The Long Goodbye

Well...we are all home safe and sound but we left a part of our hearts in Vicosa. Here is a brief run down of our last couple of days.

On Friday, we had a great time with the students. We had class in the morning and then spent the afternoon packing and preparing for our departure. Friday night, Sue had planned to make homemade pizza for us. We had gone to the grocery store and tried to find the ingredients she needed. She prepared the dough and let it rise. It then needed to be put into the oven to brown. To our surprise, we had run out of gas. The tanks were empty. So we had six pizza crusts ready to go and no way to cook them. Robson called the gas man and to our surprise (after two calls) they delivered gas on a Friday night by motorcycle! The pizza was finished and it was a hit. After dinner, it was ‘tissue time’. The students had worked on a video montage for us....for the ‘Wonderful Women’ as they affectionately called us. It was a whirlwind of emotions going from crying, one moment, as the reality of our leaving took hold, and in the next moment, we would be hysterically laughing as we remembered some of our more humorous moments.

On Saturday morning we treated the students to an American style breakfast. Again, Sue gifted us with her baking talents and she made cinnamon rolls from scratch (it was an adventure in itself just to figure out what yeast and cinnamon was called here). I made pancakes complete with maple syrup (thanks to Aunt Jemima and Log Cabin brought all the way from the US) and chocolate chip pancakes with powdered sugar (also imported from the US). The students were thrilled...and to be perfectly honest, the US team enjoyed having a taste of home as well.
On Saturday afternoon we went to the city to so some shopping and then it was time to come back to the house and get ready or graduation. Because the team was taking the overnight bus back to Rio we had to be completely packed before we left for the ceremony.

The graduation was held at CEM, the missionary training school that we partnered with to provide this immersion experience. We started with worship, led by the students. Then, Robson spoke. It was beautiful. He talked for 15–20 minutes, all in English. He talked about how the program had helped him with his English but more than that how God had used it to change his life. He finished with showing the video so those at the graduation could get a feel for not only what our last two weeks were like but what the entire program was like.
I was able to share what a privilege it had been for us to be a part of the this program...that I was not there only representing Team Three, but Team One , Team Two and Living Word. The students received their certificates, an English Bible and then we had a time of brief time of fellowship.

Afterwards it was time to go back to the house, load the van with all the luggage and go to the bus station. That meant the last goodbye for the team and four of the students. I can’t adequately explain what this is like. I know it seems impossible that after two short weeks you could build the kind of relationships that make it that difficult and painful to leave but it happens. I think it is the combination of living in community and the fact that we all share a passion for our God. The bonding is close and saying goodbye, knowing that most likely we will never see each other again this side of heaven, is very emotional.

We went to bus station accompanied by three of the students that would be traveling with us to Rio to catch their flights to Central American and two students who would be going back to house. So...another long goodbye ensued. Shortly after 11 pm we were on our way. Some cried quietly in their seats hoping that sleep would soon overtake them. It was especially hard on the three gals traveling with us as they were saying goodbye to their housemates of six weeks. After a long might of traveling, we arrived at the Rio de Janeiro airport at 6:30 am.
We found a little place to hang out...11 of us with 15 pieces of luggage. And so began our 16 ½ hour wait for our overnight flight. The time passed easily as we played games, shopped and ate (plus our mini showers in the bathrooms).

At 7 pm, we said yet another goodbye as Irene and Cristy left for Guatemala and Carol left for Mexico. The US team boarded at 11:00pm and landed in Atlanta at 8 am where we had one more difficult goodbye. Sue was leaving us she was flying back to Detroit (she arrived later than planned as she gave up her seat to a military man who had not been home in two years!) The rest of the team left Atlanta and landed in BWI at noon. No delays, no lost luggage.

We had a wonderful trip, a wonderful program and are excited to see what God will do with EnglishBridge in the future. The program has come to be so much more than just a format to teach English. For some reason God has used it to intervene and change the hearts of those who allow Him to do whatever He wishes in their lives. I have witnessed amazing transformations in both the students and the teams. It is an amazing, beautiful combination of language learning, community and spiritual transformation. It has been one of the most amazing experiences of my live to be involved in this program.

And, let me take this opportunity to say what a wonderful team I had. The ‘Wonderful Women’ were truly that. Thank you for trusting me to lead you on this journey. I know that the time was very meaningful for some of you as God stirred some things up. I encourage you to continue the work He has started.

So, it is with joy and sadness that I close this chapter of EnglishBridge. I look forward with anticipation to what God will continue to do in and through this program. Thank you for joining us.

God Bless,
Deb

"My Beautiful Students"

‘My Beautiful Students’

This is what Jenn calls her class every morning…”My Beautiful Students”. And that is what they are. Let me give you a thumbnail sketch of the incredible people we have shared a house with over the last two weeks.

There is ‘the couple’…Aline and Robson. Aline is a quiet, beautiful young woman who has become the ‘mother’ of the group. This is unusual because she is not the oldest but because she is part of a married couple who have taken on a parental role, in the best of ways. She and Robson are both from Brazil and feel God calling them to either Indonesia or Myanmar. Aline prefers one on one conversations to loud group games. She LOVES movies and if she had her way, every night would be a movie night. She is a natural caretaker.

Robson is gifted. He is an artist and he is naturally curious. He is the one who always has a question, who always wants to know more. He has a very gentle nature but also a very sharp wit and can make you bust out laughing at a moments’ notice. He has served the team as an interpreter when we go to town or need to do something that would be very difficult for us English speakers…like buy tickets in the bus station. He loves God and has a deep desire to serve.

Daniel is from Chile. He is also talented. He plays guitar by ear. He has often played for us during our breaks and his range can be anything from Bruce Springsteen to an impromptu tango. He has given us many occasions of side splitting laughter as he is also a natural comedienne. He has impressed us with how much of a gentleman he is. “Ladies first” is an expression we hear at mealtime, when walking through doors, etc. When we are in town he keeps a watchful eye on all us and is concerned for our safety. He senses God calling him to work with Muslims. He plans to leave Chile in October to begin his work in the Middle East. He jokes about having five wives there but then we reminded him that with five wives comes with five mother-in-laws. He has decided that one wife is more than enough.

Irene is a nurse by trade. She lives in Guatemala. Her nickname is ‘Baby’. She is the tiniest of the group but there is nothing tiny about her love for God. She is very quiet but surprised us all by her performance in the Little Red Hen. She had the lead part and really put herself into the role. She will occasionally come up with a saying like “I have my limits” and we will all look at her and say, “Where did you learn that?” She feels God asking her to serve in India.

Carolina is from Mexico. She is a natural leader. Through her conversion some years ago, each of her family members has come to Jesus. She has a fascinating testimony. She is very competitive at games and also very talkative. She became our weatherwoman. I would ask her is the sun would be shining today…she would look outside and ‘not yet’.
She, too, feels called to India.


Cristy is also from Guatemala. She is a petite girl who is a loves to dress nicely! We have been envious of her clothing. She has an incredible grasp of English. She studies hard and writes beautiful letters to the team. Her pastor and church are very supportive of her and proud of her decision to follow God’s calling. Her desire is to go to India and minister to Muslim women.

Fabiana is from Brazil. She is a very gifted debater. During our debate time, she looked and sounded like a seasoned lawyer. She is very articulate and can certainly hold her own in any conversation. Fabi believes God is calling her to Tunisia.

Finally, last but not least, is Ricardo, who is also from Brazil. He is a wonderful musician. He is a husband and a father. He only was with us for five weeks but he left an impression. He is trying to get a visa so he can come and study in the states. He has been accepted to a university in Texas to study classical music composition.

That is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the students. They are awesome people who have each left their imprint on this team and the teams before us.

