Outback of Brazil - Pelo Sinal (Part 2)

When our team went to go look at the living conditions of the family that I mentioned in my previous post, we sent all the children of Pelo Sinal to the town square. We told them we would meet them under the big tree in the center of town shortly.

All the children gathered there as we sang songs and taught them hand gestures to some of our favorite songs. Here we were teaching them lyrics and hand motions to "O, Happy Day".

O, happy day, happy day

You washed my sin away

O, happy day, happy day

and I'll never be the same

Forever I am changed.

We wanted to make one home visit before time to meet back with our entire group for lunch, so my team grabbed two precious sisters, Victoria and Raphaela, and asked them if we could go to their home for a visit. My team leader, Daniel, already knew them from a previous trip.

(L to R) Shelby, Katarina, Daniel, Raphaela, Victoria and me

We headed through the village and up the hill to their home.

We had an amazing visit with this sweet family. Unfortunately, their brother, Oscar, was not there when we visited in their home, but the girls' parents and their paternal grandfather were there. They were so gracious to us and so appreciative to us for coming to visit them. Their mother was disappointed that we could not stay and eat lunch with them and made us promise that when we come back that our entire group would eat lunch at their house!

Victoria went to her room and got a notebook with her schoolwork in it and read some of her answers regarding what she believed about the Bible and why, and I was absolutely amazed with her spiritual maturity! She said she had been reading her Bible that had been given to her on a previous trip.

My heart just melted as little Raphaela snuggled up to me on the sofa. She just latched onto me from the minute we sat down in their home and I couldn't get enough! So precious!

This is a picture of this precious family (minus brother Oscar) with our team. (Unfortunately, our translator, Katarina, was taking the picture so was not able to be included in this photo.)

They made us feel so welcome that it was really difficult to leave. I had to snap one more photo of this precious family- taken outside the door of their home.

We headed back through the village to Nalva's house (the Mayor of Pelo Sinal) for a delicious lunch prepared by Pastor Carlos' wife, Dinalda.

As soon as lunch was over, it was time to head back to the town square. The "Face Painters" took their places......

The lines started to form ......

And beautiful faces were painted!

My daughter, Faith, even threw in her hair braiding services!

Afterwards we even got to observe a dance class that the little girls in the village got to be a part of. So sweet!

To be continued.....

Outback of Brazil - Pelo Sinal (Part 1)

Saturday was our first day in the Outback and the first village we would be working in was Pelo Sinal. Several of our team members had been in Pelo Sinal on previous trips and had started building relationships with some of the people they had lead to the Lord on previous trips, so they were very excited about getting back to this little village. At this point, I still didn't know what I was in store for.

We ate breakfast and loaded the bus early. On the way, Pastor Carlos and our team leader, Daniel, gave us our schedule for the day and assigned our teams for the day.

We drove by bus to the end of the dirt road that lead to Pelo Sinal and there we unloaded all of our supplies and left the bus for the day.

This is a picture of my son-in-law, Chad, my daughter, Faith, and myself. I was blessed to have them on the trip with me. They have been on several mission trips before and were a great help to this "rookie"!

These were four of our amazing translators on that first day. Ruth, Katarina, Anne and Monica (L to R).

Here are my team leader, Daniel, and his wife, Jennifer . I cannot even imagine how much work went into planning and organizing a trip like this, but they did an amazing job! Everything went so smoothly!

After we got all of our supplies unloaded from the bus we all climbed onto the "Turnip Truck". It was at this point that I really started to get excited! This trip was finally a reality and I was really here in the Outback of Brazil!

After about 6 miles of very rough roads we started approaching a little village and this is a glimpse of what I saw. Children from the village came running toward our truck because they were already expecting us.
As I went to climb off the truck, I was taken aback by all the beautiful little children. It was a very emotional moment for me to see all of these precious ones.

On our way over on the bus, Pastor Carlos had mentioned to us about a home that needed to have a new roof put on it that they were hoping that we could help with, but they had not been able to come up with all of the money to buy the necessary supplies prior to our coming. The family that lived in the little house had 3 children, the youngest of which was 4 months old. On an average day this time of year, the temperature inside their house was approximately 40 degrees Celsius! That translates to over 100 degrees Farenheit!

Our first stop was for the team to take a look at the living conditions of this family. As you can see, they had a flat metal roof and the heat was just being absorbed into this house.

This is a view from the side of their house. It was made out of block and they only had one window in the entire structure.

These were the children's toys that they played with.

This was their "oven" -- whatever they place in here was cooked by the sun.

And this was their laundry area. The big 50 gallon drum was full of rain water that they captured during the rainy season.

As we were walking around and through this little house, I think all of us were very disappointed that we had not known about this need prior to our coming so that we could have raised the necessary money and had the supplies on hand to replace the roof while we were there.

