A Temple for the Lord

Today started off as most Sunday mornings do...getting up to go to IBC. The girls (minus Erika, she was at the funeral) and Bill headed to church! Worship and the message was great as usual.

Then we got into a discussion of lunch...different places were discussed, but we headed home so Bill could make us something for lunch that's better than Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies (made with ice cream)...by the way, there isn't anything better!! But he did make us some AWESOME waffles! They were good!

The rest of the afternoon, until church, was used to prepare for what God was going to have Laura, Jordan and I share at church. We were all asked to share something, so we tried to figure out a way that we could all share something individually, but bring it all together in the end.

Laura talked about taking up our cross daily and living for God, even if that means that we have to get rid of something in our life that is holding us back! Jordan talked about temptations and how they can get in our life and mess up God's plan. She made NeNe sit in a chair, in front of the whole church and not eat a piece of American candy, that was unwrapped...and she told him he couldn't eat it! He never did eat it! There were kids around him trying to get him to but he never budged!

To tie it all together, I talked about how our bodies are temples for the Lord to use. So we need to know the things in our lives that we need to get rid of and the temptations that may get in our way, so that we can be a place where God dwells, it is holy, worshipful and sacred! It worked out pretty well!

After the service, Bill called Laura, Jordan and I over. Roberto was standing there (this is the teen that said he had accepted Jesus, but when I asked him to write out a testimony, was unable to). He realized that he did need to accept Christ and because of what was said during the testimonies and at church, he wanted us to be there to witness God taking over his life! AWESOME EXPERIENCE!

Rob, Nate, Tammy, Brian, Sadie and Awdra are arriving tomorrow!

g'nite

Concrete Concrete Everywhere!

Today we were able to help give back to a church that has done so much for Grupo CEO! We woke up at our normal time to leave by 7…hahaha…we ended up leaving around 8, but it wasn’t a big deal!

We walked out of the gate and down to the “bus stop,” I didn’t even know this area had one. PS. The bus is a van…but with limited seats and a bunch of standing room…just like most buses! So we (Bill, Laura, Jordan, James, Renan, Patrick, Douglas, and I) headed down the road. Most of us had seats on the way to our next stop. The bus didn’t go all the way to the church, so James told us where to get off and we had about a mile and a half more to go.

When we got there, things were getting started. The rocks were ready to be shoveled into the wheel barrels, so was the sand, and the cement was ready be mixed in the miniature concrete mixer…oh by the way…today we (and by we, there were a lot of us!!!) put a roof over three future classrooms. It will be the roof for now, but later on the floor to the second story.

Us 3 girls started out shoveling the rocks and wheeling them to the mixer, but there wasn’t much need for us there since there was only one shovel we could use of the sand and the rocks plus the piles were quite a ways apart.

So once the first batch of concrete was mixed, we started carrying the buckets! It was interesting, but now I can say that I have carried at least 50 buckets of concrete. It was easiest carrying them two at a time! They helped keep me balanced, and I would make sure the buckets were as full as possible, because in my mind, every little bit extra, took away from a bucket I would have to carry later on.

One of the men from the church had a BUNCH of ENERGY…it was insane! He was jumping up and down, catching, throwing, and running with buckets. Come to find out he is a cyclist, which explains some of it! He helped keep me going…although the whole time I was wishing I had his energy!

Jo and I would walk by each other and chant each other’s names to encourage us too! (Especially when we were carrying two buckets!)

For a little bit I was in charge of hooking the buckets on the pulley system. That job was a little back breaking, but gave my hands a short rest.

The first actual break we had was lunch! But it was quickly back to work! The ladies of the church were really sweet for feeding us! And it was good, although I couldn’t finish all that was put on my plate!

After lunch things were going pretty smoothly, until the concrete mixer died on us!! We weren't too happy, but right as it died, "Jack" rode in on his bicycle to save the day! We are pretty sure he is Tequila's brother...

He wanted to do EVERYTHING, but it was hard to know if her could handle it our not in his condition. The projects done at this church is done as a community, so it was hard to turn someone away, whether or not you agree with their actions and decisions. But he was allowed to help mix the concrete and he do it every fast and every well in our concrete areas. We were now mixing a bag of concrete at a time, but were just as busy because of how fast "Jack" could get things done!

Definitely an experience that I will never forget! Especially when I have sore arms and legs to remind me!

