Day 10

Well, we have pretty much come to the back end of our ministry in Rio do Sul and I can affirm what you have heard already. Families, you have good reason to be proud of your students on this trip. The combination of strong team unity, openness, courage and just plain joy displayed by the members of this team have left a big impression on the Brazilians we have met and we have met many. The different languages have presented the usual challenge but have been no barrier. I may be forever be known to the Brazilians as "Scotch" but I've learned I can answer to that just as well as the name they can't seem to pronounce.

In spite of the cultural and language differences, time and again I watched our students take the initiative to approach Brazilians, strike up a conversation and, before it was done, share their faith as naturally as they were moments ago talking about American football or Brazilian soccer.

If there was any one word I would use to sum up the image this team has carried with it, it is "joy". These American students have effectively demonstrated that the life they have found in Christ is one of joy. When we get home in just a few days now, the pictures we will bring (and there are literally thousands of them between us) will clearly show this.

Tonight we pack back on the bus for Florianopolis. Then tomorrow a day of sightseeing and then, the following day back to Sao Paula and finally home. See you all soon!
-- Scott "Scotch" Kerr

Day 8

Cody Hall: When writing on this blog,I wanted to say something Inspirational wellll I could think of anything,so I am just gonna tell you about myself.
When I left for this trip I was thinking what can I do to change a life for christ? what can I do to help others?
I was always thinking of me...What can I do..I listened to myself and heard I,me,myself continually.But as Iv been on this trip..I see more and more it was nothing to do with me..NOTHING it is always God! who was,and is,and is to come. Iv been in wounder of how God is working through me...working to change lives through me and with me...I just let go and let God take my words and my thoughts and it has been life changing!!
Also the love for one one another on this trip is amazing we have grown as brothers and sisters in Christ Sooooo much you can easily see it from miles away.

Tahner Pinkman Well yesterday Steve Spellman, Hannah W., Taylor Fries and I went over to the town of Lontras. Just about half an hour away from the town of Rio Do Sul that we are currently staying in. We went into four different schools, I think, but they all seem to run together in my mind. We worked with younger kids, ages ranging from five to eight or nine. It was a really neat experience for me personally, a lot of the kids were from out in rural farming communities. But the neat thing was that very few, if any had ever heard the story of the gospel before and I loved being able to share it with them for the first time. Please pray that these kids understood clearly the message we were trying to get across because it is the most important thing that they have ever hear or ever will hear in their entire life.

Today we’ll be going into more schools, so pray that the students will be attentive and open to the gospel. Also, please pray for our group as a whole: that we will continue to have renewed strength every day, as some of us are beginning to get run down a little bit.

Liz Merrett: My time here in Brazil has been like nothing I have ever experienced before. It's the weirdest thing. We have signed autographs, had pictures taken of us, and where ever we go we're stared at. It's definitely taking some getting used to, but to be honest, I don't mind it!

On a more serious note, this morning, Andrew, Ryan,Bianca, (one of our translators and my roommate) and I all went to a school in Lontras, a small town west of Rio do Sol. In the mornings the classes are more elementary-aged students. We went to 3 classrooms and when we shared the Gospel Bracelets the kids really quieted down and paid close attention. They had many questions about Nebraska and our lives. The children were so excited that we were there and we received many hugs and kisses goodbye.

Ryan Pramberg: Hey Lincoln! I personally just wanted to thank everyone for the prayers that are continually following us and thank you for being such amazing prayer warriors. Because of the time you and us have spent on our knees God has honored those and we have seen many amazing things occur. Personally the best parts of this trip have been threefold. The first was being able to pray for 20 minutes with the adults of the church. Jon and I had them in our English group during camp and we took the time to pray for the camp and thank God for the amazing things he has done and will do. Even though I did not understand every word there was a power in the air that was undeniable and a joy to experience. The second for myself was listening to what others have been learning so far. It has been sweet to push others to be uncomfortable and then hear how they were used and how they went ahead in faith! Muito Legao! Finally, on a more selfish level, I go the chance to go to two classrooms without a translator…I was the translator with Eric Rock. That was so difficult but so cool because Eric and I both were given great clarity and somehow stumbled through the whole 50 minutes in Portuguese. Crazy! So thanks again for all of your prayers, they are with us wherever we go and I thanks you! See you Monday!

