Little Manatee Made of Clay

(Victoria speaking)

So today we got to be tourists and go to a local "Hippie Fair" as the Parker family calls it. It is pretty much an open market in downtown Belem where hundreds of people just set up shop and sell whatever they like! It is a wonderful place to be all touristy and buy souvenirs. Charlie and I got to practice our Portuguese and buy some fancy Brazilian stuff!

But here’s the thing. I have a love/hate relationship with souvenir shopping; pretty much with shopping in general. I am always scared I will run out of money so then I don’t buy very much then have way too much money left over. On the other hand, I just want to buy all of the cool things too many people and then I run out of money. There is never a happy balance. Some people would call it “overreacting” but I really do freak out when I can’t buy things for ALL of my friends back home and for those who supported us to get to where we are. I really really really do not like disappointing people and this is just a straight shot to doing that. So today when we ran out of the money we had with us, it took everything in me not to be a downer the rest of the day.

I know many of you will say, “Oh don’t worry you didn't need to get me anything!” But really, I did. I want to show everyone how much I appreciate them and this was how I was going to do it. Then a thought popped into my head. Ready? This is gonna get all biblical on you.

How do you think God would react if I offered him a little Manatee made of clay (yes, I did get one of those) and said, “Thank you Lord for sending us here. Take this manatee as a token of my appreciation.” Ummmm no. God wants our love and admiration. He doesn’t want little souvenirs that would just collect dust in his beautiful, dustless house called Heaven. He wants us to love him with every piece of our being and then some. Why should I worry about not having enough things to give people when I can give them what really matters? Love.

So let me love you. (For those of you that just started singing the song, it’s okay, I did too.) But really! When I get back, I would LOOOOOVE to show a bit of my love for you by sharing our story. Let’s meet up for coffee/food/Filibertos and chat. I want to hear what has been going on in your life and of course share about our summer in Brazil! It’s the least I can do for all of you amazing people.     Also, if I apologize profusely for not getting you anything, I give you free reign to punch me.

Okay, thanks for listenin’ and maybe understanding. It made sense in my head and that’s what counts right? Whatevs. We leave in 3 days and that is just not okay. Not okay at all.

Americans and Bathrooms

Here are some pictures from our last 2 weeks here!

Charlie playing in the Equipe vs Camper futebol game!

Victoria and Sasha and Paulino who were fellow Equipe!

Thalys (our English speaking camper friend) and Guni (he was on SP with us and is probably the coolest African/Brazilian guy ever.)

An example of some food we eat! We eat rice and beans with EVERY meal.

The 300 chairs we set up and stacked before/after every service..

The American group! Such wonderful people. This is a house some of them built for a local family. So beautiful!

I (Victoria) got to Skype these wonderful people this week. Message me on FB or email me if you would like to Skype us before you leave!

Abacaxi! Formiga!

(Victoria speaking)

Oh my goodness. Where to start? These last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of Americans, camp, and cleaning bathrooms. We have been here exactly a month (as of the 14th) which is crazy. Time has gone by sooo incredibly fast. I feel like we just got off that plane and felt the extreme humidity for the first time. Now it doesn't even phase us.

So the week we got back from the river, there was an American group here! We had the privilege of joining them and helping out with the family camp they were working with (the same place we have visited and hung out with the kids). It was pretty fantastic being able to speak so much English for the few days we got to work with them. They were a group from Virginia ranging from high school to a couple parents. I loved getting to know them all and serve them as they served the community. They were such a blessing to us and especially the local families!

The day after they left, the teen camp at PV started. Charlie and I were assigned to the "Sanitary Police" for the week. Our jobs consisted of cleaning bathrooms, setting up for different things like chapels and workshops, and carrying around many many many chairs. I will admit that at times I was just about done cleaning bathrooms, but we came to serve and serving comes in all shapes and sizes. It's the least we could do for the camp, since they are working their hardest at giving the kids an AMAZING opportunity to hear the gospel and for some it may be their first time.

We are learning more and more Portuguese every day! My favorite word is abacaxi (say abakashee) which means pineapple. The pineapple here is muito bom (very good). Charlies favorite word is formiga, meaning fire ant, although the ants themselves are merciless kills who have no remorse for are already battered feet.

As for me (charles) the last two weeks have also been amazing. Tory basically summed it up with the American group visiting and cleaning bathrooms for a week. I will admit, at first I was a bit reluctant to be cleaning all week, but in the end we met some great people who we had a great time with. You could tell from a mile away that everyone on SP had a servants heart which was a great example for my sister and I to strive for.

My challenge for the reader this week is to clean something for someone else. Whether its the kitchen, bathroom, or maybe shovel snow from the sidewalk (any readers in the arctic circle?). But do it without them knowing, because cleaning without recognition is tough, but humbling all the same.

Signing out,

Charles+Victoria Starr

P.S.- Only NINE days left here! Whaaaaat?
P.P.S. I love my friends for not forgetting about me (Victoria) even though I've been foreverrrr.

Eu Estou Aqui! (I am here!)

Chapel for the Teen Camp! It was amazing seeing them all worshipping

the Lord and sharing their stories. 

Charlie found an iguana!

