November 3, 2026
Hello from the jungle!
Well, Dry Season has officially started, and the days and nights are really hot.
This is the time the Yanomamö chop and burn their new gardens, so smoke is all around us.
But there is just something about the Dry Season that we love.
The days are filled with a deep sense of joy; butterflies are out, seemingly by the millions! And we spend time at the river. Even though those pesky little gnats are all about, they don’t dampen the feelings… Okay, maybe I am just talking about my own feelings here. 😄 Because I do hear others complaining loudly… Because it is really hot, and the gnats do bite…
But to me, it all just goes away when I look up at the clear, clear, endless blue sky, in awe of our loving Heavenly Father, the Creator of all! And He knows how much I love days like this. 🙂 I often sing that song I learned as a young girl… “It’s an awful nice day outside.”
We have been struggling as well, though. But I think our lives here are somewhat like the butterfly trying to come out of her cocoon… The struggling is what makes her (or him) stronger. Even though our loving God is all around, always holding everything together and always in control, He sees the whole picture. And He knows where we need to grow, where we need to trust Him more, and where we need to let go and not try to control the circumstances… So grateful and so thankful that He is full of mercy and loving-kindness.
Struggles: One that we always seem to be facing is not having enough of… whatever—food, fuel, medicine… We never can stay ahead of it.
Supplies: We are running out of supplies again. Food runs out because we are a very big family now. The children are growing and eating more. But also, when the supply boat arrives, there are so many others here who are struggling. And every time, Faith and I want to hold onto what we have—hoard it back so it will last us till the next run… We are reminded to never turn away from someone in need.
We are grateful that the merchant is now coming up our river, and he is bringing food. We really don’t like buying from the river merchants, though, as they raise their prices. But the river is low and getting lower all the time, and people are saying this Dry Season is going to be super dry. So we just keep praying, because God knows our needs.
Fuel: We never seem to be able to stay ahead on fuel either—gasoline and also diesel.
We were going to get in 10 barrels of diesel and were looking so forward to getting it. Since the merchant was getting closer, we ran the generator all day because the day was overcast and our houses are so dark inside on days like today. We kept saying, “Well, the merchant should be here soon…” I guess we were counting our chickens before they hatched. Because we received word today that no diesel is coming now. They sold it to someone else when they arrived at the mining town. We keep encouraging one another by reminding ourselves that God is in control. He knows our needs, and He isn’t up there wringing His hands, wondering what to do. He just wants us to keep trusting Him. The merchant does have gasoline, so we’re hoping to be able to get at least 3 barrels of that, so we can at least run our little gas plant and keep the freezers going.
Please pray for us that we will be able to buy what he has.
Medicine: We treat a LOT of people. We do have a LOT of medicine that was sent from the States that our Mission was able to get in for us. It has arrived in Puerto Ayacucho, but because the flights cost so much, we’ve been waiting for a flight coming up this way so it can be put on. And who knows when that might be…
Please pray that a flight will happen soon.
Youth Ministry: We do this ministry twice a week, and then Jr. Church every Sunday. We have a great turnout of kids whenever we do. But it seems like when we begin, they’d rather sit there and talk with each other than listen to us. Having hearts for the Lord and hearing His Word doesn’t really seem high on their list of desires. But we persevere, because the youth are the future. Each little soul is very special to us, and we desire to see them turn their hearts over to the Lord and get on fire for Him. We never know when some little heart will accept the seeds and begin to grow. Like the song says, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going…” And we never know when that will happen. So we just keep on.
Please pray for us as we do this ministry—that we won’t get defeated, but will continue to go forth in the Name of Jesus and lead as many of these kids to the Lord!
Sad to say that the Ladies’ Ministries came to an end at this time. On the nights we were supposed to meet, it was mostly the youth who showed up, so we just decided to quit. Though we’re thinking of starting it back up again with the new year… but we’re really going to pray about this. This ministry and the Youth Ministry both take place at night. And frankly, after one goes hard all day, going back out again after dark is a chore. It is hard for me to take those first few steps in that direction, but I am happy to say that once I get there, I really enjoy myself and love being involved.
Please pray that God will give me wisdom to know what to do.
Faith continues to stay busy. It is hard for her at times, staying in the right kinds of snacks and foods that she needs to eat. And running out does cause her to become tired. Her one eye never did regain sight. But praise the Lord that the good eye continues to get better every day. She is very anxious, though, to get glasses. The eye doctor told her not to read until she has them.
Thank you so much for being so faithful to us and to the work that continues to go forward.
We so appreciate you.
Partnering with you,
Sharon and Faith
If you feel led to donate to the work that God is doing here in Venezuela, please click on the link below.
https://www.mpaviation.org/give-online/
Or send checks to
Mission Padamo Aviation and Support
P.O. Box 644
Island Lake, IL, 60042