South American Mission 2010

The following is a journal kept by Dr. Lun Hangfu, as he recorded the rollercoaster experiences from his recent mission to Paraguay and Brazil in July 2010.

Friday, July 2, 2010
We joined our Brazilian translators: three medical students, Baptist minister, Pastor Carlos and his son, Denis, and eight crew members from fishing boat named Neptuno. This boat was where we ate, slept and worked for the next six days.

The ride itself was 24-hours long before we arrived at Bahia Negra, Paraguay, a naval military town with a population of 800. Our final destination was Port Diana, Paraguay, home of the Chamacoco Indians, the natives of the land.

On the boat, we unpacked our equipment and counted out $150,000 worth of Canadian generic medications for our mission preparation.

We observed the marshland of untouched wonder on the Paraguay River: flowers, bushes, trees, wildlife, and of course the piranhas and anacondas.

There were not enough beds on the boat for all 26 volunteers, so Denis and I slept on the sofa in the dinning room. We could not get to sleep at night until everyone was tired out and left the dining room, and found ourselves awakened every morning at 4 a.m. when the crew started their breakfast preparations.