Brazil 2009

A Homecoming Part 2

2009-07-21T12:02:00.001-07:00

A big thanks for all of your prayers throughout our journey and in our traveling. We have safely arrived in Virginia and were greeted at the Richmond airport by friends and family. We had fantastic flights on the way home; our long overnight flight was actually much more comfortable than our flight there and the plane was only about half full, which gave us some room to stretch out and sleep a bit.

Even though we sprinted to the gate in Atlanta, we missed our flight but we were put on the next one which was only one hour later. I assume that everyone has made it back to Stuarts Draft; I actually left from the airport to come to Blackstone for a provisional residency event.

We will be at church on Sunday, dressed in our Brazilian best and excited to share the stories with you! Keep checking the blog for a little while longer; we will try to post stories from some of the other team members describing their more powerful moments that they experienced.

God bless you! Deus ti abencoe!

Final thoughts from Fortaleza

2009-07-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

It really has been a wonderful time here with the church. I cannot explain how we have become so connected and so close to the people of Aerolandia Methodist Church without feeling awestruck by the power of the Holy Spirit to call us together as one church, one family of sisters and brothers. There is no other explanation.

Many people asked before we came, do any of you speak Portuguese? The answer is no. It would be great to have that ability, but it is also powerful to witness how we can learn to communicate and love each other without having to understand every word from someone's mouth. We did have help from a couple of bilingual and trilingual friends, and we are deeply grateful to Andressa, who works as a Volunteers in Mission coordinator in this conference and spent the 11 days with us, Andrè, a young man who is visiting with his family for a few weeks and helped us tremendously with translation as well as being a really fun person, and Rosangela, (André's mom) who also helped with translation and cultural learning.

We were tremendously blessed to have Teca Greathouse, a United Methodist GBGM missionary to Brazil, travelling with us all week and taking care of us. We are thrilled that she will possibly be in Virginia in the spring and are hoping that she will come to visit us in the valley! We know that everyone will enjoy meeting her when she is able to come.

We have talked a lot about Radical Hospitality in the last year or so, and that is an understatement in describing the way that we have been welcomed and loved here. We will be happy to see all of you when we return to VA, but it is heartbreaking to leave. The tears already started last night when we left after worship, and I'm sure they will flood when we say goodbye at the airport in a few hours. The children and youth face tremendous challenges and risk here, and yet, they are deeply committed to following Jesus and being the church. When they sing and dance in worship, they are the embodiment of the praise psalms.

Thanks be to God for the children and youth who are leading the way. May we have the courage to follow them and be a part of the movement.

Flight Schedule

2009-07-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Bags are packed and the group is currently at the mall, where there is air conditioning. We have already checked out of the hotel, leaving all of our bags in one room (miraclously, they fit!)

Here is our flight schedule:

We leave Fortaleza tonight at 11:00pm (10:00pm Virginia time).
We arrive in Atlanta at 6:40am.
By the grace of God, we will leave Atlanta at 7:25am to arrive in Richmond at 9:00am.

Please keep us in your prayers. In particular, it will be MIRACULOUS if we actually make our flight in Atlanta...we have 45 minutes to get off the plane, go through customs and immigration, check in again, and get to the gate. But we do believe in miracles!

More photos

2009-07-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Kristin and Neanhy

Kristy and Vando

Sarah and Lucilanya

Pastor Pedro and his wife Franci

Sunday photos

2009-07-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

Pastor Kristin and Pastor Pedro in front of the new plaque. It says thanks to the churches who have helped in the construction of this church.

The mural is finished in time for Sunday worship! Several of the kids and youth from Calvary wrote cards to the kids and youth here at Aerolandia. They are now on the bulletin board so that everyone can enjoy them!

Bible School 4

2009-07-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

Most of the Bible School kids.

Elizangela

Bible School 3

2009-07-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Working on friendship bracelets.

VBS photos 2

2009-07-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

In small groups, playing the Brazilian verson of Quack did-a-li-o-bo.

Bible School photos

2009-07-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Showing off the banners each child made. In the Northeast Conference, the symbol is the Methodist cross and flame with a cactus, and a yellow sun in the background.

The Lord's Day in Detail

2009-07-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hello from Fortaleza, Brazil....we send our Love.

Our Sunday began at the Church where we had bible school with the children. As always we were greeted with large sparkling eyes, smiles from ear to ear, and hugs beyond compare. Many of us do not speak Portuguese, but the language of the heart is universal. We sang with the children, helped with crafts which we had brought for them -- a necklace of a wooden cross on a hemp string they could decorate, a banner made from yellow felt which they decorated with the United Methodist flame and cross and a green cactus from their country. The banners were on a stick with a ribbon for hanging.

We came back to our room to refresh ourselves and have lunch. At 6:00 we returned to the church for their church service which is always held in the evening. The youth are the major part of the church and they had prepared a dance to some of their church songs while they sang (much like our children sing and do skits). Our hearts were full because the church was so full of God’s presence with us. There was prayer and a song by Cher, one of the daughters of Pastor Pedro. Pastor Kristin delivered the evening message while Andressa interpreted. We all sang “I Want to Know You More”each in our own language together.

Pastor Pedro added some closing comments and recognized the wonderful work of Penny who spent almost her entire week doing a painting on the entire wall at the front of the church at the request of Pastor Pedro. Last year, she painted the flame and cross on the same wall and this year she surrounded it with the ocean, some beautiful sand dunes which we got to see where the sand is naturally many different colors and cactus. As with our Grand Canyon, the beauty of this wall can be described, but to really appreciate it is to see it in person. There were several prayers for our lives, our safe travel home, the church in Fortaleza and our world.

We concluded our evening with our equivilence of passing the peace. All of us were laughing and crying together because our hearts were heavy to say goodbye to our brothers and sisters. It is now Monday, and we will spend the morning at the church for the last time. We will leave for the airport around 6:00pm for our flight home at 11:00pm to return to our own families and friends and our church. We leave, however, knowing that for the time we spent here, we were truly also at home because the people here have made us feel so welcome, loved and at home. The journey hás truly enriched each of our lives. See you soon, with all of our love.
~Carolyn

The Lord's Day

2009-07-19T04:31:00.000-07:00

Today, Sunday, we are on our way to church this morning, not for worship but for Bible School! We will have a bunch of kids from 9-11 this morning, so please keep us in your prayers! Worship services are in the evening, so we will have our final night in Brazil with the church in song, dance, and preaching.

