After leaving Camp California, we made a stop at the Corn Palace {which is a store that sells almost entirely products made of corn, including corn ice cream, corn juice, and corn pastries}, dropped our luggage off at the hotel, and grabbed a quick shower. We then went to the Day Center for the Sunday evening church service. We all stood up front and introduced ourselves {with Tati as our translator}. The church cheered and laughed as we shared. They were such a welcoming group! People we had never met gave us huge hugs and a kiss on the cheek. I felt at home in a place I had never been before.
The church service started with a few different people sharing stories and singing. Those who shared a scripture or quick message would intermittently break into song with the band, which is different than my home church where the worship is usually separate from the main pastor {though there may be an announcement, a song, then more announcements}.
Aimee {one of the Americans} got to sing a song with the band, and Tom {our pastor} was able to do a child dedication for the new son of some of his good friends.
And honestly, after this point my memory is not good enough to give you a day-by-day rundown of the trip {and doing so would create at least 10 more long posts}. So, instead I am going to recount some fun events or stories that happened throughout the remaining 8 or 9 days {especially those stories that I have pictures to illustrate}.
After a couple of days in the city, our team {including a few of the Brazilians} were able to clean up and put on some nicer clothes {nicer than our sweaty, grubby, clothes that we wore in the favelas anyway [if I haven't mentioned before, a 'favela' is a Brazilian slum]}. We loaded onto our trusty bus and went into town to have a delicious dinner. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of us at dinner {although I've borrowed one from a friend's facebook page}.
Me, Caeli, and Lacey
Our team on the bus {we spend a lot of time on this bus}
Best seats for napping {although being really exhausted may have helped!}
{Thanks for the picture, Kyle!}
Dinner was so good! There was a buffet of side dishes {salads, fruits and veggies, potatoes and breads, desserts, etc.} and the waiters walked around the room with different cuts of meat on swords, if your sign was turned to green {like above} they would make a stop at your table to see if you wanted any of the particular meat they were carrying. If you said yes, they would slice some meat off and put it right on your plate! It was mostly beef, but there was also some chicken, and some weird things {like chicken hearts!}. The meat was mostly slow cooked rotisserie style, spiced only with rock salt, and it was delicious!
The first couple of days in the city were spent organizing presents and otherwise spending time at the church/day center preparing for the four Christmas Parties we were helping to host.
We got a little silly after hour of sorting presents {in order to bring the right presents to the right favelas}. Local families and individuals sponsored a child {or several children} by buying them a Christmas present consisting of an outfit, a new pair of shoes, and something fun! In the past, each member of our team has also sponsored a child, but this year so many people in Brazil stepped up that there weren't any presents left for us to buy!
A few of out team members washed all the tables and chairs that we loaded up and took the the favelas.
And then we sorted candy! We each bought approximately a pound of candy in the States and brought with us. We separated them into bags with 6 or 7 different types of candy in each bag. We handed these bags of candy out to the kids at the Christmas parties - and they loved them! It's just like when someone brings foreign candy here {like Mexican or Japanese}, everyone has so much fun looking at all the unique labels and trying new tastes.
{Thanks to Christy for the last four photos!}
We also prepared some Christmas-y decorations, like these labels for each mesa, or table, that Lacey made. It was weird to see green and red and other Christmas decorations when it was 80 + degrees outside.
After some preparations, we were finally able to head out into one of the favelas for our first two Christmas parties {one in the morning and one in the afternoon because the facility here was not large enough to fit everyone at once}.
Josh and I were pretty excited to be heading out into the favelas. {And Christy is photo bombing us}
One of our team members along with one of the locals.
A pretty packed bus {although we managed to fit a lot more people and present on this bus later}.
And, a few pictures of the drive from the day center to the favela.
The first favela we visited. It seemed somewhat reminiscent of government housing/projects in the U.S.
Lacey, Josh, and I with some of the kiddos before the party.
Lacey, Aimee, and I with some of the older ladies {including a couple we met at camp}.
Lacey and Kyle being silly.
And more silliness: Kyle peeking through their windows. The windows in the community building consisted of what seemed like bricks with larger holes in them.
It was warm :]
Caeli and I with the table we helped serve {by serving them food and handing out their presents}.
More of the kiddos.
The twins! {Who are a part of the local ministry}
Kids waiting for their dinner.
Our pastor decorating cakes....and being himself.
Definitely enjoying his soda {and who can blame him, guaraná is delicious!}.
One particularly adorable child, so excited to receive his present!
More stories and pictures to come!
