Monday, June 28, 2010
June 28th - Home Again
Just wanted to let everyone know real quick that we made it home today. We got back to church around 12:30 and quickly unpacked and went home. It was nice to get back, but Brazil isn't far from our minds and the work there to further God's kingdom continues. On that note I'll also mention that not everyone came back with us. Eric K., Amanda, Ali and Will T. all stayed a few extra days with some friends in the northern part of Brazil. I believe they are flying back to the States on Friday. I'm sure they would appreciate prayers for their return trip home as well. Thank you again to everyone for their faithful prayers, financial support and encouragement. We appreciate all that you have done. This will likely be the last post for this year's trip, unless I can figure out a way to post all my pictures online (over a 1,000 - but not all good or worth posting); in which case I'll post a link for everyone. Until then.
Leaving Charlotte
Ok we are all on the plane now and waiting to leave, which should be in about 5-10 minutes. We'll be in KC in a couple of hours. See you then.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
June 27th - Now We Leave
Good morning on our last day in Brazil. We are waiting at the hotel for our bus to arrive, it was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago. We are doing a couple of touristy things - going to Sugar Loaf mountain (definitly worth looking up online if you don't know what it is) and to a market to buy sourvenirs and trinkets and such. And then a late lunch. At least that is what I understand. This will be the last post until we land in Charlotte tomorrow at 6 am ET. I'll let you know when we do land. Please continue to pray for us as we travel, I'm hoping and praying for a better experience than we had last year. Just a reminder our flights are US Airways 801 and US Airways 3283. We land in KC tomorrow at 9:30 and then drive back to Omaha. Have a great day, we'll talk to you again from Charlotte.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
June 26th - Time for Debriefing, But Not Done Yet
Hello all. Everyone seems to be doing much better today. We were able to sleep in and hang out at the beach for a couple of hours. We just finished up some time of team debriefing with more still to come over the next two days. We shared a devotional from Philippians 2:1-11 and then discussed how we need to make sure the trip doesn't stop now that we are on the beach at the hotel. We talked about we have seen too much to go back home and still be the same. We then broke off individually for about 25 minutes to reflect on what God has taught us on this trip, if there are things we need to change in our lives and what can thank and praise God for. At 3 local time we are leaving for a Brazilian BBQ with one of the local E-Free pastors here. If it's anything like last year it should be a good time with some of the best food you've ever tasted. We've got just a few minutes so I better go.
Friday, June 25, 2010
June 26th - Checked Into The Hotel
The team is all back together now and we've made it to Rio. And just in time. Many of us are really tired and feeling the effects. It will be good to have some time tomorrow morning to sleep in followed by some team debriefing as we talk about the past week and what God did and what we learned. It was good to catch up with the teams that were in Gaspar and Massaranduba on the bus ride to Camboriu. They had very busy schedules, but as a result were to able to reach many, and in some cases all, of the teenage students in the schools. Thank you again for your faithful prayers this past week. We would continue to ask for God's healing over the next two days as some of us still battle sore throats, exhaustion, and other sickness. Despite all that it has been exciting to see God working here in Brazil. To Him be the glory forever and ever.
Well it's late so this will be the end for now. We have Internet access here at the hotel so I theoretically should be able to post updates while we are here. Talk to you soon.
Well it's late so this will be the end for now. We have Internet access here at the hotel so I theoretically should be able to post updates while we are here. Talk to you soon.
June 25th - We Leave Rio do Sul
Good morning everyone!
I'm writing this standing outside the church in Rio do Sul. Our bus is here and we are to leave in a few minutes to go pick up the other teams in their towns. We then head to Camburiu to watch the U.S. Soccer match at a drug rehab center. After that I believe we then take several flights back to Rio de Janeiro. Hopefully we will have access to the Internet there and I will be able to update you from Rio. Talk to you soon.
