A normal day? Could it be?

To my knowledge, nothing broke, nobody was injured, and we went everywhere we needed to be! Wow! Praise the Lord!

This morning we hopped on the bus with Jim Leonard and his two daughters to hike the mountains surrounding the Cariri valley. Jim is the administrator at the Baptist Seminary and one of the missionaries that Andrew and Itacyara work with. Our hike took us to a peak that overlooked the valley. From that vantage point we could literally see almost all of the mission field where Andrew is ministering (as well as all the places in the valley we had been). We got some amazing pictures (which will one day make it to the website), and amazing perspective of God's working in the valley as Jim Leonard explained different churches and works being done in the area.

For lunch we the Leonards graciously hosted the team at their home, and served something that many had been longing for....American food....well....technically Italian food, lasagna and breadsticks. During this time the guys played some carpetball and even got our bus driver in on the action. Some of the girls from the Peace Baptist Church youth group were also there, and we enjoyed the interaction with them and the Leonards.

In the afternoon we toured an area deaf school administrated by John Peterson (a missionary), and ended up doing the skit "Friend of a Wounded Heart." Since we weren't planning on doing this we didn't have the music....but we were at a school for the deaf, so that didn't really matter, and the students really enjoyed it. One of the believers stood up and said that the believers in the group liked it so much that they were going to copy it and use it. The students also gave each of us names in sign language. Very cool.

We wrapped up the afternoon with another session at the American English School. This one didn't have as many students, but we still enjoyed the interaction and continuing the friendships that had been devoloped throughout the week.

The day ended with a social time at the seminary. The brazilian students had put together several games, not dissimilar to awana games that often pitted the Americans against the Brazilians. I must say that the Americans held their own, and Andrew and Daniel even won a match of four-way tug-of-war.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for Andrew as he has much to prepare for the week-end.
Please pray for the group as they minister to young children tomorrow (Saturday). These children will come from very poor home environments, and may give the group their most challenging but most rewarding ministry yet.
Pray for Andrew's voice, Emily's throught and the overall health of the group.

Thank you for all your prayers!

Daniel Comings