For God So Loved the World

Amerelo, Preto, Vermelho, Branco, Verde.
Amerelo, Preto, Vermelho, Branco, Verde.
Amerelo, Preto, Vermelho, Branco, Verde.

Today's VBS groups learned colors in Portuguese - not because we want to become the next Picasso, but instead to share the Gospel in a way that is memorable and enticing. Through the wordless book, flavored jellybeans (candy is always good bribery!) and beaded bracelets, today we worked hard to share about our hope in Christ with the Brazilian kiddos at least three times each.

"Desculpa" (I'm sorry), but the internet connection is very sloooooow again, so today's sharing may not have the same amount of pictures for a few days. Quickly, here's the highlights of our second Fort Worth team's adventures on Day 3:

Led by Julie Miller, this Fort Worth team likes to keep it all in the family. Many of these volunteers are mothers and daughters, fathers and sons and even a grandmother and her granddaughter. The Miller family sent two of their six kids along with mom Julie to help her oversee the planning and coordination of three different VBS lessons every day . . . and give her four extra arms and legs for fetching and running all day long!

Molly and her buddy Eryn were a huge help to Sheri and Julie Medley while they handed out the remainder of the backpacks (thanks again, Christ Chapel friends!) to the morning kiddos.

Colin (Sheri's son) and Hudson (another Miller child) added to the energy of father-son pairs Jared & Cruz and Brett & Cole with fun-filled games.

Tammy led three of our youngest gals, Courtney, Parker and Sarah, in a skit that reminded our kids about the meaning behind the five colors I mentioned above that we'd been hitting home all day (in case your Portuguese is a little rusty, we share the Gospel through the colors Yellow - Black - Red - White - Green). Best of all, this skit let every single kiddo eat five jellybeans - never a bad thing, no matter what country you're in!

Christy, Brett and Lauren are great at moving these children from place to place each session - no easy feat as their energy continues to grow (and ours sometimes wanes!) as the week goes on.

Julie Medley and her daughter Elizabeth worked hard to get tiny hands to twist bandanas into bracelets with the colored beads, and Sheri, Cole and Lauren share the history behind the blood of the Lamb of God during Story time.

Sheri also helped Cheryl get Teen Night ready for tonight. For the first time ever, 30 teenage gals were being pampered by our ladies with manicures, pedicures, a pizza dinner and beautiful handmade silver cross necklaces made by a friend of Linda's back home. Purity and forgiveness are not readily available to these young women, so our prayer is that these Brazilian teens will be encouraged and reminded that God is there for them always, even in the dark and corrupt corners of their lives.

Seu Amor, Teu Pecado, Seu Sangue, Tua Fe, Vida Nova.
Heaven, Sin, Jesus’ Death, Resurrection, New Life.

Today's Bible verse was John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

As we learn more about these kids and love on them desperately each day, we are all painfully reminded that this life is harder for them than we can really understand. Our worst days at home may never be as much of a struggle as their best days here in Brazil. As we get ready to leave them tomorrow, may our sadness at their living situations be turned to our hope for their eternal life in Christ . . . where poverty is no longer, abuse is no further, and sadness is no more.

P.S. - Tomorrow night is the Mother's Dinner, where we will serve nearly 500 mothers of the children we've met at each of our three sites. Please pray for energy, patience and a servant's heart during this special time of fellowship. For many of these women, this could be the nicest event they will attend all year. Friday will be our first opportunity to work together as a team of 60 when we go to a nearby fishing village to conduct one massive VBS - where we could see more than 500 kids at one time! With these large activities (and the internet issues that keep popping up), it could be a couple of days until the next entry, so thanks for understanding!

Michigan Team Shares about Sin Solutions, Praise Dancing and Boo Boo Bunnies

Today's update is from VBS III - excuse me, Darril. I meant to say "VBS A"! (You can tell our former pastor's sense of humor hasn't been frozen away since his family moved from Texas!)

For those of you who didn't know Darril, he and Marie and his children moved to Michigan from Fort Worth a little over a year ago. They have a long love and big passion for the people of Brazil. The Holden's try to rotate which child joins them in Brazil each time, and this year Claire drew the lucky straw.

While we in Fort Worth really miss the Holden family being a part of our fellowship, most of us (except for Brandon - he's still bitter) are happy to share them with our new Michigan friends. Marie said that she loves most everything about her new home, except for the winters - guess all that snow is a little hard to get used to.

Like we mentioned yesterday, all three teams work really hard to share the same message each day, so if you don't see your loved one mentioned here, you can still picture how they probably spent most of their day.