I'm writing this standing outside the church in Rio do Sul. Our bus is here and we are to leave in a few minutes to go pick up the other teams in their towns. We then head to Camburiu to watch the U.S. Soccer match at a drug rehab center. After that I believe we then take several flights back to Rio de Janeiro. Hopefully we will have access to the Internet there and I will be able to update you from Rio. Talk to you soon.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
June 24th - Last Day
Sorry this will be a really short post. We just finished our last day and now everyone in Rio do Sul is heading out for pizza to celebrate. We leave tomorrow, it's kind of sad, but I think we are ready. Hopefully I'll be able to post more again tomorrow, but I don't know since we will be traveling back to Rio de Janiero.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
June 23 - Two Days Left in Rio do Sul
Hi,
Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are doing ok and getting along well. I think we've reached that point in the trip where the initial excitement has worn off and it's a little easier to get tired and stuck in routine. We start saying a lot of the same things over and over as we go into class after class. It's easy to coast through a 50 minute talk with students without thinking too much. We would love your prayers for continued energy and vigor and that we would be present in each and every moment and sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit.
A quick clarification that I didn't make yesterday, we don't have communication with the other teams. In an emergency we can contact the other teams, but we aren't in regular contact with them. Although it looks like in the comments section for the last post yesterday that the team in Gaspar left a short comment.
Ok, gotta go for some team time. Miss you all.
Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are doing ok and getting along well. I think we've reached that point in the trip where the initial excitement has worn off and it's a little easier to get tired and stuck in routine. We start saying a lot of the same things over and over as we go into class after class. It's easy to coast through a 50 minute talk with students without thinking too much. We would love your prayers for continued energy and vigor and that we would be present in each and every moment and sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit.
A quick clarification that I didn't make yesterday, we don't have communication with the other teams. In an emergency we can contact the other teams, but we aren't in regular contact with them. Although it looks like in the comments section for the last post yesterday that the team in Gaspar left a short comment.
Ok, gotta go for some team time. Miss you all.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
June 22 - This One is For Becca and Kayla
Hey just wanted you two to know that we are really missing you both this year. We are constantly talking about you (or at least those of us who were here last year) and how we wish you were here again this year. Why didn't you come? Is it too strong a thing to say that it is unforgivable? Ok, I'm joking on that, but seriously we miss you both, it's not the same. We hope things are going well for you back in the States. Ok, I better go, Ryan, Andrew and Jon are crying because they remembered you two aren't here....so sad. ; )
Monday, June 21, 2010
June 22 - Today We Go Our Separate Ways
Hi Everyone,
We are all doing well here and rested up for another day of ministry. The team split up this morning and we are going in different directions for the next three days. The first group (Darryl, LeeAnn, Ryan and Jessica) are going to Massadarubba and will be there until Friday morning. The second group (Kathy, Eric R., Sam, Anne, Greg, Cam, Jon, and Andrew R.) went to Gaspar and will also be there til Friday morning. The adult group (Joel, Will T., Nick, Eric. K., Ashley, Amanda, Shelley, Ali, and Char Mae) will be going to Lontras every day, but they will be staying in Rio do Sul since it is only a short drive away. And then the last group (Ricky, McKenha, Tahner, Jordan, Me, Karissa, Will F. and Andrew G.) will be staying here in Rio do Sul. We are so thankful for your continued prayers and will definitely take them again as we separate.
Yesterday went really well and we shared at several schools in the morning and again during the night. I'm fairly certain that almost everyone had an opportunity to either share their testimony, explain the EvangeCube or use the colored bracelets to share the gospel. I heard some pretty amazing stories about the students (and adults) and how God used them yesterday. Last night we visited a school and then had the "fun-pportunity" to play the Brazilian students in Basketball and two games of soccer (one game for girls and one for guys). We ended the night with a Brazilian cook-out of sorts called Chuhascaria since those who left this morning won't be coming back and it was time of good-bye's for many. Ok, well lunch is here and is getting cold so I better get going. Thank you again for your prayers and comments (I try to make sure everyone sees and hear what you write back) we really appreciate them. One last thing, Ricky did confirm that 7:30pm CT should still work tonight for the parents prayer meeting. Until later.