V's new boyfriend named Jackson :)

The boat we stayed on for a week! Hammocks and all.

A stop at a small community called New Filadelphia. 

One of the missionary's kid Jake. Cutest ever.

They chopped that down from the jungle!

I am here.

Jungle kids playin' around.

Some of the local kids!

Ceasar, the leader of the students!

Nothin' like blowin' up hundreds of water balloons!

Arizona skies have got some competition..

"Uncle" Dick. He was the one who invited us to come to Brazil!

I'm not in denile, I'm in the Amazon

(Victoria and Charlie)

WE ARE BACK! These past 9 days have been quite the adventure on THE Amazon River. Wanna hear about it? Well keep on reading. Don't want to read about it? Well then what then go back to watching reruns of Friends danggit.

The journey started the morning of the 23rd when we were awoken by loud and obnoxious yet effective fireworks. We met our team and headed for the airport! At this point we didn't know too much of the group so C and I kinda stuck to ourselves. It was a long day of flying and riding on a cramped/hot bus. We finally made it to the base of the river ministry, SEARA. Our home for the next week was a ferry lookin' thing but we all slept in hammocks. It was pretty sweet. Monday was spent in the nearby city Itacoatiara just shoppin' and sweatin' in the glorious summer heat.

Tuesday we set out for the community where our camp was being held. It was a day's journey but so totally worth it! Ever been on the Amazon? No? Well it is a beautiful thing. Picture shall come.

So the week consisted of C and I helping out the students wherever they needed it. Teens came from communities all over the river (it took some hours to get there and for some it was a day's journey!) I found some local kids who tagged along with me throughout the week and they were such a joy for me. I can finally tie balloons!! After lots of practice, and failed attempts at water balloons, I was able to help out with their camp preparations. The girl counselors invited me to join them in the first night dance! It was soo much fun dancing and laughing with all of them. They are all a blessing in my life! I loved seeing the kids worshipping the Lord in chapel, sharing their testimonies, and being such good sports in the games!

As for me (Charles) the week went much better than I expected. At first I was a bit intimidated by the fact that seemingly no one spoke english, but I soon came to find out that a few students were at least conversational. It was really great to help out around camp and be able to get to know the camp staff and the leaders. I laughed along with all the jokes, even if they were in portuguese (Hey, they sounded funny). I got to know a student form Palabra da Vida really well, and he told me all about how he became a missionary. We would teach eatherother vocab all week in our perspective languages and he told me a lot about his work with the native Indian tribes on the river. Over all it was an amazing experience that I doubt can be repeated, but that doesn't mean I wont try.


Sincerely,
Victoria and (more importantly) Charles Starr

P.S. So...many...bug bites.....

CHILDREN.

(Victoria speaking)

I got to play with children today!! I have missed those smiles and laughs. Don't get me wrong, I have loved being able to serve the college here this past week in the library, but as many of you know, I LOVE KIDS. Charlie would say I have a problem. It has gotten to the point where I kind of just stare at them out the window as we drive through the neighborhoods. However, today that changed :)

As we have already said, the language barrier has been difficult for us. Not today though! With kids, language doesn't matter. I played Dominoes, and UNO (sadly not spicy UNO), and puzzles without knowing half the stuff they were saying. We laughed a bunch and I tried my hardest to tell them things about myself and ask them questions. Eventually I just started asking things in Spanish and they understood! Lucky for me. I had little ones hugging me and hanging on me as I walked around the gym. There were about 50 kids there that are a part of a Kids Camp type thing that a ministry puts on. It has been wonderful hearing stories of how God has been changing lives with those kids and within the local community.

TOMORROW. We leave for the Amazon tomorrow! 6 hours from now actually. Charlie, Kenzy Parker, and I will be joining a team of students and staff from the school here and will be going to the Amazon to work with their partner ministry. They are running camps with the river communities and we will be helping out wherever they need it. Charlie and I were asked to share our testimony...that's always scary. So over thought and prayer we wrote them out so that Kenzy could prepare to translate for us. I don't know about C, but I know I am pretty scared for this trip. I know these areas are poorer that what we have seen so that is going to be hard, but other than that I don't know what to expect. Please pray for peace for Charlie, the team and I, as we go into these communities to share God's word with people who might not ever get another chance to hear it.

We get back the 3rd so expect a post after that!! Love and miss you all.

Love bunches, 

Victoria Starr

P.S. And what Charlie said about the pizza...it really is hard to eat it with a fork and knife. We are learning SO many things about the culture here! 

 Charlie helping out with jump rope!

 

Just too cute.

 The kids hearing a bible story from the teens in the group!

My new friend Julia

I can't handle it....

They eat their pizza with utensils. It's just too much. I can handle the beans and rice with EVERY meal (I kid you not they served spaghetti with meatballs and rice), I can handle the cultural differences, and the language barrier isn't so bad once you get used to it, but I draw the line at grabbing a fork a knife for a nice slice of Italian tomato cake. Granted this all happens in a cafeteria full of college students so I'm sure they wouldn't mind but what am I to do at a restaurant? I guess next time I'll just sneak a slice into the bathroom and eat with my hands like the pizza eating heathen I am.

