Recife!!!

We have been here in Recife for just over a week now and I se loved every moment of it!! The Recife YWAM base is located about an hour outside of downtown Recife on a 30 acre piece of property with an amazing view of the city and a huge jungle! They didn't have enough room for us in the actual base housing so we are staying in the Hope House which is a house for street boys. I have loved staying here as we have such an amazing ministry opportunity within our home. There currently are 8 boys living in the house (between 11 and 17 years old) and it has been such an amazing opportunity to love on them and spend time with them.

We have also been doing tons of manual labor for the base which I have loved!! There are 2 main projects we have been working on; the first has been making a brick factory. The goal for this brick factory is so the base can use the bricks for future projects and then also sell them. The factory will also give the boys in the hope house a chance to get work experience and learn how to hold a job and it will also give them the chance to make some
money.. The second project is making a wall along part of the property where there is none and people are able to just wander onto the base (and they have had
break-ins without a wall there). Both of these projects are being done by hand (with the help of a few shovels, pick axes, and machetes). So far we have done a lot of clearing, digging and cement making which has been hard but so fun and so rewarding!!!

I was also giving the opportunity to help out with a hockey ministry that the base has started. One of the families on the base is from Switzerland and they have started a hockey ministry for the kids in the community and it was a blast to be able to help with that!!!

My favorite time here so far though was last night. A group of us drove into a really rough part of Recife to do street ministry. We met up with a group of homeless people who the base has been spending time with for about a year now. It was so amazing as we just sat down on the dirty ground with them and painted their nails, played dominos with them, and just spent time with and loved on them. It was a little tough to communicate with some of them as everyone from 10 and up was high on glue but it was also so refreshing to not only give but also receive so much joy

Hello from Brazil!!

As I sit here enjoying the wonderful Brazilian heat and feeling satisfied from the my first Brazilian BBQ I can't believe all that has happened in the past few weeks!! It has amazed me to see how much so little does. The people here are so accepting and are so hungry for any love they can get.

After arriving in Rio we had a few down days to get used to the culture and climate before we hit the ground running. Our first two weeks have consisted of many open air's, days in local schools, and a day in the slums.
The open air's are basically a 2ish hour presentation in a square in town . These two hours will include worship songs, pop songs, testimonies, dramas, and the sharing of the Gospel. It has been really cool to see how receptive the public are and how even those who disagree with what we are sharing stay around and listen and engage with what we are sharing.

The times in the local schools look similar to the open airs except they also include about 100 pictures per program, the signing of many autographs and being asking far too many times for my Facebook. To put it simply we are like celebrities to the kids and it is so cool to see such a open door we have with them as we have their full attention and had such opportunities to share Gods love with them. I will say though that I have not been called beautiful by so many girls before in my life haha!!

The day in the slums was one of my favorite despite the long and sweaty two hour hike up a mountain to get there. Once we reached the slums we spent the day walking through the streets worshiping and praying. The highlight of this day had to be when we continued up the mountain past the slums to a Cross atop the mountain where many people had prayed for many years. It was such an overwhelming feeling to be able to look down upon Rio and pray for the city and the people within.

It's crazy to look at all that has happened over the past two weeks and how much I have grown already! As we head off to Recife for a month this Tuesday I can't wait to see all God is going to do through us and how he is going to continue to radically change and use me in ways in ways I never though possible!