Post by Edna Chestnut

I thank God for providing everything I needed to be able to come on this mission trip. (Philip 4:13 I can do anything through Him who gives me strength.) The support letter I sent out provided the funding for my trip! My husband is disabled so I needed care for him. His sister retired last summer so he is staying with her while I am here.

Our trip down here was good. We changed planes in Miami and again in Fortaleza with two stops in between. Each time the plane took off they fed us. So we definitely did not go hungry. We went through customs at Fortaleza and they kept four of our crates that had the Tylenol and vitamins in them. They thought we might resell them. We thought Dr. Taylor could pick them up when he came through on Sunday, but they took him through customs at Belem instead. So we’re still working on getting the crates.

Gabe was the first face I recognized in Recife. He, Tele, and a few local men picked us up at the airport.

The evening we arrived was the semi-final game of soccer in the World Cup between Brazil and France. Everyone was watching the game on TV.

Before the game, Tele took us to the Café/print shop in Carpina for dinner. The Coxinha [a fried meat and mashed potato snack] was very good.

The print shop will be printing the newsletter that we will take back to the US to mail to supporters.

The Alcance is Beautiful!

They let us sleep in on Sunday to recuperate from the trip! We took advantage of the pool around 10am. The water was chilly but very invigorating.

The food here has been delicious! Everyone back home told us the fruit and juices were good. They understated it! They are awesome!

Everyone has made us feel so welcome! I was a little concerned about the language barrier but that has gone very well.

Jeff and Lindsay took us on a tour of the Alcance, inside and out.

We had devotionals just before lunch. Most of us just laid around the rest of the afternoon.

We went to the Church at 7pm in Tracunhaem. It was so filled with the spirit! We couldn’t understand what the pastor was saying but we could feel the presence of the Lord. The children sang a beautiful song. It just really made me realize how blessed I am. What we take for granted in the US is a real luxury here.

God is sooo good!

-Edna Chestnut