Sadly we had to go to a funeral tonight (another one). It was suppose to be a party for the 15 year old, but her grandma passed away early this morning. They had all the cakes made and everyone was invited. Honestly I'm thinking this would be the best way to go out...with a party planned to celebrate the life that was lived instead of the loss of someone close! The birthday party is going to be rescheduled!

Phew! (Or how ever else you spell "a sigh of relief")

Well, what we thought would be a more difficult day turned out to be one of the best so far.

During each group we opened up in prayer and then gave them our testimonies of what God has done in our lives and what He is doing now. We have been hoping and praying for a time when we could better understand the kids around us and their reasons for not accepting Christ.

After we shared our testimonies, we gave the pre-teens and teens time to write out their own testimony. For those who did not have a testimony, we asked them to write out why they had not accepted Christ (fears, confusions, etc.). We then walked around and asked those who were struggling how it was going, and talked with them about what it means to be a Christian and how to ask Jesus into their heart.

5 pre-teens prayed to asked Jesus into their hearts for the first time today!
Geisa
Gesiany
Wesley
Paulina
Elizane

We talked to Mateus and Mateus again, they couldn't answer why they accepted Jesus, or what He had done for them, so Jordan walked through it again with them. I think it was some what nervousness...there were a lot of kids in there today!

Luana opened up to us about her past and her current fears. This sweet girl has been through a lot! Please pray for her as God continues to use her in awesome ways! Pray that she can forgive people for things that they have done to her, so that she does not have to carry that burden any more. Also pray that she is able to have a childhood and that all her time is not spent on taking care of her sisters, she needs to be a sister, not a mother!

After the preteens, we headed out to deliver some food (after counting Sula's fingers) and were able to find out how connected everyone in the community is! The cousins, grandparents, etc. was pretty interesting to find out! The kids living with their grandmother, although the mom is down the street...

I was also able to better understand Auranice today! She gave us a little bit of her back ground today and told us more about what God has done in her life! She is a really sweet lady and today has really helped me understand her better. Pray for Issac, her youngest who lives with a family in San Paulo, he is turning 3.

After lunch we dealt with the teens! We were interested to see how the teens would respond to our testimonies and having them write out their own, but the Teens took writing out their testimony very seriously which was exciting to see.

Joyce accepted Christ!! We have been praying for her this WHOLE time!

Robaslany, knows that she needs to accept Christ, but keeps saying that it isn't the right time for her. We talked with her for a long time, but still she resisted. Please pray for her heart and that God will change this attitude. Right now she is feeling that she has too many big sins and she is afraid that she is going to fall back into sin...so please pray that God will help her understand His love and His forgiveness!

Roberto was an interesting case! He says he has accepted Christ, but when we asked him to write out his testimony, he was having a difficult time! I don't doubt that he has accepted Christ, I just really wish that he could put it more into words. He has had a rough past, but seems to be headed the right direction! Please pray for God's guidance in his life too!

After the teens, we watched them play soccer! We kept calling James a "show off" whenever he had the ball, it was a new word that we had learned!

Renan tried to get me to eat this weird looking berry type thing, but I wasn't having it. He even put one in his mouth, but spit it out two seconds later.

Joyce was messing with us as usual. At one point we all had a leaf and she told us that they were our imaginary friends. They all had names...mine ended up needing CPR at one point! Joyce keeps trying to tells us that her name is now Neghina and that Joyce is dead (which is funny she keeps saying that because her old self did die today!). So at one point I named a leaf Joyce. She took it from me and crumpled it up. She's crazy, but you can't not love her!

We then had the preteen and teen meetings!
The preteens we having a pretty good time! They ended up playing some games at the end of the lesson and I really should have had my camera, but I'm always afraid Joyce is going to steal it from me along with my Bible.
The teens had a good time too! Afterward we had our usual Bible chase, but this time Roberto was helping us, but Joyce kept saying it wasn't fair! And Joyce gave Jordan a bruise on her NOSE by pinching it! Again...that's Joyce!

I had to say good bye to Amanda and Jessica tonight as well, but I'll be seeing them soon enough! They were awesome this week! Please pray for them too!

Once we got home...we had the BEST SMOOTHIE EVER!!!!! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Well, it is raining. I need to take a shower and then get to bed!

We are helping concrete the roof to Pastor Edwardo's church tomorrow! MANUAL LABOR!! He has done so much for us, so we are excited that we get to help him and the church tomorrow!

Boa Noite!

Busy Week!

We have been going, going, going this week! So I'm just going to give the highlights of the past few days!