Oh, and We Took Some Pictures Too

 Tory getting her Yellow Fever shot. It was't too bad.

 A local church were Gary was invited to preach. It was an hour long and in Portugese, yet somehow still interesting. Also, the lights went out halfway through due to a storm, but he preached on.

 Where we are staying- The Parker's house!

Amazon Valley Academy and soccer field. (where Kenzie Parker goes to school. Oh, and to the Coleman kids that lived here: a lady that works there remembers you guys! I will ask for her name.)

 Above: Walking around the Word of Life compound

Below: An Olympic sized pool (but only like 4 feet deep) which is next to a full size gym

Now it's my turn!

      (Charles speaking)   

        Hello all! What a crazy/exciting/awesome/frustrating/amazing week this has been for the both of us (I'm sure for my parents too). Our host family (The Parkers) are SUPER nice and we already feel at home here. The first weekend was fairly laid back as we got settled in and learned all about Palabra da Vida (Word of Life) and what they are all about. Along with that, some sort of crazy festival is going on not too far from where we are staying so needless to say sleeping tends to happen more during the day (I kid you not, they set off fireworks allll night).

            On monday I went to help out with a new house they are building on campus while Tory helped sort books in the library. Today we set out to get our Yellow Fever vacines at the local clinic and then soon got back to work. 

           So far the biggest speedbump for me has been the language barrier, seeing as I dont know a lick of Portugese. While on the construction site I met a cool guy but we couldn't communicate at all seeing as we both knew minimal amounts of each other's language. At one point I wasn't sure if he was inviting me over for a game of basketball or telling me that I was painting the wrong wall. But other than that, the trip has been (refer to begining adjectives). Thank you for reading my rant!

-Charles Starr

We love mail.

Since Charlie and I will be down here for so long, we really would LOVE to get letters from home! 

The street address here is:

 Av. Joaquim Pereira de Queiroz 450

Benevides, Para, Brazil 68795-000

Or the P.O. Box is:

Pelavra da Vida

Caixa Postal 29

68795 Benevides, Para

Brasil

Either one works although no packages should be send to the P.O. Box. We will let you know as soon as we receive something in the mail! If you send us something we will send you something!

Love you guys :)

Victoria and Charles Starr

Oh the humidity!

I feel like the outside is just a giant sauna. Maybe that's dramatic. Nope, it's not. Neither of us have ever really experienced humidity before so we are trying our hardest to make the best of it!

And besides, "Girls don't sweat, they GLOW." 

Does this mean we made it to our destination? IT DOES! After about 28 hours of travel we have made it to the wonderful country of Brazil. It started yesterday (6/13) around 5 AM when we left for the airport for our first flight to Miami! There was a young boy in my row and you know me....I was so excited at first! He was about 6 years old and super cute...until he became "that kid." I woke up at one point thinking there was bad turbulence but no, it was just the boy jumping on his chair with a parent unwilling to do anything! My inner babysitter was dying. So we made it through the 5 hour flight with about 40 minutes to spare for our connection to Manaus, Brazil. We made it on time but then saw someone with a Dunkin Donuts bag and just HAD to get some....which may or may not have led us to almost miss our flight. No big deal. So that flight was about 5 hours and we both got lots of room, plenty of sleeping time, and even some satisfying airplane food! Then came the boring part.....

We had an almost 6 hour layover in the airport of Manaus....not many things to do there! Charlie road his longboard around...I tried (unsuccessfully) to order 2 ice cream cones...and we people watched! Again, almost missed our flight. No big deal. Then came the last stretch! A 4 hour flight from Manaus to Belem which was where we met Gary and his daughter Kenzie! We are staying in their home for this summer. (How do we know them? Well my mom lived in Belem when she was a wee child and her family became friends with Gary's family the Parkers and so it came to be..)

The compound here is beautiful!! I haven't taken pictures of it yet but we will soon! We settled in, had lunch in the cafeteria (delicious!), I had some Brazilian coffee, Kenzie took us on a tour through the jungle, we tried some cool Acai dessert, and are now just relaxing and trying to get over this jet lag.

 Tomorrow is a big day but we don't really start working until Monday. 

We will post as soon as we can!

Please pray for our jet lag to go away soon so we can give our 100% and glorify our God! Miss you guys!

-Charles and Victoria Starr

Brazil 2013

We look so cool carrying around these matching suitcases!

Our first flight out of Phoenix!

Charlie doin' this thing.

The Amazon River!!

Video Update #1: The Day Before

Excuse our awkwardness. UPDATE! 

https://vimeo.com/68199993

9DAYS.

Sooooo as the title may reveal, we leave in 9 DAYS. It is becoming so real the closer and closer we get to leaving. We have FINALLY started the process of packing and getting ready to go! We've got our 4 suitcases, some clothes (anyone know what they wear in Brazil? We are a tad bit unclear...), and we are getting everything in order.

We ask for prayer that God prepares our hearts for the experiences we will have in while in Brazil. Prayers for safe travel on our flights down there. Prayers for the people down there that they will have open hearts to what God will be doing in them. Prayers that God uses Charlie and I in BIG ways.

- Victoria