Pizza, Church, and Training - Oh My!

___This is our Blog post from Sunday (3.14.2010), but due to limited access to email we are just now able to upload. We will post today's post later today!_______

Oi! (That’s hello for all of you none Portuguese speakers out there!) Our first full day in Brazil was B-E-A-UTIFUL! Everyone was very thankful for a full night’s sleep horizontal style and thoroughly enjoyed the mango, pineapple, and pao de queijo for breakfast! Rain over night provided a cool morning, perfect for running through oficinas with our Brazilian teammates and a few of us managed to walk away with a slight Chaco/flip-flop tan.

We spent the day training with our Brazilian teammates from P North. We learned a few songs in Portuguese and taught the Brazilians “My God is so Big” in English. Later in the afternoon, we got to see Elena, Sergio, and Maricio and practiced the skits or “Ice Breakers” for camp. Aqua Viva was filled with conversations that sounded a lot like Engluguese. (A mix of Portuguese and English) Despite the language barrier, today was the beginning of a great partnership between the two teams. We were able to witness firsthand the greatness of our God!

Tonight we had the privilege of worshiping at Marney and Andre’s church. It was incredible to hear the people of Brazil worshiping the Lord and I was overwhelmed by His love for these people. During the service, they began to pass out water to the congregation. After Brandon had partaken of his cup, Brent tried to convince him that we were about to take communion and that he was supposed to wait on everyone else. After church we ate some delicious Brazilian pizza: heart of palm with chicken, pepperoni with onions and peppers, cheese (Speedy), banana and cinnamon, guava, and many more.

As we prepare for camp tomorrow, I am reminded of a challenge I was given recently to be a door holder- a door holder for the presence of the Lord! What a challenge! That is what I believe we are here to do this week- be door holders for the children, volunteers, and parents we meet. We want to hold open the doors so that they might be able to run into the presence of the Lord and then run out again to tell everyone they know about our magnificent God. The Lord told us to “declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!” Our prayer as a team is that the Lord would be glorified this week, that His name would be made famous, not only in Brazil but also among all the nations of the world! We are praying believing that “greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city!”

“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Psalm 84:10

Born Phann- is going on the Beach Blast diet; twice a day, everyday until camp and wishes his mom was here to cut his meat

Jessica Williams- is thinking about staying in Brazil forever and gives a shout out to Mom & Dad

Haley Trammel- was thrilled to see we were having brownies for breakfast

Mallory Stuckey- says her Portuguese sentences are coming along nicely… she asked Fufa “pizza later night?” (pizza lago noite)

Brandon Cullum- is learning to “rock out” on stage without his guitar

Anna Jane Fletcher- is sticking to her southern roots and finding herself saying please and thank you often

Alison Nichols- enjoyed playing on the playground with Haley but it was an epic fail when they found out there was no slide

Josh England- got sunburned with sunscreen on while being outside for only an hour

Mae Lemonds- got to relive her 3-year-old days by getting to throw a temper tantrum while practicing the icebreakers today

Chelsea Packard- says the banana pizza at dinner was awesome

Chris Chapman- can’t make up his mind, is going to eat a lizard, didn’t fall asleep twice today, and is falling asleep with his quillow in a hammock

Melodie Malone (me)- loves being back in Brazil and is ready to be a door holder

JD Dukes- is lovin’ kickin’ with my Brazil twin John and gives a shout out to Ashley Hester

Julie Trejo- loves being a member of this team; Hi Darrel and AG

Speedy Trejo- felt great reconnecting with our friends from last year; thanks for all your prayers back home

Brent Fielder- really enjoyed hanging out with out team from P North; can’t wait for the week to start and thankful for Skype technology

Angela Rubenacker- found herself looking for Jimmy after her feet got sunburned during the rec run through and is so proud of team 2

John and Trudy White- zzzzzz

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