More Pictures From Natasha!

This is the creek where we went swimming.

This is the camp we went to last Saturday. It belongs to the church.

Here's some people hanging out at church.

My host parents!

Pictures!

Here's some more pictures from Kavan. Enjoy!

This is a typical view of Belo Horizonte.

Here's the three of us after watching the Brazil/Ivory Coast game a couple weeks ago! It was so much fun. Two of the people pictures are readers of Kavan's. There's Lucas in the blue shirt in the upper right and his sister Laís in the striped shirt closer to the left. We also watched the Brazil Chile game with them last Monday. They're a great family!

Hanging out after a church service . . . 

Chase, Markus, and Kavan

Cleaning up the yard . . . 

Here's our first party! They were playing Apples to Apples.

Playing cards at the party . . . 

Uno!

We also went out and worked at a camp that the church owns. We moved a lot of dirt!

(Left to right) Rick, Matheus, Lucas, Chase, and Natasha at the camp.

Lucas, Natasha, Chase, and Matheus at the creek! It was fun to go swimming. Lucas and Matheus go to the church and are also readers.

Swimming in the creek!

Chase, Natasha, and Kavan by a bamboo stand at the camp.

Chase and Kavan spent a night with Matheus' family and friends. From left: Jean, Marlan, Pedro (Matheus' older brother), Chase, Hana (Matheus' little sister), and Kavan.

An Update

Hello all! I just thought I would post a quick update on how things are going. Right now we're all doing a bit of waiting. We usually have readers booked all morning and all evening with sporadic readers in the afternoon. As such, we sometimes have sometime to do some email, blogging, and such.

Things are going quite well! All of us are around twelve or thirteen readers, which is more or less as much as we can accommodate. It certainly keeps us busy, but in  a good way. The sessions themselves are going quite well. We're working with readers that have a wide variety of English ability. Some are fluent and there are others that are just starting to learn English. Regardless, we're starting to see improvements already in many of them! It's very encouraging. There are times when we wonder if we're being effective, but we keep reminding ourselves that God has us here for a reason and that He will use the work that we're doing in ways that we cannot understand. We found a passage from the Bible that really helped us with this the other day:

"This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" - 2 Corinthians 9:12-15 (NIV)

All we know sometimes is that we are planting seeds. Others here at the church and that will come after us will water these seeds and provide sunlight, and ultimately God will grow them. We have been here long enough to start guessing how some of these seeds will come to fruition, but even those are just guesses. In any case, we trust that God is using our work and will continue to do so long after we're gone!

Speaking of leaving, we're almost halfway through our project already! Time is going very quickly. Sometimes it seems like we've still only just arrived, but when we look at the calendar, the days are running out. We already know that it's going to be hard to leave the people here. In just three weeks, they have already had such an impact on us. It will be good to be with our own families and friends again, but we will certainly miss our Brazilian family and friends.

That's about all I have for today! I may also post some pictures, so stay tuned. Ciao!

Pictures from Natasha's Camera

This is Daniel, 13, and Jardel, 9. They are my pseudo brothers!

Ricardo- Our missionary; he is awesome!

Ariane- My Brazilian sister; she is one of my students and also, part-time translator.

Chase, Mateus, and Kavan at the church.

The newer additions to Belo Horizonte.

We´re having some Internet issues, but we hope to post more pictures soon!

Some Words From Natasha

Now that I have more time to talk about the Brazilian experience, I can elaborate on my comments. The economy is 95% self-employed. That explains the many shops for specific purchases. There are shops that are specifically pharmacies, supermarkets, electronic stores, pet shops, salons, bakeries,hamburger shops (very different from American hamburgers), magazine stands, etc. At night, there are people who set up little barbeque stands on the corners of intersections to sell "shishkebabs." All the shops and stores are painted different colors, For example, the salon that I am looking at right now is painted red. Down the block is a fruit and vegetable market that is painted white and yellow. It is extremely stimulating to the eyes.

Belo Horizonte is filled with many different new construction projects. There are many new apartment buildings going up in the city. The city is made up of neighborhoods. The neighborhood that we work in is Palmeiras but the neighborhood that I live in, Betania, is adjacent. I live in a small apartment with a family from the church, Ronaldo (Father), Roselia (Mother), Daniel( 13, Son), Jardel (9, son), and Grandmother (Silvia). There are 6 of us in a very small 3 bedroom apartment. Surprisingly, the space seems to be just the right size. Rosileia is a nurse and Ronaldo works in an Arabian bread factory. He works very long days. She is currently home on medical leave because she broke her foot a couple months ago and then had a case of appendicitis. But she has recovered very well and is now back to normal.