Please know that the church here is praying for the church in Virginia and around the world!

One Lord, one faith, one baptism...one family!

2009-07-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

Coty and the boys, Mario, Marcio, Ivan, and Vando.

Jimmy and Barbara have claimed Vando as their son, and he always calls Jimmy "Father."

Sifting Sand

2009-07-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

The endless task of sifting sand.

Penny, Carolyn, and Kristy.

Bill, Barbara, and Sarah

Shade and Fresh Water

2009-07-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Amy, Cher, Neanhy, Carolyn, and Rachel posing in front of the Shade and Fresh Water mural outside the sanctuary.

Children´s Bibles

2009-07-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

Barbara is looking at the children´s Bibles that we purchased before Alex begins reading the stories to her.

Penny´s art

2009-07-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the girls posing in front of the mural Penny is working on at the front of the church: Neanhy, Vanessa, Ruth, Lucilenya, and Luana.

2009-07-17T16:34:00.001-07:00

Hooray for comments! We love to hear from you. And just to clear up the question, yes, Bill DID ride the dune buggy! You have to ask him about it when we get back!

Penny has been working really hard on the sanctuary wall for the last few days, trying deperately to have it fnished by Sunday church. It isn´t totally finished, but it does look fantastic! The kids have been taking photos in front of the wall and Pastor Pedro put some on his phone.

Pastor Emmanoel, who is the pastor of Central Methodist Church, the big "mother" church here in Fortaleza as well as being the District Superintendent, came to see us yesterday and spent some time with us. He and his family were in a very bad car accident a few days ago, and he spoke about feeling God´s presence strongly. We prayed in gratitude for the way that God protected he and his family in such an accident. Now, they are just dealing with trying to do something about the car, which was totaled. Getting another car here for a pastor (or D.S) is a very difficult task.

Another group of Shade and Fresh Water kids came yesterday, and we got to play and sing with them for awhile. It was hilarious actually. We played one game where you walk around the circle in a line and stop in front of a person. That person has to crawl in the floor under the legs of everyone else in line. The hilarious part was that we adults were crawling on the floor through the legs of children so tiny, they had to sometimes be picked up. Everyone laughed.

We have begun filming the video to bring back to the church, interviewing the children and adults and asking about what gives them hope and joy. Their answers are truly powerful, and we hope everyone will have a chance to see this when we arrive home. Some of the folks are a little bashful, but for the most part, the kids love being on camera, and we got some great shots of the teenagers dancing and cutting up.

Our time is getting short and the leaving sadness is already beginning. Please keep us in your prayers!

Neighborhood Tour Photos

2009-07-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of Rachel and her sidekick Thiago.

The kids led us on a tour of the neighborhood today. Kids are definitely the best tour guides and we learned about all of the interesting places in Aerolandia.

Comments

2009-07-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

As you are reading our blog, please make a comment! Everytime we are able to check, we look to see if we have nay message from you so that we can share with the group. We would love your words of love and encouragement! Just click on the word "comment" and write a short note!

Wednesday

2009-07-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today, Wednesday, the masons were working when we arrived, and our sifted sand was already starting to get low! They are working on building the brick staircase so that it will no longer be necessary to climb up the scary, rickety wooden planks that we currently call a staircase.

There is plenty of singing, dancing, and laughing onsite. I wasn´t part of the dance party from earlier today, but I saw the video on someone´s camera. There were even more kids than usual today because it was a scheduled Shade and Fresh Water day, so we got to meet lots of new friends. Laiana was back...it was the first time we have seen her since last year.

One thing that our team talked about with the leaders here was purchasing some children´s Bibles for the project. They don´t have many books for the children yet, since the project is very new, and of course, we are particularly interested in making sure they have Bibles. A few of us went shopping this morning and bought 12 new Bibles, 10 children´s Bibles of different age levels, and two large print Bibles for adults who can´t read the smaller print. We made it back in time for lunch and put the Bibles to use immediately. Barbara and Rachel sat down after lunch and were read stories by Alex and Thiago from the brand new Bibles. They made it all the way through Adam and Eve in one sitting!

Last year when we were painting the sanctuary, Penny was asked to paint a Methodist cross and flame on the main wall of the sanctuary behind the altar. This year, she was asked to paint a mural around the cross and flame to give the wall a little more color. She has been working on this for the last few days, and it is really starting to look beautiful. She is painting a beach scene, with the ocean meeting the sky, sand dunes, and cacti. This is very appropriate for the context of this beach area. At first, there was a little anxiety when she started to put all the bright blue on the wall. But by this afternoon, the kids were all posing for photos in front of the mural and Pastor Pedro was taking photos with his cell phone to show to people. We all look forward to see the completed masterpiece, and it is amazing to watch it take shape and be born in front of our eyes.

We´re excited to see what tomorrow brings and ready for a good night of rest!

We send you our warmest love and greetings!

Tuesday

2009-07-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

Two days worth of stories is so hard...it´s hard to even distinguish what happened yesterday from the whole trip narrative...

I guess it was Tuesday. We worked at the church, sifting endless piles of sand. There are now four unfinished classroms upstairs on the second story, and our team has so far sanded the walls and primed them for painting.

We also spent a lot of time playing and talking with the kids and youth at the church. They are on vacation so there is no school, and at any given time there is at least 12-15 kids onsite. They are now officially in the Shade and Fresh Water project, and we got a taste of this. There were long tables set up outside of the sanctuary and each of the kids (and us) was given a canvas bag with a pencil drawing of children on it. The teacher explained that the children have been learning how to paint, so they would be our teachers. We carefully painted the bags many bright colors, and I´m sure we were quite a sight sitting at the tables alongside the children.

Alejandro, who has now determined that he will be called Alex, has been with us every second that we have been at the church. He is ten years old, though he doesn´t look it. He has been busy shovelling and sifting sand, picking up trash, and his latest profession is photography (he took most of the photos that I posted last time.) He also loves being in photos and learning new English phrases. As we climb into the van to leave, he always calls, "kiss, kiss!" and "thank you" might be his favorite phrase.

