Work!

Monday's Pictures

Work has started! And though it might seem like bragging, you put together a team of hard-working people from California and a team of hard-working people from Kansas, and a lot of dirt’s gonna move places! :)

Our major project to work on while here is a new school. Currently the school is located at the church, but both the school and the church has outgrown that facility. So they are relocating the school to another location a few blocks away.

We were supposed to be laying tijolos (Brazilian bricks) for the walls of the new school, but the building is about two weeks behind schedule. Because of that, the walls are not ready for tijolos, and won’t be until after we leave to go home. But no worries – there is still plenty of projects to do. The largest of the projects will be to prepare the new play area for cement.

Yesterday started with breakfast and devotions from AJ, then arriving at the site of the new school just before 8AM. Task # 1: knock a pile of cement down to below pouring level. I grabbed a sledge hammer, and started swinging. Rookie here! After about 10 minutes, I was already covered in sweat and dirt, and hurting like I’ve been beat up. Maybe I shouldn’t have started with the sledge hammer!

The process for preparing the site is to remove all materials (dirt, clay, rubbish, etc.) down to a certain level, then add clay (and pack), then fine crushed rock. Finally you wet the rock and then pack it down. It creates a very firm surface for the concrete to be poured onto. Later in the week we will start putting down the rebar to support the cement in the floor.

Other projects included preparing another smaller area for cement, pulling nails out of wood, removing dirt to level the ground between buildings, refinishing walls with reboco (plaster), and more. Also back at the parsonage there are care packages to put together as well as well as doing wash (by hand – yuck!).

When quitting time comes, your body knows it has done something! I am so sore!

After dinner Monday night, we went back to the church where they were about to serve soup to the community. The Nilopolis Church has been service soup five days a week for 18 years! When we got there, the line was already forming. Everyone in the church brings their two-liter bottles to the church, where they wash them and cut them in half. They then use them for bowls at the soup line. What an incredible ministry – meeting the people’s needs right where the people are!

Pastor Jim then took a group of us on around the neighborhood, through a street market that was just closing. We decided to sample some of the local foods. I had ice cream, French fries, a coconut treat that was nothing like I’ve ever eaten, and Churros (pronounced “shoohoos”) filled with caramel. They were great! I even saw a McDonalds, but I resisted!

Outside of McDonalds three young ladies walked up to Adam and started talking to them. I didn’t recognize them from the church, but then again, Adam has met many more young ladies than I have since arriving. After some exciting conversation (in English), and an invitation to church on Thursday night, they left smiling and laughing. I asked Adam where he had met the ladies, and he pointed to the ground. “Right here!” Wow! I’ve never had complete strangers walk up to me and ask me for my phone number… Filled to the eyeballs with fine Brazilian food, we headed back to the parsonage.

Pastor Jim then told me that Pastor Pedro Paulo wanted me to speak at the 8:00AM Bible study in the morning. Great - I think. I've never spoken through a translator before. And I'm a children's pastor - I don't spend a lot of time preaching to adults. And I didn't bring any materials with me. But other than that... Well, that's why today's entry is so late! I'm actually looking forward to speaking. "Preach the word..." - that's what General Superintendent Dr. Bond told me almost three years ago now. So that I will!