Missing you!

I have never consider myself a futuristic person and know only the basics of the scientific fronteir, but I am ready for a portal between the U.S. and other nations. I am missing you my dear friends and family very much. My home group people that always made me laugh and prayed with me and for me, My girlfriends and our lunch dates, my sisters´abundant phone calls, and talking to Brenda at a drop of a hat. And I miss, Tyler, my cute nephew. Hey, Tyler, I need you here to do a powerpoint for me. I needed by Wednesday. With a portal, this would be possible - but I will have to rely on the internet for now.

I miss the church functions and eating out a Olive Garden.

But I have to say, that I would not trade this time here at this time. I love what I am doing, even though it is hard and with less confort. I feel like I am making a difference in the lives of the community children and I have solidified relationships here with people I have met 8 years ago.

But I do miss you and of all the appliances in my house, I have to say that I miss my dryer. So , if anyone of you in this coming up generation wants to invent a real portal, remember me, I might be wlling to be your guinea pig.

In the beginning of March, Bruce went to preach in Riolandia and Votuporanga. These are towns in the North of the state of Sao Paulo. It was extremely hot and there wwere plenty of unidentified bugs. These two towns are in the middle of the sugar cane plantations. I met a guy that cuts sugar cane for a living. He told me that the going salary is R$35.00 a day – work 5 days and rest 1 and get one month of vacation at the end of the year. This is an equivalent of $17.00 a day. This is amazing that this is still happening today in Brazil.

Work to do - Routines Established

Dear friends and family,

It is hard to believe that we have been here for almost two months already. Our daily routines are now established and it only seems to get busier as we go along.

The boys continue in the DTS program. They have classes in the morning, work ( base maintenance in the afternoon) and ( dance, drama or discipleship at night. It leaves little time for us but we managed to find a SUBWAY Sandwich shop and enjoyed a good lunch this past Saturday.

Life and food here is not bad, it is just different than what we are accostumed so it is a bit of an adjustment. Now that Bruce left, We do don´´t have a driver and I have to walk to the store. The nice thing here is that they do deliver the groceries to your house.

I work at the project house on Mondays through Thursday. My most intense day is Tuesday where I teach in the morning and evening and go to the community to visit the preach the gospel, pray and encourage the mother and children to embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Thank God for Monday night intercession. Fridays I am usually off in the afternoons and ready for the weekend to arrive.

The houses in the favela are very humble. In some, you can see the consequences of sin and its devastating mark. We bring the hope of Jesus. I am really learning that is the Spirit of God that does the work as we make ourselves available to Him and now our words or gifts. Their hope is in HIM. In other homes , we go to love the children and share the love of Jesus.


We also participate in a circle of Life evangelistic program being opened by an American right in front of the Base. Yesterday they had some guys tearing phonebooks, bending iron rods and talking about Jesus. The funny thing is that the guy that preached last night, I met in Kansas City at IHOP. I think I told you about a Danish guy who speaks Portuguese that I met in Kansas City. He has an awesome testimony.

Bruce, by the grace of God and His provision, is in South Africa and in Mozambique at Iris Ministries. On the second week after we arrived, he was invited to go with a team there. He is preaching in North Mozambique now. I don´t think he will after be same.

Though very tiring, this has been an exciting time for our family. The boys found a couple of friends that live in town and manage to escape the race for a few hours a week.

I am planning to see my grandfather next week. He is about one hour away and he is going to be 92 years old.

Thank you so much for your love and prayer during this time. You are a great bunch of friends.

Elliot York's Blog#1

Hello to all my friends and family...

Everything is going great here in Brazil. I am learning many things about God and getting a new realization of how amazing He really is.

NIKO:

Niko was probably the highlight of the program so far. We spent 4 days camping with only a tarp over our heads for shelter. The nights were terrible because it always rained and water got through, but the day-time activities made up for it. We did some trust activities as well as teamwork building activities.


The best part of NIKO was the 8 hour (plus) hike. It was very fun, but VERY tough. I really wasn't tired the first couple hours, but then my energy level dropped like a 10-pound block of fruitcake. There were some rare views that I will never forget. We pretty much hiked up and around a mountain. When we got back it was an exhilarating feeling knowing that I walked that far.


One the way back home, our bus broke down. We had to wait about 4 hours for a mechanic to come with another bus. Most everybody slept in the bus while waiting while the rest of us stayed up talking outside. After a while a friend of mine and I started joking around and making rap noises with our mouths. It was no more than 10 minutes when we had 20 people in a circle outside the bus dancing and singing. It was a really fun time and is one of those things that you won't forget.

For those wondering what it's like down here: It's beautiful. The nature is quite different. Many different types of trees and wildlife. There are some really nice waterfalls and such to visit. The food is great. There are these places called "Chas-ca-rias" (forgive me, but it is really hard to spell) where the waiters bring out different types of meat about every 20 seconds (My personal favorite is the Pecanya).

Sorry for not having any pictures, but it takes a very long time to upload due to slow internet connection. Good day to you all and I'll see you in July.

Chao,

Elliot

Kyle Update #1

Dear Reader,

I am currently writing this message on a word-processor because my internet connection has made up its mind to be difficult. No matter, I’ll just have to copy and paste it later. Moving on...

To those who I have not emailed recently

I was sick with a “bacterial infection” for a couple days last week, not able to read or write on a computer or paper without pain in my eyes, so please excuse my delay. That said, I was sick during a critical point for my weekly homework, so I have spend the last part of the week catching up. Thank you to those who sent emails, messages, or videos, because I enjoyed reading and watching them. I had a laugh with the “clean jokes”. Thanks again.

To everyone :)

The weekend at NIKO was great. The various activities, not to mention the hike that lasted for the better part of the day, helped people get to know others better, and to build teamwork under stress, when necessary. I am sworn to secrecy regarding the specifics, but I will say that if you ever go to NIKO, camping shouldn’t ever be a problem for you. Things there were tough, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way… well, except for the fact that our bus broke down on the way back to the YWAM base and we ran out of water while we were waiting for another… yeah, I guess it would have been good without that little detail. :)

One last detail: The Weekend Outreaches started this weekend, and will continue until the theoretical phase is complete (DTS has three months of Theory and two months of Practical Application). So then, my brothers, cousin, and I will be gone sometime during the weekend helping at a church in the area. I will be busy on Saturdays, with the exception of this week, so if you want to instant message (I am trying to plan time, but things pop-up all the time here—email is the most dependable way to contact me, it seems—), I will have to get the details to you later, because I do not know how late the work goes. Work might be in the morning or at night. I expect, however, that I will be busy at night because Saturday church-services here usually take place in the evening.

God bless you all, and thank you for your patience. I have found it to be a valuable virtue.

Loving to live, learn, and love (with, for, and in Christ and his children),

Kyle (or as they call me, here, “Caio”)

Ricardo, Kyle and William

NIKO-Survival in the Mata (Brazilian outback)