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!