The church family has received us better than I could have ever imagined. They are constantly offering help with anything and everything. I feel like we have a wonderful church home here in Belo Horizonte.

Our Reading sessions are going very well. Kavan has around 12 readers, I have 12 readers, and I think Chase has 13 readers. That is my educated guess. We are meeting with most of the readers 2-4 times a week, which fills up our schedules very quickly. Almost all of our readers are very dedicated to learning the language and some are also taking English classes along with coming to our lessons. Some have said that their "dream" is to learn English. This makes us feel like we are definitely making a difference. Most of our readers have heard the scriptures that they are reading and have a belief in them. Some of our readers are church members and some go to other churches in the area.

We are having team devotionals everyday, which does amazing things to our attitudes. It gets us out of the rut of feeling like we aren't doing very well and helps us to understand that doing anything in service to the Lord is doing a wonderful thing in thanking Him.

Our first party had 25 people in attendance. It's theme was American Card Party and I made cookies and brownies ("cooks and browns" as Matheus likes to say). We had some games of Uno and Apples to Apples going and everyone was having a good time. It was a success!

On Saturday our Missionary, Ricardo, took us out to the camp that the church owns. They boys did some real physical labor while I helped Hanata and Camilla prepare breakfast and lunch for everyone. It is a very beautiful place and I am sure that Kavan will post some picutres of the camp. I don't have much time on the internet or else I would. After lunch, we walked down the mountain to a stream and swam for a while, then walked back up the mountain, which was very difficult with all the mud and such. But, I survived to write it in this blog, haha. Anyways, I must go. Thanks for following our blog!

Notes on Culture

Hello everyone! It's an easygoing Friday here in Brazil, and what could be better than blogging from a hammock on an upstairs terrace? Answer: nothing. Thus, blogging from a hammock.

First of all, I'll let you all know what we're up to this weekend. Last night we had our first party. We did some American games and had some chocolate chip cookies and brownies that Natasha worked very hard on. They were excellent! We had several games going . . . Uno, spoons, Apples to Apples, and more. Apples to Apples was interesting . . . imagine trying to explain plumber's crack or spooning to people who don't know English! It was a very fun party with about 25 people that included our readers, church members, and other friends. Today, Chase and I (I am Kavan) are spending time with a couple friends from church, Jarbas and Lucas. We spent the night at Jarbas' house and went to a restaurant to watch the World Cup game. Natasha has spent the day with one of her readers and is enjoying herself as well, according to a few texts she has sent me. Today's game against Portugal was a 0-0 tie, but it was a fun game to watch. Brazil was very close to scoring a few times. Now Chase and I are lounging around outside with Jarbas and Lucas on a terrace upstairs. The three of us have Fridays and Saturdays off, so we are glad to just enjoy ourselves and recharge after a tiring week.

Now it's time for the educational component of the blog. I've always found that when you immerse yourself in another culture, you're not only learning about the host culture, but also your own culture as well. It's a fascinating experience. Here's just some things that I have noticed about Brazilian culture.

As we have mentioned before, Brazilians are very friendly. You pretty much hug everyone. Meeting people is very easy. It makes it a bit difficult to remember names, but it's very genuine. Along with being genuine, they are a very passionate people. Some would call it loud, but I call it passionate. This goes for lots of things - worship, watching soccer, and more. I've noticed in church that they just sing it out with all they have. With soccer games, each game is an event. Imagine taking the Super Bowl, subtract it by commercials, divide by enemy goals, add triple Brazil goals, and multiply by the Fourth of July. That's kind of what it's like. The game today was at 11:00 AM. They started celebrating at 9 AM with horns in the street and the like. It's amazing. They shut down everything. They cancel school and most businesses shut down. Too bad the Cup only happens every four years . . .

Moving on . . . in America, it's very common for people to move out of the house during or after college and to not return back. In Brazil, it's quite common to live with your parents until you get married. Family ties seem quite strong here. I guess this goes with the whole genuine/friendly culture portion. Also, they don't really have divisions between residential and commercial areas. You see a lot of small shops everywhere. You don't have one big store for everything - you go to the bakery, the fruit store, the food market, etc. There are some big stores with everything, but they're not as common. We did go a Walmart the other day . . .