We had our last official class session this morning. We have spent the afternoon hanging out and packing. Tonight we have a special treat as Sue makes homemade pizzas and tomorrow morning we will surprise them with a breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls (again, compliments of Sue ) and pancakes and maple syrup. Then we will go into the city to do some shopping and tomorrow night is our graduation. After graduation we will be boarding the overnight bus to Rio. Three of the students will travel with us…Irene, Caro and Cristy. The rest will leave Sunday morning (when they found out when we were leaving Saturday night instead of Sunday, they tried to get their tickets changed to leave in the evening as well, because they said it would be too sad to wake up in the house without us).

I will try to blog tomorrow but it may be too busy. If I do not get a chance to do so before we leave, we ask for your prayers for safe travel home for both the students and the team. I will blog again, either here or once home to give the details of the end of our adventure.

Please know that the students and the team have felt and greatly appreciate your prayers for the program. It has been a wonderful 6 week experience. Thank you for the great work done by Team One and Team Two to get the ball rolling and to Team Three for finishing well. And, thank you for support of all the team member’s families as well as though who supported us financially.

So…for now….thanks and God bless,
Alice, Deb S., Pam, Sue, Jeanne, Lisa, Jenn and Deb

It's a book....

It’s a long one so go get a cup of coffee and settle in.

There is so much more happening here than teaching and learning English. We are building relationships and learning about each other’s culture. We are sharing stories and playing games. But, I think the most significant thing that is happening is what God is doing.

Every morning we have worship and a devotional. Yesterday, a team member gave her testimony. It was intense and emotional but it is a testament to what God has done in her life in the last two years. One of the students was able to respond to some healing that God wanted to begin in her. It was a powerful day. We were all exhausted afterwards but it is the most important thing that happens here. There have also been some significant things that have happened in the lives of the team as well. This is truly what it is all about.

Later in the afternoon, we went downtown as a group. It was a beautiful day. We had fruit smoothies at a juice bar, did a little shopping, went to the grocery store (one of the students is making tortillas for us tonight and Sue is making pizza for us tomorrow night) and then we had to go and buy our bus tickets back to Rio.

Today in class, Jenn had students and language helpers do an exercise designed to help them appreciate their senses. One partner was blindfolded, had cotton put in their ears, had their thumbs taped down and had pebbles stuck in their shoes. The other partner walked them around the yard and the house. Afterwards, they talked about the experiences and discussed how it gave them a new sensitivity for people who struggle with disabilities and how it was an exercise in trust.

Let me take a moments and talk about the language helpers. This has been a phenomenal team. I’ll start with Deb S because her husband Jack has been waiting for something to be written specifically about her (so this is just for you, Jack!). Deb has been such a gift to this team. Not many of us knew her before the trip but are so blessed to have begun a relationship with her. She has been leading our large group games, which have been a hoot and everyone has loved them. The other day she had us unwrapping Hershey Kisses with our feet!

Lisa is such a sweet person. Her gentleness has made her a safe person to be with for both the students and the team. The students gravitate to her. As a team member, she is willing to do whatever is asked. She has learned a great deal about herself on this trip but that is her story to tell.


Alice has been a surprise blessing on this trip. I knew her to be deeply spiritual and gentle and assumed she would bring those attributes to the trip but she is also a beautician and she brought her beauty supplies with her! She colored and cut the students hair, plucked the cook’s eyebrows and did one team member’s hair TWO times (who shall remain unnamed). Everyone looks lovelier because of Alice sharing her gift.

Pam is a musician. She plays flute. She felt God ask her to bring it along, which she did but she didn’t tell anyone. During our first worship service she played for us. We are all so glad she listened to God because she has gifted us with her playing. This is in addition to her kind, loving way of being with others.

I didn’t know Jeanne before this trip. She is an incredible artist. She has been doing portraits of the students and also helped with some of the drawing we needed to do for class. She has learned a great deal about herself on this trip and I think God will continue this work once she is home.

Sue is our team member from Michigan. I have known her the longest. She is a ‘doer’. She has spent countless hours drawing (we have all benefited from this hidden talent of hers) and helping Jenn with whatever she needs. We would have been struggling to have visuals for the students without her gifts. She also sees where God has been at work in her life during the last two weeks.

Then there is Jenn. Jenn went to Argentina two years ago as a language helper. She had one of the most dramatic transformations I have ever witnessed on a trip. She continued that work once she returned home. Now, she has come along as the teacher on this team and has done an outstanding job. She is fun and she is innovative. We never know to expect when Jenn is in front of the class. The students love her and they have learned so much. She continues to see how God is working in her life, knowing that transformation is an on-going process.


It has been a joy and a pleasure to serve with this group of women. I appreciate what each of them has brought to the team and to my life.

Tomorrow, I will share about the students.

Again, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Deb
PS: Jack, I hope that was enough!! :0)

crazy moments

Today’s post will be brief. Just thought I would share some of our crazier moments. It is not easy to upload pictures as we are using dial up but I have posted two photos.

Two days ago, the guys caught a lizard for us to see up close. The poor lizard was probably scared out of his mind. Before letting him go, the guys ‘hypnotized’ him and posed him on a beach chair. I’m sure it was an embarrassment he will never live down with his other lizard friends. And just so you know…no animals were harmed during the taking of these photos.

The other was taken of some of us while we in the gold mine in Ouro Preto. We look lovely in our hair nets and hard hats….don’t you think?

Tomorrow I will write a longer post and catch you up on what’s happening as we wind down our stay.

Grace and peace to all,
Deb and the rest of the team.

what it's all about....

Relationships continue to deepen and given that we are almost in the middle of our last week, I encouraged the team and the students to ‘finish well’. There is a tendency this far into the program for the students to become tired and lose momentum. Both the students and the team can also begin to disengage, as a way to protect themselves, as they anticipate saying goodbye for the final time. This morning, I urged them to remain open with each other because I feel that God has something special for us in our final days together and also in the pain we will feel as we say goodbye.

If you’ve never been on a missions trip before or even if you have, it may be hard for you to understand why it has been so difficult for the teams and the students to say goodbye. The setting for this trip is so different. Each team has spent two weeks living in community with these students….eating together, learning together, playing together, laughing together, crying together, worshipping together. We have shared parts of our lives with each other…hopes, fears, joys and hurts. It may be hard for you to believe, but we love each other. I will truly miss Daniel, Robson, Aline, Carol, Irene, Cristy, and Fabi. Each of them brought something different, something unique into my life.

God does extraordinary things on this type of trip. Bonding happens quickly and just continues to deepen. We will not just be saying goodbye to a group of students this weekend but to new friends who we know, we, most likely, will not see again this side of heaven.

And…not only have we impacted them…they have deeply impacted us. They have touched our lives, teaching us what it is like to respond to a call and give up everything to be available to God. We are in awe of them and of what God is doing in them and we are so thankful he has allowed us to be a tiny part of that work.

Grace and peace,
Deb

Our Last Week

Our trip to Ouro Preto was fantastic. It is a gorgeous town with hills reminiscent of San Francisco. There is very little level ground there. We toured some churches and museums as well as an old gold mine. It was a good way to allow the students to provide translation for us. We had a very nice worship service yesterday and then spent the rest of the day hanging out.

This morning, it was back to work. We are beginning the last week of the program. Team Three has taken on a personality all its own, as did the other two teams. There are sayings and expressions that have taken hold. A couple of ours are “To the Batcave!” That means it is time to get back to class. If some of the students are lingering behind, you’ll hear one of them yell, “Get the lead out!”. Then there are some hanging on from other teams…one we hear often is “Run Forrest, run!”. For better or worse they are picking up American English slang. It’s a trip to hear them try to use some of it in conversation.

There are two unique things Jenn has brought to the classroom. One is a mailbox. All of the students and team’s names and addresses are written on index cards on the wall. Each person takes a different card everyday and writes a letter to that individual. They then have to address the envelope correctly and put it in the mailbox. Daily, at 1 pm, there is mail delivery. Everyone looks forward to it. It has been a great way for the students to practice their reading and writing skills. The other thing she began just today was debating. Someone was accused of a crime and the students were split into two groups. With the help of their language helpers (who were only guides…the students did the debating) the students had to present their case. One group argued that the defendant should get the death penalty and one that she should not. We were all surprised at the depth of their arguments and at their confidence and ability to speak and debate with each other. We will be doing these every day this week.

