Bem vindo ao Brasil.

This means “Welcome to Brazil.”  These were the first words we saw when we steeped off of our eight hour flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and boy, was it refreshing.

Our first day in Rio consisted of checking into our hotel rooms, getting acclimated to our new home for the next week. This included eating a buffet lunch equipped with traditional Brazilian cuisine of black beans, rice and pork and, of course, fresh fruit.

The rest of the day we explored the rainforests of Brazil. We went into the mountains and found hidden waterfalls, majestic views and even made a new monkey friend. As an added surprise, we were taken to the beach to take in the wonderful sights of the ocean although it was a little too chilly to enjoy the water!

At the end of the day, we went by the grocery store to stock up on snacks for the week and made our way back to the hotel. After meeting as a team to go over our plans for day 2, we enjoyed a hamburger dinner on the roof of the hotel overlooking the ocean.

Bedtime will come early today as everyone is exhausted from travel and has a big day ahead of them! Be sure to check in again tomorrow to see what day 2 of our mission trip holds!