We have made it to Brazil safe and sound! As we spent our first full day on the Amor E Esperanca as we traveled, we bonded together as a group. At first when I read the list of names of the people on the trip I thought to myself about how it was a random group of people and no one will really bond...well God has proved me sooo wrong. I know for sure now that God hand picked this group of people for a certain reason and that each and everyone of us has His plan to answer to. There are no words to explain the beauty here. You can look off the boat and see every single star that God created, and you look at the tress and realize how every single one is created by His hands. It truly takes your breath away. God is so good! This morning after waking up from a night of brutal lightening storms we ate breakfast as a group and began to go out on our first day on land. We did VBS in a place called "The Invasion." This place is where kids and teens are raising themselves as their parents go back to the jungle to get money and make a living. We sang songs of praise and worship and performed passages of scripture for the kids as their laughter filled the room. A personal favorite from the crowd was the "fruits of the sprirt" song and dance. :) We made crafts and colored pictures, and the boys lost in a game of soccer to the natural Brazilian soccer stars!! As the day continued on, more and more children joined us! They would stand at the gates questioning if they should go in or not, and the second the stepped in the gates a smile grew upon all of their faces. The place was full and overflowing with the joy and happiness of God, and people could not turn away. I personally got to share my testimony to all the kids during VBS. As I told my story I listened to the translator repeat it to the kids and thought what a mighty God we serve! He is so great that He is praised in numerous languages!! We continued to play till the late afternoon, and Mr. Green was worn out after being tackled many times! Many of our students had created a special friendship with children here in the Invasion place. I had met a beautiful little girl named Sara. Sara was probably no more than two and clung to my hip as I spun her around singing songs to her. Sara had horrible scabs near her eye and mouth, but I disregarded them and continued to play and color with the sweet little girl. As I continued to play a woman came up and asked Sara what her scar was from. Sara said nothing, she was shy and her words still sounded as gibber gabber since she was a young toddler. The woman told me that she works with a company that goes searching for child abuse throughout the village. She said that Sara's scars did not look like she had just fallen, but that she had possibly been pushed or beaten by someone. I wanted to break down crying right there. How could someone hurt such a precious child of God?? After the woman walked away I held Sara closer wanting this child to know that she is loved by me and more importantly by a God of protection! As we left the place, multiple students left in tears as they realized that they would most likely never see these children again. The bus pulled out and the children began to run after us chasing the bus down waving. It proved to us all that the simplicity of kicking a soccer ball around or braiding hair meant the world to those children. We loved them and that was all they wanted, to be loved. Her in Parintins there is a festival that goes on in June. This festival is sponsered by Coca-Cola and there are two teams, the red and the blue. Parintins is the only place that you can buy a blue Coca-Cola can. This festival is based on old folk tales and stories. The people worship demonic creatures as they partake in the competitions of the two teams. This huge and famous festival brings thousands and thousands of people to the city and also brings prostitution, drinking, gambling and many more things. Our group got the chance to have a time or worship (led by Camryn Clark and Sheridan Ellis) and prayer in the stadium where the event takes place. In a stadium where sin happens, God was worshipped. We spread out around the stadium and covered the place with prayer. We prayed that God will work among the hearts of the people of Brazil. We finished the day off with some ice cream and have headed straight to our beds, since tomorrow will be an early start. Please continue to pray for us as we are fullfilling the plan of our great God. Pray for health as a couple of our team have grown weak due to dehydration. But mainly pray for the people of Brazil and that God will continue to work in this city and open hearts and minds as we students are His hands and feet! We love and miss you all so very much! Hugs and kisses are sent to the family members and friends of those on the trip! (and Mr. Green wants to give a special shout-out to his wife he says, "I love and miss you") Thank you for all the support and prayers!
-Claire Cowman 10th Grade
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