Sometimes, there are mild misunderstandings because of accents. Here is a recent example. Words were spoken that drove fear into my heart….Daniel said “I found a spider in my room.” Early in our stay here I asked one of the students if he had seen any spiders here (to prepare myself). He said that in all the time he had been in this house he had never seen a spider. I slept well after that conversation. But last night…it was a different story. After Daniel announced there was a spider in his bed, he grabbed a jar to go down and catch it. Two of the gals, Irene and Cristy went down with him. They came back up first and said it was a tiny spider. I felt some relief. Then Daniel brought it up in the jar. Holy smokes….it was a huge wolf spider (I think). UGH!!!! I knew then that there were some sleepless nights in my future. This morning, wondering if he had a bad night, I asked Daniel if he saw any more spiders last night. He said, “No…just a lisa and I chased her out of room.” There is a Lisa on our team. Now I know Lisa and I know there was no reason for her to be in his room…then it dawned on me that he was saying lizard…not Lisa. There was a lizard in his room. We all have stories like these.

Then there is the serious side of things. One of the students revealed yesterday that her siblings had made fun of her as a child and that she knows she now protects herself and does not talk about her feelings. She said the program has helped her begin to do this and she knows it is good for her future ministry. A team member has realized that God brought her all the way to Brazil to break through some of her walls of protection as well. This is the thing I love most about these trips…the way God works in each person, molding them into who He wants them to be. The interior work here seems accelerated because all the things we used to define ourselves or create security are stripped from us and we are left unguarded and vulnerable. You will see some people close off as best they can and others who yield to what God is doing. It is beautiful to witness.

And in closing, I want to share one students’ story with you. Her name is Cristy. She is a petite little thing from Guatemala. Her desire is to go to India and work with Muslim women. She loves giving manicures and massages and her plan is to work in a gym in New Delhi that caters to Muslim women. She will provide those services and while doing so, begin to build relationships. Although she knows going to India, as a single woman, is a hard life, she has a heart for the women there who do not know about Jesus.

Ok...enough for today. Thanks for joining us on this incredible journey.

Grace and peace,
Deb

drama, drama, drama

A short blog today, as we are leaving for Ouro Preto. This is the same city that Team One went to. We were concerned that since the students had already been there they wouldn’t want to go back but they are very excited to show us around. It is a good break from the normal routine and a great way for them to practice their English as they translate for us.

But, before we go I want to tell you about yesterday. The students did one of their famous drama performances. This time is was the Little Red Hen. What a treat! They practiced their lines, made costumes and even wrote and performed original music! It was fantastic. Pictures do not do it justice but it is the best I can do for now.

We also played a rousing game of Jeopardy. The students are very, very competitive but also very forgiving. Just for those of you who need all the information…the girls won! :0) The guys really struggled with the category “Jewelry”. One said ‘collar’ for necklace. It was hilarious. You can only imagine how many times we laughed. Who knew learning could be so much fun.

Ok…that’s all for now. I will write more on Sunday.

Blessings,
Deb

transformation

Yesterday we had another surprise. One of the students was up early and in the classroom studying so we took team meeting outside. We had been hoping to see some monkeys like the other teams but we were greeted by….three calves. Yes, you read that right…three calves. They walked right up our driveway and into our meeting. They licked one team member’s leg, and licked some of our clothing. They would wander in and out of our circle. If the presence of the cows weren’t enough, the dogs were going crazy. We ended up stopping early. I could not compete with three curious calves!

Last night we had a celebration for one of our students who will be leaving us tonight. Ricardo is going home. He has been here for five weeks, while his wife and a young son wait for him. Although he would like to stay, responsibilities call him away. The cooks made him a delicious cake, the team and students pitched in to get snacks and we watched a movie. It was a bittersweet time as we prayed for him and his future ministry with the knowledge that in less than 24 hours we would be saying goodbye.

One of the most surprising aspects of a missions trip is what God seems to do in the lives of the team. I am always asking them to be paying attention to what God is doing in them, how He is speaking to them. Yesterday in team meeting, two members shared what they think He might be doing in them. One talked about beginning to grasp that God and others could really love her. Another talked about how there is a lot of tough stuff going on at home and surprisingly, here, she has a sense of peace. She senses that God is asking her to give up control and surrender these situations to Him.

Another way that we hear God speaking is through scripture cards we read every morning. A wonderful woman, at Living Word, makes cards for each team member, one for each day we are here. There is a verse on the front of the card and a personal message from her on the back. It is amazing how often the verse or her message speaks exactly to what we may be experiencing that day or may be exactly what we need to hear. I know it is an incredible investment of time and energy but it is so meaningful to all of us…thank you, Cindy!

We are enjoying every minute we have here. Thank you all for your prayers.
Love,
Deb

surprises

Life here is full of pleasant surprises. Our yard has a variety of trees. Off the back porch there are banana trees, a mango tree, a papaya tree and an orange tree. Although we are in the midst of a Brazilian winter, some plants have beautiful blooms on them. The days are pleasant, in the 70’s and the evenings are a bit cooler but none of us have been cold. We open the windows in the morning. There are no screens so it is very different to have such a feeling of openness. But, as evening approaches, we close the windows to keep out mosquitoes.

We have a couple of additional house guests. Two small lizards have taken a liking to our home. One resides in the kitchen, hanging out up by the beams. He comes out later in the day and watches the activity. I cannot imagine why he would choose to live in such a noisy room. The floor is tiled and the sound reverberates off everything. It is not a quiet, peaceful place where one might think lizards would want to hang out. Lizard #2 has chosen to live in the closet of one of the bedrooms. He talks at night and adds to the chorus of animal sounds we’ve gotten use to hearing during the time God designed for human beings to sleep. Remember that confused rooster? Still confused.

None of us mind our little house guests. We actually look forward to them coming out. The other day, some of the team saw a lizard outside that was a bit larger…too big to have as a house pet. No one really minds. But, it does raise a question. Last night, I woke up around 2 am. Once awake I had a really hard time going back to sleep. I began to think about the fact that our windows had been wide open all day and that anything could have crawled inside. Although I haven’t seen any yet, I am convinced that there must be some very large varieties of spiders here. I mean, we are in Brazil! Honestly, what would it take for a spider or an ‘outside’ lizard to come in and hide in our rooms…under our blankets? I took a lot of prayer and probably an hour of tossing and turning before I went back to sleep.

Besides the fact that we don’t have lizards roaming about freely in our homes, there are other things are done differently here. Take making coffee for example. In the morning, we put a pot of water on the stove. Then we put a filter in a basket. The ground coffee goes into that filter and then the basket sits on top of a thermos. The water is poured into the basket until it is full. You wait until it has dripped through the grounds and then add more. In about 10 minutes, we end up with a thermos full of coffee…very good coffee. It is much different than filling my coffee pot at home and setting the timer so it is ready when I get up in the morning. It is amazing that something we might, at first, see as an inconvenience becomes an opportunity to be mindful and slow down the pace of your life.

Tomorrow I will highlight some of what we see God doing in both the students and in the team.

Until then,
Deb

Typical Day

Let me begin by contradicting myself. There never is a ‘typical’ day here! There are always twists and turns that keep life very interesting.

At 7 am, several people need to go out and feed the chickens, carry the trash to the end of the road (if you had to do this you would never again complain about taking the trash to the garbage can). When I say the end of the road I mean it is probably ¼ of a mile…and not level. We also need to feed the dogs and last, but not least….well, maybe least liked of all the chores, we need to clean up after the dogs, if you know what I mean. Poop patrol. Who, when they sign up for a missions trip, ever, in their wildest dreams, think that will mean cleaning up doggie doodoo? No one. Hmmmm, I wonder if anyone will ever sign up for the EnglishBridge trip again????? Think of it as character building…cleaning up dog droppings helps to develop the virtue of humility. I know…that’s a stretch.

