Meeting # 2

The preteens went really well again today!

We continued our name game today. The kids are getting it pretty well...although sometimes its difficult for us to remember their names...but we are getting there!



We got some "Electric Slide" in on the song "Beautiful One"...I think the kids think we are crazy! But they have some crazy dances that are MUCH harder for us!



We got to play basketball with them today too! They had a bunch of fun! A few of those kids can REALLY play too! Thiago, Etulo, Markson, etc. We might have to build a basketball team.



Knock Out has been a hit...although not all the kids completely understand the game so far...but as time goes I'm sure they will!

At one point we had Etulo vs. Nene. And poor Nene was getting killed right and left (plus the hoops were low enough for Etulo to tip the ball in and Etulo is nearly twice Nene's size). So I was just gonna have some fun and try to help Nene out, but Nene wasn't gonna rebound at all...so Jordan stepped in too! He was still going to town pretty well...even after we raised his hoop all the way up! We had a lot of fun!

We also had Children's Worship tonight! I think this is one of my most favorite nights! The kids are so excited, they all are saying memory verses and most of all learning about God! Erika does an AWESOME job with them! I love when we give them snacks too! Sometimes the kids just tug on your heart and these kids certainly do!

It has been a very tiring day!

Our First Meeting with the Preteens

We finally were able to meet with the preteens! There were a lot more than I thought would show up, but it was good.

We opened in Prayer... It is so neat that the teens and preteens down here like to pray out loud...sometimes it is like pulling teeth in the US!!!

When then played a name game. Each person had to give their name, another word to that started with the same letter as their name and an action. I was Confused Carlyn, and I shrugged my shoulders. It was interesting, Yohanna Yo-Yo, Elizane Elephant, Laura Loyal...the list goes on. Some of the kids didn't understand what we were doing, but they caught on. The plan is to do this each day, to help us remember their names and learn the names of the others that join us later on.

Then we did a lesson on Praise and Worship...when and where can you praise God? How can you praise God?

We are also going to be teaching the kids the song Marvelous Light. We played it once today...tried to add motions while singing it...we told them that they would have to help us out! They were really still which was surprising...hopefully we can work on it tomorrow with them.

Then we played dodge ball with the kids. We played in the soccer area and as we were walking in...of course...I step wrong and fall to the ground. The kids were so cute and worried...I was laughing. Playing dodge ball with one ball was interesting, but Jordan brought some more with her, so we are going to have to play again. Jordan also brought some BASKETBALLS!!! and the kids are really excited about playing BBall!

Right now Jordan is pumping up the basketballs, Laura is working on her computer, I'm writing this and working on the lesson for tomorrow and Erika and Bill are on their way back here...

Later today we are heading to Forteleza...to go to the mall...Erika mentioned that there is a McDonalds and Pizza Hut, if we need something close to home, but Patrick says we need to get something that we have never had...I'm thinking I'll fallow Patrick...I'm always up to a new adventure!

Ciao

Pictures Off Bill's Camera

Beach Pictures!






Volley Ball Court

Ask and You Will Receive

Well... I asked for a busy day...and it was provided! (As you can see...this is the ONLY post for today...)

We did not get to start our preteen groups today...it will start tomorrow!!

So instead of our group, we raked and cleaned out the playground. Pulling out the rocks, weeds, moving sand around to fill in holes, and removing the trash bits from candy and other objects.

Playing on the playground was quite nice at 9:00, I didn't have to worry about any rocks or bits scratching my feet. Before the kids got to play today, we set down some ground rules. No throwing sand, one person on the slide at a time, no fighting...the usual stuff, but here in Brasil, "Two strikes you're out!" I was given the whistle...the kids were not allowed on the playground until I blew it and when I did blow it, the kids had to find the playground buddy (I didn't do that today...maybe some other day). I also had to blow the whistle to let them know it was time for them to leave.

Bill also taught Laura and I a new phrase to use when the kids are misbehaving. I spell it this way so I can remember how to say it... "Sain Bagoonsa" which means "without goofying around." You also have to shake your finger and say it with AUTHORITY...which was hard when Bill was having us practice in front of the kids and NONE of them had done anything wrong...yet!

After the playground time, we learned how to clean our room Brasilian style. Sula was very patient with us while learning how to do it. It isn't that hard, but there are a lot of steps. Sweep, mop, spray, move this, line this up with that...you get the picture! But now we are ready to help make Sula's life easier!

