All Good Things Must Come to a "see you later..."

By the time this blog is posted, we will be on our way home. Words cannot describe fully how much God has moved and used every one of us on Team 2 to do his amazing work here in Brazil. He has blessed this team in so many ways. This week has gone by so fast and we cannot even believe it is coming to an end! It is amazing to think that in one week, our love for the Lord has brought us all so close together. We have discovered and built friendships that will last a lifetime, not only with each other but with the Brazilian team. These Men of God and Women of Faith have had such an impact to each and every one of us. We thank the Lord for being “Demais” throughout this entire week.

Last night, we held a celebration for a successful week of camp with all the staffers, the campers, and their parents. Although there was rain and a brief power outage, everything worked out greatly and the church was packed full of campers and parents. The kitchen staff of P. North prepared us an amazing dinner, which turned out to be pretty romantic because we got to eat with only the light from our van. They made their version of lasagna, which was AMAZING, and ended dinner with quite possibly one of the best chocolate cakes we have ever tasted. God blessed us with electricity right before the program was scheduled to start. We performed “Beach Blast” not once, but TWICE! In between, we sang and danced to many of the songs we learned during the week. Speedy and I (Born) got to share our testimonies. At the end of the night, we had to say our goodbyes to our precious kids.

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Not Good-byes | See you later's

Photo 1: Tia Trugie (aka - Trudy) singing Dufundo with a camper

Photo 2: Parabens - It was another birthday at camp - just only this time it was in a skit

Photo 3: Everybody Rockout - thats what this song is about | BEACH BLAST

Photo 4: This is a picture that Palo drew for the team... Can you pick out some of our team members? Don't worry, the red on the faces is face paint that out team wore a lot of!

Boa Tarde from beautiful Brazil! If you want to meet some of the most loving, self less, and hospitable people in the world….come to Brazil! They are absolutely amazing! I love these people so much!! It breaks my heart that I’ll have to leave them come Saturday. It has been an incredible adventure. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to come back for round two.

Since our last post so much has happened! After lunch and a much needed rest (or like several of us girls …a time to work on our tan) we began part two of camp. Campers poured into the church courtyard by the dozens. We kicked off part two by doing the WinShape favorite, the hamster dance. JD, Chelsea, Chris, Mae, and I followed with a skit which emphasized our theme,Demais. We followed this up with another round of the hamster dance. Before heading to the main worship service, “Groupo Grande” the entire camp sang happy birthday to me. It was awesome. By that time I think I had already been sung to a good 5 times(and definitely wasn’t the last …). Haha. I love this place!

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Para Bens Alison!! Brazilian Birthdays are the BEST!

Oi! I hope that you are all doing well today in the states. Just to set the tone as you read this, we are having seriously one of the greatest days ever in Brasil. First of all the weather is unreal. I (Brent) have been here for the past 3 weeks and I can easily say that the weather today is the best that I have seen. The wind is blowing, the sun is out, the skies are clear, and its just warm enough to be wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Also, today I would say that Team 2 is fully in the swing of things. We are completely comfortable with what we are doing, we are developing incredible relationships with the kids and things are running very smoothly.

Yesterday afternoon camp ended great! We had a great day with the kids and had some incredible experiences as we have really started diving into relationships with the kids. When we ended we were able to meet with out team members from P. North for a little bit and then we got to go see the community that many of our campers come from. Let me set this up. The church that we are working with in P. North does a lot of mission work in a community near by called QNE (Quadrant NE). The church does a lot in this area and one thing that we have been able to do is to provide a bus for the church to pick up many of these kids in this area to come to camp. Roughly half of the campers that we have come from this area, so we thought it would be great to be able to learn about where they come from. As we drove through, our team had a whole new perspective to what it meant to live in poverty. The best way that our team could describe this area is that “it looks like a National Geographic magazine,” or a “feed the children commercial.” The only difference in what we saw yesterday and what we see on TV is that it was real. We saw kids and families walking the streets next to their shacks that were made of plywood scraps and a little cement. We saw a community of shacks that were in the middle of a field that were so far from any comfort that we experience even in our lowest standard of living. We saw kids that come to DEMAIS chase our van down the road as we drove down their streets. We saw things that many people on our team have never experienced, but we took so much from this. The biggest thing is that we were able to see that these are people. Not only were they people, but they are children that we know, that we have relationships with, and that we love. It was so encouraging that we get to know them, get to love on them, and get to share God’s love with these people.

