October 2013 - Brazil

Our move to Caracarai 

As you may have read on our September 2013 page, although we were already serving where there is a need, the branch office had sent an updated list showing specific areas of need in each state. So after much prayer we decided to move to Caracarai, Roraima, North Brazil. This is about 165 Km south of Boa Vista and is nearer the equator and is a rural jungle terrain.

The road from Boa Vista to Caracarai is a proper highway and is in good repair. The journey on the coach was comfortable and the modern coaches are all fitted with air-conditioning which helps reduce the 40 degrees temperature from outside. It is very scenic and we passed many mountain ranges in the distance. Sometimes the clouds and mist that engulfed the mountains looked like snow!

We arrived in Caracarai on Wednesday 2nd October 2013. We were greeted at the bus terminal by the elder (Sam) and also Erison a regular pioneer brother that had just moved up from Manaus (Amazon) to help the congregation. We unloaded all our suitcases and the mountain bike and made our way to the house we would be sharing with Sam and Lene, the special pioneer couple.

As soon as we settled in, Samuel asked me to cover a couple of parts on the meeting that evening. Caracarai only has one elder, Samuel (our host) and so I quickly found out that I would be covering many parts every week on the meeting in Portuguese. The congregation also has a ministerial servant, Raphael, who travels from Boa Vista, but he is not always able to get there due to the distance.

Over the next couple of days we were invited to brothers houses for food. They are very humble and do not have much but they share whatever they have. Some live in wooden huts, many with 5 or 6 children as well. As it is very hot and dry, it is also very dusty and difficult to keep shoes and clothes clean. However at the meetings everyone is very smart and they take great care in being clean.

Our first meal out was at Ambrosio and Natalina's house who also have a roadside buffet type place where they make and sell various forms of pastries. We had our first local fish from the river.

Preaching in Caracarai

The day after we arrived in Caracarai we focused on the ministry and spent the day preaching locally. We noticed the subtle increase in temperature as it is closer to the equator than Boa Vista. There is also less areas of shade to protect us from the sun and heat. 

The ministry arrangements start early and the group meet at 07.45. Most brothers do first call until about 10.00 and then go on return visits or bible studies. In the afternoon, many don't start until after 15.30 as it is too hot before this.

We put our new bike to good use. Within the first few days we had established several return visits and through the month of October, Sandra and I started 6 Bible studies.

One day in October whilst on the ministry, we were standing under a tree waiting for a couple to finish talking with someone. All of a sudden a little chick ran towards me and jumped on my shoe. 

Obviously we witnessed to it but it did not seem to understand. It liked my shoe and then promptly jumped onto Samuel's shoe. The other couple joined us and we tried to walk off but it would not get off our shoes! We think that it thought we were its mummy. After much persuasion it finally left in a huff and looked at my phone camera as if to say:

'You're not my mummy!'

We know what you are thinking: 'They have lost the plot!' Please be assured that although the sun is very strong and hot, we are still sane.

We quickly came to realize that the territory was ripe with interested ones. Every person we spoke to showed interest. Sometimes we were mistaken for Americans because they do not usually get British people there. Some parts of the year, Americans come to the river and hire boats to go downstream towards the Amazon to fish for a few weeks.

During the month we developed the studies that we had started and were pleased to see 3 of them attend the meetings. Some of the studies asked for more than one study per week which we were delighted to say 'Yes' to.

Caracarai is nearer the equator than Boa Vista and as you can imagine is hot. There is less shade to hide under and so we quickly learnt to choose wisely the times that we went out to preach. By 09.30 / 10.00 in the morning most brothers would finish the house to house work and go on return visits or studies and then be back home by 11.00. After being caught out at midday a couple of times, we followed this example and planned our mornings around these times.

In the afternoon, we would start again after 15.00 and continue to whatever time we could. It gets dark at 18.00 all year round there, and so we finished around this time. There is not much street lighting in these rural towns and so it is wise to finish by dark. Also creatures i.e. snakes tend to come out at these times and as there is a lot of brush and long grass to walk past, it is not wise to be outside in the dark.

The witnessing there includes house to house, shops, bus terminal and river boats. Morning and afternoon, coaches arrive and leave Caracarai transporting people and also post and parcels between Boa Vista and Manaus (800Km), stopping at each settlement/town on the way. As the distance is long between each stop, the coaches stop for 10 - 15 minutes at each terminal on the route and the passengers use the toilet and buy something to eat. Each week we went to the terminal and preached to the people as they got off the coach to rest and eat. We would meet a wide range of people and cultures passing through.

Waiting for coaches at the terminal

River boat preaching on the Rio Branco

The 'Rio Branco' is a beautiful river that runs for hundreds of Km from the other side of Boa Vista down to the Rio Negro which joins the Amazon river. There are many small indigenous villages on both sides of the river. The congregation at Caracarai is responsible for preaching to a large section of the river boats and villages.

A newly built 'port' has been built at Caracarai which is intended to dock larger boats that travel the rivers from the Amazon. It is due too open in January 2014. Many of the boats at the moment dock at various points along the river bank. We spent many hours preaching on the boats and to the families that come off the boats to sell there products and then restock supplies in the town.

