Since the days of the first trip into the Congo, ROW has grown to reach more countries and people across the globe, as well as increasing the number of volunteers that travel with ROW. Each year ROW sends almost 600 individuals abroad to assist with ongoing projects. Volunteers have included people of all ages and walks of life: middle and high school groups, youth groups, college groups, Rotary Clubs, families, and church groups.

When taking volunteers with us, ROW still holds true to our original mission, “to serve in an atmosphere of mutual concern and respect; realizing that it is their country, their people, their village, but our problem.” We pride ourselves on being, “Effective, Efficient, and Evangelical” in how we serve around the world, and it is this simple idea that we try to impress upon our volunteers when ever they are traveling abroad with ROW,

If this is your first time learning about trips with ROW, then I hope you can find something within this website that touches your heart and inspires you to take that first step in getting out on the mission fields with us. ROW offers amazing opportunities for individuals and groups to make a difference during our time on earth, and I am eager to help you find out where you fit in. For those of you that have gone with ROW before and are eager to go again, here is your road map for how to get back out there with us. I’ll see you out there!

Serving the Lord with Courageous Faith,

Nick Beazley
Senior Field Director,
Rivers of the World

This has always been one of my favorite pictures because of all the colors behind this guy. I was purchasing the supplies for the church in Crique Sarco, and this guy sold us the zinc (tin) for the roof as well as the nails. He is a good Mennonite that you can trust to do business with if you are ever in Punta Gorda, Belize. I was also tempted by several of the Ke’kchi song books he sold in his store because there are so few places to find ke’kchi books in Belize.

Sunday, 10 June 2007

Met at 9:00 on the roof for a worship service. We shared our hopes and fears for the week ahead. At 10:30, we walked to a street fair. We took the hotel van and a taxi to the mall for lunch. After lunch, we rested and packed. At 4:30, we checked out of the hotel and took the bus to the church for worship (3° 7′23.24″S, 60° l’23.67″W). We again offered greetings from Clairmont, and this time we sang Celebrai and Exalterai Teu Nome. We left from the church for the dock (0259.030 S, 060 06.235 W). We arrived at our boat, the Semeador (formerly the Zany Silva III), and got all of the luggage on board and then set up our hammocks and mats for the night. After a light supper, we had our first group meetings with the Brazilian team. Heyde is the ROW coordinator. Pastor Djard ofthe Central Presbyterian Church was the trip leader. The translators were Guigui, Mary, Andre, and Porto. Three ROW interns joined us: Davis, Danielle and Christa. Vincente was our captain, assisted by Ze and Manoel. Dona Francisca and Eliza were the cooks. The medical team included Nete, Maria, and Sandra (dentist). The boat left the dock and headed east down the Amazon. Vincente paused so that we could see the Meeting of the Waters, where the Solimoes and Rio Negro come together to form the Amazon River. (3° 8′1.62″S, 59°54′8.41 “W).

Monday, 11 June 2007

This was a travel and preparation day. We journeyed east down the Amazon towards the tributary where we would be working. After a devotional, teams met to discuss VBS, construction and medical work. Mid-morning, we arrived in Itapeayu (0257.260 S, 058 03.751 W). We will be doing a construction project here later in the week, and we checked out the worksite. In the afternoon, we organized the donations. We arrived at Boa Vista do Ramos, our furthest point (2° 58′ 11″ S, 57° 35′ 25″ W). Sergio (an evangelist) and Marilane (a doctor), both of whom live in Boa Vista, joined our group. We turned around and headed off to find Amandio, where we planned to work in the morning. We anchored on the river because it would be too difficult to find the village in the dark.

Tuesday 12 June 2007

Early the next morning, the captain tried to find a passage through to the lake where the village was. Along one possible route, we saw toucans fly overhead (03 04.689 S, 057 49.417 W. That passage was choked with a floating mat of grass, so Sergio headed off in the “speedy boat” to find a local who might know another W::tY. We tried another way, but there was only a narrow track through the grass there (03 09.299 S, 05747.034 W). The boat propeller got tangled in the grass, and we had to abandon our efforts to get to Amandio. The village of Terra Preta do Rio Urubli had been asking Pastor Djard if the boats could come there, so he decided that we would go there instead. This was the first time that this ministry had visited this village (03 06.249 S, 057 47.878 W). We did medical care, VBS, evangelism, and a women’s meeting. A team painted one ofthe houses. The head of the village gave some of us a tour of some ofthe plants they grow for food and other uses (including a root similar to manioc, acerola cherries, sugar cane, pineapples, papayas, limes, banana, date palms, and a cotton “tree”.) One family was drying mashed manioc root to make farina. Some of the men and boys played soccer with the kids on the soccer field. The village had a tame parrot who could speak in Portuguese. He came to the VBS. It was very muddy, and our shoes were caked with mud. We closed our visit with a worship service. Kate gave a testimonial, and the elders in our group laid hands on a woman who had gotten TB for the third time. Manoel washed our feet as we got back on the boat so that we wouldn’t track mud onto the newly cleaned floors.

