Tchau ("Bye")

Picture says 1000 words

Greetings from Palmas!

I just said "Tchau, Deus te abençoe" (Bye, God bless you!) to our last patient of the week, a girl who we were able to treat for worms, acid reflux, and migrane headaches. This morning we decided to spend some time in prayer for each other, so we all sat in a circle at the school and each person prayed for the group member on their right. It really turned into a time of almost 100% thanksgiving for each other, for the talents and abilities God had given each person, and for all the things He had done that week and was going to do in the future of this city. We have been praying for a lot of wisdom--there is a limited amound of time to consult each patient, and a decision often needs to be made very quickly. We also thanked the Lord for each person he brought to this trip--we have a perfect combination of talents and abilities, and it is so exciting to see each person being stretched, broken, and used by the Lord.

the so-called Dr. Xi Xi Doi

After prayer time, Dr. Dorfman and Dr. Naus decided to work in the same room with all of the translators and cooresponding nurses, instead of in separate places. That one room was so filled with joy and energy all morning--even though we have been working nonstop all week, it seems like we get more animated each day! We had so many opportunities to pray with people in the examination room, and we have seen many people praying and being prayed for outside of the clinic, before and after being cared for. Now that we have been here for 5 days, it is getting easier for us to recognize and diagnose many physical and spiritual problems. Today as Autumn and I handed a bag of pills to a woman plagued with anxiety-related headaches and stomach pains, we explained to yet another hurting soul how medicine can help her pain for a while, but to be healed from the inside out, she needed to let Jesus in her life. This week has given us opportunities to pray with and talk to so many people. Pastor Colucci said it best--a successful witness means sharing Jesus with others and leaving the results to God.

Ben translating the English pastor

Last night, the international secretary of Congregational Churches gave the sermon at the service. Since he is from England, they asked Ben to translate. He did an amazing job in a long, tiring, fast-paced situation, even though he was feeling sick. There was an alter call at the end and many entrusted their lives to the Lord for the first time. Ben made it through the service, but lost his voice almost completely. This morning, he was so sick that he stayed in bed and the rest of us prayed that God would help us to still run the clinic with one less translator. Sure enough, we got to the school and for the first time, theTWO Brazilian translators were waiting for us there! (We normally only got one or the other.) This is just an example of the many answers to prayer we have seen this week.

The Evil Spray Bottle

Another prayer that has been on our hearts has to do with coming back to the US. This morning during devotions, we talked about how God does not want our ministry to stop tomorrow when we fly back to Miami. Our friends and family back home are going to want to hear about our trip, and there will be the temptation to let people say, "Aren´t you so wonderful for helping out those poor people!" But we cannot let the opportunity pass to deflect the glory up to the Lord and explain that everything we did was to serve the Lord. It´s always easy to serve people who might give you back something in return, but we have learned that heavenly rewards come from a job done in humility, whether or not there is an "Obrigado" (thank you).

With Mrs. Nilson Braga, Tiago, & Priscilla

What an amazing week. I can´t believe it is almost over. God has taught us so much in such a short amount of time--I have done so many things I never thought I´d do, translated so many things I never thought I´d have to translate, met so many people I never thought I´d be friends with, all in such a short amount of time. I´ve always been slightly squeamish discussing certain medical topics, and one of my big prayer requests has been that God would let me translate everything I needed to translate without flinching. I´ve seen God answer this personal prayer request, as well as prayers for group unification, good relationships with our Brazilian coworkers, and stamina to last the whole week. As I mentioned before, this last prayer request was answered to such extent that we have more energy now than when we started! This God-formed team has become family this week. We have all learned about humble service, compassion, patience, and reliance on the Lord. Thank you so much for praying for us and for supporting us financially. You helped us bring health care that will affect hundreds of physical lives, but we are praying that God would turn this into thousands of spiritual lives. We love you, miss you, and will see you soon!

Abraços (hugs),
--Joy for the Medical Team

His Hands, His Feet, His Heart

The Dynamic Duo

Greetings from Palmas! This is Joy Wilson.

It is 42 degrees celsius (100 Farenheight) but we are walking in the shade of the Lord, according to Dan Colucci´s devotional this morning! No one is complaining, every member of our group has found their role in the group, and the Efficiency Machine Medical Clinic has gotten the pace down to a healthy low hum. Today was the smoothest of all--we saw a wonderful number of patients this morning as we are learning how to more easily diagnose and treat the most common complaints in this area. There is a lot of acid reflux, back and leg pain, worms, constipation, stomach ulcers, arthritis, rashes, and diabetes. Both Dr. Naus and Dr. Dorfman are getting their fill of cases that go right along with their specialties as doctors! Leslie, who technically works in Dr. Morris´room, is practically a doctor without any assistance, so that has really sped up the process. And somehow, last night, Dr. D and Dr. M still had enough energy to watch the Brazilian national soccer finals, which they said was even more fun than the superbowl!

