Reaching Brazil's Children at Risk

January 2012 – Reading Week during the holidays

2012-01-28T18:58:00.001-02:00

This month I returned to the other project I had worked at last July, Casa Esperança (House of Hope) in the Buraco Quente favela to help with the reading week they held. It was nice to see some of the kids from the previous reading week, and they remembered me too!

At the end of the week, they were eligible for prizes based on how many points they had earned by how many books they had read.

What a little reading can lead to . . .

This day (January 28) in World Evangelism History

On this day in 1906, Oswald J. Smith, who would become a powerful missions advocate and spokesman, was converted at an R.A. Torrey crusade in Toronto, Canada.

A sickly teenager, the doctors did not think that Smith would live to manhood. He didn’t do much physical work and walk only short distances. Because Smith didn’t do much outside, he learned to read, a lot. And he grew to love it, especially reading the newspaper. As he read, he continually saw articles about Torrey and his crusades. The fact that so many went to hear the man intrigued the young teen. When he found out that a crusade was being held only ninety miles from his house, he knew he had to go find out what this man said that everyone found so important. So he set out on a train with his brother to hear this famous preacher.

At the meeting, Torrey preached out of Isaiah 53:5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” The words pierced the heart of young Smith and he struggled within himself. But he record what happened next:

“Then suddenly, it happened. I cannot explain it even today. I just bowed my head, put my face between my hands and in a moment tears gushed through my fingers, and fell upon the chair, and there stole into my boyish heart a realization of the fact that the great change had taken place. Christ had entered and I was a new creature. I had been born again. There was no excitement, no unusual feeling, but I knew that something had happened, and that ever after all life would be different. That was January 28th, 1906, when I was 16 years of age, and it has lasted to this day. Yes, and it is going to last, praise God, throughout the countless ages of eternity.”

Oswald J. Smith never got over what Jesus did for him that day! And this amazement at his salvation would drive Smith to become one of the greatest missionary advocates and supporters of his day. Over the next eighty years, he preached more than 12,000 sermons in 80 countries, wrote thirty-five books (with translations into 128 languages), as well as 1,200 poems, of which 100 have been set to music. He raised over $14 million dollars for missionary work. He founded the Peoples Church in Toronto. He was the major advocate for the faith promise offering, sharing the idea in hundreds of churches. And all of this grew out of what God did in the heart of a sixteen year old boy at a crowded conference hall. In a testimonial song he wrote, Smith says:

Saved! Saved! Saved! Oh, joy beyond compare!

Christ my life, and I His constant care;

Yielding all and trusting Him alone,

Living now each moment as his own.

Source:

Believer’s Web

Oswald J. Smith

Lar Project Year End Fun

2011-12-31T22:18:00.001-02:00

This year at the Lar project we got a little more brave in doing our year-end presentation – the students did a skit of ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’, a spelling bee, and a dance presentation. My younger class sang the A-B-C song and all were presented with certificates of completion for this year of English. It’s always a lot of work getting ready, the students are tired and nervous about their roles, but in end it was all a success! After the presentation, I had a Christmas party planned for them, and in my craziness, decided to have the students make their own sugar cookies. This proved to be a bigger hit than I had suspected – they all loved it! I had three mom’s visit also, and it was fun showing them how to make the cut out cookies as well.

Preparation for Goldilocks

In the weeks before our presentation, my students listened to the Goldilocks story on CD, read the book, watched videos, and did various worksheets and projects to learn about the characters and house items in English. I was going to try and make porridge, but decided against it!

Finished products

The Presentation

Both morning and afternoon students presented, and we had four students be the main characters, with the rest of the students wearing a placard indicating which story part they were: a bowl, a chair, or a bed!

Above, the morning class bears finding baby bear’s chair broken (girl on floor), below, the afternoon class bears and Goldilocks

Above right, Vinicius wrote and told a story of seeing Goldilocks running through the woods after fleeing the three bears house!

The Spelling Bee

Sheer terror struck my students at the thought of spelling words in front of Everyone at the Lar, and spelling in English was even more terrifying, but in the end they took this task seriously, studied, and did a good job! Mayara won the morning session, and Paula and Natalia Sabrina won the afternoon, which had two spelling bees broken down by age.

A-B-C Song

My younger classes each sang the A-B-C song for their presentation and received certificates of participation.

