Even though Easter was early this year, we didn't have to worry about cold weather here in Belem. It didn't even rain--amazingly. As we think about Easter and the meaning of that special day, it truly is the reason we are here. Christ's Resurrection! He came that all may have new life and by trusting in Him, might have life eternal. That is the reason we're here -- to help bring that incredible message to this part of God's great creation. Thank you for your support and prayers for our ministry here. We are blessed because of you.
Easter morning we attended the Japanese Brazilian Church. They hosted a breakfast. It's a bit different than your "typical" American Easter breakfast. We had several types of bread, fruits, and cake to choose from. For drinks there were local fruit juices and coffee. People of every age drink coffee here in Brazil.
Here in Brazil, it is not common to have Easter baskets. Instead they sell large chocolate eggs. These eggs are filled with other candy and toys, and then decoratively wrapped. We got the kids each a chocolate egg this year. It's hard to find the typical Easter candies that we could normally put in a basket--not to mention the basket and grass. These Brazilian Easter eggs are generally VERY expensive, ranging in price from R$20 to R$60 (US$15 to $45). We got ours from a local ministry for only R$10, a MUCH better price and we helped someone else out too.
We got the kids a box of Fruit Loops for Easter too. Fruit Loops are hard to find and quite costly, so this was a real treat. They each had a bowl of them before we left for our church. The box was so small that there were very few left after each kid had a small bowl. Definitely NOT something we'll be doing again any time soon.~ ~ ~
Every year Grandma Kimball has given the kids new Easter clothes to wear. The last couple of Easters in Brazil has made this a bit more challenging, but with early planning and creativity, the kids are beautifully dressed in new outfits.
Elisabeth, almost 12
Caleb, age 10
Nathanael (14) is also sporting some new decor on his teeth. He's beginning the process of straightening his smile.
Hannah, 8 year old~ ~ ~
For Easter Dinner we had one of our teachers and her two teenagers over, plus three single missionary gals. It was a nice time of fellowship and yummy food.
Here's Elisabeth with Kathleen and Kelly. Kathleen and Kelly work with ARCA, a ministry for street kids.
Jenn, missionary with ARCA, and Debbie, AVA teacher, help out with the clean up after dinner.
Dennis, Nathanael, Freddie & Lillian (Debbie's kids) get in a few games of Dutch Blitz -- a worldwide well loved MK game.
~ ~ ~
At 4:00pm we had our English service. We showed a portion of the Jesus movie and sang some great songs about the Resurrection of our Savior.
After our afternoon English service, we gathered at our house with most of the leaders for a traditional Easter "breakfast". We ate it at supper time, but it was tasty just the same.
Here's Elisabeth with Kathleen and Kelly. Kathleen and Kelly work with ARCA, a ministry for street kids.
Jenn, missionary with ARCA, and Debbie, AVA teacher, help out with the clean up after dinner.
Dennis, Nathanael, Freddie & Lillian (Debbie's kids) get in a few games of Dutch Blitz -- a worldwide well loved MK game.~ ~ ~
At 4:00pm we had our English service. We showed a portion of the Jesus movie and sang some great songs about the Resurrection of our Savior.
After our afternoon English service, we gathered at our house with most of the leaders for a traditional Easter "breakfast". We ate it at supper time, but it was tasty just the same.
Dennis made yummy banana cinnamon pancakes.
Jeanne, our 5/6 grade teacher, made Swedish pancakes.
It was a busy day, but we enjoyed celebrating our Savior's Resurrection with our family, friends, and colleagues. May God bless each of you!
No comments:
Post a Comment