Monday ~
- We started our next question, "What surrounds your shadow?" Talking about the people and things that are a part of our lives and that influence us!
- That night there was the monthly teen meeting for the Assembly of God Church and Grupo CEO's teens. There ended up being A LOT more preteens than we expected, but it was a great meeting! Jordan gave a lesson on our "Love Tanks." (Before the meeting started, Joyce, as usual, stole Jordan's Bible and notes, so to get it back she told Joyce that she was going to have to speak for her...it worked well.) We all try to fill our own love tanks through the people around us, our talents, what we spend our time on and the things that we own, but only by accepting Jesus into our lives, can our love tanks be full and overflowing! Only Christ has the ability to fill us up!

Tuesday ~
- Today we talked about having the fruit of the spirit attributes towards the people around us.
- Before the teen group really started today, we were waiting for a couple of them that have to show up late because of chores, we were asking Leinhia random questions in English, and then would wait for her to respond by shaking her head, before we would tell her what the question was...look at "Leinhia's Answers" for the list of questions and answers (will be updated as time goes on). It was HILARIOUS
- With the youth, because of the rain, we ended up staying in the CEO building playing SIGNS! It took a little bit for all of them to get it, but in the end, we played for over an hour and we were laughing the WHOLE time!
- We played soccer again today...but it was only the people that were at the Bible study that were allowed to play...there were 12 of us total...and they play 5on5, which meant I played the WHOLE time...my feet hurt! But I did make two goals, and helped distract the goalie, Roberto, by playing a slapping game! I don't remember what the score ended up being, but it was A LOT to A LITTLE! But we had fun...that's all that matters!
- At church later that night, we had another great meeting, with many people! I sat with Alane throughout the service, we were dancing to the music in the back! She keeps telling Jordan and I that she is going to pull us in front of the children's worship hour tonight...we shall see if that really happens!
- After church...Joyce decided to steal Jordan and I's Bibles this time! Why my Bible, I have no idea...maybe because I help Jordan get her's back...but now she tries to get both of ours. We have a few people on our team, but at the same time, Joyce is very strong and determined! We keep laughing at the fact that she steals our Bibles, but can't read what they say...She's a funny kid!

Wednesday ~
- Today we talked about accountability with the younger kids and preteens!
- We used two different illustrations
---we first had volunteers help us carry a kid around in a blanket to demonstrate the kind of friends the crippled had and we asked the kids if they had friends that would carry them for miles!
---we then had one of the kids keep Jordan accountable in spelling words correctly on the board! We didn't tell them that she was going to spell them in English. With this illustration, we were able to explain to them the importance of choosing an appropriate accountability partner, who can actually help you out and find guidance from the Bible, when they are wrong. It was neat!
- We decided to take the rest of the evening off, so at lunch I drank some Mango juice, took a nap after lunch and woke up around 5. Everyone was in the pool and after much deliberation, decided to willingly join them before they made me. Jordan was carried from the back side of the dorm and then into the pool by 4 of the teens that were helping clean up the soccer field. This made 4 times she has been in water when she wanted to be dry. Towards the end of the pool fun...Douglas and Roberto, decided to have some fun and each grab an arm and a leg of mine and hold me in the water. A few times I could get away, but then they started dunking my head underwater and I couldn't see where I was because of my hair...it was fun over all...I found a bruise on my arm that I didn't know I had...not sure where it came from either!
- Pastor Eudes is starting a Teen night on Wednesday's and because it was the first meeting, we went to support Pastor Eudes. From what I understood, the lesson went really well, although one of the girls fell asleep right next to me...and she is HARD to wake up! (afterward Joyce stole our Bibles again!)
- For dinner we headed over to "Tequila's." We were a little disappointed that he was not there for some entertainment, but the food was amazing as before. The 9 of us clown car-ed it back to the house with Erika's food in hand (She's not allowed to drive...but who knows how long until she tries).

Thursday ~
- Today's lesson was on being a good example to those around us and making sure that we know what the Bible is telling us, not just what others tell us, or what we make up.
- Lunch was awesome!
- We are now resting, getting ready for the teen group at 14:00!

Prayer Requests
~ Lamb family
~ We are giving our testimonies tomorrow! (Prepared hearts)
~ Erika's continued recovery (she is doing awesome btw, her check up went well!)