Mario is the gatekeeper, and he spends a lot of time opening the gate when people show up and call to be let in. He is incredibly gifted in the music department, and for the last two days he has pulled out the keyboard and picked out several songs from listening to us sing. (But I´m sure he misses Amy). He still has his computer job, so after he is with us all day long, he goes to work from 5pm until 11pm.

Last night we ate tapioca with the pastoral family, Pastor Pedro, his wife Franci, and his two daughters Cher and Neanhy. Tapioca is fantastic...it is like a burrito made out of a light tapicoca substance (not like pudding at ALL) and you can have it with all kinds of different fillings, chicken and cheese, beef and cheese, coconut and banana...delicious! It was nice to spend time with the family. Neanhy and the girls had a fun discussion about pop culture (she is crazy for the Jonas brothers!) and we learned every possible Portuguese word or phrase necessary for restaurant dining. At the other end of the table, Pastor Pedro was making up words to try and communicate with Pastor Kristin, which made everyone laugh. And at the end of the night, he reminded her that she is preaching on Sunday. (Side note: the Portuguese word for preaching is the same verb used to talk about hammering a nail. Interesting, no?)

Monday photos 2

2009-07-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

Andre, Carlos, Ruth, Marcio, Alejandro, and Jeanie playing a fun game in the small side room

Monday photos

2009-07-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

Ruth and Rachel

Vando, Amy, Rachel, Ruth, and Sarah

A Homecoming

2009-07-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

It´s hard to believe that today is Monday; we are so far removed from a concrete sense of time.

Yesterday we spent the Lord´s Day marvelling at God´s creation. We got up early and drove to a beach about an hour and a half away. Half of the group took a two hour dune buggy tour, and they have great stories to tell of fresh water lakes and drives down the coast. All of us got to hike through these amazing dune that consist of multi-colored sand. There is a lot of sand art in Brazil, and we found out that the reason for this is that the sand actually comes in these beautiful shades of brown, red, yellow, white, black, and pink. Rosãngela commented that it was a blessing to see how we create art with God´s own creation as we collaborate to make a new language.

We also spent time on the beach, swimming in the ocean and enjoying the breeze. I love it that we were celebrating the Lord´s Day this way! There was plenty of time for rest (imagine that, sabbath!) as we relazed after lunch.

Worship services are usually in the evening in the Brazilian Methodist Church. We went to the church at 6pm, and there was a crowd waiting for us outside of the gate. The moment that we opened the door, people were jumping up and down. We were immediately embraced upon getting out of the van, those who were returning from last year and those who were new. It didn´t really matter; we were all literally welcomed with open arms. Someone said later it was like watching a family reunion, which is precisely what it was.

Church was rockin´ - that is the best way to put it. There was fervent prayer, singing, and preaching. We were interspersed among the church, with the translators sitting around most of us to help us along. There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is powerfully present in this church, and we felt this welling up inside and moving all around us.

We were truly treated as honored family returning home; radical hospitality is an understatement. At the end of the service, Pastor Kristin and Rosângela, who is also a pastor, were invited to the front to give the benediction in both English and Portuguese. Then, we all congregated in the back of the room where there was a yellow curtain taped up on the wall to be unveiled...and it was a big silver plaque with the names of the U.S.churches who have helped to build this church and who have been partners in ministry with the peopel of Aerolandia. It was a beautiful surprise and we were very touched.

There is so much to tell...about the building, which looks amazing. It´s hard to believe that this is the same place as last year. About all of the friends...Ruth, Vanessa, Mario, Alejandro, Cher, Neanhy...

Today, Monday, was our first day of physical labor. We sifted lots of sand and several brave folks worked on sanding the walls of the second floor so that we can´prime and paint in the next few days. Most of all, we played, talked, and laughed with all the kids and youth who were around all day long. Alejandro in particular, who is 10, was there with us all day long, working with us, cleaning up, learning great phrases, taking amazing photos with Rachel´s camera, and being ridiculously charming.

God is truly doing amazing things here in this place, in this church, in this community, in the lives of these children, youth, and adults. It is a tremendous blessing to be a witness to this, and to feel so loved. Thanks be to God!

Yes, We Have Arrived!

2009-07-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

We made it here to Fortaleza, with all 11 of us, thanks be to God! We had hoped to post as soon as we arrived, but as it happens, the computer at the hotel is down. They are hoping to have it fixed on Monday...

We had great flights and traveling time. Some of us slept a little on the plane, while others were seated next to some very loud teenagers and a crying baby, and got no sleep whatsoever. We arrived to Fortaleza at 6:30am, and there was a great group waiting for us at the airport: Pastor Pedro and his wife Franci, Neanhy, Cher, Neanhy´s BFF Carla, and Teca, who is our missionary host. It was so wonderful to walk through the doors and see these happy, familiar faces! Neanhy is definitely taller, but everyone else looks pretty much the same.

We went over the hotel and most of us slept for the rest of the morning. The rest of the day we have spent getting acclimated. Our very talented and spatially brilliant driver Junior (yes, the same driver from last year) gave us a driving tour of the city. We went to a part of the beach for awhile and walked around. It is technically winter here, but it is also vacation time for many people, so the beach was packed. We are blessed to be joined by three new friends: Rosângela, who works with the GBGM (General Board of Global Ministries) in the Women´s Division, specifically with Latin America, her son Andres, and his girlfriend Amy. We have enjoyed getting to know them and are already greatly appreciative of their help in translation and accompaniment.

We also went to a place called Metal Bridge, or English Bridge, which is a long wooden pier that sticks out into the ocean. It so happens that we ran into cultural events all over the place, a band playing traditional music on one side and a Capoeira group on the other side.

It has been a great day of cultural learning and adjustment, but we are flat out exhausted. As I write this, it is 8:30 our time, and most of the team is already in bed asleep. Tomorrow we will go to the church for their regular worship service at 6:00pm. We are anticipating seeing all of the children and youth who we befriended last year and participating in a vibrant celebration of worship!

Thank you for your prayers in our travelling, and a special shout out to all those who came to see us off on Friday! We love you and bring you here with us.

There is a good chance that we will not be able to post until the computer gets fixed at the church, so DON´T WORRY if you don´t hear from us immediately. We will post again as soon as it is possible.

"Indeed, let me consider everything an immense loss compared with the surpassing greatness of knowing our Lord Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:8 (From our team devotion today led by Rachel)

Leavin' on a jet plane!

