He is Risen!!!

Dear Friends,
Many blessings to you from the Amazon, where Jesus has many disciples (and the Easter Bunny scarcely any.) Today — Resurrection Sunday — the light of His glory will rise in many people's hearts, including ours. God is pouring out his grace on this beautiful land called Brazil, and bringing many to salvation.
We have just come back from a wonderful (but rough) trip out on the Amazon River, to a community called Correio do Tapará, where six adults and three children made decisions for Jesus! One of the Brazilians who gave her life to the Lord was Gilse, the president of a neighboring community. She asked for prayer for her family, and for wisdom in leadership. It was easy to see the hunger for the Lord in both communities.
The Lord used the team’s presence there to really strengthen the local church, and help with their church building, which will serve as a regional training center. And, as is often the case, many of our American team members — seven from a church in South Carolina — went back home on fire for the Lord. One of them said it was “the greatest experience” of his life!
When we say the trip was “rough,” we mean it in a physical sense, because the mosquitoes were the worst we've seen in a long time and the nights so still and hot and humid that it was difficult to sleep. We can't tell you how fine it felt to get back home and stand under the shower for while, and then to sleep in our sweet bed!
Yet, how this pales in comparison to the magnitude of our Lord’s sacrifice — just in becoming man — to save us! Nothing of the above would have happened, nothing would have been written to you, there would be no hope for any of us, if He hadn’t readily submitted to immeasurable torment at the hands of those He loved and came to save. We are grateful for so much this Easter that our hearts cannot really hold it all, or express it in words. Above everything else is the joy of our salvation — knowing that we are loved by God and truly His. It is God’s love that invades our hearts, your hearts, and the hearts of so many here.
We confess to you a little homesickness right now, as you — our friends and family — are far away. We want to thank you for your steady friendship, your prayers and your financial support for our family, which enables us to be part of this mission. To each of you we send a blessing, full of God's peace and our own best wishes! Happy Easter!

Don & Betty
Project AmaZon
Santarém, Brazil