Here a few photos...
For those who may not know, the couple above are the Spellman's. The missionaries who have been in Brazil for many years that we are working with.
Ashley and Char Mae with a teacher who brought some of his English students to the camp.
Karissa enjoying a chili-dog with one of the many cute kids that seem to be everywhere.
LeeAnn and Anne sharing with some of the Brazilian vstudents.
Darryl and Greg just couldn't help themselves. The days can be exhausting and sometimes you have to steal a nap when you get the opportunity.
Brock and Emily this one is for you. ; ) Another one of the cute kids at the church.
Ricky during his message on Sunday night and Gatlin, one of the many great translators we have here.
Joel and some of the Worship band. On Sunday night it was a mix of Brazilians and Americans. A small of picture of peoples from every tribe and tongue worshiping the same God and Savior.
We are all doing well here and rested up for another day of ministry. The team split up this morning and we are going in different directions for the next three days. The first group (Darryl, LeeAnn, Ryan and Jessica) are going to Massadarubba and will be there until Friday morning. The second group (Kathy, Eric R., Sam, Anne, Greg, Cam, Jon, and Andrew R.) went to Gaspar and will also be there til Friday morning. The adult group (Joel, Will T., Nick, Eric. K., Ashley, Amanda, Shelley, Ali, and Char Mae) will be going to Lontras every day, but they will be staying in Rio do Sul since it is only a short drive away. And then the last group (Ricky, McKenha, Tahner, Jordan, Me, Karissa, Will F. and Andrew G.) will be staying here in Rio do Sul. We are so thankful for your continued prayers and will definitely take them again as we separate.
Yesterday went really well and we shared at several schools in the morning and again during the night. I'm fairly certain that almost everyone had an opportunity to either share their testimony, explain the EvangeCube or use the colored bracelets to share the gospel. I heard some pretty amazing stories about the students (and adults) and how God used them yesterday. Last night we visited a school and then had the "fun-pportunity" to play the Brazilian students in Basketball and two games of soccer (one game for girls and one for guys). We ended the night with a Brazilian cook-out of sorts called Chuhascaria since those who left this morning won't be coming back and it was time of good-bye's for many. Ok, well lunch is here and is getting cold so I better get going. Thank you again for your prayers and comments (I try to make sure everyone sees and hear what you write back) we really appreciate them. One last thing, Ricky did confirm that 7:30pm CT should still work tonight for the parents prayer meeting. Until later.
Here a few photos...
For those who may not know, the couple above are the Spellman's. The missionaries who have been in Brazil for many years that we are working with.
Ashley and Char Mae with a teacher who brought some of his English students to the camp.
Karissa enjoying a chili-dog with one of the many cute kids that seem to be everywhere.
LeeAnn and Anne sharing with some of the Brazilian vstudents.
Darryl and Greg just couldn't help themselves. The days can be exhausting and sometimes you have to steal a nap when you get the opportunity.
Brock and Emily this one is for you. ; ) Another one of the cute kids at the church.
Ricky during his message on Sunday night and Gatlin, one of the many great translators we have here.
Joel and some of the Worship band. On Sunday night it was a mix of Brazilians and Americans. A small of picture of peoples from every tribe and tongue worshiping the same God and Savior.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
June 20th - Happy Father's Day from Brazil!
A few pictures, they are not organized very. The post is below.
The view from the top of the mountain and the High Valley.
The worship band leading last night.
Eric after his slide down the path.
Amanda sharing her testimony.
Shelley after taking a spill even before the hike began.
Will making a friend over chili dogs.
The WOW factor team and "Everything"
Ryan and the EvangeCube.
