so the cook said: Let's have a slumber party!

I am slowly sorting and organizing my Brazil pictures. I should have this post and one more to finish up our trip review.

Sarah has an amazing ministry - She uses the things she does best to create relationships with the little girls of the village. Cooking and sewing classes draw the girls into her home. Any girl, 6 to 12 years old can attend. At the beginning of each quarter, they pick the project they would like to work on for the next 8 weeks or so.

When it's time to pick a new project, Sarah will invite the girls over for a slumber party. Although pjs and popcorn may be a normal thing for American girls, it is brand new to these Brazilians. Since cooking and crafting is right up my alley, I had a blast helping Sarah plan and prepare for this night.

At Sunday School, we passed out permission slips for the girl's parents to sign. A few girls were waiting at the gate with their signed permission slips before we even got home from church. They were so excited, and I must admit, I was too!

When the day came, we borrowed mattresses from the ABWE hospital down the road. Jeremiah and Dave got some boys to help them carry them down the road.

We borrowed some movies in Portuguese from the missionary, Carolee.

Evelyn previewed Toy Story 3.

We decided to put the girls in groups, rotating activities as the night progressed. To identify the groups, we tied different color ribbons around the girl's wrists.

This also gave me a chance to practice some Portuguese colors. Sarah would tell me what color to use for each girl, and I worked hard to not have to ask her for the color in English. Unfortunately, weeks later, I can only remember pink -- rosa (pronounced hosa). The girls wanted to know the English colors and would repeat the words as I said them.

We wrote the girl's names on cups - they drink like camels! I spent a good portion of the evening filling cups. No one could say they were not well hydrated

After the girls arrived, Sarah explained to them what the next projects would be -- sewing aprons, making crochet pot-holders or cooking. They would have until the next morning to decide.

We had originally wanted to have a campfire for dinner, but the stores were all out of hotdogs. Plan B was individual pizzas. Earlier that day, Sarah and I stopped by the bread store. We purchased hamburger size rolls, enough for dinner and breakfast. Jeremiah and Dave picked up our order later that afternoon.

After planning our schedule, we agreed that one group would make pizzas, one would ice cakes and the other 2 would play kickball. After 15 minutes, we would rotate the groups.

The girls had never played kickball. Even though it was dark and hot, and the bases consisted of cardboard boxes, the girls loved every minute of it. Jeremiah and Dave made excellent kickball instructors.

The pizzas were made by cutting the buns in half - each girl was able to make 2 small pizzas.

After adding sauce and cheese, the pizzas were cooked in the oven.

Pinterest even made it's way into our slumber party plans. I had seen an idea just before we left for Brazil. Mini cakes made in cans.

Pin found here.

Muffin tins are not available in the stores there. Sarah likes to show the girls recipes or tips that they can use at home. Early in the week, we began saving these little short cans that contain cream. Creme de Leite cans made the perfect cupcake tins.

The Brazilians use this cream in so many recipes. We then used Sarah's yellow cake mix recipe to bake the small cakes ahead of time. After greasing and flouring the tins, we were ready to bake. We placed all the cans on a baking sheet to make it easier to take them in and out of the oven.

Since these made taller "cupcakes," we decided to make them mini layer cakes. We pre-cut them into 2 slices.

That evening, one of the missionary girls, Julie Ann helped me to translate as I instructed the girls how to ice the cakes.

I found that when I couldn't communicate with the girls, I wanted to use my sign language. My ASL teachers would have been proud of my classifiers as I described how to place pink icing in the middle and chocolate on top. The girls loved adding the handful of sprinkles as well.

We set up several tables on the porch for dinner.

The girls enjoyed their pizza and cakes.

After dinner, it was movie time. The girls ran into the house to change into their PJ's. There were girls everywhere. 23 girls means a lot of Portuguese and a lot of flip-flops.

The girls all found their places on the mattress spread across the living room.

We watched "Enchanted" in Portuguese...I, however, sang along in English.

Once the movie started, we popped a lot of popcorn (on the stove, of course). It wouldn't have been a true slumber party with out the popcorn.

At one point in the movie, I looked into the kitchen and saw the littlest girl was making herself at home. She had pulled one of Evelyn's little chairs up to the kitchen sink.

This was her first slumber party - her mother had finally let her attend. And she remembered to brush her teeth. It was adorable.

After the popcorn - she jumped right back on the chair to brush her little teeth again.

I thought that the movie would make them all sleepy - but that was not the case. The popcorn made them thirsty. The kool aid made them hyper. So, after the movie, Sarah took them outside for a rousing game of Red Rover.

We decided we'd better figure out a game to help them settle down. We took them to the roof to play Heads Up 7 Up. All these American games are brand new to them. They wanted to play over and over and over. We must have played for over an hour.

I got picked every single time. I felt like a celebrity. On the last round, I put down every one's thumbs. It was so funny to see them all stand up - the look on their faces when they realized they'd all been picked was priceless.

We herded the group back down to the mattress and put in the final movie - Ice Age.

One by one, they drifted off to sleep...but not for long.

By 6:45 am they were all dressed and giggling.

It was time for devotions. Sarah gave a little devotional challenge the girls on the roof. After morning devotions, the girls got into groups to show Sarah who wanted to make what project.

While Sarah and I got breakfast ready, the girls played another few rounds of Heads Up 7 Up.

I'll admit. I was shocked. Sarah began brewing the biggest pot of coffee ever (or Cafe as they call it). All those little girls drink a cup each morning! I couldn't believe it.