Nalanda hard at work painting grates.
Sorry for the lack of pictures in the rest of the postings regarding the August 2008 Brazil Gateway Team as I simply forgot to bring the USB cable for my camera along! :( Oh well....I'm glad Nalanda brought hers and that she uploaded a few pics of our time there.
Wednesday (Aug. 13) continued our time with another full day of work projects, craft and games classes that the team led. We also had the opportunity to have the evening to ourselves as the bulk of the CHAIN of Love kids headed to church events. Wednesday was also the day, I believe, that team member Zach W. had a little run in with a tool he was using to cut some vines with. After a trip to a local clinic and a couple of stitches, he was on his way to recovery! Thanks for prayers that God would keep us safe from serious injuries....
Assistant Team Leader Charissa and 'Tiara' in craft class.
Thursday was our last full day with the morning and afternoon activites and also our evening 2 levels of ESL classes and sports. A small group of us also visited a number of the 9 homes to take some pictures of the parents and kids as well as to deliver some August birthday gifts to 9 children (altogether) who have birthdays in August; 6 of which were during our 16 days in Campo Bom. It was really neat to see the reactions of the kids when we gave them the gifts and to have a chance to connect with the parents and other kids as well.
August birthday gifts to House #4.
Friday. As our time in Brazil was rapidly coming to a close, we took the opportunity in the morning to walk to the city center of the city we had been in for the last 2 weeks, Campo Bom. Everyone had a good time looking for souvenirs and getting some gifts for friends and family back home. A few also enjoyed a Brazilian ice cream buffet where you can basically fill a cup or waffle cone as much as you want and just pay by the weight! "Sorvete", as they call it, is pretty good! That afternoon was also given to a very important 2-3 hour Team Meeting dedicated to 'Debriefing' the entire experience and preparing the team to re-enter life back home. As was discovered during this time, some of the most important things considered were how this experience would be used to effect our world-view and our decisions for the future. It was also a time to remember and reflect on all that God had allowed us to experience, people we had met and just how wide our eyes had been opened to seeing the world a little more as God sees it. We also talked about 'saying goodbye' appropriately to people that have significantly affected your life and how to do that in a meaningful way.
We also headed into the evening for the closing classes of ESL and sports as well as a special treat that all the CHAIN of Love kids were looking forward to; a basketball game with all of the house mothers and adult women of our team! I don't think anyone was prepared for what that would be like, but just to give you an idea; my wife Shelly still has a bruise on her arm and can't fully extend her elbow, AND some women came out of the game with teeth marks!! I'll say no more.... :)
Nelson, Sara (Assistant Team Leader and Gateway Teams' summer intern) and Telmo enjoying the ladie's basketball? (if you want to call it that!) game and some 'chimarrao'. Nelson made over 20 pair of custom tennis shoes for our team members (no kidding!) and Telmo is the volunteer coordinator at CHAIN of Love Homes. 2 awesome men with an incredible hearts for kids.
Saturday was our last day in Brazil and we took the opportunity to have 3 of the kids help us ride the public bus about 10 km into downtown Novo Hamburgo and do some last item shopping. It was a great experience for everyone and some found some pretty good deals too! The women assistant team leaders also suggested that we treat the team to an ice cream before heading out....great stuff! It was also time for us to begin the process of packing and cleaning our 'home' for the last 2 weeks; which was no small task (dirt AND smell wise, hey guys?). :)
Also, Chris and Ingrid Kidd (missionaries working at CHAIN of Love) brought over their 2 day old new baby boy to visit before they even went home from the hospital!
Then...conversation, hugs, laughs, tears...and goodbyes continued well into the night and finished up on Sunday (Aug. 17) morning as our bus came right on time at 8:30am to begin our 40 hour (more or less) trip(s) home.
We met up with our good friends Arthur and his father Filipe (who attend Boas Novas church and works in Gramado at the chocolate factory we visited last week) and their family as they met and helped us at the airport before we headed through security. Then it was 2 hours to Buenos Aires, Argentina, a 7 hour lay-over there, 10 hours to Houston, 2 1/2 hours layover, and 4 hours to Calgary. In Calgary, the 4 of us from Gateway Teams had 2 flights back to Milwaukee via Minneapolis and the bulk of the team waited for another 7 hours before finally arriving back in Regina, SK Monday evening (Aug. 18). Unfortunately, the 4 of us who headed to Milwaukee had to rush to check in for our flight and because we were actually late checking in, had to rush in for our security checks and US immigration before the rest of the team made it upstairs to say good-bye :(. But, we were able to connect by phone a little bit later...........
All in all, lives were changed by this experience....for many on this team, it was a first opportunity to see life outside of North America and as we had the opportunity to interact with the children, house parents and missionaries who make CHAIN of Love Homes the amazing place that it has become; you can only wonder and thank God for how children's lives have been totally transformed because they live there.
It was an incredible opportunity to see the world from a child's point of view and at the same time from the Creator's point of view as well.
In a world where community has become possible across many barriers and borders, including distant geographical ones, the relationships that have been formed are life-changing much like the God who given the opportunity, changed our lives as well through being of service to 'the least'. How much more could you ask for?
Thanks for your prayers for this team and all the other Gateway Teams that served in 2009. We'll see you in September at our next post! Blessings!
Kameron and his friend Pablo. They became friends on our last trip to Brazil 5 years ago when Kameron was 5 and Pablo 4.
Randy (for the Brazil Gateway Team from Faith Baptist - Regina, SK)
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