The Michigan team is hosting VBS at Immanuel Baptist Church for kids that are being bussed in from a nearby favela. They are fortunate enough to have Lecio - our primary missionary host - be with them every day for their VBS. Lecio is amazing with the Brazilian children. He commands great respect from them, while also really gets them to engage with the Americans quickly. Lecio is also the person who has secured several dozen volunteer interpreters that join each site every day to help us try and move our communications a little beyond "Oi" (Hello) and "Obrigado" (Thank You).

Today, Erin and Steve shared more about the fall of man through a skit about Adam and Eve - complete with a hand-painted tree held up by Sarah and a rubbery snake managed by Claire. Does anyone else think it's funny they made the preacher's kiddo represent Satan? Maybe it's a weird Michigan-type of initiation? :>

One of this teams favorite times of each VBS is the praise and worship. They also have a talented band that really makes them get off their feet and start dancing around like their pants are on fire! So the team has decided to turn the tables on the kids . . . and now there are about 300 Brazilian children who can sing "Deep and Wide" (with the motions) and do the "Hokey Pokey" - all in English. Guess it's monkey see - monkey do . . . even in Brazil!

Megan, Kristin and Chris helped show the way Jesus absolves us of our sins through a really cool skit involving photofinishing solution. If we didn't know how it was done ourselves, we would think they had learned a trick or two from David Copperfield! The older kids were especially enthralled with how the cross sponge was able to transform colored liquid back clear again.

Each VBS divides their sessions into three groups, and this team has all of their volunteers involved in many different leadership roles. Not only does Sam help Jessica with photography, she also leads the Green team of kids from station to station. Alyssa and Andrea manage the Yellow kids, while Kristin and Sarah take charge of the Red group. They say they can see the rafters raise from the roof of the sanctuary when the kiddos start chanting their team colors to see who can be the loudest!

While Darril and Marie keep the day running like clockwork, Larry and Rob play lots of games to run off some of that pent up energy. They are a huge help, so that when the kids get to crafts, there's a chance they might stand still long enough to make a "Boo Boo Bunny". It takes a village to make a proper BBB, so Ruth, Diane, Darcy, and Debbie all threw in their pipe cleaners to help the kids turn washrags into rabbits. Caitlynn and Claire do double duty by helping with dancing and crafts - again, why do you think they are so hard on the PK? :> Apparently these kids became quite creative with their stickers - I heard the BBB eyes ended up everywhere!

Today's verse that was taught to the VBS kids was Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

It's obvious by the smiles on the faces of this team tonight that they are not only giving a gift by sharing their time, love and the hope they have in Christ, but they are also receiving huge blessings back from the Brazilians. Their kids love to connect the many family members this team has, and are fascinated when they meet an American with their same name. Laughs and hugs abound in this group!

The Michigan gang is so grateful for the support and prayers from all their friends and family back home, and can't wait to share more with you about their life-changing experiences here in Recife!

Refletir Cristo

Reflecting Christ. As Christians, that's our goal. Too bad it's not as simple as the mirrors glued to brightly-colored shapes of foam we worked on today in crafts, huh?

Today was the day we've been waiting for - we finally got to meet the kids of the Brazilian favelas! Tonight you'll hear about some of the experiences one of our teams from Fort Worth had through our partnership with Igreja Evangelica Batista Vida (Evangelical Baptist Church of Life), led by Pastor Antonio. If the internet holds up okay, you'll hear about the Michigan team in the next day or so, and the second Fort Worth team toward the end of the week.

This particular VBS (led by Brandon & Cindy) is happening just outside of one of the favelas at a facility that is similar to what we in the States might use as a recreation center. Of the three locations, this VBS is the furthest from our hotel, and has the most "rustic charm" of them all - a.k.a. bars on the windows, no air conditioning, a dirt field, and one new potty that we are all praying works all week! But, it does have a beautiful swimming pool - crazy, huh?

At each VBS site, there are two sessions - morning and afternoon. This morning session brought 85 children, but word must have spread throughout the neighborhood over the lunch break, because nearly double that (over 140 kids) showed up in the afternoon! Though we have three different sites conducting two VBS sessions each day, all three teams are doing our best to provide the same purposeful activities and message each day.

The Brazilian kiddos are very polite and listen well. They are so eager to receive praise and approval from all of us, and treat us like honored guests - though they do think we are silly as we try and dance and sing to their music!

