Brazil: The 'Lost' Blog: Ãlvaraes

Ãlvaraes

As promised last week, here is the blog entry that got 'lost' as a result of Peter's injury.

To recap where we are on the timeline of our trip, we have just finished our lectures in Tefé...


Friday 25th January

We awoke to news via text that Andrew's father had had a major stroke and was in hospital in Bristol. He'd had a minor one the week before we left but this seems to have been more serious as he is now unable to speak.

 

It took a number of hours before the details were clear, which was really difficult.

Andrew finally managed to speak to his wife and mum in a quick phone call. They all agreed it would be best for him to continue with our timetable for now. It is really difficult to make changes to flights from Brazil to the UK because it involves multiple flights. Add to that Brazilian administration and the only likely outcome would probably have been frustration.

 

It was a small window into one of the sacrifices missionaries and their families are called to make.

 

(Note: Andrew's father died 10 days later. He travelled back to the UK as planned and was able to be with him in his final days.)
 

We had a time of prayer together and then left the hotel, to catch a boat to Ãlvaraes, a village of just 8,000 on the other side of Lake Tefé, 15km into the jungle.  

Regular speed boats transport people across to the other side of lake Tefé, where there is a beautiful sandy beach, framed by the jungle. We clambered off the boat, paid our 5 reais each (about £1.75) and got a taxi into Ãlvaraes.

It was cheaper to share a taxi, so Andrew and I sat with our luggage in the open back of the pickup  and hung on for dear life!

   

Ãlvareas is what I always imagined life in the Amazon would be like. It is set right on the banks of the Amazon river surrounded by lush green foliage and fruit trees of all varieties: coconut, cocoa plants, tucuma trees, brazil nut trees, and a few other varieties I have never heard of before and would not even attempt to spell!

The roads are surprisingly well maintained, but the majority of houses are small wooden huts, many of them brightly coloured. Windows and doors are kept wide open, people sit on chairs outside watching the world go by, and as we walked past, children stuck put their heads to get a look at this strange sight: foreigners! Ãlvareas is well off the tourist trail, so we are seeing life in the Amazon as it really is.

  

It sounds idyllic, and while the pace of life is attractively slow here, and the sense of community is tangible, life is often hard here.

One of the first homes we visited was of a wood-worker who is a member of the evangelical church here. He showed us his workshop and also both his hands: he has lost a thumb, and two half fingers as a result of his trade.

 

Drugs is also a growing issue here, especially cocaine, because of it's proximity to the Columbian border.

In reality Ãlvaraes is really no different to any other community on earth: look beneath the surface and what you discover doesn't always match up.  

However in the midst of some tough stories, there are some jewels.

We met a deacon from church, who bakes bread for a living. His wife is at the seminary this month and only comes back on Sundays. He is so delighted that she is studying and growing in her faith.

  

We also popped in to see two older Christians, both are in their 70s and have known hardship in their lives, but were full of joy! They take weekly registers of who comes to Sunday services here (!) and he is one of the top attendees.

When we arrived the lady was preparing pacu fish for the evening dinner. When she opened her fridge I noticed an unusual meat in it. She proudly took it out to show me: alligator tail! She has promised to cook some for me when we visit her house for dinner tomorrow night!

There is apparently never a food problem in the Amazon. No one goes hungry, even the poorest people, because there is always fresh fruit to be picked and fresh fish to be caught.

 

The older man was very keen to show us the area of jungle he farms in order to make fanofa. Fanofa is the 'tasty sand' I've mentioned in a previous blog post.

 

So after a short taxi ride, we followed him as he left the road and headed into the jungle.

On the way to his patch we spotted some wild monkeys leaping from tree to tree. Sadly these were too difficult to catch on camera, but it was amazing to catch glimpses of them.   

He showed us the plants that are harvested to made fanofa. Then he showed us the huge pans in which the fanofa is tossed and toasted.

  

After a further walk we reached a popular beauty spot for locals. A cafe served cool drinks next to a sandy lagoon which is used for swimming. For a few minutes we cooled down: it was bliss!

  

When we got back into Ãlvaraes we changed and went to the evangelical church for their evening prayer meeting. This was the church that Andrew was Pastor of for 3 years when he and his family lived in Ãlvaraes. Pastor Deija is now continuing the work.

We had met Pastor Deija during the day, but it was great to properly talk with him. He is a graduate of the seminary in Tefé and his wife is doing the course now. Both are in their late 20s and have known great suffering. Andrew married them when he was Pstor here. However they lost their first child when he was just 15 days old and have not been able to have any children since.

However Deija sees God's hand in all that happened, because his baby son's death was the catalyst for his call to ministry. He now feels he is equipped to pastor others who are struggling with trials in their lives.

It must have been so encouraging for Andrew to see the church growing and going on strong. While he and his family moved to Manaus a number of years ago, others have taken over the work in Ãlvaraes and continuing to build the church - sometimes quite literally!

Pastor Deija building a new wall at the church

The Evngelical Church in Tefé

(Next week: Watch out for an extended video interview with Pastor João, Senior Pastor of Dom Pedro Church in Manaus. The story of the church and their vision is inspirational!)