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So i'm not sure anybody is going to continue reading this, or if the rest of the team wants to write anything else, but I figure maybe I'll write possiblly one final post just for the heck of it. I guess I'll just kind of give a summary of my experience during this mission trip to Salvador.
First, just so everyone knows and in case you can't tell, I had an amazing trip. This was my first ever mission trip and it has made me want to continue doing this, or things like this, in future years. I really don't know how to start, or what order to put things in, so hopefully you can bear with me and the disorganization of it all. This was one of the hardest things I've done, but also probably the most rewarding, actually I know it was the most rewarding. I kind of got a firsthand look at what it means to teach the Bible to people, to deal with less fortunate people on a day-to-day basis, and spend way more time in the Bible than I have in the past.
Something I learned during this trip, personally, is the importance ofBible study and Bible knowledege. For iduno how long, I've tried to read my Bible consistantly, and I generally have sucked at it. Than moving to Regina, it became something I did more often. Than, going down down to Salvador, for that 6 weeks, I read more Bible than I have in a very long time. Not only were we able to read with readers and learn from them and see things from their point of view and learn something new no matter how many times you did a lesson, but I was able to spend a lot of time in personal Bible study. It may have started because during the week my stomach wasn't doing too good I spent a lot of time in the washroom... haha, sorry for that information, but it had to mentioned :)... but either way, it was awesome in that regard. In Acts it says that the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians because they received the scripture with great eagerness, and examined tham daily to see if what Paul said was true. They didn't just settle for reading commentaries, or listening to podcasts (for you tech-geeks out there), or merely listening to sermons, they themselves studied and searched for answers themselves. I always knew this verse, but hadn't realized the signifigance of it.
Than there is also the fact we were able to become so close with so manyof the people down there. We met some amazing people and hopefully we were able to encourage them as much as they encouraged us. I know I personally was encouraged so much by the people, and it's amazing how we can find things in common with people who live on the other side of the world, in a totally different culture.
Since we got back, I have to admit it has been quite strange for me. At the airport people met us and although I talked to everyone and was overjoyed to see everyone, it's like my head wasn't quite there yet, and still somewhere in the clouds. Iduno, kind of hard to explain. I suppose it's partly because we got in such a col routine down there, it's done now and it'll take some time to adjust. And it feels like I had so much information jammed into head, it's hard to process it all. Anyways, it was an amazing trip, I can't imagine if I'd said no and missed out. I'd be kickin' myself now that's for sure.
Thanks again to everyone who supported us to go down there, and helping us do something we believed was so important. The Church down there seems to have a super good foundation and the missionaries down there are just amazing (but than, I'm 19, what do I know about strong foundations and that junk haha), and hopefully we were able to encourage them and do what we had hoped to. God bless you all! Please keep praying for all of our readers! Take it easy, as this may the last time I ever writ on this blog haha bye!
-Justin Robert Geza Gauthier

The Finale

Well I suppose for 6 weeks all of us knew these last days would come, but now that they are here it's kind of weird. We had our final party tonight and it was probably the best turn out of readers we've had yet which was awesome. We were planning on having a talent show with food and such for everyone, and in the weeks prior many of our readers said they would come and perform talents so we were pretty excited. However, things didn't go quite as planned, like most things down here in Brazil ha. Silas was supposed to play guitar, but he left Salvador for a few days. Dante couldn't tap dance or play guitar because he moved to Portugal. Marcelo couldn't play guitar because he came straight from school. Filipe couldn't bring his trumpet. Daniel couldn't show us Ikeda because he had his wisdom teeth removed a couple days ago. Julie couldn't dance because she had dance class. Marcelo couldn't act like a monkey because he forgot to show up (the rest of the team will find that one funny haha). Graciela couldn't show us ballet because she couldn't come. Plus some others! So, many people couldn't perform so we made the best of it. We showed a slide show of our whole time here and that was cool. Daniel showed us some photography he has done and pictures of Ikedo. Peret (PAY-HEY) recited a poem for us in Portuguese than translated to English. Ryan did some awesome card tricks. We showed them the cup game (check out what that is on video on my facebook). So it ended up being a lot of fun. It however is very bittersweet, as I believe Pamela said, because we have to say goodbye to some really amazing people we just met and became close to so quickly. We were talking with each other the other day- actually we say this about 5 times a day- 'man do we ever have some amazingly cool readers!' It must have something to do with Brazil, in all honesty because it's unreal how many cool people we have met. This past week has been cool because it has been our final reading session with some readers, and we know we may not see them ever again. We can only hope someday, and we will keep in contact through email, but it's a weird thought. I just read through the book of Acts the past few days and in some way, it kind of reminds of some of Paul's adventures. NOT that we are as good, or amazing, or on his level, but some of his comments to the people in cities. He traveled hundreds of miles to cities everywhere preaching and encouraging churches from all over. It's like he never stayed in one place, he just wandered around making friends (and enemies haha) everywhere he went. In one section, chapter 20 I think, he writes a letter to the Ephesians and he basically encourages them and says he will probably never see them again, but he wants them to continue following God. Iduno, somehow in my head that seemed connected and it seemed somewhat similar to what we're doing down here in Salvador. We don't know who we will ever see again, but we only hope and pray that we've affected and helped the people HALF as much as we've been affected, and that the church here could be encouraged and strengthened as we have been. Anyways, enough talk from me, my eyes hurt, and I'm stinkin tired. Love ya all and I guess we'll be seeing you pretty soon! This may be my last ever blogpost... can't decide if that's a sad thought or not... ha anyways night everybody!

