Thursday, April 29, 2004
Wednesday, April 28th ' 04
ERA: I woke up at 6:30, before the alarm went off. I thanked God for giving me another day, rushed downstairs, made a cup of coffee and went to the living room to read over my notes for our devotions. As usual Margo rushed in, made our breakfast of scrambled eggs, left over bacon, cheese, croissants and fruit and the Brazilian coffee we all enjoy.
We had 45 minutes before going to the villa. I shared with the team what the Holy Spirit has done in my heart, I called it the Survival Kit for Daily Living.
i) toothpick – to remind us to pick out good qualities in others.
ii)rubber band – be flexible, things might not always go our way, but trust in God and he will work things out.
iii) Band-aid – to remind us too heal hurt feelings, yours and someone else's.
iv)Pencil – to list our blessings every day.
v)Eraser- we all make mistakes and that is okay.
vi)Chewing gum- Stick with it! We can accomplish anything through God.
vii)Mint-in God's eyes, we are worth a mint
viii)Candy kiss- to remind us that everyone needs a kiss or a hug everyday.
ix)Tea bag- reminds us to relax daily, go over one's list of blessings.
We all thanked God for His precious words, that teach us the truth, corrects, rebukes our error, instructs us for right living.
We reached the favella just in time for Narendar's 10 o'clock class of 12 boys for English. Garth was a guest teacher, Jeanette and I were students. We learned few Portuguese words, ie. Days of the week and numbers 1 – 10.
Narendar “Professaru” as the children call her, is doing a fantastic job with these kids. They adore her and respect her. While we were in class, the rest of the team cleaned up the back room. Margo and Steve went to get the Combi (van) fixed.
Around 12:00, Garth, Sister Pam and Verna went to visit Adriana and her newborn baby boy. He was born a month early and weighs 4lbs 1/2oz. Shares a tiny little house with 4 other siblings. The team has blessed them with gift bags and prayed for the kids. After that, the team walked over to the other side of the tracks for lunch. For 4 Raille (2 Canadian dollars), you get chicken (frango), beef (carne de vaca) and salad. Lisa was not feeling well, she hardly ate anything. Satan never likes to see God's people doing His work. He attacks us through sickness, discord, and confuses us. (But Lisa was a trooper.) In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, we can overcome anything. Praise God.
Narendars afternoon class starts at 2 oclock, so went back to the vila. Verna, Gareth and Jenntte participated in the class. Sisters Pam, Lisa & I cleaned up most of the garbage around the front of the centre. You see life here is not all shopping / vacation. Dolores painted some of the childrens desks in the back. Things get done very quickly if all pitches in.
After we have finished Lisa felt like napping. I found it so funny when she said 'God please don't let the dogs get into our rubbish'! Narendar asked us to leave it on the ground outside as an experiment to test the local garbage collection facilties. Apparently there are some, but VFC has never used them before.
Eran
ERA: I woke up at 6:30, before the alarm went off. I thanked God for giving me another day, rushed downstairs, made a cup of coffee and went to the living room to read over my notes for our devotions. As usual Margo rushed in, made our breakfast of scrambled eggs, left over bacon, cheese, croissants and fruit and the Brazilian coffee we all enjoy.
We had 45 minutes before going to the villa. I shared with the team what the Holy Spirit has done in my heart, I called it the Survival Kit for Daily Living.
i) toothpick – to remind us to pick out good qualities in others.
ii)rubber band – be flexible, things might not always go our way, but trust in God and he will work things out.
iii) Band-aid – to remind us too heal hurt feelings, yours and someone else's.
iv)Pencil – to list our blessings every day.
v)Eraser- we all make mistakes and that is okay.
vi)Chewing gum- Stick with it! We can accomplish anything through God.
vii)Mint-in God's eyes, we are worth a mint
viii)Candy kiss- to remind us that everyone needs a kiss or a hug everyday.
ix)Tea bag- reminds us to relax daily, go over one's list of blessings.
We all thanked God for His precious words, that teach us the truth, corrects, rebukes our error, instructs us for right living.
We reached the favella just in time for Narendar's 10 o'clock class of 12 boys for English. Garth was a guest teacher, Jeanette and I were students. We learned few Portuguese words, ie. Days of the week and numbers 1 – 10.
Narendar “Professaru” as the children call her, is doing a fantastic job with these kids. They adore her and respect her. While we were in class, the rest of the team cleaned up the back room. Margo and Steve went to get the Combi (van) fixed.