Speaking of food . . . Brazilian food has been great. I've noticed a few things. We eat a lot of rice, beans, and chicken, along with lots of other things. Food is much fresher here. People here often go food shopping on a daily basis. You get what you need for the next couple days. This leads to much healthier and fresher foods. Overall, I think Brazilians eat much healthier. They certainly are not as overweight as us Americans. When we drive or walk around, I can't help but feel that my own culture is lazy and unhealthy. Also, since they don't buy huge quantities of food as often, they have smaller freezers/refrigerators. This leads to less energy use . . . I think . . .

On to cars . . . I was surprised that most of the cars here are very new. The vast majority of cars on the road are only ten years old. I found out that insurance companies here stop insuring cars that are over ten years old as they start to get more expensive. As a result, you see very few old cars. Cars are also smaller here than back home, making them more agile, which is useful as the roads are tight. Also notable is that Brazil is (I think) 95% energy independent as far as gas for cars goes. I found that pretty impressive. Apparently Brazil's economy is doing quite well and is growing quickly, unlike in the US. I've been told that income has been steadily rising.

Well, that's about all I have time for now. We would like to encourage you to send us questions if you have any! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. God bless! Ciao!

The Usual Day

Oi! (Hello!) We haven't updated in a while, so it's about that time. Now that we're on the last day of our second work week (we take Fridays and Saturdays off), the newness has somewhat worn off and we are settling into our routines. Things are going very smoothly so far. The people here have been incredibly inviting. It has been fantastic.

Before I get into what we do from day to day, I'll tell you a bit about last weekend. On Saturday, Natasha spent time with her host family. They went to a market to buy some food. Later, Natasha went to the teen service at the church and spent some time with the teens there. Natasha is really enjoying being a part of her wonderful host family. Kavan and Chase spent the Saturday going a couple of places with Rick. They visited a famous lake, went to the downtown church, went to a city park, and then went to a sightseeing tower at night. After all of that, they met with Natasha after the teen service.

Sunday was a very fun day for us. One of Kavan's readers (Lucas) invited them to join his family to watch the World Cup game. Brazil was playing the Ivory Coast. The three of them had a wonderful time with Lucas and his family. Watching games in Brazil is like watching a combination of the Super Bowl and the 4th of July. It's a very patriotic day! They had lunch with Lucas and his parents and sister and were later joined by grandparents, two aunts, an uncle, and two more friends. It was so much fun! We felt like a part of the family.

Since then, we have been settling into their daily routines. We currently have about 10 readers each. We arrive at the church every morning around 9. Rick drives us there. We often have readers right away in the morning, so we often start working right away.  We continue with our readers until noon, at which point we go to lunch. We often just walk about half a block up to the street where there is a cheap but tasty buffet. There's rice, beans, chicken, beef, salad, and more. It's very good! After lunch, we head back to the church. Most of our readers either come in the morning or later in the evening, so our afternoons are a bit slow. Once the evening starts, we get rather busy and often have students from 4 PM until 8 PM. After that, we go back home for some dinner and rest! It can be very mentally draining, but we're doing very well.

There are some other special weekly events as well. On Wednesday nights there is a prayer service at the church which we have been attending. On Thursdays will be a party where we invite our readers to come meet one another and church members as well. On Friday nights, there are separate men's and women's groups. Saturday night is a night for teens, and on Sunday evenings are the church services! We have plenty to keep us busy!

Well, that's about as much as I have time for now. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Have a great day! Ciao!

Some Thoughts From Natasha

Hello Everyone! Today is Monday, the start of our second week here in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. We have been bombarded with many new and exciting sights, sounds, foods, and people. Our first week here has flown by and we are still alive. :) Haha, just kidding....but really, we are alive. We are picking up on many well used Portuguese phrases very quickly. I can now say "Thank you," "Please," "Good morning," "How are you?" and "All is well." The language is similar to Spanish so that is also helping.

Our first encounter with the people of the church was very good. We were accepted with open arms and many kisses to our cheeks. We are treated with such kindness and care that it has brought me to tears a time or two, because of the sincerity of their actions. I have never felt so much love from people I hardly know. This is truly a special group of people. Every hello and goodbye is done with a hug and kiss on the cheek.

That is all I have for now. I need to do a reading session. See you later!

Pictures!

