Deep Gratitude from Belo Horizonte

Below is a copy of a letter I received from Belo Horizonte on September 8, 2009 that I would like to share with you...

Dear Rev. Abi, members of the UMVIM team and friends at the Arlington United Methodist Church:

On behalf of the Methodist Church in Brazil, the Volunteers in Mission Program and the Shade and Fresh Water network (which I have the privilege of being the National Coordinator), I want to express our deep gratitude for the friendship, partnership and important help that Arlington Untied Methodist Church has offered to us. We want you to know that your help and mission work have left a very strong mark on the life of many children, especially those in the Sao Gabriel community in Belo Horizonte. The leadership of Pastor Abi was very efficient and has touched the heart of this community. We greatly appreciate the involvement of each member of the Arlington UMC. We know that your commitment was not just through the people that came here personally and that many prayed for the work and contributed financially and in other ways so that this mission could go forward. We want to thank each of you. Our prayers are that the Lord will richly bless each of you and your families. We hope we can receive you again in the future.

In His service, Teca Greathouse

National Coordinator VIM

Shade and Fresh Water Project in Brazil

Day 9: Home At Last! A Few Photos for the Road.

Day 8: The Final Stretch

After a phenomenal closing program last night and just a few hours sleep, we hit the road at 4:45 am with a touch of cafe con leche and some pao de quijo (cheese bread) to get the engines roaring before our first domestic flight from Belo Horizonte to Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, the van with our luggage got tied up in traffic and we missed our flight, which meant that Teca spent the next two hours booking us on the next available flight at 9:45 am. We arrived in Rio at 10:45 am eager to see the Christ the Redeemer statue, voted one of the modern wonders of the world as of 2002. It was overcast today -- so not the best day for heading into the rainforest and up the mountain. Because of our later flight, we opted to skip seeing Sugar Loaf mountain, which meant more Reales (Brazilian money) for supporting the local economy at the Hippie Market in downtown Rio. Monday is a national holiday -- Brazilian Independence Day -- so everything was packed. It was slow moving but our group final made it up the mountain in the rental tourbus. The ride up the winding road with some Brazilians walking on foot, personal cars careening around every corner, plus other tourbuses felt nothing short of a Roller Coaster ride at Kings Dominion. The Christ the Redeemer statue, standing 95 feet high can be seen from all over the city and is a testimony to the presence of God in this part of the world.

We're boarding so must run. Will post photos tomorrow. God bless -- I'm officially exhasted, but it feels good just the same.

Day 7: No Heart Left Untouched

This morning we woke up knowing it was our last day with the children after having an amazing celebratory "last supper" (pictured left) at the Brazilian BBQ, Baby Beef. Its name refers to the restaurant being smaller than the flagship restaurant, The Poor Cow, which is located in downtown Belo Horizonte -- a most unfortunate translation into English! By the time we started our morning devotions at 8:15 am, many of the children had already gathered at the gate waiting for the day's activities to begin. I think some may have even slept overnight outside hoping to be the first across the threshold. Monday is a national holiday, equivalent to our Fourth of July, so the kids will be out of school. None of them are upset about that in the least. From what I can tell, all of the children who attend the Shade & Fresh Water Project would much rather be here than in school, which is why it is a mandatory requirement for any child who participates in the program to attend school.

By 9:00 am, our Saturday festival of activities was well underway with four stations. George, Shelby, and Amstelina hosted the drama / music / Bible station to help the children retell the story of the Good Samaritan. Roberto, Jhoseline, and I hosted the sports center with numerous activities based around the dyed panthose that Joan brought. The children and adults aliked had a good laugh over these! Diana and Mirian hosted the beauty salon -- which was a HUGE hit especially with the teenage girls. Mirian styled the girls' hair, Diana did makeup, and the girls painted each other's nails. And finally, Joan, Liana, and Stephanie hosted the crafts station with finger stamping projects and a mural as well as weaving (more dyed pantyhose!) and making friendship bracelets. Everyone is completely pooped out but it was worth every minute. The children here are very affectionate, which is part cultural and part need. Whatever the motivation -- hugs were given and received by all and no heart was left untouched.

Before the children headed home and we said our goodbyes, everyone gathered at the flag pole to sing the national anthem and raise the Brazilian Flag in honor of the national holiday. Lunch followed shortly afterwards with gifts being given to the staff who helped us throughout the week and a birthday cake for Silene (the prorgam director) and Pastor Abi. Denielson, the primary volunteer who oversaw the work project, was a lifesaver to our group. He is a single dad with a son who is in the program. Time and time again, I was amazed at how hard he worked alongside our group and I am glad that he liked the khaki green shirt we gave him to show our appreciation.