Leinhia's Answers

A little bit of background...as some might have read, sometimes Jordan and I feel weird saying "Amen" in services when we have no idea what the Pastor is saying. Jordan once said "He could be saying 'I like to kill puppies' and we "AMEN""

So at a youth meeting we were messing with Leinhia and asking her different questions because she would answer without knowing what we said...here the questions we have asked and her answers, in no particular order.

Can you play a flute with your nose? YES
Will you play Jordan a song? YES

Do you like to kill puppies? YES (she shook her head no after the question was translated for her, but come to find out she actually stepped on a puppy's head one time and killed it)
Do you feel bad when you kill the puppies? NO

Do you like to eat monkey brains? NO
Do you like to eat human brains? NO
Do you like to eat puppy brains? YES

Do you have a crush on _________? NO
Do you have a crush on _________? YES (and she keeps saying yes to this question)

Do you eat basketballs for dinner? YES
Do you eat grasshoppers? NO

Do you bathe regularly? NO (she walked outside embarrassed after this one)
Do you have 10 fingers? YES
Do you sleep with your eyes open? YES
Do you live in a cardboard box? YES

Do you sleep upside down like a vampire? YES
Do you take naps in a coffin? YES



If you can think of any funny ones to ask her...please let us know!

Pastor Eudes First Official Service!

Tonight was an awesome blessing!

We were able to celebrate two things, Pastor Edgnardo's willingness to help the church, and Pastor Eudes' first service!

There were special songs sung and performed by guests and the children, as well as a cake to top it all off!

There were 130 people there tonight, about 20 of them were there because of the special event, but 110 could possibly be here each week! Prayer Request - CHAIRS!! Jordan and I will be starting a CHAIRity to help raise money to get more chairs! There ended up being 15 people standing throughout the whole service, possibly more (I didn't count the people outside). As the church keeps growing, the church may move to the soccer field (or at least that's what Jordan and I think would be neat) and more chairs would be needed! If you think you would like to help with this, please let me know! (each chair only costs $10, but there could eventually be 300-500 people...pray and see if this is something God wants you to help with)

Erika went to church tonight! She was chauffeured by her husband to church (across the street) but then walked home...Bad Erika! Jordan and I also gave her some good laughs from VQ, we were afraid to at first, but you just can't say no to her! We are saving the REALLY funny ones to later though! So please pray for Erika, it has been an eventful day for her, so she is tired and sore, but doing better each day!

Also pray for the community, the pastor from the other church in the area, is trying to convince everyone that Grupo CEO is trying to divide the community. But as Bill said tonight, there were 120 more people in church tonight because Grupo CEO's doors were open, and the number of people at the other church stayed the same! Bill is planning on talking to the pastor, so please pray for their conversation and for God's healing and guidance!

Well, it has been a long day! But I know God will give me the strength I need for tomorrow! Amanda and Jessica made it here safely today as well...they will be translating for us...another prayer request...they are very nervous! But I'm sure they will do fine! Jessica also recently found out that she is diabetic, so things are a little rocky for her right now, trying to figure out what she can eat, when she needs to eat..etc. So again...Please pray!

Time to Go to Bed...Good Night!

Happy Birthday Jordan!!

Today is Jordan's 17th Birthday!!



The preteens put together a surprise party for her in the Grupo CEO building this morning. (They got there at 6...we DROVE into (the doors were open) the building about 7:30!)



Jordan was completely surprised! The kids were all sitting in chairs waiting for her arrival, Bill rolled the windows down and they were singing Happy Birthday!



They had cake, fudge -ish stuff, cards, and decorations!





Pastor Eudes and his sister shared a word of encouragement with her and the kids all wanted a picture with her!





It was a great celebration! Jordan is still in shock!

Named a Donkey Independence!

To you Americans, Happy 4th, I don't expect us to shoot any fireworks off down here, so if you get a chance light one for me!!

This weekend (which isn't over) has been packed full!!

Friday, around 13:00, 8 of us (Jordan, Bill, Donna Mocinha, Alane, Pastor Eudes, Peris, Aristones and I) left to head to VQ. (of course after a morning full of kids and preteens - so Jo and I were already tired!) Even before we left we had some fun with Sula~we were looking for 2 liter bottles to fill up with "good" water. We asked Sula where to find them and she pulled one from behind the trunk that Jordan has been using for her clothes! We were shocked, but at the same time, that's Sula for you! She got the others one from outside somewhere - don't worry they were washed before we used them!



But we loaded up the cars and were on our way, backpacks full and food & water packed! Getting there seemed a lot longer in the car this time, maybe because we didn't have a cake stop with Sula's soap opera, but it wasn't bad.

