This morning we thought we were heading to the church on Rice Lake but to our surprise, we saw Pastor Alcideles leaving without us. Tim ran out to ask him the plan for the day and it turned out that there was also a service being held in the chapel (it was just run by another man in the church). This change of plans ended up being a real blessing once we realized that this service also included a children's church. When all the kids shuffled out, Tim and I stood up and followed them right out the back (we figured it would be easier to understand the children's lesson plus we were looking for more opportunities to be around the kids since that's the age group the orphanage will be serving).
Children's church was held in a half-completed building which had been started as a Christian school but is still waiting to be finished due to some government requirements. Despite the lack of windows, doors or finished walls, it worked perfect and Pastor Alcideles' wife (the teacher of the 20 or so kids in attendance) did an outstanding job! While the kids colored Bible characters, sang songs, ate snacks and listened to stories, I ran around taking pictures and video for the DVD. All the children looked so cute sitting at the school desks dressed in their bright Sunday clothes.
After service, we had time to just hang out and rest. When Alcideles returned from the church at Rice Lake, he asked me to come with him. I didn't know where we were going, or why, but I jumped on the back of the motor bike and we headed into town. It turned out that there was a place on the main street where you could get rotisserie chicken for Sunday "almosa" (the main meal of the day served, at noon). While waiting for the chicken, we managed to carry on a few conversations while looking out over the mighty Amazon, but when the chicken was ready, the real thrill came. It turned out that Alcideles ordered two cooked chickens and needed me to hold them while he drove the motorbike! Although I wasn't concerned about staying on the back of the motorbike with no hands, I did fear that I might drop the chickens while going around a corner. These chickens were about 6 pounds each and were placed on a paper plate, then wrapped in plastic, meaning the only way to hold them was like a platter. Needless to say, I felt a little strange riding back, balancing two large chickens. Luckily, all went well; we made it home just fine and I got to experience a balancing act I'd only seen done in Vietnam. The chicken tasted incredible and between the 5 of us, we could only polish off one, leaving the other for dinner.
In the afternoon, we helped clean up the church property and did some housekeeping around the home we were staying in. At one point in the afternoon, a little boy from the church was playing in the church courtyard with a slingshot (he said he was trying to shoot some of the wild parakeets). Tim started talking to the boy, impressed by his adventurous sprit. He decided to give the little guy a pocket knife he had; you should have seen the boy's eyes light up!
By evening, it was time for church again (yes, the people attend two full services every Sunday!). This time Alcideles invited Tim up to speak about the orphanage and his own testimony (it went fairly well, although I know that Tim was somewhat nervous about pronouncing all the words right). The service also consisted of some hymns, a time of sharing and a message. After it all finished (about two hours later), we were warmly greeted by the church members as they left. We also got to take some pictures of Alcideles' family and Sr. Antonio's family that we will print and send back down to them (once again, everyone was fascinated by my camera and wanted their picture taken).

Once the church got closed up for the night, we all headed down to Alcideles' house for one last meal together. While the chicken was being reheated on the stove, we got to sit around and talk about the great week we had. Despite the language barrier, humor came easily and we really bonded with the entire family. Following the meal, Alcideles shared about the struggles of pastoring three churches, but also testified to the strength he had from Christ in his heart. He then went to his room and came back with two of his neck ties. He explained that a pastor from Canada taught him this tradition where one Christian brother gives a tie of his to another, serving as a personal memento and a reminder to pray for each other's ministries; it was an act that neither of us will forget!
When we finally headed home, we were both overwhelmed at the incredible work Alcideles is doing as well as the bond that was formed between us. Four days earlier when we arrived, we felt like we were imposing on strangers whom we couldn't even communicate with, but when we left, we felt like ministry partners and friends. God richly blessed our time with this incredible family and taught us both a lesson about how the Kingdom of God is greater than a single continent, race or language.

Watch your in-box for the next trip journal,"Heading Back to Manaus"