New experiences at the Rock House

Easter has come and gone! But it is impossible to let this holiday pass by without sharing about why we celebrate it! 

Easter is a very special time for all Christians, even in the face of the capitalist reality that has marketed this date. It is necessary to create strategies to think about the real meaning of this date and that is what we did in our kids and teenage groups at the Rock House.

Since Rachel’s parents are over spending some time here with us, we thought it was a good idea to put them to work! So Frank gave a word to our teenage boys morning group. Sharing his testimony with them and linking it with easter and the New Life that we can have through Jesus because of his death and resurrection on the cross. 

And Carol gave a word to the kids group about the differences between Northern Ireland and Brazil and sharing that although there are many differences Easter is the same and celebrated the same. Sharing with the kids the true meaning of this holiday through John 3:16 (video teaching them in english!!)

(The rest of this blog was written by one of our volunteers who took the initiative to share….) In the teenage boys afternoon group we remembered the Jewish Passover and the way it points towards Christ’s death and resurrection. This presentation involved Syrian (unleavened) bread and bitter herbs! Many don’t know that Easter was originally celebrated as a Jewish holiday to commemorate the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. God instructed that a meal should be prepared annually to remember the way that He judged Egypt with the last plague (The death of the first born son) delivering the Israelites from this evil and bringing them freedom.

So, the bread without yeast indicated the pressure on the people, they had to eat quickly and be ready to leave. The bitter herbs were a remembrance of the bitterness of slavery to sin. And of course none of the teenage boys liked the taste of the bitter herbs but each were able to understand very well the meaning.

Another element that was present at the Jewish Passover was the lamb, its blood was painted on the doors which indicated where the people of God lived, making that house free from the judgement. We represented the lamb with some grape juice (because of course we couldn’t give the boys wine!!), Now, we celebrate Jesus as the true passover lamb whose blood has freed us from the slavery of sin, once and for all! Jesus is the true reason we celebrate easter because he delivered us from the worst kind of slavery: the slavery of ourselves!

A time of reflection

So this is a little about how we celebrated Easter with the teenagers and kids. Pray for each of them that they would understand that the blood of Jesus is the only thing that can change the meaning of life for them.

Tents and Rain don't match!!!

Abseiling, swimming, football, waterfall, hiking trails, tents, camp fire, altogether with 10 boys.... this was our awesome weekend!

We had another opportunity provided to us at the Rock House by the 'Project Lamalma' to bring a group of kids for a camping weekend along with our five staff on the 18 & 19th March! 

We choose some boys from our groups between 9 and 12 years old. And oh my, were they excited... one didn't even sleep the night before! Their big smiles and excitement continued the entire weekend even when it started to rain, they just made the most of every minute, even playing football in the rain!!

It even rained in the night and at midnight we all had to run to sleep in the big dorm room! For the kids it was all part of the adventure!!

Other adventures that they enjoyed were the abseiling and rope bridge crossing led by another project called Farol.

Some of the kids were so afraid to abseil but in the end each one managed it and they were so proud of themselves. And we were proud to see them conquering theirs fears!

They had lots of free time which they could take advantage of the beautiful place were we stayed with a swimming pool with water straight from the waterfall! And lots of space to play and be free! During this time the dutch girls taught them how to play badminton and with the leader they each built their own tent!

We had a camp fire, the boys were so excited, we were so excited!!! It was a special time where we could share the word with them. We gave them the opportunity to share or ask forgiveness for something. Two boys spoke up and asked forgiveness to another boy for something they knew they shouldn't have done! After praying together we taught them how to roast their marshmallows on the fire! They didn't have the patience.... they ate them raw or black because they caught fire! 

On Sunday we went on a hike to the waterfall! It was a beautiful walk through the brazilian nature and although the water was freezing the boys didn't hesitate to get wet!

For lunch we had an amazing Brazilian BBQ! Lots of meat! Most of these kids wouldn't be exposed to this kind of opportunity and it was so nice to spoil them this way! They are each so special and deserve this special treatment, because they are God's Princes!

But for me (Rachel) one of the most special times was devotional time on Sunday morning. Before the camp we took time to pray for each of the boys asking God for words, verses, encouragements etc for them. During this time we divided each staff with two boys to read over "their words", talk about it and pray together. I talked with my two about how God knows everything about our life and he has a special plan for each of us. It is so encouraging to see their thirst as you share with them. When it came time to pray, one of the boys with me said he didn't know how to pray so he would say "The Lord's Prayer." I simply explained to him that prayer is talking to God and that God is here with us listening. He prayed! He was so excited that he learnt to pray that he went on to ask to pray at lunch and then asked to pray again before we left to thank God for the weekend and ask for safety on the way back! Glory to God!

What a camp! It was fun and exciting! It was a time for us to deepen our relationships with these boys. It was a time for us to love on each of them to show a little glimpse of the love that our Father has for each of them. And I know for sure that each one of them went home full, full of everything that was poured out into them!

Feel free to watch a video made by one of our staff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HZ2qS9nB0M

We want to thank all the links that make this happen.... the different projects and all the financial and prayer supporters.

http://lukassealmeida.wixsite.com/micheleromeu

http://www.ranchodaspedrasvivas.com/

http://www.ranchodaspedrasvivas.com/projeto-farol.html