At 8 am we have a team meeting. This is just the US team. We check and see how everyone is doing…health-wise, sleeping, culture shock, etc. Jenn goes over what she will be teaching in the classroom. We also take some time to discuss where we sense God working in us. It is easy to see what He is doing in the program but we also want to pay attention to what He is doing in each one of us. Some of the most amazing transformations I have witnessed in others’ lives began when they were on a missions trip.

At 8:30 we eat breakfast which is usually fresh baked bread, jam, peanut butter and fruit. There is also plenty of wonderful Brazilian coffee. At 9 am we enter into a time a worship. The music portion is student led. They do a wonderful job. Then one of the team members gives a brief devotion. At 9:30 class begins. This morning Jenn gave them a new ‘idiom of the day’…’a needle in a haystack’. Yesterday it was ‘when pigs fly’ The students love them and then try to work them into conversation every chance they get. And you know from yesterday’s blog that there is also a verb of the day…today’s was ‘to suffocate’. I really don’t know where she is getting these verbs! :0)

We went over future tense verbs, definite and indefinite. Fun stuff. Not really. But Jenn makes it seem pretty painless. We play games like Bingo and memory to help re-inforce what they are learning.

We break at noon for lunch, which you now know is awesome. The entire team loves the food and we love the cooks. Every day they leave us a surprise…some type of cake, so we have a lovely dessert for evening.

At 1 pm, we have another class period. Today they began to practice a play, The Little Red Hen, which they will perform on Friday. At 1:30, we have language helper time which is a time where the students can ask questions and get individual help with vocabulary or grammar. We have a break from 3 – 5 for rest, walking, sleeping, etc. 5 pm is large group game. Last night we did the Human Knot. The students and team had a great time trying to ‘untie’ themselves. Then the students taught us two games they like to play. It was a relaxing time for the entire group to be together. Before dinner we have time to play cards, Scrabble, Phase Ten…small groups games. Again these times provide great opportunities for casual conversation. Occasionally, we will have a movie. Although the students love movies, we limit this activity as it doesn’t allow for a lot of interaction.

6 pm is dinner and clean up and afterwards we have conversation or play games. Although the schedule remains the same, each day is unique in the types of conversations and interactions that the students are having with the team.

Again, I have written a book. But I always feel there is so much more to tell. We want you (families, friends, past team members, churches) to be a part of this experience. So please forgive my detailed blogging. In the future you can just plan on spending a good chunk of your day on reading this blog. I think it is a good use of your time.

Tomorrow I will focus on some of the unique things we are seeing and experiencing here.

Until then,
Deb

Settling in....

This is a long one so brace yourself.

Things are finally settling in here. It is difficult to come into the program on a weekend as there is little structure and we are all trying to get to know each other. The team is doing well and is trying to adjust to the night sounds of geese honking, dogs howling and a confused rooster who never got the message that he should start his crowing when the sun comes up!

Our flights were great and all our luggage arrived with us, which was a relief. Our wonderful Brazilian guide, Cris, was waiting for us at the airport and our adventure in Rio began. We were taken to the hotel to unload the luggage and take 20 minutes to freshen up and then we were off. We walked to a smoothie bar and had wonderful fruit smoothie drinks with some granola.

Cris was so much fun. She had interesting observations, some of them about the team. She looked at Jenn and named her the White, White Girl because of her light complexion. She saw that Alice had her toe nails painted (with little flowers on the big toes) and said that is very popular in Rio…but only among the young girls…no one over forty! We had so much fun. She was an excellent guide and I am so thankful for her time with our team.

We then went to the statute of Christ the Redeemer. What an incredible sight. Not only were we able to look at this amazing statute but we were also able to have a 360 degree view of Rio. It is a huge city, full of contradictions. There are immense skyscrapers, luxury hotels and beautiful beaches. There are also communities called slums, where it appears that houses are built upon houses, carved into the hillsides. The crime rate here is unimaginable, with some neighborhoods being so bad that no one goes there after dark because gangs shoot at each other and bullets rain over the cars. Crime is so bad here that the police are not even trusted. In fact, right outside of the airport, we got pulled over by the police for a document check and our guide told us to close the windows because many times the police are not really police, but robbers. She said that much of the police force is corrupt.

We then drove past Copacabana Beach where there are sections for various kinds of people. There is the family section (I believe that was section #8), the gay section (you’ll find that at section #9 – easy to find because there is a large rainbow flag marking it), the drug section, etc. After sightseeing we went to a Brazilian steakhouse. The food was delicious and the staff was very kind. Once we were finished with dinner, we went to Ipanema Beach (all day long we were trying to remember the tune for the Girl from Ipanema!). It had begun to rain so after a quick wade in the ocean and a brief time of shopping in an outdoor market we were all ready to go back to hotel and get some sleep.

We were up at 5 am to be ready for breakfast at 6, and then picked up at 6:30 to go to the bus station. That’s when the trip got really interesting. Cris had taken us into the bus station and took us to our platform, #12. When the bus arrived and we went to board, we were told we were in the wrong line. Fortunately, our bus was in the next bay and we didn’t miss it!

We then began our 7 hour drive to Vicosa. The ride was not without its strange moments. If you have read the previous blogs you know that I tell on myself. So here goes. I went to use the bathroom on the bus. The road was crazy, winding back and forth, up and down. I had finished what I went in there to do and was standing up and about to come out. I had my back to the door and the driver swerved. I fell back, hit the door and it sprang open. Out I flew to the amusement of the children and families riding in the back of the bus! There we are laughing at me in Portuguese. And every head on the bus had turned to see what the racket was. It will go down as one of my very embarrassing moments. But, Alice had what could have been the MOST embarrassing moment. We had stopped at a bus stop and she took advantage of the bus not moving, to use the bathroom. Before we took off, the driver counted heads to make sure everyone was on the bus. He, apparently, wanted to make sure he counted everyone so he yanked open the bathroom door to see if there was anyone in there to count. Thankfully, Alice was fully clothed and about to leave when he opened the door. She looked at him and said ‘hello!” I think all of us will think twice before using the bathroom on the bus again.

Finally we arrived at the Vicosa bus station, were picked up and taken to meet Team Two to prepare for the transition. We had a lovely time with everyone on Dan’s team and then left to go to the house and meet the students. After introductions and some brief conversations, the team was ready for a good night’s sleep (this is before the dogs, geese and chickens and confused rooster got started).

Today we began our first day of class. Jenn began with ‘The Verb of the Day’…to “linger”. It is a new verb to the students and Jenn used an interesting illustration to help explain it. She shared with them the common experience of going into the bathroom after someone else and noticing the smell still there after the other person is gone. The smell is an example of ‘lingering’ The class busted up laughing and it took a few minutes for us to pull it together…ok...it took me more than a few minutes to pull it together. After the class, one of the language helpers offered Jenn another example she could use in the future, of a woman walking through a room wearing perfume and the smell lingering after she left. Great example but given the illustration Jenn used, I suspect the students will smile every time they hear the word ‘linger’. :0) She did a wonderful job teaching today.

We are falling in love with these students. They are an incredible group of people and I know they are going to impact us greatly.

Sorry for the length of this post…the next one will be shorter but I had a weekend to catch you up on! So…tune in tomorrow for more on our adventures in Brazil.

Bye from me and rest of the team…Lisa, Sue, Alice, Pam, Deb S, Jeanne and Jenn,

Deb

Greetings from Brazil!!!

After a couple of very tiring days we finally arrived at the house with the students. The team is healthy and doing fine. We had a lovely worship service this morning. The students led the singing for us and then Alice gave a talk about us all being part of one body. Pam played two flutes solos and it was a very nice morning.

