Final Chunk of Pictures!

Here's some final pictures. Enjoy!

Natasha, Ariane, and Kavan!

Natasha, Ariane, and Laís enjoying the camp!

Chase and Dakota, one of the Alabama church members, hoist around Daniel and Jardel, Natasha's host brothers.

Kavan enjoys lunch at camp with these fun ladies!

Chase makes a mud angel at the camp lake.

Time to leave the lake. It was messy but very fun!

Chase helps teach baseball to the Brazilians.

Natasha plays soccer!

The three of us at a lookout overlooking Belo Horizonte.

Kavan, Chase, and Natasha prior to going into a gold mine in Ouro Preto.

Yum!

Chase and Kavan pose with Cida, one of the church members. She loved these guys!

Kavan got a haircut from one of his students, Luiz.

Our Brazilian siblings, Lucas and Laís!

These are just a few snapshots of the people we met and the things we did. There's so much more to the story than pictures could ever say. We hope that you enjoy them, and if you want to know more, please ask! Thank you!

We're Home!

Hello everyone! It's time for one last update. We've arrived safely back to Kansas! We are glad to be back, and we're also very glad that everything went smoothly. All the flights were on time and some were even a bit early. All the luggage made it through as well. Customs went quickly. We were very thankful that everything went smoothly, especially in comparison to what we experienced on the way to Brazil. We consider it an answer to prayers!

We left on Sunday afternoon. After a smooth flight to Sao Paulo, we had some time in the airport to just relax and eat. The overnight flight to Miami went well, as did the subsequent flight to Dallas. We arrived there just before noon on Monday. There someone from the LST staff picked us up and took us to a hotel. After changing and showering, we went to a mall for lunch, a movie, some shopping, and dinner. It was good for the three of us to just spend some time together without any responsibilities or any time table. Later on, we went back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast there at the hotel. It was great to have an American breakfast again! It was very energizing. There were a couple other LST teams arriving from other parts of the world - Chile, Japan, Thailand, and Peru. Around ten we started our Endmeeting, or our LST debriefing. It was a time where we shared stories with each other of our individual projects. It was really great to hear about others' cultural experiences and to see the amazing different ways that God is working around the world. It was also fun to share our own experiences. After a lunch at the hotel, we finished up with the meeting before heading off to the airport again. We passed the time prior to our flight by taking the train around the entire airport . . . there was little else to do! The flight itself was relatively short. We were very glad once we got off the plan. We met Natasha's dad and sister there and Chase's family as well. Chase went with his family to spend some time together while Kavan and Natasha went back home to Manhattan. Everyone was so glad to be back home with family and friends!

With all that said, we can finally say that we've completed our mission. We had an amazing time. We made lifelong new friends. We learned about cultures and languages. We were served by incredible people. We had the chance to serve others. We learned more about ourselves, and (most importantly) we learned more about God. We may not (ever) know what our work accomplished, but we know that God has a reason for it and that He will use it for His glory.

With all that said, it's time to say thank you. Thank you for reading our blog. Thank you for supporting us, whether it was words of encouragement, donations, helping with training us, or prayer. It all meant so much to us and we could not have done it without you. Thank you so much!

That's about it! We will probably post another chunk of pictures in the next couple days, so stay tuned. Other than that . . . thanks for reading and God bless!

PS - Enjoy the beautiful horizon.

We Leave Tomorrow

Hello all! It is time for one more update from Brazil. The last couple of days have gone by quickly. On Wednesday we went out with some friends. We ended up not going to the Hard Rock Cafe, so we went out for Brazilian hamburgers (which are amazing!) and then to another restaurant to just hang out. Thursday was our last day of reading sessions. It was hard to say goodbye to our readers. They have made such an impact on us, and we pray that we have impacted them in some way. On Thursday evening, we had our final goodbye party. It was a nice time to relax, take pictures, and say goodbye to readers, church members, and other friends. The church has been such a blessing to us. They are such great people that are truly servants of God, and it was great to see them in action one last time. After the party, some friends took us out for a movie. We saw Eclipse, one of the Twilight saga movies. We had a very fun time afterwards when we got lost in Belo Horizonte! We encountered a massive and steep hill . . . there was screaming, and it was fun.

