A sweet naughty boy

Jean was one of my English students during Caleb Mission. He was not supposed to be in my class because of his age, but somehow I could not reject him in my class. I felt like I had to accept him  even though he was older than the rest of the kids. Soon I discovered he was a naughty boy! He also had a look of a little gangster boy lol but somehow he would always come to class. Sometimes his older friends would come and tell him to go out with them, but he never went (I also did not let him lol).

The last day I was there, I sort of had a party with the kids. When Jean came, he just opened the door but did not get into the classroom. I could see in his face that he wanted to get in, but I did not understand why he wouldn't, so I left the kids inside and went to talk to Jean. I asked him to go in but he did not want to. He looked sad, so I asked him what was happening, I told him it was my last day with them and that I wanted him to enjoy the party together with the rest of the kids. Then he said something that almost made me cry. He said that he hates goodbyes because he does not like missing people. I tried to convince him to go in the classroom but he did not want, so we took a picture together. Then he finally accepted to get in, but he just sat there and did not really enjoy the party. I could tell he was really sad. In the end, I had prepared special gifts for the kids who did not miss any class during the 3 weeks, and luckily I had an extra gift, so I gave it to Jean.

Jean showed me that every kid has a sweet side, even the naughtiest of them all. He also made me remember that every single kid is important to God and that we should love them because Jesus loves them.

"And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." 

(Matthew 18:5)

Missão Calebe 5.0

Maraial, Pernambuco, Brazil

I'm finally posting some pictures of Caleb Mission (previous post about it).

The whole month of January was a blessing in Maraial (and I'm sure it was a blessing all around Brasil where the "Calebs" were). I was the first to leave the group (I came back to Recife on Jan 31st); therefore, I did not have any information about the number of baptisms they had. However, to my surprise, Mr. Marcos and Mrs. Sandra (the Mayor or Maraial and his wife, who is adventist) came to Recife yesterday and decided to visit me at the Union. She told me that 16 people were baptized and that her husband is getting baptized this coming Sabbath. It totally made my day, my week, my month!

I left without seeing the fruits of the mission there. All these time, I had only been praying for them, but yesterday the Lord allowed me to hear just a little bit of what He's doing in that town. The Lord is pouring his blessings unto those people and is guiding them to the light. I thank my Lord for allowing me to be part of that story, but most important, for allowing me bring people to Him.

Calebs in action (L to R: Mauricio, Naide, Sendy, Mr. Itai-the evangelist, Rafael,
Wesilany, Cizinha, Jessica, Sister Vade-the cook!, Cristina and Jedson.)

My kids!! I taught them English every evening for three weeks.

Maraial

Inviting the people of Maraial to the community service project and evangelistic meetings

A nice visit

I love how God keeps surprising me making my life in Brazil a total adventure. I was starting to feel sad because I had not had a chance to revisit Maraial and see the church that started with our mission work during January. However, last Friday evening I received a phone call from Mrs. Sandra, the wife of the Mayor of Maraial, telling me she was sending a car to pick me up in Recife so I could be in her husband's baptism!

Not only did I get to be in the baptism, but I also got to see some church members and the new church that is growing there. It was a blessing!

With Mrs. Sandra and Vitoria (her daughter). I taught her violin for only 15 days, and she is already playing in church :)

Some church members. All a result of the mission project in January :)

The church in Maraial. This was taken at the beginning of the service. Later, more people came in. It was packed!

Mr. Marcos getting baptized. He's the Mayor of Maraial.

FB fasting

Last week I said to God that I was going to stop using FB for a while. I said so in an attempt to stop anything that makes me waste my time, and also because I decided to feed my mind with productive things that prepare me for the great challenge that is coming ahead next month. I know that only with God I'll be able to 'conquer stars for my crown' and be a faithful Caleb.

Sadly to say, I decided to stop using FB last week but I wasn't able to do So I'm trying again. This time, with God's help and power I'll do it!

Sent from my iPhone

Caleb Mission Training

“Your talk will be in the afternoon. You will have 30 minutes.”

I was shocked when the Youth Pastor told me this on Sabbath morning. I was going to give a palestra on being a missionary in different countries (This is my first official missionary place. People usually do not understand when I say I went to Thailand but not as a missionary). I had never given a talk on that, and to make it more shocking, I was going to do it in Portuguese! It was for a youth-evangelistic training (700 people), Treinamento Missão Calebe 5.0, on Sabbath November 27th at the Central Pernambuco Mission (MPeC), which is part of the Northeast Brazilian Union Mission (UNeB), where I serve as a volunteer for this year. Playing viola and singing was definitely OK for me, but talking!?!?

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Treinamento Misssão Calebe - MPeC

I was a little scared and had no idea what to say or where to start. I prayed and asked for guidance because I knew God had planned something for me that day. I knew I was there for a special reason. After praying, ideas came to my mind on what to say. God put the words in my mouth to talk to all those young people. And, what about my Portuguese? God can make us fluent in a language when it is used for His purpose! And as the Brazilians often tell me: da para entender.

With Pr. Andre Lima (MPeC Youth Director) and his son, Andres.
The little boy is so cute! The pastor would say "I am.." and he would complete the sentence "Caleb!"

I know it was not me but God who talked that day, and I pray that the impact in them was not of a ‘traveler’ or a great girl who has lived in other countries, but of a servant who, just like them, loves God and wants to share that love to others through missionary work.

*Missão Calebe is a youth evangelism project by the South American Division (SAD). It started five years ago and  thousands and thousands of young people in all the countries of the SAD spend their summer holidays (January) doing missionary work, giving Bible studies and having evangelistic meetings. According to the Division, Missão Calebe is one of the biggest, best and most important projects in Youth Ministry in recent years. In the Northeast Brazilian Union Mission, 12500 young people will participate in this project in January 2011.