Brazil continued...

On Monday the Ross family took us to Paraty (pronounced para-chi) The pronunciations are very different and hard to get used to here :) Today we were able to adjustand become familiar with some of Brazil's history and culture. We tried new foods and were able to tour the town which is so beautiful and full of history. It takes a while to travel to this town so we left somewhat early that morning, ate, spent time there, and then headed back to have dinner at the Ross's house. We were all feeling more like ourselves today, we were caught up on sleep and feeling a lot better. After getting to do a little sight seeing and learning we are all excited and ready to head to the orphanage tomorrow, we can't wait to see all the little kids.

Tuesday was a work day in which we went to the orphanage to work with the children (currently a day care as they are trying to complete the finishing paper work and get the ok to start the orphanage). As we got there Bro Jay took us on a tour of the facility. Later on in the day we got the opportunity to go through the salvation bead bracelets with them and share The Gospel with each child there. 10 kids were there that day. We took the kids to the park and played games with them. Bro Gary, Bro Justin and I played soccer or as they call it here, futbol. Needless to say the kids wore us out, and they were playing barefoot as we played with shoes. There was also a monkey bars/slidearea at the park so Allison, Madison, Robyn, and Jenna all stayed over there to play with the kids and make sure they didn't hurt themselves. Playing with the kids at the park was a lot of fun, getting to see them laugh and have a good time was very encouraging. We were told that when some of the kids came and couldn't read or write in their language, and just in a short time of working with them, they are starting to read and write. Of the 10 kids there are 2 sets of twins and the younger twins(1 year olds), when they came, had absolutely no strength in their legs. They were so neglected and by being in the day care/orphanage they have grown so much. While we were there they started crawling across the floor. We were cheering them on as they crawled and sat up, it was so exciting. While there we were able to help with reading, the salvation bracelets, playing at the park, lunch, clean up, showers, and cleaning the orphanage to prepare it for the next day. We got them all ready for school, they go from 1pm-5pm each day, and laid the kids that don't go to school yet down for naps. We will come back again Friday to help some more and we can't wait. These kids are precious and in the short time we were there I know some of us got really attached. When we were done cleaning and getting the place ready for the next day we went back to our houses to take showers and relax a bit before the in-house bible study that evening. A lady from church asked Bro Jay if we would come to her house and have a bible study so she could invite her neighbors and friends, as traveling to church isn't an option for some. This lady isn't a member yet, but wants to become one! I was asked to preach/give the devotional and I was very excited. We arrived and they had it all set up so we sang some songs and then Bro Jay introduced me and also translated for me. It was a great time getting to share what The Lord had laid on my heart. We fellow shipped for a while afterwards and had some snacks the lady had prepared, more Brazilian food!! Today was really full and busy, I think we all are looking forward to our beds tonight. Tomorrow we will be painting the whole outside of the church building, the gate, and the smaller building next to the sanctuary.

Wednesday we headed down to the church to prep and start painting. The weather here in Caraguatatuba is very humid so the paint usually only lasts about 2 years. We all jumped in and started cleaning, prepping, and scrapping the old paint getting it ready for the new coat. We each had a job to do and everyone worked really hard, as it was freezing outside. The weather in Caraguatatuba had changed dramatically since we read the weather report and packed. A cold front came in and none of the team brought warm clothes to paint in, so I think we all might have a new pair of painting pants :) we started painting and noticed the paint color was quite a bit lighter than the old paint and it was supposed to be the same, but we liked it so Bro Jay said to keep going. We finished the smaller building and did the lower wall of the sanctuary building and ran out of the creamy color of paint. While Bro Jay ran to get more we started with the burgundy color for the trim and lettering. When Bro Jay returned with the paint, the paint store had some how got the original color right again and when we took it back and said we wanted the lighter color, they didn't know what they did wrong in the first place so we were stuck with the original color... the question became do we start all over?? Or do we just paint the sanctuary building the original color? Since the Ross's really liked the lighter color we left the small building and just repainted the sanctuary building. It was getting late and we had to get ready for church services so we decided to stop and finished tomorrow. We all ate lunch and headed back to our "homes" and showered and got ready for church. We headed down to church and tonight Bro Gary was asked to preach. We had a great time at church getting to know the people better and spending time after services fellowshipping together. The people here are so loving and welcoming and I think everyone is getting used to the greeting which is always a kiss on the cheek. We had a great productive day today, the church building is looking so much cleaner and nicer and services were really good, Bro Gary did a great job as Bro Jay translated for him. After services we headed back to Bro Jay & Sis Peggy's house to have some dessert that Sis Peggy made. We all headed back to our homes to get some rest so we could be ready bright and early to finish painting the church!