Spring Step Team to Recife, Brazil

People keep asking me “How was Brazil? What was it like?” In fact, they ask me so often that I should probably have answers prepared by now. It’s hard because it’s really difficult to describe the feeling of stepping off the plane knowing that this is life for four months or adjusting to a culture where relationships are more important than things and time with people is treated so preciously. 

There are so many memories: Seeing for the very first time the rough piece of land that we were going to build a church on; seeing it for the last time, knowing all the back-breaking work, sweat and jokes that have gone into those brick and concrete walls but still having to leave it unfinished; being taught Brazilian “head, shoulders, knees and toes”; walking into homes and schools and getting pointed and shouted at because your skin and your hair are fairer than the little kids’ who are looking at you in wonder; playing volleyball in the street; sprinting home in the pouring rain and diving into dirty sewage water and loving it; being a little concerned when the water man is oblivious to the fact that there’s water pouring through your ceiling; being taken to hospital in a feverish delirium; and having people take photos of you (Nice); seeing all the people you know outside your flat the evening you’ve decided to hold your own team service all in Portuguese; seeing the love of God burst out of these people.

It’s hard to describe moving on. Suddenly seeing shocking poverty that really shakes you up when you notice there’s an old woman in the rain eating the food you chucked out onto the street the night before.  The homes made out of wood and mud.  Playing football in mud up to your ankles; teaching teenagers English; teaching teeny kids about Jesus, possibly for the first time in their lives; swimming in the Amazon; spending an inspiring, funny and bittersweet hour in Portuguese talking, debating, arguing, shouting at a man who is so close to accepting Jesus into his life but just can’t bring himself to commit over his life; having team devotional times that challenge you and shake you up in your faith.  Really struggling hard to get by and having to be open and honest with your team who have become like your family, in all the good, great, funny and frustrating ways families are. It’s easy to reel these things off.  It’s almost impossible to describe how they feel.

Step to Brazil has been such a unique and incredible experience. We have been blessed with such a great team of different individuals who have all wanted to serve each other, pray for one another, support, laugh, cry and simply be together through every situation.  “Family” is a word that comes close to describing the weird and unique relationships that are formed by spending every hour every day with one another.

Step isn’t easy.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!  It’s hard and challenging and stressful and you know? – That’s the way it should be because it’s in those times when God’s faithfulness is so evident.  As a team and as individuals, we’ve been blown away by the goodness, the faithfulness, the majesty, the wonder, the power, the tenderness of God.  In Brazil, Jesus walked with us everyday – he does the same today.

If you are interested in being part of a Step team why not have a look at what current opportunities we have by going to our ‘volunteer section’.