Favorites

And to wrap things up a few of my favorites -

From Camp:
This little guy loved carpetball

I spy with my little eye...Susan Lamb!

Counselor challenging the heart and mind of her camper

Amanda! :)

Jessica! Such a sweet counselor :)

Things we did -

Went to the mall and tried new foods!

Drank Water!!!!!

Ate chicken hearts at a Churrascaria

Kayaking!  Hands down my favorite thing of the trip!

Just in general some fun picts that you havent seen -

Stacy's artwork

Meggsie Venison and her silliness

Being with the girls

Going to the beach

Getting to know and spending time with the Cooks

Oooo!!!  Estace!

 Our team! 

And we'll leave Brazil with this last one which kinda sums things up!  

Again it was a great trip, involving great people.  God showed himself to be good, loving and ever faithful.  What a mighty God we serve! :)

Faces

Last night we presented to church what we did while in Brazil.  It was fun to hear what the kids had to say especially after about a week had gone by.  Here are some shots of the people who were on and who really made this trip special for me; because, while we did service projects, the main thrust of this trip was relationships, both with our team and with our Brazilian friends.

Chelsea and me - Miss Vera Vera Vera! :)

Willis' and the Cooks at breakfast - Great guides, great hosts

Gracie Lu and Me - dont we look SO Arabic?!

Marybeth!  My roomie and buddy for the trip - so fun spending time with her, this was just before kayaking, what a saint to go with me!

Me and Jess on Alien night! Just waiting for the UFO to come get us!

Jo Jo and Estace!  My Angel Loves.

Meggie Venison, Susan(ne), and Chels

Aneeeeeeeeeekeeeeeee!!  Mama Mia! :)

Liam - this was his favorite: speaking English with the team and translating too!

Favorite camper shot - they were getting ready to do slip and slide!

Drying dishes! Way to go teamo!

ET Phone Home!  Calling Susan(ne) Lamb! :)

Singing!  We sang all the time while we were there.  Duda was great about busting out the guitar and accompanying!

Mila, Sweet Mila.  She gave me the Brazil bracelet I'm holding.  She was showering us with gifts and kindness all week long - what a doll!

Aline.  My first and best Brazilian friend.  We met first thing on Tuesday and I just loved chatting with her throughout our time there.  She might even come to Michigan next summer - I hope so!

Another Marybeth shot.  I truly truly enjoyed my time (which was most of it) with her!  So glad I could spend it with her! :)

These are just a few snapshots of the people that made our time there so great.  It was a beautiful country with generous and beautiful people.  Not to mention the group we brought down did a fantastic job working and being together for two weeks.

I've had several questions in the comments section; I'll do a Q and A later to wrap things up - so keep them coming!

The Sights

So on this lovely day I'll show you some of the things we saw -

Here's what kicking around camp looks like -

About a mile walk to where they have water access to the ocean -

Twilight in Brazil - aka 5 pm!

Looking up! Stunning!

On top of the hill, overlooking their jungley area; this is a 'before' shot of the amphitheater -

Lake Ann really needs to figure out how to get these little guys there!

In and around Receife on the weekends we saw this -

Supermercado!!!!!!  I gotta find a grocery store wherever I am!

On the way from town to camp - SO lush!

The Colonial Zone - 

Receife at night -

Shopping in an old prison!

Our Hotel overlooked the ocean; Marybeth and I somehow always ended up with the Penthouse and therefore GREAT views!

Hotel Dan Inn - I thought Dan Cook was joking when he told us!

Baby palms on the beach -

At the pool - this was pretty much the extent of my use of it...

Why Hello there!

Looking out my window from the 14th floor-

Next stop: AFRICA!

Ta Daaaaa!
While in Brazil I was reminded over and over again of God's creativity in many ways, but especially in the scenery.  Just beautiful.

On a side note, today is my 2nd Blogaversary and my friend Allison's Birthday! :)

Brazilian Nutshell

In an effort to make my trip to Brazil a readable and pleasant blogging experience for both you and me, I'm going to do a little overview here, and then do more specific posts to follow.  So here goes, I hope you enjoy your little trip as much as I did mine!

We were leaving on a jet plane...but first what's a mission trip without a ride on the bus?!

Ooo lala thank you Chinese dinner!

The sights were beautiful - it's winter there so everything is green right now!

The Friends - SO many great friendships were made!

The Campers - We all had a great time hanging out and playing with the campers 

 

The food - I just love me some food!

The fun - we had lots of great opportunities to do fun things while we were there

The Projects - Painting, clearing, arranging, photographing, dishes etc.  Whatever they needed!

The family - especially when you can really only talk to a few people, it gets to be like family! :)

Stay tuned, I'll hit on these topics and explain a little more as we go!

I've found it's hard to really describe how the trip was - so please ask questions! :)

Also - Happy GOLDEN birthday Sam!!

I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

And I'm working on photos so stay tuned!!

It was a great trip: people. places, attitudes, lessons, and so much more. 

Dan Cook said we'd leave a piece of our hearts there, and he was right.

But for me, I have to say it's good to be home.  

Here is where my whole heart is.