Many of the boats, as seen in the pictures below, bring fish from the Amazon and sell them to the villages along the river. The fishing families live on the boat permanently and so it is their travelling home and work place in one. It is refreshing to meet such a variety of people and with different backgrounds and beliefs. All were pleased to invite us onto their boats to listen to the good news.

Pete preaching to a man from a village 3 days down river

Sandra preaching to a lady on boat

The following pictures are of a nearby part of the river which is narrow and very tranquil. Many local people go there to catch the fish that go through the pools and waterfall areas created by the rocks in the water.

He could only study every 2 months

One of the men that travels on the boats lives in a small village 2 days down river. His village has just 200 people living there. Last year when he traveled to Caracarai by river, Samuel had preached to him and started a Bible study. The man travels to Caracarai just one week every 2 months and so this is the only time he can study. Therefore Samuel studies 6 times with him in that one week and I had the enjoyable experience of joining him for 2 studies on the boat.

It is impossible for the brothers to cover his village that far down river due to expense of travelling and other logistical reasons. It highlights the importance for us all to speak to all persons that we meet informally. Sometimes, as in this experience, it may be the only time that a certain person can hear about the truth. The man has been sharing what he is learning with his villagers. The man came to all the meetings that week and he asked us about what he needs to do to be baptized!

Zealous young ones in the congregation

One of the things that really encouraged us in the congregation was the zeal of the young ones. They are all eager to preach and are more than happy to stay out for many hours. They have a very positive attitude and prepare well for the preaching. They also comment very well at meetings. When I have parts on the meeting with audience participation, there is always a very quick response with loads of hands flying up in the air eager to give their comments. Without fail, there are always too many hands to ask for comments. 

It has helped us to appreciate the sincere love that they have for the truth. They live simple lives and are not distracted by material possessions and television. Most do not have internet and they devote the time to studying. A valuable lesson for all of us that live in lands where we can easily waste time on unnecessary pursuits!

'Jo' - one of the young brothers preaching

Language lessons

During our stay with Sam and Lene, we were determined to learn the Portuguese language more intensely. Although we had learnt and used Portuguese in England for the last 7 years and had also already been in Brazil for 4 months, we wanted to learn more detailed colloquial or everyday speech that is used in North Brazil.

They also wanted to learn English, they already had a basic understanding. We all agreed that we would teach each other. So Sam and Pete purchased a white board and some markers and some evenings we taught them English and other evenings they taught us Portuguese. We all found the one to one teaching invaluable. 

Pete teaching English - we apologize for the legs!

Preaching in the jungle

Due to the massive extent of the congregations territory, once a month we go to distant parts of the territory, further into jungle areas. On Sunday 27th October, we formed a 4 car convoy and traveled 150 Km to a couple of small villages near the edge of our assigned territory.

On the way, we passed the occasional ranch house and individual dwellings situated off the road. We stopped when possible and we would walk up to the house or shacks. Sometimes this meant walking through long grass and bumpy tracks, going through farm gates into areas where we did not know what was in the fields, and walking for 5 - 10 minutes to reach the houses and shacks.

 The scenery is breathtaking and we admired the colours and sounds of the jungle. We wish we could have the sounds on this blog but we did not record them as we were busy taking photos. There are unique sounds of birds and mammals of all types that we did not see. There are also large cats in the area like jaguars that are difficult to find.

Sandra and Pete

Samuel, Luis and Glayton

The villages had never met the witnesses before and we had a wonderful time preaching to them and we left a lot of literature with them during the day. We did not preach to any indigenous tribes as they were not in that area so all the preaching was in Portuguese. It will be many months before the brothers are able to return to these areas but we are happy to know that the seeds have been planted.

Our 'home' in Caracarai

As we have mentioned, we have been staying with Samuel and Lene, a special pioneer couple (and he is the only elder there). They have a pleasant house and we have our own bedroom. There are more insects than there were in Boa Vista and therefore we sleep under a mosquito net at night in the bedroom. Fortunately there is air conditioning in the bedroom which is vital to sleep.

Mosquito net around the bed.

They have a dog called 'Pipoca' which has its own character and is a good natured dog. She has very long ears like a bat and is very intelligent.

I've been a naughty girl!

 

Every Monday we thoroughly clean the house and the yard. Sam and Lene view hygiene as very important and it is nice to be in a clean environment in the home when serving in a rural jungle area. 

The end of the day

Our days are full of joy and although tiring, we are very happy. We have successfully achieved our goal to do more than the required pioneer hours and seen the rewards of serving Jehovah.

What do we do at the end of a long hot day? Options: sleep, eat, play games or:

Samuel and Pete after a long day preaching. (in case you wondered what elders really do!)

Yes a picture paints a thousand words! A nice cool refreshing Guarana drink in the shade. For some reason i always seem to be in these type of pictures but do not be fooled: Sandra is usually close by 'sharing' in this activity.

We hope that you enjoyed this months blog. We will be back with lots more in November when we have the visit of the circuit overseer and other plans for the month.