Sunday to Home

Perhaps you are wondering.... We did make it home!

We will just provide a quick summary of events from the last portion of our trip, but we are looking forward to having the opportunity to give a word of report to the church.

Sunday morning we went back to the Leonard's church at Parque Grangeiro. Gene shared a short devotional, we sang some songs for the Sunday school opener, and then attended some of the classes. Pastor Logan taught the adult class.
After church we took a tour to Juazeiro, up to the statue of "Papa Cicero". On the way up Jim talked us through the history of the city and Papa Cicero. It was very sad to see the idolatry and confused people.

Sunday night we attended Source of Light Baptist Church. They were having some evangelistic meetings and invited us to sing some specials and testimonies. We had invited many of our unsaved friends from the English Camp to come to church that night and a few of them showed up!

At 10:00 that night we left for the bus Station. The bus was a sleeper bus that drove through the night to Fortaleza. We arrived in Fortaleza at about 7 am and had breakfast at Tapioqueiras. After breakfast the Leonards we took a bus the Brazil Gospel Mission house where we were able to get cleaned up. Then, we took the bus to the Market. We spent about an hour and a half shopping for souvenirs and gifts. We did it quickly because we wanted to go see the ocean as well!

After the Ocean, the Leonards took us to a very special restaurant called Churrascaria for lunch. It was an all you can eat meat buffet! They claimed to have over 25 different cuts of meat that they brought to your table and sliced off pieces onto your plate. What a treat!

We went back to the Gospel Mission

and Showered one more time before heading to the airport. At the airport we spent some time in the chapel recapping the week and sharing some short testimonies of what we saw God doing in our personal lives.

The Leonards are a very special couple. They are without a doubt committed to the work of the Gospel and church planting in Ceara, Brazil. They are committed to eachother and they love the people of Brazil. They are willing to sacrifice greatly for the cause of Christ. They are not attached at all to material possessions, and everything they have is being used to exalt Christ. Our aim in going on this trip was to be committed to serving the Leonards and ministering to their needs. Quite the opposite happened. We are eternally grateful for the experience of joining arms in the ministry with the Leonards. May God richly bless them for freely giving of themselves, their resources, and time.

Obviously we made it back to Rochester. Gods might hand of protection was with us. He showed himself to us in many ways.

Our Theme passage for the trip was Philippians 2:1-8

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Saturday- final day of English camp

Today was very bittersweet. This was our final day of our English camp and we all were looking forward to this day because we will soon be heading home, but also we don't want to leave the people that we have created amazing relationships with.Our day started very early because we were making an American breakfast for the Brazilians. Gene, Scott, Anna, Terri, and Logan all prepared pancakes and eggs for all of them to try. Pancakes were made from scratch which meant the process started days ago when the ladies went out shopping to prepare for the food. Gene calculated the ingredients for 200 pancakes.

The kitchen was nothing like we are use to in the U.S. There were propane stoves lit with a match (no ignighters), and no griddle to cook the pancakes on. This meant trying to find frying pans that could be used which wouldn't burn the pancakes. We had several sacrificial pancakes as we were trying to get the hang of how the pans worked. Eggs were made in a pan the size of a small bathtub... just kidding, they were made in very large misshapen pans, which would cost much to replace. Many of the Brazilian enjoyed the food, but a lot of them did not want to put syrup on them because they did not know how it would taste. Following breakfast we began our activities which included more stories of life in America by team members.

Next we had 6 different activities for the teams to rotate through. The activities included: Ultimate Frisbee, Mafia, I have never, charades, pictionary, and uno. They have never heard of Ultimate Frisbee, so it was a fun and entertaining thing to try and teach them. It was hard to play many of the games because some groups had beginners in English, and that was the language that they needed to use (it was very fun though).