2009-07-09T15:10:00.001-07:00

Is it possible that it's already July? Yes, it is! We leave tomorrow for Brazil, and we covet your prayers in our travel. We will be meeting here at the Calvary UMC parking lot at 12:00 noon. If you have time to come and pray with us to see us off, we would love it!

Our first flight leaves from Richmond at 4:54pm and takes us to Atlanta. We leave Atlanta at 8:45pm and arrive in Fortaleza, Brazil at 6:30am on Saturday morning. Hopefully, we will be able to sleep on the plane!

A big thanks to all of our friends and family who have supported us, helped us, and loved us as we follow God's wild and crazy call to Brazil! Here we go!

The countdown has begun!

2009-07-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

We depart for our next adventure to Brazil in 9 days! Our team this year consists of 11 people, all from Calvary United Methodist Church in Stuarts Draft, Virginia. We are:

Jimmy Allen (the team leader)
Barbara Allen
Coty Allen
Rachel Fitzgerald
Bill Forbes
Penny Hartlaub
Sarah Hayes
Kristin Holbrook
Kristy McClain
Jeanie Patton
Carolyn Wade

Some of us went on the team last year, and some of us are new. Some of us have never left the country before. Some of us are very nervous to be getting on an airplane. All of us feel called to Fortaleza, Brazil to be in ministry with Aerolandia Methodist Church.

Please keep our team in your prayers as we pack and prepare to go. Please pray for our families and friends as they encourage us to follow God's call. And please join the journey with us! We will be blogging consistently, telling stories and sharing pictures as we go. We invite you to be a part of God's mission with us as we journey in faith to Brazil.

Travelling Mercies

2008-08-16T11:41:00.001-07:00

Thanks be to God, we made it back to Virginia safe and sound. Truly, God blessed our journey, because several of our planes arrived late and twice, we went speed walking to gates where the our flight was already boarding when we finally got there.

Thursday morning we spent time at the site, finishing up our work and saying our "see you laters." Our work forewoman, Glee, got everyone organized, so we finished up sanding, priming, and painting one coat on all three of the walls (the fourth wall has to wait for the doors and windows to be installed, which hopefully began yesterday (Friday).

We also accidentally created a new project for ourselves. Just inside of the gate, there was a part of the brick wall that had been spackled, and used to display a painted sign of the Methodist church. I mentioned to the pastor's wife Franci that some of us had thought it would be nice to re-paint that and put handprints on it. She thought it was a wonderful idea, and said we would do it immediately, so we were put to work painting over this very dirty piece of wall, with paint that came from a powder.

But of course, as God's plans always do, it worked out beautifully in the end. We had one coat of paint on when they called us for our closing time together. The church members, Franci, Teca, and the District Superintendent Pastor Emanoel expressed their gratitude that God had brought us and gave each of us mementos to take home, personally and to our churches. We thanked our new friends for all of their work and gracious hospitality, and gave them prayer bears that the Calvary children made last year at VBS. We promised to pray for our new Brazilian family and they promised to pray for us.

When we finished, the wall was ready, and all of us, children, adults, the US team, the DS, and even the hired professional masons put our handprints and names on the wall underneath the words "Igreja Metodista - Aerolandia & Virginia." It was beautiful.

There were many tears on our departure...from children and adults alike. And when we showed up later at the airport, showered and ready to begin the trek to VA, 10 of the core youth and several of the adults were there to see us off.

We are thankful to all who have followed our journey, who have written us comments and emails sending love and encouragement, to all who wrote the cards and letters that we received every morning in mail call, to all who have prayed for us...you have truly been a part of our journey. We are most thankful to God, who has been the author of this whole experience and who was present with us from the very beginning. Truly, anything good that has come of this journey is thanks to God, not to us, for we are mere servants of the Master.

Keep watching the blog...we hope to post a few more photos now that we are back, and we might also put up some closing stories from different team members as we reflect on how this experience has changed our lives.

Deus ti abecoe! God bless you!

In the wee hours of the morning

2008-08-14T04:21:00.000-07:00

It is early morning in Fortaleza. The sky is clear blue as it is most mornings. The wind is blowing at 15-20 miles per hour as always and the coffee smell is good and strong just like every morning. The team is waking up pretty much in the same order that it hás done every day. But this day is different. Today is the day we leave and have to say goodbye to everyone we have come to know and Love.

We are going back to the church this morning to do the last bit of sanding and painting that we can do. This will really brighten up their sanctuary, but we know that as we say our goodbyes the true brighteness will be in the heart felt hugs and kisses. And I am very sure there won´t be a dry eye in that place. We have done a lot of good work in this place, but the truly good work hás been done by God in each of us and in those we have come to know as our brothers and sisters in Christ. There are truly only two kinds of people in the world – those who belong to Christ and those who need to belong to Christ. Really there is only one kind of person in the world – those who are in need of Christ. There is really no them and us in the world. We are all truly one family and have one Father over all.

When we left our cars at the church parking lot in Richmond we read a sign that said
“Welcome to your mission field”. The mission field truly starts on the other side of the church door, but it hás no end. People have the same needs in all the world – food, fresh water and shelter. This list can go on and on, but the greatest need in all the world is for Love and compassion. If we have Love, all of the rest will be fullfilled. Not only in Brazil but just outside of our church door.

The world is indeed a very very small place. Some people wonder why we go on foreign missions. The question should be why do we serve - not where do we serve. We serve because of the greatest commandment “A new commandment I give you, LOVE ONE ANOTHER”

PEACE,
Jimmy

P.S. from Barbara:

Dear Friends and Family,

Thanks so much for all of your prayers for our mission team, and for travelling mercies for our trip (especially for my fear of heights and of flying). I felt your prayers and those for my fears were definitely answered. I truly was not afraid while we were flying and actually enjoyed the views (when I was lucky enough to get a window seat).

While I am sad to be leaving this church family in Brazil, I am looking forward to seeing all of you again.

LOVE,
Barbara

Extreme Makeover: Igreja Edition

2008-08-13T18:52:00.002-07:00

At the closing of our journey, it is amazing to reflect back on the progress we have made in such a brief period of time. A complete renovation has occurred. We originally started with bare brick walls, which soon changed to gray plastered ones, which then became primed and painted, which have finally turned into decorated masterpieces. To stand in front of the church and just see a brick building would be a travesty, because it is so much more. It is a refuge filled with love, a sanctuary of worship, and a house of prayer for so many people.