Then the work REALLY started...As Laura says "we turned a jungle into a Volley Ball court." We raked leaves, searched the land for coconuts, rocks and large logs, mowed extremely thick grass, collected all of the trash and grass and leaves, weed wacked other parts of the land to get rid of over growth, then white washed lines in the grass for the VB court. We started at 11:00 and weren't finished until right around 4:00...which doesn't sound too bad especially since we had a white washing shopping trip (which included a Popsicle) and lunch during that time...but we also had 5 people working on that area (two which had been working in the yard ALL day!). One of the guys kept looking at Laura and I weird...Bill told us that he probably has never seen females working in a yard like we did today...interesting!



(Dad I have to be honest with you...I definitely did not follow ANY "B" working in the yard rules...and at one point I was wearing a UT cap...which I traded for a Notre Dame cap ASAP...yes Bill has a picture...yes my thumb was up...PLEASE BRING BILL AN A&M CAP!! PS...I think I am going to have to build Bill's bubble a lot sooner than yours!)

But the Volley Ball court looks VERY nice and I'm ready to PLAY!!! And Bill is very happy about it too...as you can see in the pictures!!





Later we had a Bible study with all age groups (it was more like a mini sermon)...



At the service I finally got to see Marcos!! I was so excited...(Emmalee he asked if you were coming back...I think he wants to wrestle again!)

Once we made it back inside, it was time for dinner...hot dogs...and no we did not have a hotdog fight! And of course our before bed smoothies!

Tomorrow the plan is to meet with our first group of preteens and then relax in the afternoon (this is usually when the Moore's take some family time and relax), and we are heading to Forteleza!!

Well...I am exhausted! My eyes are heavy...so good night!

Prayer Requests:
~ Preteen groups
~ The rest of Jordan's travels (she should be here 8:40 tomorrow)
~ Patrick, Douglas and Amanda (along with all the other kids in school) start their exams tomorrow and they last until Tuesday

Slow Day

Well, after the great Maracanau adventure, the day was pretty slow.

Amanda and work on two crochet projects, one for me and one for her. She has picked it up pretty fast. She's pretty excited about it...I'll put up a picture once I figure out where Amanda went. :)

Later we went to the playground with the kiddos again! It was quite interesting, again they wanted to bury me, but instead I got them to bury others. We ended up making one girl into a mermaid and created a fish, a turtle and a crab around her. It was fun!

Amanda and I (because of so much sand) ended up in the pool shower again to get off as much sand as possible before going into the house (less work for Sula in the morning!). Then, because we were all wet anyways...jumped into the pool! Why not, right?

Laura and I are now working on finishing our lesson for tomorrow morning at 8!! (Please pray for us! It is our first meeting with the preteens and we are excited!!!)

Jordan starts her travels tomorrow! Please pray for her too! She won't be here until Wednesday at 8:40...but it is a long travel!

Hopefully I'll have some pics to post tomorrow!! :) (I know it can be boring sometimes without pictures for the visual learners!!! It just the teacher side of me coming out once in a while!!!)

Maracanau

Today I got to see a little bit of how shopping is like in Brasil! All we went to get was pool supplies, dog food (Jack was having to eat little puppy food) and a car notice from the post office. Three stops, that in US would only take two.

Got to the pool supply place. Ordered the supplies from one lady. She gave them to another, then we waited for them to be ready and then waited for the receipt to be printed/written out. (at least 20 minutes)

Headed to the pet store. Ordered the dog food, went to a different window to pay, went to a different door to give them the order, then stood outside talking while waiting for them to put the bags in the car. They carry the 15 lbs bags on their heads...it pretty cool...I tried it once we were back at the house...it isn't too bad!! I just never thought of carrying it that way before! (another 15-20 minutes)

Then it was off to the post office. First we had to wait in line, then once we got up to the person, we had to wait for him to find the paper, then take down Bill's info from his license, and then once we got the folded up paper, then we got to open it up to figure out what it was. VERY interesting process! (another 30-45 minutes and we had tried to go there the week before but they were closed) This was frustrating also because they had tried to mail it to Bill three times and no one signed for it at the house, which means we "wasted" time waiting at the post office, although throughout this mini adventure, Bill and I were able to talk a lot!

When we got back from our adventure, Sula was making a run to the market to get some veggies. Laura and I went with her! I was expecting to walk a lot farther than we did, but the little market is just down the street! Sula started talking to the lady who was sitting outside and I figured it was one of her friends, not a market...but that too was a neat experience.

Life is a lot slower and at a completely different pace when you are here. I am enjoying it! Bill mentioned that they haven't given us a lot of down time, but I feel (maybe its just me and I like to keep myself busy) that we have had more "down time" than I expected. But I've been able to use that time to write on here and work on Bible studies...

Lunch is smelling really good right now! My breakfast has been worked off and now I am ready for some GOOD FOOD!!! (while I'm writing this, you (in the US) are probably still full from breakfast and not even thinking about lunch!)

