Today we traveled back to the states. It was a long trip - I felt like we had three mornings... and we definitely had three breakfasts! But overall, no glitches, praise God! We're heading back to the hotel now for the next few days of training and preparation for the camps we will be running the rest of the summer. I am really thankful for this time of transition. It's time to rest as well as time to reflect on the tour and look forward to camps. 

Looking back on our time in Brazil, I am excited for all the new friendships that were made and the things God has taught me. The many things God is doing in Brazil along with his truth and love will continue as we begin our next part of the journey in the states. 

It's been cool to see how Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His good news is the same in every part of the world. Praise God! I can't wait to see more of God's goodness and faithfulness. 

Mary

Today was such a fun day! After reconnecting with the guys team yesterday, we were able to enjoy our last day being able to do some sight-seeing and enjoy Coca Cabana. First we visited the Christ Redeemer statue. Wow! What a beautiful sight! God blessed us with great weather and we were able to overlook the beauty of Rio de Janeiro. 

After our time there, we were able to have some free time down by the shore of Coca Cobana. We were given lots of time to sight-see, shop, watch the World Cup, eat, and just enjoy this vibrant city. We were met with our friends and family from Assembleia de Deus church to say our final good-byes. It was hard to say bye to all of them before we departed at the airport. We have been very blessed by them and my prayer is that we have been a blessing to them in return. Our time in Brazil has been an amazing experience.

Jozi

We had our last morning wake-up call from the rooster, now officially called "gallo de satana" (aka Satan's rooster). We came downstairs for another delicious breakfast of eggs, rolls, coffee, and hot chocolate. After packing up we had the opportunity to pray for all the people at the church who have been serving us so generously the past few days. They prayed for us as well - it was a sweet moment. 

We then traveled to the beach at Cabo Frio and hung out for a few hours just soaking up the sun and eating a lot of ice cream! We grabbed some lunch and headed back to Rio to meet up with the boys at another beach. We immediately went into what the Eagles staff call, "The Pursuit." This is about a mile run on the beach along the shoreline where each person tries to pursue the person running in front of them while trying not to get passed by the person behind. We did the twice and gathered to talk after each time to discuss how it correlated with life and our pursuit as followers of Christ. It was an awesome experience. After that we took a few minutes in solitude to just reflect and spend time with God. 

Then we had sandwiches and fruit on the beach enjoying being reunited with the boys and being together as one team. After that we headed back to Assembly of God church to get cleaned up and have dinner. Alan led us in worship and both the men's and women's teams shared stories from different cities we had visited. God truly did some amazing things!

Nicole

WOMEN:
This morning we woke to the rooter crowing again next door. Thays asked "Por que Senhor?" because the bird would call all night starting at 3 in the morning. After another satisfying Brazilian breakfast, we headed to a school in Arraial do Cobo Frio. We played a fun futsal match against some of the other kids from the school , then spent time talking with the kids. We did the usual routine, but we didn’t realize until later that God was using us to bring the name of Jesus to their school. 

A teacher from the school came up to us and told us that two weeks before we came the principal had invited in a practicioner of Macamba, a spiritualist religion from Africa highly prevalent in Rio. The kids had been required to watch a documentary film and a live worship performance. They had been unnerved by the evil spirits that were being called not only in the film but right in front of them in in a live demonstration. During our time with them, we demonstrated the gospel through our words, actions, and "Juggling Jesus." 

I had the opportunity to share my testimony and the love of Christ for each one of them. I ended our time with them in prayer. It was awesome to hear later how Jesus had used us to fight back against the Macumba. The teacher told us how encouraged she was to hear about the love of Jesus after the presentation they had to see just two weeks before. Spiritual warfare is an every day reality even when we don’t see it. I am thankful for our powerful Savior that uses us to bring about His glory and purposes. 

That afternoon we got to watch Brazil play in the World Cup with the members of the church. That evening we had a small futsal tournament at the local public futsal court. Many members of the community were there. It was a great opportunity to share with many people and point them to the church. 

