Chã de Cruz

The last Wednesday evening and Thursday during our stay in Recife were spent at the Zoë Project in Chã de Cruz. This is a sister project to the work in Tejipio and is where most of the young people we met at camp during our first week live. It is a particularly poor area with families of up to 12 sleeping in one room. However family is really important and despite the difficulties it was heartening to see brothers and sisters helping each and bringing each other along to the church.

On the Wednesday evening we quite literally took up our mats and travelled on the metro and the bus up the windy hill out of the city. The church were holding a special praise service for the camps which had taken place over the summer which included the last camp that we had helped out at. The service was very moving with praise that we recognised - we almost kept up with all the actions this time - and inspiring talk by the Pastor. Karen, Jenefer, Barbara and Rebecca were asked to sing their rendition of 'The Lord's My Shepherd' which they had perfected earlier in the kitchen. There will be X-factor appearances for them!

During the service the young people were able to relive their camp memories through the various photos that came up on the screen. Karen and Jenefer were disapppointed to be the only members of the team not to feature... but then they were probably working hard in the kitchen.

We learned the meaning of 'close fellowship' that night as all 10 of us, Emma the Latin Link worker and our new friends Everton and Pedro, all settled down to sleep on the cold church floor. While we didn't enjoy our cold showers in Tejipio, suddenly with only one basin between all of us, we realised that we had been living in the lap of luxury.

We had an early start on Thursday as the children and young people arrive at the project before 8am. We had been asked to lead their 3-hour programme morning and afternoon, with around 350 children. As a team we had our concerns about our ability to do this - it is hard enough to carry out a programme in your own country and in your own language without trying to do the same half way round the world.

Following on from our Bible study experience in Chã de Cruz we had developed a programme with a number of different stations. This time prayer was not the focus but English language and skill and sports games. We felt that this would make the large numbers more manageable by putting them into smaller teams. We also had tuned into the fact that Brazilians are very competitive and would enjoy the team element.

On arrival the children had breakfast - for some it would be their largest meal that day. Our programme began with some songs and Bible teaching once again focusing on the Lost Sheep. The older young people were treated to a drama on the Prodigal Son. Through this we wanted to remind the children and young people that they are very special to God.

Sometimes the best laid plans go awry and when the heavens opened we temporarily panicked. However God was on our side and as a team we managed to work together and think on our feet. We were able to run the language stations in the church and the sports stations in the covered refectory area. The morning was a great success with everyone thoroughly enjoying the variety, and of course the competition! We were exhausted and we were only half way through!

Lunch was an opportunity to share with some of the project workers and to find out a little bit more about the area. We even managed a conversation about the World Cup and Thierry Henry's interesting tactics against the Republic of Ireland. Some of the project workers had been participants in the past and have now learnt skills which they can now use to support themselves financially.

The afternoon brought even more children many of whom were younger and we were concerned that they would not be able to concentrate on the planned activities. However again we were surprised and realised God's hand with us as the majority of them worked together to have a really fun afternoon. We gave some of the older young people leadership responsibilities and we could literally see them blossoming under the challenge.

As we walked away from the church to catch the bus back to Tejipio it was with a mixture of relief, excitement and sadness. We appreciate all the prayer support back home and firmly saw God's hand at work with the team during those manic few hours.

So long, Farewell, Auf Weidersehen goodbye or just Tchau!

It is with regret that we intimate the departure of two of our esteemed colleages. Davina phoned - Karen and Jonny were asked to leave the Big Bloomfield House. They entered the diary room for the last time on Friday 13th August and in a flash they were gone. Out of our lives forever and away to a new start in a foreign land.

We look forward to seeing them next Sunday.

They have been an integral part of the team.

