picture central

It's a little intimidating to try to boil a two week trip into one blog post (I mean, I took over 700 pictures when we were in Brazil!), so I'll be posting my reflections in installments. 

While I work on that, I thought I would share a variety of snapshots from our trip. Enjoy! 

Mark & I had the joy of serving with our good friend, Jenn. We worked together to host a VBS for the missionary kids that came to the BGFM Conference. Jared, Carter, & ElliAnna kept us busy (and laughing)! 

Mark & I set up a tent inside to use for the VBS lesson time. It affectionately
 became known as"Uncle Paul's house" for the rest of the week. 

We had fun dressing up in our Bible time clothes and visiting different locations
throughout the"world." This is a picture of Jenn, Carter, and ElliAnna
 in Damascus (also known as the hotel lobby). 

We brought snacks from the US to share with our new little friends. I think
this time was Carter's favorite part of the day. He would always ask for his " 'nack".

On our last day of VBS we went for a walk outside and got stuck in a rainstorm.
I was worried the kids were scared, cold, and wet, but when we got back to the lobby
all I could hear was, "We are having the BEST day! That was SO much fun!!" It
really was an awesome rainstorm! 

We had fun filling Uncle Paul's house with balloons and playing in our own
version of a ball pit. This picture is a small miracle... we're surprised we could
get our little 3 & 5 year old friends to "freeze" long enough to snap it! 

Carter called me "best friend" for the better
part of the week. We all had such a good
 time together! 

ElliAnna made a pet rock for one of our crafts.
She even gave it kitty ears. 

Another highlight was spending time with the missionaries. Here's one of our last nights at Conference. I like to call this picture "S'mores Evangelism" because our sweet missionaries used their special treats to meet the other Brazilians in the lobby! It was fun to see the Brazilians eat sticky/messy/delicious s'mores (they usually don't like to eat with their hands). 

It wouldn't be Brazil without good food! I made sure Jenn tasted my favorite
soup from South Brazil - capeletti. It was the perfect treat for a rainy day. 

We had a big BBQ with the church plants & missionaries too.
Here are a couple of the men showing Mark their cooking skills.
Churrasco is definitely a wonderful, wonderful thing. 

Mark was reunited with his good friend, Guarana. 

I enjoyed visiting with Samantha again. She encouraged me
with my Portuguese and I encouraged her with her English!

We also enjoyed visiting the church plants. This is the church plant in Estancia Velha. We are praying for them as they are beginning the process of becoming a church. They have recently invited a pastor to come and serve full time. We're excited to see what the Lord is going to do in and through this church! 

Over 100 people attended the Children's Day service/luncheon for the church plants and home Bible studies. It was such a blessing to see a testimony of God's faithfulness in this area. He's building His church!  

We also had a great time visiting with Mark's parents. It's always refreshing to be with family. Here we are at a mountain in Sapiranga, overlooking the various towns/suburbs of Porto Alegre. (There were hang-gliders and paragliders running off the hill behind us. I wasn't quite brave enough this time... but maybe next time?)

So, there's a glimpse into our trip. We'll be back with more!