Certificates

Christmas Party

I had a Brazilian friend come help me in the morning session, and she had recently visited the United States, so I had her speak to my students about her trip and the importance of learning English.

I also read the Christmas story, and the kids made crafts, did word searches and played Christmas bingo.

Cookies! Cookies and More Cookies!

Since my students ask me every year for the recipe to make the sugar cookies, I thought it would be fun to show them how to make them. There was flour and sugar sprinkles everywhere, but they had a blast!

Above, two mother’s came to visit and took part in the baking with their daughters

Parting Class Shots

Merry Christmas and Joyous 2012 to all!

“Be glad and rejoice with all your heart.” Zephaniah 3:14

December Activities

2011-12-31T00:35:00.001-02:00

This month I finished my Super Seminars with the local Sao Paulo chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship, and we had a graduation program to end our training. It was good to get to know some of the people in the area who are running CEF, as well as get the training reviewed and learned in portuguese.

My class (right) and receiving my certificate (above)

SPACE Program

If you recall from a previous blog, I had recommended two girls to be considered for entrance into a local SP private school; one of the girls, Jennifer, was awarded with a full scholarship, and I had the opportunity to meet with the program coordinators at their church on Sunday, where they presented about the program and highlighted Jennifer. It was nice to meet them personally and learn more details of their program. Keep Jennifer in your prayers as she starts a new school year soon in a much more demanding school setting.

AMIS Year-end party

The Morumbi Association that assists in Vila Andrade had a year-end party and gift giving day, which the kids and families in the community really enjoyed.

WorldVenture Christmas party

Jr Church Christmas Fun – Birthday party for Jesus!

Vila Andrade Wrap up

2011-12-30T22:12:00.001-02:00

My four years of teaching at Vila Andrade ended this month with a ceremony for certificates and a Christmas party. It was a bittersweet day of rewarding my students for their hard work and saying good-bye. I encouraged each one of them to continue studying English through their schools, online, and other means they can find. Please pray for Mayara, Kaique, Renata, Mirelle, Ana Carol, Alex, Nilton and Leticia to not lose their dreams of a better life!

Certificates

Christmas Party!

Final Shots

Above, Ana posing by her picture; right, Mirelle picking her rewards for the year.

Above, Kaique with his mom in their home; Mayara with a shirt I gave her for her birthday, which says, “We are the architects of our dreams.”

Cards I gave each of them with their certificates.

Sharing a fun Christmas video from Hillsong

2011-11-30T21:11:00.001-02:00

Fun Christmas kids video from Hillsong album 'Born is the King'

November 2011

2011-11-27T17:56:00.001-02:00

In the last month our South Brazil field was privileged to have our President and two others from the WorldVenture HQ make a visit to us here in Brazil as they did some traveling around South America. It was good to put a face to names I had seen in communications, as well as hear from Hans Finzel, our President, about his decision to move on from WorldVenture and the search for his replacement. Please join in prayer with our mission about the search process and that God will bring us the right person as Han’s replacement.

(Below: myself, Hans Finzel, Chris Wynn, communications director, and Jeff Denlinger, Finance Director) During their visit we were able to see a colleagues ministry in the city of Campinas, an hour away from São Paulo. I sat in on part of the ‘Kids club’ time that was hosted by my colleagues church and some visitors from the States.

At Vila Andrade, we are finishing the English book and wrapping up classes next week. We will have a Christmas party and graduation in December. Below students learning about food.

The Lar project has been busy with year-end activities as well. This month they held a “Spring Fest” (as it is spring here and not autumn!) and each class gave a presentation about spring, and there was voting for the Spring Prince/Princess and King/Queen. The older students had fun dressing up for that! (Below: Some of ‘my girls’)

My student Mayara was voted ‘Queen’ (for the morning session)

Below, my afternoon students looking snazzy!

The younger kids had fun in costumes as well!

In this younger class, I gave a quick history lesson about American Thanksgiving during Thanksgiving week; the kids thought it was funny a turkey was the symbol! They colored pilgrims and did a maze/math sheet on the holiday.

I have my first student who earned 20 points in homework assignments! Stephanie has worked hard!

Her classmate earned 15 points and finally got the jump rope she has had her eye on. She ran around the room saying “I’m so happy! I’m so happy!”

