We’re Back

This years mission trip to the Amazon was truly amazing. God had his hand on the Chosen Vessel II, as twenty volunteers from the First Presbyterian Church from Florence, South Carolina headed down the Amazon River.

The Amazon has had more rain than they have had in the past 70+ years. The flooding wreaked havoc on the inhabitants who lived near the banks of this mighty river. Some villages were so muddy we could not get to them. Places we had been to before were unrecognizable, as all structures had been washed away; including homes, schools, and churches. The natives are survivors. For months they have lived in their dugouts, rafters of their huts or moved to higher ground. Imagine life lived in a small boat with your children for four months eating only fish, fish, and more fish. The few crops they had have been washed away! Yet, even under these circumstances they still have smiles and hugs to go around. They blessed us.

The water is receding and their lives are getting back to normal. We loved being able to love on these people for a week. I pray the water continues to return to a level where their crops can grow and they can return to a place to stay dry and safe.

Instead of giving statistics of what we did please follow this link to http://amazonmedicalmissions.org/recent-teams/team-7-first-pres-florence-sc/. It was by Gods hand we were able to do what we did in one week. The Chosen Vessel II, with Mike and Suzy Dempsey, is a wonderful way to get your feet wet in mission work. The time spent with them has changed and helped many lives. Try it! Get a group together! You’ll like it!

As a last thought, in my notes before we left, I mentioned our preacher’s question. He had asked us the year before “why are our closets so full?” After witnessing the lack of nearly everything materialistic in these villages, it only makes the question loom even larger.

Why are our closets full of stuff we don’t need? What are we supposed to do when we return home? I’m still pondering this question as I pray that I don’t go on my merry way and forget these people and their trials. All I can do is pray for them and hope the Chosen Vessel is able to continue Gods work.