Brasil
Ok, Ok I think its about time I wrote something down about the mission trip to Brasil. It’s a very difficult thing to do, as it feels like its all in my head, not in any order at all –experiences, feelings, emotions, frustrations, confusion, smells, sounds etc. I guess that writing it out will help the enormous task of trying to make some kinda sense of it all and help me as to what happens next….
You might want to quickly put the kettle on and grab a cuppa, as I don’t know how long this could take!
Before going on the trip, I was a tad concerned about the number of people that were going to be on the team, as too many can sometimes be a burden to the people in Brasil than a help. I was worried about whether we were going to get on, especially with the uneven balance of having 13 girls and 7 guys! Can you imagine 13 girls all in one dorm!! It turned out to be a lot of fun and cause there were so many of us we got a lot of work done! However, I would say that in future a smaller team would be best due to the issue of safety and transportation! I was also concerned about the fact that I’d been to the project before and I did not want my excitement and knowledge of the project to spill out into an annoying ‘I know it all’ kinda attitude to the rest of the team. I told them to tell me to shut up if I did! I was very excited about going back –so if I annoyed anyone –sorry! I was also concerned about coming home, as last time I came back from Brasil I was thrown into a load of turmoil as a load of stuff happened all at once. I wanted to jump back on a plane and get back out there and runaway from a load of stuff. Due to what went on I didn’t get a chance to properly reflect on the trip and so I was worried that this might happen again. But I’ve had time to reflect and writing this blogg will no doubt help my thought process.
I really didn’t know what to expect from the trip, even though I’d been before. All I knew is that I was longing to see the children and staff at the project again and see how it had grown and moved on in two years. We were given such a wonderful welcome by the children and I recognised a number of them. They had grown, but I knew their smiles and some of their names!
The main practical difference was the new dorms, which had been built –we were very spoiled, with new bunk beds, new showers, toilets etc. No ants or rats in the rooms this time! We ran out of water for 4 days, which although was annoying due to the practical problem of trying to wash paint off ourselves, it taught us all a lot, as the kids don’t have access to water 24/7. We had taken the cold showers for granted and it was good to be reminded of how much we have in the UK and how much we take for granted.
CBC, the university of life is a project run to help children who live in the slum improve upon their state school education. State school only lasts for 4 hours a day in Brasil and the class numbers can be huge. So children either attend school in the morning or in the afternoon. If they are fortunate enough to have a place at the project, then they go to state school for half the day and then attend CBC for the rest, so there are two lots of children (morning and afternoon). There is a huge waiting list for children who want to get a place at the project. As well as helping with Maths, English etc, CBC offers dance, drama, music, computing and athletics. It provides amazing opportunities to children who would not otherwise get the chance to go for their dreams.
Some of you would have seen the video we showed at church about the project and the missions bus. Since we were last there the bus has travelled many miles taking the young missions group out ministering and spreading the gospel through dances and dramas etc. The group has grown with a number of the younger kids now having joined and it was amazing to see them dance at a dance festival they held at the project during our stay. One day they hope to come over to the UK!
It was also great to see some of the older ones who have now graduated from the project and are now working! God has done amazing things through the work of CBC.
Each morning, we’d wake about 6am –it was very hot and sunny at 6am every morning! We’d meet together as a team with Marc and Ruth from CBC and have a time of worship and devotions. I would say that this time each morning was one of the best parts of the trip. Just spending time praising God (with just a 3 string guitar!) and our voices and sharing and learning together. It really did start the day off the best way possible.
We would then share breakfast together (rolls, ham, cheese, melon, pineapple, scrambled egg, sponge cake, yoghurt drink –yum!) and the children would then arrive at the project.
During their lesson times, we would be working –painting walls, sanding down railings, painting classrooms etc. The site looks a lot brighter now! During break times, we’d play with the children and get to know them. Last time we were there I really wanted to paint the outside walls of the site, as it was in a state and did not look like somewhere where children would go. It was too dangerous though, as it is right in the slums and we do stand out as English people do!