Once we made it to the "parking lot" (the house where we keep the cars), we were pretty ready to get down the road! The walk seemed a lot short this time, maybe because we knew what to expect, or there were less of us, or because it was with a new group of people that have never gone. Bill took his bike again, so for a while, Jordan and I were the only English speaking people on the road, so communication was entertaining too! We gave Bill some good laughs when he came back for backpacks (the picture says it all, but I don't have it yet).



Once we made it to the house, Bill was no where to be found. Come to find out, from Donna Mocinha (although it was in Portuguese, so we were guessing a little bit) that he went to pray with one of the ladies at the end of the road. But he showed up later, unharmed from riding in the dark without a lamp, to let us know that more people were coming.



Jordan and I were hungry, while waiting for Bill...and Jordan and I didn't want to be rude and eat in front of them! So we grabbed some crackers and headed to an empty patch of grass near the horse. We were trying to watch the stars, but at the same time sneak a snack! All of a sudden, while trying not to draw attention to ourselves, the horse had to pee! It cracked me up...of course it would do something when we don't want any attention...



After our eventful snack...we were doing our best to take turns teaching Alane words in English and her teaching us words in Portuguese. It became pretty entertaining, especially since there were limited things to point out and name. Alane had one of the little boys run over and touch a chair so that we knew what she was talking about! But we had fun!

Once Bill was back we had some children's worship time! We first started off playing the name game! Bill ended up making us say all of the names in the end, which was difficult because this was the first time we really met these kids and some had some difficult names! Alane then gave the kids a Bible verse to memorize and they were able to repeat it a lot better than Jordan and I, although Jordan did it a lot better than I! I could say it in English! Psalm 119:11!!! Its a good one!

Afterward we sang and danced to a BUNCH of songs! At one point I had Alane laughing really hard because I was doing one of the dance move wrong...Jordan plans to teach it to me later! After the songs we headed inside to play with some balloons and to give the kids candy!! We had a balloon race...who ever could blow up the balloon and make it pop, while blowing it up, got a piece of candy, well of course everyone got a piece, it just took longer for other. The three of us (AJC) tried after the kids and Alane kept knocking ours out of our mouths! Jordan won! Alane and I tied! We got candy too!

After sugaring up the kids, we danced the Electric Slide to "Forever" by Chris Tomlin. That was fun! The kids were LOST!!! Alane had it down really well, more than we thought she would...she was even the one that wanted us to do it! It was FUN! And Alane had us dance the Cotton Eyed Joe dance moves to another song! That was fun, but tiring too - the kids didn't join in on this one...we were just watched!

Pastor Eudes gave a short sermon on Nicodemus and what it means to be born again. Three people accepted Christ: Lucas, Donna Fatima, Jocelane ! It was an awesome experience to be a part of!

It was also Alane's birthday, so we had a cake for her! This was really neat too! The cake was cut, and Alane served it to everyone! When she got to us, she stuffed it in our mouths, which we didn't expect! But then we got her back! She actually wasn't sure if she wanted to come because it was her birthday, but I'm pretty sure it will be a birthday she will never forget!

It was 22:30 by the time we headed to bed! Alane was begging us to go to the river that night, but we decided it would be best to go in the morning! As we were setting up the hammocks, Bill was having some trouble because Erika wasn't there to tie a knot in his hammock. We told him to ask Alane, but he was pretty she didn't know! But as soon as he said that, she was showing that she was able to do it, I think she ended up fixing everyone's hammocks!



Bill woke us up at 5:25!! To go take a bath in the river, although we had to wait until the gentlemen made their way back! It was refreshing, although Alane was SHIVERING the whole time. Jordan delayed getting in the water, but Alane wasn't having it! She actually took me down in the water...but I wasn't complaining - I thought it felt good!



We got out, headed to the house, changed clothes, hung our wet clothes on the fence and then ate some breakfast! Bread and corn meal stuff that you can put sugar and milk on...it was interesting!

We left on our trek to the "coffee house" around 7ish, later than we wanted, but not as late as we could have been! The trek (again) seemed a lot shorter than before...I think it helps when you have landmarks throughout the journey. And with those memories that help you get down the road! When we reached the first gate we knew we didn't have much more to go. Then there was the pond you can swim in, although there is A LOT of greenery in there right now. And then the Mini-Amazon River!