October 2011

2011-10-28T16:52:00.001-02:00

This month I had the privilege of attending a retreat hosted by Women of the Harvest, "a ministry of support and encouragement for women serving cross culturally,” for missionaries serving in South and Central America. I have been to other retreats and conferences before, but this was my first time to go to a missionary retreat. I expected that it would be a time of refreshing, rest, fellowship, and Bible study, something like a cold glass of water on a hot Brazilian day. As another attendee described, it was more like ‘riding a barrel over the nearby Iguacu Falls!’

We were showered with love, care and concern, and nurtured mentally, physically, and spiritually. There were a variety of pampering options available, including massages, pedicures and haircuts, as well as an opportunity to have an appointment with a counselor for a private consultation, and with prayer partners for a time of intercession.

There were Bible classes in the morning, devotions within small groups, and worship time as a big group, which was like getting a glimpse of heaven. This time was a huge blessing to me, too, as God really worked on my heart. The topic was on “Our Identity in Christ” and we looked at passages from the book of Colossians, particularly chapter three. “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is…set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God...”

This passage is rich. It goes on to remind us of those things Christ died for and what He wants us to consider as dead and to put aside – those things that drag us down, absorb us, and eventually become part of our identity. As His children, His Word says we no longer have to live that way, but must live according to our identity in Christ: chosen, holy and beloved. Chapter three of Colossians identifies that for us. I love this quote Linda gave us by Neil Anderson: “When you know who you are in Christ, you no longer need to be threatened by people or compete with them because you are already secure and loved.”

Every time we got together as a group, there were little gifts waiting for us. Food items that can't be purchased here, books, mugs, CD's, stationery--lots of things to make us feel like we are God's beloved daughters, and that we're not forgotten out here in the field. I really enjoyed the massage, the time getting to know women who "get it" because they, too, are missionary women, and building new friendships with those serving cross culturally like me.

I've tried to share with you a snapshot of what happened, but the truth is that it was a weekend like no other, and I'm sure I could never put into words how much it meant to me. God bless the volunteers who loved on us, the sponsors who provided us with this FREE retreat, the hotel who served us really yummy buffet meals, and my fellow missionary ladies who opened their hearts this weekend and touched me deeply. If you know other missionary women serving around the world, please let them know about Women of the Harvest!

Below: my small group receiving chocolate chips, my small group leaders who were Amazing, and our team enjoying the outdoors!

In other news . . .

I recently learned about a program here called “SPACE” (Sao Paulo Action for Children and Education), which is a non-profit organization that raises funds to sponsor needy, at-risk children into good (private) schools, where they can get a solid education and escape poverty, with the goal of helping them succeed in life, having structured families and better jobs. The name SPACE was chosen because it implies unlimited possibilities. SPACE gives them a giant leap in four areas: physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.

In order to make this giant leap, a potential student needs to have the ability to make the leap to a more rigorous academic environment, test high enough to enter the new school and, most importantly, have the strong support of a parent or guardian who will help them to succeed.

I identified two students, one from each project, who I believe have the potential to make this ‘giant leap’.

Mayara, 15, from the Vila Andrade project, is one of my best students and wants to be a pediatrician when she grows up. She has grown into a beautiful young lady in my four years here, and continues to surprise me with her grasp of English. She lives with her mother, who does not know how to read or write, and a younger sister. They attend the Vila Andrade church.

Jennifer, 10, is from the Lar project. She started with me when she was 7, and I was a little hesitant to have her join my classes (her feet didn’t even touch the ground in the chairs!), as all the other students were older. She quickly showed me she could hold her own and even surpassed those older than her. She is the second of four other girls, and has a solid, Christian mother and father and family life.

Please pray for these girls that, if God allows, they will be accepted into this program. They had family interviews this last Monday, and we are now waiting to hear the next steps. There is no guarantee of course, but I am praying this could be the opportunity each of them needs to have a chance at success in life!

September 2011

2011-09-30T15:11:00.001-03:00

We are heading in to the last stretch of the school year, and it is showing in my classes. Students are getting tired, forgetting their homework assignments, and complaining a lot, so it has been somewhat of a challenge to keep them motivated to ‘finish strong’! I am trying to change up their routines a little bit to keep it interesting. All year we have been practicing spelling words in English, and I plan to have a Spelling Bee in English in December. The students are already nervous about this, but I think they will do pretty good!

