Trabalhamos (We're working)...

Sunday was Father’s Day in the U.S. (however not in Brazil). The group attended an English speaking church called Calvary International Church where Bill Fawcett is the pastor. Pastor Fawcett is connected to the church through his son Nate, who taught at BCA. The church service proved to be a very enlightening experience for us all. After church we left for one of the few, but very beautiful parks in Sao Paulo. The park is called Ibirapuera where there is a lake in the middle of the park with riding/walking trails all around amidst the busyness of the city and huge skyscrapers (check out the picture). The park also has bike rentals and some of us rented some bikes and rode them around with the kids. We played soccer and frisbee with many of the boys from ABBA. It was a great time of fellowship and Bobby Brown even rode a skateboard on the trails! ABBA does a wonderful job incorporating the boys into community and family type opportunities and the boys play together like brothers. It is very fun to be a part of their ministry.

Along with serving with ABBA, we've been able to help with Thomas' family. He has 5 kids, three of which are with him now (all girls). The other two kids, along with their mom, are stateside, and the girls on our team have been playing with them, Esther, Maggie, and Violet, allowing Thomas to be able to do other things. The girls were able to climb a huge rubber tree. We all have enjoyed getting to know Thomas' little girls!

A high point for us has been having daily devotionals and “sessions”. We were blessed to attend Sunday’s session at Thomas Smoak’s house, director of ABBA. He served waffles to us, and talked about what the church means and what our responsibility is as believers. Also, it was awesome because Thomas has a Vonage phone line that we used. Many of us were able to call our fathers for Father's Day.

Monday we were divided into two teams: the Possums and Jaguars (thanks to Neil Anderson’s creative thinking). The Possums dug holes and ditches on the residence which Tim has planned out for the boy’s new home. They dug ditches for new sewage pipes, while the Jaguars’ many tasks consisted of tearing down walls, sand-papering, and drinking coffee. (The Possums are slightly envious. Guess which team I’m on?)

We are very excited about what God is doing in our group. We are praying that He reveals Himself to us even more in the coming week. Tim has a detailed schedule planned for us. Later today, some of us will go to downtown to play hockey with street kids. Others will play soccer tonight at Casa Elohim with the boys who live there. Please keep us in your prayers and know that we are very thankful for all of your support as we continue on our Brazilian journey.

Also, please comment on the blog and say hi to friends or family here. We will show the notes to the different team members, and it'd be fun to hear from you! Blessings!

Megan McGill, for the ABC Brasil Team

PS - Some of us are wearing the same work clothes every day!

PPS - We've got some good internet, so enjoy the pics and make comments!

Joann and Megan finish up their ditch taking final 50cm depth measurement


At Thomas' house, we were waiting around to use the phone...


Some of us staying awake better than others...


Bobby shows off his skateboarding skills!


The girls "hang out" with Esther Smoak in a rubber tree at the park


Here's a view of a small portion of Sao Paulo from the park looking across the lake


Some park activities on Sunday included biking and soccer



Time together back at our retreat center "A Sombra"

Ate a proxima vez (until next time)...