As we ended the day of all of the excitement of camp and the reality check of visiting QNE, we had a great time to debrief as a team. We were able to go on an emotional rollercoaster together as we laughed so hard because of our friend Edson’s pranks, cried as we shared how being with the kids of QNE affected us, and a bit of both as we read the blog comments. One encouragement that we can share together for this community is a song that we may all know from Chris Tomlin:

“Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in THIS city…”

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Video Update | Team Chants

What would camp be without Team Chants? Check out our WinShape Chants | Brazilian Style

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Largest IP Ever - Some Familiar Faces

Once upon a time there was a team far far away from home in a land known as Brazil. In this land there are many meninas and meninos who did not know the excitement they were about to face.

Yesterday afternoon we had the privilege of having 78 campers join us for Demais! Every team was packed to the max! I can’t think of any experience that tops the sound of Portuguese speaking children yelling for their team color. Not sure about the precise number for the other teams but vermelho had 32 kids. Mrs. Trudy and I (Jessica) had our hands full. First thought that popped in my head was how are we going to control so many kids? But they were so well behaved and we all had a great time! Many of the children have asked some of the team members to help them learn English. One way the campers communicate with the tias and tios (WinShape Team) is to point and use gestures. A laugh and a funny look usually follow when we repeat their language. For example, Arthur, a member of the red team, wanted to know the “ingles” word for “Deus” which is God in Portuguese. Even though the team is slowly learning common words in Portuguese, this particular experience was a reminder that we are here for one purpose and one purpose only, to share the love of Christ to children and volunteers of a different language.

Aside from camp we enjoyed a night of adventure at Agua Viva. Everything in Brazil is jumbo sized. For instance, their frogs could eat the entire team in one slurp. Mrs. Trudy showed us her quickness when the jumbo frog made a move towards her. We discovered poisonous spiders hanging from trees (don’t worry moms we stayed far away). Walking down the roads of Agua Viva are flowing red lines created by the gynormous ants. Marching through the grass kept them from hanging onto our shoes. During our extravaganzas Andre was able to find our lost keys. On a more serious note we had tons to talk about during debrief time of how God showed up and showed off on Day 2 of Demais.

This morning the teams slept in and left for the day at 6:15 AM (4:15 AM in Georgia and 3:15 in Alabama). Traffic delayed us a bit but as we stepped off the bus kids from yesterday morning greeted us with a huge smile, hugs, and a “bom dia!” Our Portuguese is growing and growing daily. Some activities of the day included Spider-tag, lemon-lime soda, decorating cookies in “Mundos de Meninas” (Girl World). Our Brazilian friends were confident in their lessons and did an amazing job!

J.D. (Dukey)- Having fun making lemonade and seeing kids with sour faces and is sweating like a man

Brandon- Thinks kids drinking lemon juice is funny on ANY continent

Josh- O cuel e tao lindo do Brazil

Speedy- enjoyed another day at camp. The Brazilian kids have as much energy as the American kids. Hi AG and Darrell!

Chris- Hopes Richard remembers cheesy bread and hopes he likes my Mohawk

Born-Does not like being in the bathroom with Edson and Chris.

Brent- Fala munto Portuguese

Haley- is following in Corley’s footsteps and has said “nao intende” every five seconds.

Julie- having fun at camp. The cupid shuffle is international. Thanks to Grandmama for keeping AG and Darrell.

Mrs. Trudy- has better reflexes than anyone on the team

Pastor John- is officially the best translator

Alison- wishes she had her digital SLR camera. My photo teacher would be so amazed.

