Back to Brazil.

The team in Recife seeing the history of the city.

Brazil!  So this update is overdue and will be shorter than I want it to be.  We arrived in Recife, a city in the northeast of Brazil, at almost 1AM after 38 hours of travel.  We were exhausted but excited to start getting involved with the base there and the ministries.  We stayed in Recife for 3 weeks and were involved with many of the ministries there.  The base works with street kids and at risk youth.  They had a soccer program where kids in the community would be taught how to play soccer.  We helped train and play with them and then also visited their houses to talk with their families and pray for them.  We also  would go out onto the streets in the evening and talk with the kids and youth living there.  It was very impactful for both the students and the kids.

We also went to a few churches.  We shared dramas, testimonies, and sermons.  It was wonderful to see the churches welcome us with such hospitality and joy.  One oas f the churches we visited was a church I was with for a month 3 years ago, last time I was in Brazil.  It was so surprising to see the impact that was made.  Many of the church members recognized me on the street and were so excited to see me again.  We even had some time for a fun day to see some dolphins while there!

Doing a drama and giving testimonies at a church!

One of the biggest things we did during our time in Recife was build relationships with the other students and staff there.  There was another DTS getting ready for outreach and many of us bonded.  We prayed for one another, laughed with one another, cried with one another, and used a lot of google translate.  It was amazing to see how close we all became and how hard it was to leave each other. We also ended up doing a bit of maintenace to help clean the base!

Helping dig a hole so they can build a house for the animals!

Cleaning the area around our house since it was covered in goat poop and weeds.

 After Recife we went to Sao Paulo state.  We visited one of our students families and did some skate ministry.  While there our leaders, Stephanie and Omar, surprised the students with a visit!  We then went to a beach town where we did some amazing ministry at the skate park there.  We would talk with the people from the skate park and pray for them.  We also got involved with a local church and went to their small group and once agian build relationships with the people there.

After that we went to Soracaba for a weekend for a missions fair.  We worked with a church to help host it.  In the afternoon we invited kids to come play and went door to door asking people if they wanted prayer.  In the evening we had a small service and served foods from different nations while talking with the people there.  The next day we spent the day with the people from church, just talking and building relationship with them, and in the evening we gave the sermon alongside some testimonies!

The last week we have been working with a skate house here and will be for one more week.  After that we go Rio de Janeiro for a week before going back to Mexico!

When we get back I will be posting another blog about what we did and also another more personal blog about what my growth during this time as a leader.  Feel free to ask questions and as always, be praying for my team!