Doctors and dentists volunteered from the Manaus area, all of our own team members participated, and the wives prepared lunch for the professionals, team members, and their own families. Most of our children came out after school for an afternoon chasing around the grounds.
Puraquequara (Pur'a-kay-kwar'a): Indian name for "den" of the very large and dangerous electric eel, the puraque. Fortunately, there are no more puraques in the Puraquequara Lake. This photo of a five foot eel was made at an ecological park in Manaus. His charge is quite capable of causing a cardiac arrest.
(Disregard the black blotch. That's probably just floating leaves on the water.)
Puraquequara (pur'a-kay'kwar'a): Calm lake off the Rio Negro, very close to where it joins the Rio Solimões to form the Amazon River; the site of our new Amazon Mission Base, Floatplane Hangar and Maintenance Facility. Viewed from the lake side to show the location of the Amazon Mission Base on Lake Puraquequara.
Volunteer dentists Ilusca and Cristiane joined the Asas de Socorro missionary dentists Audelena and Marco Manzano to set up two dental stations in the future reception area. Rotating responsibilities and covering each other for breaks, they kept both of the new portable dental kits whirring. Note the air conditioning and lighting systems. Perhaps your own dentist uses similar equipment.
Audelena taught several classes of dental hygiene during the day, specializing at times on children and at other times on adults. Listening in on these classes, I am sometimes amazed at what people don't know about their teeth and their care. Audelena has good rapport with these children. She's still single, guys.
Dr. Claudia, upper left, interviews, examines, and treats patients in one of the Mission Base's future office cubicles. Dr. Antonio worked during the afternoon. At left, Asas missionary Mara Jane da Silva registers patients and does triage. We keep a record of every patient on all the missions.
Above, Asas nurse Ester Camilo, middle, assists Edna Correia in the dispensary. Edna works as a volunteer for Asas every week.
Ample shelves and counter space have been built to stock medicines here between clinical missions.
Meanwhile, maintenance and routine inspection of the Cessna 206 on floats continues. Ryan Joy is assisted by the Asas de Socorro Head of Maintenance from Anápolis, Goiás, Milton de Sousa (right) in this task of several weeks. Patients wait their turn on the upper deck. Ryan said he enjoyed the clinic day--kids, activity, and hot lunch!
Rachel Joy taught a simple Bible lesson. These are mostly churched kids, and they had a good sense of honesty and right choices as the story and games went along.
Dressed in white crochet, this little girl knows she's beautiful.
No one complained about waiting hours in the heat for treatment. Later, some of the younger children stripped down to their undies to play in the faucet of clean well water. They seemed to truly enjoy the day.
Asas de Socorro has launched many missions to provide care for poor river dwellers. Why shouldn't we help our construction workers' families and church participants in the neighboring village?
