Thad and Wendy Cooper

Here is the lovely couple that came all the way from Louisiana, leaving their 4 kiddos with relatives, in order spent a week at Asas for candidacy. Thad spent his time in the plane or in the maintenance shop while Wendy did some activities with Edna and I. Thad just didn't think it was too fair that I scheduled in a shopping trip and time to get Wendy's nails painted! I figured that is all part of the cultural experience! Unfortunately for us, Thad and Wendy did not feel the peace that they had asked God to give them if Asas was the place for them. So they are back home in Louisiana now waiting for God to tell them what the next step should be.

Project at the dump in Brasilia, Sept.22, 2007

Here is the front of the church which was our "headquarters" for the local Project at the dump in Brasilia. Once again, I need to get more pictures of the neighborhood and of the actual dump. I was told I could get them off the Asas website, but I haven't been able to do that yet. I'll be sure to post them once I get them! Anyway, we were a little worried because the city decided to do a project of their own on the very same day in the same neighborhood. The city was offering legal services, medical attention, vaccinations, and fun things like trampolines for the kids to play on. But God showed us that He had plans for us that day and the city's plans did not hinder it.

There was no room at the church to have a children's program, but we were able to use a daycare that was just a few blocks away. The actual building had just one room and was very hot in the afternoon, but the yard was huge and had two wonderful trees that gave us lots of shade. We had about 75 kids come to the children's program in the morning and 85 in the afternoon. We sang songs, had a magic show (with Biblical applications!), and then divided up into small groups to hear God's plan for humanity. We also used the bracelets with the colors of the wordless book in the small groups.

I was busy telling the story, so I didn't get a picture of the tool we use to teach children God's plan for humanity. It is a white erase board divided into 4 sections. Each section is partially completed and as you tell the story, you complete the section by drawing designs, people, etc. The first section is about heaven. The second is about creation and how sin entered the world. The third section is about Jesus paying the price for our sins. And the fourth section is about the Book of Life and our decision to have Jesus in our heart or outside of our heart. I'll get a picture of it and post it later. We used a slightly different approach for the older kids (9-12 yr olds) that uses paint and poster board instead of the markers and the white erase board.

Michael and Maira helping out

Here are Michael and Maira doing the motions to the song.


Notice the home behind him.

Do you see the two girls looking at Maira instead of looking towards the front? Maira was quite the attraction with her very white skin, blue eyes, and light colored hair. At one point there were several little girls around her touching her hair and skin. Maira had a look of panic on her face, but held still. I just smiled and told her they were admiring her!

Singing her heart out!

This doesn't really do justice, but it gives you an idea of how dirty the kids got! I had never seen them so dirty. Actually, we were all very dirty and very smelly! It was a hot day and the smell of sweat plus the smell of the dump made an awful combination. We all took two showers that night. I was wearing tennis shoes and socks...and the dirt still got down to my toes!

Passtimes for the kids....

Anyone want to try? They use the box springs from a bed with a piece of plywood on top to cattapult them into the air. Nice. I let out a yelp each time they flipped. I was sure one of them was going to land on their head.


And here is another passtime that the moms all love. Playing in the abundant dirt. Not playing like "squat down and push the dirt around"...I mean roll around in it, kick at it, get it on every inch of your body and clothes! And then do some karate chops at your friends and see if they fall down and crack their heads open on the rocks.

Project at the dump continued........

We had a group from Asas teaching a craft and also giving "facials" to the ladies from the neighborhood. The facial used ingredients that are inexpensive and easy to come by....something like flour and fresh orange juice. I'll have to check that out for sure and try it out myself!

We set up a clinic inside the church with 3 dentists working at the same time, a pharmacy, and behind the curtains was a doctor and nurse. The mobile unit outside the church doors also had one more dentist and one more doctor. Even with all of these doctors working all day, there was not enough daylight hours to attend to all the people who needed medical attention.

Here is a group of guys listening to a lecture on the affect of drugs. Borges, the guy giving the talk, was a drug addict for many years. Actually, he and his wife were both addicts who lived on the streets in Rio. They have 4 children and the youngest has major brain damage, most likely due to their drug usage at the time.