We broke up into our teams for the day and I was on the team that stayed to talk to the woman that lived in this home. As Daniel and Monica began to talk to the lady, her baby started to get a little fidgety and I asked if I could hold him so I could remove that distraction and have her focus on what they were sharing with her. As you can imagine, this was right up MiMi's alley!

Daniel used the Evangecube to share the Gospel and with the help of our translator, Monica, the lady of the house prayed to receive Christ! We gave her a Portuguese Bible and a list of verses to encourage her, but she told us that she could not see. She needed glasses, but that she had been to the doctor and the glasses she needed were too expensive. Last year, a group had taken reading glasses to give out on the trip and she had tried a couple of pairs left from that trip, but none of them had worked for her. This just broke my heart that she could not see to read and I hope that there is some way we can get her some glasses so that she can read the Word of God.

We all signed the Bible that we left with her.

Here is a picture of us with our new sister in Christ! I know the angels were rejoicing in Heaven!

This was only the beginning of our exciting day in Pelo Sinal. I have lots more to share.

(To Be Continued)

BRAZIL - Finally A Reality

Well...after about 6 months of planning for, praying about and looking forward to my very first mission trip, it finally became a reality! I, along with my team, left on Thursday, September 3rd for the Outback of Brazil. Our flight left Charlotte in the evening and we flew to Miami, FL. We immediately got onto a flight (10:30 p.m.) and flew all night to Salvador. After a brief layover in Salvador, we boarded our last flight that took us to Recife, where we landed around 10:30 am on Friday. It took us a while to claim our baggage and get through Immigrations and Customs, but soon we were greeted by Pastor Carlos. I had heard so much about him and could hardly wait to meet them.

We headed out with all of our luggage to our tour bus that would be our transportation for the 7 hour trip to the Outback. Our first stop, before we got on the road, was to stop for lunch at a local restaurant in Recife, called Tio Pepe....and OH MY WORD!

It was here that I knew that I was probably not going to be losing weight on this trip as I had hoped and expected! The food was delicious and I also had my first taste of Guarana- the carbonated beverage that is original to Brazil that I had heard so much about. It tastes sort of like a much sweeter Ginger Ale and is really yummy! Pastor Carlos and our team leader, Daniel, ordered a variety of different dishes --beef, chicken and fish -- and everything I tasted was great! This is a picture of my plate. YUMMY!

It was here at the restaurant that I first got to meet Pastor Carlos' sweet wife, Dinalda, and with the help of an interpreter, start to get to know her. I could tell right away that I was going to love her! (Please keep in mind that this was me after being on an airplane for about 14 hours! lol)

It is also where we got to meet up with more of our amazing translators that would be helping us all week, two of which are pictured here L to R, Katarina, and Carla, Pastor Carlos' daughter.

This is another one of our translators, Anne, with my daughter, Faith. God was so faithful to provide us with so many awesome translators and we certainly could not have done it without them!

Soon it was time to load onto the bus again and head for the Outback.

After driving a couple of hours, we stopped at a little place on the side of the road that everyone on my team that had previously been to Brazil fondly called "The Chicken Ball Place". It was like a little "Cantina" with a gift shop, ice cream, fresh coconuts, and the infamous "chicken balls". Several people had Coconut Water, but most of us had ice cream and an opportunity to stretch our legs.

Here is Brooke, one of our precious teens on the trip, giving the the fresh coconut a try.

After this little stop, it was back on the bus for the remainder of our trip into the Outback. We arrived at the Hotel Brotas somewhere around 9:00 that night, and after checking into our rooms, we headed for the hotel restaurant and found this spread awaiting us.

After dinner, it was off to our rooms for a good night's sleep before heading out the next morning to Pelo Sinal, the first village where we would be ministering.

2009 - Hiding God's Word Verses #15 and #16

I am so behind on blogging and I am also late in posting my last two memory verses, but both of them have been very meaningful to me in recent days. As many of you already know, in January of this year, I committed to the LPM Scripture Memory Challenge to memorize 2 verses of scripture each month for the year 2009. I can hardly believe it, but with these 2 verses, we have memorized 16 out of 24! We only have 8 more memory verses remaining for 2009! I cannot tell you what a blessing this Scripture Memorization plan has been for me!

The verse that I selected for August 1st was a verse that God just seemed to keep putting before me. I heard my pastor refer to it in a recent sermon and then when I went to Deeper Still in Greensboro, Kay Arthur mentioned this verse in her teaching in Hebrews that Friday night. I knew then that this was a verse that I needed to have in my "arsenal".

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it."

Hebrews 2:1 (ESV)

It is so easy to drift, isn't it? Have you ever been floating on an inner tube or air mattress out in the ocean when you decide that you need to paddle back to shore, only to find that you are way downstream from where you originally started out. You thought you were floating in the same place, but all the while you were drifting--without even knowing it--unaware that you had moved from your original location.

I believe that our very heritage is being destroyed in this country. We, as a country, have not listened to God and we are in trouble. I believe that God is saying to America, and to me in particular, that He wants us to wake up and listen to Him!

