On Tuesday we slept in a little bit and then after breakfast we went into downtown Manaus to do some shopping. We went to the market and to the local stores to pick up gifts and souvenirs. It was interesting to barter and observe the culture. We went back to the church for lunch. After lunch we had some down time to nap and start packing.
After dinner we went to the impact service. Tara gave her testimony. She did a great job speaking and her testimony fit in perfectly with the message for the night. A pastor/author from Sao Paolo did the message. She spoke about accepting God as a father, and realizing and accepting how much he loves us. Many of the children here don’t have love from their fathers so it can be hard for them to understand this.
After the service we loaded up the bus, and drove out of the city into more of the jungle area of the Amazon. We were blessed to be invited to stay overnight in the home of one of the members of the church. He has a very large property, with a large house and a smaller guest house. The girls were in the guest house and the boys stayed in the big house. We didn’t arrive until midnight so we basically just set up our hammocks and crawled into bed.
This morning (Wednesday) we really got to see where we were. There is a large yard, an outdoor kitchen/grill area, an outdoor pool table, swing set and trampoline. There are plenty of things to keep us entertained! But the coolest part is that their backyard is literally the Amazon Jungle. We got to take a hike down a winding path through the dense jungle. When we got to the bottom of the hill we came to a small river. Jon told us we could swim there, or we could walk up the hill a little ways and float down the river with the current. We hiked up a bit and floated down the natural lazy river. It was quite the adventure, with all the fallen trees in the water that you crashed into randomly, and had to crawl over or swim under, the VERY large spiders, and some snakes in the tree. The second time we went down, bats flew over our head. It was a very fun and cool experience and one we will never forget. We will be hanging out here for awhile longer. After lunch we’ll head back into the city.
We will pack and shower, then we have dinner and a going away party. At 9:00pm we will head to the airport to fly back to the states. Please pray for safety and smooth sailing with our flights.
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