"I want more!"

This has been an unbelievable week. I don't know if you guys have been praying more but it's working! God is doing amazing things in our work in the schools but even more so in me. This week I just felt the holy spirit give me a huge hunger for more of God and despite my lack of free time I was just filled with him in my free time and stuff. It is really exciting me for bigger things not just in Brazil but in all of my life!


Had a really fun Monday teaching guitar, going for a wonder and then watching a rugby match with an amercian team member and then As we have been in the last few weeks we were in Maia Neto on Tuesday this week. We started with the morning as usual were one of our team Gina (a new member from Canada) taught on Cain and Abel. I sang a little for the kids to calm them down and then one of the classes stayed with us for music class. This week we taught like posture and stuff which was awesome and then they sang a really Christian song with us. It's amazing for me to hear kids sing "Jesus I run into your arms." 

teaching the music classes with the Maia Neeto kids

As I said last week we were starting a new project that we've been using in the church,  in the afternoon Maia neto classes. We started this project on Wednesday and God spirit was really there with us (we even saw Doves rest on the school before we went in a dove being an image of the presence of the holy spirit in the bible matt 3:16). This week we were talking about "difficulties in life". I gave a testimony about some difficult times I had as a teenager and then we had small groups. These groups were fantastic! We got to know the names of the kids and then go to know each of the kids better individually. We were asking questions like "what's the most difficult thing that's ever happened to you?" which as you can imagine lends itself to kids opening up. Loads of kids have been through really difficult situations and it was great to tell them that Jesus wants to be with them in those situations. We got the chance to pray with a whole lot of them and to show them just how much Jesus loves them. 
That night we had our normal cell group but like I said there is no normal here in Brazil. We just a really great time of worship (I'm really learning to flow in the holy spirit when leading which I absolutely love) and then heard a word from one of the guys in the group. It was awesome to hear a word about changing the world around us from one of the kids. 

Thursday we were spending our day doing admin. We were meeting at 1 officially so instead we met at 10 so we could do capoeira. It was so much fun and great exercise to set us up for the day. We had our admin in the afternoon which was really good, we got a ,a lot prepared for the next week. Had a chance that night to go to the gym and make a video for a friend which great to be able to do. 

Friday morning was  bit of a rush as I woke up at 6:30 when I needed to be there for 7. But got there at like 7:30 and was able to do my part in the class. This week I was leading them in a time of imagination of changing things happening in their lives. I then lead them in hearing what Jesus had to say about it. Let the holy spirit speak to them. Was a really cool experience letting the kids hear and realise the power that is in their hands to change the world around them. A lot of kids really heard God speaking to them about what they have to do in these situations. I had the chance to talk to one guy who had been having problems with his dad and what to do. 

me teaching in floca

That afternoon we had the chance to leas the cell group in floca. Was awesome and really looking forward to see it grow and grow in the next few weeks. I also had a chance to talk to two guys a little bit deeper about who they are and what they think of Jesus. One of the guy, Hermes, is a guy I'm mentoring and he's having a pretty hard time these days. I won't tell you any specifics but I would love if you guys covered him in prayer because he could really need it right now. 

Yesterday I had the chance to go with my host family on another one of their offroad trails. This one was really cool as it was like we were on a mission. This year in the north east of brazil there has been a draught, causing the lives of a lot of the farmers here to be very difficult, with animals and crops dying and we had the chance to bring basic food and water to them. There was 40 cars in the trail all with food and water and it was a huge mission impossible type thing of distributing the food but it was fantastic to be a part of it. Were able to give food and water to like 120 houses blessing like 1000 people in the process. 

the verse that has really been in my head this week is Psalm 25:4-5

"Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
⁵ Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all the day long. "

It's really my prayer for the next few weeks when I am trying to seek God as much as possible. I would really appreciate it if you guys would pray for just more and more of God to be poured out upon us as a Pais team and me individually. I don't ever want to be satisfied with what of got of God, I'm always going to look for more. 

Thanks again for reading 

Love 

Mark