Around 12:00, Garth, Sister Pam and Verna went to visit Adriana and her newborn baby boy. He was born a month early and weighs 4lbs 1/2oz. Shares a tiny little house with 4 other siblings. The team has blessed them with gift bags and prayed for the kids. After that, the team walked over to the other side of the tracks for lunch. For 4 Raille (2 Canadian dollars), you get chicken (frango), beef (carne de vaca) and salad. Lisa was not feeling well, she hardly ate anything. Satan never likes to see God's people doing His work. He attacks us through sickness, discord, and confuses us. (But Lisa was a trooper.) In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, we can overcome anything. Praise God.
Narendars afternoon class starts at 2 oclock, so went back to the vila. Verna, Gareth and Jenntte participated in the class. Sisters Pam, Lisa & I cleaned up most of the garbage around the front of the centre. You see life here is not all shopping / vacation. Dolores painted some of the childrens desks in the back. Things get done very quickly if all pitches in.
After we have finished Lisa felt like napping. I found it so funny when she said 'God please don't let the dogs get into our rubbish'! Narendar asked us to leave it on the ground outside as an experiment to test the local garbage collection facilties. Apparently there are some, but VFC has never used them before.
Eran
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Monday, April 26th
Some of us were up as early as 7 am, and we all had breakfast together at 8 am. For breakfast we enjoyed boiled plantain, avocado, honey dew melon and boiled cassava (Some of us are still acquiring a taste for this.)
We left for the villa at 9 am and had our first flat tire in less than 5 mins. Steve and Garth changed the tire while the rest of us took pictures and made up songs.
We arrived at the villa at a quarter after ten, and Narinda was waiting for us. Margo left with all of our laundry. It took her all day to do the laundry for seven people – hard work for Margo.
Narinda took Era and Verna to visit Adriana and her new baby in the villa. The baby was premature and at one month old, she weighs about four pounds. The little baby brings up after feeding, Era and Verna provided the mother of the baby with some health education. This family lives in a one and half room house that serves as a bedroom, kitchen and living room for four children and the baby. Era and Verna had to walk across a thin plank over top of the gutter to enter the home. These days the temperature gets as low as five degrees, and the baby had no hat on. Therefore, the mother was glad for the layette that our team provided. Before leaving, Era and Verna prayed with the mother and her children.
Afterwards, Narinda took Dolores and Jeanette to visit a women recovering from breast cancer. This lady shared about her cancer treatments and talked about the recent death of her mother at home. She showed Dolores and Jeanette pictures of her while she was sick and her family. She requested prayer because she needs cataract surgery. Dolores and Jeanette took time to pray together.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team played and sang songs with local children. Steve, Garth, Verna and Lisa also worked on repairing and painting school desks for the children.
After lunch, Narinda took members of the team through other areas of the villa. The team saw just how poor living conditions are. Even so there were children finding ways to play, including a little boy who used a plastic bag and cassette tape for a makeshift kite.
Dolores, Pam and Steve left the villa ahead of the team to use money donated to the team before leaving Canada to buy a shelving unit and two storage cabinets for the community centre. The remainder of the team bought some coffee and chocolate in the villa to help support the local economy.
After supper and at the end of the day, everyone was tired physically and mentally but uplifted spiritually.
Verna
Tuesday, April 27th.
We all had breakfast together at 8am. Today, breakfast included papaya, boiled plantain and bananas. Garth lead devotions after breakfast, and then we all piled into the van to visit a municipal market. We saw lots of fruits, nuts and vegetables. Members of the team supported the local merchants by buying some of their produce.
After lunch, the team arrived at the villa. We preformed our songs and taught the children, If you are happy and you know it. We also preformed our drama about The Creation, and Garth taught the children about sharing the love of God. Pam (Nessa) talked to the children about the fairness of God, and then all of the team made balloon animals and gave out gifts that were donated for the children. It was wonderful and touching to see and hear the children smile and laugh. The presence of God was evident to all of us.
Afterwards, Verna and Era assisted one of the new moms to carry the gifts of her other children home. Their house was small with bits of carpet on the floor and a blanket over the door. The house, despite the condition, was still their home, for all of the children removed their shoes before entering. This was a very humbling moment for members of the team to witness.
Back at the community centre, the woman needing cataract surgery returned to tell the team that a date with the doctor had been set. She asked the team to continue praying for her -- for healing, comfort, and the blessing of God.
At the end of our day, Margo prepared an authentic homemade Chinese dinner for us all. The food was wonderful, and we spent the rest of the evening enjoying ourselves.
Jeanette
Some of us were up as early as 7 am, and we all had breakfast together at 8 am. For breakfast we enjoyed boiled plantain, avocado, honey dew melon and boiled cassava (Some of us are still acquiring a taste for this.)
