Chapter 4 (Hope Mountain?)

Hey everyone, this is Matt Lewis. Sunday was our last day at the college retreat. We had such a wonderful time and the people here are so firnedly. Their praise and worship is so emotional and fun. We learned how to sing in portuguese and samba. Sunday night we went to their church service at Mision Prya Da Costa. It is so beautiful located right on water in Vilha Velha. After the service we went out to dinner at this burger place. These burgers were so massive but good and we topped it off with a glass of guarana. It was our last time with some of our Brazilian friends. We got to stay one night on the beach it was so nice.

Monday we checked into our second group here at Hope Mountain. We were suppose to stay at a camp but instead we are staying at the actual orphanage located across from a prison( I can actually see it as I am typing). These kids are older, all boys, and have been through a lot more. It´s a lot harder to manage these kids because we´re in their territory. Since its their place they feel they don´t have to participate in everything.

Monday night I did a talk on leadership. It was a difficult decision for me to make because I was trying to debate whether to do leadership or faith, however, after hearing some of their stories the spirit lead me to talk on leadership. It was amazing the way the spirit moved and impacted the kids. Several of the kids came forward for prayer. One of the boys was in tears. His name is Tarcecio and he was in prison before. He lost both of his parents when he was younger. After the service Hilario and I talked to him. So please continue to pray for him and the rest of the boys as we continue to minister to them.

Tuesday was the first day we really were in charge of the kids. We broke up into four teams and our first task was to make a cheer. The red team, my team, won of course. oo ahhh go red go red!!! oo ahh go red go red!!! I canmake living with the cheers I create. Unfortunately after that the excitement died down. We´played water balloon toss, wheel barrow race, suit case run, balloon pop relay, pictionary, and dodge ball. When playing the games if the kids could´t do something they would just quit. They weren´t as competitive as the other kids were.

On a postive note there is less kids here so its easier to have a one on one relationship. I think the food is great even though most people get sick. Especially after they saw the chickens get slaughtered for dinner( poor things). Well, thats just life. We have an amazing view of the mountains unlike flatland Florida. There is never a cloud in the sky no thunderstorms( soorry all you Floridians).

The sleeping arrangements are prison style. The showers have no curtains. Not the most comfortable thing in the world. Some people in our group don´t even take showers. The good thing is we have about 5 toiltes. However, there is only a curtain for privacy. Our bedroom has bunk beds. A whole bunch of beds in one room. I forgot to mention that somehow we multiplied because now we have 4 more guys. Now here is the funniest part. Our friend Hilario from Mexico is sleeping on the bottom bed. Now we have a kid that is 6´6 his name is Jorden Ross. The kid is massive. Where do you think he is sleeping. That´s right you guessed it above Hilario (poor guy). The whole night he was praying and holding the bed hoping it wouldn´t fall.

Last night Bill did a talk on King Ahab. At first the kids were very distant. We had to ask a couple of the kids to stand up. During the praise and worship half of the kids were not here. However, God has plans and they managed to come in just in time for Bill´s message. The kids gradually got into the talk. At the end Pastor Alvarado asked the kids if they had any questions to go to the back. About 6 of the kids came to the back. By the grace of God 2 of the kids accpeted the Lord that night. One of them, Renaldo, was actually suppose to leave Tuesday but things didn´t work out and he ended up staying. So please continue to pray for those boys who are hurting and praise the Lord for the two boys who accepted the Lord.


To my family and Samantha

Hey guys thank you for writing me. It took you guys a long time. I thought you forgot about me. This is the first time that I have had access to the internet. So I love you guys and miss you so much. I can´t wait to see you all. Keep praying for me and I will pray for you all. Take care God bless.

Matt