PRAISE GOD!!

I have not been on here in a while...

I didn't even finish the telling about all the good news from the summer...

But God is Good!!!

Grupo CEO now has their TRUCK!!! God is Good!! There are so many new opportunities now that the truck is owned - VQ will be easier to get to and to the other difficult interior towns.

Jo will be in Brazil towards the end of this month to serve for 6 months...please pray for her!! She will also be going to school.

God is Good!!

Last Day of Peace Makers

Today during Peace Makers, we talked about forgiveness. Jesus is the ultimate Forgiver, so we need to practice His example.

I also learned that Douglas is SO mean to me!!!! (Douglas made me write it)

We had another teen and preteen worship time tonight! We played some more games...birdie on a perch...made some of the kids stick their faces in water to pull out some gummy bears and then but their face into flour...VERY Entertaining! The teams end up with the same amount of Gummies, so both teams won!

It took a while to get everyone back into the complex, but we have VQ tomorrow, so getting to bed early is a MUST!!! We are getting up at 04:00 to head out to VQ.

A More Normal Day...

Well, the Americans were able to go through an interns schedule today. Most are handling it well, it is taking a lot of energy out of them, but they have all had a awesome attitudes and willingness to do all that has been asked of them.

Children''s went well...got to throw balls at the little kids as usual, along with a lesson and a snack!

Peace Makers was continued today, as we looked at different passages in the Bible and how they dealt with the situations. They were also able to do a craft with the preteens today...salvation bracelets...they all enjoyed it, although some were having difficulty keeping them on. We also got to teach the Copperfield team how to play Brazilian dodge ball...it was entertaining!

The teens had a good time together as well. We had a surprise birthday party for Rafael, who has been working with the teens for a while now and he is here with the rest of the IBC team for this week!

While they rewrote the information they wanted on the board for the lesson, we played a game called Chain-Reaction with them. There were a lot of Boys there, so JT questioned whether or not they would play since they would have to hold hands..they actually played it for a while!

After Chain-Reaction, they went through the Biblical examples again...
Afterward we went and played Volleyball, Soccer and Basketball...

This evening we had Peace Makers for the adults and a worship service for the teens and preteens! I heard the Peace Makers went well, although there was a smaller turnout than expected, but God brought to the meeting who needed to be there!

The worship time was enjoyable! We played music, danced, had a short devotional, and played some games! At the end of the night, I was exhausted and ready to head to bed!

Tomorrow we have about the same schedule...although we will all be wearing our pink Peace Makers shirts!

Super Sunday!

This morning we headed to IBC as usual, but this time on a bus full of people! We took up a huge part of the back of the church, but we had to sit in the back so we wouldn't be a distraction with the translators!

We picked up more Brazilians to come to the complex and serve with Copperfield this week! So the bus was even more full on the way home!

We met with the preteens today for an hour! Copperfield brought down the Peace Makers program to use to study with the groups this week! Today they talked about the different ways we approach conflicts, both good and bad. Running away, gossiping, asking someone to hold us accountable so that we don't do it again, talking it out, etc. They kids were enjoying it, especially as Lindsey and Blaise acted each one of them out!

After preteens we had lunch and then got ready for the teens!

The same lesson was used for the teens, but a little more in depth! They seemed to be getting it as well! We played soccer, basketball, and volleyball with them as well!

It was then time to get things set up for church. For dinner they headed out to the Chicken Place! I was needing some rest, so I hung out, listening to music and packing up to move into the dorm with the CF team!

Church was exciting! JT was the speaker for the night! The dances the teens and preteens prepared went really well! It was exciting to see them. Then Pastor Eudes pulled Laura and I up on stage for us to say a few words...I had a hard time...My mom took video...if you can see it later if you want to...

Then it was time for bed...after a smoothie!

Hit the Ground Running!

So we picked up the Copperfield team around 6:30 this morning! Phew...It was early!

As soon as we got back to the complex (not compound) it was time to get organized and figure out where everyone would be sleeping! Luckily, their bags were marked really well this year, Red tags were supplies (go to the side of the dorm), Blue tags were personal items (go inside the dorm).

After getting everyone situated, Sula and the rest of the kitchen team had prepared a snack/breakfast for everyone! It was good as always, but I had to eat mine on the run! Last night Pastor Eudes asked the teens to get a dance prepared to welcome the Copperfield team on Sunday! They want to do the line dance to Beautiful One, so that meant we HAD to practice!

So at 9 with my coffee in hand, headed over to the Grupo Building to figure out who would actually show up and want to dance from the TEENS!!!

James, DeDe, Liniah, Alane, Joyce, Josefa, Barbara...the usual were there waiting for me! So were a bunch of young-ins wanting to see the rest of the American group!
Practice went well! Hopefully all will go well and the room needed to line dance will be available!

At 10 we had orientation! There are a lot of new faces on this trip, so we needed to lay some ground rules and help mentally prepared them for their trip!

We then went on a prayer walk around the community, in 4 groups! I got to see Joyce and Josefa's house! It was neat getting to see some more of the houses of the families that I have been around for so long! I didn't realize that Joyce's mom had been helping take care of Geisa, Gesiana, and Bruna while their mom is at work...those kids are a handful!

Then we had lunch...yummm...and lunch dishes...YAY! Christian and I are on the same team so it helps washing dishes pass the time!

