Indian Day, Cafe Club, and Wow! Life has Changed!

Brazilians seem to love celebrating, and around here they celebrate holidays that I didn't even know existed! This past Sunday was "The Day of the Indian", a day set aside to celebrate the tribal people living in Brazil. So, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to post some pictures taken by Asas in the northern bases that show some of the tribal people Asas serves.

Inside a church - creative seating, isn't it?

A full church

Communion at the church - bread and acai berry pulp is used, since there are no grapes :)

People gathered along the shore for a baptism service lead by the local church leaders

It is so neat to see that it is not foreigners baptizing, but the local people who are strong enough in their faith to lead others.

Evacuating a sick person in a hammock

This is a picture of a missions conference held in northern Brazil last year. Many tribal leaders gathered together to discuss strategies for sharing about the Lord with other tribes. Hopefully this will be even more common in the future!

Back here in Anapolis, this weekend our first Cafe Club took place. What is Cafe Club? It is an English outreach ministry at our church that we were asked to be a part of leading. Basically, it is a fun "hang out" environment we set up at our church where teens can come to meet people, play games, practice their English in an informal setting, and hear about the Lord. It is a way to meet people, build strategic relationships, plant seeds, all using English as a way to get people to participate. I completely forgot to bring my camera, but imagine a cozy feeling room with tables, snacks, bean bags, video games, snacks, colored lights, live music, etc. We had time for hanging out, games, a short message, small group discussion of the message, and ice cream sundaes. Including people from the church, about 40 people came - about 15 were from the community. Several of my students came out and are excited about returning and bringing others. The next Cafe Club is May 8th...please be praying!

This week we were also excited to have a great turn out for the couple's Bible study. Unfortunately, because of the lighting (or maybe a weird camera setting) the picture turned out extremely fuzzy! I posted it anyway though to give you an idea of what we're up to Wednesday nights. There is only one more lesson in the current study about stress in marriage, but we have a new book ready to go if the group is interested in continuing. The next study is called "Improving Your Mate's Self Esteem"...it sounds very interesting to us, so we are hoping others want to continue!

Above is a picture of us with one of my students, Angelina (right). The other day Angelina's mother turned 91, so she invited us to her birthday party. It was such an encouragement to know that English has allowed me to build relationships that are meaningful enough that we were the only nonfamily members invited! Angelina also came out to the "Cafe Club" English event at our church. By the way - on the tv you can see Mr. Bean...it's funny how his humor is international!

Over the past few days I have been thinking a lot about how different my life is now that I live in Brazil. Here are a few fun shots that describe some of those differences....

Getting together with my family for Easter meant using Skype to talk over the internet. Here I am with Sam (our new kitten) in a family picture from thousands of miles away!

Last night Jeyson and I went out to the store. Sometimes it is just easier to ride the motorcycle due to the traffic and extremely high price for gas (although usually Jeyson just uses it to get to the hangar). While at the store, we decided to pick up some bread for sandwiches...only it didn't fit so well into the backpack like the rest of the groceries. A few years ago I never would have imagined that I would ride around on a motorcycle...never mind with baguettes sticking out of my backpack as we drove!

Also, having a kitten has been a fun change. Sam loves to stretch out in this funny position :) Sorry...I had to include that picture for my family who LOVES posting on their blogs about their pets!

Speaking of family, this past weekend my sister-in-law, Lika, and her husband, Mario Jr, traveled to the States to raise support and attend meetings at their mission headquarters. Mario had never been to the States before and was dying to see NYC, so they wound up staying with my family a few days in NJ.

Mario especially had a great time trying out many American things for the first time. Here is a picture of him with my dad grilling up some American style bbq. They had a great time and I only wish we could have been there with them!

Now they're in the Chicago area (Winnetka) and looking to visit people and share about their ministry of evangelism and discipleship. if you live in that area and would have a chance to get together with them, I'm sure it will be an opportunity that you (and they) wouldn't want to miss! Let us know if you aren't sure how to contact them and we'll get you connected.