I can’t believe how fast our time in Natal went! Here is a quick recap of my three favorite days there.  Once we stepped off the plane in Natal we joined a group called Springboard.  Springboard is a program put on by the church in Natal that equips people for mission trips.  They spent two months learning in the classroom, then taking what they learned and putting it into action.

Our first afternoon there, we accompanied Springboard  to a shantytown were we sang songs and played games with the kids there.  At the end of our time there, the kids took us to their house where we prayed over their family.  It was amazing to see kids run up to the cars as we arrived, excited to sing songs and hang on our necks.

On Wednesday, we spent the morning in the classroom with Springboard, then went to an orphanage for the afternoon.  Our time at the orphanage consisted of many songs and what Brazilians love most….futebol! I can’t compare anything to how much Brazilians love soccer, but for some reason they still chose the Americans first for their team.  During our tour of the orphange we came across something amazing.  There was a boy sitting outside looking up at the sky, it turns out he has a collection of airplanes that he has made out of play-do.  This isn’t anything collection, the only time he has seen an airplane is when they fly overhead! The details on the plane were amazing, from the wheels all the way to the passengers’ faces in the window!

Last but not least, one of my favorite days was Friday when we went on a Dune Buggy ride!  The day started with riding all over the dunes, then finished with some tourist spots and beach hopping.  Rule 1 for dune buggy tours…..apply sunscreen AT LEAST 5 times.  I unfortunately got in a fight with the sun and lost, I don’t recommend it.  The day finished with us cheering on the Springboard group at their graduation.

We were able to build great relationships in Natal, with the missionaries, our host, the Springboard group, and many others.  We hope we are able to return to Natal someday.

Blessings,

Chris

Greetings from Natal! Our entire team made it to Natal on Tuesday and it’s been go, go, go from the moment we got off the airplane. This post is all about pictures from our time in Rio de Janeiro! Enjoy

The team went to a "bilingual" retreat our last weekend in Rio. From left to right is Israel, myself, Julianna, and Anderson

Left to Right (sorta): Garrett, Reece, Julianna, Michael, Israel, Whitney, Chelsey, and Anderson

Day 3 of the Retreat. Garret and Reece posed by one of the many fake animals at the retreat. However...there were also 2 live pigs, 2 geese, lots of parakeets, a random abandoned Siberian Husky, and a goat!

This was our last dinner in Rio and was also the last night we got to spend with Guto, Japa, Israel, and Julianna. For the record, Chris isn't in the group picture because he had the flu and Traci was gone on a mini-trip to Itu.

One thing I love about traveling on multiple AFC Mission Trips is watching God work in people’s lives through the years. You’ve heard our team talk about Everton and the work we did on his house a couple of weeks ago. I had the privilege of meeting him two years ago at the chacara, the last time the Aggies were in Porto Alegre (POA). But Everton’s story goes well beyond the two different weeks the Aggies have spent in POA. Check out a recent post about Everton on the Blume’s blog. It’s a long post, but well worth the read. When our team saw the post, we were all abuzz with excitment that Everton and his family finally moved in to the place we helped him prepare. Praise God for the transformation power of Christ in Everton’s life and that of his family, which goes way beyond a new house.

In other news, I’d like to take a moment and tell you what a great AFC-Brazil team we have this year. I’ve been so proud of the way they don’t raise questions when we eat at seemingly sketchy local yocal places, at their patience when the schedule lulls, with their ability to master the Rio bus system, their toughness even when sick or sleeping on a concrete floor, the lack of complaining they incorporate at every turn of the trip, the heart they put into the work projects we’ve been given, and their effort at blundering their way through language. Parents, you can feel proud as well.

…traci

P.S. To see a few photos from our time in Rio, check out my blog. Hopefully we can post some pics here tomorrow.

So today it has been raining all day.  We took this time to stay and work at the church we are staying at.  We started with getting some supplies at the local store. We decided that the best way to go about this task would be to bleach, bleach and bleach some more.  Thank you dad for teaching me that it isn’t clean till you can smell the bleach.  After buying everything we set off to complete our task.  Once the morning was finished we had successfully filled the air with bleach by cleaning everyone toilet sink and most the floors in the church.  Sorry dad but no mops were harmed in the process.  We are now off to the mall for some food and a possible movie. Until next time!

Chris

So it is finally time for me to update the blog.  Me being Michael! Since we painted the the station both Thursday and Friday and Chris has already talked about that, so I’m going to give a reflection of the last week and a half.  Our time in Porto Alegre was truly a blessing and a whole new experience for me.  Having never left the United States before I truly had no idea what to expect when we got here.  On the plane ride down here I even found myself picturing us staying in grass huts.  This may have been somewhat influenced by the movie “At The End of the Spear” or something like that.  I was very happy to find this vision completely wrong!  I was lucky to have stayed with a wonderful woman and her son Leni and Jorge!  They have become a new mom and a brother.  They spoke a little English but by the end of the week we were able to communicate pretty well!

Working with Kevin, Benay, and their children was truly a blessing and they are a family that will always have a place in my heart.  The love they had for their family, their community, and their mission was truly a huge encouragement and I can’t think of a better way to have started off our Journey in Brazil than sharing it with their family.  I miss the endless speaking from Anderson and we find ourselves using his qoute alot, “Its not about who wins, its about who has the most points!”  Getting to ride around with Kevin and Benay and to see how the spirit has been working through their has openend my mind to ideas I had never considered for my future until now.

And of course I cant forget Matt and his wife Waleska. (sorry if I spelled that wrong) Matt and I shared many car rides as Jorge dropped me off at his apartment in the mornings.  Besides fearing for my life the car rides were great times. (only joking, somewhat)  Jamming out to G.A.P. ( a brazillian rap group who came from the chacara were we had volunteered), and weaving in between busses, motorcycles, and parked cars, were interesting times.  But to see Matt working with the guys at the Chacara was a huge motivation in our work out there.  Thanks for all the preperation you put into our trip!

Working at Everton’s house with Everton, was a great experience for us.  To see his excitement when a project was finished and the look in his eye when we were all done, made the dirty, paint covered, mud covered, muck covered clothes and shoes so worth it!  We have all said how blessed we were to get to experience that time with Everton, as well as paulo and matt.  It was great for us to be able to experience that and I think it really helped bring our team together from the begining of our time here in Brazil.

Then we got to work at the Chacara.  I beleive that we all feel as though that has been our favorite activity thus far.  Specifically our time of worship with the men out there.  I truly believe that during this time I was more blessed by their group than they could have possibly been blessed by us.  Their worship was the way it is meant to be.  Straight from our heart to God’s ears.  No worry of “am I hitting the right notes” or “man that note sounded bad” or “I dont like this song”.  Each song they sang was 110% of their soul being poured out before God, thanking him for what they had done for them.  Sitting their and listening it made me realize how easy it is for us to forget why were singing when we praise.  I for one have caught myself just going with the flow on Sundays, and Wed and not really worshipping but mearly singing the songs Ive sang since I was 5.

This trip has already started to change my life.  I know find myself considering the mission field, something that had only blipped in my mind now and then back in the states.  Please continue to pray for our trip and that we may be a shining light for God for the remainder of our trip and when we return to the states in August.