Mae- looks like a splatter painted canvas

Angela (Ruby)- is learning to pray BIG and is excited to see how God is answering.

Melodie- her day was made after receiving a big hug from Richard and watching Misael open a special letter and thinks God’s creation is unexplainable.

Ana Jane- finally saw the southern cross. Hope you guys are having fun in PCB I LOVE YOU

Chelsea-“ you only get to run in Brazil once”

Mallory- the starts are so much brighter in Brazil

Jessica (Me)- Excited to see Team VERLMEHO and learn new words and phrases from Arthur. Shoutout to my roomie and suitemates!

It is our 4^th day in Brazil! What a beautiful day at Boas Novas Ingreja Baptista.

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Video Update 2

Team 2 Day 2 is off to an unbelievable start! We are having an incredible week and really feeling His love all around us! Check out this video which includes a few Hello’s to the 2009 Team 1

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Day 1 | And We're Off!

Oi from Boas Novas Iglesias Baptista (the church where camp takes place): this morning started the first day of camp! The day began early and with an unpredictable challenge—a set of keys were misplaced for one of the vans… After searching for twenty minutes or so to no avail, “Plan B” was initiated. We unloaded the van with missing keys into the passenger van and a smaller van. This obstacle was easily overcome with excitement of seeing campers! Upon arrival, because of the delay, we were already behind on set up. Fortunately, we have a solid team that works hard; we got all set up perfectly and on time!

Once back on track, campers started arriving; we checked them in and immediately jumped into singing songs in Portuguese and English. It is such an awesome experience to worship in another language! After worship and the Bible lesson, oficinas followed. The campers experienced recreation, arts and crafts, along with meninos and meninas (boy’s and girl’s fun respectively) activities. It was really amazing to see how a language barrier can be broken through these activities and bonding begins.

We await another set of campers this afternoon and we’re all really excited after settling in well this morning. I hope this blog finds you all well and safe. Enjoy these status updates!

Julie-is thankful for all of the organizing and setting up Team 1 did for us! Obrigada! Hey AG and D!

Speedy-enjoyed recreation games with the kids today.

Haley-loves the kids; wishes she knew more Portuguese.

Chelsea-Smiles and Laughs are universal!

Jessica-There is a high demand in Animal Bracelets—just ask the kid who tried to take hers! Shout out to Marty!

Born-is finally free from being trapped in the bathroom!

Mallory-Chris is really funny at 5 in the morning…but not any other time.

Melodie-was excited to see familiar faces this morning: Misael, Magno, Lucas, Yuri.

Ana Jane-is now ‘Ana’ because the Brazilians cannot enunciate ‘Ana Jane’.

Brandon-is burnt… bad.

Brent-manufactured a seat on the bus this morning, and still managed to catch a nap.

J.D.-While napping performed a rendition of Michelangelo’s “The Ceiling of the Vatican” with the napping Josh.

Josh- While napping performed a rendition of Michelangelo’s “The Ceiling of the Vatican” with the napping J.D.

Angela-Almost 6 months of preparation to see today transformed from a prayer to reality—Munto Demais!

Alison-Today I’m an Engineer; tomorrow I’m a doctor! I do what I can to help out!

Mae-had fun with “Hands Up” with Anderessa this morning!

Chris-Baca: Mmaaauuu.

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Video Update from Team 2

Team 2 has made it and has hit the ground running!  Loving Brasil – the people, the food, the experience, the weather, EVERYTHING!  Check out our video from our Training with our team from P. North:

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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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DEMAIS | Team 2 Has Arrived

This blog post was written last night (3.13.10) but we were not able to upload until now. We will post more later.

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10

----DEMAIS----

Team 2 greets you from Agua Viva this evening (Saturday, March 13^th). It is around 8PM where most of our family and friends are who will be reading this. There will only be an hour difference between us and you beginning at 2AM tomorrow morning due to springing forward for Daylight Savings Time in the States. Don’t forget to change your clocks and be assured we won’t forget while we are here because Brazilians don’t adjust time until February and October.