Above, playing a Matching game. Below, doing worksheets about Odd-Even numbers.

Computer reinforcement: making funny creatures

In the younger class I go to at the Lar, we did a ‘search the room’ looking for objects they were learning about – the kids loved using the big glasses to find things!

At Vila Andrade, I didn’t have my classroom for over a month, as it was being painted (without notice). We made due with some space upstairs, but the students and I are happy to have ‘our’ classroom back.

I was able to participate in two retreats this month, an ‘Encounter with God’ retreat which was very meaningful, and I was doubly-blessed as it was in Portuguese, and I was able to understand the majority of it. The second retreat was with the South Brazil WorldVenture team, and we had an enjoyable weekend at Camp California fellowshipping, praying, and talking about missions here in Brazil.

August 2011

2011-08-26T18:45:00.001-03:00

August brought a wonderful visitor to Brazil, my mother! She spent two weeks with me visiting my projects and getting to know first-hand about my life in Brazil. It was a great time for us both! She was also here during my birthday, which was super special.

Lar Project

She read “If you give a Mouse a cookie” to one of my classes, visited with the younger kids classroom, and did one-on-one reading with some of my advanced students.

Vila Andrade Project

Mom did some math exercises with the students here, and conversation exercises with my advanced students.

Birthday Celebrations

This year again I had a little party for my students for my birthday, where they made crafts and had cupcakes. A fun time had by all!

Lar Project

The students in my younger class surprised me when I came into their room with singing happy birthday and giving me handmade cards and presents – it was really sweet!

Vila Andrade Project

July 2011

2011-07-25T20:44:00.001-03:00

July was a month of rest from my regular classes but gave me an opportunity to see a different project site.

I spent a week working at a favela called ‘Buraco Quente’, which translates ‘hot hole’ – called that because the whole slum burned down in 2006 and has since been re-built. My church does a lot of support activities here, and during the winter break this site hosted a reading week.

I went and listened to local children reading books (in portuguese!) for which they could earn points. By the end of week, depending on how many points they earned, they could win prizes. It was a really fun week, and I only needed to ask for help a few times for some words in portuguese! On Friday, I gave the devotional on “Five Things that God cannot do.”

This little girl, above left, did not want to read to anyone the first day. The second day, her friend said she wanted to tell me about the story she just read, but I could tell when she started that she had not really read the book, she was just looking at the pictures. So I asked her to read some of the words for me out loud, and she had a lot of difficulty. She also appeared to be confusing a lot of letters, so I worked with her the rest of the week, and on Friday, she was doing much better! So fun to see her progress!

team of volunteers

giving a devotional

One of the teenage boys who helps out at Lar Batista attended the Coca Cola training program second cycle at Vila Andrade. I attended his graduation program, and it was nice to see another large group pass through this program. There have been a number of participants from the first cycle who have found jobs. Keep Thomas in your prayers as he begins his job search.

Thomas, myself, his mother, and the training coordinator

June 2011

2011-06-26T21:07:00.001-03:00

June brings the wrap-up of first semester classes, with a short ‘winter’ break to come during July. My students and I have been busy getting all the class work done before the break.

At Vila Andrade, the Project moved up to the big Morumbi church and I subsequently have not been able to give classes to the groups I was before as there is no private space. I do not know if this will change or not later in the year. My English classroom actually stayed in the old building, so I am giving classes just to some older students and some of the kids from the Vila Andrade church. The numbers are smaller, but I have good students here with a desire to learn!

making funny creatures while learning parts of the body

The first cycle of the Coca Cola job training program was successfully completed with a graduation ceremony; now praying many of these students will be able to find their first job because of this special training – time will tell!

At the Lar Project, we had a youth group visit from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and they gave a special evangelism program, then came to my English classroom to interact with my students, who were begging to visit with them! My students sang the ‘ABC’ and ‘Hallelu’ songs and the older students recited the Lord’s Prayer they had learned at Easter. It was a blessed time for all!

Morning students

American and Brazilian sisters!

Below, two of my afternoon students teaching the “Thumbs Up” song, which is a very silly song, and the Americans joined along!

Below, students in the younger classes learning about Animals:

Computer learning reinforcement

The temperature in my classroom one day this month – there is no indoor heat!! brrr!

