Deciding to go with our church to Brazil wasn't easy. Eric wanted to go and I was hesitant. He felt very strongly that he wanted to serve in this way, so we went to the informational meeting. We learned about the needs of the people in Brazil, that it would be physically challenging, and it wouldn't be cheap. More than ever, he wanted to go. More than ever, I was sure I wanted to stay home in my comfort zone.
Money can be tight for us sometimes. And I'm not very strong or a good builder. And I didn't have much vacation time from my new job. And. And. And. I was giving God a million reasons why He should send someone else.
Sound like anyone you know?
But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”-Exodus 4:13
Once Eric made up his mind that he wanted to serve, I made the decision to serve with him. The moment I put my application in, my heart changed. I let go of all my reservations and fears. The Lord equips who He calls.
We went to Brazil to build. Exactly what, we weren't sure. Construction in Brazil is very different than in the United States. You build on sand and off of drawings loosely sketched. All measurements are done in real time and there isn't much you can do to prepare. You have to show up with a good attitude and ready to work.
Humble beginnings
So we worked. And worked. It rained. And rained.
To say that we were frustrated and discouraged would be an understatement. Work we had carefully completed would come undone and fill with water. The rain stopped one day and two of us started to take the water out, bottle by bottle. After lots of hard work, within minutes of us being done - it rained again.
So we built the only way you can build - one brick at a time. The process was more difficult because of the rain and the round shape of the building, but we kept on working.
This was the flooded "road" made of broken clay bricks and palm branches. On one occasion I was carrying heavy palm frawns for the thatched roof and fortunate enough to fall down and land on the broken bricks. After lots of whining, blood, and band-aids I was a new woman. I was still surprised that I was able to carry something so heavy for so long with only one injury.
Some days we worked into the night.
I loved playing jump rope with the boys. Learning the Portuguese word for "jump" was incredibly helpful because it isn't a game they usually play and their timing was really off.
We had a lot of sand to make the concrete. It wasn't always being used, so we made sure it worked for us.
There were some hours of the day that were just too wet to work outside. Mike was able to concrete a small apartment floor.
Our building could be summed up with a few words:
lots of digging
lots of heavy lifting
(those wood beams are heavier than concrete. they are so hard that the termites eat concrete instead of this kind of wood)
So...from this....
to this!