Friday was a day to sleep in before going to the church neighborhood to hang out for a while before going to a shopping mall. After shopping and some dinner, we went to another movie, Knight and Day (Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, etc.). It was highly entertaining and a fun way to just relax for the evening. We shopped a bit more afterwards before heading home.

Today has also been fairly calm. Chase and Kavan went to a club for some swimming, soccer, and sun while Natasha helped her host family clean the new house they are moving into just next week. Later we went to a party at the Zerlotini family home. They have truly become a second family to us. We have been very blessed to get to know them. They have had us over twice before to watch World Cup games. It was great to see them again and spend time with them. They are such a crazy fun family!

Now we are back at our homes and packing up. We hope that the flights go well. We are a bit nervous about the airports here as we had such difficulties coming in, so please keep us in your prayers. I do not remember the itinerary at the moment, but I believe we depart Belo around 2:30, fly an hour and a half to Sao Paulo, then leave for Miami around 9 PM. I think we hit Miami around 6 AM and then get on a plane for Dallas around 9. Once we get to Dallas in the afternoon, we have the rest of the day to relax, maybe go to a movie, enjoy the hotel pool, and that sort of thing. On Tuesday morning is our debriefing, and then we fly home on Tuesday night. It is a lot of travel, so please pray that it all goes smoothly for us.

Well, it is time to go to bed. We will update the blog a couple more times just to let you know that it went safely, give you some more pictures, and to give you some final impressions. Until then . . . tchau!

Notes On Culture, Part Two

Hello all! I have a few minutes, so it is time for a quick update and more notes on Brazilian culture. First things first - an update! Monday was normal. We had our readers. We did our thing. Today was a bit different. Today our missionary, Rick, encouraged us to join him and the group from Alabama for a trip to Ouro Preto! You may remember that we went there a few weeks ago. We were excited to go again! This trip was a little bit different - we went to a couple of different churches and we also went to an old gold mine! It was really interesting. Later we went back to the market area where you could barter for and buy lots of souvenirs and such. It was a great time.

This evening, once we got back, we had a truly Brazilian experience. We all went to our first churrascario. A churrascario is a truly amazing experience. It is a restaurant. You get your table, grab a plate, and head off to the salad bar immediately. As soon as you get back to your seat, they start bringing giant slabs of meat on skewers to your table. They cut it off for you and you eat . . . and eat . . . and eat . . . They basically do not stop until you are beyond full. They had chicken breast, filet mignon, pork, roast beef, steak, ham, and so much more. It was amazing. It was a great way to say goodbye to the Alabama group. They are leaving tomorrow. They were such a joy for us and helped to energize us at a key time in our mission. We can see they truly had joy in the Spirit and they shared so much of that with us!

That leaves us with just two more days of reading! It is strange that we are starting our goodbyes. Tonight on the drive home we were commenting on all the people we have met, the relationships we have made, and the difficulty we will have in saying goodbye. We have met some truly amazing people that have just shown us so much about the joy and love of Christ.

Anyways, like I said, we have two more days of reading on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday evening, we are going to the Hard Rock Cafe with some friends/readers for a dinner with them. On Thursday, our last day, we are finishing our reading sessions a bit early to have a massive (hopefully) potluck dinner/goodbye party. It should be a good time to say goodbye. After that, we may head to a movie with some friends. On Friday and Saturday, we are planning a weekend getaway to some national park with Rick, followed by a gathering at the Zerlotini household, the family we watched World Cup games with. It will all be a whirlwind, and it is ending fast. We will do our best to keep you updated on how it all wraps up.

Anyways, time for some quick notes on culture. (This is the educational component.) Random Brazilian fact: Brazilians generally take two showers a day. They shower in the morning and in the evening, sometimes right before bed. It has seemed somewhat strange to us at times, but at other times, we have indulged in the two-shower Brazilian norm. Chase has become fond of it as of late.