We reached the coffee house and Margarita had coffee ready to go! Jordan and I each ended up with 2 cups of AMAZING coffee in us...Bill had 3 1/2. That was A BUNCH of straight from the cow milk!



Margarita is an awesome hostess. She is so sweet and has a heart-warming and -breaking testimony. She mentioned today that "We are poor, but anything you need here is yours." WOW!!! This is the lady whose daughter drowned not too long ago, and she now has peace with God, knowing that her daughter is in Heaven and that through her daughters death, more have come to know Christ! I wish everyone could meet this amazing woman!



While enjoying our coffee, those sitting around us decided that to mess with Alane about riding their donkey...I've now learned not to dare that girl! She walked up to the donkey and got on! Then Thiago got it walking and she got to screaming as it took its steps! The little boy pulled out the rope and started hitting its side. That got the little guy going! She nearly fell off, but Thiago caught her!



Then it was Jordan's turn! Jordan made sure the little boy with the rope was far from her, but didn't expect Aristones to go up behind the donkey get him going, or get the rope thrown to him from the boy. Well, the donkey definitely got going and ended up knocking Jordan to the ground, Thiago was unable to catch her.






Then it was my turn. Now I have a bad record with Donkeys, and this poor guy had already had enough...he didn't need me. And come to find out he didn't even have a name! So we named him Independence...Don't know if that will stick, but its been decided! Well, I did get on the donkey, and Jordan had the rope...which we are on the same team so we back each other up, although she was swinging it around suspiciously...I was fine not having the donkey go anywhere and I can now say that I have ridden a donkey!

After the donkey ride, The Chaplain (Jo) told us the story of Noah, and how much faith and obedience this man had! And if we would just allow God to work in our lives as Noah did, He would use us for great things as well! Bill later said that he had never looked at that story in that way and Aristones left like Jo had box seats watching what was happening! Jordan has an awesome way of putting Bible events in a new light to help us better understand all that God does! Its been an awesome experience serving along side her this summer!



After the lesson, Thiago mentioned that he wanted to accept Christ as His Savior. Bill had Jordan pray a sinners prayer, Bill translated it, and then Thiago repeated it! It was such a neat experience! Thiago is Lucas's brother! So now this mother has two more sons who have accepted Jesus! This was an AWESOME weekend (and I'm not done!).

(Lucas is in the orange hat, Thiago is in the blue hat)


Jordan's Brasilian dad led us in some worship songs before we left!



Margarita also gives AWESOME hugs!!!

Then it was on to the "Dairy House." The couple at this house makes fresh cheese, yogurt, milk, etc... And its ALL good! Today I only ate some cheese and crackers, but Jordan, Alane, Aristones and I were able to watch Edison (the man of the house) make some rounds (if that's what you call it) of cheese. I also got to eat some VERY FRESH cheese...it was good, but weird, I kinda felt like I was chewing on a balloon without the rubber taste...it even made squeaking sounds as we chewed!





Fatima (the lady of the house) had accepted Christ the night before and Edison prayed to accept Christ in the kitchen as we all held hands. Jordan said that Fatima held her hand REALLY tight!

While we were enjoying the new believer in Christ's first moments, we noticed the horse outside the window. Bill wouldn't get on the donkey, so we tried to tell Alane that Bill should get on that horse, but instead she thought we were telling her that in English, the horse is Bill! We had a good laugh! Fatima also gives some awesome hugs! I'm pretty sure I hugged her 5 times! She has a servants heart as well! I didn't want to leave the house, but it was time to go! But we didn't leave without buying some cheese from them!!!! (YUMMM!!)

On the way back to Marcos' house (where we spend the night) we continued to name other objects (besides Bill), Bill! It helped break up the length of the trip! We also taught Alane a few phrases that hopefully she'll use later on: Howdy Y'all and Don't Worry About It!! It was fun! We stopped at one other house just to say "oi" and to pray with them along the way back!

Once we were able to see the house, Alane was real excited! I don't think she expected to walk so much! But we made a deal to scream "GLORIA A DEUS" on three. We shocked those in the front of the pack! It was fun!



Once we got back to the house, we ate lunch (with some AWESOME potatoes - the best ever - sorry mom)!!! Packed up our clothes and headed out! We walked most of the way back, but then some of the guys from the community gave us a ride by motorcycle back to the "parking lot." So I am still unable to say that I walked the whole way in VQ...these people are just too nice! But I also appreciated it!