Oi (hello in portugese)
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads reading this in the U.S. (or another country if that is the case). Hopefully all of you had a great Father's Day. And as an aside - Happy Birthday to Joel. He is sick again this year, but not as bad as last year and it sounds like he turned the corner last night and is doing better today. Although he took a nap this afternoon instead of watching Brazil play the Ivory Coast, and knowing how much he loves soccer and the World Cup, he must have really needed that nap. The day has been rainy here most of the day and actually made for some fun and laughs this morning, but more on that and the rest of the day in a moment.
Yesterday ended really well although I think most of us were tired by the end. We finished our last English session for the day with a great team effort.
The WOW factor team (Shelley, Will, McKehha, Karissa, Jordan, Jon, Charmae, Ali) presented a drama without words to the Lifehouse song "Everything". Some of you may have seen it before, and if not, it's easily found on YouTube. Needless to say, it was very powerful and moving. Immediately afterward Amanda shared her testimony which was a great message and an appropriate follow up to Everything. And lastly Ryan did what he does so well and explained the EvangeCube to all the students. We then broke up into our classes (separated by students ability with English) for a time of teaching, discussion and games. The night ended with a time of community and conversation over chili-dogs. (I mis-spoke yesterday when I said it was a cook-out)
Today was a less busy day of ministry. First off a word of recognition to Greg Megrue who climbed a mountain today. And this was a feat unto itself. Our team met this morning at the church to go climb a large hill (or a small mountain depending on how you look at it I guess) that is a little way outside the city. This field trip was also opened to any of the English camp students that wanted to come along with us. We went to the same place last year and the location provides a great view of the High Valley where Rio do Sul is located and helps give perspective to the vision Pastor Johny has for this area to be be filled with church plants. Well we woke up this morning to a gray and overcast sky. And by the time we got to the turn off for this mountain it was starting to slightly sprinkle. Most of us had to climb and walk some distance before we got to the last path to the summit of the mountain. The area is kind of like jungle and it has been plenty wet here the last several days which made for muddy paths and wet grass. Many of us fell and slid down the path several times and were quite the muddy mess. And for some of us several attempts were necessary to make it through a particularly slick spot. Greg slipped several times, but finally through a bit of team work he was able to persevere and I'm so glad he did. And just a note, it was not a dangerous path, just messy. When we come back to Nebraska make sure to ask us about this, because I think each of us had a different experience. For me personally it was a lot of fun and a great time of laughter.
After we all made it back to church we had lunch together and some team time to talk about what has been happening over the last two days, have a devotional time and encourage one another. We returned to our host home for the afternoon to watch the Brazil World Cup match and experience a little bit of the culture here. By the way, in case you aren't following the World Cup, Brazil won 3-1.
Tonight we are at the Celivris E-Free church in Rio do Sul for the Sunday night service. It was another team effort as Karissa gave her testimony to a packed house. It looks like many of the students from our English camp over the last three days have showed up tonight, which is exciting. The worship band (Joel, Cam, Eric Rock, Tahner, Karissa and McKehna) is helping lead worship and the WOW factor team is performing the skit again that they presented last night. And Ricky is bringing the message on the prodigal son.
Through all of this the good news message of Christ is being preached and spread. And it's encouraging to remember that we may not necessarily be the harvesters; we may be the planters, or the waterers.
I know I'm sounding repetitive, but thank you for your prayers and comments on the blog, they are greatly encouraging. Continue to pray for us again as tomorrow comes. We are splitting into three groups to go to several different schools to interact with students in classes. Much of what we will talk about will be a shortened version of what we have talked about during the English camp. Also please pray for God to open hearts and minds to the truth of the Gospel. We aren't allowed by law to make an invitation and ask the students in class if they want to pray to accept Jesus as their Savior, but we can pretty much say anything else. Even telling them how to ask Jesus to be their personal Lord and Savior. So please pray that we would boldly proclaim, remembering that God's word does not return void.
Until later.
