Well it is very hard to believe that i am only 1 day away from finishing my second year here at Word of Life Bible Institute. This year has gone by so fast! There have been a lot of awesome times with friends and roommates. I've learned a lot this year and have grown a little bit to I think.
     I'm really excited to be moving on to the next stage of my life. I'm getting married!!!! Just kidding I'm not. I have the opportunity to work for Word of Life as an intern in Brazil for two years beginning in january.
    Thats about it for now. It's lunch time now so Im gonna go eat!

Hey Everyone!!!! Here is a brief overview of how my time in Brazil was! Enjoy reading it and looking at the pictures!

My trip to Brazil was the best 8 days of my life so far. I loved being in a different culture with different people and landscape. The trip there was slightly hard because of its length. It was an 11 hour plane ride and I couldn’t really sleep because of the size of the plane seats.

    We got there Friday morning around 8 AM. After eating breakfast we spent some time talking with the missionaries that would be with us the whole trip. We also took our stuff to where we stayed and freshened up a little bit. We were staying on the property of a ministry they had called Vinde Meninos. This ministry reached out to the local poor kids in the area. These kids literally had hardly anything. They lived in shacks, some of which only had a roof. Their parents were into drugs and prostitution. So these kids would come to the property and they would be taught Bible lessons and songs. Some of them would learn how to play the recorder and some would read. They also played outside. So Friday afternoon we spent time playing with them. We played soccer and gave them balloons. They loved the balloons! It was a lo of fun spending the time with them. That night we had a cook out. Basically it was beef, chicken, and pork on sticks that were cooked over the grill. It was so delicious! That night was the first time I had Guranua. It is a Brazilian soda that tastes amazing!
    On Saturday we went shopping in Atibia. That was ok, mostly what made it hard was the rain. We had to walk around in the rain, and most of us got soaked.  Stuff in Brazil wasn’t much cheaper then it is here in the states. Certain things were more expensive. Cars and technology were more expensive. The food generally was cheaper though.That night we went to a Brazilian steakhouse. It was so good! They served us all kinds of meat! I didn’t know what I was eating a lot of the time, but it tasted good so I ate it. The waiters would bring the meats to us on spits. If we wanted it they would cut it right of onto our plates for us. I felt so fat!
    Sunday we spent some time in Sao Paulo working with some city kids. It was fun to spend time with them and sharing God’s love with them. That night we went to a church and sang for the congregation.
    On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday we went to a camp property and had a camp there. Everyday some public schools would bring the kids there. We would share the gospel with them and sing songs and do some dramas. After that we would play with the kids all day. It was a great experience getting to know the kids and bonding with them. These kids don’t have many people in their lives that show them love. So it was really special for them to have someone that wanted to be there and play with them. The gospel was given everyday to the kids. Everyday we had a few hundred kids show up. Unfortunately we don’t know how many kids trusted Christ, but we do know that the seed was planted in hundreds of hearts.
    Wednessday I stayed at Vinde Meninos and helped out there. It was cool to see the kids again and spend time with them. They were happy to have guys to play with because there are no guys that help with that ministry. One of the things we got to do for the kids was give them a good meal. Some of them might not get much food back home so its good for them to be able to have a good meal. We sent all the leftovers home with them as well.
    Friday was our last day there. We went to the camp property again, but the schools canceled because of rain. So we had some time for ourselves to hang out and explore a little bit. It was really nice. I hiked through some of the trails in the jungle. We also were able to spend some time with the students that were studying that Word of Life in Brazil. They had a evangelism seminar that weekend and they held it at the camp property. They were really good at soccer and wanted to play us. So a bunch of our team played them in soccer. I didn’t because I’m not good at all. Most of the time I was in the woods or on the boats.
    We got up early Saturday morning to go back to the States. It was sad to have to leave Brazil. I loved it there.
    I learned several things while on this trip. I was able to see first hand a lot of poverty that we don’t see in the states. It was interesting to see poverty and wealth so close together when I wasn’t used to seeing it in the states. The culture was a little different but not to much. They drove cars that I wasn’t used to seeing and the roads were a little different. The buildings were designed differently. Even though there were many differences, I saw that people are still the same. The people there had the same needs and same anxieties. They were the same as us here in the states but just in a different place. They still needed Jesus as much as anyone in any part of the world does. I also saw how the missionaries there lived out the ministry. They didn’t just do ministry, it involved every part of their life. They were totally devoted to it. That was encouraging for me to see, but it also challenged me to live my life that way as well. I need to live my life the same way. My identity isn’t my own anymore. My identity is found in Christ.

A view we drove by

Our team listening to the kids singing for us

Playing soccer

Me sharing the gospel

singing a song

More soccer

ICE CREAM!!!

Kid playing Frisbee

Hiking!!!!

   Where I am in the Adirondacks is an amazing place for hiking! A few weekends ago, I hiked Mt. Cascade. It was an amazing hike! We hiked it right before the sunset so we could watch the sunset from the top. Here are a few pictures and clips from the hike! Enjoy!

 

 

Snow Camp

     Yes, I am still alive. I've just been very busy with school and snow camp on the weekends. You may be wondering what snow camp is. Well I couldn't explain it any better then this movie. So watch this movie. No I didn't make it.

http://vimeo.com/37109054

The best day of this year

     So this may have been the best day of this year so far. It started off pretty normal monday, got up around 11 because I needed lots of sleep. Went to lunch and ate some food drank some tea and coffee, then it was time to do some laundry. When i got that in, I went to town to try to cash a check. Apparently nobody cashes checks anymore these days. So that was kind of a bummer. While I waited for my laundry to finish drying, I went over to the admissions building to hang out with the girls there. We were talking and having fun, then they gave me a giant rice krispy treat the size of a laptop! So they made me pretty happy. Then they also gave me a sweet pirate pencil! At this point a realized this day could probably not get much better, other then getting teleported to a lush island on a beach. I was wrong, little did I know what was coming in the mail.
     I've been waiting for a package that I ordered, so I went to the mail room and was talking to my friend there. She said, "Oh chris, you have two packages." The other one was a care package from a dear friend. Let me tell you, that was the best surprise gift I've ever gotten. The package was full of lots of really cool things that most people probably would think was dumb. Thats because most people are dumb. He sent me some awesome stuff, a few things were a star wars lunch box, a Thor pez despenser, some legos, and a sweet knock-off toy. It was spider man with a sniper rifle, his name was Sniper Man, but it was spider man. So it was just an awesome surprise!
     Anyways, I'm still alive up here. We had snowcamp again this weekend. I got to counsel. It was pretty fun, and one of the guys in my cabin trusted Christ this weekend. It was a crazy weekend, and tomorrow we start classes. Pretty much non stop here. But don't worry people! I'm still alive.

The Gospel

This is amazing!!!

My new pets

I have decided that I should get a few new pets since I don't have my turtle anymore.     

                                                            Maybe a guy like this.
                                                            Or a bear like this.

Or I could get this guy too. Anymore ideas? let me know if you have some.