Alright, folks! It´s time for some pictures! It took a while, but I hope you enjoy them. There´s just a few for now.

This is the church we´re working in.

Here is a typical view of Belo Horizonte. Most of that is new construction.

Here is a typical Brazilian meal . . . so good!

This is an outside view of the church. You can see Natasha and Chase. The young man on the right is our friend Matheus. He´s a fun young guy. Behind Natasha you can sort of see Ariane who I mentioned last time.

Here´s Natasha with some of the church girls.

Here is Chase and Kavan with the girls from the church and a gentleman named Alexandre.

This is a cross near a famous church in Belo Horizonte.

Rick, Chase, and Kavan

Kavan and Chase met some random people today at the downtown church. The kids in the picture later took Kavan and Chase to a local park.

Here is the park Chase and Kavan went to.

Later some church friends brought Kavan and Chase up the mountain to a mini-Space Needle tower. There´s a light extravaganza on it you can see for miles!

The view of Belo Horizonte at night with the lights from the tower.

 

 Here´s the three of us with several of the church kids!

Week One Is Almost Done!

Hello all! It's another beautiful day here in Belo Horizonte! I'm guessing that some of you are wondering what the weather is like. It's Brazil's winter, but that's often like summer at home! I'm not sure exactly what the temperature is since all the thermometers are in celsius, but I think it's comfortably in the 70s during the day. It may even get up to the 80s. I'm not very certain. Regardless, it's very nice. Nights and mornings are much cooler and we often need a sweatshirt once the sun goes down, but it's very nice. Speaking of the sun going down, since it's winter, it goes down around 6, which feels very early.

So far things are going very well. We're starting to form many more relationships and connections with one another, which has been very exciting. The people here have such open hearts. Many of them have already invited us to do different things with them - visit their homes, come for lunch or dinner, watch the World Cup, play soccer, hang out on the weekend, etc. I don't think we'll ever be lacking for things to do! With so many people, the time will fly by. We have already discussed how it's strange that the first week is already almost over. Granted, the first couple days of the week were travel, but it still is going by quickly.

So far we've been working with about 15-20 readers. We're hoping to get up to 45. Rick, the missionary that is hosting us, thinks that things will pick up next week. Several of our readers are saying they will tell their friends, so we're guessing that things will pick up soon. We're apparently the first LST team to ever come to this particular church in Belo Horizonte, so we hope that we can start a strong tradition so that future LST teams can build upon our experience. We haven't gotten into the full swing of reading sessions yet, but the ones we have had so far have been going well. We're working with a wide range of people from teenagers to people in their 40s. I don't think we have anyone in their 50s or more, but i would not be surprised. People seem to be excited to have a chance to practice their English skills, and many are excited to do so using the Bible, so it has been encouraging.

Well, there are more things to do today, so I must be going! If you have any questions you would like, feel free to email or facebook Chase, Natasha, or Kavan, or leave a question in the comments section on the blog. We'll try to answer some questions in the future. Continue to keep us in your prayers and God bless!

More Arrival Stories!

Hello everyone! As promised, here are more details on our travel and arrival here in Belo Horizonte. I will tell you right away that I am on a different keyboard so if I mess up my typing, I apologize. (Example: I am not sure where the apostrophe is, so I am using fewer contractions.)

Like I said earlier, yesterday was a complete mess. Because of fog, we did not land in Sao Paulo at 7:30. We went to Rio for a while to refuel and also ended up waiting there for two hours. We finally got to Sao Paulo around 1 PM, at which point we had been on the plane for 15 hours! We were so glad to get off. At that airport, we had to go through customs, which did not take too long, but then we were told to go to three or four different lines to get our tickets. Finally we did to make our flight into Belo Horizonte. Once we arrived, we were picked up by a different church that was hosting another LST team. Then we were dropped off at our host homes. Natasha is staying with one family. It is a husband and wife and their two boys. I cannot remember their names right now, but Natasha is already getting to know them and is really enjoying their company. Kavan and Chase are staying with Rick, the missionary here. Both of them are getting to know Rick and enjoying him as well. He is very kind and helpful.