Prosthetic Room

One cool thing we got to see yesterday was the prosthetics room, where a small group of dentists were surrounded by hundreds of dentures and false teeth that they were making for patients that they had seen on Monday and Tuesday. These guys have been working until 4am each day to get these teeth made. The dental situation here is SO bad--many of our patients in the medical clinic come in with just a few teeth left, and to see that prosthetics room filled with so many dentures was so cool! Technically, Brazil has free health and dental care, but the gross shortage of doctors and dentists means that people have to wait sometimes months to get an appointment. They might get an X-ray done, but then they have to make a separate appointment for the doctor to look at it, and by that time, the problem might be beyond repair. Many people don´t even want to handle the whole process, so we have people coming in for stomach pains and rashes that they have had for decades.

Praying at the Clinic

Pastor Colucci spoke this morning at Group Devotions for the 285 workers at the Project. Everyone was feeling tired and discouraged, and he spoke from Psalm 121, about looking up to the Lord for our strength, staying in the shade of His will, and in the fear of the night, remembering the promises that He gave us in the light of day. The Brazilian workers really set an example of prayer and passion. Katia explained that Brazilians use more emotion to communicate because many times, their words alone are empty--Many Brazilians would rather say they´ll come to a service and actually not come, rather than offend you by telling you truthfully that they won´t be there. This reflects the value that these people place on relationships. Lots of hugs, lots of kisses, lots of tears, lots of prayer. . . the people of Brazil are passionate for the Lord and passionate for the Lord´s work.

Joy and Friends

On a personal note, I have seen how God has used translating to bring out the best in me this week. Or maybe it is better explained by saying that God has took me out of the picture completely, body part by body part:
I am His feet, traveling to another a country in the other hemisphere to fill a need.
I am His hands, holding the leathered, scarred hands of an old lady as a nurse pricks her finger, or clasping the hands of a man who wants to pray.
I am His ears, listening to story after story of physical, emotional, and spiritual pain.
I am His lips, communicating the needs of a young expectant mother to a nurse who can fulfill them.
I am His eyes, looking deep into a pain-ridden face to find the true source of sorrow.
I am His heart, showing compassion for a people who will find none except in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Abraços (hugs),
--Joy for the Medical Team

A Bizillion Brazilians

Morning Waiting Line

Greetings from Palmas!

Day in the life of a BRCC Medical Missionary: Each morning we are greeted by a crowd of Brazilians waiting for medical care. Some of them arrive as early as 6:00 in the morning and wait for three hours in line. They are even more patient at waiting than Americans are (haha). There are so many who want to come into the clinic, but we can only accept 52 each shift (morning shift and afternoon shift), so we have to turn the rest away. Fortunately, the process has been efficient so far--we are working well together as a team with each other and also with the Brazilian team that helps us with registration and Flow.

Leticia at Work

Leticia has been working in the Physical Therapy room by herself with a few other Brazilians. This means that she has been communicating without a translator, which we all think is a miracle! Leticia says that the patients are so grateful for everything she does; they are eager to learn and follow instructions, and very appreciative of any service we can provide. They respond well to treatment, and give hugs both before and after treatment. With their take-home exercises, she has been including a Gospel tract, and she gets to pray with each patient after they are done treatment in her room.

Guess Who is Who

It´s kind of funny when we all arrive in our scrubs and Crocs (really cool shoes donated by Dr. Dean Dorfman) because here in Brazil, Crocs and scrubs are so expensive that they are rarely used. Considering that we´re on our feet so much and walking around all day, they are really comfortable. A lot of the patients need a lot more than just physical care. Many of them need prayer and spiritual counseling as well. It has been a neat opportunity to pray with people that are feeling stressed, depressed, and lost. Through the efforts of both the Brazilian and American teams, people have already given their lives to Christ sitting right here in the clinic! God is Great!!!

Our team at the Service

Last night, we had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Braga, the widow of Pastor Nilsen Braga, who founded this big project 7 years ago, the week before he was killed in a car accident returning from their first big planning meeting. She wanted her picture taken with our group at the meeting last night, after we were presented in the service. Joy did a beautiful job singing in Portuguese while the rest of us Americans stood behind her and supported her. Pastor Dan introduced our group and explained our purpose of our church´s mission and the reason we were there that week. At the end of the night, everyone was dancing and praising the Lord for everything He has done. One of the local pizzarias let the dance team do an evangelistic program near the local hangout.