We left for the villa at 9 am and had our first flat tire in less than 5 mins. Steve and Garth changed the tire while the rest of us took pictures and made up songs.
We arrived at the villa at a quarter after ten, and Narinda was waiting for us. Margo left with all of our laundry. It took her all day to do the laundry for seven people – hard work for Margo.
Narinda took Era and Verna to visit Adriana and her new baby in the villa. The baby was premature and at one month old, she weighs about four pounds. The little baby brings up after feeding, Era and Verna provided the mother of the baby with some health education. This family lives in a one and half room house that serves as a bedroom, kitchen and living room for four children and the baby. Era and Verna had to walk across a thin plank over top of the gutter to enter the home. These days the temperature gets as low as five degrees, and the baby had no hat on. Therefore, the mother was glad for the layette that our team provided. Before leaving, Era and Verna prayed with the mother and her children.
Afterwards, Narinda took Dolores and Jeanette to visit a women recovering from breast cancer. This lady shared about her cancer treatments and talked about the recent death of her mother at home. She showed Dolores and Jeanette pictures of her while she was sick and her family. She requested prayer because she needs cataract surgery. Dolores and Jeanette took time to pray together.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team played and sang songs with local children. Steve, Garth, Verna and Lisa also worked on repairing and painting school desks for the children.
After lunch, Narinda took members of the team through other areas of the villa. The team saw just how poor living conditions are. Even so there were children finding ways to play, including a little boy who used a plastic bag and cassette tape for a makeshift kite.
Dolores, Pam and Steve left the villa ahead of the team to use money donated to the team before leaving Canada to buy a shelving unit and two storage cabinets for the community centre. The remainder of the team bought some coffee and chocolate in the villa to help support the local economy.
After supper and at the end of the day, everyone was tired physically and mentally but uplifted spiritually.
Verna
Tuesday, April 27th.
We all had breakfast together at 8am. Today, breakfast included papaya, boiled plantain and bananas. Garth lead devotions after breakfast, and then we all piled into the van to visit a municipal market. We saw lots of fruits, nuts and vegetables. Members of the team supported the local merchants by buying some of their produce.
After lunch, the team arrived at the villa. We preformed our songs and taught the children, If you are happy and you know it. We also preformed our drama about The Creation, and Garth taught the children about sharing the love of God. Pam (Nessa) talked to the children about the fairness of God, and then all of the team made balloon animals and gave out gifts that were donated for the children. It was wonderful and touching to see and hear the children smile and laugh. The presence of God was evident to all of us.
Afterwards, Verna and Era assisted one of the new moms to carry the gifts of her other children home. Their house was small with bits of carpet on the floor and a blanket over the door. The house, despite the condition, was still their home, for all of the children removed their shoes before entering. This was a very humbling moment for members of the team to witness.
Back at the community centre, the woman needing cataract surgery returned to tell the team that a date with the doctor had been set. She asked the team to continue praying for her -- for healing, comfort, and the blessing of God.
At the end of our day, Margo prepared an authentic homemade Chinese dinner for us all. The food was wonderful, and we spent the rest of the evening enjoying ourselves.
Jeanette
Monday, April 26, 2004
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Another wonderful day in Curitiba. We're enjoying ourselves immensely, and our hosts –Steve, Narinder and Margo-- are wonderful! They're very patient with our many, many questions and our eagerness this weekend to take in different sites and opportunities to 'stop and shop.'
Today began like other days with a relatively early start – 8:00 AM (7:00 AM Ontario time). Nessa and Era prepared a wonderful breakfast with food we bought at a local market yesterday. We enjoyed good ol' scrambled eggs and, who would have guessed, some Canadian sausage! That's right. We travelled all the way to Curitiba to enjoy a taste of Canada. We savoured some fried bananas and fresh pineapple (that someone before I got up was kind enough to core). After a delicious breakfast, we prepared to set out for another day.
Since church wasn't until 5:00 PM, we spent the morning and early afternoon at an outdoor shopping market in Curitiba. Local vendors and artisans set-up along 9 or 10 adjacent streets to sell their goods. Items range from clothing to paintings to sculptures to woodworking to food to spices to . . . well, I think you get the picture -- just about everything you could hope to find at the Brazilian equivalent of Toronto's Kensington Market or St. Jacob's Market. We all came home with a 'little' something, including some thank-you gifts for Narinder and Margo because of the way they toured us around so graciously.
