February | 2013 | The XM Challenge

We had a good trip home from Altamira. Keith and Marsha rode back with us for the first four hours. Then we had breakfast at their house in Pacajá. Marsha stayed their and Keith carried on with us for the remaining 5 hours to Marabá, so he could work on his church building permits and documents.

Bella took these photos through the window of our Toyota, as we drove along. Sometimes there were trucks stuck in the middle of the long hills, apparently blocking the road. We somehow crept past them and carried on. One bridge was being repaired, so we had to wait for a half hour or so.

Look for the two photos of the milkman. Do you wish you could have a job delivering milk like this? This man has probably been up since about 2 a.m. hand-milking his cows so he can deliver the fresh milk to the people in the town for their breakfast. This is quite common.

We stayed at the Dolan’s while we were in Altamira. Steve and Elba are among the most hospitable people in the Amazon.

1. Steve and Elba threw a pizza party the last night we were there. Monday night. We fired up the clay oven out back and baked a whole lot of pizzas. Steve and Keith also mixed up a special sauce, and fried up bowls of hot wings on the stove.

2. We celebrated Angelita’s birthday. The whole Campos family came. They are also super-hospitable, and we would have loved to have stayed at their house too.

3. Clenildo is a master story teller. Just look at these photos below, and you can see his gift.

4. Keith and Marsha came in for the meetings Monday. They stayed in Pacajá for their new church / home group meeting Sunday night. Then they caught the mid-night bus. Except that it was an hour late. And packed. They sat on the floor for the first couple of hours, over the unpaved road to Anapú. There they were able to get a seat from 3:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. when they arrived in Altamira. Heroes.

5. Athila and Elki came to the party. They are gifted leaders who work closely with Clenildo and Angelita, and overflowing with laughter, pranks, practical jokes, and the life of the party.

6. Kenim and Rosi came. Rosi was Deanna’s first maid in Altamira, after Elba graduated from high school and left to go to Bible School in the South. Rosi gave her heart to the Lord a few weeks after she started working with us. She was about 18 at the time. Kenim soon followed, as did many members of their family who are now leaders in the churches in Altamira. Rosi and Kenim are gifted teachers and leaders, and the senior pastors of the Colina church. They have just initiated a major church building project with their congregation.

7. Daisy and Mateus came. Daisy has served as the main mission secretary in Altamira for many years. She recently got engaged to Mateus, and this is a really good story. Daisy also is in the final stages of getting her degree as a teacher, and this month she made the last payment on her house.

8. Nira, Elba’s twin sister and a pastor at the Mirante church, was there with her two children, Apolana and Apollo.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Steve and Elba’s hospitality, and for all the good things You are doing in Altamira, and from here to Northern Brazil.