Much of our team has already descended to slumber for the night. There are a few who found sleep on the 9 hour flight from Atlanta to Sao Paulo a breeze. However, for others of us we are running on just a couple hours of sleep and pure adrenaline to be about our Father’s business during our ten days together. God’s presence has been thick with us as Team 2 had a few first time international flyers (but not anymore), we all made it through Brazilian customs and have successfully linked arms with our Brazilian counterparts to bring the Truth of God’s promise to be “DEMAIS” – ENOUGH, through WinShape Camps International Project.

There were a few moments we wanted to share with you in our initial post. A few moments worthy of catching on video or through photo …

1) The majority of Team 2 slept in the floor of the Sao Paulo airport. The seating in the terminal did not merit one to lay down on them, so our team decided to improvise and make the most of the layover time by making pallets through an aisle of seats at Gate 3. Our actual gate for departure ended up being Gate 9, but not before it became Gate 4… ask us about details on this story, it’s a good one!

2) The second moment can be understood more clearly after referring to a picture of J.D. (John David) napping on the ground between a window and a row of seats. Why he chose to sleep here, we are not really sure. I am thinking it is because he is so tall and because he thought this might keep him from getting in the path of a stranger. Little did he know…

The funniest part of this story is that fellow teammates, Chris and Alison, were sitting in the seats near the place where he lay. That is, until they moved and a Brazilian couple sat down. When J.D. woke up, he thought they were still sitting where they had been. He proceeded to tap (who he thought was) Chris on the shoulder… only to discover that Chris was not who he tapped on the shoulder at all! This was J.D.’s first chance to use his Portuguese word for, “Sorry!” (Desculpe!)

3) Last, but certainly not least was our opportunity to see TEAM 1 once we arrived at the airport in Brasilia. Everyone was anxious to know if we would have the chance to see them as they prepared to depart and we were scheduled to land in Brasilia.

Although it was a short reunion it made the top of everyone’s list for the day’s highlights! We love you Team 2 and we will continue to pray for what you were able to accomplish in the lives of children as well as their families through the Hope of Glory… Christ in you. You all were pacesetters for us and we all realize we are going to keep our running shoes on for the week! You are dearly loved and we miss you (and we know we aren’t the only ones) already.

4) Big day for our Team Liaison who celebrated his 25^th Birthday today… “Feliz Anniversario, Brent(che)!”

Family, friends and faithful WSC-IP Blog followers… this is simply an update to assure you we have made it safely to the place He predestined us for during this upcoming week. We are so grateful for your partnership in praying, encouraging and celebrating with us. We made it… we are here! Please stay tuned for more in the days to come (with pictures, videos, and updated status from each team member).

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Riiiiiipppple Effect

Facebook albums from our trip will definitely be pretty sweet, but our favorite memories cannot be seen in the pictures you flip through or any of the videos you watch. Seeds have been planted in the hearts of Brazilians and Americans alike. This was no ordinary Spring Break trip.

Two words that were spoken consistently as we sat to debrief as a team this morning were…ripple effect. We may be headed home, but we’re thrilled to know that God’s presence is staying in Sao Sebastian. His work is not done. The team learned the words to “God Of The City” in Portuguese and the words ring true in our hearts as we leave – “You’re the God of this city, You’re the Lord of these people…Greater things are yet to come, Greater things are still to be done here.” We also unpacked a good bit about the ripple effects that our time with the Brazilian children and adults will have on our lives at home and at camp this summer. Here are some comments I jotted down during our meeting.

We were:

-amazed at how powerful God’s love is

-saw utter proof that God can break down any barrier

-impacted by the children’s ability to be content in any situation (with their poor living conditions)

-surprised how in just 4 days with the kids we became so comfortable in their surroundings (so much so that going to the fancy mall last night felt uncomfortable)

-blessed to see the parents reactions to us when we met them and told them how great their children were

-ready to work harder to intentionally develop relationships with campers this summer

-thinking more about how we can see God use the small things (even though we have every resource at our disposal doing camp at WinShape)

One of the best things about working with this team is that every member of the team has also committed to work another summer at camp so our chances to serve together will not end when we part ways in Atlanta. We’ll have the chance to remind each other what we learned and to challenge one another to implement our take-aways in practical ways in our roles at each camp. At this point we’re feeling like we are going to be a rocking camp staff thinking about how well we feel like we can connect with campers with whom we can fully communicate!

