Tuesday - our last night in Bauru!

Monday night was the first night that we weren't out late with ministry since we got going, so we had a chance to get a bit more rest.......it was very nice; it's easy to forget how emotionally and physically exhausting it is to do back-to-back ministry while in a foreign country that most of us don't speak the language!

On Tuesday morning we had another team meeting and Andrew led worship; he did a great job. Our meetings are a time that the team gets refreshed in worship and ministry to each other; it's a really important time since so much of the rest of our time is all outward focused. We also had a chance to swap more stories about the previous few days and who got to pray for what and who we've met and any new relationships we've made; it's been so wonderful, but also so hectic, that most of us only know who 'we' prayed for and don't get the whole 'team' picture. After worship a couple of the park kids found our new hotel (Daniel and his younger friend Gabriel) and were peeking in to see what we were up to. Our team (Andrew and Joelle) pulled them in and they joined our team meeting at the end!

I did want to give a praise report that Joelle's throat is feeling much better; it had been pretty sore since the start of our trip; this didn't slow her down though!

Tuesday afternoon we were scheduled to go to a convelescent hospital in Bauru, but something came up and they needed to cancel at the last minute. Instead, our gracious Bauru hosts picked us up at ~4pm (in four cars) and took us shopping in downtown Bauru in an open air market and then off to a couple of other stores and then finally to an Acai restaurant for a snack before going to the young-adult bible study (after which we'd get fed). Acai is a Brazilian berry that is used as the basis for lots of things including Soda, anti-oxidants, Mona vie and in Brazil as a rich purple Sorbet that people eat like frozen yogurt or ice cream. It is so rich that it's usually served with fruit and/or granola mixed in, just to thin it out.........it was so good.

The highlight of the day was the youth bible study we attended at Pastor David's parent's house. We arrived a little before 8pm (it's starting time) and there were already many people gathered.......this is a big deal in Brazil where meetings regularly start 15-30 minutes late. By the time we started, the house was packed with young-adults, youth leaders and some parents! The study doesn't normally start out with worship, but after our request (Beau's) and assertion that worship needs to be a part of every meeting, that it sets the tone and opens us up to Jesus, David drove to his house to get a guitar for our dear friend Gabriel to lead us in worship. Gabriel opened our meeting in worship and melted the group's heart! After worship we had several words, most related to hearts. Beau had a word about the Bauru church and specifically the gathered group being ready to give birth to a new season of the church. Beau taught about Vineyard DNA and about roles and responsibilities of the church, that the church is all of us, not just the pastor. During ministry time the team fanned out and we prayed for many of the young people and leaders that God was touching. There were several that were being empowered and emboldened for more service to the King.

One of the most memorable events (for me) of the trip came next; we had Pastor David sit in the middle of the room and have the youth and leaders pray over him and bless him. Several of the youth and leaders prayed passionately for their Pastor, especially one that had just gotten a word from our team and been released from holding back. There were two separate people that had impressions about David being caught up in the fire of God and it spreading out to the church. The Anaheim VCF team prayed next and blessed him with everything we have been given as a people.......it is hard to describe, but our hearts were really joined to David and the Bauru church in a special way.......later after the prayer was over with, David said that during prayer he felt caught up in a whirlwind and was nearly overwhelmed by the presence of God!

After the meeting, a group of us prayed for a single Mom who had suffered with severe depression and suicidal thoughts for nearly 15 years. We prayed for her for quite a while and had a lot of words for her; she had a great deal of abuse from her past; we had some break thru moments, but please pray for Techa for complete deliverance and a new identity in Christ.

After the meeting, we said our goodbye's; this usually takes 20-30 minutes each time, but since this was our last night in Bauru it was much longer :-). We got into 4 cars and headed back to Piratininga. The car Paulo Chavez was driving (Paulo is the son of Silvio and Ana-Silvia and is 18) was late and several folks stayed up waiting for them. Paulo was driving Aaron Hatcher, Andrew, Lauren and Filipe. Paulo decided to take 'the back way'........there was construction on this route and Paulo bypassed some roadblocks attempting to clear the road. As Paulo drove towards the construction, they saw train tracks under with big ditches on either side where the pavement had been removed. Paulo sped up to try and get over the tracks, but only managed to get only the front tires over and then couldn't go forward or backward to get off the tracks! After many unsuccessful attempts, the kids saw two motorcycles coming toward them and Filipe freaked out......he comes from Rio, where road traps with motorcycle bandits are very common. Fortunately, these motorcyclists were good samaritans and with their help the rest of the occupants were able to lift the car off of the tracks! It was none too soon either; while they were lifting and backing the car off the tracks, a train whistle blew and they saw in the distance a train coming......all the kids arrived back safely, but needless to say we appreciate your continued prayers for safety!

We love you all,
VCF Brazil Team 2009