But before we get to the travel, we need to back up to the start of the week. Joy was trying to get the little kids to play a game and they were having a real hard time settling down, so Tucker, without being prompted, stepped in to play too and the kids got quiet because they were excited that he was playing with them. Later in the game, one of the little boys got riled up and smacked the next little boys’ hand way too hard and the little fella started to cry. Joy pulled the rowdy boy aside to talk with him. Tucker immediately jumped up and went and checked on the little boy that was crying. This particular boy is very shy and quiet; oftentimes not wanting to make eye contact but with a few people. Tuck consoled him and offered to change places with the rowdy boy so the crying boy wouldn’t be afraid of being hit hard again. My heart is full seeing my boys becoming men who love God and others, who are strong, who empathize, and want to protect the vulnerable. This is what the world needs. I’m not sure why the world would want to change that.
We had our first mission team visit since we’ve been here. This church out of Tampa has been coming here for a few years and kids get crazy excited when they’re here. It’s really neat because many of the team members sponsor Moyo kids here and they come every year to spend time with their kiddo. Moyo (moyo.org) has plenty of kids that need sponsors both here and in Uganda if you are interested in something like that. I can verify firsthand the impact this program makes in the lives of these children. Some of the kids wanted to stay right beside their sponsor all week long. It was so sweet to see what a bond they have with each other.
The team brought props for devotional and activities, lots of games, and goodies. They basically brought a Vacation Bible School with them. They cooked and cleaned too. So a lot of what we did this week was just crowd control because the kids get so wound up.
During devotional, the team had some of the kids experience what it might be like to be blind like Bartimaeus. The little five year old boy in the black and white shirt trying on the blindfold in the bottom picture is a handfull. He gets called down all the time for being too rough, not following directions, for running around when he should be listening, and the list goes on. It never feels like he pays attention. So fast forward to the next day during devotional. (I don’t have any pictures because I left my phone in the office). Mrs. Joyce came out dressed in costume and asked the kids a question, I don’t even remember what the question was now, but Pedro jumps up to answer the question and, in true fashion, his response did not answer the question. What his answer did do was floor us all. Basically, what he did was give us a summary of the prior day’s devotion. Wow! I would have never had though he was listening, let alone able to summarize the lesson. Oftentimes, we can get discouraged wondering if we’re making a difference; if they’re really getting it; is it all worth it? Then the Lord graciously gives you a sign of hope and it keeps you pushing ahead. The week was busy but fun.
Once Friday came the travel began. We decided to head to a city we had never been to before with anyone else; so I thought it was a pretty big deal. Our journey took us to the neighboring state of Minas Gerais to the north of the state of São Paulo.
The road trip took us through two hours of pretty Brazilian countryside. Once we got off the Fernão Dias Highway, it was pretty much farms and a tight twisty mountain road.
We passed by this pretty little rustic lavender farm too.
Our first stop was at a cute little store with this amazing overlook.
We went full on tourist; cheesy photo ops, souvenir shopping, cheese sampling; the works.
So a little random tidbit, many public restroom toilets are missing a toilet seat and lid. Even in clean restrooms. The seats are just so cheap they break so easily that many public restrooms just don’t have them. Just so you know.
Then we arrived at our intended destination, Monte Verde or, as we have decided to call it, the Helen, GA of Brazil.
But instead of a German town it is known as the Brazilian Switzerland. The houses all had the Alpine look to them. And instead of fudge, it was all about chocolate and fondue. It’s a tourist town ranging from great hiking and UTV tours to romantic chalets to dining and shopping.
We read online about the Ice Bar. We didn’t go but it sounded like a cool place. The entire bar is made of ice and even the glasses are made of ice. The temperature is maintained at -22 degrees Celsius and patrons are given special coats and gloves to wear when they enter in order to enjoy the atmosphere without freezing to death. I care nothing about drinking so we didn’t go but it would have been cool to see if it had been an ice cream shop or something.
The town is really just one street. All the stores and restaurants are there and stands are set up for tours that take you out of the city for adventures. It only cost R$5 to park ($1 US) until 6pm. Sweet. We walked around looking for a chocolate tour but the “tours” were like Helen, where you can just watch them make the candy from behind a glass; not an actual tour. Not too much chocolate was being made yet as we arrived pretty early by Brazilian standards.