Andrew Goode: Hey everyone! Just wanted to share a little bit about how God has been using me. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights we are having “Happy Hour” at the church. This is where people can just come to the church and hangout for a couple of hours and play games and talk about whatever they want. I met this guy named Beto at the English camp and he came to the Happy Hour Monday night. As I began to talk to him he shared about his addiction to drugs and alcohol and how they consumed his life. He said that he had been clean for 20 days, but just before that happy hour he used again and he was feeling very alone/bad. I prayed for him and then we began to talk more about his life and how God is his comforter and everything. Then towards the end Ricky came up and we all talked and then prayed again when we all left. He rides bikes, and hopes to help little kids get out of drugs and that lifestyle through his dirt bikes. We talked for about 2 and a half hours Monday night and then he came back last night(Tuesday) and we talked about for 2 hours in broken English/Portugese. He has accepted Christ as his Savior but is still struggling with the hold that drugs have on him. He asked me and others to pray for him so that would be much appreciated. I will see him again tonight at Happy Hour and I would like prayer for him and me for the Holy Spirit’s words and direction. Thanks for the prayers!!

Robb: This trip has been a huge blessing to me. Seeing the gospel shared with so many, and being able to share God’s good news myself with the people of Brazil truly makes me feel a part of what God calls all believers to do in Mathew 28:19 – 20. Yesterday, a girl named Tailine had been identified in her class as being a Christian. During an impromptu soccer game, I was able to talk to Tailine and hear the story of a miracle in her life involving a brain/spine tumor that was removed, but later came back. Her church prayed for her during the 11 days from her initial visit to the appointment where the doctors would determine the course of action. When she returned, the tumor was gone. I was able to share the gospel message with her friends that were listening by using the bracelets we brought. We gave Tailine a handful of extra bracelets with the understanding that she would give them out after she was bold in sharing the message others. In return, she took a bracelet off of her arm that they had made at her church and gave it to me. Please pray that God will use Tailine in amazing ways as she shares with others.

Today at lunch my birthday was celebrated with the team and so many of my new Brazilian friends. The cake had sparklers and two candles in the shape of a “0”and “4”. I’m not quite sure why they chose those numbers.

Please pray that we finish our race here in Brazil well, and we look forward to taking the boldness of sharing our message and our heart of service back to Lincoln.

Day 6

Luke Brown: The other night I was asked to share the gospel for the whole entire English camp. My initial reaction was ..uhhhh funny?!? But then I remembered before the trip praying to God to truly challenge me on this trip. I then knew this was God giving me the chance to push myself and share his good news. Although I was very nervous it went well and I finished without fainting or soiling myself :). So far this trip has been pushing me in many ways and I praise God for each and everyone of them. I am so glad to be here and to watch God work through all of us in different areas. I cant wait to see all you back home but until then God bless.

Jesse Mills: This trip has been a wonderful blessing to me, and it's been awesome to see how unified our team is. Even the Brazilian people have noticed this, and commented on how close we all are. I think I grow as much from watching and praying for others on the team who are actively doing God's work, as I do from participating myself! My most powerful experience thus far has been the church service yesterday evening. The combination of worship in two languages, a skit representing the freedom from sin found in Christ, and Ricky's message touched my heart in a rare and wonderful way. I cannot wait to visit some schools and share the power of the cross with many who only know its shape.

We spent this morning having team time/personal devotions. It was a wonderful change of pace. Hunter and Luke led the team devo about how to avoid being a "lukewarm" Christian.

After lunch we'll be splitting into two teams that will go into different schools to share the Gospel, play a game of basketball/soccer, and then come back to the church later this evening for "Happy Hour" (meaning socializing/having intentional conversations with those that came to English camp). Busy day but we're all excited to see how God will work through us in the schools and in the conversations tonight.

Parents, don't forget that Ricky will be calling tonight at the prayer meeting.

Thanks again for your continued prayers and comments,
Hannah W.

(P.S. 2D)

Father's Day

Oh, and happy Father's Day to all our dads back home! We love you and miss you a lot!
The Team

Day 5

Unfortunately, yesterday I came down with the stomach flu (don’t worry mom, doing fine now) so I was unable to participate in English camp. I’ve asked Hunter Boe to fill in some of the details:

One thing often told to us prior to the trip is how much students have more leadership responsibilities. English camp was the first time I got to experience this firsthand. On the one hand it was very nerve-racking because I didn’t want to mess up their Christian lives. However, after five sessions with the same group I had learned so much about the Brazilian culture and their own lives. At one point near the end of the sessions we had gotten into a deeper discussion and I was really worrying about having answers and getting the message across correctly. Later though, the Holy Spirit absolutely gave me the words to speak as all questions went smoothly and the right thoughts came to mind immediately. I was just so happy I could be the vessel for God’s message and look forward to being used by him later in the trip.

As a side note, I once asked if everyone had the 2^nd “sheet” of paper to which several boys started snickering. Thoroughly confused I looked at them questioningly. They then reminded me of a certain American swear word pronounced differently. For the rest of the sessions I chose more appropriate words like piece.

Also, a guy here has a tattoo of the one ring around his arm. Yes.