Wednesday, 13 June 2007

In the morning, we visited Concepyao (0303.971 S, 057 47.970 W). We gave medical care and had VBS with the kids. After the women’s meeting, we had a worship service. After lunch, we went to Corayao Sagrado de Jesus Cristo (03 04.151 S, 057 51.417 W). While the medical care was given, we held VBS in the Catholic Church. The painting team painted a house that consisted of two buildings built out over the water. It had raised gardens built out of old canoes. We did the women’s meeting in the social club, after which we had a worship service. We sang some songs and then the village sang some songs for us. Bob gave a testimonial. The village leader, who is also a leader among the Catholics who live there, welcomed us to their community and celebrated the fact that Catholics and Protestants can work together. He invited us to come back. After dinner, we started the 4 hour trip back to Itapeayu.

Thursday 14 June 2007

In the morning, we had three work teams. One loaded building supplies onto a transport vehicle that would take them to the work site. Another started digging the foundations for the new pastor’s house. The third group split the remaining school packs to make enough for VBS in the afternoon. The outdoor work paused as a rain shower passed through. In the afternoon, the construction teams finished moving the supplies and raised all 12 support beams. The VBS team hosted its biggest, and toughest, group. The women’s meeting was also large. Both groups met in the education building that the 2005 team dug a foundation for and which Clairmont contributed funds towards. It has a plaque next to the door in memory of Clairmont member Clyde Shepherd. We cleaned up and returned to the church to celebrate its 3rd anniversary. Our group sang several songs, Tom gave greetings and a message, and Amy did a testimony. Two dance groups performed, and Sergio brought greetings from Boa Vista do Ramos. At the end of the service, we had some time to dance and play with the children. We returned to the boat. Around 10:00 pm, Dj ard and Ray left to take a boat to Itacoatira (where they would catch a cab to Manaus.) Sergio and Marilane also left to catch a water taxi back to Boa Vista do Ramos.

Friday, 15 June 2007

We traveled most of the day. In the morning, we gathered on the roof to share the challenges we encountered and the blessings we received during the trip. In the afternoon, we stopped in Novo Remanso (03 13.152 S, 059 01.502 W). We visited Pastor Mozanilton and his family, who have been working in this community for 10 years. He showed us the church and talked about their work and their challenges. After we prayed for them, the men played soccer to a 2-2 draw (with Pastor Tom scoring both goals for his side.) We briefly visited a farm that has two pet monkeys. We also got some ice cream while in town. Vincente moved the boat to the center of the Amazon River, and we went swimming near a submerged island. In the evening, we gathered to share thanks and praise. Only a few of us were awake at 12:30 am when Vincente paused the boat to illuminate the Meeting of the Waters. Around 1:30 am we reached the dock. A group from Amazon Outreach were just boarding their boat for a week on the river.

Saturday, 16 June 2007

After breakfast and goodbyes, we loaded the luggage on the bus and headed back to the city. We started the day with a visit to a day school on the east side of the city serving children in a poor area with a lot of violence and drug activity. The school is called the Assoyiao Missionaria de Apoio Reformada (AMAR) (03 02.859 S, 059 56.396 W), and it is run by a pastor on private donations. Danielle volunteers here. The school owns the land for its facilities, and it is applying for government support (a several year process). They are trying to break the cycle of drug use, prostitution, and gang violence. We sang some of our VBS songs with the children, and some of the older students played two songs for us on recorders and guitars. We gave them the last of our clothing donations, and every child received two shirts. The pastor talked with us about his work, we prayed for him, and he prayed for us. We then checked into our hotel, the Taj Mahal. This is one of two 5-star hotels in Manaus. Ray and Bob chose to stay in the Hotel Brasil again. After lunch, we divided into three groups. One group toured the Opera House and then did some shopping. Another group (who had been on the trip before) simply went shopping. Ray and Bob went shopping on their own. We reunited at the hotel and went to Bufalos for dinner. There we reunited with the Brazilians we had worked with on the boat. After dinner, we went to the Ponta Negra to enjoy the evening and do some last minute shopping.

Sunday, 17 June 2007

We met at 9:45 in the lobby to start loading the luggage on the bus. We settled our hotel bills and headed to the airport. After briefly saying hi to Heyde, Guigui and Davis, we got in the very long line to check in. A group of 68 traveling with a community orchestra and a group from Texas with Amazon Outreach were also checking in. Some of us grabbed some fast food for lunch. The flight ended up being delayed for 3 hours for mechanical and medical (oxygen tanks) reasons. We missed our connection in Miami. Tom Lockwood negotiated new tickets for us for the morning. TAM put us up in a lovely Marriott hotel. We got to bed around 2:00 am.

Monday 18 June 2007

Our team left in waves on a series of flights starting around 9:30 am and ending with a 5:20 pm flight. Those who flew out last put the jacuzzi and pool to good use. Shelby Davis did a great job of making sure that there was transportation for each group as it arrived. Praise God for a blessed trip!

By the numbers:

Medical patients 87(43 children, 44 adults)
Dental patients 24 (67 procedures, 35 preventative measures)
VBS 146 children
Conversions 67
Bibles given 17
Houses painted 3
Families assisted 29
Hygiene packs 111
Clothing/flip flop packs 113 (plus 80 shirts delivered to day school)
School Kits 90
Flip flops 90 (childrens)