Jonny - Brad Pitt - Simpson has left a trail of borken hearts throughout Brazil. On Friday, the teenagers in Teijipo declared a period of mourning as they kissed photos of him on their camera and made hearts with their hands. He is gone, but not forgotten. He live on forever in their memories. Well, until the next Step team comes out with a hot boy on it. Or just a boy. With a pulse. We know he found the adulation hard to handle. Yeah right. Back to earth aka Belfast with a bump. David was tempted to buy a teeshirt which had 'Brad's Dad' emblazoned on his chest.

Karen. Well, what can I say. Or sing. She has been an inspiration to Kym and Aggie without the fluffy rubber gloves. She got down and dirty in the kitchen every day, and put herself through pain for her ministry. She was ATTACKED by starving mosquitos while battling her way through shower cleaning, selflessly sacrificing the look of her own legs just so we could clean ours. And despite all this, she had a song for every occasion, and a smile for every small child. Well, the last bit is not strictly true but it makes her sound quite sweet. We will miss you and your bites. 'And now, the end is near, and we must take the final curtain....'. (Shower curtain....!)

Food Glorious Food - mark 2

We know we've already mentioned it, but as we are now 3 weeks into the Brazilian diet, we felt it may be good to share in a little bit more detail the source of our energy.

Beans Meanz Heinz.....Beans means Brazilian breakfast, lunch, tea and supper! The staple diet of Brazilians is rice and beans in a variety of forms. Beans on their own, beans with chicken, beans with chorizo, beans with unidentified meat, beans with salad, beans with, well, more beans.
Lesson 13: Be prepared for 10 people in one room after a bean diet. Enough said.

Snacks are popular in Brazil and consist of crisps and some dodgy chocolate which tastes like Scotbloc. They are also keen to give out packets of biscuits at every opportunity - traybakes at a church event are replaced by a packet of biscuits cut in two. We mean you get half a packet for a light snack! Ladies, take note. Brazilian style fast food is a pear shaped ball of deep fried chicken, aptly renamed a chicken apple by Stephen Simpson.

However, by far the favourite of our team - particularly Sharon and Rebecca - is the popcorn in a packet which tastes like sugar puffs! This is sold in shops but also at all train stations and bus stations. In fact, before buses leave the station, there are sellers who come on to the buses and sell refreshments up and down the bus (including single sweets!). Rebecca is keen to point out that the popcorn is indeed evidence that there is one good thing about public transport in Brazil!

Lesson 14: Multi tasking is essential on public transport - grabbing onto bags, gripping onto the rails as you are flung around corners but most importantly balancing your precious packet of sugar puffs (a hefty 15p) just under your chin for maximum consumption.

Breakfasts were amazing. Fatima prepared a changing feast for us daily. The staples were fresh pineapple, papaya and watermelon, as well as bread rolls still hot and soft from the oven. Granola and yoghurt - prize for anyone who can take the lid off in one go - as well as coffee and a variety of freshly made fruit juices. Occasionally we got scrambled eggs, tapioca pancakes or cheesy/eggy couscous, fried bananas and the team favourite, cake.
Even after such a breakfast, lunch was the main meal of the day and it was usually, yes, you guessed it, rice and beans, as well as salad and chicken, fish or liver. The latter was not a favourite it must be noted. Tea, when it happened, was bread and cheese rolls, or sometimes, yes, beans and rice. However, on a team reconnaissance mission to the local supermarket, Sharon introduced us to the nectar of the conserve world. Banoffee style spread for use on bread rolls. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G in the words of Laura Bush. The solidified version, tasting almost like fudge, also went down a treat.

Guarana has continued to be a party favourite, with the main consumers being the Simpson boys. As if David Simpson needs something to make him more hyper! In an attempt to prepare ourselves for bikini body, or in Davids case, 'speedo time', we have occasionally sampled Guarana Zero - the diet version. All the fun with none of the calories!

Lesson 15: Make your dental appointment prior to visiting Brazil.

