As the group reflects individually and collectively on their time in Rio, several will be contributing personal reflections to the blog.  The first one comes from Betty Wiseman, who was affectionately called “Betchi” by the Brasilians. Words cannot express what Belmont Women’s Basketball experienced in Rio de Janeiro these past days.  Only God could orchestrate…

How does one sum up the past week our team just experienced? How does one pick the best headline to encompass the journey we just went through? Today is our last day in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Yes, Brasil and not Brazil. The people of Brasil spell it with an “S” and we want to…

Our team will never look at a basketball the same. For some it became a soccer ball, for others a precious gift from the Belmont Women’s Basketball team, but for all of us, a basketball is now the bridge that can cross any language barrier and break down walls. A basketball now means hope and…

Aleluia! What an incredible Sunday! Our team was invited to attend Pastor Douglas’s church and what a treat that was. The church provided a snack before the worship service and we were greeted by some of the students we befriended at the first school. We were so happy they decided to join us at Pastor…

Our team was able to sleep in a little later today! Breakfast was at 7 am and we departed at 8. We arrived at a special prayer garden around 8:30 am. Sharon lived in Brazil for 20-plus years in this area and invited us into CIEM- a training school for missionaries and religious education for women. She had…

Another beautiful day beginning at 6:00 am. We got the opportunity to visit the first school a second time and reunite with our new friends. Once again, they welcomed us with open arms, a delicious breakfast spread, and were even more excited and ready to play and interact with the team. The entire day the…

I don’t think there was one dry eye in the Children’s church. Again, our morning started with a 6:00 am breakfast but by 8:30, our team forgot about their previous long day and jumped right into loving the children. The sweet kids at the church have parents involved in prostitution and drug trafficking. Their future…

HOPE!  People all over the world are seeking, looking for hope; something greater than themselves, something to believe in, to look forward to, a way out.  May we always be prepared and never miss an opportunity to give the reason for the hope we have in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Today was our first…

We had a great conversation during our Bus trip from the Rio Airport to our Hotel. What are some of your first thoughts of Brazil? Junior Lauren Thompson – “It’s a stark contrast between where we will be staying and what we just drove by… just around the corner is kind of like the slums.”…