The view from the top of the mountain and the High Valley.
The worship band leading last night.
Eric after his slide down the path.
Amanda sharing her testimony.
Shelley after taking a spill even before the hike began.
Will making a friend over chili dogs.
The WOW factor team and "Everything"
Ryan and the EvangeCube.
Oi (hello in portugese)
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads reading this in the U.S. (or another country if that is the case). Hopefully all of you had a great Father's Day. And as an aside - Happy Birthday to Joel. He is sick again this year, but not as bad as last year and it sounds like he turned the corner last night and is doing better today. Although he took a nap this afternoon instead of watching Brazil play the Ivory Coast, and knowing how much he loves soccer and the World Cup, he must have really needed that nap. The day has been rainy here most of the day and actually made for some fun and laughs this morning, but more on that and the rest of the day in a moment.
Yesterday ended really well although I think most of us were tired by the end. We finished our last English session for the day with a great team effort.
The WOW factor team (Shelley, Will, McKehha, Karissa, Jordan, Jon, Charmae, Ali) presented a drama without words to the Lifehouse song "Everything". Some of you may have seen it before, and if not, it's easily found on YouTube. Needless to say, it was very powerful and moving. Immediately afterward Amanda shared her testimony which was a great message and an appropriate follow up to Everything. And lastly Ryan did what he does so well and explained the EvangeCube to all the students. We then broke up into our classes (separated by students ability with English) for a time of teaching, discussion and games. The night ended with a time of community and conversation over chili-dogs. (I mis-spoke yesterday when I said it was a cook-out)
Today was a less busy day of ministry. First off a word of recognition to Greg Megrue who climbed a mountain today. And this was a feat unto itself. Our team met this morning at the church to go climb a large hill (or a small mountain depending on how you look at it I guess) that is a little way outside the city. This field trip was also opened to any of the English camp students that wanted to come along with us. We went to the same place last year and the location provides a great view of the High Valley where Rio do Sul is located and helps give perspective to the vision Pastor Johny has for this area to be be filled with church plants. Well we woke up this morning to a gray and overcast sky. And by the time we got to the turn off for this mountain it was starting to slightly sprinkle. Most of us had to climb and walk some distance before we got to the last path to the summit of the mountain. The area is kind of like jungle and it has been plenty wet here the last several days which made for muddy paths and wet grass. Many of us fell and slid down the path several times and were quite the muddy mess. And for some of us several attempts were necessary to make it through a particularly slick spot. Greg slipped several times, but finally through a bit of team work he was able to persevere and I'm so glad he did. And just a note, it was not a dangerous path, just messy. When we come back to Nebraska make sure to ask us about this, because I think each of us had a different experience. For me personally it was a lot of fun and a great time of laughter.
After we all made it back to church we had lunch together and some team time to talk about what has been happening over the last two days, have a devotional time and encourage one another. We returned to our host home for the afternoon to watch the Brazil World Cup match and experience a little bit of the culture here. By the way, in case you aren't following the World Cup, Brazil won 3-1.
Tonight we are at the Celivris E-Free church in Rio do Sul for the Sunday night service. It was another team effort as Karissa gave her testimony to a packed house. It looks like many of the students from our English camp over the last three days have showed up tonight, which is exciting. The worship band (Joel, Cam, Eric Rock, Tahner, Karissa and McKehna) is helping lead worship and the WOW factor team is performing the skit again that they presented last night. And Ricky is bringing the message on the prodigal son.
Through all of this the good news message of Christ is being preached and spread. And it's encouraging to remember that we may not necessarily be the harvesters; we may be the planters, or the waterers.
