Brazil 2011 - Continued {Camp California}

First off, let me check something off on my "life-lessons" list: Life lesson # 483 Do not wait 5+ months to write down the details of an important trip. 

{You're probably rolling your eyes right now, because this seems so obvious. I know. But sometimes I just have to learn things the hard way...}

I have been kicking myself for waiting so long on this. It has been difficult to recall the details. However, Winter and Spring Terms effectively kicked my butt - at least until I dropped 5 credits in the middle of Spring {and still had full-time credits...}.

So, I would like to apologize for giving a less-detailed account of the trip than I would have been able to give shortly after returning home. I hope you still enjoy hearing about what has stuck with me this long.

So far I have shared some reflections as well as the details of our travel and the first day in Camp California {Brazil 2011 - the first attempt}. The next day we woke up before the kids and had a quick devotional meeting with our team. After three nights of little to no sleep, there were a lot of sleepy eyes in the room.

We then headed down the hill to meet the Brazilians for breakfast.

We were a littler earlier than them, so we waited :]

And had some strong Brazilian coffee as people slowly joined us.

We ate a delicious breakfast - eggs, bacon, and bread rolls, if I remember correctly - and then moved to a large covered area to have a skit, some worship, and some discussion time. The discussion was really fun and interesting as each American was put into a group of Brazilians, with at least one person who spoke English and Portuguese. It was great to sit down and talk to these girls, and actually have most of what was said be translated! They answered the questions we asked them about the skit, and then they were really curious about my life. A few girls really wanted to hear my testimony. I did not think I was that interesting, and I'm not usually asked to share my testimony on the spot like that. It was a bit of a challenge, but it was really fun to share, to talk with them about it, and I think it was really awesome to be able to share some of my struggles with them - so that they know even Americans {who they often idealize} aren't perfect. Also, it was interesting to see some of Deyze's {my translator} reactions to pieces of my story, before she got around to translating them. It of course made the girls more curious when they saw her laugh, or even gasp, but didn't understand yet what I had said.

After one of our discussion times - Deyze, who translated for me, is on the left.

I wont tell the whole story because it's quite long, but one of my friends shared an incredibly powerful testimony that really hit home for a lot of these teenagers. God was definitely there and a lot of girls sought prayer for some of their own hurts after hearing her story. AND that same friend just landed in Brazil a few days ago, where she is spending her summer with the ministry because of how much this trip impacted her. God is good.

The rest of the weekend flew by in a blur of little sleep, skits, free time, and a couple of amazing testimonies (like the one above). We played soccer, or rather, a lot of people played soccer while I took pictures, sat in the sun, and played with some of the younger children that were there. One of the kids was having SO much fun using my camera to take pictures of the soccer games, that I just couldn't bring myself to take it back. So, there are a lot of soccer pictures, and unfortunately few pictures of me hanging out with some of the kiddos and being introduced to some weird new berries to eat. We did yoga on the lawn before all the Brazilians were up. We ate delicious Brazilian beans, rice, and salad. We had a huge dance party one night and danced by the pool during the day {and Brazilians are darn good dancers! They have a specific dance for most songs [like how we have the Macerena]}. We rolled down grass hills and explored the gorgeous tropical campground. We sat around cabins and talked. We attempted to read a Portuguese Bible and smiled while the Brazilians laughed at us {in particular our inability to make the ão sound}.

The Americans are looking tired...

Giovanna being silly. She is the one who introduced me to some fun new berries.

Team photo!

And then it was time for us to pack up and head into the city...

Brazil - Some Old Reflections {Part 2}

I hope you all enjoyed reading the first part of our reflections. It was actually really fun for me to read back through them and remember some of the wonderful {and tough} things about our trip. Some of these answers are quite personal, and I wrote them originally knowing that only my pastor and the trip intern would see them. In an effort to  be transparent and give you an accurate representation of our trip and its influences on us, I have included the vast majority of them. Here are the rest of the questions/answers - enjoy!

6) What is one thing you would like to keep doing here?

Josh: I would really like to continue treating everyone like they are a part of a family.  We all say that we love how they do that down in Brazil, yet it’s not long before we go back to our “American ways.”  And this doesn’t just pertain to hugs and kisses, because that is simply not our culture all the time.  To me it means treating everyone like you love them, even people you just met and are likely to judge them before you know them.  It’s about accepting everyone for who they are and embracing it.

Casey: I would love to make a point of greeting every person in the room like the Brazilians do. I think it makes everyone feel special and valued, much more than when we walk in a room and just say, “Hi, everyone!”. However, this might be difficult because it’s not normal for people here to do this, and I’m not very assertive/I don’t like awkward situations. 

7) Why was it worth people's money to support you?