Please continue to pray that we can reach people, and for our continued health and safety. Also pray for the people here in Palmas--we have seen so many people who are depressed and have no joy in their lives--especially children. It´s so sad! Pray that we can help show them the love of the Lord so that they would come to know the joy that Jesus can bring into their lives.

Lots of love,
--Autumn and Donna

The M-Team: formal shot

Abundant Joy

Greetings from Palmas! This is Katia!

God never ceases to amaze me. Because this city seems a little more sparsely populated than last year, I thought that we wouldn´t have a lot of people show up for the service and for the clinic. But many people have come (we have seen over 100 patients every day) and God continues to bring the Word to them through us and through the night services. Many are coming to know Christ for the first time, even one who prayed to receive the Lord today in the examination room with Leslie and Joy. What an amazing God we serve!

We really miss Aleks and Marley, who translated for us last year, but God has provided us with Ben and Joy, who have been a great blessing and help to all of us. Just like last year, I´m being blessed by our group and by the Brazilians who joined us as part of Project Nilson Braga. We got to see many familiar faces this year, and many new ones, as well. Each night it is a great joy to see the Holy Spirit act through the pastor´s sermon, through the music, and the choreography team. It is amazing! There are no words to describe the joy of the Lord! I thank God every day for allowing me to serve Him, our BRCC group, and the people of Palmas, because that is the greatest desire of my heart.

--Katia

P.S. Yes, Aleks, I am still Dr. Xi Xi Doi´s translator (a.k.a. Dr. Naus) as well as helping to translate for the others.

Orthopedics, anyone?

Dean the Orthopedist

Greetings from Palmas!

Word has spread throughout Palmas that Dr. Dean is an orthopedist. Everyone has 10-year-old backaches and foot pain all of a sudden. There is no such thing as a foot doctor in Brazil, so this is new and everyone wants to try it! Some cases we try to send to the Brazilian reason, but the patients make up a different health problem to try to see the American doctors. There have been some long-term issues where we have just been able to take care of the immediate so that they will feel relief and give us an opportunity to tell them how Jesus is the long-term cure.

Triage

We have already treated 52 cases this morning, plus all the ones in the Physical Therapy room with Laticia. Dan Colucci says that Laticia won´t be done with her line of patients until Jesus comes back. Her fingers are getting worked to the bone, but she does everything with a smile on her face! We have seen everything from headaches to broken toes, but a lot of times, what the people think is a sickness is only masking the loneliness and emptiness they feel inside. One man told us about the demon that lived in his chest and in his head. This morning a lady came and expained very directly that she wanted to die, but death wouldn´t take her, and she wanted to know if we could help her to die. We were able to pray with her, tell her about how Jesus is the only One who can make her better on the inside, and send her to some members of the Evangelism team that were waiting nearby.

Alter Call

Please pray that these people would come back to the services at night. There haven´t been as many people as we expected turning out for the services. I know that numbers don´t matter, but we are really praying that God would do a big work in Palmas. Yesterday a TV crew was here, and we were on 3 different news channels last night. This increased our workload at the medical clinic, and we are praying that this will overflow to the service tonight.

We are chuckling right now as we are thinking about last night´s service. At the end of the evening, the band continued to play and everyone started dancing and jumping and singing in praise and adoration of the Lord! It is so cool to see so many people so filled with joy! Morris was dancing with the Brazilians again like he did last year. We´re starting to wonder if he´s really Egyptian.

The M-team off to work

Tonight, pray for the service. Dan Colucci thought he was going to be speaking for 15 minutes, but now he only has 5 minutes. (Luis: Leave it to Paulo to change things around, right?) Pray for flexability for his message and for the rest of us going with the flow. I think they are going to want us to sing. Ha ha. Also, pray for health--everyone has a sore throat from the dry weather (NOT good for translators!), and Ben woke up with Morris´cold. Also Thank you for your encouragement and support. So far, group dynamics is fabulous! We love you and miss you!

--Kris for the Medical Team
P.S. How are group dynamics at the Colucci house?

The M-team with some Brazilian Friends

Calling all doctors

Sorting meds at the hotel

Greetings from Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil!!!

The medical team is in full swing right now doing ministry! I am only able to run across the street to this internet cafe for a few minutes while someone else is filling my spot as translator. Yesterday we flew here from Brasilia and spent the day organizing medication and orienting ourselves. We had to extract all of the medicine hidden in everyone´s suitcases and sort it and bring it to the school where the Project is being held. In reality, there are 2 schools--School #1 is where we set up the medical clinic and the pharmacy, and School #2 hosts the night services, VBS, and housing for most of the workers here at the Project.