I know I'm sounding repetitive, but thank you for your prayers and comments on the blog, they are greatly encouraging. Continue to pray for us again as tomorrow comes. We are splitting into three groups to go to several different schools to interact with students in classes. Much of what we will talk about will be a shortened version of what we have talked about during the English camp. Also please pray for God to open hearts and minds to the truth of the Gospel. We aren't allowed by law to make an invitation and ask the students in class if they want to pray to accept Jesus as their Savior, but we can pretty much say anything else. Even telling them how to ask Jesus to be their personal Lord and Savior. So please pray that we would boldly proclaim, remembering that God's word does not return void.
Until later.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Hello Again,
It's seems strange that's it's a Saturday, you kind of lose track of time and days while you are here, but in a good way. Yesterday went really well and we saw many familiar faces from last year's English camp as well as new ones who were excited to meet and talk with Americans. The photo below is of one of the games we played last night. It involved closing your eyes and making animals noises to find your group of like animals (e.g. mooing like a cow to listen for the other "cows" to find them), it was quite hysterical.
Today has been a full day of English camp and interacting with many of the students. The building below is the school where we are hosting the English camp.
We started the day around 9:00 with the English camp and that lasted until around noon. Mckenna shared her testimony this morning and the WOW factor team acted out a funny skit about America's playing Brazilians in soccer.
After that we ate lunch as a team, which was a kind of Brazilian take out. Good, but a little different. The rest of the afternoon has been spent hanging out with the students and really anyone else that came by the school where we are located. Anything from playing basketball and futbol (soccer) to jamming out of the drum set and guitars to just having a conversation in English. Many students were excited to just speak English with an American. For many who are learning English their studies are limited to class time or for some it's what they hear in music and in movies. Classs starts again tonight at 6:oo pm and then afterwards we are planning an American style cook-out or at least as best we can this far into Brazil.
Well I am fast losing my light outside so this will have to be all for now. Hope you all are doing well. Thank you for your continued prayers and keep them coming. And thank you again everyone for your comments. The students and the adults both love hearing from people back home.
Until next time
It's seems strange that's it's a Saturday, you kind of lose track of time and days while you are here, but in a good way. Yesterday went really well and we saw many familiar faces from last year's English camp as well as new ones who were excited to meet and talk with Americans. The photo below is of one of the games we played last night. It involved closing your eyes and making animals noises to find your group of like animals (e.g. mooing like a cow to listen for the other "cows" to find them), it was quite hysterical.
Today has been a full day of English camp and interacting with many of the students. The building below is the school where we are hosting the English camp.
We started the day around 9:00 with the English camp and that lasted until around noon. Mckenna shared her testimony this morning and the WOW factor team acted out a funny skit about America's playing Brazilians in soccer.
After that we ate lunch as a team, which was a kind of Brazilian take out. Good, but a little different. The rest of the afternoon has been spent hanging out with the students and really anyone else that came by the school where we are located. Anything from playing basketball and futbol (soccer) to jamming out of the drum set and guitars to just having a conversation in English. Many students were excited to just speak English with an American. For many who are learning English their studies are limited to class time or for some it's what they hear in music and in movies. Classs starts again tonight at 6:oo pm and then afterwards we are planning an American style cook-out or at least as best we can this far into Brazil.
Well I am fast losing my light outside so this will have to be all for now. Hope you all are doing well. Thank you for your continued prayers and keep them coming. And thank you again everyone for your comments. The students and the adults both love hearing from people back home.
Until next time
Friday, June 18, 2010
June 18 - What a difference a good night's sleep makes
Bom Dia (Good day),
Hello again. I'm writing this as we are meeting before the start of the first day of official ministry. William F., Jordan and Tahner just finished sharing their devotional on Philippians 2:3-8 on the attitude of being a servant which fits in well with our theme this year of "I'm 3rd". Now we're starting on our team devo reading which is 1 John.
Well we are looking much, much better this morning after a great night's sleep. [It was so nice to finally sleep on a mattress after having spent the last day and a half trying to find the best way to sleep in an airplane or bus seat. : ) ] We met at the church last night to join up with our host families and go home with them. It was so fun to see some old friends again and and also to meet new friends (who, as I think about it, are really brothers and sisters in Christ).
