They Opened UP!!!!

Wednesday

Today was another crazy day! It started off normal, talking about Moses and the excuses he gave God for while he wasn’t good enough to do as God told him. And we reminded them that God does not call the equipped, but He equips the called!

Today we were able to split the preteens into 2 groups as well, more personal time without the awkwardness if there were deep comments or questions. We had a great discussion and time with them as usual.

We REALLY had the girl teens open up today! We still talked about Moses, but then asked them what excuses the give God for not doing what He has called. Some mentioned being unable to forgive, not prepared, anger, etc. We asked for some examples, and that led to some deep conversations and feelings that many of them had.

Our first example was from a group of girls (although one spokes person). There are 5 certain girls, in that same room, that were pointed out, that aren’t speaking to 3 other certain girls. It is weird. They wouldn’t go into too much detail while we were sitting there, so we planned on talking to them individually during basketball. Later she mentioned that she doesn’t like talking out loud, but she felt that God was giving her the strength and courage to do it! (PS…she hasn’t accepted Christ yet…)

One of the girls mentioned how frustrated she is with her mom because her mom didn’t tell her that who she thought was her dad, wasn’t. She’s also angry that her mom gave up her youngest child to another family, because she felt that she couldn’t take care of them all, and she feels her mom would have been able to do it! This girl is also somewhat on the “outside” of the group, so for her to share it was awesome to see! It was a very emotional time for her! She nearly cried every other sentence, and kept looking at the clock because she was “taking up too much time.” But we were all willing to listen and wait, especially since she said that this is something she felt God wanted her to share! At the end of her explanation, I told to her that a true father is something that is going to take care of you! She obviously had one of those and because she has accepted Christ, she has a Father that is in control of everything! She is such a sweet girl and now I know how to better pray for her!

We got over to the basketball court with 15 minutes until 4, so Jo, Elo and Laura began talking to the first group of girls that were having problems! 30 minutes later, they began talking to the next group. 30 minutes after that (the rest of us headed to the Soccer Field – I made a goal!) the last person took her turn! Come to find out, the reasons why the people aren’t talking is a huge misunderstanding…as usual! We are hoping everything will be cleaned up eventually!

That night it was my turn to speak! We talked about finding Rest in Christ! I had one of my preteens (Paulo) holding a 5 gallon igloo full of water and asked him if he would like some help…he said no…so will I was talking about how sin, anger, unwillingness to forgive, and our pasts weigh us down, I kept pushing down on the igloo…then he wanted some help! So Roberto was in charge of holding the other side, symbolizing Christ helping us take weight off. Throughout the lesson, Jordan (The Holy Spirit) was removing water to symbolize the pain, anger and frustration in our lives being removed.

In the end, there was still a little bit of water left, but nothing like before. I asked Paulo which igloo he would rather carry, the one that Jesus is helping him with and the Holy Spirit has taken off our burden, or the other igloo (which now had all the water). He preferred the emptier one! There are always going to be things in our lives that we are going to let weight us down, but when we accept Christ and allow Him to work in our lives, He can take that pain and burden away from us!

It was a good day!

5 On One Team is Wonderful!

Tuesday

Today started off as a normal day! We had our groups in the morning…it was awesome having extra hands to keep the kids under control! We talked about Ruth and how she didn’t plan to have the future that God gave her, but because of her obedience and willingness to do as she was told; God was able to use her in big ways to save all of her people!

During the teen time, we split into two groups (boys and girls). This way we can talk about more personal matters! The girls were still pretty quiet, but I am sure that they will open up eventually!

We played soccer again today! It was fun…as usual…but I just watched this day…I was tired!

At the Bible study tonight, Rob was in charge of the lesson. He talked about be submissive to authority, submitting to parents, teachers and especially God. It was a great lesson that many of them needed to hear. And it is helping me figure out what to talk about tomorrow night!

That’s all for now…

Extended Family!

We are now one great big family in the Moore's house!

There are 5 sometimes more in Patrick and Douglas' room. Four people in Amanda's. Three people in Bill and Erika's and 4 in the guest bedroom (where us interns are staying).

After little kids worship, Bill's car and a taxi showed up, carrying the new additions to the team! They haven't been down for a couple of years, so it was neat to see the reactions from the teens that remember their study vs. the preteens that don't remember them.

We went somewhat easy on them their first day! We had the preteens group (talking about for shadows fear for the future)...Today we talked about Jonah and how his decision to run away from God didn't work out every well!

The boys (Rob and Nate (from Indiana) and John Paul (JP from IBC to translate) enjoyed playing basketball with them after wards! And having more people around, may make it possible to play volleyball and basketball at the same time with the preteens as we do with the teens! It was a good time!

Youth later on was fun too! We are going to start breaking up the groups into girls and guys, so maybe they won't feel so awkward. The teens worked on their skit and it is going well! I am hoping that when they do present it to the church, they will be able to be a little more serious, but overall they are doing well!

We got to play "signs" with them today! The teens understood the game a lot easier than the preteens! We ended up playing it for a long time because of the whether...and learned that it is important to know what different hand signals mean in different countries! (Mine was the awkward turtle, can't take that one the wrong way!)

After the lesson and playing signs, we ended up playing soccer once again! (Yes, no basketball, but we did have soccer, but there are less injuries on the soccer field when it is wet then on the BBall Court! Although, Rob was able to bust his toe up by kicking the concrete wall instead of the ball...he's doing better though!

It is going to be a blessing to have more people added to our team! Elo and JP are an awesome blessing too!

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!