Kate Boutan

MEN:

In the morning we went to a country club and played a U-20 Brazilian team and won 4-1. It was fun playing on a full sized field against good competition. After dropping off the players from the other team and then stopping at a buffet for lunch in downtown Teresopolis. Then we watched the Brazilian national team play South Korea in the World cup on a TV in the church. It was an exciting game to watch. That night we had a game we were supposed to play but since it was cancelled we had a team meeting and spent the night together

Jono

We went to two schools today in Cabo Fria and shared about Jesus. After that we had a fitness session, and then lunch. For a special treat we went to the Brazilian steakhouse for dinner...Where we all pretty much ate the equivalent of our body weight!

One thing that really stuck out to me was when we were at the second school and three girls came up to me and started talking to me. I had no clue what they were saying so I grabbed a translator. It turns out they wanted me to share my story with them. I was able to share with them how much I love Jesus! In the end I gave them a player card (like a baseball card but for soccer and it has my testimony on the back) and a bracelet. They ended up asking abut all the bracelets I had on my wrists and I was able to tell them that people had given them to me and so every time I look at them it reminds me of the person who gave it and reminds me to pray for them. 

Two of the girls ended up giving me a bracelet of theirs, so I'm assuming they wanted me to pray for them as well! It is amazing how much a bracelet can mean to a little girl! 

Bre

After church and lunch the boys headed to Teresopolis while the girls team traveled to Cabo Frio to do ministry for the next couple days. This was a great opportunity for us girls to have bonding time and really get to know each other. We had a fun bus ride playing iPod karaoke until we arrived at the church. Although this was a small church, they have a large heart and we were all excited to begin ministering with them in the local schools. 

Kate Worley

Today is the Brazilian Valentines Day. It started out early just like any other day but instead of going to a ton of different places and going to the kids, the kids came to us.  Today was the first game for USA in the World Cup and a bunch of kids from Vila de Conquista, a place that we visited earlier in the week.  It was a great time to reconnect with the kids and enjoy a time just relaxing and watching the soccer game. Later, after the kids from Conquista left and the game had ended, we attended a church service.  During the church service we sang, as a group, in front of the entire church and it was a lot of fun.  The church service finished and we ended the night with fellowship with each other and people from the church. Overall, a pretty relaxed day compared to what our week before was like. 

 John Smith

The World Cup kicked off today so naturally we started the day at 10am with a church/block party including music, cake, dancing, face painting, entertainment, etc. with kids and church members from the community. Many enjoyed the atmosphere and continued building relationships before crowding the TV to watch South Africa play Mexico in the first World Cup match. The room was packed. The game was just enough to quench my thirst that was building in anticipation for this summer’s World Cup.

We were fortunate enough to have another game to play in the afternoon against a team from the church. Though they didn’t provide stiff competition (we won 8-0) it is always an enjoyment to play against Brasilians with Rick refereeing.

When night time arrived, it was time to bid farewell to another church as we prepared to return to Assembleia de Deus. It was a goodbye filled with emotionas we hugged Leo’s father and cousin who were parting ways. They had added so much to our group. It was also sad leaving a church full of life and deep in faith. But our time there was done and we headed “home” with great things to come in the next few days. 

Josh Mull

I have been having a great time in brazil and gods been doing a lot of great things the last few days. I wanted to share one story about a boy named Douglas that we met in one of the schools we went to. Yesterday at the schools we did Juggling Jesus in one of the classrooms and Douglas was the one we picked to juggle against Jono, one of the Eagles. Afterward we spent some time talking to Douglas and invited him to come to the youth group at the church the next night.

He said he would come but we didn’t think he actually would. But he did! Then David, a Brasilian who joined our team during our visit in Brasil, spent about 30-40 minutes sharing his story with Douglas, just loving him. I joined them and the three of us talked for about half an hour. I brought a jersey that I had been praying about to give to someone special. And so I gave that to Douglas and he wanted me to sign it, so I put two Bible verses on it: Psalm 118:13-14 and 1 Timothy 4:12.

I told him that I could see in his eyes that he was a good kid, even though he had been involved in some bad things. I told him that he was my brother and that I would answer any questions he had for me. He asked me to share my testimony with him, so I did. While I was sharing he started crying. Then I got Asher, to come and share some of his story because he has had experience with some of the same things Douglas had struggled with.