I briefly mentioned last night that we arrived several hours late because we were diverted to another airport due to high winds. Our last flight was scheduled to arrive in Navegantes (here is a link to a map, that if it works, should give you an idea of the rough location of some places - http://maps.google.com.br/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=pt-BR&geocode=&q=navegantes&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Navegantes+-+Santa+Catarina&ll=-26.985724,-49.266815&spn=0.619224,1.757813&z=10 ), but the winds there were gusting anywhere from 50-80 km/h and it wasn't going to work to land (more on that in a minute). We circled for a while to wait and see if the winds would dissipate, but they didn't so we flew onto another airport (which I don't know the name of). We had about 45 minutes or so after we landed to grab our bags and a small bite to eat. While we were waiting Liz told me the reason we couldn't land was because the two planes that had tried landing prior to ours had problems. The first sustained damage to the plane and the second was waved off during landing and had to go to another airport. So we were thankful that the pilots and airline staff were being cautious and not taking chances.
From there the airline chartered a bus to take us (now 32 people with the addition of Steve & Liz Spellman and someone from the church in Rio de Janeiro) and several other passengers to Blumenau. This was about a three hour bus ride and our team was now divided between those who were exhausted and wanted to sleep (front of the bus) and those who apparently had energy to spare and were talking and laughing non stop (back of the bus.) We finally reached Blumenau (about 11pm Brazil time, btw we are two hours ahead of CT) and once again we unloaded our bags and waited for our bus to ferry us to Rio do Sul. The original plans called for a bus to take us from Navegantes to Rio do Sul, but the bus instead met us in Blumenau for about another 1.5 ride.
Today we have some orientation and then I believe we start English camp later tonight. It should be an exciting day and I'm guessing there is a fair amount of nervousness as we begin and encounter new, unknown circumstances. But God is great and we know He is able. We would love yours prayers (even as I know many of you who are reading already are) for endurance for the long days, boldness in proclaiming the gospel (and boldness in starting conversations with people we don't know in a language we don't know), and for love and unity.
I have taken pictures and will try to post them if possible - I'm still trying to figure everything out with the blog, computer, and camera. Some of you have already posted comments, and please keep doing so, I will try my best to pass them along. But Brock we don't need those comments you left...maybe we won't miss you after all.... I kid, I kid ; ). Seriously keep the comments coming, anything and everything is welcomed. Until next time...we love you all.
Hello again. I'm writing this as we are meeting before the start of the first day of official ministry. William F., Jordan and Tahner just finished sharing their devotional on Philippians 2:3-8 on the attitude of being a servant which fits in well with our theme this year of "I'm 3rd". Now we're starting on our team devo reading which is 1 John.
Well we are looking much, much better this morning after a great night's sleep. [It was so nice to finally sleep on a mattress after having spent the last day and a half trying to find the best way to sleep in an airplane or bus seat. : ) ] We met at the church last night to join up with our host families and go home with them. It was so fun to see some old friends again and and also to meet new friends (who, as I think about it, are really brothers and sisters in Christ).
I briefly mentioned last night that we arrived several hours late because we were diverted to another airport due to high winds. Our last flight was scheduled to arrive in Navegantes (here is a link to a map, that if it works, should give you an idea of the rough location of some places - http://maps.google.com.br/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=pt-BR&geocode=&q=navegantes&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Navegantes+-+Santa+Catarina&ll=-26.985724,-49.266815&spn=0.619224,1.757813&z=10 ), but the winds there were gusting anywhere from 50-80 km/h and it wasn't going to work to land (more on that in a minute). We circled for a while to wait and see if the winds would dissipate, but they didn't so we flew onto another airport (which I don't know the name of). We had about 45 minutes or so after we landed to grab our bags and a small bite to eat. While we were waiting Liz told me the reason we couldn't land was because the two planes that had tried landing prior to ours had problems. The first sustained damage to the plane and the second was waved off during landing and had to go to another airport. So we were thankful that the pilots and airline staff were being cautious and not taking chances.
