Guest Post by Josh Harris

Well, we are home but the work now begins to keep the thoughts, memories and the Lord's will continuing to flow through us. It was such an amazing experience for Ashley and I. We are thankful for our families, our friends, and our church for making it possible for us to go!

Too often we are worried what others will think of us when we do things such as raise our hand while we sing, if we pray out loud while the pastor prays, etc. In Brazil, the people come to worship the Lord and do it without reservation or regard of what others are doing. In America, we are watching the clock each Sunday to make sure that Lyle doesn't go much past 11:30 a.m. whereas in Brazil a service could last 2.5 to 3 hours easily with praise, singing, worship all happening and no one even thinks of looking for a clock. It made me see that I was consumed with my life, my worship style where I was basically going through the motions each Sunday instead of giving my all during my worship to the Lord.

I also have to say it was great getting to know the other team members so much better. We all have so much more in common than I would have ever thought heading into this trip. One thing we all have is a sense of humor which definitely helped at times. For me it was great working with Jake and the girls on the drama team (Sydney, Megan, Emily, Rebecca, Becca, McCall, Allie, Courtney and Callie) as I felt odd at first when we practiced being older than everyone but by the time we got to Brazil it was like we were all brothers and sisters! While Jake and I got to "practice" every day in Brazil doing the drama the girls swapped parts each day but it was like they had done it as much if not more than we had. I am so proud of them all!

Lastly, there are too many moments to pick one as my favorite but doing the Chicken Dance, singing "God is so Good" in both English and Portuguese, and doing the drama in front of a school full of kids was awesome. Ashley and I are blessed to have such a wonderful church but most of all such an Awesome God! Indeed, God is So Good to Me, I just hope I can do my part to return the favor back to him!!

Josh Harris