Justino

Well hello everybody as its been a week since we last wrote on here I guess that means that it is time for another update some might even say ‘past time’ but… “what can we do?” (that is one of our favorite sayings that we hear here) .

Last Friday we had our 4^th party – it was a camp themed one. We had a fire outside and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows (some people had never done this before so it was fun to show them how to do it) The guys were very inventive in making roasting sticks you should ask them how they did it. After enjoying the fire we moved inside to play some fun games, and sing some camp songs. Oh and we also had four lovely Pinattas thanks to the Sunday school class :)

This week we started our 6^th and final week of reading sessions. It is strange that our time here is already drawing to a close. When you say that you are going to a place for 6 weeks it sounds like quite a long time but in reality it is actually quite short. We have met some very cool people during our time here in Salvador. We have been blessed as we have gotten to know them. Before we left Canada, as we prepared for our work here, we prayed for those we would meet and now we will continue to pray for them as we leave. That the words that they have read and studied would be alive for them and that they would hear them not only with their ears but also their hearts! We thank God for the opportunity He has given us to come here and share His story with these people and pray that He would be glorified through the work that we have done. And we thank you for being a part of this work as well, through all of your support, encouragement and prayers!

BUT… We are not done yet! We still have 3 full days here. Tomorrow is our final party and we have been preparing for that. This party will be a time to say good-bye and acknowledge all the work that our readers have put in during their weeks of reading sessions. We have also decided that it will be a talent Show night and have asked our readers to come and share with all of us their talents. We will be sure to take lots of pictures and tell you all about it. It is sure to be exciting so stay tuned to hear how it goes.

Love,

Sarah

Tap Dancing in Brazil!!

Hey guys!

So I suppose it's just kind of late evening wherever you are, so maybe you'll read this tonight. I wish it was late evening here, but it's just after midnight. That's ok, I'm a big boy kind of so I think I can handle being up past midnight on the occasion. Anyways, today was a relatively slow day. We had about 17 or 18 hours of study scheduled between us, but a few didn't show up. Apparently today is some sort of holiday here so many people were out enjoying themselves, as if being at ICOS isn't enjoyment enough haha understandable though, everyone needs breaks from study right. One reader whom I talked about in a previous post came in today. He missed his class at 4, so I called him and he came in a couple hours later. We had a good lesson talking about John baptizing Jesus and this guy just loves to learn and talk about the Bible. Anyways, after the class, I told him I'd help him set up an email since he didn't have one. I don't think he has ever used a computer before! A first this really surprised me, but now I suppose maybe it's not so surprising. I guess I just figured everyone had used a computer, and iduno it really caught me off guard. There were many simple things he had no idea about so I taught him and a bunch of stuff, and hopefully by his sister's computer or the library we can keep in contact by email! He was so excited to try and learn too it was cool. Like now he just wants to learn about computers and stuff and how to use them, hopefully at the library he said, so that was kinda neat today. Also, like Ryan said, Kresten and I went out to Dante's tap dancing show last night. Wow was it ever awesome! Just the whole experience actually. First, we didn't know what bus, so had to flag one down and ask if it was for Pituba. Than we didn't kno exactly where to get off. So we passed where we should have gotten off, realized it, jumped off the bus and realized we were gonna have to run. So we ran in bare feet or flip-flops I'd say around 2 km's on the side of the road or grass towards oncoming traffic (haha that was pretty hilarious). Than we didn't know exactly what building, but lucked out and found it 5 minutes before the show. Then the bouncer wasn't going to let us in because we had shorts and flip-flops! Man we were ticked because we had just bought tickets. So we just kept trying to communicate and get someone who spoke english and so he brought 2 ladies over, one the manager I suppose, and we said Dante'e name, and then she let us in. Than the show was awesome! Dante was like the star of the show and basically ran it, it was super awesome. How many people watch tap dancing in Canada, never mind Brazil haha it was so cool. Then after Dante came to see us and was so excited, and introduced us to so many of his friends and things, and we in a bunch of pictures and it was pretty hilarious because now there's going to be 2 random Canadians in so many people's pictures! Anyways, Dante is leaving for Portugal in a week, so this was his final performance and so many people were so excited for him. What Kresten and I noticed most about him was how much he loved people. Everyone know him and came to congratulate him. Every kid he saw he picked up and hugged and gave them a kiss. Every parent or brother or sister he greeted with a huge smile and it was so cool to seem someone who loved people, and who people loved. He was just so excited to introduce us to people, and everytime he's be coming to see us at least one person would grab his arm and talk and distract him. Anyways, super awesome guy I kinda wish everyone could meet him. Anyways, I'm pretty wiped so I'm going to get going. Have a good night all, God Bless!
Mr Gauthier