From there the airline chartered a bus to take us (now 32 people with the addition of Steve & Liz Spellman and someone from the church in Rio de Janeiro) and several other passengers to Blumenau. This was about a three hour bus ride and our team was now divided between those who were exhausted and wanted to sleep (front of the bus) and those who apparently had energy to spare and were talking and laughing non stop (back of the bus.) We finally reached Blumenau (about 11pm Brazil time, btw we are two hours ahead of CT) and once again we unloaded our bags and waited for our bus to ferry us to Rio do Sul. The original plans called for a bus to take us from Navegantes to Rio do Sul, but the bus instead met us in Blumenau for about another 1.5 ride.
Today we have some orientation and then I believe we start English camp later tonight. It should be an exciting day and I'm guessing there is a fair amount of nervousness as we begin and encounter new, unknown circumstances. But God is great and we know He is able. We would love yours prayers (even as I know many of you who are reading already are) for endurance for the long days, boldness in proclaiming the gospel (and boldness in starting conversations with people we don't know in a language we don't know), and for love and unity.
I have taken pictures and will try to post them if possible - I'm still trying to figure everything out with the blog, computer, and camera. Some of you have already posted comments, and please keep doing so, I will try my best to pass them along. But Brock we don't need those comments you left...maybe we won't miss you after all.... I kid, I kid ; ). Seriously keep the comments coming, anything and everything is welcomed. Until next time...we love you all.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Finally arrived
Hello from Rio do Sul. This will be a quick one, with more to come tomorrow. We arrived safely about 10 minutes ago, several hours late after some winds forced us to land at a different airport on our last flight. We all made it safely and are tired after our 33.5 hour trip. Thanks for your prayers, until tomorrow.
While we're waiting...
While the team is traveling and we're all anxiously awaiting word from them upon their arrival, I thought I'd post the link from last year's video. To give those that haven't been or haven't seen the pictures an idea of what went on last year, what some of the venues look like and some of the things the team will likely do again this year, etc.
I'm very excited to hear the experiences of the kids and adults from this year's trip...bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPhsD38KQBo
I'm very excited to hear the experiences of the kids and adults from this year's trip...bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPhsD38KQBo
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
On the plane in Charlotte
We made the plane with just a few minutes to spare. And now we're ready. Most everyone got a quick bit to eat and we're settling in for the long flight. It could be a while before I get a chance again to update everyone, most likely in Rio do Sul. Talk to you then.
Charlotte - A Little Late
Just arrived in Charlotte. We are a little late because of weather (we had storms in KC and outside of Charlotte so not sure which held us up) and now we are going to have hussle to make our flight to Rio. Our flight is scheduled to depart at 10:30 and boarding started at 9:45...and we are stil on our flight from KC. : ) Needless to say we're praying.
In KC
Hello Everyone,
We've started our trip and have made it to KC. Our flight to Charlotte is scheduled to leave @ 6:20 so we should start boarding in just a few minutes. We're all excited and anxious to see what God is going to do while we're down in Brazil. And while I'm no Brock (we're gonna miss not having him with us this year) when it comes to blogging, I'll do my best to keep the posts coming and everyone updated. : )
We've started our trip and have made it to KC. Our flight to Charlotte is scheduled to leave @ 6:20 so we should start boarding in just a few minutes. We're all excited and anxious to see what God is going to do while we're down in Brazil. And while I'm no Brock (we're gonna miss not having him with us this year) when it comes to blogging, I'll do my best to keep the posts coming and everyone updated. : )
Monday, June 14, 2010
2 Days Away
In a little over two days we'll be in the air on the first leg of our journey to Brazil. Can it really be here already? Stay tuned for more as we begin our trip down south on Wednesday.
Friday, June 11, 2010
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