We then had a community outreach and construction time!
We washed kids hair, painted nails, cut kids hair, de-liced (just thinking about it sometimes makes my head itch...its weird), taught them how to brush their teeth and were able to play with a few while working with others! Overall it was a successful 3 hour community outreach!

Then it was time for dinner! YUMM...again!!!

Then we set up for a community ice-breaker...
CHURCH IN THE STREETS!!!

We had music blasting, people singing and dancing (people crying too...me being one of them), food being passed around, people laughing! Being able to fellowship in such an awesome way! The person in charge of the music had a few songs that the Americans would know in English...so don't worry they didn't feel left out!

It ended up being a simi-late night...but this first day got off to a great start!

Break!

Copperfield Church Team arrives tomorrow! There are things that still need to be done and we are still exhausted from the weekend. So today we are going to try to relax but get things done for the next team. We already took time to sweep up the porches and now I’m waiting on the mop from Sula!

Please pray for this team that is coming in…prepare their hearts for what God is going to do…give their spirits excited for the time here.

They are on the plane now on their way here…please pray for safe travel as well!

About to go pull weeds!

Good Bye TIME

Today we were able to celebrate with all the kids! We played games, reviewed what we learned together these past weeks and just enjoyed our time together.

There were a few preteens with watery eyes already! Tonight is going to be hard for them!

We had an awesome time with the teens! We answered any questions that they had…again they really didn’t have any, and then we talked with them about the feet washing. We gave them a chance to pray and ask Jesus into their heart or to reconnect with Him if they have fallen away. There were at least 3 people praying out loud. We explained to them how this was a form of service, and how God has called them to serve others as well.

Just let we did with the preteens, we asked them to be in pray throughout this and they took it very seriously. One of the girls who have fallen way from God for a while now, was there and she was tightly holding on to the hand of the person next to them! I am praying that she will turn back to God!

After washing the feet, we headed over to the dorm to hang out. It was raining and some of the girls don’t like getting wet! I kicked one of the basketballs around with Marcos, Roberto, and Michael. Kicking a basketball hurts a lot more than kicking a soccer ball!

We then headed over to the volleyball court and played some girls versus guys volley ball! It was fun. It started at 2 on 2 and kept growing to 6 on 6. Personally I feel that the girls won, although I think the guys would say differently. We also restarted the score a few times when new people would join so I have no idea who really won!

Children’s worship was AWESOME as usual! Joyce’s mom was there singing and dancing with her kids which was neat to see! After worship, the “gringos” were pushed back into the house so that we could eat and then head to the airport! After dinner, we headed outside so that they could say goodbye! There wasn’t a dry eye in sight! Just shows how much this community’s loves to have people around them to share Christ’s love with them. We had a 55 passenger bus to take us to the airport and the plan was to take some of the teens with us, but because of worries of leaving some of the kids at the airport, we decided that it would just be those leaving and the group that lives in the house!

At the airport, we waited while they checked in and then headed to grab some Bob’s before they headed out!

They all will be greatly missed! But it was an awesome time serving with them and I can’t wait for when God allows us to serve together again!

Trunk, Smoothie, Vacation, Lesson, Shopping, Hammock, etc., Buddy you will be missed…but keep serving! Use what you have learned these weeks to further His kingdom wherever you go! Have fun in Baltimore…talk to you soon! “TIME”

Jordan's Last Wednesday

Well we ended up not doing the washing of the feet with the teens yet. There were a couple of girls who headed to the movies instead of hanging out with us….so we plan on doing it tomorrow with the teens. We were able to have a pretty good conversation with the girls, although at some points it felt like pulling teeth! The girls that said they had questions were not there today, so maybe they will bring them up tomorrow!

Wednesday night, it was Pastor Brian’s turn to speak. But before he could get started, James and Renan had a little presentation for them! They were wearing his shirts, shorts, and shoes! It was hilarious! James kept pulling his pants up like Brian does and sticking his hands in his pockets. You have to see the video to truly appreciate it! Brian was laughing the WHOLE time!

There were a bunch of girls crying tonight too…this is Jordan, Rob, Nate, Tammy, Brian and the girls’ last night here! It going to be hard to see them go, they have been an awesome addition!

Washing Feet

Kiddos ~
Today we talked about Jesus washing the disciples feet and how if they have accepted Jesus into their lives, they still need to wash their feet, but the rest of their body is clean!

Preteens ~
Today is pretty much our last shadow question day (Jo and the rest of the team from Indiana leave tomorrow). So we took the time to answer any last questions they might have and talk about the weeks we were with them.

We then had them sit in a circle so that we could talk about the washing of feet and actually wash their feet, one by one! We told them that this was a serious time and that we wanted them to be praying while we did this. Most of them it seriously, there were only a few who were talking during that time. But I believe it is the quietest I have ever seen them! It was a neat experience!

Becasue of the rain, we played dodgeball until it was time to go! Awesome time as usual!

Teens~
Will see them soon!!! The girls are wanting to split up today so that they can ask us a few more questions...Then we will be washing their feet as well!

BENJAMIN!!

Well, he broke both bones in his forearm, in a couple different places. They are keeping him at the hospital tonight and he will have surgery in the morning...

His mom keeps saying "God is in control!"

Please pray for this family!!