Viva Brasil!

Finally, the update you've all been waiting for: the trip to Sao Paulo, Brasil! (I spell Brasil with an "s" because the U.S. is basically the only country in the world where we misspell their name, and it's really only fair to TRY to get it right!)

I went with a group of 20 people from my Wesley Foundation (mostly students) to Sao Paulo, Brasil for nine days over spring break. We worked mostly with a church in Santo Andre, which is a suburb of Sao Paulo. It was more of a relationship-building mission trip than the better-known manual labor trips. We spent most of our time getting to know members of the churches where we worked. We did SOME work, including painting, helping with children's crafts, leading worship, and helping with a giant service day in a favela (like a township).

Among our relationship-building activities was attending a meeting of people recovering from chemical dependency. We shared stories of our tough times with them and heard their testimonies about their experiences. It was an incredible and emotional exchange, which really inspired many people in our group to understand mission differently. As I learned on ASP, mission isn't about the work being done, it's about the relationships built between people and the hope and faith shared. The meeting we attended was an incredible demonstration of that different definition of mission.

The workday in the favela was amazing as well. The churches we worked with combined forces to bring doctors, dentists, nurses, women's health educators, and hairdressers in to a school in the favela, then they provided free services to the residents. The churches also provided food, children's activities, and all-day worship. It was a huge event that included approximately 3,000 people from the favela. The turnout and the work done were amazing, and I was blown away by the experience.

In addition to the work, we did some touristy things. We went to a Brasilian Barbecue, which was a feast that combined a buffet of side dishes with a series of giant slabs of meat on sticks that waiters brought and sliced pieces off to serve to us. We also enjoyed traditional food while we watched a show of traditional Brasilian dance and music. We walked around downtown Sao Paulo visiting churches, skyscrapers, and gardens.

Throughout our stay, we were accompanied everywhere by church members who acted as tour guides, translators, and body guards. A woman named Milene acted as our translator, patiently answering all of our questions. Marco, or "Bones" as we call him, went with us everywhere to make sure we were safe. If any threatening-looking or suspicious-looking people approached, he would calmly speak with them and walk them in another direction. Other church members and pastors came with us at different times in the week, so we were constantly watched over by our Brasilian guardian angels.

Other highlights:
-Finally watching a toilet spin the opposite direction. (While this happens in all southern hemisphere countries, I saw now spin-flushing toilets in South Africa or Peru.)
-The conversation in which several American girls tried to explain the differences between cock, cocky, and cocker spaniel to two of our Brasilian guides.
-The Brasilian church member who fell madly in love with one of the girls in our group, following her around and calling her his "angel".
-The Wesley praise band rocking out with the band from our church in Santo Andre.
-Being treated like celebrities/rock stars
-Changing Chuck Norris jokes into Bones jokes
-Reginaldo, a member of the church in Santo Andre who looked like a mild-mannered guy from the U.S., but was actually a Brasilian sky-diver and scuba-diver. (SO COOL!)
-Dancing after the show at the Brasilian traditional dance show
-Out-eating everyone except 2 guys at the Brasilia barbecue (oh man, prime rib!)
-Watching the Wesley guys play soccer against 9-year-old Brasilian kids
-The multiple-tire-blowing bus
-Attempting to do handshakes and conversations in Portuguese... Yao Blaiza!

Next stop: India or Israel (I wish!!!)