Josh: Although I did get a lot out of the trip, I feel that I truly made a difference in people’s lives down in Brazil.  Plus, Restoration Ministries doesn’t just need money to do its work – it also desperately needs people to help with all the work they have to do.  They reach out to an extremely large amount of people, and the staff works nearly year-round (they only take one month of vacation).  I love to serve, and I feel that sending people that love to serve to other countries is a million times better than sending some money to an organization.  People can build relationships for lasting support – something that money can’t do on its own.

Casey: Obviously this trip would not happen without the help of people here (I don’t know of many college students who could fund this trip themselves). Sending us provides much-needed relief to the ministry during one of their busiest times. Even with our help, many of the staff worked long hours, and while I’d say the parties were a success, we pulled them off without a lot of extra time to spare. Going down there, I was able to see how important the ministry is to so many people. Several of the kids come to the ministry on a daily basis because it is a safe place to escape from the difficulties of their lives. Encouraging the staff and helping such an influential ministry keep going is so important. I’d also say that for many of the kids/teenagers down there, having Americans (who many hold at high regard) come down and invest in their lives tells them that they are valuable. While we were able to help them because of the support we received, we were also blessed by the trip ourselves. Planning together with a small group of students helped us to build strong relationships with each other and seeing so many new and difficult things together only strengthened that bond. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’d say the things I did and saw in Brazil were life changing. My perspective has changed so much. I have been blessed to see people in such difficult situations trusting in God and even telling us how blessed they are, even though they possess so much less than we do. Which actually changed my perspective on how important physical possessions are at all. It has increased my drive to go on further trips and continue serving God. It was such an incredible opportunity to see God work in the middle of the monotony of school; such a refreshing change of pace from focusing on school and doing what I can to improve my life (not that I never think of others here, but spending all day serving is definitely different than being in school).

8) What are three things you learned about yourself?

Josh:

i.         I take many of my things for granted.

                       ii.         I need to learn to share about myself more often and open myself up to others.

                     iii.         Being in constant communication with God is important to a healthy relationship.

Casey: I learned that I have a difficult time not being in control of my schedule. I 

normally plan a lot. God has taught me to trust him with where I will be in the future, but

I did not realize until going on this trip how much I controlled my day-to-day schedule

(and am not very welcoming of unexpected changes in my plan for the day).

            I learned that even though I often ignore the fact that I have lupus, it really does affect me, especially when I’m not getting enough sleep. I’ve decided to stop ignoring it and finally make a long-overdue doctor appointment. I’m still struggling with how inadequate it makes me feel that I do not have the same amount of energy that other people around me have, and I’m still struggling to figure out how I can get enough rest in situations like Brazil. My exhaustion did lead me to lean on God a lot while we were there (which is never a bad thing).

           

9) In what 2-3 ways do you think you grew as a person? As a follower of Christ?

Josh: I think I became more humble, especially financially.  I got a little better at talking to people that I don’t know very well, which is good for me because I can tend to be introverted.  I learned that I need to focus more on my relationship with God, which has helped me as I came back to the States – I have spent a lot more time in my Bible and in prayer.  My prayers have also been more heart-felt, thanks to my experiences with the way some of the Brazilians prayed during our trip.  I envied their passion, so I am glad that I picked some of it up.

Casey: The answers that come to mind here are similar to those from the previous question – learning things about myself helps me to grow.

I grew by learning to be more flexible with my schedule – after all, it isn’t really my day anyway, it is God’s day.

I grew in changing my perspective of wealth. I may be poor in the eyes of many Americans, but I am rich to most of the Brazilians I met. Also, seeing physical things as less important.

10) How did you see God work in you and others?

Josh: God broke down language barriers – that is always apparent to me.  It doesn’t matter that the Brazilians speak Portuguese and the Americans speak English.  God will always find a way to allow people to communicate if it is in His will.  Also, God helped our team to really work together.  Although there was a few times where some people got a little grumpy, God helped us to stay together and lift each other up.  And I always love how well the Americans and Brazilians work together.  I’m reminded of the morning we showed up and the day center was flooded.  No one sat back and worried or whined about what we had to do; everyone immediately pitched in and began working.  God gave us joy and teamwork in our troubles.

Casey: God used each and every one of us to make a connection (no matter how big or small) with at least one other person while we were there – and hopefully those connections will continue.

God definitely used testimonies while we were down there. Lacey’s was very powerful and the effects were immediate and could be seen. But I’m sure the other testimonies had impacts even if we could not see them as clearly.

God used Christy and I to affirm our worth in Him (through each other) as we have different interests and personalities than many people that surround us. Through each other we’ve been able to discuss how it is okay to be different, and God has created us to be who we are even if we are different.

God used us to provide encouragement to the staff and to love on and enjoy the kids and teenagers that were around (as God loves on us and enjoys us, and we are do love on Him and enjoy Him).

I hope you enjoyed reading all of our responses and I hope they gave you a better picture of our trip. Keep checking back for more Brazil 2011 updates, as well as a Utah update, and some news on the 2012 Brazil trip!