Allen Posted this on his blog:
We are here and everything and everybody is doing GREAT! Travels went very smooth. We had a great team that checked us at the Nashville airport and went above and beyond for us. They even checked 5 of our carry-on bags that we did not really need during the travel for free (a $1000 deal). We were late leaving Nashville because of the snow in New York that morning, but our lay-over was long enough that we still had 3.5 hours to wait even after arriving an hour late. We landed early in Sao Paulo. In fact, we cleared immigration, got luggage, and cleared customs all before we were scheduled to land originally. One note on luggage is that because of our group size, and our first leg to New York being on a smaller plane, the airline shipped some of our luggage through Atlanta and it actually arrived a few hours before we did. I was nervous about this process, but everything was sitting there waiting on us with nothing missing when we arrived at the airport Saturday morning. In other words some of our luggage took a different route but all of it showed up!!
We managed to visit three different favelas on Saturday. Lunch was an interesting event as we ate sandwiches under a highway bridge on the edge of a favela in a recycle center. It was an event that you can be sure that will be remembered. The group got to see what true poverty was and it had an impact on many of the students. The comments being made by many actually put a smile on my face because I knew this trip was going to be a rewarding experience for them all.
The skit, crafts, singing, and other events have been very smooth. All the hardwork and preparing done by everyone has paid huge dividends. The kids we have worked with have enjoyed what they have been presented.
This morning at the church service there was about 120 people here. The students did a great job with singing and testimonies. David, Jared, and myself all taught the individual classes and it appears that part went well too. We did the usual serving of lunch after the service and then everyone spread out on the the property and enjoyed different events: soccer, swimming, volleyball, basketball, crafts, frisbees, and just hanging out. The group is abuzz about the events of the last 48 hours and all are wired to the max. We are preparing to travel into Campinos tonight to visit two more favelas: Monte Cristo and Gleba B. We should be in around 1030 tonight for a late supper and quick showers and then a few hours sleep
Tomorrow we are visiting two different schools where we will do some singing and have the opportunities to speak to Brazilian high school students. It should be an exciting day.
Susie says hi to everyone and that she is not letting anyone down here leave. She is absolutely having a blast having all her friends around her. She told me that I had to bring this many of her friends down everytime. Her and Bret are doing GREAT and starting to speak the language very well.
One last note for up to date news. The Brazilians challenged the team to a “World Cup” type soccer game today. They even had trophies for 1st place and 2nd place. We will be sure to show the 2nd place trophy when we return. We wont share to fact that there were only two teams. HEY, at least to held them to single digits.
You should be proud of your loved one that is on the trip. The whole group is doing GREAT, being positive, and making impact in the lives of others. I will try as hard as I can to get another update by tomorrow night or Tuesday afternoon.