Today, the entire team was intensely conscience of each passing moment and the illusively fleeting nature of time. Glee, our designated project manager, was especially on top of it today. We put the finishing touches on several of the walls, as the professionals worked to plaster the remaining ceiling. What we lacked in modernity, we certainly made up for in creative ingenuity. We used wooden spears as paint roller extensions and any combined medley of board, chair, table, and ladder as scaffolding (many of which were most likely not OSHA approved). We laughed, shared, and labored together and the results we surprising, even to us. The Methodist cross and flame, our signature artist, Penny, painted adorns the front wall symbolizing what the church and congregation represent.

Amy, our resident teacher, was invited by the children to take a tour of their school. They we overjoyed to introduce her and other members of our team to their teachers and took pride in demonstrating what their education means to them. After a home cooked meal the church ladies kindheartedly prepared for us; we played and danced with the children, before continuing to toil in our construction efforts.

We went for a true Brazilian barbeque tonight and afterwards were joined by the district superintendent, Pastor Emanuel. He blessed our devotional time with a lovely prayer of gratitude and praise. Thanks be to GOD for the transformation in the work project here and the transformation that has taken place in each of our lives.

We dread saying goodbye to all our Brazilian bothers and sisters tomorrow, but know that they will forever be engraved in our thoughts and close to our hearts. We give thanks for all your prayers and support and look forward to seeing you very soon!

The Parachute

2008-08-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from VBS on Sunday...wow, did we have fun with the parachute and beach balls!

Our friends

2008-08-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some or our closest friends and leaders of the church. In the first photo, we have Marla, Valeska, Marcio, Paloma, Gabriel, Ruth, Beatriz, and Thais. Can you find Coty in the photo? Everyone thinks she looks very Brazilian and the kids love her.
In the second photo Amy and Rachel are with more of our friends, including Laiana in the yellow and pink dress, who is the one teaching us Portuguese...at least the numbers 1 through 10.

Children

2008-08-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the kids sporting their new clothes, and our friend Gabriel with the drawing he colored during our VBS time on Sunday. (These are the drawing that came from Calvary. The children enjoyed coloring them!)

Sunday worship

2008-08-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

These were taken at the end of the worship service. You can see the praise band playing as we sang a bilingual version of Amazing Grace. You can also see Pastor Pedro carrying the fan he has just removed from the wall to put into the storage room. When the windows and doors are installed, the fans will actually stay on the walls!

Group photos

2008-08-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

This is the sign on the front of the Church. Notice the cactus with the cross and flame: this is a particular symbol of this conference, the Northeastern Missionary Conference. Their motto is: Serving Christ, Carring for Life.

The other photo is from Sunday after worship, and includes Pastor Pedro and UMC missionary Teca Greathouse in the bright orange Calvary VBS shirts and the VIM coordinator Andressa in the black shirt.

Sand: Not Just at the Beach Anymore!

2008-08-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Before we share some of today’s highlights, some other things should be mentioned about last night’s festivities at Central Methodist Church. Yes, the food was amazing, but as someone put it, the company was even better! After folks from the Central church shared some of their favorite songs and tried to teach us (Jimmy) how to dance, we were asked to do the same. So, thanks to some church camp flashbacks, we quickly came up with a stirring rendition of Leaning On The Everlasting Arms (complete with the leans) before sharing our “dancing” skills with “A-La-La-La-La-La-La-Leh-Lu-Jah.” For those of you who don’t know, this last song includes dazzling moves such as “shake a neighbor’s hand” and “tweak another cheek.” From the smiles on the faces of our audience we weren’t sure if they loved the song, or if it was all lost in translation…If we ever hear that we’ve made the Top 40 here in Brazil, we guess we’ll have our answer…

In other news, today we were quite productive at the worksite, putting in extra time in order to get more accomplished before we head home on Thursday. Remember that sand we’ve been sifting and sifting and sifting?!?!? Well, it’s back. Today we continued the very laborious and dirty task of sanding the interior walls and ceiling. Some walls got coats of primer and paint today, while the others will be tackled tomorrow. Even after our showers this evening, there is sand everywhere! Look for some in a house near you come Friday! We also finished sanding and priming the outside gate and fence before adding two coats of white paint today and have the oil-based paint stains to prove it! How many of you can say that you’ve brought turpentine home from the store in a 2L Coke bottle?

Fewer kids were at the worksite today because school was back in session (yesterday was a holiday). The kids who did visit us were good helpers as always. Some have been sporting some very special clothes thanks to Samuel and Anna Carmack. They were excited to have new things to wear and are proud to show them off to others. Thanks, Samuel and Anna!

Our blog would not be complete today without a special shout out to our very own Penny Hartlaub who had the honor of painting the cross and flame on the front wall of the sanctuary! It looks great and it has been a blessing to see her use her gifts in this way.

Behold, I stand at the gate...

2008-08-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

Many wonderful and moving things happened today, but everyone is so tired, that no on volunteered to write the blog! This might be short and sweet, but tomorrow night we are hoping to post some more photos.

Today was exciting because we finally got to paint the gate. The church building is inside an iron gate that we sanded a few days ago. Today, we put a coat of primer and brand new white paint on that gate, and on the iron door and window in one of the side rooms. It was like the 'Church Makeover' show...it's amazing how much of a difference the fresh coat of paint can make.

We also started sanding the walls of the sanctuary today...wait...back up. Maybe it is good to understand the process we have seen so far. When we came a week ago, the church was a one room (sanctuary), brick shell, with holes where the windows and doors should be. It was a blessing from God when we showed up, not only with our project money, but an extra $3000, $1000 from Glee and Helen's church, $1000 from Calvary outreach, and $1000 from the children's VBS challenge. This is such a blessing because it means that several URGENT things can be accomplished. One, there is not a true roof on the building, because the second floor is in process. So, they are going to complete the second floor, which will be classrooms, and then put on the roof before the rainy season begins in Sept. This is VERY important because if the roof is not on, the water could make the ceiling cave in.