However, this time it was possible for us to go out and paint the walls white and we also managed to draw and paint the CBC logo on the entrance. I really wanted the children to be involved, so suggested that they had their hand prints along the wall. It was so much fun and the children loved putting their hands in coloured paint and making their mark on the wall! Seeing that made my whole year! If you want to see it, then ask me to show you the pics!
On the first Saturday the older youth wanted to take us to the beach. Now thinking back to my last trip to brasil and the trip to the beach it was actually a 2 hour walk in intense sunlight and I did burn last time, as there is not really any shade. So I was a tad anxious at this prospect of repeating this trip, however I didn’t want to miss out!
It turned out that this time, it was to be a 3 hour trek to the beach through the mangrove swamp of fortaleza! The sunlight was no problem as most of the time we were in the shade, but wading through lakes fully clothed holding our bags above our heads! (not knowing what was in the water), walking bare foot through the swamps (mud, crabs, branches as far as the eyes can see) every step was a hurdle, a challenge. If we asked to go again I’d probably say no, but I’m glad we did it! And I’m glad I didn’t know what to expect! Later on, we finally reached the beautiful beaches of Fortaleza and as the team thought about it, we decided that it was pretty much like life really. Sometimes, we really don’t know whats round the corner or whats in store, but we give it a go, it may be very hard and challenging like a swamp, but once we get through it all, we reach something amazing at the end. I wish I knew how to attach pics on my hard drive to this blogg, as you could see what we did!!
Some evenings we went out for dinner and due to the number of us a few times we walked there. The guys went at the front, back and side of us girls for safety reasons and some of the Brazilians came with us. One evening we were walking back from a church we’d been to and the Brazilians hurried us up. It wasn’t until we got back to the project that we were told that a guy with a knife had been following us and eyeing up bags etc. We began to realise the dangerous place we were in, especially when the staff told us that they pray every time they leave the project for safety. Even taxi drivers won’t drive to the project, as they say its too dangerous. God kept us all totally safe.
The churches in Brasil are very full and people often stand outside and look through the windows and doors. The songs are the same as we sing (my Jesus my saviour, here I am once again, come now is the time, your love is amazing etc) but in Portuguese! At one church we were asked to take the service upon arriving! Jennie and Nathan did a marvellous job of translating and Jennie even preached in Portuguese about the Prodical son!
The electricity supply in the slum was very good, but CBC often has its power cables stolen. It turned out to be the actual electricity company stealing them, so they get paid to put them back –it is so corrupt.
Another really shocking thing is about how police will shoot street children if paid to do so. How much do you think they’d do it for?
£18 –that’s all to get rid of a child. That’s about how much it costs to educate and feed a child at CBC for a month. Makes you think huh?
If you think you could donate any amount to CBC each month and be a hand in hand ‘dreambuilder’ then please just ask me for the info.
Every Monday night they have chapel at CBC –this is a time of worship and teaching run by the older missions group for anyone from CBC or in the area. It was great to join in and be apart of it. God spoke to many children during this time and many each week, went forward for prayer.
Sometime I hate how British we are –our reservedness! Thank goodness that’ll be gone in heaven!
One day we were able to go and see some of the athletics group compete. A guy called Aldeberto who we met last time we were there was running the 400 metres. He can run it in 48 seconds!! The world record is 46 seconds! Please pray that opportunities will arrive for the athletics team to compete for Brasil at national events. Getting scholarships and financial support is very difficult. They hope to build a gym, with proper training facilities at CBC very soon. It would be amazing for them to have somewhere to train, as they are all so talented! As soon as Aldeberto came off the track at the competition after winning he said ‘thank you my Jesus, thank you my Jesus’. He runs every race for Jesus.
This is a very long post, if you are still with me –thank you for reading! During the trip God gave me the rest of that song that I got in the car on my way to work a few months ago. I shared it during devotion.
Right, I hope that’s given you a taster to our mission trip. There is so much more, but its better to talk about it then write it all –so if you want to know more- just ask and if I go on and on you have permission to tell me to shut up!
You might want to quickly put the kettle on and grab a cuppa, as I don’t know how long this could take!
