Santos!

Hi friends and family!
We have had a busy few days that have been fantastic. One of the main projects that has been in the long term plan for this YWAM base for the past few years has been to create a new soccer field to encourage the local children and youth to focus their attention on something that could potentially be an out for them. Last years global team made the first cuts into the ground, that is now perfectly leveled, and now because of us, covered in beautiful grass. We spent about three hours on Friday hauling huge rolls of grass off of a truck, and slowly covering the dirt with sod. As we laid each layer, the local kids who were watching, were rolling on the grass and giggling. Something that we have all done as kids, but for these little ones, the feeling of grass beneath their feet, and on their backs while they were rolling was a brand new sensation! They were so excited, and it was amazing to see.

After we ran the soccer camps all day Saturday, and cheered on the different teams of local kids while they continued playing in their soccer tournament, we piled into two small cars and made our way to Santos, Sao Paulo. We have been lucky enough to meet so many amazing new people who are in and out of this base all of the time. One girl in particular is the daughter of a Pastor from Santos, and her name is Fernando. She is a fifteen year old girl who we have become really great friends with. The first time we met her, three weeks ago, she told us all about her church and how she would love for us to come visit. We were able to go visit, and had no idea what our three day visit would have in store for us. When we arrived it was late Saturday night. We pulled up to a garage door that opened to a church filled with people. I have never recieved so many hugs and kisses in my entire life. These people were so excited to see us, and kept thanking us for coming. Their was a huge feast prepared for us, and we later found out that a young lady from the church graciously gave up her house for us for the days that we were there. We were honestly treated like royalty, it was amazing! When we arrived at the house that we were staying at, their was a bed made up for each of us. Someone knocked on the door and arrived with a huge chocolate cake, and later another lady showed up with homemade truffles. It was never ending!
On Sunday we were taken on a tour of the city of Sao Vincent (a neighborhood to Santos). They took us to a beautiful beach, and we spent the day in the Atlantic Ocean. We had a great time, and so many people from the church wanted to join us for the day. We went back to the church for all of our meals. The food was amazing, we were so spoiled.We attended church Sunday night and it was amazing. It was a huge production with different dances, and a rock band. The sermon was all in Portuguese and even though I didn't understand a single word, I was completely captivated. I kept imagining what Fernandas dad was saying, and was imagining that he was preaching about all of the injustices that can be found in Brazil, and all of the people who are struggling. There was a moment when he called up anyone who needed extra prayers. half of the church stood at the front of the church, crying their eyes out. It was incredibly emotional seeing grown men crying. I was trying to put myself in their shoes and imagine what they had been through. It was really powerful.
On Monday we were shown the other side of the city. Just like Sao Paulo and Francisco Morato, their are really nice areas, and areas that have more poverty than anything that I have ever seen. We traveled through the "flavelas" (poor communities with homes built right on top of each other). We stopped in and visited a day care, one that accepts children from these poor communities to help support their parents while they look for employment. These little ones are fed three meals a day, because at home they will receive nothing to eat.  I fell in love with a baby boy (what else is new) and just cuddled him in my arms until he fell asleep. Just thinking about these kids futures is really sad.
We visited two other schools as well. It is always interesting to see how the teachers teach with such few
resources. It looked like they were doing an amazing job with what they had which was nice to see.
The final flavela that we saw was the worst of all. Their is a section of these homes that are built on stilts over a huge swamp. The smell coming from these homes and the infested water was horrible, and the garbage being thrown from the windows of these homes, floating in the water, and piling up was disgusting. In the distance I saw a wild horse in the water, saw a lady washing her dishes in this water, and kids fishing for dinner out of this water. I imagine that their is not plumbing in these homes, so I can only imagine where all of the waste goes. Apparently kids swim in this swamp as well, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. We learned that there are so many people living in these areas, and the lack of space resulted in this community being built. The homes look like they could collapse any minute, and apparently during rain storms, this is a common sight. The wooden stilts are rotting, and the thin pieces of scrap materials used as walls are slowly falling. These areas are filled with disease and violence, and very little hope is felt by the people. There is one boat that is used to transport people back and forth to their homes. Words are not enough to describe what this place is like. Pictures are needed for you to truly understand. It is moments like these that I wish everyone that I know could have been there with me so realize how insanely lucky we are to be where we are from. To have a home that is not going to collapse into a deep swamp in a rain storm. To have water that is safe to drink, swim in, and fish from. I just cannot believe how so many people in this world live. It blows my mind.
We had to leave that flavela in a hurry once the sun went down. We made our way back to the church where there was a huge suprise party organized for two of the girls on my team who are celebrating birthdays. There was pizza, and a Canada cake! So many people showed up for the party and it was amazing. I have never met a group of people who are more kind or more generous. Everything that they have (and for many that is not a lot) they gave to us. We we each given a little package at the end of a picture that they had taken of us with the beautiful welcome poster that they made for us. They gave us their church CD and many other small gifts. It just never ended! I am trying to think of a way that I can say thank you to them, or something that we can make as a team to send to them!
We have had an unbelievable few days and I cannot believe that we only have 4 more days here at the base before we take off on our next adventure, and soon head home. This has truly been an incredible experiance, for me, and I really hope for my entire team!

Missing you all and can't wait to see you soon!

Love love love

xox Tor