The closure was really sweet and we finished in just enough time to pack up the vehicles to head to the airport. And WE GOT TO SEE Team 2!! We were the biggest, loudest spectacle of the week or maybe the month at the Brasilia airport!! There were hugs aplenty and the enthusiasm was rich! It was a true joy to see their faces light up even after hours of travel! It was a passing of the torch of sorts. Our prayer is that Team 2’s ministry even far exceeds what we were able to accomplish.

You can guarantee that this loud, crazy, fun-loving team will not see life the same. We hope you enjoy having them home and that you take the chance to ask them what they loved and what they learned. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers!

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SAYING IT SLOWER IN PORTUGUESE DOES NOT MAKE ME UNDERSTAND YOU!

Oi from Chimmy Jimmy (Team Jimmy) all the way down here in Brasilia. Today was an incredible last day in one of the greatest countries, which is filled with some the greatest people in the world. Today some of us woke up early and got to ride up to a nearby ridge and got to experience a beautiful view, as well as getting to watch how they made cheese and milk at a local shop. After breakfast we headed out to (P. North) to set up the beginning stages of the camp that team 2 will be working at. We then headed for lunch to an extremely fancy restaurant in where all of us proceeded to eat so many different kinds of meat. It was an interesting experience to go from a very poor neighborhood like Sao Sebastian, where poverty is so apparent, to be sitting in a restaurant in which you are surrounded by the upper-class of Brasilia. After that we headed to the market in Brasilia to act like real American tourist. We bought all the bracelets, necklaces and soccer jerseys are bags could hold, and then headed out. We continued our tourist persona by visiting the President’s house, where we proceeded to take picture after picture with the guard who never cracked a smile. We weren’t done with the unique cultural experiences there. We then went to a very different and bizarre store called WAL-MART. I’m not sure exactly where they got the name but it was something I will always remember. After that we headed to a mall in downtown Brasilia where we ate dinner and continued our shopping-till-we-drop marathon. After such a busy day we headed back home. It was a very busy but also a very fun day. I will truly miss this country as well as the people I have met here. I cannot describe Brazil, because nothing I say can truly give justice to what I have experienced here. For those on team 2, I can’t describe how jealous I am that you are just now beginning your amazing life experience as mine comes to an end. This experience has truly opened my eyes to God’s ability to transcend the hardest of language barriers and anything else that we as people use as excuses to spread His word and love. I truly believe that God’s word has never been more true for me then in this situation.

“Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told.” Habakkuk 1:5

Toby Sanders (Me): Is overwhelmed with all these inside jokes. Plus he really enjoyed learning about the history of Brasilia. Count one for the history majors!

Jon Gill: Is trying to figure out how to bottle up all of Brazil to take home with him.

JC Ndzomo: Has become a Portuguese chatterbox and takes every opportunity to talk to complete strangers everywhere.

Whitney Corley: has unofficially become this team’s Mallory Stuckey.

Whitney Stancil: wants her name to be officially pronounced Witchney like it is in Brazil from now on.

Katie Underwood: Had a lot of fun riding escalators up and down in the mall.

Brent Fielder: Enjoyed giving the team an in depth history of Brasilia. It was an EXPERIENCE FOR SURE. Oh and he is the birthday boy Today March 13

Tori Frazier: Just as a fun fact, I never saw Tori on this trip when she wasn’t laughing and smiling. A happy person is a good person to have around.

Juliana Anderson: Got a much needed break from being team 1’s translator and was able to relax without all of us yelling “JULIANA COME HERE” every second (even though she loves it).

Lauren Bennett: Was really excited to meet Fufa’s wife and get to play with there adorable baby boy.

