ made during camp.
The floating seminary has also proven a very effective tool in training the leaders of our churches, and future missionaries.
We have 36 river people enrolled at the present time. We are so thankful for the 30 ft. aluminum boat the Lord provided for
this ministry.
WANNA BUY A BRICK?
Thankfully our staff is
growing; however we need more housing. A Brazilian family will be joining us
in January to start and head up our “floating seminary.” They will
need a place to live between trips. Also, the care taker of the property and
his family need a house. Sooo…we need to build another duplex. Moreover, we have no available housing for our missionaries when they come to town for medical and other
needs, so we hope to build two small cabins for them.
Would you be interested
in buying some bricks to help us with these projects? We need 15,000 bricks at
2$ each to completely finish a duplex and 5,000 bricks for each cabin. Any
number of bricks that you can buy would go a long way in completing these projects.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADOPT
A RIVER COMMUNITY?
We are working in over
60 river villages, and it takes 300 gallons of diesel fuel to visit all of them, or an average of 5 gallons per community. Diesel is $5 a gallon, so for $25 a month you could buy not only the fuel needed to
reach that village, but also pay for Bibles and other materials, since we aren’t able to visit them every month.
If you would like to sponsor
a river community or buy some bricks, please send any donations to Word of Life with “Manaus River Project” on the memo
of the check. Send donations
to: Word of Life
P.O. Box 600
Schroon Lake, NY 12870
Please contact us if possible
to let us know if you are sponsoring a community, that way we can give you updates, pictures and prayer requests for your
village.
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