Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A Day to Remeber

Boyd and I agreed to give Brandon the day off... Certainly not from God's work, just from the blog... We had an amazing day today. You'll get the gist of it from Boyd's comments below:


I woke up this morning thinking it was just going to be a day that we were going to walk on the beach to the fishing village but God had some special plans for us and here are 3 of them:

1st: When we got to the point were we stopped walking on the beach a boat pulled up! Some people stayed and walked the rest of the way but Pollyanna, my dad, my mom, my sister, and I got on and rode there.


2nd: We got to go swim in this lagoon that is not very far at all from the fishing village and some people ran and did flips because there is a place on the shore that has a steep drop off and they would not hit the bottom.


3rd: When we were swimming the current was very strong and we ended up wanting to go swim or ride a boat down the river and it was an amazing experience for my dad and me.

Some of the kids went over to the mangroves and caught crabs and I swam almost the whole way and when we got back Brandon was about to get in the water and I wanted to go with him. God has blessed us today.

- Boyd Bailey



Once again, Brazil and the amazing people here surprised us. What started out as just a quick swim in the lagoon with some of the villagers became one of the coolest, most unique adventures I've had in my life (and I've had a lot...). The river and tidal system here is confusing to say the least... Our adventure was the equivalent of a 4-5 mile (2+ hour) ride in a "Lazy River", but the curious thing is we ended up back where we started! How do you ride a river toward the sea, carry your boat across a 15-20 foot stretch of sand and then ride a river back to where you started??? I'm going to study up on this one...

But enough science - back to the adventure... Boyd and I were with a group of 10 guys from the village ranging in age from 9 - 26. We learned that this is something they do occasionally when the tide is right. Since we are having a full moon here and the tidal swing is large, the opportunity presented itself. The 2 1/2 hours we spent on this journey was a special way to enjoy time with our friends. The language barrier disappeared as we relied almost exclusively on laughter and smiles to communicate the pure fun and excitement we were all having. It was obvious the Brazilians were excited to be able to share an intimate part of their life with us. In reality, the beauty and mystery of the Mangrove River likely stays concealed for most outsiders. This was not a guided tour with life jackets and waiver forms... The day was yet another unexpected gift from God.

Boyd & Colin Bailey

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas! I'm so thankful you are willing to spend it in Brazil serving Christ and building relationships and loving others! You guys are doing what Jesus did - putting hands and feet on God's love!
Blessings,
Darril and Marie Holden

fortman said...

What a cool experience. I knew that mangrove river was calling my name each time I have looked in its direction. Next time, I really want to explore intimate areas like that with the villagers; what a great way to connect with them on a personal level. God so orchestrated this experience for you!
Blessings,
Jeff