We’ve had many adventures over the past three days. When I have time I will fill you in.

Thank you for your prayers. We can feel God’s presence in this place.

Grace and peace,
Deb

Team 3

Team 3 arrived safely in Vicosa last evening, with all of their luggage I might add. They are tired but excited to begin working with the students. Team 2 will be leaving Vicosa this morning to begin the long trek back to the US. Please pray for their safe return and transition back into their lives at home.
Deb will update you as soon as she is able on how the team and students are doing.
Blessings,
Ann

Final Days

Well here we are…it is Friday and this will be the final post for Team 2 from Brazil. Our time here has passed so quickly. Who would believe that it is already almost time to go home? This morning Team 3 should have arrived in Rio de Janeiro and we will transition with them Saturday afternoon. Our hearts are heavy as we begin to deal with leaving our students. The students are feeling it too. First they bonded with Team 1 only to have them leave and be replaced by a team of strangers. But in the two weeks we have been here we have formed new friendships with these students. Yesterday I talked with a student who was struggling with her heart being broken again by our team’s departure and that she will have to begin again with a new team. But as we talked she also understood that this is a part of her missionary training; meeting people, developing friendships and leaving these new friends will be a regular part of her work as a missionary.

This morning the students performed the Three Little Pigs for us. Everyone had a big laugh as the students gave a spirited presentation complete with costumes and props. I always enjoy the skits performed by the students and it is one of the highlights of our two weeks here. I’ve included pictures from the presentation and of our entire cast.

Our classroom time after the presentation was spent playing games to review what the students have learned over the last four weeks. You can think of it as a fun mid-term test. We played bingo, jeopardy and other board games designed to reinforce the lessons the students have learned so far. After lunch, we will head into town for one last chance to do some shopping. The students will serve as our guides and translators as we deal with the local shop owners. But as always here at English Bridge, the teaching never stops. Yesterday the students learned about directions and commands and today’s shopping trip, complete with a map of the area, will give us another opportunity to teach to the students.

I also wanted to take a moment and give our thanks and appreciation to the cooks. Marisa and Cida have faithfully walked to our home six days a week for the last four weeks. Just like an army marches on its stomach, our group wouldn't work without the effort they put into preparing our food. Each day they have prepared our lunch, an afternoon treat and a light supper for the sixteen of us to enjoy. And even more importantly, they have been a joy to be around and have learned to say 'good morning, 'thank you' and 'your welcome' in English. I enjoyed the food we had in Argentina but I actually believe that the food here has been better. For some of us, it is a good thing we’ve had our afternoon walks to work off all of the food we have eaten.

Finally, thanks to everyone at home that have read this blog and prayed for us during our time here. You have been just as important a part of this experience as we have been. For many on our team, our participation here would not have been possible without your prayers and financial support. We appreciate the opportunity you have given to us and the students thank you for the opportunity you have given to them. Because of the international makeup of the teams they will work on and the common English language they will use, the work done here will travel around the world to spread God’s word.

See you soon,

Dan and Team 2

Fabiana

Today I wanted to spend some time highlighting another of the students. Fabiana is 30 years old and comes to the program from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Fabi is the older of two children. Before studying to become a missionary, she studied chemistry. Fabi has been a regular participant in our after dinner discussions and last night I heard her talking to others about the tribulation and end times with some of the other students and members of our team. She is also a regular competitor in what has become our nightly game of HORSE and she has put me out of the game more than once. She also has a nice singing voice and has helped out with our morning worship.

Fabi currently works in her church with her pastor as she trains to enter the mission field. Right now she is planning on going to Tunisia (in Northern Africa) to do mission work amongst the Muslims there. Although her heart is set on working in Tunisia, she has been recently told by her pastor that she may be asked to serve elsewhere. Although she is a bit confused by this recent possibility of change, she is leaving her mind open to serving God wherever she is called to go. Please pray for Fabi as the decision on where she will go will be made in the near future.

I also wanted to spend a little time today talking about our Brazilian wildlife. First is the wildlife in the house. We are fortunate on our team to have Shelly who is a massage therapist. Over the last two weeks everyone in the house has benefitted from a neck massage. Last night when she was finishing up with a massage, the group started getting a bit silly and we ended up with a massage chain with each person giving a massage to the person in front of them. In the picture is Aline giving a massage to Shelly who is giving a massage to Carol who is massaging Debra who is massaging Robson who is massaging Daniel. Not pictured is Bianca who is receiving a massage from Daniel and giving a massage to Christy. We have grown very close to the students over the last two weeks and hopefully have formed friendships that will last beyond this time together.

As reported by Team 1, from time to time we have been visited by the local monkeys. Last week we could hear them in the trees and even caught a glimpse of a tail as they scurried away. But yesterday we had four of them visit us behind the house. In the trees behind the house is a tree with pods growing from them. It looked like the monkeys were eating these pods. There were two types of pods on these trees. Some had dried and were brown. When opened, the seed in the pod was similar to popcorn and was impossible for me to chew. But in the green pods, the seeds were still soft. I tried a few and I thought they tasted like a bean. If you look closely in the picture, you should be able to see three monkeys.

Half of our team toured the CEM (Center of Evangelical Missions) campus yesterday afternoon and the other half will go there today. CEM is affiliated with Interserve International and their campus has a two year program to train missionaries to go into the field. They also offer post graduate classes for pastors and missionaries. CEM is our hosting organization and they were responsible for finding the students who are taking part in this program. It would be impossible for us to do this program without them and we are thankful for the support they have given us during our stay.

This morning our thoughts are turning to Team 3. Thursday is the beginning of their travel day and we pray that their travel goes smoother than ours. I talked with Deb yesterday and she has reminded all of her team to pack their most important items in their carry-on luggage. We are happy that we were able to contribute to their preparation for the trip. As their journey begins ours is drawing to an end. We talked this morning at our team meeting and many on our team are not looking forward to leaving the students but are thoughts have begun to return to home.

Blessings from Brazil,

Dan and Team 2

Birthday Party

Yesterday we had the good fortune of being able to celebrate a birthday in our group. It was Shelly’s birthday and of course we had to use the opportunity to have a party. Late last week we talked to the cooks (with the students translating for us) and explained that we needed a birthday cake. We decided on a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and purely by accident picked Shelly’s favorite flavor of cake. The cooks added a coconut filling and it tasted much like a German chocolate cake. I think we managed to pull of the surprise and Shelly told us it would be a birthday she would never forget.

Many of the students enjoy playing basketball during group activity time. Rather than sitting and playing cards, this group will shoot hoops. As an example of how teaching occurrs while we play, we taught the students how to play HORSE. We get to show the students how to spell a new word plus explain the instructions to a game they had never played before now. Last night the girls beat up on the guys with Aline and Fabi winning two of the three games we played.

Most nights after supper we break into groups and play games with the students. But last night at two of the dinner tables we became involved in theological discussions. I was amazed at the ability of the students to discuss complex issues in English. At one point I told Carol and Cristy that I thought they were about ready to preach a sermon in English. The students struggle with confidence more than ability. Apart from needing an occasional translation, we had no trouble having these discussions and understanding their point of view.

Today’s vocabulary lesson involved breakfast foods. The language helpers opened the lesson with a skit showing a couple at a restaurant ordering breakfast foods. Not to be outdone, the students were able to put on skits of their own on the same theme. Of course, the students’ became much more involved using costumes and props in their self-prepared skits. The second picture shows Robson, Aline, Irene and Daniel in the first skit while the third picture shows Fabi, Carol, Cristy and Ricardo. The final picture is of waitress Carol who clearly won the award for best costume. By the end of the morning the students were asking for pancakes and maple syrup (which many of them have never had) and all of us were hungry for a traditional US breakfast.

