Long Time No...Blog

Hello to all, live from Brasil!!

Hey everyone! i know its been a few days since you last heard from me, and thats cuz we've had so much to do!!
VQ was absolutely awesome! I cant even tell you all the stuff we did in the 24 hours that we were there. If you want details, you'll have to ask me when i get back. but here's a ROUGH outline:
.....leave for VQ...stop at house where sula watched her soap opra and we ate cake... leave the cars at a lady's house and start walking...sula jumps into the river/waterfall and is wet the rest of the night... bill falls off his bike and the crayons that were in his cart go everywhere...we hike the rest of the 4 miles.. we get to VQ... we do the electric slide and try to teach the brasilians... we play a new slapping game that hurts like no other!... the village kids arrive... erika gives a short lesson and we "paint" (color) with the kids... we blow up balloons and the kids go crazy!... we have worship time and play the slapping game some more... the kids leave and we eat dinner.. we set up the hammocks (ten people in one room!!)... we go to sleep to jungle sounds and critters running around on the ceiling beams....... bill wakes us up at 6 and takes us down to the river... i get in the water againts my will for the first time thanks to Sula and Fatima and get sand EVERYWHERE! (if you know what i mean..)... we go eat hotdogs for breakfast... we wait for Johana and Jeir to arrive with the food for the VQ people.. Fatima accidently slaps a little kid across the face while playing th slapping game (it was sad but also hilarious!!)... we hike 4 1/2 miles to the farthest house in the village and have the best coffee i have ever tasted.. Pastor Egnardo gives a sermon and we have acoustic worship.. we head back the way we came and Bill, Sula, and Carlyn jump in a lake... Bill stops at another house because they had yogurt for him to eat (good ol' Bill)... we get back to the house we stayed at, go down to the river, and i get taken down in the river for the second time (again, thanks to Sula)... we eat luch and pack up...we leave and get separated on the path back.. Sula, Fatima, Etulo, and i walk back together without saying a whole lot until Sula pulls out her phone and starts playing some Akon and "My Humps" (yeah, i know)... we get back to the cars and start the 2 hour ride home..... we arrive back at Grupo CEO around 7.
And thats just an outline!!! Ahhh!! lol
It was a great experience though and this has already been the best summer of my life!
Yesterday was rather sad though. when Erika woke me up in the morning, she told me that she had to go get Thiago (one of the teens i knew from the last time i was here) because his mom passed away during the night. We went to the funeral and Thiago and his little sister are staying with us for now. Please pray for peace for their family.
Today has been good though!. i played basketball for hours and learned another slapping game called Ai! basicly you slap each other as hard as you can and you cant audibly express pain in any way or you're out. it hurts!!! the lesson today was about sin and the question for the week is "what's hiding in your shadow" your shadow is just your influence on the world and your heart. the kids seem to be understanding what we have to say so keep praying for their hearts to be open!
I absolutely love it here and, even though i miss you all, i am the happiest ive been in a long time. God has seriously blessed me by letting me come down here and i hope i can bless these kids in a similar way. thank you for all your prayers. i have to give a shout out to some people so if i say your name you better be reading this: Hey Deanna, David, Toup, Abigail, Robert, Nate... hmm, who else did i say i would give a shout out to?.... All the hangout people! Oh, and Lauren Workman, i was looking at your profile picture earlier and i was wondering, how do you do that? Do what you might ask?? Look SO GOOD!!! haha love you all!
Well im sure ive left a TON of stuff out, but that gives you an idea of whats been going on recently. I know God is about to do something truly great and i cant wait to share it with you!

Until next time,
Jo