This afternoon we are taking naps, packing up, and then enjoying our last evening together before heading back to Rio de Janeiro and a very long, long flight home. We leave Belo Horizonte at 4:45 am tomorrow mornign -- but not before sharing communion and a final time for worship and praise for all the good things God has accomplished in us and through us.

I imagine this may be my last post until I return home stateside. Many a deep thanks goes out to all those who have traveled the road with us. I can't wait to get home and for the various members of our team to share their photos, their stories, and hopefully a brief snipet of the 10 plus hours of film footage that Shelby and Amstelina shot on behalf of the group!

God is good all the time -- deus tao bon, alleluia! I love you.

Day 6: The Painting Is Done!

Today, Friday, our focus was on finishing all of the painting projects we've been working on throughout the week. And, with a great deal of elbow grease and a lot of singing, we did in fact finish painting the exterior of the dormitory, the main building with the refectory and auditorium, and the interior walls of two other buildings we just started this morning, which are pictured left! The psychologist on staff, Kleber, shared with us at lunch that green is the color of hope in Brazil, which is why they specifically chose this color. Plus, several members of the team finished staining the interior of the window shutters and two exterior benches. Teca and the staff were truly surprised by what 12 Virginians (and a handful of Idahoans) could accomplish in the space of five days. Gordon, Teca's husband, shared that he thought our work was extraordinary -- which is always nice to hear. And in due Brazilian time, the wood for the new roof arrived at 4 pm this afternoon. They had placed the order to arrive Wednesday, then were told Tuesday that it would be here by Thursday, and hey... by day's end on Friday it was! Teca has promised to send pictures when the roof is finished over the course of the next few weeks.

Tomorrow, we will be hosting a special day of fun for about 100 of the children connected to the program here and in Liberdade as well as from the church we worshipped at on our first night in Belo Horizonte. Every one is really looking forward to spending time with the children -- they have been the highlight of the week. It will be hard to say goodbye to our new friends. I am pictured left with Diana from our team and Victor Gabriel. He is quite spirited and very loving.

Now, we're off for an evening of celbration as we head to a restaurant in the downtown area that serves Brazilian BBQ. As an aside, the food here has been truly amazing and I can't wait to make the pao de quejo (that's cheese bread -- and it is out of this world!) once I'm home. It is served every morning with a piping hot cup of cafe con leche. Much love from The Shade & Fresh Water Project!

Day 5: Bon Gia... After Another Long Day!

Good morning to all our prayer partners, friends, and family who are reading and commenting on the blog. Your encouragement is deeply felt and appreciated as we head into the last few days of our week-long mission.

Over the past few months as we prepared for this experience several of you have asked me and other team members, "Why go so far to serve when there is so much need in our own community?" That is a great question and one worth contemplating by team and church members alike. This morning as Diana read 1 John 4:7 from our morning devotional, she reminded us to "love one another, because love is from God, everyone who loves is born of God and knows God..." It was a good reminder because the work we are doing is exhausting (all of us learned where are deltoids are on our bodies as we painted the upper third of the various buildings throughout the complex!) and the needs of the children we are serving are not only real but very intense. And yet, I imagine if asked, every one of the team members would gladly serve again because in our own ways we are each learning what it means to love day by day. Part of the reason we travel so far to serve is that God uses experiences like this to school us in the ways of love. You learn a great deal about one another and yourself -- your gifts and limitations, your strengths and where you need to lean on someone else to make it through, and who and what is of most value from your own home. And of course, most of all, you learn to trust in God to supply every need.

For me, I am missing my sweet daughter and husband -- especially as I sat at a table full of children yesterday and colored a page that said "Jesus me ama" (Jesus loves me) and when I put the stickers our group brought in the middle of the table they all plunged in to grab their favorite. Apparently, stickers are a hit just as much for these children as they are for Sophia. Their beautiful drawings were plastered with stickers by the end of the activity. Or when we headed into town last night to the bookstore to each choose a new children's book for the Biblioteca (pictured left) to replace some of the ones that are worn out with love. I found two books that I will dedicate -- a collection of stories from the Bible from me and "Guess how much I love you" one of our favorites at home from Sophia and Lacy. Instead of giving individual gifts to the children, we decided to give children's books to the community plus a small donation from the church as a whole for Teca to use to replace more books later.

Others have learned patience and grace, some have learned how to work together to dip a 40 foot roller with paint and then safely clear the nearby buildings to actually get the paint on the building you're working on, and still others have practiced taking on new leadership rolls or to try their hand at offering a devotion. Whatever our particular lesson on love might be, it is good to know there are others who hold us up in prayer and who are taking this journey with us.

We can't wait to see you soon and share the ways God has worked in us and through us in this "hands on" school of love.