From the market, we made our way to the mall. The mall we went to was much like the Bramalea City Centre or Toronto's Eaton's Centre – only smaller. We weren't there to shop but, rather, to warm up a bit. Yes, that's right – warm-up a bit. We were told by Voice for Change to come prepared to dress in layers, and today was that kind of day. The temperature dropped to about 5 degrees, which is low for this time of year in Curitiba (even though it is about to enter its winter). Once we warmed-up and ate a late lunch in the mall's food court, we returned home to get ready for church at 5:00 PM.
The church we attended is evangelical, and the service reminded me of Pentecostal services that I have attended in Canada. There were three translators who sat with us so that we could understand God's word being spoken in Portuguese. The service opened with lots of singing, followed by prayer, some readings from the Gospel and a wonderful sermon about the importance of taking your faith to heart. The church was full, with about 700 people attending. Following the service, the minister took a few minutes to pray with us as a team. We all left feeling rejuvenated and ready for another day.
But before another day, our hosts ended this day by taking us to a local restaurant with a very Brazilian name – Waldo's! We enjoyed the food, and now we are preparing for another day of work and ministry in the favellas. This weekend has seemed more like a holiday than a mission trip. We all feel blessed by what we have experienced these past two days, but now we are ready to do some more ministry in Curitiba.
Boa noite (Portuguese for 'good night').
Garth
QuickHit@steveonamisssion.c0m
Another wonderful day in Curitiba. We're enjoying ourselves immensely, and our hosts –Steve, Narinder and Margo-- are wonderful! They're very patient with our many, many questions and our eagerness this weekend to take in different sites and opportunities to 'stop and shop.'
Today began like other days with a relatively early start – 8:00 AM (7:00 AM Ontario time). Nessa and Era prepared a wonderful breakfast with food we bought at a local market yesterday. We enjoyed good ol' scrambled eggs and, who would have guessed, some Canadian sausage! That's right. We travelled all the way to Curitiba to enjoy a taste of Canada. We savoured some fried bananas and fresh pineapple (that someone before I got up was kind enough to core). After a delicious breakfast, we prepared to set out for another day.
Since church wasn't until 5:00 PM, we spent the morning and early afternoon at an outdoor shopping market in Curitiba. Local vendors and artisans set-up along 9 or 10 adjacent streets to sell their goods. Items range from clothing to paintings to sculptures to woodworking to food to spices to . . . well, I think you get the picture -- just about everything you could hope to find at the Brazilian equivalent of Toronto's Kensington Market or St. Jacob's Market. We all came home with a 'little' something, including some thank-you gifts for Narinder and Margo because of the way they toured us around so graciously.
From the market, we made our way to the mall. The mall we went to was much like the Bramalea City Centre or Toronto's Eaton's Centre – only smaller. We weren't there to shop but, rather, to warm up a bit. Yes, that's right – warm-up a bit. We were told by Voice for Change to come prepared to dress in layers, and today was that kind of day. The temperature dropped to about 5 degrees, which is low for this time of year in Curitiba (even though it is about to enter its winter). Once we warmed-up and ate a late lunch in the mall's food court, we returned home to get ready for church at 5:00 PM.
The church we attended is evangelical, and the service reminded me of Pentecostal services that I have attended in Canada. There were three translators who sat with us so that we could understand God's word being spoken in Portuguese. The service opened with lots of singing, followed by prayer, some readings from the Gospel and a wonderful sermon about the importance of taking your faith to heart. The church was full, with about 700 people attending. Following the service, the minister took a few minutes to pray with us as a team. We all left feeling rejuvenated and ready for another day.
But before another day, our hosts ended this day by taking us to a local restaurant with a very Brazilian name – Waldo's! We enjoyed the food, and now we are preparing for another day of work and ministry in the favellas. This weekend has seemed more like a holiday than a mission trip. We all feel blessed by what we have experienced these past two days, but now we are ready to do some more ministry in Curitiba.
Boa noite (Portuguese for 'good night').