I was asked to help some Brazilians producing an English Christian music CD with translation and pronunciation of English words, which was both fun and challenging! They will use this CD as an outreach tool once produced! Please pray that God will reach many here through this music.

A busy May

2011-05-25T18:02:00.001-03:00

The month of May brought Mother’s Day gift-making, a Family Fun day and Cultural week at the Lar, and many more activities in English class time.

My students decorated cards and made potpourri sachets for their mom’s for Mother’s day, which had my room smelling lovely.

Gift making at Vila Andrade

Cultural Week

The Lar Project had a Cultural week, which involved learning music and dances specific or imported to Brazil, such as Samba, Axe’, Hip Hop, Reggae and Capoiera. Each of the classes then presented on the dance they learned about.

Reggae

Samba

This boy is partially blind, but he learned to count the steps and did a Samba routine duet; he and his partner got a standing ovation! It was so sweet!

Learning with puzzles, games and puppets

When we finish the ‘hard learning’ my students get a break for learning with puzzles and games and other fun activities in my classrooms.

Learning with puppets

Vila Andrade students playing a game learning Shapes.

Student Life

One of my dear, sweet students moved away, which was very sad. I gave her one of the Disney English learning kits I had received as a going-away present! She will be missed!

Local college students visit

I had two local college students who speak English come one afternoon to the Lar for a volunteer day and they participated in one of the younger classes where I give an English class, and spoke to some of my other students about the importance of learning English.

Lar Family Fun Day!

This year rather than having a separate event for mom’s, the directors and staff at the Lar decided to have a family fun day, with activities for everyone. In the morning, the classes presented the dances they had learned during the Cultural week, and my English students were the grand finale, singing two songs in English – the ABC rockin’ tune and Hallelu! After lunch, there were a number of activities to choose from. Family portraits were taken, the kids had play activities, the dad’s and son’s played soccer games, free haircuts were offered, and jewelry and craft making were available for the mom’s. With cotton candy, popcorn and face painting to boot, the day was a huge success!

My English students singing

face (or arm) painting

Family portrait studio

the mechanical bull ride (and I liked this guy’s hat!)

Two of my students getting free haircuts

making crafts with recycled products

dad’s and son’s soccer games and fitness class for mom’s and daughters

Some of my students and their families

The Reggae sisters had fun!

April classes and Easter fun

2011-04-22T22:03:00.001-03:00

Classes are running in full swing now and April brought Easter activities as well. I have half new classes and half continuing students at the Lar Project. I am also going to the younger classes and giving mini lessons in their own classrooms. One class always greets me with, “Welcome to our Classroom Teacher” which is very cute. I brought some candies from the States which are in the shape of numbers, and I had fun using those to reinforce the numbers lessons; I called out a number, the students showed me the correct number, then they could eat it!

Below, students at Vila Andrade doing an alphabet & coloring test.

Easter

The Lar project students also prepared an Easter devotional in English which they gave last week. It was quite a lot of work for the students and teacher, but I believe the audience enjoyed it. We started out singing, “Hallelu, Praise Ye the Lord” and taught each side of the audience to stand up during their turn to sing. Each class prepared a different skit or poem, one class read ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ and some of the girls gave a worship dance to “He is Lord” which was very beautiful.

One of the readings was “The Cross”

Look at the cross. Tell me, what do you see?

Child 1: I see a Savior who died for me.

Child 2: I see a friend who loves and cares.

Child 3: I see the crown in Heaven he wears.

Child 4: I see our Lord, from the grave He arose.

Child 5: I see His face and the love that it shows.

Child 6: I see joy’s symbol; before it I bow.

Child 7: I see the one who is God with us now.

All: Look at the cross. Praise the Lord! Hear us say: God’s blessing came to us on that Easter day.

Afterwards, the students were treated to an Easter party and a guest speaker, a friend from my church, who is Brazilian and who speaks Portuguese. She gave a good talk on the importance of learning English, and helped them understand how blessed they were to be learning English for free at the Lar. I want to get more Brazilian bi-lingual guest speakers in the future to share the importance of learning English, because I believe it has a greater impact on the children than just me telling them how important it is.

using the ‘Resurrection eggs” to tell the Easter story

crafts

doing the ‘Resurrection eggs’ again for the afternoon classes

Easter at Vila Andrade

I did the ‘Resurrection eggs’ devotional again here and we had small parties with crafts and cookies afterwards.

