Heart for Brazil

May 2010--Three weeks in Brazil and my heart swells with many emotions and memories. Where can I even begin? It starts with a team..a team of all girls from California. Ten woman willing to do whatever was asked, to step out of their comfort zones and go into schools and neighborhoods to bring the message of good news. Ten women willing to adapt to new situations, a new language, new people and foods. It also involves a local church called Filadelfia in the city of Limeira and a group of 20 or so young people from this very large church, who faithfully joined us for daily ministry. Some standing along-side of us; translating, praying, signing, singing, and teaching. And others in support by cooking, driving and always there to do whatever was needed. And there was our AMME/OneHope Brazil staff working so hard behind the scenes with all the day-to-day details.

Next came our work with the kids. Nothing brings me more joy than walking up to a group of kids, it doesn't matter if I speak their language or not, and interacting with them. We went into primary schools, pre-schools, high schools, and deaf schools. We spoke about self-esteem, anti-bullying, making decisions and our best friend. We went into neighborhoods and did a VBS style ministry called Aquila Circuits that contained a pro-family message. One principal came back to us a week later and said that some of her students wanted to make a play for the whole school. They performed one of our skits flawlessly and so the message was being carried on by other children as well. The real impact may never be fully known, but I know we left our mark in the schools and in the hearts and minds of all involved. We gave out 5,498 books but more than that we interacted and reinforced our central message that there is hope.

I think our most powerful time came when we visited the High Schools. There is nothing like walking into an auditorium full of teenagers. You start off feeling like chum in a shark tank but then when the fun and the dramas are over and the message is spoken and you see the work of the holy spirit so visibly evident on the teens faces, you leave feeling God did something amazing through you beyond your own natural abilities. We almost always got to hang out with the kids during break times and this was when many would come to the girls asking questions as they boldly told their stories and prayed with many right there on school grounds. Many are forever changed including the ones delivering the message.

We ended our time in Brazil with a trip to the beach, which I can confirm as some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

Next up....Haiti

For more photos see my Flickr pages @ www.flickr.com/photos/kimart4ch or my photo albums on Facebook.

Don't forget to Pray, Give (www.onehope.net/kimclark), and Write