Toiling at Teijipo

Our main focus for the past two weeks have been the workshops in the seminary at Teijipo, and they took place each Monday - Wednesday, twice a day. We continued this week in a similiar format, and numbers grew as the week progressed. Barbara and Sharon did a great job in introducing each session, and leading a short English lesson with a particular theme - this week's themes were Colours, countries and the senses. This lent itself to some more face painting which the children loved. The most popular country was Brazil - no surprise there!

We were really thankful to God for keeping us focused during these workshops, especially as energy levels began to dip. We were so blessed by the variety of children that came, some of which had only ever been involved in the fringes of the project. We had done a drama workshop in the first week which had proven difficult as drama wouldn't be a subject they would use much in school. However, we were keen to give it another go as it can be a powerful tool in introducing the gospel to young people. We read the story of the Good Samaritan in Portugese and English as the team acted it out. The children then worked in groups to make up their own drama about 'helping other people'. Some of the end products were innvoative and creative and they really enjoyed the activity.

The final day was their favourite - they got to make friendship bracelets and do some more banner painting in craft. The boys enjoyed it just as much as the girls and great credit must go to Christine and Rebecca who were kept on their toes, and supplied the craft materials. By the end of the workshops the groups have painted five banners for the church - Faith, Hope,Love, Joy and Peace - and one picture based on the Lost Sheep story which they had heard in puppet form the first week.

As a special treat, we took the children to the zoo on Friday morning. About 15 children came along to the excursion, and we took charge of two children each. Two may not seem much in theory...!!! They really enjoyed their day out, culminating in a trip to the park and some refreshments. For many, this would have been their first visit to somewhere like the zoo and we hope they will remember it.

We had organised a party for the children on the Friday night at the seminary to celebrate the end of the workshops. We wanted to use it as an opportunity to invite the parents along to see what their children had been involved in, but also to give them a chance to hear a short message from David and the Pastor, never losing sight of the fact that all our work is aimed at bringing more people to the seminary and ultimately to Jesus. We had considered that there would be about 40-50 children, and some parents, representing most of the faces we had seen over the past two weeks.

We were completely unprepared for the 80+ who showed up!!! It was a culture shock, and gave us an insight into the mammoth task which Emma, Hannah and the Pastor have ahead of them. Many of the children would not have come to the seminary, but they are also not used to instructions or working in big groups. We started off with David giving a short introduction and then getting the children and young people to sing some of the songs they had been singing over the past two weeks, the favourite being 'Alleluia - Praise ye the Lord' in Portugese. The competitive nature of the song lends itself well to the Brazilian spirit! We had hoped to play some games after but the sheer numbers and the size of the room meant that it was difficult to involve everyone. However, we struggled through and ended with some food - cake, guarana (the local fizzy drink) and some sausage baps, mindful of the fact that many of the children do not get properly fed at home.

Whilst some of the team felt quite shell shocked and deflated after the party, Emma and the Pastor encouraged us not to be disheartened - the children had all had a great time, and it brought many new faces into contact with the church for the first time. It was the biggest single gathering of children which the church has seen since the church plant began. We are glad that God used us and let us see a little bit of the impact that our visit has had on the local community.

Prayer points:

• That the children from Teijipo who came along to the party may be encouraged by their contact with the church, and come along to Sunday School or other events organised by Emma and Hannah;
• Specifically a few children have been regular attenders at the workshops and are at a vulnerable age where they may become prey for local criminals or abusers - Carol, Mykael, Renom and Lucas;
• For the Latinlink Striders, Emma and Hannah and the Pastor and his wife (Roberta), as they seek direction for the development of the project at Teijipo.

Planes, trains and automobiles - or just buses!

We have been learning a lot about public transport in and around Recife.


An early experience was our journey to the Stewarts on our first Saturday. Laura got the fright of her life (so shocking she didn't even squeal) when she witnessed a pickpocket relieving an unsuspecting passenger, who had just got of the bus, of his wallet. What Laura hadn't expected was for the pickpocket to take a leap and squeeze through the top bus window above her; throw his loot at a fellow passenger; and take his place on the bus, as if nothing had happened. The rest of the bus travellers did not even bat an eyelid.

