Today was an incredible day.  God really did some cool stuff with your students.  Today many of them got the opportunity to share the gospel with many Brazilian ladies.  They did amazing!  We got to present the gospel to them and then we gave them clothes and food.  A lady told us about her son recently running out of clothes completely (a concept completely foreign to our girls) and this was a much needed blessing from God.  You should have seen the frenzy for these old clothes that we haven’t worn in months or even years.  They loved them.  It was quite an honor to be able to provide basic needs for these wonderful people. 

Before that we spent the morning painting an entire soccer/basketball court wall blue.  I cannot wait for you to see the before and after pictures.  Needless to say your students finished looking like a pack of smurfs.  It was amazing.  Once we started working many of the kids from the favela began to help us.  That was neat watching them actually working toward cleaning their own neighborhood.  You students have been awesome to work with.  I truly believe this is the best team that I have ever taken to Brazil.  There has been zero complaining (if you can believe that).  Their attitudes have been a pleasure to be around. 

Continue to pray for our team.  God is daily changing your students and breaking their hearts for the things that break the heart of God.  That is our goal right?  To love what He loves and hate what He hates.  My quite time yesterday was in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 and it talks about our mortal things being swallowed up by life once we enter heaven.  It struck me that the opposite of living solely for our mortality, personal gain, selfishness and death, is life.  God is showing your students what real life is.  A passionate pursuit for God.  Everything else is waste.  To quote the lady receiving clothes in the favela, “Praise God!  Praise God!  Praise God!  For He has blessed me greatly today!”

p.s. Me and my wife, in our attempt at running the half marathon in april, went running to maintain our running legs.  As we ran through the Brazilian wilderness we were nearly eaten alive by a vicious blood thirsty knee-high canine.  Being the heroic man that I am I put Jen behind me so that I would take the first blow.  The dog, however, merely wanted to scare the daylights out of us and then went on his way.  I think we may save the running for the mainland.  I now keep telling Jen that since our three year anniversary is tomorrow, saving her life is a pretty amazing present.  Here’s to hoping.