More driving observations: horn honking is about as indecipherable a language to us as Portuguese is. Sometimes a honk means that you are in the way. Sometimes it is a greeting. Sometimes it is used to acknowledge the wayward hitchhiker before driving on by. Sometimes a honk expresses anger, and sometimes it expresses affection. It is rather difficult to discern. In addition, intersections have these weird rules that seem to govern it. Eight cars can approach an intersection, all going on different yet converging paths, and they all continue moving, and nobody stops, yet nobody gets in an accident. It is as if they are telepathically linked to some sort of air traffic control, but for the ground. It borders on being a dance.

Next item: time is a guideline, not a rule. Brazilians are very lax on time. Little runs according to the clock, which has its plusses and minuses. On the one hand, it makes it very difficult to follow a schedule. On the other, Brazilians are very forgiving and rarely consider it offensive if things are off schedule. It certainly tests the patience from time to time.

Final note: Brazilians seem to use less space. Granted, that may not be a cultural thing - this may be more of a urban/suburban/rural commentary. It may just be a city thing that is similar in America. In a big city, you get less space. Regardless, it is different from what we are used to. Do we really need to take up so much land to live happily? Probably not. It is something to consider.

That is about all we have for now. Stay tuned for details as we wrap things up. Tchau!

One Week Left

Hello all! It is finally time for another update. I apologize that we have not had a chance to update you sooner. Wireless access at the church has been very sporadic this week, and we are often too tired at the end of the day to do anything, so updates are sporadic.

It started out as a fairly normal week, but by Wednesday, it was time to shake things up, so we imported a group of 20 Americans to help with that. They go to a church in Alabama that supports Rick and his work here, so they decided it was about time to come check up on what he is up to. It was fun to visit with some of them on Wednesday evening when they came in. It was strange to speak to Americans again, but in a good way. We started to realize how much we had learned when we were finally able to show someone else the ropes, so to speak. They are a fun group! Thursday was a pretty normal day of working with our readers.

Friday was where things got interesting. We went to the camp again to work/play at the camp that Rick runs. The Americans from Alabama were hosting an English immersion camp, so we went to go help out with that. Many of our readers and folks from the church were there. It was a lot of fun to just get out of our routines and hang out and just have fun. In the morning we played soccer, had some worship time, and some small group time before moving on to lunch. After lunch, many of us went to find the lake. There was supposedly a trail to get out there, but once we were there, we found out that the trail was sporadic at best. We were frequently blazing our own path, which was actually pretty fun, despite going on a mountainous hike in sandals. Once we reached the lake, we had a good time swimming and playing in the mud. Later that evening was more relaxation, more worship, a fire, dinner, and all that jazz. Saturday was much the same. In the afternoon, we attempted to teach the Brazilians baseball, which was an adventure in itself. After that, many of us took a ride to the Top of the World, a nearby mountain with amazing views. It was pretty incredible. After that, we packed up and headed back to Belo Horizonte for the evening.

Today we started out by visiting the downtown Church of Christ. We met the group from Alabama there. After that, we headed to the Hippie Fair as the Alabama folk had not yet seen it. After lunch, we went to a lookout site for pictures and then a nearby tower that gives amazing views of the city. Once that was done, we made our way to the church. Tonight was a very special service, as it was our last Sunday here. Also, it was Friend´s Day, so there were many other newcomers there as well, plus the Alabama group. It was a great time of worship and prayer. Towards the end of the service, all of the Americans gave an impromptu English concert. The church seemed to really enjoy it. It will be hard to leave them. They have such joy and are clearly so motivated to serve God. They have had an incredible influence on all of us, and it feels a bit strange that we will not be at church with them next Sunday.

