Brasil Dia 41

Tudo Bem,
I hope you are all doing well!  I can't believe that I am only 13 days away from the end of the outreach portion of my YWAM (or JOCUM as it is called here in Brasil) DTS (Discipleship Training School)!!!

It really seems like yesterday that Ava and I began this journey.  It is a bittersweet end.  I have made a tight connection with the people of Brasil and made friendships that I hope will be lasting.  My relationship with my Papa God, and the love of my life has continued to expand to new levels.  He teaches me something new everyday, and continues to humble me and create patience within my character.  The only thing I want to live for is to love Him passionately and make Him know throughout the world to His people. 

As I return to the States, I will be fasting and praying for Ava and I, and I encourage you to do the same.  I want to step exactly in the footsteps that He has marked for Ava and I.  I still feel led to go to the Kona base in Hawaii in July, so I will be praying for confirmation for that. I will also begin to raise financial support to be in full time missions.  Please pray about how you could support us monthly. 

Our school leader, Alan, has joined us this week in Brasil.  He has been such a refreshing joy to us!  He also has brought us all kinds of goodies....like peanut butter, granola bars, and reeses cups!  On Sunday night, he took us out to dinenr at a Churrascaria.  If you don't know what that is...and you live in Greensboro...they have one there!  It is a Brazilian Steakhouse...or Brazilian Barbeque as they call it here.  We went to a very, muito, muito fancy one.  They even pulled out my chair for me to sit in!  Then, there is an all you can eat buffet of salads, pastas, and carne (meat)!  The waitors bring around the chicken, sausage, and various cuts of steak to the table.  They even had lamb and chicken hearts....which I did not partake of!
It was a very elegant surprise for us, since we have been roughing it for so long!

This week has been one of my favorite weeks here.  Beginning on Monday, our team has split up, and we are working at the various JOCUM houses each day.  Monday and today, my group was at Casa Rocha (The Rock House).  It is a sort of community center for the kids of a local favella (slum).  It is actually the oldest favella in Belo.  Part of the day we helped with classes they have for the kids in the house, and the other part of the day we went out in the favella to visit the families of the kids. 

Try to imagine with me....a very steep dirt and rocky road, surrounded by very dirty, and falling apart stone buildings.  There tired, old and young men on every corner....sometimes even children...are the lookouts for the drug traffickers.  They signal when the police are coming in.  We turn down a narrow, tiny hallway between the buildings, and arrive at one of numerous metal doors which is scattered with bullet holes.  Our guide yells up to one of the windows, and a lady motions for us to come up.  We enter a dark building, and climb two flights of stairs before entering a very tiny room.  We go up another flight of stairs and are suddenly flooded by sunlight as we are out on the roof, overlooking the entire city of Belo Horizonte....mountains and all.  As we talk to this tired mother of three children, and pray over her....we can here the neighbor screaming at one of his kids.

Each family that we visit, is overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit.  The people that I have met in these immpossible situations have had the most hunger for God's presence that I have ever seen.  It has been such an honor to meet them and be able to bless them and speak into their lives.  They are so hungry for the word of God and for His love.  They are begging the JOCUM workers to come visit them everyday.
And of course the workers are few.
Please keep the Casa Rocha in your prayers.

I can't wait to talk in person to more of you about the work YWAM is doing here.
I will talk to you all soon,
Brooke

Brasil Dia 34

Oi! 
I hope you are all trying to stay warm in the States!  I heard there was a big snow in NC and TN.  We are having NO problem staying warm...it is so hot down here!  We are getting sun and excercise everyday...not to rub it in or anything!  I really love it here, and feel that I will one day be back down here if I get the chance.  I love the people, and my compassion is ever growing for the homeless and the street kids living in the slums and favellas.  I try to smile at everyone on the street and pray for anyone I get the chance to.  The people of Brazil need hope and a true image of who Jesus is.

We just got to a new city this past Saturday.  We left Sao Paulo on Friday night, and rode a bus ten hours through the night to Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon).  We will be flying out of this city on February 28th. 
Leaving Sao Paulo was bittersweeet because of the incredible friendships I made there.  The girl that we stayed with and her family were more than encouraging to me, and treated me as a part of their family.  They called me Brazilian at heart, and made me promise to one day return.  Ana's mom gave me her own Portugese Bible, and Ana gave me a Brazilian flag.  I also became close with her friends at the Korean church she attends.  The people there were amazing.....filled with the Holy Spirit and pouring it out on the community.  I think that is the key. 

But it was also exciting to come to a new part of Brazil as well.  Our adventure is over half way completed!  I can't believe it! We are staying in the YWAM "Restoration House".  It is a home for boys.  They have 8 right now living there. YWAM has a book written by the founders of the house called "A Cry In the Streets".  I read it before I came here.  It is so neat to actually be here!  The YWAM ministry here in Belo is huge.   They have 8 different houses...or ministries.  We have been visiting the different houses the past two days, and next week we will be working at them. 

I am so excited about the time we have left here, and I know I am going to be so sad to leave.  However, I am more than ready to see my baby Ava! 

I love you all so much.  Thank you for praying for me.  Please keep praying for our team...that our energy would be renewed, and that we would continue to be bold in our witness. 

PS.  Nate...I just began writing a narrative of my trip here in Brazil!

I will talk to you all soon!
Love and Blessings,
Brooke