After all of the activities, we "took" them on an American picnic. We ate hamburgers, potato salad, beans, and jello. We also had Coca-Cola to drink for that too. One small glitch we had when making the burgers was that the frozen patty's wouldn't come loose from the foil. After all the work getting the foil off of the patty, we were finally able to start cooking them on a small makeshift grate, outside the kitchen. Everything came out tasty, so the extra time cooking them was worth it. When many of the Brazilians were eating their burgers, we noticed that almost all of them wrapped them in napkins, we learned later that when they eat they don't want to get their hands dirty, which is so different from what we use napkins for, but they did enjoy eating it :). Following the lunch we had more American stories.  This prompted many questions about our Christian life.  One question included asking of why we were wearing the wordless bracelets.  This gave a great opportunity to clearly share the gospel.  What a great blessing this was for us.  Following this we had more activities including a scavenger hunt. At the end of our time together we all got to make homemade ice cream. The process for making this included: the ingredients inside a bag, and that bag inside another bag with ice and salt. This was a chance for the Brazilians to experience Minnesota cold. It was very shocking on how cold it was, and many of them couldn't handle it.  This time ended our retreat.  As we said earlier, it was bittersweet.  Many pictures were taken and email and facebook addresses were exchanged.  We want to thank God for the new friendships we have made and the lives we have had to share our faith in Christ with.  Please continue to pray for our new friends as we pray that the ministries here in Brazil might have in the days to come opportunity to contact some of them and that some of the English students will contact the churches here and get in touch with the Leonards.

Preparation and English Camp

Today we prepared for the English camp.  We all got up at about eight o'clock for breakfast.  We had biscuits and gravy and biscuits with jam and butter for breakfast, it was all very good.  After breakfast Logan, Gene, Troy, William, and I (Scott) went to the court to play some soccer with the Brazilians.  Playing soccer with the Brazilians was a really fun experience, all of us guys said that we had a lot of fun.  After we came back from soccer everyone was busy in the kitchen.  We all had to get ready for the English camp that was quickly approaching.  All the guys went and took showers and hurried back to help prepare for the camp.  There were many things that were to come for the afternoon.  Metal sticks were made for roasting marshmallows at the bonfires.  Lots of potato salad was made for the meal tomorrow.  A lot of cheese was grated for the pizzas that we made at night time for dinner.  Other toppings were also prepared for the pizza also.  The morning went really fast and before we knew it, it was already time for the English camp to start.  The people coming to the camp slowly trickled in, both young and old.  Small conversations began to pop up as more and more people arrived.  People began playing carpet ball and just trying to get to know new people.  I had some interesting conversations with some people that knew English very well.  They had a lot of questions for us, and we had some for them.  Once everyone arrived we got organized into groups with two Americans with each.  We got to know the people in our group with some ice breaking games.  At first my group was pretty quiet, but I did not really know what i should ask them, so we were quiet on both sides.  After the ice breaking games we had some presentations from people in our group of Americans.  They talked about things that they do in their everyday lives in America.  After that we split the large groups into smaller ones with only one American per group.  We set off on a photo scavenger hunt.  Each team had a list of things that they had to do, and while they did it on member of a team took a picture.  It was a good way to help them to learn English and to try and work together and figure out what the things on the list were saying.  We got back and went back into our larger groups.  The winner of the photo scavenger hunt was then announced.  More games now came.  One American from each group was given a phrase in Portuguese that they had to learn, and the Brazilians had to help them.  A Brazilian from each group received a tongue twister in English as well.  Each person that had one had to "present" their phrase to the entire group.  It went well I suppose, as good as could be expected.  Advertise Your American was the name of the next group activity.  Each group interviewed one of their Americans and had to "present" them to the entire group in the most interesting and expressive way they could.  They all went really well.  American pizza was for dinner right after the Advertise Your American presentations.  I heard many people say how much they enjoyed the different kinds of American pizza toppings.  After the pizza were more presentations, songs from our group, and then we all headed out to the bonfires to have some s'mores.  So many people said that they had never tasted anything like s'mores before, but they really liked it.  We met after everyone had left and talked about the things that had gone on during the camp.  Gene shared that he had talked to a particular boy in his group, name Neto.  He guessed that Neto was from a more wealthy family.  Neto said that his family was religious, but that it was something that he did not need.  Gene had a good long talk with him and Neto kept bringing up the facts of religion and faith.  Gene asked Neto if he died if he knew what would happen, but Neto replied that he would just turn into dirt.  Gene offered to show Neto, from the Bible, that there is something more after death.  Neto said that he would here that if Gene brought that Bible tomorrow to show him.  Please pray for Neto as Gene talks to him, that he will be open to the plan of salvation and come to realize that their is more after death.  Pray that he will realize that God is someone that everyone needs, and that it is a thing that should be for him, as well as everyone else.  Please pray for the rest of the group as well, as we are all tired and have much work to do.  Well that is all for today, time to go to bed to get rested up for the activities tomorrow morning.