With that said, we have one week left. Time has certainly flown by. We have learned so much and are so glad that we have done this. One week is all that remains, and we are determined to make the most of it. In just a few days, we will be able to share our experiences in person! Please continue to pray for us as we focus our efforts on completing the work we have set out to do. Pray especially for our readers, that they may be impacted by the work we have been doing. We trust God to use what we have been doing for His glory. Pray also that we stay strong for our last week and that we have safe travels home next weekend. Thank you so much for your support, and we will see you soon! Tchau!

Time For More Pictures!

Time for more pictures!

Here are the three of us with Sirlene, one of Natasha´s readers. She took us to the hippie fair!

 

Here is Natasha with her host brothers, Daniel and Jardel.

Here is Kavan and Chase with some of the girls from the church! They are such a joy.

Here is Natasha and Laís! We have become close with Laís´s family and are reading with three of them.

Here is the third party!

And finally, here is Kavan and Natasha at Inhotim, a national park/reserve/sculpture garden/contemporary art gallery. 

 

Please continue to pray for us and enjoy the pictures!

The Multiplication of Service

Hello all! Sorry that the updates have been lacking for the past few days. We have been either busy, tired, or lacking in wireless signals at the church and have thus been unable to post any updates since Tuesday. I feel some guilt about this, but I am sure I will be forgiven.

Things have been going well! The three of us are pretty much maxed out on readers. We have run out of our Luke workbooks, so we cannot take any more readers. We are certainly much busier now than we were at the beginning, but in a good way! It is nice to have a full schedule of readers. We had another party this past Thursday, and it went well. On Friday, Natasha spent time with her host family while Chase and Kavan went to help Rick at the church camp nearby. They are preparing to host a mission group from Mississippi this next week. On Saturday, Chase decided to work again at the camp while Natasha and Kavan went with Jarbas, a church member here, to Inhotim, a beautiful park/botanical garden/sculpture garden/nature preserve/contemporary art museum. It was quite lovely. Pictures will hopefully follow soon. Tomorrow the plan is to sleep in and get some much needed rest before having lunch at a restaurant and then watching Holland and Spain duke it out in the World Cup final. After that, we will go to church and then we will start a new week!

Time is going quickly. We are already done with two thirds of our mission trip here! We are starting to put together the pieces of how to end everything. It is somewhat difficult because there are so many people that want to spend time with us, but not enough time to do that. Still, it is a great experience for us. The three of us are learning so much on so many levels. As for our readers, it is hard to say what is happening with them because they are all so different, but we know that we are doing the work that God sent us here to do and that He will work in their hearts, whether it is now or in decades down the road. We may not see the fruits of our labor, but we know that at the very least, seeds are being planted.

One thing that has struck us here has been the concept of service. We came here to serve God by helping to serve this church community and to reach out to others. We also help people with their English skills. We knew before we came that this would be the came. What we did not know was the ways in which we ourselves would be served. Since we have arrived here, we have been served in incredible ways. Rosileia and Ronaldo took Natasha into their home and have been so gracious and generous towards her. It has been amazing to see what servants they are. In addition, they have had Kavan and Chase (among others) over for wonderful meals. Rick has also served us in several ways, from housing and feeding Chase and Kavan to driving them all over the place to making sure our random needs are met . . . he has been incredibly helpful. Other members of the church have also helped out to get us local cell phones, translate random things, show us around, entertain us, take us places, and more. Our readers have served us. They have given us gifts, brought us to dinner,  invited us to parties, and more. It seems that service has a tendency to multiply. The three of us had a chance to serve for six weeks. This in turn gave the church members and readers the chance to serve us. We also know that the service will continue later. One of our readers is coming to the sessions so that she can improve her English so that she can be a translator for a mission team coming in Orlando next August. The church has connected with new people as a result of the English classes and will then help to serve them in a variety of ways. Service is not a singular event. It is a tremendous chain reaction that involves so many people, including some of you who helped to support us financially and with prayer. If that is you, thank you. You are a part of this service.

That´s about all I have time for tonight. If you have any questions that you would like to know, please let us know via email or in the comments. We will try to answer in the blog. Have a great day!