Day 4: A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

After another wonderful but long day, here are a few "before" and "after" shots of the backside of the dormitories that we are scraping, priming, and painting. I'm so proud of the team -- everyone is working so well together, learning new skills and having a lot of fun being the hands and feet of Christ.

Plus, I've included a few shots of the team themselves -- Amstelina, Diana, and Mirian are painting, and George and Jean are seen working with the children. Even the group from Idaho Falls lent a hand and even more was accomplished.

Teca and her husband, Gordon, (who celebrated their 28th year of serving as missionaries here in Brazil) shared that because of the covenant relationship with the Virginia Annual Conference as of 2002 the program has expanded from 13 to 53 sites. As a result, there are now 3,000 children in this program. What a blessing.

Day 3: A Child's Smile Is the Same In Any Language

After being absconded by a band of Brazilian pirates for the past day (aka technical difficulties with the computer lab) -- we are finally back on line! Yesterday was an amazing day with the children from the community who performed for us an array of musical numbers -- from our National Anthem, to Eric Clapton's "Tears from Heaven" to several Brazilian folk songs. Leah, the music teacher with the program, clearly has been hard at work helping the children to prepare sung music, handbells, recorders, and dancing for our arrival -- check out the sample below on the video. Their joy was a beautiful sight to behold. Many of the children enjoyed teaching us their names and simple expressions in their language. Then, Teca took the opportunity to teach the children about the different countries of origin our team members come from -- Brazil, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the United States, and Sierra Leone. She introduced us and then asked us to share how to say "hello" in our native tongue and then the children repeated each salutation with vigor. These children are beautiful and it is hard to imagine that without the Shade & Fresh Water Project, they would be selling drugs, panhandling, or worse. Regardless of where you make your home on this fine planet, there is no doubt in my mind that a child's smile is the same in any language. My heart is encouraged to know these children are given a fighting chance to actually have a childhood. After much laughter and singing and dancing, the children headed to school by 11:00 am and we reminded them we'd see them again on Saturday for the Vacation Bible School program we'll be hosting.

Our group then headed back to work on scraping, priming, and painting the dormitories and the main building. We are making good progress and I am hopeful that by week's end we will be ready to come home and paint our own church's exterior! After lunch in the afternoon, the center hosts a group of senior citizens for fellowship and various programs. This week, our group was the program. Once again, Teca took the opportunity to introduce our very diverse team. I am proud to come from such a unique congregation. Apparently, of the approximately 16 teams the project hosts each year -- our diversity is quite something. We then sang our "theme song" Deus Tao Bom, which was followed by a rousing version of "How Great Thou Art" in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Amstelina took the lead and brought the house down with her pipes. I was reminded just how powerful music is to touch the deepest part of our souls as there wasn't a dry eye in the room. We noticed that the group was almost enitrely women and Teca shared that many are widows who prior to becoming involved in the program were completely isolated from others. 5 years ago when they started the program almost all of the women were on anti-depressants, but now only a handful -- just from the simple act of being part of a community that loves them and knows their names. Hope bubbles over.

Day 2: "Deus Tao Bom" & Other Adventures!

Day Two started out with a full night's sleep under our belt and a wonderful cup of cafe con leche this morning. Truly, the hospitality of the staff at our new home has been outstanding. Roberto began our day with devotions and Leah, our new friend and the music teacher at the program, taught us the Portuguese words to God is So Good (Deus Tao Bom) and Seek Ye First. Shelby brought her guitar and that has already proven to be a great blessing for the community as a whole.

By 8:30 am the crew, under the leadership of "Maestro" Denison and our very own "Heffe" Roberto, was scraping and sanding three large walls and having the time of their lives. The work crew from the neighborhood began laying the bricks to install a new roof over the dormitories where we are sleeping. After a lot of hard work, by lunchtime, half of the crew was beginning to paint primer on the first wall. By our good fortune, we have experienced glorious weather -- today was about 80 degrees, no humidity, full of sunshine and grace and a slight breeze to keep our spirits refreshed. The team is working well together and I beleive pleasantly surprised at what 10 women and 2 men can accomplish together in the name of the Lord!

Today we also learned that Brazilians take their largest meal at lunchtime. Over chicken and rice and beans, we enjoyed the company of the full teaching staff as well as all of the roofers plus another group from the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference joined in the fun too. Then after lunch, a number of our crew headed to the roof while the rest of us finished priming the other two walls and painting the final exterior coat a cheerful "kiwi" green (pictured right). What has touched me most about working at the project today is that everyone connected to the ministry has been here no less than 5 years -- and some as many as 25 years. Teca shared with us that a number of the teachers who are now the backbone of the program were children once raised in the slums who came through the program themselves. I believe God has brought hope to this community through simple acts of love shared one life at a time. It feels good to be a part of that hope too.