Everything else is going well here and the team is in good health. This morning at our team meeting we commented on how fast the time has flown by and that it will be the end of the week before we know it. Our thoughts and prayers are with Team 3 as they begin to prepare for their travel to Brazil.

Blessings from Brazil,

Dan and Team 2

Our Weekend Excursion

Hi everyone. Sorry it has been so long since I last updated the blog. As Ann noted two weeks ago, the weekend of our offsite excursion is a very busy one. We were up early on Saturday morning for our trip to Parque Estadual da Serra do Brigadeiro, a state park located about two hours east of Vicosa. If you wanted to try and find this on a map, we entered the park near the city of Araponga. Although the trip took about two hours by van, I would estimate the park was only about 50 or 60 miles from where we are staying. However, the road was steep and winding as we climbed the mountains to the park.

Once we left Vicosa and began to climb in elevation, the first thing we noticed was the coffee fields. Along the hillsides was field after field of coffee plants. It was harvest time for the coffee and in yards we would see the coffee beans laid out to dry. We would also see people out “raking” the coffee. As the coffee beans dry, someone needs to turn or rotate the beans so they would dry evenly. This needs to be done five times a day until the coffee is dry. Then it is bagged up and transported to a plant that will roast the beans. At some properties that looked like very small farms, there would be large concrete pads to spread the coffee beans on but even in small yards the beans would be laid out on the ground. In the first picture, you can see an example of the coffee fields on the hillside at the entrance of the park.

Once we arrived at the park, we toured a visitor center and watched a video of the animals that are unique to the park. Included in these was a type of monkey on the protected list as it is almost extinct. There are only about 1,200 of these monkeys remaining in the world and about 400 of them are in this park. We all hoped to see a monkey during our day but we were not so lucky.

The second picture is of six of our eight students at a scenic viewpoint we stopped at in the park. From left to right is Fabi, Carol, Irene (front), Aline, Cristy and Robson. Daniel was not in the picture and Ricardo was away with his family for the weekend. In the background you can see some of the Brazilian forest that is native to this area but is becoming rarer as the area is developed. Part of the purpose of the park is to protect the nature and wildlife unique to this part of Brazil.

Shortly after we arrived to this viewpoint, we began to hear a strange noise that most of us thought sounded like heavy trucks or construction equipment operating in the area. When we asked what it was, we were told it was a type of monkey and they were calling to each other; probably alerting the group of our arrival. It lasted for a few minutes but by the time I thought to try and use the video on my camera to record the sound it was over and they did not start up again.

There was a waterfall about 3 miles from the scenic viewpoint that we had hoped to see but the van drivers were unsure of the road conditions and didn’t want to drive us there. We considered walking there and back but some in the group were hesitant to do so; especially with the steep grade of the road. Nothing was flat here and although the downhill walk may not have been bad, some were dreading the uphill portion of the trip. So instead we walked to another area of the park for lunch. This area of the park contained the original home of the private landowner who owned the coffee plantation before this became a park. Here we ate our packed lunch before heading back to the van for the trip home.

About halfway home we stopped in the city of Canaa for some ice cream or Coca Cola. In the final picture, you can see Daniel and Carol scooping out their ice cream while others of our group are wandering about the shop. If you don’t see the person you’re looking for in the picture, look closely at the mirrors at the top of the photo and you might see their reflection. After our refreshment stop, we boarded the vans for the ride home but the excitement for our day was not yet over. Just outside of Vicosa there was a police roadblock where we were asked to pullover. There were different versions of what might have been happening while we were pulled over but at one point the police were giving our van driver quite a lecture. He explained that there was confusion over his documents but others wondered if it was just an opportunity for some ‘payola’ to be exchanged. After about a half hour of waiting we were off again for the remainder of our trip home. We arrived back to the house shortly before supper. There was talk of a movie for the night but many were tired from the days travel so some went to bed early while others stayed up and played games.

Sunday is a relaxing day at the house. We have a church service in the morning that lasts from 10 until just before lunch at noon but this is the only thing formally scheduled for the day. John gave a wonderful presentation on the fruits of the spirit and I think many of the students and the US team were moved as he identified the fruits he had seen in us during our time here. After another great lunch (I haven’t had a bad meal since I’ve been here) a group of us walked into the center of Vicosa in search of an ATM. Many on our team had not yet found an ATM that they could use with their cards and they were concerned they would not be able to buy gifts or souvenirs before we left. It was a good walk (about 3 miles each way) and just what the doctor ordered for those in the group looking to get out and move a bit. Of course there was another ice cream stop along the way but we figured we had walked enough to earn the reward.

We were back in class this morning and it was much like a Monday at home. Everyone was dragging a bit this morning and hesitant to get back in the swing of things but by midway in the morning we were all back in the routine and learning about desserts and prepositions. I would guess that most of our students here now know more about a dangling participle than those of you reading at home. I’ll be back tomorrow with pictures and the story of a special party we will share this afternoon.

Until then,

Dan and Team 2

Daniel

I wanted to use part of today’s blog to profile another of our students; Daniel.
Daniel (pronounced closer to Danielle than our English Daniel) is 26 years old and is from Santiago, Chile. Daniel lives at home with his 21 year old brother. His educational background is computer science and he currently has an IT (information technology) job with a company in Chile. He has worked well with his language helper John who also works in the IT field. Daniel and John even speak a third common language as I’ve listened to them talk their computer language during language helper time.

Daniel is a quiet young man who is always thinking and asking questions. He wants to learn English and would like to see the English Bridge program come to Chile. Daniel will be traveling to a Muslim country in October. He asked that I not put his last name or his actual destination on the internet since the area of the world he will be going to is not open to Christian evangelism. Once there, Daniel will be officially working for a university and unofficially with other missionaries inside the country.

Daniel, along with Ricardo, is one of our two guitarists during morning worship. I am always amazed and envious of people with musical talent and Daniel and Ricardo are as good as any I’ve seen. I mentioned in a previous blog that we were teaching new chorus songs to the students during our morning worship time. Yesterday we had written out the words to Chris Tomlin’s “Holy is the Lord”. Neither of them had heard the song before but after a half an hour of listening to the song on an iPod, and listening to John and I sing (although I doubt that helped much), they had pretty much figured out how to play the song on the guitar. They even had to improvise a fret for their guitar to play the song properly…so…an eraser, felt tip marker and rubber band later the problem was solved. This morning during worship you would have never guessed that Daniel had never heard the song before last night.

Today in class, after learning about meats, the students were given their roles for the next skit they will perform in class. Last week with Team 1, the students performed ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. Next week, the students will perform ‘The Three Little Pigs’ for us. Roles were passed out to the students today and they will have a week to rehearse, prepare costumes and props for their performance. Check back late next week for photos from the show.

Pictures...Finally

We have been trying to upload pictures to the blog since we arrived last weekend. The problem has been that when the pictures from my camera were downloaded to the computer, the file size was too large. When we tried to upload the pictures to the blog, I would wait 30 to 45 minutes and the file would still not be done loading. Because we are using a dial up connection to access the internet, this would tie up the phone line at the house. But thankfully, God gives each of us different talents. One of our language helpers, John, works regularly with computers. He showed me how to convert the file to a smaller size and I believe we have solved the problem of loading pictures to the blog. The first picture is of Team 2 at Impanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro last Friday.

The students continue to do well with their English studies. The past couple of days have been difficult subject matters regarding direct objects, present tense continuous verbs and past tense continuous verbs. If you are feeling a bit lost as I mention these subjects, don’t feel bad. As Joan was teaching this morning, even the language helpers are looking at each other with puzzled looks on their faces. We tell our students we just know how to speak the language; not teach it. Every year I participate in this program I think the students have a better grasp on these difficult grammar subjects than we do. It seems to me to be difficult lessons to teach but we are fortunate that Joan loves to teach grammar. I believe it is another example of God putting the right person in the right place at the right time.

