A Tale of Two Teams (Part 2)

The next team arrived on Tuesday right after camp. This team was different from the last. Idlewild comes every year and oftentimes with repeat team members. It gives this group a different feel to them. While they are here to serve the kids they also care a lot about and really focus on loving on the staff here on the field. They even brought gifts for all the staff.

This year their team ended up being a lot smaller than years past, but they were still ready to serve.

For our morning teens (middle schoolers), Mr. John and Mrs. Mona like to do discipleship, in addition to testimony and devotionals. This keeps in line with their church’s objectives. So we split them into groups of boys and girls.

Idlewild stayed for 10 days. The plan was for them to attend the City Parade that several of our kids participate in but it has been an unseasonable rainy winter here and the parade was rained out. Then the plan to go to Joanopolis was rained out so the team went to the mall in Bragança and to a little restaurant called Five Lakes. Since it was a holiday, we didn’t have Vinde that day and it was too wet for outdoor service projects. Rainy weather stinks when a lot of your ministry is held outdoors or semi outdoors.

They made a trip out to the Botucatu location and helped with the Festa Junina (Little June Party).

They had a great turnout. This group provided over 170 food baskets for our families in Atibaia, Imperial, and Botucatu. What a blessing to those families.

The property in Botucatu is getting an addition to accommodate more kids. More kids that will hear The Word of God.

They did several home visits. After visits and the Festa, the team headed back to Atibaia.

On Sunday, about ten minutes before service started at church that night at Vinde, I started hearing this rushing water sound. I found it but didn’t know where the cut off was. Before the water flooding the grass area flowed into the cafeteria, Manuel was on property and was able to shut off the water to the area. There’s always something like this going on. After two and a half years I’m getting a little more used to it. A little.

Jeremy preached Sunday evening service and the team provided a pizza dinner with giveaways for the all the families that attended.

Activities and smiling faces at the Imperial location.

The group continued lessons on the fruit of the Spirit.

The team made it out to Imperial a couple times to love on the kids there and share the gospel.

This team had plenty of activities to reinforce their Bible lessons.

They also went on home visits in Atibaia as well.

These visits are extra special as all of the team members in this group sponsor kids through the Moyo Child Sponsorship program. To meet and pray with the families of the kid they have pinned to your fridge all year round was kind of surreal and wonderful.

June brought with it the World Cup. THIS IS A BIG DEAL IN BRAZIL! Seriously. Businesses change their hours or close completely on days that Brazil plays. Grocery stores and everything. It’s bananas. It has been one big party this month.

We even changed our schedule around to include a midday soccer game because kids wouldn’t come if they couldn’t watch the game.

Bibles, plaid shirts, chalk, and bubbles, oh my.

We bused over the Imperial kids to have one big Festa Junina together.

We don’t normally serve the kids soda except for the end of the semesters so they were so excited.

After lunch came the bible lesson before the Festa.

Then the chaos ensured.

The weather was rainy, cold, and sprinkled with warm days. A lot of people were getting sick; team members, staff members, interns, and the kids. Lots of germs this time of year but everyone powered through. Then it was time to say goodbye to the team and the first semester.

Before the team left they knew Mason’s birthday was coming up soon so they got him an early birthday cake and made him a card. So sweet.

With that another month flies by.