Week Five, Mini-Olympics

It is so hard to believe that we have finished our fifth week here in Itu and that we are half way through our sixth already. I am way behind in blogging but please bare with me and I will get caught up. There are so many things to share that I may end up revisiting my time here over the weeks after I leave. What an awful word that is...leave. blah!

This week was our second last week and so the task of saying good-bye to some of our readers has already started. It is not a pleasant thing to say good-bye to these people who have become our friends. I am able to say good-bye in faith that the God who brought me here is going to continue to care for these dear people after I leave. I trust that He will bring others who will water the seeds that have been planted in their hearts and that He Himself will bring the growth that is needed in their lives.

This is Amanda. Unfortunately she and I had our last reading session during our fifth week as she will be traveling during our last week of reading sessions. I will miss you Amanda!


Here I am in a reading session with Eduardo. I also have been reading with his brother Ricardo who is a new child in Christ!

This week our LST party was a wacky olympics. We invited all of the kids who had been at camp to come out. We were prepared for a huge turn out of church members, readers, and campers. Five o'clock came and went and this is what you could see:

No one showed up. We were getting quite discouraged. I took my place in the middle of the auditorium on the cold floor and waited. I think it was around 5:30 when some of the group from San Angelo showed up. So at least we had a few people. more people trickled in and eventually we had a sufficient number to at least break into two teams of six and have a little bit of a competition. We started out by naming our teams and creating flags.

We then had an opening ceremony where the torch was carried through the auditorium and the Brazilian national anthem was played.


The first event was a toilet paper relay. Over, under, over, under. My team finished first but we broke the toilet paper.


The opposing team didn't tear the toilet paper but they finished second. It ended up being a tie for points.


The second event was a three legged race. Stephano and I kicked butt, but in the end our team lost.

We had a number of other events as well, a water relay, which my team lost, a game called snatch the bacon, which my team also lost! But at the end of the day winning is not what counts. It's the fun you had during the experience that creates memories to last a lifetime!

Here is the losing team, the Pencil Necks.

After the party was over and we got everything cleaned up we headed back to the hotel with the people from the San Angelo group. Some of us then went to a Festa Junina put on the the Brazilian military here in Itu. They host this party every year and it is said to be one of the best in Itu. This is the fourth year I have been here during Festa Junina season and this was the first time I ever went to this Festa Junina. It was a long night and a bit adventurous to say the least. This picture was taken while we were there. I absolutely love it!

Jessica, me and Katie eating BIG pastel! Yummy!

It has been a busy week. Please keep us in your prayers as we enter into our sixth and final week here working in Itu.