Today we all met at the church at 10 AM. After that, we drove to a couple English schools in the area with Rick to recruit more readers. Once we came back, we walked around a bit with two of our new friends. One is Matheus, a fourteen-year-old here at the church. Another was Ariane (and I am pretty sure I am spelling her name wrong). She is nineteen. We have started to get to know them as their English is pretty good. They have been starting to teach us Portugese phrases, but the three of us are still struggling with the new language, but it is still fun. Then the six of us went to lunch at a local restaurant. We had a great mix of foods. I am not sure what they were, but it was very good! Then we did some more touring of the local neighborhoods and also hung out at the church, getting to know Matheus, Ariane, and more of their friends, Michelle, Jessica, and Marina. All of them are younger and learning English. We will be reading with many of them.

After all of that, we had a quick dinner and then came back to the church. We had a couple of meetings with readers and then we had a prayer service with the church. It was our first chance to meet lots of them. They are such kind, loving people! All three of us commented that we had never hugged so many strangers before in our life. It was a good experience, even though we could not speak with one another very much. After the service, we talked for a while more before heading back to our homes for the night.

All in all, it was a very different day than yesterday. Yesterday was filled with so much frustration and stress. Today was far more relaxed. It is amazing what one night of sleep can do. Yesterday can be seen as the first of our challenges. It tested our patience, but we had to continue to trust that God would get us where we needed to be. In the end, we got here and things are going very well.

That is about all there is time for at the moment. Hopefully we can get some pictures up in the near future. There is so much to see! Continue to keep us in your prayers. Have a great day!

We're Here!

Hello! Here's a quick update We had a lot of delays yesterday. We were supposed to fly from Dallas to Sao Paulo and land in Sao Paulo at 7:30 yesterday morning. However, due to fog, the airport in Sao Paolo was closed, so we circled the area for a while. After a while, the plane was running out of fuel, so we were rerouted to Rio de Janiero. Once there, we refueled for an hour, then spent another hour waiting for the radar/air traffic to start working again there, so it took us a while to get back in the air. We landed in Sao Paulo around 1 in the afternoon, which is about when we were supposed to land in Belo Horizonte. After some massive lines and confusion in the airport, we got on a plane and finally got to Belo Horizonte at around 6 last night. We were very tired and very hungry, but we were so glad to make it. I'll perhaps go into greater detail about everything later.

Today was a big day of getting familiar with the area and meeting people. We've already met some fantastic people and we're very excited to be here. Yesterday was very frustrating and scary, but today is so much the opposite. We'll hopefully add more later and give you more impressions of everything, but we're about to start a meeting. Farewell

We're On Our Way!

Hello everyone! It's Monday morning, June 14th, and it's departure day! We're very excited and very nervous at the same time. Today and tomorrow will be something of a marathon of travel. Hopefully it will all go smoothly and without major delays. Here's a brief itinerary. We leave depart from Kansas City at 2:30 PM and land in Houston at 4:10 PM. From there, we depart at 7:50 PM and land in Sao Paulo, Brazil at 7:30 AM on Tuesday. After that, we catch a 12:10 PM flight to Belo Horizonte and land around 1:13 PM. Please be in prayer for us. It's a lot of flying! Please pray that it all goes smoothly and efficiently and that we arrive well rested. Travel can be very tiring.

Well, that's about all I have for now. We'll post as soon as we can to let you know how things are going. Farewell and God bless!

Let's Get To Know Chase

Favorite Bible Verse: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:13 This passage indicates how much Jesus can affect your life. When reading this I am reminded how lucky I am to have Him in my life. I honestly feel like I can do anything through Jesus.

Reason(s) for going on an LST trip: I feel like this is a great way to help people come to know Jesus and at the same time I know I will grow spiritually.

Dream job: I would love to be a successful Architectural Engineer. I've always loved architecture. It's all around us. Seeing different styles motivates me to design my own structures.

Favorite singer/band: At the moment I'm in love with Ratatat. It's a very different style of music in it's own genre. Many of the songs have no lyrics, leaving you with the task of deciding what the music is telling you.

Random fact about you: I love doing things that get my blood pumping. I'm planning on going sky diving or bungie jumping in the near future.

One way that God has changed your life recently: God has shown me how everyone is different and that is not a bad thing. We should all rejoice in the Lord always no matter our situation. I have learned not to judge others. God is the only judge that matters.

Favorite dessert: FRIED ICE CREAM!

Hobbies: Outdoor activities, basketball, movies, video games, hanging out with friends, and trying new things whenever I get the chance.

Favorite writer: J.K. Rowling, I have never been captivated by a book more than the Harry Potter series. Reading them feels like I'm living in a movie. I love it!