After some rousing praise songs with a band that could give Brian & Jennifer Kieta a run for their money (sorry guys - we still love you!), Kevin, Hunter and Travis told the story of creation through a beautiful mural painted by a volunteer back in Fort Worth. While Jim & Madison began the huge task of taking every single child's picture for other projects later this week, our skit team joined Brandon and Cory for some crazy field games to burn off energy. And when the afternoon brought us rain, rain and more rain, our games guys went with the flow (literally!) and adjusted their activity to something the kids probably enjoyed even more - water relay races!

Toni was a master at keeping all three ages groups moving between stations, and stalling with impromptu entertainment if one group ran long. Shelley and Megan performed a short skit about the fall of man while helping every child learn Ephesians 2:10 in Portuguese - "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Finally, Tara, Linda, Cindy C., Cindy B. Amy, Alma, Elektra (now knows as the the Craft Queen - check out that apron full of supplies!) and Julie H. helped each child decorate a mirror that encourages them to "Reflect Christ" every time they look at it. For some children, this honestly could have been one of the only times they have ever looked at themselves in a mirror.

Before each child left, they were given snacks, lunch and a backpack. We are so grateful for all of the contributions of backpacks and money to purchase more! These children were SO excited to have something of their own - in fact, we feel pretty sure we had a few repeat attendees. But hey, if another decorated mirror and a backpack helps these children know and love Christ, then who are we to judge?

In our morning devotion, Jared and Cruz challenged us to plug our own names in for the word "love" throughout 1 Corinithians 13:1-7. No matter our past sins, these kids knew nothing about us other than what we first showed them today. It's humbling to know that you can lay everything aside to start over with new friends. It's even more humbling to see that your new friends have so little wealth, yet are rich beyond measure with their smiles, their hugs and their enthusaism for a few crazy Americans carrying craft supplies and some backpacks to give away.

Kid's Place is a Reality!

Thanks be to God! On Friday, VFC closed the deal on purchasing a permanent building for Kid's Place ministry in Recife. Kid's Place is a yellow building on the right in the background. There will be lots more to share about how this acquisition will expand the VFC ministry after this trip, but in the meantime, check out our whole group who went into the favelas to tour the location and see the new site this afternoon.

PS for Postings - Thank you so much for all your messages of encouragement and support. If you'd like to post a note to one of our team members, that's great! Simply click on "Post a Comment" underneath a recent entry and write away. You don't have to sign in or log in for this type of posting. Plus, it will help us keep the "official" pictures and stories from the trip near the top of our blog, so lots of our friends and family can share in this journey. Thanks!

Sacrifice, Priorities & Focus

Prayer time - skit practice - and some of us still need a few more hours of sleep!

Hail, hail - the gang's all here! It's time to start Operation VBS. We've got skits to learn, crafts to plan and games to get ready for. In less than 24 hours, everyone needs to knows how and what to do . . . and some of us feel like Chicken Little running around saying "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"

Yet when gathered together for the very first time, a morning devotion led by Darrell (dubbed by Brandon as "The God Guy"), puts things in perspective. Leading us from the Gospel of Luke, Darell challenges all of us to think of three questions while we are here:

- What does God want you to give up?

- What does God want you to change?

- What needs attention in your life?

Sacrifice, priorities and focus. There's about 60 of us here, and we're confidant that God brought each one of us here for a reason. We believe that God will bless the Brazilian children and their mothers through purposeful crafts, skits, games and fellowship, and we can't wait to see how!

But by reflecting on these questions throughout the week, perhaps we'll learn that God is going on mission in our lives every single day? Perhaps this week's mission trip isn't exclusively to help our fellow man? Could it be that each one of us also needs renewal, rebirth and reassessment?

We've been taught this trip is "not about me" . . . but in a strange way, maybe it is.

Better Late than Never - The Teams Finally Make it to Recife!

Cindy & Lecio are sad to get the calls about airport delays, but then rejoice when the teams finally arrive!

So much to do - so little time - and an extremely sloooooooooow internet . . . and then, the news our teams were delayed. Yesterday felt a bit like "Sad-urday" at times, but we know that God is good - all the time.

It was a nutty morning trying to help the hotel staff understand just how many crazy Americans were about to arrive, how many HUGE duffels would be coming with them, and how many dozens of bottled waters we would need to buy . . . of course, who really drinks this much water at home - but all of the sudden when it's not handy, seems as if we HAVE to have it!

Then, just as we were about to leave for the first round of airport runs to pick up our Michigan friends, the phone rang . . . they were at AN airport - just not THE airport we were heading out the door to. The Michigan team had experienced a 12 hour delay in Miami - including 2 fun hours stuck on the runway - and had missed their connection in Rio. They were hoping they would arrive sometime Saturday evening, but really weren't sure when it would be.

