Sunday, March 15, 2009

Brazil Spring Break 2009-Day 3

Oi, amigos!!

As expected, God filled our first full day in Brazil with a multitude of excitement, beauty, action, planning and in the end, a fair amount of exhaustion.

The team was greeted with a warm sun this morning, which would soon turn into what even a Texan would call a hot sun. But fueled with a wonderful breakfast prepared by the friendly hotel staff, the team was up to any challenge this day would present. A very special morning devotional was enjoyed by all, as Ken challenged us to allow God to use us to bear fruit this week, while remaining firmly attached to the vine of Christ. Brandon and Cindy also introduced a new tradition at the morning devotional, asking each family unit to give their testimony as a way of furthering the special bonding already enjoyed by this team. The Millers, Conways and Rattikins offered up their unique and remarkable pathways to putting their trust in Christ. The candor and frankness was appreciated by all, and served to put many minds at ease and bring the group ever closer.

After the devotional, the group made our annual pilgrimmage to the reef just offshore. A boat picked us up right from the beach, and slowly chugged its way out to the reef. On this day, most of the reef remained just under the surface of the water, but the team was able to walk out onto the reef and marvel at this unique work of God. Just as Ken reminded us this morning in his discussion of the vine, the branches and the fruit, it was evident that God has set up this same relationship in the reef system. The remarkable living organism that is the reef shelters and gives life to myriads of other forms of life, such as sea urchins, crabs, fish and moss, to name a few. Without remaining in the reef, the other organisms would have no chance to live. So it is with God and His people. It was obvious to all that God's message to the team this morning was that we must remain tightly attached to Jesus Christ as we serve our God this week, and God used both Ken and the reef to deliver this message in stereo!

After a quick lunch, the team boarded the un-airconditioned bus (A/C is overrated, we keep telling ourselves)and took the short drive to the fishing village. This time by daylight, the team could fully appreciate the surroundings. The village can only be reached by a bumpy dirt road, winding through the middle of a cocunut palm grove and accented by wild birds of paradise flowers shooting up from the grassy terrain. Once the village is reached, the dusty roads lie in stark contrast to the white-washed facades and bright red tile roofs of most of the open air dwellings. But just like last night, the bus was greeted by smiling villagers and children running alongside the bus, excited for another opportunity to share God's love with the Americans. Once in Pastor Josue's compound, the team was formally introduced to the interpreters who would be serving alongside us this week. Then the group split up, with Brandon and cindy huddling up with Josue and Ceca to finalize VBS plans, the women veered off to prepare for the craft rotations, and the men and boys headed out to the soccer field to be tortured by the waiting Brazilian teams.

Yes it was hot. Yes it was humid. But the only ones who seemed to notice were the overmatched men of our team, who started out with fire but quickly self-combusted on the dirt field. Apparently, no lessons were learned last year, as the American men, as we have a tendency to do, overdid things, to put it mildly. The Brazilians enjoyed running circles around our poor excuse for opposition. Luckily for us, our more youthful teammates, such as Markham Paukune, Hudson Miller, Andrew Link, William Rattikin, Boyd Bailey and Robbie Price were not so easily handled by the Brazilians, and all of them held their own quite nicely.

Nearby, Mark Paukune and Ron Lee introduced another group to American football, perhaps because they felt we may still have a small edge in that endeavor. But it didn't take too long for the Brazilians' passes to start spiraling. We may be in for a long week on the sports field... Another wonderful scene was played out on the sidelines, as Interpreter Daniel held court with a group of Brazilian and American girls, including Margaret Lee, Caroline Rattikin, Talia Bailey, Hilary Rattikin, Grace Paukune and Ellie Conway. Connections and friendships formed quickly.

Before leaving, the team enjoyed a short walk through the village to the future home of Pastor Josue's church, on land purchased by VFC last year. The location was beautiful, shaded by towering mango and other exotic fruit-bearing trees. In fact, Daniel showed his prowess by climbing to the top of what must have been a forty foot tree to shake down some exotic fruit for the Americans to field-test. Grace Paukune tried to follow suit, but didn't quite enjoy the same success :). The team so looks forward to the day that Josue can move his church out of his open air compound and into a brand new church-specific building. But until then, God seems to be doing just fine ministering to the village out of the dusty but quaint courtyard inside the compound.

Dinner was followed by three more very meaningful family testimonies, as the Links, Lees and Anne Green shared their road to Christ. Wow, what an amazing group of people God has brought together on this trip!

Tomorrow is a huge day for the team, as we stage the first full day of Vacation Bible School activities. We expect one hundred children to enter the compound tomorrow morning, followed by one hundred more for the afternoon session. Please keep the team in your prayers, as we surrender every part of ourselves to deliver God's peace and love to our new-found Brazilian friends. As we rest our minds and bodies for tomorrow's all-important events, we would like to close with a passage of scripture shared by Ted Kitchens last week at Christ Chapel in Fort Worth and, in a remarkable but certainly not cincidental sign of God's direct involvement in our team's mission this week, also quoted by Pastor Josue in last night's Brazilian service:

I HEARD THE VOICE OF THE Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I, Send Me!” Isaiah 6:8.

The peace of the Lord be with each of you.
Obrigado, and Boa Noite.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! It's really sounding like a trip to Brazil. Lots of travel, sweat, tears, joy and unfortunately, something unexpected. We are praying for you all and so appreciate the updates. We know the Breedloves are covered in prayer and being perfectly cared for by our loving Lord. We know you miss them, but God works it all out. Just ask Cindy:) Hugs and kisses to Brandon and Cindy. We know you guys are working so hard and shepherding well. Love to all of the team too b/c we know what all you've done to get there and all that you have to do while there. Hang in there, perservere and reap the blessings that God always pours out on those who are faithful to go and do the work He's provided and called them in advance to do. Please give our love to all our Brazilian friends. We can't wait to see them at camp this summer!!
Sleep well and have an awesome day with the kids tomorrow.
Much Love,
Elizabeth & Landry Burdine

Anonymous said...

Team--Thank you for your love prompted by your devotion to Christ to the least of these. I'm reminded of Prov 3:27-28 "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don't say 'Come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you.'" Thank you for being the hands and feet of Christ to our "neighbors" to the South today! Blessings on your trip!

Bill and Laurie Egner

Hayley said...

I just wanted to comment that I am so thankful for all of you and what are you doing! Please know that we are praying for each of you and asking that God lead you in this mission. God bless you all and thank you for the updates!

Love in Christ,

Hayley Nicolaisen

Anonymous said...

It is so encouraging to read these updates. I love getting to rejoice along with your team about the wonderful work God is doing. I am praying for you all!

Maggie Miller