Eleven of us set out in a combi that Jon borrowed from a person he knows and headed to the orphanage. Combis are VW microbuses.
The adventure began when we loaded the van. We loaded 4 people on each bench seat in the back. The seat directly behind the front seat faces backwards, which is actually a blessing because you can’t see what is happening and makes for a much more relaxed ride!
In Brazil many streets do not have lines on them so your side of the road is basically wherever you are driving. When there are lines, they are more like suggestions, and rules of the road are optional unless there is a camera. After the 8 people were in, Israel shut the doors on us and then took the outside handle with him, so it didn’t fall out on the road and get lost. The combi was not running well and when we got to the open road it didn’t have enough power to maintain speed up the hills. Jon made a joke about seeing a donkey pass us. When we were out in the country, about half way to the orphanage, the van started smoking and stopped running.
We all got out and Jon and Josh looked at the engine.
Jon decided to see if we could push start it.
Brazil is quite hilly so luckily we had stopped on a spot that was flat for about ¼ of a mile and we could push one way for a while and then the other way. We were not able to get it started but we did get a good work-out in.
God is good and as we were working at getting the van started a combi from Revid came by. They had their van full but ran up to the rehab center, unloaded the van, and came back for us. We tied the vans together, remember Brazil is quite hilly, and pulled our combi back to the center with their combi. The rope broke a few times and Jon tested his Brazilian driving skills ending up beside the lead van at one point to avoid rear ending it; but we made it to the center safely.
The plan was for us to take their combi to the orphanage while the man who is acting as mechanic fixed ours and then we would swap on the way back. So they removed the one back seat out of our combi, which is not a problem because they are not bolted down and put it in the rehab’s combi. We all loaded the supplies we had for the children and ourselves and thought we were ready to go, but then their van wouldn’t start. We tried rolling it down the hill to get it to turn over but that didn’t work either. So the team was still stranded but at least now it was in a spot where there was safe water to drink and bathrooms. There is also a pool there which was very tempting!
The mechanic came down and took the fuel pump off, opened it up, put some duct tape around some wires that had come loose and put it back together…Jon called him McGyver. Finally we were off in a running van. We made it to the orphanage about 12:30 instead of 10:30. We were able to get a tour, see the children who were in their siesta time, and visit with the couple that run the orphanage. We did not get to stay long but it was nice to be able to deliver the supplies and toys that were brought for them and to see the work that is being done there. In the short time we were there it was very easy to feel the loving environment this couple has created for the children who are with them. Right now they have 21 children but can house up to 35.
When we got back to the rehab center we found out the van was not fixed but the Revid people generously took us back to town.
Back in town, a group of people had the opportunity to take public transportation to go to the market with Dulce. If you think it is scary riding in a car here it is even scarier in a city bus! When they got downtown they were able to experience Dulce’s love for shopping and her negotiating skills. They were amazed watching her at work.
We all arrived back at church at about 2:30 for a late lunch. Another small group of people stayed at the church and helped plan activities and lessons for the children’s ministry and helped decorate the church.
After that most of the guys went across town to a different academy to meet the men/boys there and wrestle. The girls and remaining men worked at finishing the decorating and putting goody bags together for the children’s service which started at 5:30. There was no siesta today! The girls were very glad Glenn and Michael were there to help blow up all the balloons.
The few hours of prep time went very quickly and at 5:30 we had a church full of elementary age children.
There was worship time, game time, and lesson time.
Jamie and Natasha taught about the parable of the lost coin and had some children look for a “lost” coin. Tara talked to the kids about being careful about what goes into their ears and eyes because those things affect what is in our heart. She emphasized having Jesus in your heart and asked if there were any of the children who would like to invite Jesus into their heart. The service ended with the children receiving the goody bags.
At this point the team worked furiously to get the sanctuary swept up and chairs put back in order for the “God of the Impossible” service which began in about 45 minutes. After things were in general order, we went downstairs for a quick supper before heading back up stairs for the service. This service included a lot of praise and worship time which went on until 12:30 at which point a very tired team crawled into bed for the night.
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