SIFAT is not a diet camp

Before beginning this week of class, we had a mission trip training experience at a place in Alabama. SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology) is an organization that trains missionaries and locals from other countries to go overseas and back to their villages and teach the people there basic skills for living (such as digging wells, building latrines, teach disease protection, etc). http://www.sifat.org/

We spent two nights at this place preparing for our mission trip in January to Brazil. The first night we were there was spent in a local village. A short thirty minute hike into the woods behind the SIFAT campus will take you to an area where seven huts have been built. These huts have been constructed to look just like a house would look if you were to visit that country. These seven countries are Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Liberia, Uganda, the Philippines, and Nepal. I stayed in Liberia (which was a circular hut with two windows, one door, a hole in the ceiling for the smoke from the fireplace to go up, and a dirt floor to sleep on). Some of the more "go hard or go home" Impacters brought nothing with them, thus they were sleeping in dirt with no sleeping bag. Most of us, like me, brought a sleeping bag, but that was all! We made our dinner over an open fire (chicken, rice, beans and tortillas) and ate it out of banana leaves. It was definitely an interesting experience. I enjoyed sleeping outside, but it also was a huge eye opener to how 2/3 of the world really lives. The second night we were there was participating in a slum experience. We were divided into 4 groups and told we had to get food, shelter and water in the next two hours. We were thrown into the slums with nothing but the clothes on our backs. We ended up working for shelter and trading in shoes and sweaters for food and water. Even though it was just a "game," it really showed us how difficult it is to live like that. We ended our weekend with debrief, devotion and worship.

This week at I360 was the most interesting class time that I have experienced since starting this program. We had a professor from Columbia International University in South Carolina teach us this week about the Old Testament. He went through every book of the OT and gave historical background, key events that took place, as well as related it to the topic of Israel being a light to all nations. We were constantly in the word, looking up passages of scripture. My Bible has been highlighted and written in as I was soaking up all he had to say. This week made me realize just how much I enjoy classroom time at I360.

Fall break just began for us students at Impact 360. I left campus yesterday afternoon and got to Athens, GA (where my parents live) right before dinner time. I don't have to be back to Pine Mountain until Sunday night, so these next few days will give me quite a lot of time to refresh myself, as well as get ahead on some school work.

Before leaving for fall break, we were sent an e-mail about our mission trip to Brazil, so I thought I'd post that on here so you can see what we're going to be doing and where we will be going. While at SIFAT, we found out our IE teams (International Experience). There are nine students besides me on my team, plus a staff member (Bethany Haegele), our Student Living Coordinator. My group is team B.

MINISTRY OVERVIEW: IMPACT 360 students have a unique opportunity to apply their studies and also learn from local church and ministry leaders when they spend one month in Brazil during the international experience. Through youth camps, music, sports, Vacation Bible School, and service projects, students will work to establish relationships with local families so that they can share with them about their faith. Relationships are very important to Brazilians, and students hope that by finding and talking about their common interests they will be able to gain the trust and attention of the young adults in the community.
By partnering with local churches, IMPACT 360 students will be able to learn how to most effectively do ministry in the southern Brazilian cities they will visit. They also hope to be an encouragement to these small congregations of faithful believers who want to reach their communities for Christ. Students will travel and minister together in Brasilia for several days, and then they will form two teams. One will stay in Brasilia for another week, then travel to Bauru, and the other will travel to Porto Alegre. By working with churches in both urban cities and rural areas, as well as staying with host families during their international experience, IMPACT 360 students will have a unique perspective on culture and ministry in Brazil.
DATES AND LOCATION: The IMPACT 360 group will depart on January 9, 2009. The group will include all 21 students, Brian Davis, Bethany Haegele, Eric Turner and Larry Cox plus Orman and Elizabeth Gwynn who served as missionaries to Brazil for 30+ years. The entire group will travel to Brasilia where John and Trudy White will receive them at the Aqua Viva Retreat Center. The team will participate in a group project with a local orphanage, then the 21 students will be put into two teams. The dates and ministry locations are as follows:


January 9 Depart ATLANTA
January 10–14 Entire group at Aqua Viva Retreat Center – Brasilia
January 14 Team A – Brasilia Team B – Porto Alegre
January 25 Team A travels to Bauru
February 1 Team A travels to Sao Paulo Team B travels to Sao Paulo
February 2-5 Entire group ministering in Aracaiba
February 6 Depart Sao Paulo
February 7 Arrive ATLANTA

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."