Lesson 10: Never sit under an open window - it could be raining men!

Think Formula One on a Translink bus. That's what the driver on our Cha de Cruz bus was plainly thinking of when he took the corners on our white knuckle ride on Saturday night. Brazil doesn't need theme parks. Every bus ride is a rollercoaster. Unfortunately we haven't paid heed to the instruction not to draw attention to ourselves as our screaming caused another passenger to shout to the driver "Stop scaring the gringos!" We were literally holding on for our lives and got a little more up close and personal as a team than we ever thought possible.

Lesson 11: Make 'sure' you wear deodorant - it will give you the 'right guard' when travelling on a bus.

While we had a relaxing time at Porto da Galinhas, the journey back to Recife was a little more adventurous than we had expected. It seemed a simple enough instruction - get off where we had got on less than 48 hours before. But somehow everything looked a little different going the other direction. And despite 10 pairs of eyes watching out for the right stop somehow we all managed to miss it. We hadn't expected an impromptu city tour of Recife with our weekend bags and Barbara's wheelie suitcase. In the rain. Again. (Barbara insists that we inform you that this was a small wheelie suitcase in which was contained the team's first aid kit and many other useful items- of which we have been very thankful. Sometimes we think she is related to Mary Poppins).


Thankfully tour guide Sharon recognised the centre of Recife and headed us off in the right direction to the train. Conveniently she had brought an umbrella and herded us like a gaggle of geese through the crime-ridden streets. Each one of us had an episode of CSI in our minds as we remembered all the horror stories that we'd ever been told. Every crossing was negotiated to ensure that the whole team could make simultaneous safe passage while protecting our precious cargo (aka all the havaianas we bought in Porto). How proud we were of our stealth like abilities to navigate the city streets when we reached our final destination safely and with cargo intact - the train station! All that practice Jonny has had on Call of Duty came in useful after all.


Lesson 12: In a foreign country it is useful to ask the bus driver where you should get off, and never be too proud to ask for directions (men take note).

Variety is the spice of life

After a couple of days relaxation at Porto da Galinhas (Port of Chickens) we got back into the thick of things on Saturday night when we went up to Cha de Cruz. We had been asked to lead the Bible study which was aimed at mature teenage Christians and is normally led by Pastor Marcio from the seminary.

Cha de Cruz is about an hour and a half away but we will tell you more about the journey in another blog. It was good to be there to see some of the teenagers that we had met in the first week at camp. Cha de Cruz is the site of a sister project which has been running for nearly 20 years. It is a glimpse of what the work in Tejipio could become. It is a particularly poor and difficult area with many social problems. The project therefore has made a huge impact on the lives of many, providing both physical and spiritual nourishment.

We decided to focus our time on prayer, using the Lord's Prayer as our text. David led a short intro and then we looked at different aspects of prayer. Jonny and Laura shared from personal experience how prayer had worked in their lives.

Rebecca had organised a number of prayer stations which helped the young people think about different ways of praying. We had a map of Brazil to encourage them to pray for their country; paper fish on which they could write the names of non-Christian friends; salt and a candle to remind them that they should be salt and light in their community and washing hands to encourage them to serve each other. While the Brazilians don't do anything quietly it was moving to see them huddled in prayer at each station in their small groups.

Sunday was Father's Day here and the church at the seminary had organised a community outreach through a special Father's Day breakfast. It was well attended including people who would not normally attend church on a Sunday. Again it was very emotional as fathers were given the opportunity to relate their feelings about their children.

At church last night Jonny and Laura again shared their testimonies. God's hand was clearly in this as Pastor Pedro preached about listening to God's direction for your life, using the story of Jacob wrestling with God as his illustration. Praise is always a joy to be involved in, despite the language barrier and we do like it when we recognise a song. We even added to it by ended the service with a rendition of The Lord's My Shepherd.