First Worship at CEG

The first meeting of CEG (the initials of the church pronounced Segui which means "to follow" in Portuguese) was a blessing. Bill expected around 50 people to show up, which is pretty good for the first meeting, but instead around 80 were there (I am going to get out my videos and count in a few).



The sound system, computer, powerpoint, cameras, microphones, music, etc. all were working properly which made the service run so smoothly. PRAISE GOD!!!!

The choir which had practiced a few times throughout the week sounded great (they also sang at the baptism!). Bill's sermon was shorter than any other BRASILIAN sermons I have been to, but it went well and only a couple kids had to be removed from the "kid section."



We also had the Lord's Supper tonight! Which was an awesome way to end a day full of baptisms and blessings! Because we only had one tray with grape juice cups and one basket of bread pieces; so we had those who could take communion, line up in the middle to receive their Lord's Supper. I thought that was a really neat way to do it. Not only do Bill (the pastor for tonight) and Erika know whether or not they have actually accepted Christ as Savior, but also it makes the person be accountable for their faith and take the initiative to show the congregation who has made the commitment. Not everyone at church was at the baptism, but now the church has seen all who have accepted Christ in their community and maybe they will start asking questions about the meaning behind being "saved" and "baptized."



After the service had ended, those who had or will have a birthday this month, stood up front and we sang "happy birthday" to them. They also had cake and drinks for everyone who was there! It was a really neat celebration! Below is a picture of the church praying for the kids and adults with birthdays this month!!

Soccer!!

So today at 15:30, it was girls day to play in the field area at Grupo CEO. The older teens were playing 5 on 5 and were nice enough to let Laura and I play a round (two goals then the losing teams switch around). Now I have NEVER been that great at soccer (you can ask my dad - he use to bribe me to kick the ball during games when I was younger), but these girls are RUTHLESS!!! The short 5 minutes (I think...it might have been shorter) took my breath away...I did actually kick the ball a few times (which I was surprised) in my bare feet (which was A LOT of fun).

I'm going to have to work on my "skills" (or try to find some) before I think about getting out there again...although I'm pretty sure we gave them a pretty good laugh. Who knows...maybe they'll have me playing pretty well by the end of the summer!

The rest of the time I spent with the younger girls kicking the ball back and forth, trying to stay out of the other game, playing concentration, and monkey in the middle.

Sorry...no pictures...it was raining and it would have been embarrassing! :)

9:00 Baptisms

The baptisms this morning were beautiful!

I have no idea how many were baptized, I'll have to count later. Bill said about 30, both men, women, and children, young and old! It was an awesome time!



The children who were baptized had a glow about them. They were so precious and excited about the future.





One of the last girls was crying while she was baptized, later Bill told us it was because she was the only Christian in her family. But God works in such WONDERFUL ways! Ways that we have no idea could happen. After the baptisms and snacks that were provided, the girl's mother accepted Christ. She has done SO much with Grupo CEO (made the longest cake EVER for the wedding last year, goes to all the Bible Studies...), but had never accepted Christ because her son is a drug dealer and she smokes. But today, she accepted Him as Savior and Lord! The picture below is of the mother and daughter after she accepted Christ!



Such an AWESOME beginning to the day!

Outside Worship

Tonight we had worship outside with a large group of people from the community.

There were only two songs that I knew (although I only knew them in English).





Sorry the pictures are dark, the light was not too good outside. :)

One event really made me think about how "good" we have it in the United States. Sitting next to me was a girl, who had her Bible out while listening to the pastor preach. Now this was not the newest or prettiest Bible, it was missing both covers, and she had written it in many times. At on point during the sermon, she got up to go do something, when she came back, her Bible was not in her chair. I had no idea what happened to it either. She kept asking the people around us if they took it and everyone kept saying "no." This girl's eyes filled up with tears. She did not make any noise, but kept longingly looking into the bag she keeps her Bible in and wiping her eyes.

This makes me think about how selfish we are and how much we want the best. Think about the last time your Bible was about to fall apart, what did you do? Keep it in the nicest bag that you own or go buy a new Bible. Too many times we take the ease of running to the store for granted. Here is a girl who is looking desperately for a "ratty" old Bible and we don't even take the time to open up our new ones. Why can't we have the spirit of this girl, to the point that we cry when we do not take the time with God that He deserves?

Just something to think about!

By the way, she did find her Bible, one of her friends hid it from her. I think that girl will think twice before hiding it again, after seeing her friends reaction.

Coming Up: Girl's soccer, Baptisms, and the First Service of CEG (Grupo CEO's New Church)