Despite not feeling 100% yesterday, it was still a great day. I spent the day at Pastor Johny’s house with his wife Marcia. (Praise God that mothers speak a universal language.) As I sat at her kitchen table drinking tea and discussing various topics through broken Spanish, Portuguese, and English I felt such a love towards her and the other people we’ve met on the trip thus far. I know I’m not alone in this, our entire team has become very close to so many people.

I’m sitting here in the church as the worship team is warming up for service tonight at 7. I’m not sure what the schedule for tomorrow looks like, probably going into some of the private schools to share the Gospel (the public schools are still closed because of the strike).

Please continue to pray for energy for the team, boldness in sharing the Gospel, and that we would continue to grow spiritually as a result of this amazing trip.

Thanks for your continued prayers,

Hannah W.

(P.S. Ricky wasn’t exaggerating about the barbeque at all. Sooo delicious.)

Pictures!

Doing devos together in the airport at Sao Paulo
The girls & Robb at the church this morning.
The guys being guys.

Day 1

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
-Isaiah 41:10

This is the verse that the "encouragement team" read to us this morning when we all arrived at the church (along with playing Rebbecca Black's 'It's Friday', which is now stuck in everyone's head. ;)

From what I've heard from everyone this morning, we've all already fallen in love with our host families.

This morning we all arrived at the church at 9ish (Ricky wasn't kidding about time not really being a concern down here.) and had a team devotion led by Taylor and Chrissy.

I've asked a couple of people to share about their trip thus far/general shout outs:

Sam Green: First off, the plane rides were very long & pretty tiring, but overall went well. The bus ride took forever, & my host family said they had been waiting at the church for about 2 hours for me to arrive. My host family was very welcoming & was showing me the city, & like their favorite place to eat, which was some hot dogs, that were giant. Half of them speak English, so it was pretty easy to understand, but it was a long day but fun in the end.

Taylor Fries: So apparently doors work differently in Brazil. Me and Chrissy's host family is really nice but their doors are very difficult. I was locked in a bathroom for 15 minutes while they tried to tell me how to get out using google translate. but I got out alive, and it's all good! yay!

Jon Isaacson:
What up Lincoln
Living with Alek this year should be interesting he gave a kid "american" water today and told him to drink it so this living arrangement should be interesting and fun. Got here after long time traveling and every0ne is feeling well. English camp starts today so should be interesting.. this trip is pretty interesting. ttyl mom and dad

Andrew Goode: Well hello everyone! I am living with Ryan this year, first year without Ricky... :( I cried when i went to bed last night...But, we are staying with Douglas and his wife, he is Maicon's brother, who i stayed with last year. We went to visit the "rockstars"house last night and got to see everyone again! Played the song friday this morning to encourage everyone to have a great day. It was crazy. okay, ttyl! Praying for the Mexico team as they leave this morning.

If the stories are any indication, our team is having a blast. Laughing constantly.

On a more serious note:

Kristin Husbands: This morning I realized everything that God has done prior to us arriving in Rio do Sul. It became a reality as we met some of the people we have been praying for the past 4 months. I can't wait to meet all the others! Through my conversations with some of the students, we have each been paired with the "fitting people". I love how God orchestrates everything even when we think we are planning it.

Hannah W. and I are staying with an amazing, encouraging woman Patricia who housed K & G. Megrue last year (so greetings to you guys!). Already she has been a joy to get to know. We stayed up last night laughing, sharing stories, giggling over the confusion in language, and covering almost every topic (even Ice Age!) possible. She told us she was nervous at first but I think we helped her quickly overcome that. I am excited to see what God does through this relationship over the next week. Please pray for her as she grows in her relationship with God and for wisdom for Hannah and I as we encourage and challenge her. We love her already.
God is beginning to unite our team and build a closeness that I am sure we will need to rely on later in the trip. I also have enjoyed watching the team grow as we already have been forced to step outside of our comfort zones and into a fuller trust in God. Blessings to all!!

As I'm sitting here (at Celivris, the church) teams are practicing for English camp later this afternoon. Due to a teacher strike, we're not sure what the schedule for the day will look like. It sounds like we will be visiting some schools and walking streets to invite people to the English camp.

We all appreciate the prayers (and comments!). Thank you!!

We are all praying for the other half of our team that left for Mexico this morning,
Hannah W.

(P.S. We're 2 hours ahead of Lincoln time.)

(Also, trying to upload some pictures, check back later today!)

Arrival!

After almost 2 days of travel, we have finally arrived at the church in Rio do Sul! Praising God! All team members and luggage arrived unharmed!

As I'm sitting here writing this: Ricky is determining who will stay where, the girls are socializing with some of the host families and the boys have started a game of soccer. We're all anxious to start ministry tomorrow but not before getting some rest.

Please continue to pray for energy for the team and for all the ministries starting tomorrow!

Unfortunately, the laptop battery isn't going to last much longer. Sorry for the short update.
Sending love home,
Hannah W.

The 2011 Brazil Team

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