Today during our free time, many of us walked down the hill from the house to the small shops near the main street. We purchased some popcorn and soda and have decided to watch a movie this evening after supper. The road down to the street is very steep and most of us believe we burned enough calories during the walk to splurge a bit this evening.

Another gift we are fortunate to have in our home is students that love music and have a talent for it. John and I have been talking for a couple of days about trying to teach some new chorus songs to the students. Every morning before class we have a time of worship and devotion. During our worship, the students lead us in some familiar choruses that we all know and love. While some of us were walking today, John, Ricardo and Daniel spent their free time going through some songs line by line and writing out the words so we could use them in class. Here is a picture of our students (Ricardo on the guitar, Robson using a pan for percussion and his wife Aline who is our worship leader) as they spontaneously worked on the new song, I Could Sing of His Love Forever.

Well the evening chores are done, I can smell the popcorn popping and someone is calling “Showtime” so I better close for now. I will blog…and send more pictures…at the next best opportunity.

Having a ball in Brazil,

Dan and Team 2

Luggage Arrives

The story of the lost luggage is finally over. We had all but given up on receiving the luggage on Monday but about 8 o’clock last night it was finally delivered. Frustratingly there were things we had brought with us that were removed from our luggage somewhere during the delivery process. But in the big picture it was more of an annoyance and sense of violation than anything else. It almost seems like roadblocks keep getting thrown into our path but we refuse to surrender to them and press on. Hopefully Team 3 will learn from our adventure and will pack the things they need most in their carry-on luggage.

The weather continues to be cooler than we are accustomed to this time of year but still very nice. Light jackets or long sleeves are needed in the morning and evening but short sleeve shirts are all that is needed during the day; much like a sunny spring day in Michigan or Pennsylvania. I feel for our students from Guatemala, Cristy and Irene, who have found the weather to be very cold compared to their home. Late yesterday afternoon for our large group activity we were able to go to the university here in Vicosa. The campus is very beautiful and it is common for people from the community to come here to walk along the river. There are two universities here in Vicosa and the one closest to the CEM campus is an agricultural school. This week there is an agricultural exhibit on the campus. It would be similar to our county fair but smaller and without the animals or midway. Just like at home, there were car dealers and farm equipment dealers displaying their products. And, just like the county fair there were vendors selling ‘fair food’. Some of our team and the students sampled the churros. Picture a food similar to an elephant ear but tubular in shape and about 6-8 inches long. It is deep fried and was sweetened with cinnamon and sugar and the hollow part of the tube was filled with a filling. The most popular choices were either dolce de leite (similar to caramel) or chocolate.

We didn’t spend much time looking at the farm equipment but there was a building that was filled with booths. Much like a flea market, you could go from booth to booth and see the products that were for sale. Many of our team took the opportunity to shop for local items that they could take home as souvenirs and gifts. Jan (a teacher at CEM, the mission school helping us with the program) and her husband went with us and told us our team was spoiled because we had been able to leave the English Bridge house every day since we had arrived. But from here until our excursion on Saturday things will return to normal.

Continue to pray for the health of our team and the students and that we can overcome the arrows being thrown our way. I appreciate and am encouraged by the good attitude our team.

Blessings from Brazil,

Dan

Team 2's Adventure

It feels like it has been a long time since we left home but it was only a few days ago. Let’s just say it has been an adventurous weekend of travel that we hope will come to an end today. The Michigan and Pennsylvania members of our team left our homes to go to the airport and all seemed well. The Michigan team even got so far as to board our plane for the flight to Atlanta only to learn that Atlanta was having some bad storms and all flight activity in and out of the airport had been grounded. We were told that we would have to get off the plane and that Atlanta was expecting at least a two hour wait before we could leave. I was able to talk to the Pennsylvania team and found that they were also delayed by the weather.

After what ended up being about a 3 hour delay, the Michigan team was allowed to board the plane again. As soon as the plane was fully boarded, the pilot announced that weather was causing problems in Atlanta again. Because of the high number of delayed flights, he was working hard to find a slot we would be allowed to use to land but he could promise nothing and we could have another 2 hour delay. Our 5 hour layover in Atlanta was quickly shrinking. We could not get in contact with our Pennsylvania team members and assumed they were in the air.

After sitting on the plane for about 30 minutes, the pilot finally announced that we had a window to arrive in Atlanta and the Michigan and Pennsylvania members of Team 2 were finally united. Fortunately, our Atlanta departure to Rio had been rescheduled from 8:30 until 10:00. In the end, we ended leaving Atlanta about 11:30 and arrived in Rio late Friday morning. We thought our travel troubles might be behind us but the best was yet to come. As we watched others retrieve their luggage it became more and more evident that we had a problem. All of the luggage for the Michigan team did not make the connection from Atlanta to Rio. It would have been an easy moment for team members to panic so far from home with so much of what we have packed not being with us. But it has also been a great learning experience. We reflected this morning in our team meeting that there is so much in life that we think we need but are really just luxuries that we can live without. Between buying underwear and socks in a Walmart-like store in Rio, t-shirts, shorts or flip-flops from street vendors and simply sharing our excess with those that have less, we have all managed to survive the ordeal. We were told the luggage would arrive yesterday (Sunday) but it did not come. Delta has assured us it will arrive today. We are hopeful but have a wait and see attitude.

Friday was a wonderful day in Rio. Like Team 1, Cris our tour guide and Lu our driver, took us to visit the Christ statue in Rio. Our day was not as clear as Team 1’s but the clouds came and went. On the top of the mountain we felt like we were walking in the clouds. It rained briefly as we left the statue but stopped raining by the time we got to Impanema and Copacabana Beach and we were able to walk the beach and some of us even ventured out into the Atlantic Ocean…a first for all of us in the Southern Hemisphere. The churrascaria (or Brazilian barbeque) was wonderful and most of us ate way too much food.

Our transition meeting with Team 1 went well and then we were off to the house to meet the students. The students have been wonderful! I was anxious about the transition. Many tears had been shed when Team 1 left and I was worried that the students would be hesitant to bond with us. But it has been exactly the opposite. They have welcomed us into their home and by the end of the day I felt like we were with old friends. Of course, the students were in hurry to teach us how to play Dutch Blitz and Sunday evening about half of the group was up until almost midnight playing games.

Classes started this morning and everything is going smoothly. Hopefully the luggage will come today since our teaching materials were included in the lost luggage. This afternoon during our large group activity we will be a attending a ‘farmer’s fair’ at the University that many in are group are looking forward to. Continue to pray for growth in the relationships that are forming, for the English we will be teaching and for the health of our group.

We're trying to keep the phone line open in case they call regarding the luggage so I will upload pictures later.

Happy to be here,

Dan

Team Two settles in...

Just a brief note to let you know that Team Two has arrived safely in Brazil. They are bonding well with the students and getting settled in. They are all healthy and doing fine.

One small glitch…our Michigan team arrived in Rio but their luggage did not. They made a brief stop at a local Rio Walmart (I know…they are everywhere!) and got some essentials. They are expecting to be re-untied with their clothes sometime tomorrow. This is the very reason we are always talking about the need for flexibility. You never know what might happen but we are always looking for where God is showing up in the middle of it all…even in the difficulty times.

But friends and family, rest assured, they are all doing well. Dan will be blogging soon.

Thank you for keeping the teams and the students in your prayers…

Grace and peace,
Deb (Team Three Leader)

Saying goodbye

This morning was full of laughter and smiles. The students put on a presentation of Goldilocks and it was hilarious. (Left to right...Carol, Irene, Cristy, Aline, Robson, Salete, Ricardo, Daniel and Fabi). They all had different roles to play. Daniel, the teddy bear of the group, portrayed baby bear as a rap singer. Once again Robson had a skirt on as he held the lead of Goldilocks. He is definitely the comedian of the group.