Thursday - Last Day of Kids Camp

Today we got to sleep in this morning which was wonderful.  At 8:30 we had breakfast which was fried cheese sandwiches (coalho). We each were able to do what we wanted for a couple of hours. Some of the men worked on the sound system, the gals cleaned their rooms, we did some laundry, read, sorted beans, and prepared our craft for the day.  We also collected firewood for the English camp bonfire that we are going to have Friday night.

After lunch we piled 22 people and all our equipment into a small 15 passenger van (with no leg room!) and headed up to kids camp.  We were much more prepared today so it seemed to run a lot more smoothly than previous days.  It was a fun day and the kids were very excited to be at camp. They sang loud and said there verses.  They listened intently to the Bible story. Five kids came forward to receive Christ as there Lord and Savior.  That is a total of nine kids since 4 received Christ the first day.  We also had two come forward for assurance.  They admitted they still had sin in their lives and wanted to take care of it.  Saying good bye was a long process as they didn't want us to leave.  There were lots of hugs, and they all wanted us to sign their books that they had made during craft time. 
When we got home we had a planning meeting for the English camp which starts tomorrow. 

Wednesday - Kids camp day number 2

Four team members got the opportunity to go to the grocery store this morning with Julie to see what a grocery store looked like in Brasil.  It was very similar to the states, except for the language of course.  It was hard to tell what anything was.  They also didn't have a huge variety of some things.  We went to a store like Sam's Club as well.
The rest of the team got to go hiking up the mountain nearby the seminary.  We drove a little ways to get to the start of the trail and then hiked in about a mile to some rocky cliffs.  We climbed around on the rocks and viewed the city from on top of the mountain.  There were some very beautiful flowers and different types of trees and foliage.
 

Typical lunch, rice and beans with a side of meat and some cooked veggies.  Here is is Manioc root (similar to potoes)  They eat lots of starch here.

  

One church member Carlos and his son Diego

After the hike we came back and had a quick lunch and then we were off to the kids camp.  We had about 60 kids today.  Troy, Lindsay, and Amber Miosi lead games, the ladies help with crafts, and the rest of the teens join the groups while going from class to class.  It is similar to a VBS, but only in Portugese.  We had our task cut out for us when we tried to teach a craft to 60 kids while not speaking the language.
When the kids camp was over we walked/drove to some of the kids home.  The kids are starving for attention and hanging on the teens constantly.  They were so excited to have us come visit their homes. 

We also had an evening service at their church at night.  A rain storm came in the middle of church so we had to pick up our chairs and move into a classroom since the church service takes place in an open air pavilion.  We were tired by the time we got home.  Thursday is the last day of kids club and then we will start with our English camp.

Tuesday- First Day of Kids Camp

This morning for breakfast we had baked oatmeal and tapioca pancakes which got quite an interesting response from the group. Later we went to chapel here at the Seminary and tried out the new sound system for the first time and was very pleased with the end result and the music professor was very impressed. Some of the Brazilian students sang a song for special music which they had written themselves and was very beautiful! We also sang Shine On Us and Pastor Gene preached a message on Holiness. We then ate a (semi) quick lunch and headed off to the children's camp. There was a very good turn out, we had about 45-50 kids. During the puppet show the alarm to the school went off not once but twice! But all ended well and we got everything worked out. After singing some songs one group of children went to a classroom and worked on the Ten Commandments and memory verses and the other group went to work on crafts. The craft for today was the wordless bracelets. We played some Awana games which the kids really enjoyed! We had a missionary story and after that seven kids went back to make a decision! Six of those seven kids received Jesus Christ as the Savior! Praise the Lord! We are praying for the seventh child that he would come to know Jesus as well. After the camp we went back to the Seminary for a prayer meeting where the people pray for different missions around the world. Six of us shared about the different countries we had been to and where the was a need for missionaries and for God. Now its time for a Missionary moment and then bed. Goodnight!

Monday- Workday

We had two major projects going on yesterday.  This would be the only day that we had to get some work done for the Leonards because the rest of our time here would be filled with Kids Camp and English Camp, so we knew that we had to work hard.  Most of the team painted houses- Eight of them to be exact!  Everybody worked VERY hard.  In fact, a few comments were made about some of our gals: "When I look at you- you work like a man."  Which is apparently a great compliment. The married students (Brazilians) of the seminary live in the houses we painted they came out and helped with moving the scaffold.  They also tried to communicate with us, which at times was very humorous since we misunderstood 'a few' things.  The students were very grateful to get their homes painted, they brought out juice and snacks for us.
   
