Brasil dia sete

It has been a week in Brazil, and it has been a lot of fun, a lot of hard work, very mentally, physically, and spiritually draining, and a mixture of all things. We have been running nonstop spending almost all of our time with Brazilians, lacking restful sleep each night, and just simply pushing ourselves to the limit of our capacities for people, and being intentionally relational to students. We started going to campus on Monday. We arrive at campus around 10 in the morning and usually leave around 4, and on Fridays, 7 or 8. The cafeteria I am assigned to has proven itself so far to have very, very few students who can speak even broken English. It has placed expectations on me to learn and use the language, which has mentally and emotionally drained me much faster than expected. It is very difficult to listen to all of the talks, training sessions, etc. due to the translations that extend the time needed for each talk. Even to sit down and blog is taking a lot of energy out of me. However, it has been great to meet students, learn the little of the language that I know, and start thinking and praying for these students. With my personal ministry on campus, I have been turned away by a lot of students, and awkwardly enough had the best response to a group of eight dental students. We had our first discussion group Thursday night and introduced our theme for the summer, "Origem" or "Origin." We have posed the importance of the questions, "Where did we come from?, Where are we going?, What is our purpose?, and What is wrong with the world?" From these questions, we will introduce the idea of the perfect man that ever lived, and for whom all things were created, Jesus Christ.

Some of the more difficult areas of the week have been trying to connect and spend enough time with God, oddly enough... Worshiping God in another language is beautiful, yet not easy. I feel I can't truly feel the worship because I don't understand the words, and can't completely cry out to God. It has also been difficult to have rest and comfort while at home because I am constantly having to put others' needs and interests before my own, even at my place of vulnerability and rest (Phil. 2:3-4). It has also been difficult trying to spend all day and all night without much intentional, eternal-centered conversation, but rather the relational foundations of building relationships with strangers of another nation, language, culture, and even faith.

Thank you for all the prayers and may I ask that you continue to pray specifically for my rest, capacity for people, servant-hood, the language, and vulnerability to the body. Here are the Brazilians that I am trying to pour into right now.

Matheus

Diego

Paulo

Julia

Andressa

Vitor

Enrique

Gustavo

Bernado

Bruno

Davi

Gustavo

Diogo

Mario

MAtheous

Lucas

MArcelo

Gilerma (Gil-e-air-may)

MAteus

Renatha

Gabi

Julia

Clara

Rafaela

Fernanda

Anna Paula

Lorena

Clarissa

Juliana

Thank you all! I will try and write more soon! Please be patient for updates and spread the word on the blog!

Wes