Ola,

Here is the last message for this blog (at least for a while).

I am now back in France after a journey that lasted about 22hours.

The last week in Brazil was AMAZING. Half the team was able to go to a school. We thought we would just be doing stuff for one class, but when we arrived, we found out that in fact we would be in front of the whole school. The young people (aged between 15 and 18) were on their lunch break and dancing around (in true Brazilian style) when we arrived. But when they were told that some ‘gringas’ were there to talk to them, they all stopped and listened and watched quietly, which is something that impressed all of us. After having done our bit, we also were able to speak to some of the young people, which was really nice. We were even invited to go back whenever we wanted to help out with the English lessons (though we never had the chance to take the English teacher up on his offer).

Throughout the week we also ran 2 hours of activities for the kids from the communities every afternoon. It was a great chance to see the people from the camps again, as well as teach them some more about God. We also had time to play numerous games of volley ball, football… It was really encouraging to see some of the young people really grow in their faith/ come to know Jesus during that time.

That week was also the time to say goodbye to everyone. On the Thursday night, we took all the host families out to a typical Brazilian restaurant: a churrascaria. Basically: you pay a certain amount, and you can have as much food and drink as you would like. Waiters would come round with things of meat and if you want some they would just cut it off the stick. I don’t think I have ever eaten so much meat before in my life! It was also quite an emotional time for all of us as we suddenly realised that our time in Brazil was coming to an end.

On the Friday night, we had a camp reunion which was a time for us to have a service together and just see everyone again one last time. We then headed to the beach with some of the kids as well as most of the leaders for some more time together.

On Saturday we went off on our team holiday to Porto de Galinhas (literally port of chickens) which has been voted the best beach of Brazil for 10 years running. We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast with a swimming pool and only about 5 minutes from the beach. We were able to swim with fish and generally just relax. We also made the most of our last night there to organise a chicken party (rather than a hen party) for Angela – one of our team members – who is getting married in September. This included going out for food wearing party hats, chicken themed games and a treasure hunt.  It was great fun!

We came back on Tuesday and then left on Wednesday.

So I guess this is it for now...

Thanks a lot for your support and your prayers.

Hello everyone,

I guess it is about time for me to give you another update.

First of all the first camp (for 8-12s). We were told we needed to arrive at the campsite early to set up mosquito nets, and help clear up. When we arrived it was chaos: the workers were still setting up lights in the chapel, and the eating area was not accessible. Some people on the team were also not feeling well. However, when the children arrived a couple of hours later, everyone was feeling much better. OK the work wasn´t finished (we ate in the chapel for the whole camp!), but it was OK. The usual plan for a day was;
7 AM: Wake up with music and someone screaming into a mike (Ola Gallega, Accordaaaaarrr!!!!)
7,30: Breakfast (usually couscous)
8,30: Service run by the STEP team (AKA, the team of Gringas =us)
After that and until 12: games, swimming pool...
12,30: Lunch
Then more games, swimming...
6,30: Evening meal
7,30: Service and then lost properties (complete with song and dance!)
Then a themed evening (Ridiculous night, Western, Talent)
10PM: bed time
As I mentioned before, our team was in charge of the morning services: we tried to make them interactive and creative, so we included dramas, Memory verses, Dramatic Bible readings, testimonies and games. The themes were Creation, the Fall, Redemption and Restauration.
We also quite often sung in the evening services, as we were taught a song to the tune of the Macarena.
During the free time for games, we were involved with playing around in the swimming pool, playing Uno (with slightly different rules) and other card games. I also ended up playing chess with some of the Brazilian leaders ( and remain unbeaten!)
All in all the camp was very succesful, we managed to bond with the kids, and language was not a barrier to us all having fun.

After that camp we came back to Recife itself and had a day off, with a nice lie in. Then we started preparations for the second camp.
We were all quite worried about this camp as we knew that it was mostly boys aged from 13 to 18 and from rival communities. We were told to expect violence between them.
One good thing is that 2 guys who had come over with Latin Link a few years ago, came over to visit and helped out as well.