We have also been working hard to make the one big room more functional. The professionals have been working hard everyday, plastering over the brick walls and ceiling (this is why we have been sifting so much sand!) Today, we finally got to start sanding this down, and we are hoping we will get to paint the walls!!! An even greater joy is that Penny, who is our resident artist, was asked to paint a Methodist cross and flame on the wall at the front of the room. She is hoping to start on this tomorrow. What an honor!

The other reason the room is bare is that it has no doors or windows, so nothing can be left in the room because it is not secure. This means that everything was set up for worship on Sunday and then taken down Sunday night. Everything includes mounted oscillating fans, which have to be removed from the wall, and lightbulbs, which they take out when everything is done. Imagine having to literally strip your worship space after EVERY time you use it, and set it up again the next time. The VBS money has been used to buy the doors and windows, and they were starting to put these in today.

Isn't it amazing...it will be a completely different space when they gather to worship on Sunday that it was just yesterday. And yet, God is STILL there. God is so present in this place, it is indescribeable. On Sunday, when I stood up to preach, all I could say was, God is here.

Hmmm....maybe this won't be a short post. It's hard not to be excited about the things that God is doing here. It's hard not to be touched by the children who lead the church here. Yes, children. On Sunday, we watched a two year old with her own (real) microphone help lead worship alongside the music and worship leader. Today, we are all reporting to 17 year old Mario to find out what we should do next and how to do our work efficiently. Tonight, we ate delicious Brazilian barbecue at the Central Methodist Church here in Fortaleza where Pastor Emmanuel is the pastor (as well as being the District Superintendent). We sang and danced and ate and laughed, and bonded as God is calling us all to be in ministry with God's beloved children here in Brazil.

Please continue to pray for our family in Brazil! We are praying for you!

One family: God's family

2008-08-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated with our new church family. We started with Vacation Bible School for the kids from 2:00 till 5:00 and then had a worship service with all the church people in the building we are still working on. We sang in English along with Cher, who sang in Portugese. Kristin gave the sermon and Andressa translated. In addition to the typical elements of worship, the girls of the church performed a play they had written for Father's Day – which was today in Brazil. Also the younger girls performed a dance they had choreographed to a praise song about God's family. They were great. The girls had worked very hard on their performances and it showed. We were all touched by the number of children who turned out for the VBS and again for the worship service. The children outnumbered the adults but this is a church predominately of children and teenagers. The music was provided by Mario and his band. They played for us to sing and for Cher to sing the other songs. It is amazing to see how their musical talents are shining through.

The highlight of VBS was the parachute. The kids loved it and were amazed by its size. They will definitely enjoy it for weeks to come.

The service was very special as we watched a shell of a room being transformed in minutes to a place of worship – even though it wasn't – finished. It become filled with people who although we didn't all speak the same language, we were all there for the same reason.

Another gift we had today was that we were joined by Pietro and Mario who are staying at our hotel. They are from Italy and are living here for a month to see Forteleza and to learn Portugese. We asked them to join us and to come see what we were doing at the church. I think they learned a lot, not just about our cultures but about what being a Methodist means.

All in all it was a wonderful day. We played, sang, prayed, and worshipped with the church here in Forteleza as one family – the family of God.

Preparing for worship

2008-08-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

We spent time this afternoon preparing for VBS and the worship service tomorrow. Here you can see the angelic choir rehearsing with Cher....seriously...the woman in the blue is Cher. She is Pastor Pedro's daughter, the principle leader/choreographer of the youth dance team, and the choir director/lead vocalist of the praise band. We are singing 'Shout to the Lord' in a Portuguese and English arrangement. It really is touching to praise God together, in our own languages.

Yummy tapioca

2008-08-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

We were given the morning off today to catch up on some sleep, but some folks used the time to catch up on some shopping. After a delicious lunch at a nearby buffet, we went to the church to prepare for the Vacation Bible School that we will help with tomorrow. The church’s praise team, which is comprised of our friend Mario and some other young people, was excited to have us sing with them and practice some songs for tomorrow’s worship service. We felt God’s presence as we sang songs in both English and Portuguese and watched two groups of girls dance to the music. Towards the end of the evening, we had fun practicing the Chicken Dance and Electric Slide for tomorrow’s festivities.

Pastor Pedro and his family were our guests for dinner at a local dining hotspot where the favorite dish is tapioca…Now, we know what you’re thinking, and no, we did not have pudding for dinner. Here, “tapioca” means flat pancakes made from tapioca flour, folded and filled with various treats…Picture a white burrito with no sauce and you pretty much have it…While we are not building walls with bricks or sand this weekend, we continue to build relationships through Christ’s love. We thank you for the cards and letters that you’ve sent. Your encouraging words are heartfelt and brighten our days. We feel your prayers and are thankful for each of you. Know that as you pray for us, we also pray for you.

We love to hear from you!

2008-08-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

We love receiving your comments on our blog, and we read them aloud to the whole team. To post a comment, just click on the end of the post where it says 'comments' and then a window will open where you can write us a little note. Click 'publish' and it will post to our blog so we can see it!

Please pray for us as we prepare for our 3 hours of Vacation Bible School tomorrow (we are capping it at 60 kids) and then worship tomorrow evening, where we are singing and Kristin is preaching.

We are praying for you as well!

And On the Fifth Day They Rested

2008-08-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

Today commenced as any other day in Fortaleza. We have all become well acclimated to our daily routine of a Brazilian breakfast with a much appreciated cup of strong coffee and an assortment of fresh fruits, followed by a time of spiritual togetherness. After only several days, it is evident that we have not only grown in our love of Christ and in our love for the people in God’s mission here, but in our love for one another as well.

Yesterday’s work festivities included the arrival of five thousand roofing tiles. It was quite a moving experience to watch each person working at the project site, touch the material which is going to be used to shelter God’s children for years and years to come. The children were delighted to work along with us despite the presence of their bare hands and feet. They endured the stinging bites of red ant attacks and the scorching concrete, in order to sift sand and share in the joy of accomplishment together with us. The girls demonstrated praise in a very sincere and artistic display of choreographed dance. It was a truly enchanting sight to behold and a thoroughly amusing display to attempt to participate in.