The ride home was uneventful, although we tried to sleep and Bill was enjoying waking us up while dodging holes (although the holes have gotten better).

We are now back. Erika is doing well, she is getting tired of being in her room, but the fact that she is staying down where she is suppose to be is good to see. We ate dinner (hotdogs!) and now we are getting ready to head to bed! We have an early morning...

Oh...and I have no clean lay around the house clothes (t-shirts, shorts) and the water was turned off, but I'm hoping to get them washed tomorrow!

Renan kept us entertained as he walked by our room dancing and singing...I finally got it on video! He has begged me to delete it...but that WON'T happen!




Check back for more pictures (once I get them from Bill and Jordan)...I'm really going to bed now...I just kept thinking of things that happened once we got home...

Esther and Children's Worship!

ERIKA is HOME!! Please continue praying for her!

This morning went well! The little kids were really cute! We told the story of Esther today! We had 4 of the kids wearing names tags for the main people in the story! Vitoria knew the story REALLY well! She could have told it by herself, she has seen the movie of Esther. We ended up working on "Every Move I Make" with the little kids, hopefully to show it to the church some day. Pastor Eudes wife also had a song for the kids to practice, but we were unable to get it to work on the CD player. (They came back later to work on it)

The preteens were there early as usual, I had to yell at them at one point because they were getting too loud for the little kids to hear and it didn't help that it was raining too.

Instead of just telling the preteens the story of Esther, we tried to have them act it out! We gave them A LOT of time, but some of the groups ended up saying they didn't even read it! We were confused, how did they waste all that time?!?!?! Two groups actually did act their parts out, but Jordan, Elo, Laura and I ended up telling most of the story! And had to summarize it in the end because they were getting confused. But the kids were able to answer the questions we had. God's control was seen throughout the situation, even though the Bible didn't say "God controlled this..." or "God did this..." God controls both the big and the little things in our lives, sometimes when we don't even realize it!

After the lesson, we had our snack and ended up playing Duck, Duck, Goose! We only had 30 minutes left and because of the rain, we didn't want to chance anyone getting hurt on the court! These kids enjoyed it...although this game can get pretty dangerous too!

After preteens we ate some beans, rice and sausage. And then took some much needed naps! I didn't plan on napping, but it felt REALLY good!

With the teens we talked about God's control with Noah and the Ark and the time Jesus was on the boat with His disciples when the storm occurred. I think that most of them can see God's control in the stories, but are afraid to admit if God really has control of their lives. But Jordan asked them some awesome questions that hopefully will get them thinking!

We also started working on a skit with the Teens! It is based off of Matthew 7:21-23, when Jesus is talking about how not everyone who says and does things for Christ will go to Heaven, you have to have a RELATIONSHIP with Christ! He has to be Lord of your life! The teens threw out ideas of what a Christian looks like and what they do: Don't do bad things, Obey their parents, Go to Church, Read their Bible, Know the Bible Stories... and we tried our best to remind them that while these are important to further their walk with Jesus and deepen their relationship, just doing these things will not save you!

Well, our actors have their parts. A few people were ready to volunteer, while others were picked to help out! Edwardo raised his hand as fast as he could when we asked who wanted to be the last person in line who actually has the relationship with Christ and makes it into Heaven! I thought that was neat! Patrick is playing Jesus. Renan actually has two parts, we are going to let him "sneak" back in line, it was their idea and he is really wanting to be a part of the skit! So we are trying to make it theirs as much as possible without going overboard!

We did a dry run through. It was interesting. Some haven't taken it seriously yet, but I reminded them that their are some people who believe that Going to church is good enough, so this could hit some people pretty deep! I was hoping that they could make their own lines, I feel that sometimes it makes them take more ownership in their work, but they want it written out, so I will be working on that soon.

After Teens, we had a little bit of time to relax and run to the store to make more copies before Children's Worship Hour! We ended up getting to the Worship Hour late, but Sula had things in order! And Jordan and I had some good laughs in the car...Bill joined in too...the others were confused...(Jordan with her head in the door, living in trunks, getting a few coffins - but then again there is a bridge...these are some long stories...so don't worry about it!)

Things went pretty well with the kids, it isn't ever the same without Erika, but knowing her she will be out their in no time!

After Worship we ended up playing hand slapping games and other games outside the house. And then ate Pizza for dinner! YUMM!!

Jordan and I are pretty sure that we have figured out Sula's method of cleaning and putting things away! We are trying pretty hard! We wrote out our own to do list for Sula, that way to make sure she knows that we appreciate all that she does! And to give her a good laugh, we put the dishes away wrong the other day and she made fun of us!