For the second camp we left at the same time as the teenagers, though rather later than planned due to lack of space in the bus. But we all got there safely. The layout for the day was pretty much the same. However the step team was only in charge of one service on salvation and 1 themed night ( as well, as some games during the day!)
On the Thursday, we played football against the Brazillians. At first the teenagers wouldn´t let us foreign girls play, but in the end they accepted to play a match Brazil against UK. We started off with the 2 national anthems and the game was on. And the UK (with the help of a few Brazillians who decided to become British) won, much to the disgust of the Brazillians. Thankfully this did not stop friendships from being built!
Also on Thursday, one person from our team was sent home with chicken pox.
On Friday evening, we organised a cultural night, with a trip around the world to all the countries represented in the camp: England, Scotland, Brazil, France, Poland and Peru. This involved lots of different activities including a cailigh (I don´t know how to spell it), building the Eiffel tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows, llama races, and having some tea and biscuits.
ON Saturday we had a MASSIVE water fight: not one person in the camp was dry by the end of it. I think just about all the camp ended up in the swimming pool at the same time, but great fun was had by all.
One wonderful thing about this camp is that the presence of God could really be felt throughout the whole time: the times of worship were amazing and everyone was moved. I am pretty sure that no one who came to the camp left without having learnt something more about God.

ON Sunday, the step team left early as we were invited to a pool party. So we were able to relax in the pool and eat some very good food before heading back to church and see some of the teenagers again.

Prayer and Praise points:

- Thank God for his help at both camps and the wonderful relationships that were built
- Pray for Gods healing for those who are still ill.
- Pray that the people who came to the camps would be able to learn to live life with God, knowing that only with Him they can be truly free.

Right, I had better stop there for now. Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

Até Logo

Anne-Marie

Ola!

Here goes for a slightly longer update.

I figure I should start by giving a little more information about what I have been doing ever since I got here, as the last post was rather uninformative.

Sooo, to start with, about the family I´m staying with: The mother owns 27 shops all around Recife, the dad is a lawyer. Lucas, their son (and our chauffeur generally) is 19 and already owns a mobile phone store which employs 16 other people and Clara, 17, and whose room Maddy (another stepper) and I are sharing is still at school. I guess I musn´t forget their 2 dogs, Bruce and Bella, who seem to think that my feet taste nice. However, I have already succeeded in getting them a little trained ( for some reason when I say STAY, they sit down!!!)

Now to what we have been doing... So, I mentioned cleaning the campsite. This is the place where the team will be helping out with camps for the next two weeks. It has a big dining area, and 6 bedrooms with lots of bunkbeds (we hope they will stay up!) It also has a swimming pool, which we of course had to test before we could let the children into it! It will probably be tested again several times during the camps. We organised the first week of camps today. There should be about 20 8-12 year olds coming, for most of tehm it will be their first holidays, and I know that some had already finished packing before we had even set off for Brasil!

Apart from preparing the campsite, we have also done some work witha  few young people from the church ( I mentioned some activities last time). Football seems to play an important role in this, as it seems to be the main subject of all their conversations with us. I must admit that I can now say that I have scored a goal for Brazil against England. On a more serious note, it has been great to see how God has helped all of us to overcome language barriers and engage with the children that we have met.

We are also very lucky to be working with a great team of young people from the church, most of whom speak English. They have been extremely kind to us ( one of them even bought Maddy and I some cake because Maddy said that she loved bakeries), and are doing all they can to help us.

As to the team, I think it is fair to say that we get on really well: the Brazilians were even surprised that we did not know each other before we came! Our times of devotions, prayer and worship are always something that I look forward to, as we can really feel God´s presence there.

So, praise points would be:
- that the team is so united and that we can really see God at work
- that we managed to clean the campsite and prepare the first camp on time
- that God helps us to understand people better every day
Prayer points are:
- several people on the team are not feeling very well, and all of us are pretty tired already so prayers for  healing and refreshing sleep would be greatly appreciated
- that the camps would be a time when the children can really come to understand Gods love for them, and that they would really enjoy themselves
- that our lack of portuguese would not be a barrier to forming closer relationships with the people around us

Até logo!

