Opportunities Galor

If Paul and I were here long term we could find something to do every second of the day! There are so many opportunities of ministry here. Just last week we started a new English class on Monday nights. It takes place at a church about 20 minutes away. They have been wanting an English class for awhile and now that there are enough English speakers here, we can finally provide it for them. Fifty people showed up on the first day and more on the second day. We have to tell anyone else who wants to come that we are full. Paul is teaching a level one class and I am teaching the level two class. They both consist of teens and adults. It is different teaching adults but very pleasurable. For my first class we went through the alphabet and I had the students say words they knew in English that started with each letter. It was interesting trying to understand them with their accents. That is something I want to help them with! Many of them have only had Brazilian English teachers and their strong point is not pronunciation! On the other hand, the students giggle and laugh whenever I try to speak in Portuguese so it is a give and take. We go over a Bible verse at the beginning of each class and try to have our students memorize it. It is a great way to offer something that people want while also introducing them to the Gospel. In the States we take our English for granted but here they treat it like a jewel. Something that is so common to me, can be so valuable to someone else. I am glad to be of service!

Something else that I am very excited about is Glory Soccer.
This is the program that Jon Wright came down to start. It is a soccer league that integrates faith with play. Teens and children will be split onto teams and will have weekly games and practices. However, the coaches each week will have a devotion and Bible verse for their team. This is a great way to bring in new people to the Gospel who would never hear it otherwise. We have been planning, praying, and preparing for this for a few weeks now. It is exciting because there are many Brazilian men here who are also very passionate about ministering through soccer. One man came to know Jesus through a similar soccer program when he was a teen, so there is a lot of enthusiasm and energy behind it. We were supposed to have try-outs on Saturday, but it rained all day and most Brazilians don't like rain. So we started on Sunday instead and had a great turn out. A little over thirty players showed up. We did the tests and then had a great time scrimmaging (we coaches had the privilege of playing as well). They came out with lots of energy and fervor. We were planning on playing again next Saturday but this Wednesday is a national holiday so they all wanted to play then. So we will see them again on Wednesday hopefully! We are very excited to see this ministry grow and hopefully bloom. Please remember this program in your prayers and especially it's longevity after we Americans leave.
This is Vinicius. A bright little boy who attends the school and church. We have been blessed to get to know his family. His mom helps out in my classes with the children at the school. She helps me work on my Portuguese while I help her with her English. They are great friends here!