After Asher was done sharing, he said he wanted to accept Christ. David, Asher, Leo and I, along with some other of the church members prayed with Douglas to accept Christ that night. It was awesome. I had never experienced anything like that before. It showed me that God uses broken people to share his love with other broken people.  So please pray for our new brother Douglas. 

Kyle

Today I woke up from a dream in which I was supposed to read John 16:31. I thought to myself, “I might as well read it, I mean, what do I have to lose?” So I grabbed my Bible and read that verse. It said, “Jesus answered them, ‘do you now believe?’” I decided to make this my motto to follow throughout the day and continually asked myself, “Do I believe?”

The whole day was busy with visiting and ministering to children of all ages at a private school. It was an amazing time! Later that day we went to an awesome beach. As soon as we got there we worked out, then we had lunch and fellowshipped. Some of us swam in the ocean and some played sand soccer. I decided to go and sit by myself in solitude and view in awe the splendor of God’s creation. I soon remembered the verse I read earlier today and then thought about if I had really trusted God throughout the day.

On the bus ride back I sat and talked with a really great girl on the team. She shared with me her testimony and all of a sudden it hit home what God was trying to tell me. He was saying, “I know my plan for you, but you need to trust me.” You see, sometimes I try to be happy through things like friends and just good times or allowing myself to think about something I don’t have that if I did then I would be happy. But in reality Jesus was just trying to make me see that until I am truly satisfied with him and him alone, I will never be satisfied with anything else.

If it was not for the verse God gave me this morning or the girl on my team, I would not be able to say, “Lord, I believe!” 

Mercy

Today we went to three different schools. With the first school we visited this morning, half of us worked with kids between 6-9 and the other group 10-13. We were able to play with them, juggling and dancing. After a while we had them all sit down and played a game called "Juggling Jesus." In this game, one of our players competes in a juggling competition against one of the Brasilian kids. The loser is supposed to do something like 40 or 50 pushups. Usually the kid will lose and reluctantly begins the pushups. Before they get started another one of our players steps up and offers to do the "punishment" for them. After they finish we use this example to share about how Jesus took the punishment for us and continue with the gospel. 

The next school we went to was very similar, however, the ages were between 3-5. This time we played more relay games. Again we shared Juggling Jesus with them and shared about Jesus. We were able to sing "Here I am to Worship" in Portuguese with them. 

That night we went to a high school with kids who were at least 16 years old. We did similar things that we had done earlier, but we also shared some testimonies. This time we went into the classrooms and gave the kids opportunities to ask questions. Some of the classes we went to were very interested in what we were all about. We invited the kids to come to an event held tomorrow night at the church we were staying at. We hope some of them will come. Those classrooms were filled with God's love and the Holy Spirit. We hope some hearts were softened by his love.

Kara

I woke up this morning to the Rio de Janeiro sun shining through our barred windows of the Nova Filiadelphia Church, our home for the next three days. We ate the wonderful breakfast made of scrambled eggs, rolls, sweet cake, and hot chocolate. After breakfast we practiced singing "Here I am to Worship" in Portuguese. We had to sing that song at three schools today. After we perfected the song as best we could we headed out of the church halls to our first destination.

A local school within a few blocks of the church was our first school. At school we split into two groups, one made of 4-8 year-old kids and the other made of middle school age kids. We played soccer with the kids, they taught us Brazilian dances, we taught them American dances. Then we gathered in a circle to tell them about the Eagles mission, shared a few testimonies, and prayed with the kids. God definitely clessed our time there.

We would go to the other schools later. One made up of 4-6 year olds, the other was a high school. With the younger kids we organized relay races and sang about Jesus with them. At the high school we juggled the soccer ball, shared testimonies, prayed with them, and gave them the opportunity to accpet Jesus.

I have seen Christ in how welcoming the Brazilian people have been, in the smiling kids faces, and how he has saved the older ones.

Asher

The Assemblia de Deus church building filled early Sunday morning. The Brazilians are not shy in their worship. We attended the morning service where Pastor Gilberto welcomed us and thanked us for coming.

In the afternoon, we fellowshipped at the church by eating and playing soccer. Then we transitioned to a new church partner, Nova de Filadelfia, a Baptist church less than an hour away. At the evening service at this church, we sang two songs in front of the church: "God of Wonders" and "This is My Desire." Rick gave a message from 1 Corinthians 13 about love and sports ministry.