Hello everyone,
I don´t have much time but thought I would leave you a short message to say that I have arrived safely in Recife. The family I am staying with is really nice ( and have a lovely flat, with access to a swimming pool and to the beach!). So far all the work we have done has gone well; we did 2 hours of activities with the kids from the favella who seemed to really enjoy it yesterday, and today we went to the place wheere the camps will be taking place to give it the clean that it so badly needed.
I had better go but there will be more updates relatively soon.
Please also check out the blog for the whole team http://www.latinlink.org.uk/National-Sites/UK/What-can-I-do/Team-Mission-Step/Meet-the-teams/Summer-Brazil-2012
See you soon for the next update!

 Hello everyone,

Orientation finished yesterday: it went really well; my team is really nice, and we all kind of bonded straight away (which I guess is necessary when there are 12 of you in a 8 people tent).  We had all kinds of sessions, including a language one where they separated the people who spoke some portuguese (only 3 of us) and asked us to give our testimonies in portuguese: it was extremely difficult for me as I didn't even know how to say christian in portuguese (at least now I know!)
We also did what they call "the excursion", where they send us off on "Crash Airlines" (otherwise known as a trailer filled with hay) to a random country in South America, where we have to face scary customs officers (who threaten to hit you with a mallet if you don't give them money), then we had to drive to the 'local town' (or the barn), in an overcrowded minibus and a very bad driver ( who brakes suddenly and can't drive straight, and who lets random drunk people (or rather people pretending to be drunk) on) and then had to negociate to buy a souvenir.
As you can guess we all had a good time.

So I guess the next piece of news that I should give is that I will be music co-ordinator and children's work co-ordinator (both roles are shared with another person). However it seems that I'm the only guitarist in the team, so please pray that it will improve dramatically before I leave!
Other subjects for prayer would be for the journey on Wednesday (ONLY 2 DAYS!!!!!) to go well, and for us to be able to communicate when we arrive despite our level of portuguese. Of course, prayers for us to be really a blessing to the people over there would also be wonderful!

Look out for the next update, coming soon ( I hope)

Hello again,

Though I haven't left yet, I think it is about time for another update.

I have finally had the final amount I managed to raise with my sponsored swim. (drumroll....)
I managed to raise: 828€ and 700£, soooo THANK YOU to everyone!!!!!!!

Other news is that I am leaving on the 22nd for England for my orientation week end: this will be the first time that I will meet the rest of the team I am going to Brazil with. And I am leaving for Recife on the 27th, so excitement is at it's peak!

I have also had a little more information about what we will be doing over there. We will be doing 2 weeks of camps in a campsite not far from Recife for young people, mostly for the kids from the favella (=the slums) in Recife (Porta Larga). Then we will go back to Recife itself to do some follow up with the kids in the schools.

So as you can guess, I will be rather busy, but will try and update this blog as often as possible, but it will definitely not be daily! ;)

Subjects for prayers would be that the team would get on well, and that we all are encouraged by what we learn at orientation.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers.

Hi everyone, 

Here goes for my first post on this blog. Well, as you have probably already guessed, I haven't actually left yet. But as preparations have started, I figured that I might as well start the blog straight away! 

Yes, indeed, preparations have started (how organised of me! ;-) ), fund raising has just about finished, vaccinations are (hopefully) being sorted out, and excitement is definitely rising as the departure date draws ever closer. The problem will probably be keeping that excitement under control until I actually leave, if not, I fear that the people around me will go mad (or even more mad!).

But then, it isn't every day that a dream actually comes true: for those of you who don't already know, going to Brazil to work with children over there has been something that has been on my heart to do for quite a few years now. (here is the precise link to what I will be doing: http://www.latinlink.org.uk/National-Sites/UK/What-can-I-do/Team-Mission-Step/Volunteer/Summer/Four-Week-Summer-Camp-Outreach-team ). However I did not expect to be able to go so soon; in fact, in September, when the first (of many) people asked me when I was going to go, I answered that it definitely would not be this summer: God just seems to have had other plans! 

Anyway, before I finish this post, I would like to thank all the people who have sponsored me (I'm still not quite sure of the final amount that I managed to raise, but I know that people have been extremely generous!).

Please do keep me in your prayers as I try and sort out my last few vaccinations and start trying to find all the things that I need to take with me.

See you soon for the next update!