We're All In This Together!

Oi! We’re half way through the day and Team One is still going strong even on our last day of camp.  Everything about our last day has been different and a little faster paced. It reminds me of Chick-fil-a Friday Family Fun Day for those in the C3 world. Today started with the whole team performing a dance from High School Musical for the kids. We just learned it yesterday but with some practice it went smoothly. The kids were mesmerized. Marney said the kids knew this song and it was obvious they really enjoyed it.  After the dance and skits the kids finished their fluffy lamb projects which are absolutely adorable.

                 

The theme for today was finding yourself and focused on the fact that God loves you 100%.  The kids had a small group time where they could talk about themselves and what it was they loved to do. They were also asked what they did on Sundays. Even though we can’t understand everything they are saying we’ve picked up several words. It was obvious, even with our limited vocabularies, that video games and sports were a favorite! After discussion time we had a snack that is like a Brazilian hot dog. They cut a hot dog up and put it in a bun with corn, tomatoes, and thin potato chips. This may sound weird but it was delicious and the kids love it too! 

 

At the end of the day we gave all the children their Cade? T-shirts. It was so great to see their excitement for the new shirts and to see all these matching little kids running around. We all got together for a huge group picture which was very entertaining. As we finished the picture, we headed into the church for the closing group time. This is also when the parents were invited to attend, and it was so neat to see all the families fill up the back section of the church. There were moms, dads, aunts, uncles and siblings. There was a lot of “thank yous” said. The pastor of the church shared he was very grateful that we were here and he would welcome us back anytime. He was also able to invite all the families present to attend their church. Lauren shared her testimony and we ended the time with the story of the lost sheep.

 

Now it was time for the difficult part-saying goodbye. We have not even been here a week but we have developed strong bonds with these children already. Sometimes I think they are even stronger because we had to work so hard together to understand each other! However, we all understood without having to use words that we have loved this week and we are going to miss each other a lot. There were many hugs and many photos taken as the kids took their camp projects and headed home. There have been some tears but we are so happy to have had this oppurtunity and to have met these kids. Marney told us that many children came to her and said they wished we could stay for a month and that this was the best thing they had ever been a part of. It’s such a blessing to know that even though we don’t want to tell these little Brazilians goodbye that they will not forget us. More importantly, they will not forget what we told them about our God who loves them just the way they are.

 

After the children left we drove to the area where most of the children are from. We got to see their homes and even some of them walking home! They were all playing with the magnifying glasses that we had just given them. It was good to see where they come from and know that we had an impact on their lives. We will continue to have some difficult goodbyes this afternoon, but we know that their lives and our lives have been changed forever.

 

 

John- helped Angela (Rubenacker) get everything ready for the closing program

Trudy –  was center stage today speaking to the parents

Angela Rubenacker – is “The best part of waking up is Brazilian Coco Puffs”

Carol Erica – I mean Thiago, I mean Lucas, I mean Marcelo- became the catch all for name tags as the kids were leaving

Lauren – has a best friend forever and her dinner was attacked by a moth

Kristin – was born to be artsy

Adrianne – is expected to be followed around by seven dwarfs because she is officially known as Snow White by the Brazilians

Savannah – is using her gifts of jumping in at times of need

Melodie – the newest phrase among Brazilian children is Cade Melogie?

Tiffany (me) – apparently looks like a Brazilian TV star and wants to be called “Ch”iffany forever

Keenan–  found that in addition to God’s love knowing no language barriers, cartoon voices (ie. Scooby Doo, Mickey Mouse, Elmo) don’t either J

Leslie –  still hasn’t gotten to participate in Round Up

Juliana – figured out it was Leo’s anniversary instead of his birthday…after we sang Happy Birthday!

Jimmy – has spent a lot of time picking on Kristen and hates then Even or Odd game

Tricia – looked adorable in the ending video

 

Photos:

 

1. Our morning campers in their Cade? shirts (Cade means “where is…” so we’ve talked about where is love, joy, peace, etc.)
2. Adrianne, Carol Erica, and Juliana in the “skit” this morning that introduces the theme
3. The kids were all about some pictures today
4. We have camp behind an iron gate, but when the gate opens, this is the view right outside the church

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in: 2009,Brazil,WSCIP