Garth
QuickHit@steveonamisssion.c0m
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Saturday, April 24, 04
Our day off.(sigh) Today was relaxing. We got up at 5:00 to get ready for a 6:30 pick up. Remember, we are on mission, three ladies share the room that I'm in and a couple also share our washroom. It's managing to work out, I guess b/c we're waking up so early. First thing, we took a train ride up to Morretes from Curitiba, about 3 hour ride up a mountain. We were kind of excited about relaxing, the spectacular scenery and being among friends when suddenly a band of grengos from Rio de Janiero boarded aswell. They carried with them some instruments cases and a very large puppet. They announced that they would sing for us, actually – it was a children's song and they were filming a video and asked for our participation. We were to sing a simple lyrics to a simple tune... ask the team, to sing it. “Train du ferre, Train du ferre”. Looks French so I probably have it misspelled, but it means iron train, or train of iron. Well, they decided that they would start singing at the beginning of our train ride and we felt like we were gonna loose our minds because they sang the song the entire ride! “Train du ferre, train du ferre”, was sung relentlessly, continuously, successively and endlessly. When we actually got off the train du ferre in Morretes, we were all a little crazy. LOL. We enjoyed walking around this quaint little town, it reminded me of Terre Cotta (for the Canadians) and Hoboken ( for the Yanks) and wore our cameras (Era with her binoculars) proudly around our necks, taking pictures and looking into the sky and stopping suddenly in front of people. Tourists. We dined at Madalozo, another delicious restaurant where we over ate AGAIN. Anyway, off to the beach we went as the bright blue sky turned grey and hung over us, threatening to rain, and of course it did. We reached the beach about an hour later and Era, Jeanette, Garth and Pam went for a dip, while Verna and Dolores soaked their feet in the tide. “The water was beautiful, but I got tired fighting with the waves...” gasped an exasperated Era, “even Garth was screaming!” We relaxed, prayed in silence and returned home to get ready for Youth Church which started at 7:30pm. We met a new friend from Mississauga who translated the sermon and songs. It was an amazing service, young people were worshipping the Lord and having fun doing so, God is at work in Curitiba and His Holy Spirit was encouraging and ministering to us. We went back home at around 10:00pm, ordered pizza, most importantly CHOCOLATE PIZZA and loved every moment of it. Today we were in awe of God's creation -the rain forest back drop, the ability to enjoy Him in His house, and for our health and safety. God is so good.
Our day off.(sigh) Today was relaxing. We got up at 5:00 to get ready for a 6:30 pick up. Remember, we are on mission, three ladies share the room that I'm in and a couple also share our washroom. It's managing to work out, I guess b/c we're waking up so early. First thing, we took a train ride up to Morretes from Curitiba, about 3 hour ride up a mountain. We were kind of excited about relaxing, the spectacular scenery and being among friends when suddenly a band of grengos from Rio de Janiero boarded aswell. They carried with them some instruments cases and a very large puppet. They announced that they would sing for us, actually – it was a children's song and they were filming a video and asked for our participation. We were to sing a simple lyrics to a simple tune... ask the team, to sing it. “Train du ferre, Train du ferre”. Looks French so I probably have it misspelled, but it means iron train, or train of iron. Well, they decided that they would start singing at the beginning of our train ride and we felt like we were gonna loose our minds because they sang the song the entire ride! “Train du ferre, train du ferre”, was sung relentlessly, continuously, successively and endlessly. When we actually got off the train du ferre in Morretes, we were all a little crazy. LOL. We enjoyed walking around this quaint little town, it reminded me of Terre Cotta (for the Canadians) and Hoboken ( for the Yanks) and wore our cameras (Era with her binoculars) proudly around our necks, taking pictures and looking into the sky and stopping suddenly in front of people. Tourists. We dined at Madalozo, another delicious restaurant where we over ate AGAIN. Anyway, off to the beach we went as the bright blue sky turned grey and hung over us, threatening to rain, and of course it did. We reached the beach about an hour later and Era, Jeanette, Garth and Pam went for a dip, while Verna and Dolores soaked their feet in the tide. “The water was beautiful, but I got tired fighting with the waves...” gasped an exasperated Era, “even Garth was screaming!” We relaxed, prayed in silence and returned home to get ready for Youth Church which started at 7:30pm. We met a new friend from Mississauga who translated the sermon and songs. It was an amazing service, young people were worshipping the Lord and having fun doing so, God is at work in Curitiba and His Holy Spirit was encouraging and ministering to us. We went back home at around 10:00pm, ordered pizza, most importantly CHOCOLATE PIZZA and loved every moment of it. Today we were in awe of God's creation -the rain forest back drop, the ability to enjoy Him in His house, and for our health and safety. God is so good.
Friday, April 23, '04
Hello, greetings from Brasil. Lisa here again, with all the updates about God's work in Curitiba. If you can believe that today was better than yesterday... His blessings are knew every morning! Today we went back to the villas and ministered in drama and song. We were well received by the children and their moms. We took lots of pictures, prayed and made balloon aniimals for the children – their apprecitation was so moving. God's spirit was at work and some of us were moved to tears. We went to a Christian neighbour's house – they own a bakery and we bought lunch and ate it back at the villa. Since it rained the road was very muddy, they do not have pavement and even the wild dogs were seeking shelter from car splashes.
