After the normal routine of waking up and eating breakfast, we had another round of classes, this time only with Uncle Jim. He talked to us more about missions in Brazil and the theology and philosophy of missions in general. Some of these things I remember from my missions classes, but other things were new, and even the old stuff was good review. It’s always exciting to hear how God works through people to do spread His Word.
Lunch came and went and so did rest of the first half of the afternoon as I rested a little, did my devotions in Acts, and got some more songs ready for the Hope Encounter. I also put together a short PowerPoint presentation about the instruments I play since I was given the evening slot to share about my music.
We began Wednesday’s issue of the Hope Encounter around 3:30 with the classic mixer game in which participants find people who have done certain things and get their signature.
I taught them the backwards version of the Alphabet Song, thanks to Beth Willson who suggested it and wrote it out for me. After the next installment of Bible stories in the Hope book, I also taught them Father Abraham, and that was a good song to get their energy level high.
Uncle Jim, Danae, William and I did a short skit that Uncle Doug wrote, and it illustrated the importance of knowing English. We also broke up into our five pre-assigned groups from yesterday and tried to write our own skits about the importance of learning English.
I found out that my group was not the most motivated one when it came to doing things like this, but eventually they came up with a skit that we could do. There was quite a bit of prompting on my end, but they finally figured out what to do. It was good for me to have a group that needed me to push them.
We had a good amount of free time before supper, so Danae and I played the card game called “Set” with some of the Brazilians. I haven’t played the game since I was a young child in school, but I quickly rediscovered how fun it is. Soon we had several Brazilians calling out “set” and laughing as our competitive sides revealed themselves.
Uncle Doug really wanted me to play the musical saw during my presentation, but I didn’t bring my saw with me. So, he went to a hardware store and bought a handsaw! It was only a little longer than 2 feet, but I told him I would go ahead and try it to see if it worked.
Right before supper when everyone was just busy talking, I took the saw outside and tried it out. It worked! Pretty soon I was pulling melodies out of it, and the saw turned out to have a decent range. I was so excited to have another instrument down here that I could play, especially one that is so unique.
For supper we ate American hot dogs, carrot sticks, and macaroni ‘n cheese. As previously mentioned, Brasilian hot dogs are sliced and mixed with other things before they are scooped into a bun, so this was a really new hot dog experience for some if not most of the people. I got the impression the night before that people weren’t big fans of the Sloppy Joe’s, but they seemed to like these.
After supper I had the opportunity to give my presentation about my instruments, and I concluded by playing my saw for them. They absolutely loved it, and so did I. That instrument is a great combination of easy and fun.
When we finished the day’s activities, William and I spent some time talking to a brother and sister as they waited for their ride. The girl spoke really good English and the guy did a good job of using what he knew. We had a really good conversation about church and the gospel and biblical standards.
Once again a couple girls had to wait a little longer for their transportation, so they came with all of us back to the sitio and we played “Set” for a long time. I worked on my blog for awhile after they left and tried to go to bed at a decent time because I wanted to run again in the morning. Another great day in the books!
This morning was the first of four days of classes with Uncle Jim, Aunt Renate, and Uncle Byron. Today we got an overview of the theology of missions as well as an introduction to missions in Brazil with Uncle Jim. Aunt Renate then gave us some Portuguese lessons, teaching us the alphabet and the pronunciations of the letters.
The Hope Encounter is a three-day English retreat for any and all Brazilians who want to learn English, just as the Semana de Musica was for any and all Brazilians who wanted to learn more about music. We start at 3:00 each day and go until 9:00, but we have packed the program with lots of activities, American meals, and stories from Scripture about God’s plan of redemption.
For supper we introduced the Brazilians to Sloppy Joe’s and carrot sticks along with chips and cajuina. Uncle Jim tried to explain to them that in America we don’t use napkins to pick up our sandwiches (or any other food) and that Sloppy Joe’s are messy, making it silly to even try.
Following supper we played more games, had another Story of Hope session, and sang some more songs. Afterward we hung out with some of the students and just enjoyed talking to them in English, helping them learn more grammar and vocabulary. A couple of the students had to stay around for an extra hour, so we talked with them for awhile after everyone else was gone.