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.