After chocolate watching, we were ready for lunch. So we chose a fondue rodízio restaurant. Remember, rodízio is the Brazilian word for an all you can eat style restaurant where the waiter comes by with a continual offering of food. We chose a restaurant that included chocolate with the meat and cheese. Of course we did.
This was the boys first time at a fondue restaurant. They enjoyed the novelty of it all. Our meal came with sirloin, chicken, sausage, bread, potatoes, cheese, and nine dipping sauces. The chocolate course came with strawberries, bananas, grapes (which none of us liked mainly because of the seeds), pineapples, and marshmallows. Our waiter was very patient with our broken Portuguese. I, at one point, asked for jelly (geleia) in my cup instead of ice (gelo). Mason was quick to laugh and clarify. I know the difference, I was just flustered ordering for everyone. Oh well, my glass came out with ice and a smirk from the waiter.
Towards the end of the meal, I told mom we were having the surreal experience of being in Brazil, in a place that looks like Switzerland, having fondue, listening to music in English (1980s Alabama county and 1990 rock of all things). After about two hours at the restaurant, we headed out to walk off all the chocolate.
I’m not sure what the deal is with squirrels and oak leaves but they were all over the merchandise in town. Many of the restaurants had these little furry covers over the chairs. So chic, or que chique, as they say in Brazil. From the boys expressions, they really didn’t know what to do with this big block of a pumpkin coconut treat.
We left town and headed over to Unger’s Pottery House. We thought it was a working pottery studio but it was way more art gallery so the boys didn’t want to stay long. So we headed home to get some rest before our big day the next morning; heading to São Paulo with the team.
The morning started at 8am. I gave my testimony during the team’s morning devotional.
With our physical and spiritual tanks full, we headed to the 5th largest populated city in the world with a population of about 23 million people.
Our first stop was to the Vinde location in São Paulo. This location is located in a small favela in Itaquera.
The houses are built so close together, you can hand your neighbor something out the window. The houses was very small. There are no rails on the steep stairs and the bathroom is more like a “wet bath” like in some small campers, where the shower head is almost over the toilet. For reference, this house is much nicer and larger than most of the houses in this favela.
The kids at this location only think about being a YouTuber or a soccer player (as they are so close the the soccer stadium). One of the things the teens do at this program is ride the subway to the other side of town for career counseling to help them realize they can actual have a real future; more than soccer or influencing. After a short walk to the property where they would like to expand their program, we were off to lunch.
Along the way, we stopped by the Corinthians Soccer Stadium. Aside from soccer, this is also the location of the NFL Packers vs Eagles game in September.
This black fence in this picture is a fitting metaphor as it is as close as these Packers’ fans will get to the game, as the tickets sold out so fast. Resale tickets are twice the price. Poor fellas.
After lunch we headed over to the Museum of Immigration. Think of this large property as the Ellis Island of Brazil.
Of course, the boys found the only virtual reality exhibit in the museum. If you like history and museums, then you will like this one and, bonus, entry is free on Saturdays.
My mom loves trains so, of course, when the option of riding a train was presented, she quickly accepted.
The tour guide was informative and entertaining and Roberto translated for our group.
Despite the hilarious picture (which my mom gave me permission to use; what a great sport she is), mom thought the Brazilian hot dog with mashed potatoes and fried potato straws was pretty ok. HA!
And now for What Stupid Thing Did Holly Do This Week. Worse than asking for jelly in my cup, I made a horrible faux pas. I was talking to three of the teenagers and Marcella was telling me that Jonathan was giving her a hard time so I slapped my left palm with the back of my right palm repeatedly, just being funny to let him know he should immediately stop being mean to Marcella. I thought it was all in good fun until I saw Jonathan and Josés’ faces. I quickly turned back to Marcella, who had the same mortified expression. She explained to me that it was an inappropriate sexual gesture. I knew not to use the OK sign but nothing I read or was told mentioned this hand gesture. I apologized profusely, making sure she knew I had no idea and would have NEVER used that gesture had I known. She told me I didn’t need to apologize since I didn’t know but I couldn’t help but keep apologizing. I felt so terrible. You should have seen their faces! I got cold chills and thought I was going to throw up. Thankful these kids know me well enough at this point to know it wasn’t intentional but that didn’t change the fact that it happened. Why, oh, why, am I allowed to leave Georgia, let alone the US?!
Hopefully, next week will be less traumatizing for everyone.
NoHurryCains 
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