Before going on the trip, I was a tad concerned about the number of people that were going to be on the team, as too many can sometimes be a burden to the people in Brasil than a help. I was worried about whether we were going to get on, especially with the uneven balance of having 13 girls and 7 guys! Can you imagine 13 girls all in one dorm!! It turned out to be a lot of fun and cause there were so many of us we got a lot of work done! However, I would say that in future a smaller team would be best due to the issue of safety and transportation! I was also concerned about the fact that I’d been to the project before and I did not want my excitement and knowledge of the project to spill out into an annoying ‘I know it all’ kinda attitude to the rest of the team. I told them to tell me to shut up if I did! I was very excited about going back –so if I annoyed anyone –sorry! I was also concerned about coming home, as last time I came back from Brasil I was thrown into a load of turmoil as a load of stuff happened all at once. I wanted to jump back on a plane and get back out there and runaway from a load of stuff. Due to what went on I didn’t get a chance to properly reflect on the trip and so I was worried that this might happen again. But I’ve had time to reflect and writing this blogg will no doubt help my thought process.
I really didn’t know what to expect from the trip, even though I’d been before. All I knew is that I was longing to see the children and staff at the project again and see how it had grown and moved on in two years. We were given such a wonderful welcome by the children and I recognised a number of them. They had grown, but I knew their smiles and some of their names!
The main practical difference was the new dorms, which had been built –we were very spoiled, with new bunk beds, new showers, toilets etc. No ants or rats in the rooms this time! We ran out of water for 4 days, which although was annoying due to the practical problem of trying to wash paint off ourselves, it taught us all a lot, as the kids don’t have access to water 24/7. We had taken the cold showers for granted and it was good to be reminded of how much we have in the UK and how much we take for granted.
CBC, the university of life is a project run to help children who live in the slum improve upon their state school education. State school only lasts for 4 hours a day in Brasil and the class numbers can be huge. So children either attend school in the morning or in the afternoon. If they are fortunate enough to have a place at the project, then they go to state school for half the day and then attend CBC for the rest, so there are two lots of children (morning and afternoon). There is a huge waiting list for children who want to get a place at the project. As well as helping with Maths, English etc, CBC offers dance, drama, music, computing and athletics. It provides amazing opportunities to children who would not otherwise get the chance to go for their dreams.
Some of you would have seen the video we showed at church about the project and the missions bus. Since we were last there the bus has travelled many miles taking the young missions group out ministering and spreading the gospel through dances and dramas etc. The group has grown with a number of the younger kids now having joined and it was amazing to see them dance at a dance festival they held at the project during our stay. One day they hope to come over to the UK!
It was also great to see some of the older ones who have now graduated from the project and are now working! God has done amazing things through the work of CBC.
Each morning, we’d wake about 6am –it was very hot and sunny at 6am every morning! We’d meet together as a team with Marc and Ruth from CBC and have a time of worship and devotions. I would say that this time each morning was one of the best parts of the trip. Just spending time praising God (with just a 3 string guitar!) and our voices and sharing and learning together. It really did start the day off the best way possible.
We would then share breakfast together (rolls, ham, cheese, melon, pineapple, scrambled egg, sponge cake, yoghurt drink –yum!) and the children would then arrive at the project.
During their lesson times, we would be working –painting walls, sanding down railings, painting classrooms etc. The site looks a lot brighter now! During break times, we’d play with the children and get to know them. Last time we were there I really wanted to paint the outside walls of the site, as it was in a state and did not look like somewhere where children would go. It was too dangerous though, as it is right in the slums and we do stand out as English people do!
However, this time it was possible for us to go out and paint the walls white and we also managed to draw and paint the CBC logo on the entrance. I really wanted the children to be involved, so suggested that they had their hand prints along the wall. It was so much fun and the children loved putting their hands in coloured paint and making their mark on the wall! Seeing that made my whole year! If you want to see it, then ask me to show you the pics!
On the first Saturday the older youth wanted to take us to the beach. Now thinking back to my last trip to brasil and the trip to the beach it was actually a 2 hour walk in intense sunlight and I did burn last time, as there is not really any shade. So I was a tad anxious at this prospect of repeating this trip, however I didn’t want to miss out!
