Thursday, December 23, 2010

3 Days Until Christmas!

NOTE: No internet last night, so I am covering what we did on Wed. this morning and will get back on track tonight.

Having to follow Boyd on his Blog day is not fair, but we have so much to talk about, we can never get it all covered. Another thing that has worked out really well for our Team are the Operation Christmas boxes. CCBC hands out/collects these shoes boxes well before Christmas, but they have to be turned in by a certain time in order to get shipped to Africa. This year there were 40 or more boxes that did not get turned in on time, so we were able to bring them down to Brazil with us. The boxes are filled by CCBC families with school supplies, toys, games, and candy, as well as a really cool Information Page that has a picture of who filled the box and some background information about that person. Going through the boxes, organizing all the contents into similar piles, I really feel like I have gotten to know so many more of our Church family by reading the pages. We have carefully saved all of them and will hang them up Christmas Day, so the children can see who helped make this the best Christmas ever! Also, by combining all the contents, we will be able to serve 3 times as many children, so everyone gets something. We will shoot plenty of video and pic's to share, so you will get to be a part of our Fishing Village Christmas! I cannot wait!
Cindy and I also had a chance to go into Recife on Wed to take part in the Kid's Place Staff Christmas Party, which was an honor. These men and women run KP all year round, making sure our children from the Coque favela are being fed spiritually, as well as physically, and that they are getting help with school work, learning about music/art, and reminded daily of Christ's love for them. They truly are an amazing team and they all had so many positive things to say about being a part of KP. They also had many anecdotal stories of how KP was making a difference in the lives of the children, their families, and the favela. It was very rewarding to hear them praise KP and see that it was making a difference in their lives as well. The party was hosted at Pastor Lecio's home and Ilma, along with most of the staff, put on a great spread of food. They have a "thing" in Brazil that they eat only at Christmas time that is called a "Chester." It looks like a chicken, but it is bigger and they swear it is not a turkey, but they promise they do not know what kind of bird it is... However, the company that sells them is called "Chester," so that is what they call it! I do not know what it is either, but I ate me some Chester and it was GOOD! The staff followed lunch with a high-spirited "secret friend" gift exchange that included the children of the staff, so it was great watching them have so much fun. Our teachers at Kid's Place are Mehl, Vania, Alexandre, and Suzanna. Our cooks are Sondra and Sylvania and Carlos helps with keeping things spic-n-span. Militza is our KP Administrator and Ilma helps when she can, but with 3 kids at home now (Nathan is 3 months old, Sarah is 2, and Lianna is 5 - I think?), she cannot do as much as she used to 3 years ago when we first opened. Please be praying for our KP staff and the job they do every day - loving on these children, ministering to their families, and fighting Satan at every turn. It is an honor to know them and a privilege to pray for them. Tchau and Bom Dia!

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