We're in BRAZIL!!

After approximately 24 hours of traveling, Team 1 has successfully made it to Brazil!  Amazingly we did it with no hang ups, lost luggage or major delays… basically God blessed our trip.  Now before we go into what’s happened today, let’s back up to Thursday when our journey really started.

 

Thursday, March 4^th, Team 1 met up at John & Trudy’s house in Hampton, GA.  That night started our stateside training and was the first time that the entire team had assembled.  We had a great time learning about each other, stepping out of our comfort zones as we planned a few games and thanked God for this amazing experience that we were all about to embark on. 

 

Friday was our second day of training.  After working on our language lessons and learning a few Portuguese songs, the team had a chance to really dive into our officinas. (In the states these are known as skills/track times.) Team 1 had a blast learning all the recreational games, fun arts & crafts and some very gender specific activities that we’ll be teaching in just a few days!  When all this was said and done, it was time to pack.  In the states we are so blessed to have the ability to just run down to Wal-Mart or the grocery store to pick up anything that we might need.  Well, down here in Brazil it’s not always so easy.  Because of this we brought down basically all of our supplies for the week.  At 4:00 PM it was time for us to head out.  The team passed through security with a great amount of ease and at 7:35 PM we were boarding our plane bound for Brazil. For some of our team members, this was the first plane ride they had ever experienced; for others it was their first international flight.  Needless to say this flight was full of first times for many of us. 

 

At approximately 7:30 AM in Brazil, that’s 5:30 AM in Georgia, we touched down in the beautiful country of Brazil.  We claimed out bags and literally walked straight through customs with no problems. (A definite blessing from God.)  We had about a 3 hour layover in Saõ Pauló, which gave the team a chance to have their first Brazilian breakfast.  We enjoyed freshly squeezed orange juice, some cheesy bread (pao de queso) and coxinhas; which can best be described as a hush puppy with chicken in the middle.  Every bit of it was amazing.  We then boarded our final flight and landed in Brasilia around 3 PM.  A full 24 hours later we had made it to our final destination.

 

At the airport in Brasilia we were pleasantly welcomed by some very familiar faces; Brent, Marney & André (Brazilian Missionaries) and Fufa (our driver from last year’s International Projects).  We quickly left the airport, made it to our home away from home; Aqua Viva.  We took some time to get cleaned up and then had dinner.  Today is Whitney Stancil’s birthday, so we celebrated that with an authentic Brazilian birthday cake.  Soon afterward we continued the effort we started in the States and worked on our Portuguese songs.  Then finally our Brazilian teammates arrived.  We welcomed them in style and enjoyed a time of introduction and then a late night snack.

 

Tomorrow is sure to be jam packed full of training. Please continue to be in prayer for all of us as we walk through a day at camp as a fully united team; Brazilians and Americans together. 

 

Now here’s a quick update on our team members:

 

Jon Gill- Learned how to say, “I need a kiss” in Portuguese; giving him just enough knowledge to make him dangerous.

JC Ndzomo- Had some problems falling asleep on the plane, but found it quite easy to fall asleep in the busy terminal of Saõ Pauló.

Toby Sanders- Upon falling into a deep sleep on our first flight, the flight attendant had a tough time waking him up; and for a moment he was presumed dead. (Don’t worry Mom, I’m fine.)

Whitney Corley- Had a blast jamming out to a few tunes on the plane and unlike JC had an easy time sleeping on our flights.

Tori Frazier- Did a great job overcoming her fear of flying.  She’s 2 flights down and 2 to go!

Whitney Stancil- During our night flight, she looked out the window and saw was she thought was thunder storm.  It turned out to be just the light at the end of the wing blinking.

Alyssa O’Leary- Was the only team member to be stopped when passing through security in Atlanta.  Word to the wise ladies, don’t wear bobby pins in your hair before boarding a flight.

Jessica Hendry- Has a new friend in Brazil.  On our second flight she was woken up by the flight attendant a record 4 times; proving TAM wants to make sure all of their guests are happy with their accommodations.

Megan Gaither- Is currently taking a course in Portuguese at UGA and is definitely soaking up this cultural experience.

Katie Underwood- Definitely is the life of the party, having contributed a number of memorable quotes that won’t soon be forgotten.

Juliana Anderson- Having spent several years in Brazil as a missionary kid feels that she is in her home away from home.

Lauren Bennett- Is “fur hur sure” thrilled to be back in Brazil for a second year and is enjoying the chance to reconnect with some old Brazilian friends.

Tricia Watts- was able to get a decent sleep thanks to a neck roll, hoodie, jacket and a blanket.  Yay!!

Norma Thomas- Is definitely excited to be on her “sort of” first international trip.

Ken Thomas- After all of our language classes, practice lessons and giving him a language card to carry around with him, he has some how only learned how to say “tudo bem” (how are you?).

Jimmy Simpson- Suprisingly has yet to stress out about anything… but don’t worry, it’s only day 1.

John & Trudy- were some how able to enjoy about 8 hours of sleep on the plane.

Brent & Angela- Both were very excited to be joined with their fellow American teammates after being in Brazil for the past week. They’ve been very busy diligently preparing for the next two weeks worth of camps.

 

Pictures coming soon…

 

 

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