It turned out that this time, it was to be a 3 hour trek to the beach through the mangrove swamp of fortaleza! The sunlight was no problem as most of the time we were in the shade, but wading through lakes fully clothed holding our bags above our heads! (not knowing what was in the water), walking bare foot through the swamps (mud, crabs, branches as far as the eyes can see) every step was a hurdle, a challenge. If we asked to go again I’d probably say no, but I’m glad we did it! And I’m glad I didn’t know what to expect! Later on, we finally reached the beautiful beaches of Fortaleza and as the team thought about it, we decided that it was pretty much like life really. Sometimes, we really don’t know whats round the corner or whats in store, but we give it a go, it may be very hard and challenging like a swamp, but once we get through it all, we reach something amazing at the end. I wish I knew how to attach pics on my hard drive to this blogg, as you could see what we did!!
Some evenings we went out for dinner and due to the number of us a few times we walked there. The guys went at the front, back and side of us girls for safety reasons and some of the Brazilians came with us. One evening we were walking back from a church we’d been to and the Brazilians hurried us up. It wasn’t until we got back to the project that we were told that a guy with a knife had been following us and eyeing up bags etc. We began to realise the dangerous place we were in, especially when the staff told us that they pray every time they leave the project for safety. Even taxi drivers won’t drive to the project, as they say its too dangerous. God kept us all totally safe.
The churches in Brasil are very full and people often stand outside and look through the windows and doors. The songs are the same as we sing (my Jesus my saviour, here I am once again, come now is the time, your love is amazing etc) but in Portuguese! At one church we were asked to take the service upon arriving! Jennie and Nathan did a marvellous job of translating and Jennie even preached in Portuguese about the Prodical son!
The electricity supply in the slum was very good, but CBC often has its power cables stolen. It turned out to be the actual electricity company stealing them, so they get paid to put them back –it is so corrupt.
Another really shocking thing is about how police will shoot street children if paid to do so. How much do you think they’d do it for?
£18 –that’s all to get rid of a child. That’s about how much it costs to educate and feed a child at CBC for a month. Makes you think huh?
If you think you could donate any amount to CBC each month and be a hand in hand ‘dreambuilder’ then please just ask me for the info.
Every Monday night they have chapel at CBC –this is a time of worship and teaching run by the older missions group for anyone from CBC or in the area. It was great to join in and be apart of it. God spoke to many children during this time and many each week, went forward for prayer.
Sometime I hate how British we are –our reservedness! Thank goodness that’ll be gone in heaven!
One day we were able to go and see some of the athletics group compete. A guy called Aldeberto who we met last time we were there was running the 400 metres. He can run it in 48 seconds!! The world record is 46 seconds! Please pray that opportunities will arrive for the athletics team to compete for Brasil at national events. Getting scholarships and financial support is very difficult. They hope to build a gym, with proper training facilities at CBC very soon. It would be amazing for them to have somewhere to train, as they are all so talented! As soon as Aldeberto came off the track at the competition after winning he said ‘thank you my Jesus, thank you my Jesus’. He runs every race for Jesus.
This is a very long post, if you are still with me –thank you for reading! During the trip God gave me the rest of that song that I got in the car on my way to work a few months ago. I shared it during devotion.
Right, I hope that’s given you a taster to our mission trip. There is so much more, but its better to talk about it then write it all –so if you want to know more- just ask and if I go on and on you have permission to tell me to shut up!
2 Comments:
Lisa,
I really enjoyed reading your blog and hearing about the work that CBC are doing. It certainly opened my eyes. Whilst the UK is not without its problems we do take so much for granted and I was particularly struck by the corruption you mention. How cheap life is.
If you have saved pictures on your hard drive you can use Hello.com to display them.
Really admire your adventurous spirit.
By
SarahB, at 11:25 pm
Awesome!! Great to hear how it all went....look forward to hearing more when I'm back!
Love
Pen xxx
By
Penelope, at 7:40 am
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