Brazil Spring Break 2009-Day 4

Greetings from your Brazil Mission Team!

The first full day of any organized event is always preceded with a certain level of anxiety, as a handful of details remain to be worked out and certain important obligations rest in the hands of others outside of your direct control. And so it was this morning as our team gathered at 7:30 am under the thatched covering for our morning devotional. As much forethought and coordination went into the Vacation Bible School activities planned for this week, the team still had no idea how the children would respond, whether all the needed supplies would show up, and whether we adequately communicated our plans to the Brazilian staff who would be responsible for much of the logistics. But with all 44 people placing their complete faith in God, we were able to carry on as if everything was perfectly in order.

Though noone on the team feels adequate to serve such an important purpose, Ken Miller remainded us at the devotional that God has always chosen to spread his love and grace though imperfect individuals. As broken jars of clay, we can still be used by God for His holy purpose, and through our cracks God's light can shine through. The 44 broken pots represented by our team were ready to be filled to the brim with God's work, and we eagerly set out for the village.

Once at the village, final set-up and coordination took place, and amazingly enough, everything came together at the last minute. Small groups huddled together in prayer, asking God to be present in the compound and give us direction on how to communicate His love to a non-English speaking group of young children. Roughly 85 kids aged 3-8 filed through the gate promptly at 9:30 am, with big smiles and even bigger expectations, as news of last year's successful program had been discussed around the village for months. The children were divided into three groups, represented by the colors yellow, red and blue. Team pride was cultivated quickly, as chants of Amarelho!!, Vermelho!! and Azur!!! filled the compound. Once the initial frenzy began to abate, the children gathered on the covered open-air patio, where Waska, Daniel, Keira and Cibelle led a spirited set of Brazilian praise songs. The kids were extremely animated, as each song was accompanied by hops, jumps, dance moves and hand gestures. These Brazilians absolutely put their entire body into their worship and praise! Just like last year, the teams were then led through a rotation of activities, including a wonderful skit/puppet show, a craft center where the kids made an image of their face on the back of a handheld mirror, and a sports activity out on the soccer field, where the children played under a giant parachute. The morning ended with more praise songs and a quick snack before saying Tchou for the day to this group of young kids.

During the rotation, Anne Green and Kim Jones met with 8-10 preselected teenagers at the future churchsite for an art project. There, the teens spent an hour and a half drawing a self-portrait, as they view themselves. Anne reminded each of them that God created them exactly how He wanted them to be, and though we all have eyes, nose, mouth, etc., we are all unique and perfect creations in His eyes. The art leaders discussed and celebrated differences in skin-tone and other features, but interestingly enough, when drawing their own self-portrait, the Brazilians used many different colors for their skin; pinks, reds, any number of hues. In other words, they drew how they viewed themselves, and skin color was not something that they even focused on. They drew from their heart, and illustrated their creative souls rather than their physical traits. Any such differences were invisible in their eyes. Once again, the Brazilians have plenty to teach Americans, and we were grateful for today's message.

The heat was certainly a factor today, as a number of American teammates began to wither in the Brazilian summer sun. Not used to this level of running, jumping, yelling and singing for two solid hours in the direct morning sun, the team was fully ready for a rest as the last child left the gate. Propel seems to be the unofficial sponsor for this year's team, as the team gulped down gallons of the stuff over the course of the day.

During the break, the cooks put on a very good meal, which served to replenish everyone's energy. The team enjoyed the recuperation, and took the time to visit more with the interpreters while setting up for the afternoon activities. At 2:00, the gates swung opened again and 60-70 more kids filed in, this time aged 9-13. These kids were really ready to rock, and our team responded well, as the good natured rivalry among the three color groups intensified. One of the more heart-warming scens of the day took place when a mentally challenged young girl was brought to the gate. 17 year old Lindsey Rattikin rose to the occasion, hopped up and reached for the girl, requesting that the girl come with her and be placed on Lindsey's Amarelho (Yellow) team. The girl never left Lindsey's arms for two solid hours, but wore a broad smile the entire afternoon. God indeed used young Lindsey to give the special needs Brazilian girl a wonderful gift this day.

During the afternoon rotation, Julie Miller, Maura Rattikin and AnnaBelle Carrasco led 10 teenagers in a sewing project at the churchsite. It is VFC's dream to establish a microfinance opportunity in the village, where we are able to raise capital to jumpstart employment opportunities for the villagers. The teens made fabulous skirts and accessories from material the team brought along, and proved to be extremely fast learners in the art of sewing. It is possible that an industry was born this afternoon!

Prior to leaving the compound this evening, the team was treated to wonderful testimonies from the Farmer and Paukune families, whose faith journies inspired everyone in attendance. These families were followed up by the testimonies of our program leaders Waska and Keira. Both were extremely moving and emotional. Each of these wonderful Brazilians has been through many tough times, and sacrificed many opportunities because they have chosen to follow the Lord's calling. Waska has stayed with Josue and his ministry despite other chances to succeed financially, and Keira was called to the ministry after serving as a cook for the VFC team last spring break. At the time, she became overcome with the Lord's goodness after watching our American team from a year ago reach out to the poverty-stricken children of the village and take them into our arms and love them. It is a joyful feeling to learn that your actions have played a role in leading someone to Christ. God's methods are amazing!

Our evening ended with three more amazing team testimonials. After dinner, Annabelle Carrasco, Amy Sharp, Carol Jean Nicholaison and the Bailey family shared how God has called them into His ministry to serve others, and we are ever so proud to serve alongside each one of them.

Tomorrow should be a great day. All the preliminaries in registering children and coordinating the logistics of the three station rotation have been disposed of, and the VBS activities should be a time to let it all out and celebrate. The team does hope to have an opportunity to begin pulling aside some individuals and telling the story of God's love for them through the use of the Evangicube mission tool. The day will be a long one, however, as we will stage our first of two teen nights in the village. Please keep the village's teenagers in your prayers tonight, as this very impressionable group of young adults are beseiged by dangerous, wrong and life-crippling messages on a daily basis. We firmly believe that God has sent us here this year precisely to make a difference in these teens' lives, and it starts tomorrow. All things are possible in God, and we accept his calling with gratitude and excitement.

Note to our wonderful blog followers: The team appreciates your kind words of encouragement as you leave comments to this blog. It is so nice to know that we are not alone, but are supported by hundreds of friends and family back at home. Please keep up your prayers, as it is indeed bringing good forutne on all of us in Brazil. Also, please note that for the next three nights, the team will be engaged in nightime activities in the village in addition to our daytime children's activities; therefore, the blog may not be posted until very late that evening. Perhaps you can enjoy it with a cup of coffee the following morning!

Blessings, Obrigado and Boa Noite from Brazil!