I pray that the verses that I have committed to memory this year, might be an anchor for me --that I might "pay closer attention to what I have heard...lest I drift away from it"!

The verse that I chose for the second half of August is found in Ephesians and is one of my favorite promises found in God's Word. I have always loved this verse, but after Priscilla Shirer taught an amazing lesson on this verse at Deeper Still, I will never look at it in quite the same way.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us"

Ephesians 3:20 (NASB)

Just a few of the awesome points that Priscilla made about this passage that made an impression on me were:

• My ability to rest comes from whether or not I believe that He is able to handle what concerns me.

• Whatever difficulties I may face in life, I need to see them through the "filter" of God.

• Whether or not He chooses to change my situation is a question of His sovereignty --not of His ability!

• The most incredible miracle is - not when God changes a circumstance, but when He changes a life.

I guess if I had to summarize the main message that I take away from this verse is that OUR GOD IS ABLE! Whatever it is......OUR GOD IS ABLE! If we truly believe that God is God, we will let Him do His job! We can rest because God Is Able!

He is able to do it FOR ME and He is able to do it FOR YOU, sweet friend!

2009 - Hiding God's Word Verse #14

In January of this year, I committed to the LPM Scripture Memory Challenge to memorize 2 verses of scripture each month for the year 2009. I can hardly believe it but the verse for the second half of July brings us to verse number 14 out of 24!

But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)

I also really like the way The Message interprets it:

It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

Unfortunately, I still do not have my camera back from being repaired so I cannot post a picture of my actual memory verse on my index cards as I normally do.  I sure hope that I get it back soon! But, until then I thought I would leave you with a little something that should bring a  smile to your face!

I'll Be There

With the death of the "King of Pop" this past week, the news has been full of stories about the life of this very talented, but obviously troubled man. It got me to thinking, though, about all of the "hit" songs he had and some of my fondest memories of Michael Jackson were when he was a part of the Jackson 5. That cute little boy with the high-pitched voice.

The one song of Jackson's that really sticks out in my mind is "I'll Be There". I can still remember being at the county fair with 3 of my very best friends in the early 70's, when that song was being played over the loud speaker system throughout the fairgrounds. To this day, when I hear this song, it conjures up fond memories of fresh-cooked corn dogs and french fries sprinkled with salt and vinegar!

You may recall that the chorus went something like this:

Don't you know, baby, yeah
I'll be there, I'll be there, just call my name, I'll be there

(Just look over your shoulders, honey )
I'll be there, I'll be there, whenever you need me, I'll be there

As I was reminiscing about those days some 25+ years ago and the lyrics to that song, God began to take me in a different direction with my thoughts. As a wife and mother like so many of you, I feel like I am pulled in so many directions. Many days I feel overwhelmed by all the tasks that I need to accomplish that day. I do laundry, answer phone calls and emails, pay bills, shop for groceries, make dinner, clean house AND work a full-time job OUTSIDE the home. 

I am a serious list maker and I LOVE the feeling of being able to cross off something on my to-do-list when I have completed it. As I have confessed to you before, I have even been known to write down something on my list AFTER I have already completed it, just so I could mark it off the list! That's pretty bad, huh?

Sometimes in an effort to multi-task and be able to cross off more things on my list, I find that I do not give the proper amount of attention to my family members. When my little granddaughter is asking me question number 200 in the last 30 minutes, I find that I am not really listening to her, but rather preoccupied about what I need to accomplish that night before bedtime. Or, when my husband is telling me about his day, my mind is thinking about what I am going to fix for dinner or my day at work and I'm not really listening.

God reminded me that I need to be there for my family - to give love and attention to my family members - not just try to check things off of my never-ending task list.  I need to learn to prioritize and realize that it is OK for some things to wait. 

Lord, I want to be there for my family. When my husband comes in the house at the end of his day, help me to get off the computer or phone and give him my undivided attention. When I pick up my granddaughter from daycare, help me to give her my full attention as she recounts all of the "events" of her day. When one of my children call and I am in the middle of cooking dinner, help me, Lord, to stop what I'm doing and listen to their concerns.

I want my family to know that I'll Be There for them!

"She looks well to the ways of her household,

And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and bless her;

Her husband, also, and he praises her"

Proverbs 31:27-28

2009 - Hiding God's Word Verse # 13

In January of this year, I, along with many of you, committed to the LPM Scripture Memory Challenge to memorize 2 verses of scripture each month for the year 2009, and with this week's verse, we are now on verse 13 out of 24 verses! Can you believe that we are now over halfway!

If you have been reading my blog for very long, you know that I record my verses on index cards and I always have a picture of my memory verse written on my card. Unfortunately, I am not able to have a picture this week as I had to put my camera in the shop for repair. I have really realized how much I use my camera since I have been without it! I am praying that it will be repaired and returned prior to my trip to Brazil.

My verse that I have chosen to commit to memory for the first half of July is:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart 

Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer."

Psalm 19:14 (NASB)