Hey

So we had a couple fun days off that was nice. Kresten and Justin went to watch one of krestens readers tap dance, so that was pretty neat. Sarah and I had to stay back and read with people so that was fun too. We have 12 days left thats interesting. We don't really have any big plans for our last days. Hopefully we can just have as much fun as possible.

Friday night we are having a camping party. We are pretty excited for that. Hopefully we can roast some wieners out on the side walk, we dont really have wood but we can use charcoal which is fine. Then lots of old school camp games and stuff. People can be praying that lots of people turn out for that. Tomorrow is a holliday, so we are not sure how many readers are going to come but hopefully most of them will. Friday is Valentines day, don't worry though none of us have valentines so that shouldnt be an issue. Friday is also game 7 on the NHL finals so we are going to Travis' again to watch that with Len and Carol. Its nice that the games start late enough that we can even finish our parties before that starts. Travis is pretty sweet, everything has gone basically perfect for us, we have a lot of fun hanging with him and Alicia.

Ok well it is time for me to stop writing. Have fun everyone.

Sunday is always a full day around Igreja de Cristo O Salvador, and so it was today. There are about 45 members that attend the service. Travis Sass and Gabriel, a church member, shared their thoughts with us today. It was in Portuguese, of course, but I had a reader who was able to translate a few things so that I could get the gist of the message. The message was from Philippians 4, starting in verse 4. It says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." What does it mean to rejoice in the Lord always? We are to be living lives that are remarkable to those who see us. So often we take for granted the undeserved offer of life with God, or believe that all we need is ourselves. How do we learn to understand our dependancy on God? I like what Paul says in Philippians 3:

"If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ."

Paul was following the Law with great zeal, but he was missing out on the life from God. He had been relying on himself, but a catastrophic event help to change his life. He understood his depedancy on God. His life was changed, and he changed lives.

An interesting story I read with Mauricio this week, was about the adulterous woman. Jesus has great wisdom in helping the woman, and shows great mercy by not judging her. The woman was humiliated and expected to die, but was saved. What would that feel like? I wondered how her life changed at that experience. How has my life changed from the time when I realized my sinful life was bringing me to death, and when Jesus said "I don't judge you either. You can go now, but don't sin again." (Easy-to-Read)? The woman was a goner, and so was I. I expect the woman's life was deeply changed. How could it not be?! Where do I need to continue to change?

I cannot trust in myself, and I need to recongize my dependancy on Jesus. This is where I must grow, but the earlier verse gives much hope because "God is near." Hopefully our readers are seeing Jesus, and hopefully we are mirroring Jesus as we learn from his words each day.

Today we spent the evening with a friend named Thassia. She had met Justin when she spent a few months in Canada, going to high school in Winnipeg a few years ago. It is pretty cool to have a friend to hang out with during our free time. Today, we went to Thassia's friend's house and just sat and chatted for a couple hours. The friend, Gabriel, had also gone to Winnipeg and so it was fun to talk about their experiences in Canada, and to tell them about our time in Brazil. Each day we spend many hours with people as we go through our readings, as they randomly show up at the building for multiple hours and as we spend time with them on our free days. I am learning more that life is about relationships, and we are having many chances to show our relationship with God to others.

Thank you for thinking about us, and praying for us. Be checking your mailboxes for some nice postcards!

Kresten and the Salvador team.

Hakuna Matata

Hey yall

So today we all had pretty busy days. We all had lotsa readers and spent a lot of time with readers even though they may not have been reading sessions. Kresten and I went to get hair cuts. That was interesting, i guess my golden long locks have paid their dues and now it was time to retire them, not by my choice albeit, but more my sweet barbers haha, but i went in knowing full well what was probably going to happen . Kresten still looks pretty solid, I look interesting haha just different thats all, I havent had my hair this short since Gr. 8. Today Kresten and Sarah both went to their readers houses for dinner and seemed to really enjoy that. Justin and I hung around at the church with some readers and church members so that was pretty good to.

Tonight we went to a soccer game with a couple of readers which was kinda fun. Bahia won 4-0 so thats always fun when the home team spanks the other team. The game started so late because there is a law that says that no brazilian soccer games can be played at the same time as a Brazilian national team game. So Brazil played Uraguay at 4:00 and they also won 4-0 which was world cup qualifying or something like that.

Sunday is going to be pretty busy, so i am going to end this post and go to bed. C ya