Today, after a gritty work week, we experienced sand in quite a more enjoyable and adventurous venue: Dunebuggying in a yellow, open topped jeep across mountains of sand. Although the landscape was breathtaking; the ride would not have been so intensely exhilarating without the blaring 90s music and girlie squeals that accompanied each peak and descent. The Calvary crew members took part in the local color: rafting on a Jangada in the ocean (flat, wooden boat with a sail, but no seats or sides) , sand sledding down the dunes, swimming in the warm water, and laying in hammocks in beach cabanas. Our highlight of the day included Helen filling in as captain on the Jangada, while Jimmy portrayed Leonardo DeCaprio in a riveting Titanic reenactment.

Today was a pleasurable day exploring the beach town of Fortaleza. We anticipate what tomorrow will bring and give thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Sanding the doors

2008-08-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

We also spent time on Thursday sanding the doors, windows, and front gate so that we can paint them next week. We were not alone in the work: Vanessa, Neonhy, and Valeska helped us out. They are young women who are leaders of this congregation.

Champions of Shingles!

2008-08-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

We finally got down to the very end of the pile, and Penny had the honor of carrying the last stack of shingles. She and Mario jumped up on the sand pile, the Champions of Shingles!

More shingles...

2008-08-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

First, the pile looked like this...then it grew...then it grew some more!

We move the 5,000

2008-08-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning: our first task was to unload and move 5,000 roof shingles. You can see them arriving on the truck. We carried them in stacks and placed them by the staircase...chances are good that we will be passing them up the stairs early next week! Here is Barbara, hard at work, carrying shingles!

Hard workers

2008-08-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

These are some of our friends, a few of the children at the church, who work alongside us everyday. At this moment, we were taking a break and they were quick to take the sifter and pick up the work.

Sifting photos

2008-08-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

Wednesday & Thursday we have spent a lot of time sifting sand, which is then used for concrete and plaster once we get rid of the rocks. Mario (in the black shirt & orange shirts) is our 17 year old friend who is always working with us, and is Coty's birthday buddy. In the first photo, he is working with April, but you can also see Lisa working with Beatriz (13 years old) and Penny in the back. In the second photo, Mario is working with Amy while Lisa and Penny attempt to loosen the sand and Rachel shovels. It's hot work, but somebody's got to do it!

Building relationships that last

2008-08-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hello from beautiful Fortaleza! It seldom rains here this time of year, but it has rained on us one day and we were so hot we just stood in it and enjoyed the relief. It really is not much hotter here than at home, but the sun is so powerful at the equator it makes it seem much hotter.

Your mission team is no longer just a team - we have truly become a family as we work and play together. The work is hard but we play much harder. It may seem odd to speak of a mission team playing, but as we dance and sing songs with the children and the adults, we are building relationships that will stand the test of time, as will the building we are working on.

As we were met at the airport in Fortaleza in the wee hours of the morning, not only was the pastor there accompanied by his wife and children, but the district superintendent was also there. We received hugs rather than hand shakes. They accepted us as their family and said they had been praying for us for a whole year. Imagine that! As we were in the states I had been planning and praying for them for a year. Isn´t Jesus´ family amazing?

As we arrived at the job site, everyone received hugs from the children and the adults as though they had known us for a year. As wonderful as all of this sounds, it gets even better. In no time Pastor Pedro´s wife Franci was joining us in work and dance. Even the ladies that cook our lunch at times join us in our labor. I know it is hard to believe - but children from 7 to 17 also join beside us as we labor. I know we came to serve our Christian brothers and sisters in Fortaleza, but if blessings could be measured our cups would truly overflow from the love the people of this church and neighborhood have shown to us. I can´t wait to share our stories with you in person.

Peace,
Jimmy

And then, we danced...

2008-08-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Once the kids get out of school, they are hanging around at the church with us, helping us work and making our break time enjoyable by teaching us Portuguese games, songs, words, and dances.

Brick brigade photos

2008-08-06T19:03:00.001-07:00

Our Tuesday morning task: passing hundreds of bricks up to the roof where they are being used to build the second floor and cover the building before rainy season begins in September! More bricks to come...

Heroes of Sand!

2008-08-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

Hi this is April, and I've been given the wonderful opportunity to update you with our daily Fortaleza news! This morning was like the previous: we got up, took showers, ate and headed out for the work site. As a side note I would like to mention that sometimes it's not easy to wake up tired missionaries. When that is the case I find that the bulldozer technique is very effective. It invoves starting on one side of the bed and rolling over the person until they wake up. Studies prove it's 98% effective on Coty Allen but tests on Rachel have yet to be concluded. I'll make sure to update you!

This afternoon we sifted sand for the construction workers' concrete. It was lots of fun because apparently Amy likes to sing while she works! She's very addictive so once she starts you know other people will join in. Another thing that was great about working today was the children helped us out. They were extremely willing and very proficient sand sifters. At one point we even got bitten by these tiny ants in the sand but they kept going! As Mario would say we were "Heroes of Sand"!

Of course sometimes we needed to take breaks to get out of the sun so we took this time to play with the kids. The most popular game of the day was "hit the beach ball everywhere except where you meant it to go" or as I like to call it, a good game of volleyball. Helen's favorite game was bunny goes home (this isn't the exact name but I couldn't remember) which entails five people and only four circles drawn in the sand with chalk. The object of the game is very much like musical chairs where everyone scrambles around trying to get into a circle before the other person. Now you didn't hear this from me but I'm pretty sure if there was an Olympics for "Bunny goes home" then Helen would definitly take home the gold!

After working and playing we got on our bus and headed for the beach. We couldn't stay long but apparently it was long enough for Jimmy to decide a Speedo would really kick it up a notch! And now for the hot topic of today! Are we using Sunblock and if so what SPF!? Well savvy Calvary goers, I, your lovely blogger, have the answer for you! After many an interview and many applications of sunscreen, it seems that yes, everyone is using it, and 30 is the number of the day! That's all for now, I hope everyone back home is taking care and sending prayers! P.S. It's ok to be envious of our post Brazil Mission trip tans... just think, you'll be next!! :)

Photos

2008-08-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Monday: On the neighborhood tour with Mario & co.

Tues: The bricks we moved to the roof!

Sunday: In Rio with the Cristo Redentor (aka 'The Big Jesus')

Birthdays and bricks

2008-08-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today was Coty and Mario's (our new friend) 17th birthdays. We celebrated with cake, candles, prayers and cards. Hopefully this was Coty's best Brazilian birthday.