Alyssa O’Leary: Could easily double the size of the O’Leary family with all of the Brazilian children she wants to take home with her.

Jessica Hendry: Enjoyed being the first to sit in Lauren’s new hammock, plus she didn’t fall out!!

Megan Gaither: Had a blast touring Brasilia and shopping all afternoon.

Angela Fielder: Wasn’t sure what she wanted during our day of shopping… what do you get when you’ve spent 10 years in a country?

Ken Thomas: Was a celebrity last night. Several kids took KT around the masses to introduce him to their entire families.

Norma Thomas: Is officially a camp veteran!

Jimmy Simpson: Was very taken back by the families that came to our closing program. He also had a great time visiting P. North, the church Team 2 will be working at and the church he worked at last year.

Tricia Watts: Loved having all the parents come on Thursday night to celebrate the week…Block Party in Brazil!

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Thankful Thursday

Today is the last day of camp.  Time sure does fly when you are having fun.  I am currently sitting in the sanctuary listening to the lunch conversations out the window.  Portuguese, English, laughter… it sounds really beautiful.  Even though I cannot understand all of the words, I truly believe that our team (both Americans and Brazilians) love being together.  And for that, I am thankful.  But before I go into the details of today, I am going to rewind back to yesterday afternoon. 

 

When we left the church, John and Andre surprised us with a pit stop for popsicles.  I bet it was really funny to the locals… a large group of Americans in matching shirts taking thousands of pictures.  Some of the favorite frozen treats included Magnum bars (sort of like a Dove ice cream bar) and real fruit popsicles.  We enjoyed another fun van ride to Agua Viva with Fufa, complete with a round of iPod idol.  Norma sang “Independence Day” by Martina McBride and Tricia treated us to “It’s Gonna Be Me” by Nsync.  The van rides are always eventful, to say the least.  I think we can attribute a lot of our team bonding to the laughs shared on those rides.  Dinner was delicious, once again.  Dona Gon Gon and her team do an awesome job cooking for us.  We debriefed as a team, which is always a great ending to the day.  This team is simply amazing.  And for that, I am thankful.   

 

Which brings us to today, the final day of camp.  Today, we will not only have our two camps, we will have a program at 8:00pm for every camper and their family.  Our first camp went really well.  We let the kids choose which Janie Bird dances we did today during our ice breaker.  They chose “The Cupid’s Shuffle” and “Hands Up”.  We learned about Zacheus in “grupo grande”.  My group (the red team) seemed to really grasp the concepts and were very vocal during our small group time.  In Rec Time, we played “Drip Drip Drop”, which was hil-ar-ious.  In “Gurl Wurld”, we visited a “nail salon”.  These Brazilian teenage girls can do some serious nail designs, so we were all thankful for their help with the kids.  The boys played ultimate Frisbee during “Man Land”.  In Arts & Crafts, we made binoculars (which related back to the story of Zacheus).  After our skills, we met back in the sanctuary and gave each camper a Demais t-shirt.  They all looked so sharp in their matching shirts.  We passed out their homework and crafts and sent them on their way.  We get to see them again tonight, and for that we are all thankful.

 

As for the team, I asked them to tell me two things specifically for the blog today.  The first was something that they are thankful for as we journey through this final day of camp.  I passed around a notebook so they could write them down.  The entries progressively got longer, so bear with us as you read them.  The other thing I asked them for was a child’s name that they are specifically praying for as we close out camp.  I thought it would be cool for you guys (our support back home) to be able to pray specifically alongside of us.  So, next to the * in each person’s section you will see the name of a kid (or two, or three) that we would like to invite you to pray for as prepare for our program tonight.

