Just like that, our time in Rio has come to an end and we are back home in the US. Our last day’s activities included seeing the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue and going up the famous Sugar Loaf mountain in a suspended cable car. For lunch, we ate at a traditional Rodizio restaurant where…
Today brought many goodbyes… a lot of “tchau” (this means goodbye in Portuguese). Today was the last day of ministry for the team and the last day of visiting schools and neighborhoods. We made so many connections and relationships with the children and the interpreters that it made saying goodbye so very difficult. Although today…
It has been a long day for this crew today. Physically, we are tired from playing with children all day from morning to evening. Mentally, we are exhausted from processing all that we saw and all that we encountered. The day started off in a school near Central Baptist Church in Costa Barros where we…
Day 4 is in the books! Today we revisited the same neighborhood as yesterday and were able to go see some wonderful kids while they were at school! The kids were so full of energy and joy, it was nearly overwhelming at times. They wanted nothing more than to hug all of us and play…
Today’s adventures seemed to take us all over Rio. From neighborhoods, schools, and malls we were going nonstop all day. We were able to interact with and give to some amazing and joyful children who were in need. Sometimes all they needed was someone to see them, someone to tell them they love them, or…
Coach Bart at Church in Rio
Day two! What a special day! Our morning was spent at Central Baptist Church in Costa Barros and our very own Coach Bart Brooks spoke a word to the congregation. This was an especially memorable moment for our team and a wonderful way to kick off the week of mission work that we are about…
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…
Exactly three years ago today, we were in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, changing the lives of those around us. Without even knowing, our lives were forever changed from that trip. The people we met and the children we helped will forever have an impact on our lives. From just a simple smile to a friendly…