Something you hope to gain/learn from going to Brazil: I hope to gain wisdom through serving others.

Let's Get To Know Kavan

Favorite Bible Verse: "This is what the Lord says: stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls . . ." Jeremiah 6:16. I came upon this verse when I was at a crossroads at my life, and things became so much clearer after reading this.

Reason(s) for going on an LST trip: I may not ever have an opportunity to do anything like this again, so I think it's just the perfect time for me. I want to be pushed out my comfort bubble and do something for others, so LST is a great way to go about all of that.

Dream job: I want to be a writer, preferably of fiction (novels and the like). If not that, I think it would be really cool to be a spokesman for some company.

Favorite singer/band: Kevin Max. He has an amazing and distinctive voice and is one of the best songwriters I've ever heard.

Random fact about you: When I was in fifth grade, I was giving my D.A.R.E. speech at the D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony and I was too short, so I had to speak next to the podium.

One way that God has changed your life recently: God is continually reminding me that He is in control and has a plan. Every time I try to figure things out or plan things, it falls through, and God is constantly showing me that He will take care of me and that I will always have what I need. What I think I need and what I actually need are often two very different things.

Favorite dessert: A caramel sundae. I'm kind of boring.

Hobbies: Like Natasha, I love to read. There's something wonderful about a good book. I also like to write, take an excess of pictures, watch movies, visit amusement parks as often as I can (which is usually once a year at most), run, play ultimate frisbee, and daydream.

Favorite writer: C. S. Lewis, of course.

Something you hope to gain/learn from going to Brazil: I really want to learn more of how to put God first and others before my on a daily basis. That can be difficult to do, and I hope that going to Brazil will help me with that.

Let's Get To Know Natasha

Favorite Bible Verse: "The wise woman builds her own house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." Proverbs 14:1. I strive to be the wise woman.


Reason(s) for going on an LST trip: I have always dreamed of doing mission work both outside and within the United States. I have already completed 2 missions in the U.S. Now it is time to complete the other half of my dream. Brazil is one of many missions I will make in my lifetime.

Dream job: I am a Pre-Nursing Student right now. After acheiving my nursing degree, I plan to work for a while, then going back and getting my Family Nurse Practitioner's Degree.

Favorite singer/band: My favorite bands are Evanescence and The Glee Cast

Random fact about you: I love to read.

One way that God has changed your life recently: I have recently been shown that my job is important. I am working as a Certified Nurse Aide at Meadowlark Hills. The residents there have become family to me, I have became very attached to a few of them and they have shown me how I have helped them throughout my time there. I plan on staying there for at least another year, and when I leave, it will be very hard for me.

Favorite dessert: I LOVE Key-Lime Pie! 

Hobbies: As I said before, I LOVE to read. I could sit at home all day with a good book and be just as happy as can be. I also love to do outdoor activities like camping, fishing, hiking, and going on pheasant hunting trips with my grandpa. I am also very into the music scene. My whole life I have been active with music, both vocal and instrumental. I am hoping to find a choir to join soon after i return to Wamego.

Favorite writer:  Charlaine Harris is an amazing writer! I can hardly put one of her books down once I have started it. 

Something you hope to gain/learn from going to Brazil: I need a good sized lesson on appreciation. I hope to come back humbled and full of knowledge from what others can teach me about this. I have been very blessed in my life and need to focus on giving back to those who have provided for me. 

The Time Is Near

Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting our blog. We haven't left for Brazil quite yet, but we're getting close. In two weeks, the three of us will be in Brazil and preparing to really delve into our mission. We're very excited!

For those of you who are wondering what exactly we'll be doing, I'll give you a quick snapshot. The church down there has already been advertising our English language sessions. Once we get there, we'll host a meeting where the readers will be introduced to us and our services. Then they'll sign up for the one-on-one sessions. The next day, we'll get started with sessions! These sessions will last about forty-five minutes each. We'll go over one of the lessons in the Luke workbook, which has simplified translations of the Book of Luke. After reading the lessons, we'll start with some questions that will hopefully lead into conversations about the readers' lives and faith.

All in all, it should be an excellent opportunity! We're very excited. At the moment, we're still doing our final preparations - getting our visas, confirming airline tickets, familiarizing ourselves with our materials, and more. If you could help us prepare by keeping us in your prayers, we would be very appreciative. I'll leave you with a picture of the three of us (from left to right: Kavan, Natasha, and Chase). Have a great day and God bless!