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Ozark Adventist Academy provides a safe learning environment, in which students come to discover a love for God, respect for self, and the skills for fulfilled Christian living.
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20997 Dawn Hill East Rd. Gentry, AR 72734 | Phone: (479) 736-2221 | Fax: (479) 736-2224 | Email: [email protected]
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2019 Mission Trip to Brazil

Updates from Brazil

Thursday morning about 10:30 part of Ozark's student body and staff left Gentry to fly to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Those participating in this mission trip will be working on a church construction project and evangelism and VBS programs. Please keep our students and staff in your prayers. Digital image may be downloaded here.

UPDATE: 3-22-19 The Mission Team has arrived safely in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

UPDATE: 3-23-19 (from Chaplain Seth C.) We have finished our second day here in Brazil and all is well. Brennan's luggage arrived so now we aren't without any bags. We did have a few things go differently then we had planned but that is just part of being on a mission trip. We had a nice church service and lunch with the church. We then went to a cool scenic overlook where you could see most of the city of Sao Paulo and the surrounding area. Then we had our first night of Evangelism and VBS. God is blessing and we appreciate all of your prayers! Tomorrow we begin our first day of work on the work site!

UPDATE: 3-24-19 (from Chaplain Seth C.) We finished our first day on the work site and everyone did a great job! Some were a little frustrated at first as they struggled to learn the skills of laying block but they are learning fast and got a lot more done after lunch. We are pushing sunscreen, drinking water and Gatorade. Everyone is diligently using bug repellent as well but we have hardly encountered mosquitos at all. I am one of those people who could have 20 bites before anyone else noticed there were any around. I think I might have encountered 2 mosquitos, so that is a blessing. We appreciate your prayers and thank you so much for allowing your students to be used by God in this way. They have all been doing so well!

UPDATE: 3-25-19 (from Chaplain Seth C.) Day 4 was great! Mick R. our construction site leader was really excited with all that we accomplished today. We got more than twice the work done than we did yesterday, which is awesome! I think the students are beginning to have a real understanding of what they are doing and are beginning to get into the work more than be frustrated with difficulties. I am very proud of them. They continue to jump in whenever we ask for help. They are all working hard and you should be very proud. We are encouraging them constantly to drink water and apply sunscreen. I think some have gotten a little red but so far it seems like no one has gotten burned very much. We will be extra diligent with sunscreen when we go to the beach on Wednesday. So far we haven't had any injuries or health issues that I am aware of. Praise God! Thank you so much for your prayers!

UPDATE: 3-26-19 (from Chaplain Seth C.) Today was another good day! 3 days done at the work site and the kids are doing great! Those who have spoken at the Evangelism meetings so far (Seth, Andrew, Logan, and Sam) have done a great job! I have heard raving reviews about those helping with VBS as well! You all would be very proud. Jessyka our main Maranatha contact here told me tonight that we have a special group. I know we all think so too but it is cool to hear that from others. The students are very excited for our trip to the beach tomorrow, in case you didn't know or forgot we will have 2 local lifeguards there with us that we have hired for the day. We appreciate your continued prayers!

UPDATE: 3-30-19 (from Chaplain Seth C.) We have all been doing well. Everyone had a great time at the beach on Wednesday. One really cool thing happened while we were at the beach. Not long after Sai was in the ocean he dropped his glasses. Without them he would not have been able to do much. Praise God, only 15 minutes later Andrew found the glasses. Friday was our last day on the worksite. We were able to lay 16 courses of block for the exterior walls and 8 courses for the interior walls. Unfortunatley, it was not enough to finish the section we were working on. The Maranatha team will finish up the building. You should all be proud of your students and the work they have done. They have done amazingly with the VBS and evangelistic meetings. Our biggest problem is that more of the them want to be involved than there is space for at VBS, so we had to rotate them through. Seth, Andrew, Sam, Logan, Brennan, Anna, and Evan have been our evangelism speakers. They have done a great job. We appreciate your continued prayers as we complete our last Sabbath and prepare for our journey home.

UPDATE: 3-31-19 (from Chaplain Seth C.) We are sitting at our gate at the airport in Brazil. We are all here! Sabbath was a wonderful day although it was difficult to say goodbye to all the friends we have made here. We made some lasting relationships while we are here. I am so thankful that if we are not able to see them on this earth we will be able to see them in heaven. One really cool thing that happened is that our group took a collection to help with our cook and her husband starting their own bakery. This has been a dream of theirs that is being realized because of being hired to cook for us and the previous Maranatha group. It was very special for us to be apart of that too, something we didn't know we were coming here for. Today our Bus was unable to start for a long period of time, so we spent a long period of time at the fair in Embu and were unable to go to the mall. I think everyone enjoyed themselves though and it didn't really affect us that much. Another blessing I want to share with you is that it did not rain once while we were here. This is supposed to be the rainy season and before we came it was projected to rain much of the time we were here. God held it back though for us and I am so thankful for that. I am sure you are all excited to see your students and I am excited for them to share their experiences with you.

UPDATE: 4-1-19 (from Chaplain Seth C.) We have arrived in Atlanta. Everyone seems to be doing well although tired. We will be back to the Academy later today.

20997 Dawn Hill East Rd. Gentry, AR 72734 | Phone: (479) 736-2221 | Fax: (479) 736-2224 | Email: [email protected]
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