Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday started out with a trip to Sugarloaf Mountain. Sugarload is a peak situated on a peninsula that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean rising 1,299 ft. above sea-level. A glass-paneled cable car capable of holding 75 passengers runs along a 1400-meter route between the peaks of Babilonia and Urca every half hour. We spent 2 hours on the peak of the mountain and then we headed back to the bus to eat some lunch.

Since all the concert locations served us lunch and dinner, we were able to go to a nicer place to eat lunch. However, the majority of the group wanted to go to the mall to eat, so about 15 from the group went back to the churrascaria from the first night.

After lunch, we headed up another mountain to go to Christ the Redeemer statue. The statue stands 130 feet tall, weighs 700 tons, and is located at the peak of the 2,296 ft. Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park. We boarded a cog train similar to the one in Colorado Springs to take us on the 20 minute ride to the top. We stopped at one station on the way up, and a local music group got on the car and played some samba music for the last 5 minutes of the ride. Once we were at the top of the mountain, we had an excellent 360 degree view of Rio. This was an excellent picture opportunity.

Once we headed back down the mountain, we came back to the hotel to get ready for the concert at Igreja Batista de Campo Grande. This is the home church for two of our translators we have had with us all week. Also, we found out, right before the concert, that it was live on the interent. This was a great time of worship and was an excellent ending to our work here in Rio. After the service, we had pasta and meatballs and hot dogs for dinner.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we went to a meeting room and had our "tour awards" party. We ordered pizza and had a great time of fellowship by giving out awards of things people have done on the trip. Most of these are funny things that people have done or had happen to them. As per our tradition on these trips, Bill and Tim sang the "tour song." These two guys write lyrics to one of the songs that really develops its own character on the trip. This year's tune was "Joshua Fit the Battle." The song includes many different aspects of the trip - some funny and some of the memorable moments. We even voted in Kenn Hughes and Gabi into the orchestra last night.

As we spend our last free hours here in Rio, this trip has been one of encouragement to the believers here in Rio and to those who don't know Jesus as their personal Savior. We have made new friends, strengthened old friendships, and really have drawn closer together as a family. Gabi, our contact here in Brazil and additional flautist, said that we really made her feel part of our family too. She also said that one of our bus drivers, a few days into the trip, said he could see that there was something different about us and that we really care for one another. Even though we are coming home today and there will be no more blog posts, please keep the people of Rio in your prayers.

We look forward to sharing our experiences with everyone at the home concert on August 10th at 6:00pm.

We love you all and look forward to seeing everyone!!