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!)