Next, we were off to the local clinic, received information from Dra. Claudia and Maria Beatris. The health care in Brasil is free of charge to those people who live in a recognized village. Since the “villas” are slums and basically, people are sqautting on the land, they do not have readily available healthcare and have to travel to a clinic closest to their vicinity. This small clinic was built to accommodate 10 000 people per year. Since the population in the villas are booming, the number of patients seen per year is 30 000!! (Makes you think twice about complainiing at home when your appointments are kept, huh?) We toured the facility since it closes every Friday for a thorough cleaning, it opens later in the afternoon for patients not neediing to see a doctor. The facility is very clean and modern, there's a dental operatory, three dentists and two hygienists (maybe 3, LOL).The medications that we had brought from Toronto, you know the meds that we miraculously were able to bring in... was accepted. Praise God for His provisions!! We all were overjoyed, especially Dolores who had to go through a lot of red tape and bore a lot of responsibility for this. Remember, this could have had serious consequence, and GOD PROVIDED THE WAY.
By evening, when we left, we were exhausted by refreshed in our spirits. God allowed us the ability to perservere!! AND... our immediate reward was a dinner at the Currascuria. Brasilian BBQ, lots of meat, a large salad bar, desserts as far as the eye could see (no our budget didn't allow for that part, LOL). But it was a great dinner, great company, Narendar, Margo and Steve also, and great joy in the spirit. Keep praying for us, unity, safety, blessings, joy. God is good.
Hello, greetings from Brasil. Lisa here again, with all the updates about God's work in Curitiba. If you can believe that today was better than yesterday... His blessings are knew every morning! Today we went back to the villas and ministered in drama and song. We were well received by the children and their moms. We took lots of pictures, prayed and made balloon aniimals for the children – their apprecitation was so moving. God's spirit was at work and some of us were moved to tears. We went to a Christian neighbour's house – they own a bakery and we bought lunch and ate it back at the villa. Since it rained the road was very muddy, they do not have pavement and even the wild dogs were seeking shelter from car splashes.
Next, we were off to the local clinic, received information from Dra. Claudia and Maria Beatris. The health care in Brasil is free of charge to those people who live in a recognized village. Since the “villas” are slums and basically, people are sqautting on the land, they do not have readily available healthcare and have to travel to a clinic closest to their vicinity. This small clinic was built to accommodate 10 000 people per year. Since the population in the villas are booming, the number of patients seen per year is 30 000!! (Makes you think twice about complainiing at home when your appointments are kept, huh?) We toured the facility since it closes every Friday for a thorough cleaning, it opens later in the afternoon for patients not neediing to see a doctor. The facility is very clean and modern, there's a dental operatory, three dentists and two hygienists (maybe 3, LOL).The medications that we had brought from Toronto, you know the meds that we miraculously were able to bring in... was accepted. Praise God for His provisions!! We all were overjoyed, especially Dolores who had to go through a lot of red tape and bore a lot of responsibility for this. Remember, this could have had serious consequence, and GOD PROVIDED THE WAY.
By evening, when we left, we were exhausted by refreshed in our spirits. God allowed us the ability to perservere!! AND... our immediate reward was a dinner at the Currascuria. Brasilian BBQ, lots of meat, a large salad bar, desserts as far as the eye could see (no our budget didn't allow for that part, LOL). But it was a great dinner, great company, Narendar, Margo and Steve also, and great joy in the spirit. Keep praying for us, unity, safety, blessings, joy. God is good.
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Hi Friends:
Today we went to the VILLA (FAVELA).This was an amazing day. Narenda our translator guide and missionary showed us around the community centre. You should see the accomplishment that they have made in less than one year. They have made so much progress in such a short time. It was abroken down house and bar and they now have a room that is set up for teaching, recreation and just meetings. There is still much work to be done. Most of all it needs a proper roof. This we are a part of, because we raised the $2,500.00 that is needed to put the roof on the community centre. In the morning after we were shown around, we rehearsed our drama skit and songs that we had prepared for the children. Rafeal our translator assisted us in preparing the drama for presentation.
Lunch at the Cafe'(this meal was so inexpensive and good, I think I'll come here for lunch even after I return to Canada,just joking). We had an opportunity to see first hand the work Voice for Change is establishing amongst the ladies in the Favela. The ladies brought their children, (babysitting is provided) and proceeded to continue working on their crafts. They are learning skills that can provide income, while socializing and establishing relationships. It is amazing to interact and see thhe joy and satisfaction on their faces. God is opening my eyes to see that people have acommon bond even if their are language barriers. His love breaks down barriers. I can't believe today is better than yesterday. Stay tunned. Blessings, Nessa Pam
Today we went to the VILLA (FAVELA).This was an amazing day. Narenda our translator guide and missionary showed us around the community centre. You should see the accomplishment that they have made in less than one year. They have made so much progress in such a short time. It was abroken down house and bar and they now have a room that is set up for teaching, recreation and just meetings. There is still much work to be done. Most of all it needs a proper roof. This we are a part of, because we raised the $2,500.00 that is needed to put the roof on the community centre. In the morning after we were shown around, we rehearsed our drama skit and songs that we had prepared for the children. Rafeal our translator assisted us in preparing the drama for presentation.
