Another Week in the Books

Daniel came over one evening to swim and play video games with the boys. After dinner, he helped us navigate even further into the city. The reward for his guidance was his favorite treat, açaí. Trev and I like açaí and this was the boys’ first time having it. It is SO good here. The boys totally agreed. Mason went Mango and choco ball with his açaí. The rest of us went with strawberry and banana. Although Amazonians, Brazilians from the Amazon region, say this version isn’t the true version. They eat theirs unsweet kind of like an oatmeal. We will just have to agree to disagree there.

The kids we work with are so precious and you just want to take them home with you. A lot of them are going through some pretty tough stuff at home, from parents separating, to boyfriends coming and going, abuse, drugs, gangs, lack of food, shoes, and other basic needs, relatives in prison, and lack of education. Sweet little Ana Raquel drew me a picture of a beautiful house (addressed to Tia (pronounced chia) Holly, as they all call us Tia and Tio, which is Aunt and Uncle). I asked how her morning at school was and she told me she didn’t go because there was no one to take her. She was so sad she didn’t get to go. Little Alex showed up crying because he was hungry and hadn’t eaten since last time he was on campus. It’s heartbreaking.

A few of them are wild. I reminded my boys this week, that sometimes those that are hard to love are the ones that need love the most. The needs can feel overwhelming at times. Despite all their physical and emotional needs, we have to remember that their greatest need is Jesus, to know that God loves them, sees them in their difficult situations, and has already met their greatest need by sending His Son Jesus to die for them without even being asked. That’s the heart of this ministry. Devotional times are held in high regard and everyone tries to make sure they’re not doing anything that distracts the kids from learning about Jesus.

After another week of serving is over. Most of the child sponsorship letters are on their way back to the states and we have started taking photographs for our next child sponsor update. The thing to remember with the sponsorship program is some kids are every day attenders and others show up whenever they can catch a public bus or someone is able to bring them so it takes time to get all the letters completed and translated and send back. Same goes with pictures. It’s a process, but it is well worth it when you see the difference it makes in these children’s lives.

We went to Centre City with Emily today and checked out some stores for some items we needed. That’s her smiling behind me. Her dad is American and her mom is Brazilian.

Trev did an awesome job parallel parking.  Downtown you have to pay to park but they don’t have meters, they have meter maids; you find the number on the sidewalk and walk around until you find the parking employee. You give them your parking number and license plate number and pay for one to two hours with your credit or debit card. I thought the parking sign said it was ok to park there for a max of two hours. I had no idea that you had to pay or go walk around to find an employee to avoid a ticket.

After all the stores, we had to do a science experiment to see if the Brazilian Domino’s Pizza was better than the American Domino’s.  First off, you can eat in and they give you real plates and silverware; like a real restaurant. The boys liked the bacon and corn pizza. Trevor, Mason, and Tucker liked the Brazilian version but all three agreed they liked the American Domino’s crust better. I liked the American version. Further investigation will need to be done, I’m sure. 

And since Domino’s is just two stores down from Lafresco, we had to stop and get açaí for the second time this week. This time Mason tried it with cherries and chocolate. Emily had mango and passion fruit without the açaí.  The rest of us stuck to our favorite of strawberry and banana. We all love açaí. 

The music kids were fundraising last year for their big trip this year. They left for Uraguay and Argentina on Thursday and will be on the road for the next four days performing. They have an 18 hour bus ride. But the kids are having a blast. This is such a treat for them. None of them have ever been out of the state let alone the country. Most of them have never even been out of this town; not even to São Paulo that’s just an hour away. It’s good for them to see life outside of the slums that many of them live in.

We had a retreat this weekend with other volunteers and missionaries and the boys had a blast. The facilites at Word of Life are great. They especially loved jumping off the big diving board.

Back at it on Monday. See ya next week.