Sorting meds in the Pharmacy

We are here as part of Project Nilson Braga, which is a group of 285 people from Congregational churches all over Brazil, here for a huge event in Palmas during the winter holidays. There are haircutters, dentists, physical and occupational therapists, a drama team, music team, and an entire VBS going on for the kids! The purpose of the project is to start a new church here in Palmas, which only has 1 evangelical church at the moment. Every night, after a full day of activities, they hold a church service in School #2´s outdoor auditorium. Last night was the first service, and even though the Project had not officially begun, several Palmas citizens came to the service, and a few even came to know the Lord as a result of the service!

Dr. Dean

This morning, our group of 11 doctors, nurses, and translators joined with the 2 Brazilian doctors in their group to create a medical clinic inside our host school where the Project is taking place. Here´s how it works: There is a Brazilian receptionist who takes biographical information from each patient and sends them to a station with Autumn, Kris Colucci, and me (Joy). Autumn takes the patient´s blood pressure and Kris gets information about the patient´s complaint, using me to translate. Then, we decide whether to send the patient to Dr. Dean (wounds, podiatry and orthopedics, if I spelled that right) or Dr. Morris for general complaints, or to the room with the 2 Brazilian doctors for people who need a gynecologist or have strange requests involving indescernible portuguese. Ben translates in the room with Dr. Dean, who is equipped with a table and various surgical instruments to deal with any wounds or foot problems. Leslie and Katia are in the room with Dr. Morris so he can see 2 patients at a time. Laticia is in the physical therapy room by herself, because with her spanish background, she doesn´t even need a translator! Pastor Dan and Donna Watler are of immense help in the Flow department, helping patients get through the process where they need to go, and helping those who get perscriptions to find a pharmacy.

We are running at an exhausting pace--this morning alone we saw about 50 patients, and this afternoon is going even faster. It is REALLY dry here in Palmas (30% humidity) and very hot, being so close to the equator. This is really affecting our fatigue and health, so please pray for us to be able to press on! Dr. Morris already came down with a cold, despite all of the purell and gloves.

Devotions at the hotel

Our bed-and-breakfast hotel has been wonderful--it´s a cute little place within walking distance of both schools, the rooms have air conditioning, and the hotel has a center courtyard where we can have devotions and team meetings. Our team has grown together quickly. So far, everyone has been flexible in all situations involving Brazilian Time and living arrangements, and there have been no more blown up surge protectors! Thank you for your prayers--please keep praying for STAMINA and wisdom, especially for the doctors and nurses who have to rapidly diagnose and treat. But most of all, pray for peoples´ souls. A lot of our patients will be returning to the service tonight, and I have already talked with a lot of people whose problems reach much farther down than their skin or heart or stomach. We are praying that our ministry will be the hands and feet of Christ so that we can point them to the healer of their souls.

Gotta run--thank you for your support!
--Joy for the Medical Team
P.S. Katia says hello to her family and kids and says congratulations about the lost tooth!

Churascarria

Autumn and the waiter

Greetings from Brasilia!

Just wanted to upload some pictures of our dinner tonight at the Churascarria, which is a typical Brazilian all-you-can-eat steakhouse! There is a big salad bar, pasta, rice and beans, and THEN the waiters come around with these big skewars of all different kinds of meat that they will cut right into your plate. And THEN there is dessert! Dinner was our last taste of high class living before we go off to Palmas tomorrow. We are leaving at 8:30am. Please pray that we have safe travel and a restful evening!

--The Medical Team

Safe Arrival

Greetings from Brasilia!

The medical team arrived safely to Brasilia this morning, joined by Morris Naus, Joy, and Ben coming up from São Paulo. All of the medicines made it through customs without a blink, and everyone is having a great day napping and shopping. Tonight we'll have a good dinner at an all-you-can-eat Churrascaria (barbecue) before our flight heads out to Palmas tomorrow morning. It is wonderful to have everyone together, and I that after the red-eye flight and 3am stopover in Manaus, everyone is glad for a day of relaxing before our ministry begins!

I have to make this short right now because I'm running on the battery of my laptop. Not realizing that the voltage is different in this part of Brazil, I just fried my surge protector when I tried plugging it into the 220V outlet. Buzzing, hissing, smoke, heat, and black fingers ensued. It was kind of funny. I think Autumn got a kick out of watching me do something so stupid!

Thanks for your prayers! Pray that we all get rested up and ready for tomorrow! Until later...
--Joy for the Medical Team