Lunch at the Cafe'(this meal was so inexpensive and good, I think I'll come here for lunch even after I return to Canada,just joking). We had an opportunity to see first hand the work Voice for Change is establishing amongst the ladies in the Favela. The ladies brought their children, (babysitting is provided) and proceeded to continue working on their crafts. They are learning skills that can provide income, while socializing and establishing relationships. It is amazing to interact and see thhe joy and satisfaction on their faces. God is opening my eyes to see that people have acommon bond even if their are language barriers. His love breaks down barriers. I can't believe today is better than yesterday. Stay tunned. Blessings, Nessa Pam
Wednesday April 21, 04 (Brazilian National Holiday)
Hi everybody!! Thanks for checking in with us and for you continued support in prayer. Today we went to the home for the children that Voice For Change is helping. We met six wonderful children, five of whom had been orphaned by their parents, the other was the son of Darcy and Louis Claudio Borges, who live in the home and have custody of the children. We joined them for the entire day, and shared a time of playing and singing. The children were a joy to be around, and we were known to them as Tia and Tio (aunt and uncle), and when we pulled out our balloons to make animal toys for them, THEY had their own little tricks up their sleeves. These little kids were making dogs and hats and all sorts of little things, we were blown away. Instead, of us giving them balloon toys... they were giving them to us. A little boy named Luciano took a real shine to Pam, he would collect all the balloon animals and give them to her along with a kiss (beju?). I guess he knew who was in charge. LOL.
For lunch we had rice and beans, salad and chicken. Delicious (gostozo)! Then we were off to the Botanical Gardens (Jardim Botanic). We took a lot of pictures, inspected the maragolis influerences ( Marigolds), took a walk over a bridge where some giant goldfish were ominously loiteriing below for us to drop some food for them. We then saw the trees that my friend back home who liived inCuritiba told me about (Hi Daniela- don't worry I took pictures!). They were spectacular, they produce a huge green pine cone like fruit that contains seeds that you can cook and eat. (The squirrels have their own way of eating them, LOL). And yes, we managed to do some souvenir shopping too. Don't worry friends, you are all taken care of!
When we were finished we went back to the house, played more, gave the gifts that we had brought and fellowshipped over a BARBECUE. (Missionary work is tough – smile) We danced, prayed and sang for the rest of the night then left at 9:00pm. We headed home, most were exhausted, so we gathered in the lounge to unwind and have devotions, then turned in.
Shout outs:
:) lisa – hello to Jessica (thanx for the letter, tell T to check this ooout too. Xoxo)
Hi everybody!! Thanks for checking in with us and for you continued support in prayer. Today we went to the home for the children that Voice For Change is helping. We met six wonderful children, five of whom had been orphaned by their parents, the other was the son of Darcy and Louis Claudio Borges, who live in the home and have custody of the children. We joined them for the entire day, and shared a time of playing and singing. The children were a joy to be around, and we were known to them as Tia and Tio (aunt and uncle), and when we pulled out our balloons to make animal toys for them, THEY had their own little tricks up their sleeves. These little kids were making dogs and hats and all sorts of little things, we were blown away. Instead, of us giving them balloon toys... they were giving them to us. A little boy named Luciano took a real shine to Pam, he would collect all the balloon animals and give them to her along with a kiss (beju?). I guess he knew who was in charge. LOL.
For lunch we had rice and beans, salad and chicken. Delicious (gostozo)! Then we were off to the Botanical Gardens (Jardim Botanic). We took a lot of pictures, inspected the maragolis influerences ( Marigolds), took a walk over a bridge where some giant goldfish were ominously loiteriing below for us to drop some food for them. We then saw the trees that my friend back home who liived inCuritiba told me about (Hi Daniela- don't worry I took pictures!). They were spectacular, they produce a huge green pine cone like fruit that contains seeds that you can cook and eat. (The squirrels have their own way of eating them, LOL). And yes, we managed to do some souvenir shopping too. Don't worry friends, you are all taken care of!
