SMT Spain/Portugal – Update #3

Spain/Portugal Team Report #3
Week 3 June 23-30
Location: São Brás de Alportel, Portugal

The team visited São Brás de Alportel. We were responsible for a couple activities during their Vacation Bible School. About 20 children, ages 6-12, were permitted to participate because of the space available at the corps. The children and the team split up into small groups. Each of the team members wrote a paragraph to share their thoughts about the week.

Sandy: I led the creative arts session of the day with Jessica. We taught the children and the leaders the SMT dance and they loved the chorus section of the dance. They were able to share the dance three times throughout the week on Sunday worship meeting, on Saturday open-air meeting, and on Thursday for the family who sponsored our trip to the Beach. I loved that Viki joined us for this week of ministry. We were not ready for her to return home. Before she left and returned home, we had a beautiful team meeting playing a new game and loved that she share words of encouragement and affirmation to all seven of us.

Jessica: Each group had a monitor (leader) and each of us team members were paired with a monitor to help lead the group. Our group’s name was “Gi-ga-nor-mes” and our chant was, “Nos somos! Nos somos! Nos somos giganormes!”. I thought it was kind of funny a little cause all the kids in our group were on the small side, but on the other hand they all have big personalities. Our theme song was, “Jesus You’re My Superhero”, and I would lead the kids in doing the motions that go along with the song.

David: I worked with two young ladies; Fernanda and Andrea, and six kids. We called ourselves the “Spider People”, following the ‘Jesus is my Superhero’ theme. The kids were wonderful. Andrea and Fernanda were blessings to work with. Andrea is good at leading since she’s good at using a commanding tone. Fernanda, on the other hand, was the youngest monitor, meaning she was more quick to play around with the children; however, she never let any play time get out of hand. I’ll cherish the time I spent with the Spider People. I wish the best blessings for the children and the teens I worked with.

Bailey: I got to lead some silly camp songs which was very fun. I was able to lead two object lessons throughout the week, I did one lesson using two cups – one being dirty on the inside and clean on the outside and the other being totally clean. I used these cups to talk about how our lives are before Christ and after we accept Christ. The other lesson was using a coin and I used the parable of the lost coin. During this object lesson, I asked God to use me for His glory, at the end of the lesson I asked the kids if any of them wanted to be found by Jesus and about 80% of the children raised their hands. Captain Filipa guided them through an acceptance prayer.

Eddie: My personal small group initially started off as an awkward interaction due to my lack of communication as I speak very little to none Portuguese and/or Spanish. However if I know anything about communication, non-verbal communication is just as important. The use of gestures did wonders in terms of helping me get points across. The kids really did enjoy participating in the activities planned. Whether it was camp songs, games or crafts, I saw how they got in to them. The other monitors who were from the corps were a huge help too, with translation and fellowship. Overall, our ministry has proven to be a success here and the impact of all of our efforts is very clearly marked.

Jonathan: I felt overwhelmed at points because of how frustrated I got with the children but God brought all of us out of it, as I reflect this week I can see how caring the community is there and how loving the officers are and also how much they invest in the youth. I was honored to share my testimony about coming in to SMT on Sunday and I was a bit nervous about it but once again God helped me through it. I want to say my favorite day was going to the beach with all the kids because it was an environment where kids could just be kids and everyone could just take a minute and enjoy their time.

Lexie: A lot of the people we met at São Bras knew people we had met at our previous locations and it was really nice to be able to share that connection with them. The church service on Sunday was an amazing time to connect with the congregation. The songs that we sang were ones that we knew in English, so the team sang in English along with the corps. The worship band did a great job with the music and I felt very connected with the Spirit while they were playing. On Sunday night the youth had a surprise outing for us, and we went to watch the sunset and play worship music together. We had an amazing view of the city and it was such a good time of rest, fellowship, and worship together. The week in São Brás was amazing and super fun for our team. We are excited to rest in the presence of God through the remaining weeks of summer.

Prayer Requests: Rest for our team and guidance The youth ministry of the São Brás de Alportel Corps The Corps Officers experience a day of rest and peace