Happy Thursday!
Today was definitely a favorite day for the team! We got to see the Holy Spirit move in BIG ways today. The first thing on our agenda was to meet at the church for a quick run through of the dance Jessie taught during the worship workshops the past two weeks. Then Sammy and Jason picked us all up in the church´s 1960s style VW Van and we headed to Iraja School nearby the church. This is the school which former Hope Mission teams have shared Christ through week long workshops and presentations.
Once at the school, we set up and got ready for the kids to come out! With Sammy translating, Jessie was able to share some Hawaiian words like Aloha, Keiki, and Ohana with all 140 kids listening intently and replying back to her questions!
Then we demonstrated some basic hula steps and they LOVED. Next, Risa played and sang Jesus Loves Me on the guitar while Jessie did actions and they soaked that up too! Then we were able to turn it over to the dancers to worship to the song Lord I Lift Your Name On High, and they did a fantastic job! Through it all, we were simply able to share with them that Jesus loves them and they are special and chosen by God to be HIS children.
Christen, Risa, and Jessie made a quick stop at Christen´s place to regroup and drop off some things, then we went to visit Monik, a young woman here who expressed she wanted to talk with us. On our first day in Bom Retiro, the girls went to meet Monik in her home, and prayed over her because she has severe back problems and is in constant pain. She shared her story with us, and the fingerprint of God is all over her life! It was so encouraging to hear her heart for missions, and how she felt like God placed her in Bom Retiro to meet with us. So we told her we were meant to visit Bom Retiro to meet with her! We laid hands on her and prayed for healing, perseverance, and a continued excitement to know the Lord more deeply. We made another stop after Monik, and visited a family in the community. Things were pretty hectic at their home, and with 3 daughters under 8 and one son that is 10, it´s no wonder it was crazy! We felt very welcome in their home and were reminded of the contrast of America to other countries, and how rare it is to go over to someone´s house unannounced and share the gospel with them. It was such a blessing to spend time with them, talking about Jesus!
We came back to a very full house at Sammy´s! A lot of Sammy´s family was over, so we were able to get to know them better. Deco (the girls visited his mother on Day 8) treated us to an amazing dinner of 4 different types of fish! He cooked some of the fish fresh from the river here in bamboo in the wood oven!
There were about 16 of us that gathered to enjoy dinner together. After dinner, we showed some of the Brazilians our favorite American dessert: S`MORES!! And they loved it! It was so much fun melting the marsh mellows and watching them take messy bites and laughing.
With today being Jessie´s last day here in Brazil, today was such an incredible day to leave on! Jessie has been an integral part of our team and we will miss her greatly this last weekend we are here! Please be praying for her safe travels back to Maui!And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
--Mark 10:16
From the Team-
Risa (with editorial comments by Jake)
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