The second project was the installation of the sound system for the Seminary Chapel.  Pastor Gene, Logan and Troy took on this task with the help of a couple of Brazilian men- Carlos and Milton.  Without an interpreter the work was slow because it was so difficult to explain why we were setting up things in certain ways.  They were great helpers though when they understood us.  We ran all the wires so all we have left is a lot of soldering.  Thankfully Pastor Gene, Logan, and Troy are not afraid of heights.  This was a long way up.  : )

Sunday Services

This morning we went to First Baptist Church in Crato.  In the morning Pastor Gene and Pastor Logan spoke at two different times.  We sang some a group special number and Lindsay and Troy gave their testimonies.  Then on our way back for lunch we drove around the city of Crato to see what it was like.  At 3:00 we met with individuals who attend the seminary for private Portuguese lessons.  We enjoyed getting to know some of them and they were happy to try practicing their English as well and us working on our Portuguese.  We were given a list of words and phrases to try to learn.  Then in the evening service we went to a different church in Crato where the Leonards work, Parque Grangeiro.  We got to practice our small Portugese vocabulary with the people there.  Mariah and Bev gave a testimony.  The people here are very friendly.  One lady even made hot chocolate especially for us and brought it to church for us to drink.  It is winter here, but still in the upper 80's. 

ARRIVED IN CRATO

Thank you for your prayers. We have arrived in Crato with the Leonards! We arrived in Sao Paulo and rushed to tell TAM airlines about our dilemma. We had 40 minutes to obtain our checked baggage, go through customs, recheck our bags, get our new tickets and board the plane. Needless to say, we did not make our flight to Fortaleza. They did rush us through very quickly, but they had to schedule us for a later flight- which had the potential of causing us to miss our flight from Fortaleza to Juazeiro do Norte. Fortunately, Jim met us in Fortaleza and had prearranged for us to walk off of the one plane and directly onto the other plane! Our baggage will arrive on a later flight.
Tonight we are getting all cleaned up and settled in (with whatever was clean from our carry-on) :)
Tomorrow will be a full day of services.

On our way!

We're in Brazil!

Good morning everyone!  After a 2 1/2 hour delay in NYC we finally made it to Sao Paulo.  We arrived around 10AM and cleared customs.  Hopefully, will be able to make our other connections--keep praying for us!

Then a few went to Time Square and got soaked.

Boarding soon so we'll go dark until Sat or Sun.

9/11 site

We had a chance to get away from the airport to head to ground zero.

Summary of Itinerary

Friday 17 June 2011 | duration 2:15

• D: 07:00 Chicago, USA | O'Hare International ORD | Terminal 2
• A: 10:15 New York, USA | John F Kennedy JFK | Terminal 3

Friday 17 June 2011 | duration 10:05

• D: 19:40 New York, USA | John F Kennedy JFK | Terminal 4
• A: 06:45 Sao Paulo, Brazil | Guarulhos International GRU | Terminal 1

Saturday 18 June 2011 | duration 3:12

• D: 09:40 Sao Paulo, Brazil | Guarulhos International GRU | Terminal 1
• A: 12:52 Fortaleza, Brazil | Pinto Martins FOR

Saturday 18 June 2011

• D: 14:55 Fortaleza
• A: 151:50 Jazeiro do Norte

Sunday 26 June 2011

• Bus to Fortaleza, Brazil

Monday 27 June 2011 | duration 3:42

• D: 17:08 Fortaleza, Brazil | Pinto Martins FOR
• A: 20:50 Sao Paulo, Brazil | Guarulhos International GRU | Terminal 1

Monday 27 June 2011 | duration 10:00

• D: 22:30 Sao Paulo, Brazil | Guarulhos International GRU | Terminal 1
• A: 07:30 New York, USA | John F Kennedy JFK | Terminal 4

Tuesday 28 June 2011 | duration 3:15

• D: 11:25 New York, USA | John F Kennedy JFK | Terminal 3
• A: 13:40 Minneapolis, USA | St Paul Intl MSP | Terminal 1

Brazil Mission Team 2011

Brazil Team 2011

We are anxious to see what God is going to do in June. Here is a list of the team members that God has established for our journey to Crato Brazil. We will be leaving Calvary on Thursday night, June 16th and returning on Tuesday June 28th.

Beverly Billings

Brooke Bleeker

Troy Bleeker

Anna Friess

Logan Friess

Lindsey Hanenberger

Marie Lindblom

Amber Miosi

Eugene Murrell

Amber Murrell

Terri Riffle

Scott Riffle

Mariah Sprunger