After the show we had lunch and then spent some time worshiping and sharing about our time together. I do not believe that there was a dry eye in the house. We spoke about all being parts of one body and how we work together and are connected to each other. I know that each of us will take a part of the others with us when we leave. Although we are here to teach English, the friendships that we develope are sometimes more valuable than learning language.

Tomorrow we will spend the day with the students as we prepare to leave. Team 2 is in Rio and will be arriving in Vicosa tomorrow afternoon. Both teams will have dinner together as team 1 shares with team 2 about the students. Team 1 will then spend the night in a B & B and then leave Sunday morning for the ride back to Rio. Team 2 will take over the helm at the house on Saturday night.

The program has been a wondful expereince for all of team 1. We have grown closer together and are honored to call the students our new friends. I know that team 2 will enjoy the time with them as much as we have.

I will not be blogging tomorrow as it will be a very busy day. Dan will take over and keep you updated on the progress of the program. Thanks to all of you for your prayers as we have felt them and know the program would not have been as successful thus far without them.

Ryan has been working with Robson as his language helper. He offered to prepare the latest installment of the student profiles.

Robson (pronounced Hobson) and his wife Aline are the only married couple in the English Bridge Program. Robson is a Physical Therapist, and Aline is studying Theology. They are from the city of Londrina in Brazil. Their caring and outgoing personalities as well as Robson’s unique sense of humor have endeared them to us as life long friends.
The life dream of this couple is to go to disaster ridden areas around the globe and bring the light of Jesus to those who have lost everything in floods, earthquakes, or cyclones as in Myanmar. Robson and Aline are drawn to Indonesia or to Myanmar where they want to begin an orphanage for children left without parents by the disasters. They have already worked with flood victims in the city of Banco De Sangue in the northeastern part of Brazil.
As I spoke with Robson and Aline their biggest concern is the hostility the governments of Myanmar and Indonesia towards foreigners and especially foreign missionaries. They are also having trouble leaving friends and family behind in Brazil (Aline especially). Please pray for this brother and sister in Christ that God would go before them to open doors, keep them safe and comfort their fears.

Ryan

July 9, 2008

Our favorite guests joined us yesterday. The monkeys were playing in the trees again but this time closer to the house. The students were just as excited as we were. The way the monkeys were looking at us I almost expected them to pop out cameras and take pictures of us.

For those of you who are curious about our living conditions, here’s some information for you. There are 17 of us sharing 3 bathrooms with 2 showers. So far this has been working out well and there is only occasionally a line at the bathroom door. We are split up in to 4 bedrooms with bunk beds. The biggest issue with the bedrooms is the snoring. Thankfully this is primarily happening in the men’s bedroom so the women don’t have to worry about it. There are 2 cooks who come every morning to prepare lunch and supper for us. They are thrilled that we love their food. From a cultural perspective, we found out that in the state of Minas Gerais, where we are, if you do not have seconds on your meal then the cooks think you do not like the food. This has not been a problem for the team as we are thoroughly enjoying the food and are more than willing to have seconds.

The yard encircles the house and has many different fruit trees and other forms of vegetation. It has been rather cool here (approximately 40 F in the morning) so once the sun comes out we all enjoy being in the yard and soaking up the sun. The chickens and 2 geese haven’t quite decided what to do with all of the people who have invaded their space but they seem to be handling it well. Many of the students and team have been taking walks in the neighborhood. It is a very beautiful area. The one thing we are not used to is the hills. We are surrounded by them. The only way I can think of to describe them is to picture the steep hills of San Francisco. For those who live in flat areas this has been quite an adjustment.

The whole setting is perfect for an immersion program. We are secluded in our own little world and we all love it!

Many of you have asked how you can pray for us. Many of the students are homesick and are struggling with being away form their families. Please pray that they will be able to adjust to the separation. The team is doing well very well. None of us really want to leave this weekend. We have become so close to the students that it will be very hard for us to say goodbye. It will also be difficult for the students. It is amazing how much of a family you can become in such a short period of time. Please pray that God will prepare all of our hearts for the good-bye.

My apologies for not writing sooner. We were traveling all day Saturday and yesterday was very busy.

Our travels on Saturday took us to Ouro Preto. Ouro Preto means black gold. This city is famous for mining gold and also gemstones. At one time there were 2700 gold mines here. Now they are all closed as the gold is gone. At the height of the “gold rush” there were many churches built and ornately decorated in gold. One church in particular is famous for containing approximately 250 lbs of gold. Of interest is the fact that there is a famous sculptor from Ouro Preto who had leprosy. He sculpted one of the churches by tying his tools to his hands because he could not hold them. And how, you may ask, do I know all of this information? It is because the students translated it from Portuguese for us! They did a fabulous job keeping us informed of all the information. I think that they surprised themselves at how well they did. The picture above is of Ricardo translating in front of the church that the man with leprosy sculpted.It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the time together.

Yesterday morning we held a church service. It is so beautiful to worship together. The students love to sing so we chose some of their favorites for the service. Daniel and Ricardo took turns playing the guitar that we had borrowed from the neighbor for the morning. All of the US team took part in the message portion of the service, sharing about how God transformed them in to a new creation. We then opened things up for everyone to share. Several of the students commented on how they know that our program is a gift from God and it has been a blessing to them and their ministry. They spoke about how we are all part of one body and we need each other. I dare say that there were a few tears shed all around.

There is a large agricultural university here in Vicosa that sits alongside a river and is absolutely beautiful. Yesterday afternoon we took a walk through the campus and then conveniently found ourselves at an ice cream shop. It was fun to have the students translating all of the flavors for us. At many restaurants here you pay by the kilo which means you take as much as you want and they weigh it for you. For the US team this was great because we could try small scoops of many flavors. It was all delicious!

Let me continue the story of Carol from a few days ago (picture above).Her full name is Carolina. She is 23 and is from the northern part of Mexico. She will be traveling with a partner from the south of Mexico to India to work with one of our ministry partners, Gio. She is excited about going but is also nervous. She will be there for 2 years and she is very concerned about the separation from her family. As the baby in the family, she is very close to her mother and father. She told me that this program is good for her because it is helping her to being to adjust to being away from her family. When I asked her how her parents feel about her serving in India for 2 years she
said “It is hard for them but they knew me before Jesus”. She then explained that they told her that they would prefer that she go away with Jesus rather than stay home without Him.

As hard as it is for the team to be away from their families for 2 weeks, we are humbled by the sacrifices the students are making. Over the next several weeks we will be sharing with you about the students and their plans. Here is just a brief introduction to them.

Robson (Hobson), 27, and his wife Aline (Ah-lee-nee), 24, are from the Sao Paulo area in Brazil. They will most likely be going to Indonesia or Myanamr within the next year.

Daniel (Dan-ee-el), 26, is from Chile. He will be leaving for a muslim country in October for 2 years, serving as an IT specialist. He has been my saving grace for computer problems.

Irene (EE-ren-ay), 34, is from Guatemala and will be going to India for 2 years. Although she is only about 4 feet tall, the term small but mighty epitomizes her.

Cristy, 33, is also from Guatemala and is waiting for a partner to go to India with. She plans to serve for 2 years.

Salete (Sa-lay-ch), 45, is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil and is a pastor there.

Ricardo (Hee-car-dough), 30, is also from Belo Horizonte. He is a musician and music teacher. He plans to go to Austin, Texas in November or December to go to the University of Texas. His wife and son will join him there.

Fabiana (Fah-bee-ah-na, but she prefers to be called Fah-bee), 31, is also from the Sao Paulo area and is possibly going to Malaysia.

It has been such a blessing to get to know all of the students and to come to love them. Over the next several weeks we will share more about them with you.

Tchau (chow-which is goodbye in Portuguese),
Ann

P.S. I forgot to mention that we have a team meeting every morning. Yesterday we had 2 additional members. Much to our surprise there were 2 monkeys playing in the trees in the yard. Needless to say our meeting was cut short while everyone tried to take pictures!!