Eu amo a Brasil.

Today was day 6 in Brazil. Unbelievable. Feels like 2 weeks because days go by so slow, but I wouldn't have it any other way. A ton has happened since I have last posted. Way too much to summarize on here, but I will give you the gist of it!


On Sunday we had more training before church at 6 PM. There was a huge soccer game that we watched as well. Soccer is obviously a very big deal here in Brazil, but Belo Horizante has two professional teams and everyone here picks a side (Cruziero and Athletico or Galo). These are the two teams that played and it was the championship game. I decided I am a Cruziero fan after a few Brazilian students convinced me and they ended up winning the game! I really enjoyed church that night as well. Our team got hand-held radios and earphones so we could hear the sermon being translated into English. My favorite part was worshipping in Portuguese. They had the lyrics of the songs projected on the wall and I was excited to understand most of it. One of the things that has warmed my heart the most is seeing Brazilian college students worship, pray, and get into the Word. It gets me really excited! 


Monday we had some team communication and evangelism training after finally finding out what campus we would be on all summer. Our team of 18 students is split and sent to two different college campuses here in Belo Horizante. UFMG (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais) is the public college here. It is gigantic with over 30,000 undergraduate students. PUC (Pontificia Universidade Catolica) is the private university in Belo and is much smaller. After much anxious waiting and a drumroll that seemed to last forever, I found out I was assigned to PUC! After going to campus I saw God's sovereignty in the decision and felt right at home. Our team at PUC is split into even smaller teams within campus to really be able to meet and impact as many people as possible. Kaylee Carman, Kevin Combs, and I spend most of our time in the Law cafeteria/area of campus. This is where all of the law and communication students have classes, eat, and hang out. They are very talkative people are most are very fluent in English, which makes it a lot easier on us! They help us learn a lot of Portuguese as well. A normal day on campus for us is to go to the cafeteria when we get there at about 10 AM. We hang out there for a few hours and meet and talk to as many students as we can. They love Americans and will spend hours sitting with us... (Even though multiple people ask me if I'm Brazilian haha... probably because of my name and dark complexion.) We then go to the sports club where they have a track, pool, weight room, and multiple basketball and soccer courts. We have played hours of basketball and soccer both days we've been on campus and the Brazilian students love it! I'm pretty terrible at both, but it is a lot of fun and worth the time spent with them. 
Monday night our team went to a dance class held by the church and it was a great time. We learned a few basic steps of some of the traditional Brazilian dances. All the girls I danced with said I was really good... not sure if I was or if they were just being nice! 


Tuesday is team night, so all of us get some Biblical teaching from Nate, our staff leader and then get some solid quality time. We all got a popular treat called acai cream and went to an amazing spot in Belo on a high hill where you can see the entire city. It was amazing... didn't bring a camera, but once the girls put their pictures up I will try to post some. 


The food has been surprisingly really good! We eat rice and beans everyday, but that is something I am used to growing up in a Puerto Rican family. We haven't had one meal I did not enjoy. 




There have definitely been some challenges and frustrating moments, and I didn't exactly love being here at first, but I am confident God will grow me through the things I am not comfortable with. I am constantly exhausted and I am not a big fan of change, and being here has been the most change I have ever gone through. I have realized my selfishness in many ways and am praying for more sanctification and ultimately glorying God more with my life. It has really pushed me to have to rely on Him more, and that is never a bad thing. 


So there you have it.... almost one week down and 7 more to go. Can't wait to see what else God reveals and what else is in store.