Some personal highlights from today were team devotions and sports ministry training (SMT) where Alan shared from our summer book A Love Worth Giving and Matthew 18 about patience. Also, Rick read 1 Corinthians 13 in Portuguese in front of the Baptist church. He said that a life without love was like a loud, bad noise - or like his Portuguese.

Jen

Today was a great day. We started with breakfast at 8 and soon after left for a local village Vila de Conquista. We almost didn't go because of the rain everything still worked out. When we arrived, there were kids everywhere. Right away they would come up to us and latch right on. Even though we could not tell what they were saying, we still were able to communicate through touch and interaction. 

After we got the kids organized into groups according to gender and age. Some played soccer, some painted nails, and some just played with the little ones. It was so much fun, I could have stayed there all day. I am starting to learn more words every day. It was really exciting to see a couple kids accept Christ as their savior! 

The last thing that we did was go to a professional soccer game at the Maracana stadium in Rio. It was Flamengo against Goias. It was so crazy there! Whenever anyone scored the crowds went crazy! The atmosphere was indescribable. We went back to the church ready for bed but instead we were greeted with another meal! We seem to eat 4 meals a day in Brasil! After dinner a bunch of us kicked around playing futsal in a little parking lot. It was sweet. Tomorrow we have a church service, which means we have to get up early but I am sure more exciting things will happen!

Venessa

After more than 12 hours of traveling we arrived in Rio de Janiero. So far God has blessed us with smooth travel and no hiccups. Many of our ankles were pretty swollen and our bodies stiff due to the long flight but it didn’t take long for us to feel energized again as we were reunited with Brazilian friends. We were greeted by Thays from Goiania, and Dani and Katia who are leaders from the church we are staying with, Assemblia de Deus. After gathering all our luggage we made our way to the church where they greeted us with a delicious meal of rice and beans. We continued to meet old friends from the church who we hadn’t seen in almost a year. They were excited about our arrival and the work we will be doing in the community.

Later we continued our sports ministry training by discussing the challenge of being a godly competator. As Jordan from Messiah College saud, we are suppsosed to "run as if to win the race" and play our hardest, but when we no longer "love our neighbor as ourselves" that’s when we cross the line in competition as Christians. Can we find a way to compete with all our hearts and still put others first in love? That’s what we must learn to do.

At 5pm we left to play our first Brazilian matches against the men’s and women’s teams of the church. The church league’s supporters were full of excitement and cheered loudly bowing horns and throwing confetti. It was like it was the world cup! After each game an Eagle shared their testimony through a translator and together we prayed with the other teams. After that we came back to the church along with players from the Brazilian teams and other members of the church for a late night dinner. We finished the night with fellowship, dancing and playing games until with were too tired and went to bed.

Rachel

After ten months of preparation the Eagles Summer Academy officially began Monday May 31. As a group made of 25 college athletes, student leaders, staff, and for the first time an athetic trainer. We dug into our sports ministry training right away to prepare our hearts for the work God has for us this summer. We looked at the biblical basis for sports ministry theology and began discussing our theme for this summer, 1 Corinthians 13.

We began our team training Tuesday morning with fitness testing so that we can evaluate our progress at the end of the summer. We continued with training and each the men’s and women’s teams had a scrimmage the next day.

We ended our pre-Brazil training with the Cross Run early wednesday morning. Together we all ran 6 miles on the local Prarie Path in Wheaton carrying two wooden crosses. We shared the "burden" of the cross switching on and off throughout the run. We were challenged through Luke 9 to leave everything behind and follow Christ. Halfway through Rick provided paper for each player to write down whatever we felt God wanted us to surrender to Him. We put those at the feet of the cross.

Near the end, Ally Johns challnged everyone with chapter 9, verse 62 of Luke to follow him with all our hearts and not look back. At that point we left the crosses and ran fere of weight, just as we are free to pursue Christ because of the love he poured out for us on the cross. At the finish we realized the three staff leaders, Rick, Mandy, and Garrett decided to pick up the crosses we left behind and carry them by themselves to the finish. It was a really powerful moment.

After packing our things and a prep lesson on Brazilian culture and some portugese phrases, we left for the airport and headed south.

Rachel