 

            Oh, and Kate… our flight is DL 104 scheduled to arrive in Atlanta at 5:45 am on Sunday.  Just check the website for the status of the flight before you go to bed Saturday night.  Love you friend! Bigger, bigger…

 

JC Ndzomo- is thankful to be chosen for this awesome mission down here in Brazil.  Getting to know these kids and having a chance to be apart of this ministry is such a great experience which changes me every single day.  I am not looking forward to packing my stuff.  *Fabrico & Fernando

Jessica Hendry- is thankful for this trip because it has been incredibly humbling.  It has been such a huge blessing to not only learn about the Brazilian culture, but to also learn more about what Christ intends for me to do here in Brazil and in my life.  I am so proud to be a part of the Lord’s plan here in Brazil.  I will remember this experience for the rest of my life.  It’s been said that we’ll never know the impact of what we are doing has on these kids, but likewise, these kids will never know the impact they have had on me.  *Valeria & Washington

Jon Gill- is thankful for the opportunity to see how the Lord has used me to impact children and the opportunity to make lifelong friends.  *Alam, Mateus & Pedro

Lauren Bennett (me)- is thankful for every memory that has been made on this trip.  I am also thankful for the truths we have learned (kids & volunteers, and staff) about who the Lord says He is and who He says we are.  *Adriana

Toby Sanders- is thankful for the opportunity to be able to experience a culture so far away from the one in which I live.  I am blessed by the kids I interact with as well as the Brazilian volunteers who put so much into this camp and these kids.  *Ricardo

Whitney Corley- is thankful for the Lord blessing me with this awesome opportunity.  The experience has made me realize all the things that I take for granted.  I am also thankful for the Brazilian volunteers and my wonderful teammates who have been a pleasure to serve alongside of.  I see the love of Christ shining through each and every one of them.  *Ingrid

Tori Frazier- is thankful for the opportunity to share Christ’s love with these kids using basically no words and yet impacting them forever.  I am also thankful to meet some of the amazing people ever: staffers, campers and volunteers.  *Caua

Whitney Stancil- is thankful for opened eyes to other cultures of our world and being able to see a different nation be reached with the same ministry that we are all familiar with in the United States.  *Clemson & Julie

Alyssa O’Leary- is thankful for sweet Brazilian faces and the opportunity to connect with them.  *Niel (one of our volunteers who lost his job last week) & Lucas

Megan Gaither- is thankful to feel so blessed.  I am so blessed to be in Brazil, blessed to be spending my spring break doing my favorite thing ever- camp, and blessed with God’s grace to be able to share Him with the people here.  *Paula & Philipe

Katie Underwood – is thankful for being able to connect with so many kids and volunteers.   It is cool to be able to communicate without speaking the same language and experience the universality of God’s love.  *Melina, Felipe & Jessica

Juliana Anderson- is thankful to be used by God in the country that I love and to be able to help others connect by translating.  *Pedro

Tricia Watts- is thankful to have the opportunity to return again this year to Brazil.  Even with different people teaming up, she has experienced the genuine truth that Brazilians are warm and wonderful people.  *Ana Paula

Jimmy Simpson- is thankful and humbled to be able to return to Brazil for a second year, to strengthen bonds and relationships, to make new friends and the awesome opportunity to lead this AMAZING team.  I am so very proud to see how they have all bonded and allowed themselves to be used by God to impact so many lives.  *Thiago

Ken Thomas- is thankful for the opportunity to be apart of what God is doing in Brazil.  *Samuel, Lucas & all the boys here in Brazil

Norma Thomas- is thankful that God can use us even when we feel we aren’t worthy of being used.  I am thankful that we have amazing parents that have kept our kids while we have been here.  *Ronald & Erile

John White- is thankful for this team.  *Paulo

Trudy White- thankful for the opportunity to return to Brazil, renew friendships we shared while living here (’84-’94), the chance to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ, using resources, talents and time to impact younger lives, being God’s hands and feet to boys and girls who have so many needs-mostly the need to know God and trust Him with their lives, offering the message of hope to the hopeless. *Aline

Brent Fielder- is thankful for incredible Brazilian friends that I have gotten to know so much more and the opportunity to do what I love in Brazil- to impact young lives.  *Caua & Edwardo

Angela Fielder- is thankful for the people and being able to play with the kids here in Brazil.  *Pedro.

 

 

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