Okay - we can adjust. A little more legwork - a few more errands - and then it would be time to pick up the Texas team. And then . . . the next call. Our Texas friends were now stuck in San Paulo, and they had no idea when they would get out. Air traffic control issues in Brazil were causing massive airport delays all over the country.

After a few more hours, good news - Texas was getting on the plane! Yee-haw! They arrived just before dinner, and after a feast of pizza and pasta, stumbled to bed to get a good night's sleep. Lecio headed out again to finally meet our Michigan friends, who were starving after nearly 42 hours of travel! So supper again and finally, snoozing for all just after midnight.

Finally, all our people are safely here - all our supplies are here, there and everywhere - and God is good, all the time!

Friday's Festival - The Beginning of Saint John's

Belated posting on Sunday afternoon - internet access at our hotel went on the blink Friday night . . . remind ALL of us to never complain about slow service in the US again. The access we had made dial-up look speedy!

For us, the Friday before the team was scheduled to arrive brought a few more last minute details and shopping for supplies, including beads for the 13 extra bracelets we missed because of our miscalculated Portguese math the day before. But for Brazilians, Friday brought something far more important - the beginning of the Festival of St. John!

Here's what Wikipedia says . . . "The Portuguese Midsummer Day (St John's Day) brought to Brazil during colonial times has become a very important popular event that is celebrated during a period that starts one week before St John's Day and ends one week after. As this nationwide festival, called "Festa Junina" (Saint John Festival), happens during the European midsummer, it takes place in the Brazilian midwinter and is most associated with Northeastern Brazil, but today celebrated in the whole country." (There's more about the festival at the bottom of this post, if you're interested.)

Here's what we say . . . WOWEEEE! (We're far more simple in Texas!) We had a few spare hours in the afternoon, so Ilma and her sister Lucy took us out to show us some of the various festival activities that were near our shopping needs. In about three hours, we had a whirlwind trip to HUGE open-air market, were blessed to enter one the oldest and most beautiful churches in Recife during the St. John's mass, and went to an old prision that has been turned into a craft marketplace. Okay, so it is a tad bit unnerving to enter individual prision cells to shop for Brazilian lace and sculptures, but the live music made it tolerable. I was just really glad I never heard those heavy iron doors clang behind me!

Cindy owns a retail shop in Fort Worth called Details & Dragonflies, and every year she tries to purchase several special items native to Brazil that she will sell at home. Even better, 100% of the profits from the sale of these items go straight back to Volunteers for Christ to help the Recife children. This year, she's already found some w0nderful handcrafted pottery statues of St. Francis and St. Anthony, as well as some beautiful towels adorned with the most intricate lace you've ever seen. VFC will receive at least $2,000 from the sale of just these two items, so you Fort Worth folks, be sure and plan to stop by the shop and pick up some of these gifts with a purpose.

Here's a few photos from our Brazilian festival experience . . .

More about the Festival of St. John from Wikipedia . .
As the northeast is largely arid or semi-arid these popular festivals not only coincide with the rainy seasons of most states in the northeast but they also provide the people with an opportunity to give thanks to Saint John for the rain. They also celebrate rural life and feature typical clothing, food, dance (particularly quadrilha, which is similar to square dancing). Like Midsummer and Saint John's Day in Portugal and Scandinavian countries, São João celebrates marital union. The "quadrilha" features couple formations around a mock wedding whose bride and groom are the central attraction of the dancing.
Usually taking place in an arraial, a large, open space outdoors, men dress up as farm boys with suspenders and large straw hats and women wear pigtails, freckles, painted gap teeth and red-checkered dresses, all in a loving tribute to the origins of Brazilian country music and of themselves, some of whom are recent immigrants from the countryside to cities such as Olinda, Recife, Maceió and Salvador, and some return to the rural areas during the festival to visit their families. However, nowadays, Saint John festivities are extremely popular in all urban areas and among all social classes. In the Northeast, they are as popular as Carnival. It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (bonfires, fireworks display, and folk dancing).
Two northeastern towns in particular have competed with each other for the title of "Biggest Saint John Festival in the World", namely Caruaru (in the state of Pernambuco), and Campina Grande, in Paraíba state. In fact, Caruaru features in the Guinness Book of World Records for holding the biggest outdoor country festival. As Saint John festivities also coincide with the corn harvest, dishes served during this period are commonly made with corn, such as canjica and pamonha; dishes also include peanuts, potatoes sausages and also sweet rice. The celebrations are very colorful and festive and include amazing pyrotechnics. Bonfires and fire in general are thus one of the most important features of these festivities, a feature that is among the remnants of midsummer pagan rituals in the Iberian Peninsula.