When we were finished we went back to the house, played more, gave the gifts that we had brought and fellowshipped over a BARBECUE. (Missionary work is tough – smile) We danced, prayed and sang for the rest of the night then left at 9:00pm. We headed home, most were exhausted, so we gathered in the lounge to unwind and have devotions, then turned in.
Shout outs:
:) lisa – hello to Jessica (thanx for the letter, tell T to check this ooout too. Xoxo)
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Hi everybody, we arrived in Curitiba at around 3:00pm where we were greeted by the home team in Brazil: Narendar, Margo, Steve, Dr. Claudia and her husband among others. We had a bunch of triumphant stories about God brought us through our long flight and how we managed to get every single gift for the children in the flavellas into our luggage without having to pay extra or leave some behind – God provided. Aside from that we spoke of the beautiful sunrise that we were able to watch from our airplane window high above the clouds – God is faithful.
During our 11 hour flight from Toronto to Sau Paulo, we had a lot of apprehension as to HOW we would get two duffle bags full of controlled medications (!) across the border without consequence, and HOW would we get 10 duffle bags full of toys into the country without false suspicion that we had intention of selling them etc. When we got to the immigration counter and the officer I had asked absolutely no questions but greeted me with a big smile and a friendly hello, and as fast as he said that he had stamped my card and welcomed me to Sau Paulo. I was surprised and relieved to see that the rest of the team came through just as quickly. We all teamed in to retreive our heavy bags and load them on to little carts for declaration. Out of all the things we had, God allowed only Garth and Jeanette to be inspected thoroughly, and their bags contained no medications and a conservative amount of toys for the children. They later joined us, as our things were being loaded onto our final leg of travel... TO CURITIBA. God allowed us to get a porter that, for some reason really wanted to help us. When our luggage was too heavy, he persuaded the ticket agent to “let it go” in Portugese. What a blessing. (God can use anyone to accomplish his goals for his people.) We travelled our last 40 minutes in the air and did not have to go through customs in Curitiba. This portion could have taken hours as we were told by our team, since the Curitiba immigration officers are on strike, and have minimal disgruntled staff allowing clearance. Another blessing – God has a plan.
Upon arriving at Deb and William's home, we had a time of coffee, dispersed to our respective rooms, showered up and rested- God is faithful. The team had decided that we would have pizza for dinner at 6:30. Can you imagine, going all the way to Brazil to get pizza? I, for one, had my reservations, but when those beautiful pies arrived, we joyfully gave God thanks and ate to our stomache's content. We even had CHOCOLATE pizza, and as unappetizing as that sounds it was absolutely delicious. We finished our evening with a time of prayer and reflection, and a briefing on what our agenda would be for tomorrow.
Good nite!!
Lisa
QuickHit@steveonamission.com
During our 11 hour flight from Toronto to Sau Paulo, we had a lot of apprehension as to HOW we would get two duffle bags full of controlled medications (!) across the border without consequence, and HOW would we get 10 duffle bags full of toys into the country without false suspicion that we had intention of selling them etc. When we got to the immigration counter and the officer I had asked absolutely no questions but greeted me with a big smile and a friendly hello, and as fast as he said that he had stamped my card and welcomed me to Sau Paulo. I was surprised and relieved to see that the rest of the team came through just as quickly. We all teamed in to retreive our heavy bags and load them on to little carts for declaration. Out of all the things we had, God allowed only Garth and Jeanette to be inspected thoroughly, and their bags contained no medications and a conservative amount of toys for the children. They later joined us, as our things were being loaded onto our final leg of travel... TO CURITIBA. God allowed us to get a porter that, for some reason really wanted to help us. When our luggage was too heavy, he persuaded the ticket agent to “let it go” in Portugese. What a blessing. (God can use anyone to accomplish his goals for his people.) We travelled our last 40 minutes in the air and did not have to go through customs in Curitiba. This portion could have taken hours as we were told by our team, since the Curitiba immigration officers are on strike, and have minimal disgruntled staff allowing clearance. Another blessing – God has a plan.
Upon arriving at Deb and William's home, we had a time of coffee, dispersed to our respective rooms, showered up and rested- God is faithful. The team had decided that we would have pizza for dinner at 6:30. Can you imagine, going all the way to Brazil to get pizza? I, for one, had my reservations, but when those beautiful pies arrived, we joyfully gave God thanks and ate to our stomache's content. We even had CHOCOLATE pizza, and as unappetizing as that sounds it was absolutely delicious. We finished our evening with a time of prayer and reflection, and a briefing on what our agenda would be for tomorrow.
Good nite!!
Lisa
QuickHit@steveonamission.com