Last night Jonny and Sharon took an overnight bus ride with Judith Stewart and Judith Burns to the interior, to a project that Sharon had spent time with during her previous stay here. Apparently she is being treated like a celebrity there and people keep stopping her in the street to speak to her. Perhaps it is a good thing they are only staying one day as they return on the overnight bus tonight.

Workshops began again this morning and it seems that even Brazilians don't like cold, wet Monday mornings. Attendance was poor this morning but picked up this afternoon. Perhaps, given all that we have to do this week, God knew that we needed things to be a little easier today. It is great to see the children and young people engage with us even if sometimes they seem to have far too much energy! We are grateful to Everton, a local Brazilian guy, who has come to help us with language and interpretation - and who managed to correct our dodgy translation of "He's got the whole world in his hands"!

Workshops will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday in Tejipio. On Wednesday evening we will move up to Cha de Cruz to take part in a praise service and get ourselves ready to take the programme there on Thursday. This is a daunting prospect for us as over 300 children attend the project during the course of the day. We are planning a 3 hour programme that we will repeat both morning and afternoon.

Prayer points:

• Safe return for Jonny and Sharon from the interior and that they will get some rest on the overnight bus


• Health for the team and energy to get us through the next few days


• For the workshops in Tejipio - that relationships with the children would continue to grow and we would see God touching their lives.


• The programme at Cha de Cruz - that our confidence will be in God and that what we do will have an impact on the children and young people who are there

PS - it's not all sunshine here you know. Today it has tipped it down with rain. The Brazilians have even found it cold. We however are still complaining about the heat! We are grateful to Fatima who sorted us out with hot chocolate, soup and sweet breads for tea - a real winter warmer!

Things that go bite in the night and other stories

We have faced a number of challenges, none as much as our new found friend: the mosquito. Chanel has been swapped for DEET, body cream replaced by antihistamine and vitamin supplements replaced by allergy tablets. Picture a pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni - an exact representation of Jardine's legs. Forget Carlo Eatalotti - bring on Pepperoni Jardioni.

In the lead with over 50 bites - Karen Jardine.
A close second with over 40 bites - Jenefer Maguire.
Some were early starters but fell by the wayside (Sellar) as the competition hotted up (sorry - swollen up!) Forget Merlot - it just proves that the late 70's were a great vintage in the blood stakes.

Last night it got so bad that when we went for some light relief to one of the more upmarket shopping centres the rest of the team stood appalled as Karen rushed out of the pharamacy to apply arnica gel on the many bites, much to the dismay of a local Brazilian lady. Thankfully they were only on her legs.

Lesson 7: Know your audience before performing minor medical procedures in public.

Other members of the team have experienced less exotic ailments. As with most foreign travel there are unavoidable disruptions in the stomach department - running has happened both on and off the pitch.
Avoiding the cold water in the shower (there is no hot tap) caused Laura some pain when she creaked her neck in shock. Jenefer suffered a similar injury getting out of bed (aka the mattress on the floor) - it must be an age thing.

Lesson 8: Refer back to lesson 2

David 'Kaka' Simpson had the opportunity to fulfil the dream of a lifetime today when he dribbled past a Brazilian (on the football pitch). Pitchside commentary suggested he wasn't bad for a 'gringo' of his age from Northern Ireland. However his moment of glory was cut short when a left side hook, sorry boot, caught him just below his left eye and he was almost stretchered off. Thankfully cold ice has reduced it to a black eye and he now looks like he comes from the 'hood'. We're hoping this macho image will scare off any would be attackers.

Lesson 9: Really - we're not Brazil we're Northern Ireland.

PS We realise that we have yet to mention Christine so this is us mentioning her now. She is a pillar of patience, a study in self-control, and a fine example of faithfulness (+ she's our treasurer and holds all the money - so we keep on her good side!)