We started the day at the church by taking the piles of bricks up to the roof where the second story is being built. Together we did it in about two hours. All of us got very good at passing bricks as if they were feathers. While we did that Laiana (another new friend who is 9 years old) taught us our numbers in Portuguese and we repeated our numbers 1 through 10 many times as she learned them in English. She was a quick English learner and was very patient with us when we didn't pick up Portuguese as quickly. She was especially patient with Jimmy who was having some dificulty communicating with her but she persisted and insisted he learn the numbers as well.

We did some stimulating of the Brazilian economy later in the day at the market. We all shopped and had fun trying to bargain with the sellers. Coty had the best luck in getting the bargains. We enjoyed dinner in the Cultural Center which is an older part of town that has been restored with restaurants and shops. Most of enjoyed chocolate pizza for dessert.

We had a great day, at the site and around town. We are hoping that tomorrow the materials will be there so that we can put the windows and doors onto the church. It is very exciting to see the progress and the love that is being shared. As they told us yesterday, they have been waiting for us for a year and clearly they are happy to see us. We are all experiencing the love of God as we share, learn and build together.

Thanks for your prayers and we will chat again tomorrow.

A Warm Welcome in Fortaleza

2008-08-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

Our first day in Fortaleza - Monday August 4

Today was about getting acclimated to our new home and family. We took it easy this morning and then went to the work site during the afternoon to check it out. Again, when we arrived, there was a group waiting for us...mostly children and youth. We got out of the van and were immediately drawn into warm hugs.

They showed us the tiny plot of ground that used to be the foundation of the church. Then, we went into the new church building, which is a good size and is beautiful. We sat down to talk for a few minutes, and Pastor Pedro's daughter told us, We're so excited that you are here: we've been waiting for you for a year. It was overwhelming, that these folks have been praying for us all year.

We had a delightful time with the children who were gathered, and we quickly began to play with them, learning new words, laughing, singing songs. It's amazing how you can communicate even when you don't really speak the same language. The children took us on a tour of their neighborhood, and they held our hands and made 'chains of friends' as we walked down the street. It is a poor neighborhood, and the Methodist Church has made such a difference in this community already. This church in particular is comprised of children and youth; it is truly a place where the older learn from the younger and change is coming because the small children and youth are leading the way as they lead the church. It reminds me of the passage in Luke when Zechariah prophesies about Jesus 'He will turn the hearts of parents to their children' (1:17).

There is so much to say and yet, we really need to get to bed so that we can begin our work tomorrow...I believe there are 5000 bricks waiting to be moved up to the roof!

Please keep us in your prayers. We are safe and well taken care of by our new Brazilian family, who we already feel knitted to with strond cords of God's love. We love you all!

Deus te abençoe - God bless you!

Our arrival and the big Jesus

2008-08-04T17:18:00.000-07:00

Well everyone, we arrived safely, after two very long days of travelling. I will say for myself that on our arrival, I was the most tired I have ever been, but it was a good trip. We spent time in six airports in 48 hours, but God was truly with us, helping us to get from one place to another with safely and even all our luggage!

Sunday we arrived in Rio de Janiero and Teca Greathouse, one of our Methodist missionaries here in Brazil, met us at the airport. After lunch, we drove to the big Jesus statue that is the trademark of Rio, Cristo Redentor. It was a cloudy, foggy, rainy day (the rain followed us EVERYWHERE we travelled). We parked at the mid point of the mountain, and then got on a tram that took us to the top, the highest point in Rio, where an enormous statues of Jesus overlooks the city. It truly was a breathtaking place. Our view was not the greatest, because of the weather, but as we stood there, shivering in the cold and wind, it began to clear up.

There is something very holy about being at the top of a mountain, overlooking such a majestic city, and waiting expectantly for what is to come. We had our devotion there, and read from Psalm 121, I lift my eyes up to the mountain, where will my help come from? My help comes from, maker of heaven and earth...and we talked about the Christ who does sit enthroned over all as the king and creator. BUT this is also the same Jesus who walks among us, who is present with the people, with the poor and the suffering, the Jesus of the favela. Yes, this is the day of the Lord.

We went later to Sugar Loaf mountain and took a cable car across the three different mountains. It was beginning to get dark, and so we saw a beautiful sun set over the city, and then saw all the bright lights as we descended. What a gift, this journey.

We then went back to the airport and borded a plan for Fortalzea. We arrived here and got to be around 3am, throughly exhausted. But I must say, we were greeted at the airport (at 2 am) by a group of people who were warm and waiting for us with excitement, including Pastor Emanuel, the District Superintendent (who also pastors the only 'church' in the district...more on this later), Pastor Pedro, the pastor of the 'congregation' where we are working, and his wife and two daughters. At 2am, they hugged us and welcomed us to Fortaleza.

VBS contest results!

2008-08-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

One of the things we do at Vacation Bible School every year is a challenge between the boys and girls to raise money for a specified ministry project. This year, the Shade and Fresh Water project is the ministry we are supporting. Each night, VBSers put money in the girls jar or the boys jar. On the last night, we find out who wins and how much money we have raised.

We are pleased to announce that...

drum roll please...

the GIRLS won!

Final results:

Girls: $554.26

Boys: $504.30

For a total of: $1058.56!!! Thanks be to God!

Shade and Fresh Water

2008-07-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

While we are in Brazil, we will be working with a ministry of the Brazilian Methodist Church called "Shade and Fresh Water." This isn't actually about shade and water, it is about providing a safe and secure place for children. The presence of "street children" is a harsh reality in Brazil, where most people are either very rich or very poor. The Methodist church is reaching out to children and working to provide a safe place for kids to learn and grow away from the violence, gangs, and trouble that is generally found on the street.

At Calvary, our VBS challenge money is going to the Shade and Fresh Water project. Thanks to all the children, youth, and adults who are giving generously!!! Stay tuned to find out who wins, boys or girls, and how much is raised!

Brazil Team Members!

2008-07-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks for checking out our Brazil mission team blog!

Team members include:

Barbara Allen, Coty Allen,
Jimmy Allen, Helen Bradford,
Rachel Fitzgerald, Penny Hartlaub,
Kristin Holbrook, Amy Johnson,
April Pegg-Joplin, Glee Smith, and Lisa Tyree

We leave on August 2nd. Please pray for us!