For a word about fellow believers in Brasil. (They spell Brazil with an s.)
 Nelson Martinsen is a twenty- something man who helped us ALOT with being able to communicate in Portuguese. He is trying to learn English well so he can go to Pakistan as a missionary. He knows just about every American movie and can recite parts of them. He always has a smile and is willing to help out in any way. He knows a little about everything. He is the kind of guy you can go crying to and he will make you feel better. He willingly  went with 4 teenage girls into to town to go shopping- not just once but 2 or 3 times. He stayed up late to watch old movies in English and Portuguese. He joined in on our singing and told many stories. ("As an example...") Over all, he was very instrumental in making our trip enjoyable and profitable. He has a very interesting story also, which I hope will be added at another blog.
 Luciano is probably in his forties and has a wife and 2 children. He has been a pastor but is wondering what God has in store for him now. Meanwhile,he is the mastermind behind our building project. Somehow he gets his point across to us with very little English. Always there and ready to work. He took time out to listen to our devotions and interact with us at the restaurant, the waterfalls and in Pieronopolis. Somehow, he can dig a straight trench at just the right depth without any measuring tools. His son was about the age of the girls on the team and was very eager to interact with them and to use his little bit of English to help us learn Portuguese. I didn't get to know the rest of the family very well. The last morning we were there, Luciano challenged us to walk with Christ even more.
 Marcello and his wife ,Denise (Deneesee), and their daughter, Talita, and son ,Bruno, live on the second floor of the Oasis house. Marcello helped out several days with the building. Bruno also helped out when he wasn't in school. Denise did a little of everything around the place. She helped to clean, cook, and wash dishes. Her soft spoken words always made us feel at home. Bruno is probably 14 or so and joined in on all the work and fun. Talita plays the guitar and sings. I think she is about 16. The first night after dinner, she played her guitar while we all sang Casting Crowns songs in English and in Portuguese. Beautiful. Marcello had been raised in a Christian home but got kinda wild in his later teens and early 20s. He started drinking and partying. His mother prayed for him daily. Denise met him while he was in the phase and they wanted to get married. She was not a Christian at this time and he witnessed to her even though his own life was not close to God. She asked all kinds of questions about what the difference between a religion and a relationship with Jesus was. One night, Marcello was drag racing while under the influence and wrecked her father's car. While he was being rushed off by the police, Denise heard God speaking to her and fell on her knees to ask Jesus to help her. After that, she started pullling Marcello back to Christ. He was the head of a street mission for about 16 years and now he has felt God telling him that he needs to be a pastor to pastors. This is his job at the Oasis.
Ju  (zhu) (I don't know the Portuguese spelling) is the cook and housekeeper. Each morning she greeted us with Bem Dia! (Bohn jeea) and a smile. She made the most awesome food. I will tell more about this in another blog. Mostly, she just made the whole trip worthwhile just to see the care she put into her job.
The gardener (whose name I don't know) was always there raking leaves, hoeing, etc. He had a bird one day that was having trouble flying and he helped it to fly.
There is  another couple that lives on the grounds, but we didn't get to meet them. They have a very small house in the back yard. They are the head of the groundskeeping etc for the Oasis, I believe.
And, of course, there is Bill, Kathy and Joy Bacheller who will have to be another time.