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Dear Friends and Family;
Thank you for helping me get to Brazil. It was quite an adventure just getting there.
We drove 4 hours to Portland, flew from Portland to Atlanta, GA, then to San Paulo, Brazil.
Then it took us several hops by air to get deep into the Amazon Basin: to Brasilia, then to Belim, then to Altamira.
It took us 2.5 days to get there. The Mission that we were headed to is on the Xingu River. Which is a tributary of the Amazon.
This river in some places is 5 miles across, so it is like being on a very large lake.
We ministered to several churches and to villages along the river by boat.
All this year we have been learning Portuguese but to really have a good conversation with them we had an interpreter.
Our first stop after arriving in Altamira was at a trading post to buy our Hedgies (our hammocks).
We were exhausted from the traveling but it was nearly impossible to get comfortable to sleep in them.
It is also very HOT and humid.
At night our hedgies were hung on hooks, we were so close together if you moved your bed would bump into the next one.
During the day they were put on different hooks and hung like a bag with your stuff inside it.
Our experiences:
If we washed clothes it took 3 days to dry!
Rain comes up FAST! First a couple of sprinkles then a torrential down poor.
Saw fireflies for the first time. Learned to watch out for fire ants (their bites sting like heck!)
Saw the Southern Cross in the night sky.
BUGS are fierce especially the black gnats (that rip a bite out of you and inject a poison).
We didn’t have a problem with mosquitoes (thankfully). Moths were the size of lunch plates.
Snakes (we didn’t see any!) are dangerous. Spiders (tarantulas) are gigantic!
I saw an iguana cross the road that was about 4 feet long but once he went into the tall grass I decided it wouldn’t be wise to try to catch him!
Got pink eye and looked like a pirate for a day.
Swimming in the river is about the most comfortable you will be, but you have to keep moving around so the piranha’s don’t get interested in you and to keep the fresh water stingrays from swimming near you.
Our boat got stuck on a sandbar. All the girls had to wade to shore. It took the boys a couple of hours to get it unstuck.
Fresh water dolphins swimming along side our boat.
One evening, back at the mission, a few of us girls walked to the store to get sodas.
It comes in glass bottles that are recyclable.
They open the bottle for you and pour it into a baggie and stick a straw in it so they can keep the bottle!
It’s kinda funny to carry your drink that way.
White people there are very uncommon, people were always coming out of their houses (little shacks-really) to watch us walk by.
We passed a house with a goat tied up to it (we actually didn’t even notice it) then it bleated.
We didn’t realized what that LOUD sound was…all of us screamed and bolted in different directions.
All of the people looking at us broke out into hysterical laughter! ……….
The next day the goat was hanging in the tree…waiting to become their dinner.
During our river trip we went up a tributary that the Pastor of the mission had not been up before.
About an hour up this new river, we stopped at a hut along side the river and asked permission to tie the boat up there for the night.
We asked if they would like for our group to talk to them and within about a half hour about 20 people showed up.
We powered our instruments off the boat and had 3 light bulbs going.
We spoke to them about God’s love and all of them accepted Christ into their lives.
The pastor will be going back there regularly to continue to teach them.
We learned that the native Indians only come out of the jungle about once a year.
They come to bring their sickest people to the hospital. They trade things so they can pay for the treatments.
They were there and did their dances.
At their hut, I bought a beautiful bow (ya- like the kind you shoot arrows with), a spear, a couple of necklaces (one made of monkey teeth) and an armband made of tiny dyed seeds and beautiful red feathers.
I traded with them because they really needed the money. (All for about $20 US)
This truly was an amazing experience. I really thank you for your support and prayers!
I learned a lot about 3rd world countries by coming here. The people here are so loving, yet have so little.
I also learned a lot more about myself and came into deeper relationship with the Lord.
Thank you so much,
Christa Banks
My team: Robbie, Bryce, Me and Jessica
My team: Chelsie, Brittney, Melissa and I
My team: Angela and I (She is my room-mate at home.)
My team: Amy and I. Our only night in a hotel.
It was very nice on the outside but inside the rooms made a Motel 6 a 5 star place. No air conditioning.
Getting ready to make our last hop to Altamira.
Our Hedgies.
Altamira. We climbed up a tall water tower to see all around.
Our Boat.
My hedgie. See how they are strung up like bags during the daytime.
A hut alongside the river. See the children inside.
Me with pink eye. We stopped and bought some medicine.
Instructions in Portuguese. What ever it was, we were told you couldn’t buy this in the States.
No Rx or Dr. visit needed. But it worked fast. It was gone the next morning.
We watched this man catch this fish from his boat. Then we bought it from him for our dinner.
Tarantula.
Home along the Xingu River.
One of the few paved streets.
The road to the store from the Xingu Mission.
Map of area.
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