Well, it is getting late! The Shower and then the Bed are calling my name! Hopefully we are heading to VQ tomorrow, but it also depends on how well Erika is feeling! Jordan and I are prepared either way! FLEXIBILITY is the word for the summer!!!

Playing Soccer with a Chicken Mexican and Jordan's Dad!

Praise the Lord, Erika is doing fine, she had a planned surgery today! She is doing fine! And will be coming home tomorrow or Friday!

Jordan and I began our day pretty early again, as usual...ate breakfast and got things ready for the day!

The kids weren't busting down the door this morning, probably because the parents brought the little ones over to the building instead of just letting them run the streets! The little kids seem more open to our craziness and willing to participate. It helps that the all the younger kids are out of school now, which means the older little kids are there now too (and they have more to say)!

The lesson was on Jesus controlling the wind and the waves, when all the disciples were afraid. They ended up coloring something that makes them afraid and asking God to take that fear from them and ask God to take control.

The preteens did very well with the lesson today! They have been very responsive and ready to learn with has been awesome to see! Basketball was fun with them today too! It usually is! We have a GREAT group of PreTeens!



As we were getting things ready for the teens today, we froze Jordan's hand...Don't Worry About It!


The teens did pretty well today! We talked about forgiving others today. All of them seemed to agree that they needed to forgive others like Christ has forgiven us, but we later found out that not everyone completely agreed with what was said (read on).

We then had the group split into smaller groups and we asked for examples of God's control in their life or in the Bible. None of them brought their Bibles, and used that as an excuse to just saying "He's in control of my life." We did have a few Bible stories mentioned (Moses was one.). I then brought up some other examples of God's power and found out that NONE of them knew the order of creation...so we had "volunteers" (that we chose) stand up and at out each day.



At the end of the lesson, Jordan asked "Is there anyone here that doesn't believe what we have been talking about? Anyone with doubts? Be honest." One of our girls, Ingrid, said that she can't forgive one of her friends. So the conversation began about how we don't deserves God's forgiveness, but He gave it to us. We should be giving others the same treatment that God has given us because He loves us and we should be an example of who He is. She still was not "buying" it, and there were others at the table that were ready to go. So we prayed (and had volunteers), Jordan told Ingrid they would continue their conversation later, and then we headed to the courts!

Jordan and Ingrid's conversation ended up going really well. Jordan kept ready Ephesians 4:32, but she still wasn't sure about forgiving that one girl, she kept saying that the one girl was the "exception." Jordan had an awesome illustration for her! She ripped that page out of the Bible! Ingrid didn't feel that it applied to her life, so why did it need to be in the Bible? She got the point! She finally did say that she does what to ask for forgiveness from the girl and that she is going to try! Please prat for her! That was a BIG step for her!

The teens are crazy! Along with playing knockout, we ended up playing some 1on1 games on the other end of the court while waiting for the next KO game to start. I actually won a knockout round...I was completely shocked, especially since I was getting out right and left most of day.

When it was time to go, we walked the teens out to the soccer field as usual with the intentions of heading to the playground afterward. That didn't happen. Jordan, Laura, and I were pulled onto the field, against our will! Jordan and I ended up on James, Michael and Roberto's Team (poor guys). But we ended up doing pretty well, although it wasn't because of Jordan or I. Jordan (BTW she is the Chicken Mexican) did make 2 goals! And we had a bunch of "assists." We kept saying that "we didn't want the ball" but they weren't listening to us at all! Jordan and I need to teach them to say "move" or "budge," I know that I kept getting in the way! Some were complaining that James and Michael were on the same team, but with Jordan and I we tried to convince them that they were handicapped...it was pretty interesting!

Jordan's dad was playing soccer with us (well actually he is the new pastor of CEG (Grupo CEO's church), but he looks a lot like her dad!). He played goalie most of the time while on the field, but Jordan was never able to score a point when he was in the goal!


After each goal the losing team would switch out! We were out there for a LONG time! Some of the teams kept changing, but Jordan and I would only play on OUR TEAM!! They thought that was pretty funny! We got a picture of our team! We were pretty happy!

Our feet are definitely becoming Brasilian! Although we are questioning whether or not it was a good or bad idea to play so much right before going to VQ! But we know it won't get us down!

Dinner we had sandwiches and juice! Good stuff! Time for bed!