It’s empty!

Surprise – it’s empty! Jesus is alive!

Happy Easter – Jesus is Risen!!

2011: A new year of classes started

2011-03-25T16:40:00.001-03:00

After a later start and some quick cleaning, organizing, and planning, classes have started at the Lar Project. There are many more students who want English class, but I unfortunately can’t fit them all in. I have extended class times to get more teaching in, and I am going to the younger students classrooms and doing a “mini-lesson” with those groups, as they seem to pick up the language quicker. Now, when they see me in the hallways, I always get a “hello” and “what’s your name"?” from them, as that is the first thing they are learning. I have three new groups of classes, and three continuing classes.

first homework sticker of the year!

The Lar received a donation of ‘Disney Learning English’ kits, which had puppets in them, and the students have really enjoyed using them to practice greetings in English.

Vila Andrade – Coletivo: a new project for young adults

I haven’t started English classes yet at Vila Andrade for a number of reasons, including the Compassion sponsorship is ending in July, the project is scheduled to move locations sometime soon, the schedule has changed and my former older students only come one day a week (a day I am not there) just to name a few. I have visited and tried to do some planning and organizing, and hopefully can start classes in full swing in the next week or so.

The one positive event happening at Vila Andrade now is a new project sponsored by Coca Cola. It is a job training program for young adults, and the students attend a merchandising course for two months, then put together a resume to help them find their first job with one of Coca Cola’s local merchandising partners here in Sao Paulo. One room at the Vila Andrade project was renovated by Coca Cola and it is quite the cool room, with a graffiti drawing, and artwork using recycled Coca Cola bottles and caps. The first session is already running at full capacity of over 100 students. There will be three more sessions this calendar year. This project will have a very positive impact on the young adults in the favela of Vila Andrade.

recycled artwork below

floor inlay with bottle caps, and a curtain made with bottoms of bottles

a light made with glass Coke bottles

Of course the ‘other’ big news of the month here in Brazil was the visit of the US President. A number of people were very excited to say to me, “your President is coming” - “I know!” The red carpet and security was enormous, as was the TV coverage, more than I have seen for any other visiting dignitary here! Below is a snapshot I took of my TV set with a promo about the visit!

Stateside visit

2011-02-24T22:02:00.001-03:00

I was able to spend Christmas in the States this past December, and followed the holidays with a surgery that had me recovering the month of January at my mom’s. I appreciated all the well-wishes and flowers I received from family, friends, and supporters.

Before I came back to Brazil in early February, I was able to speak about my mission work during a chapel service at a Christian school where one of my former Brazilian colleagues now works, as well as at a Senior Center. The kids at the school were very fun and asked a lot of questions during my presentation. Afterwards I stopped in a few classrooms for more Q&A.

visiting in Elisabeth’s classroom

speaking at the Senior center (below)

I have shed the heavy layers, coats and mittens and am getting ready for a new year of English classes!

Lar Project Graduation and Christmas

2010-12-09T21:31:00.001-02:00

The Lar Project finished the school year with two graduation ceremonies for both the morning and afternoon sessions, followed by a Christmas party afterwards. The kids were encouraged to dress up and invite their parents or family members, and I was pleased to see a number who came. The Director of the project thought it would be ‘fun’ to have the students present items in English that they had learned and bring in ‘judges’ to determine who did the best job, and winners would receive a little prize. After a momentary panic on the part of the teacher and students, we put together a program to showcase what they had learned. We did puppets, presentations on math and shapes, speaking on favorite things, reading poems and a role play. Each group also presented music, the ‘ABC song’ for the morning students, and the ‘Days of the Week’ and ‘Thumbs up’ for the afternoon students. At the end of each assembly, I led all the students at the Project in these songs, which was fun!

Morning Graduation

students entering

Above, singing “ABC song”

Right, Josiane saying shapes

Below, puppets

Mayara reading a poem

Certificate time

winners of the morning presentation

Group shots ~ one serious ~ one goofy!

Morning Christmas party

mom’s visiting the classroom

Afternoon Graduation

praying beforehand

“Thumbs up” song

the ‘judges’ – Curt & Lalia, and the winners of the afternoon session

Additionally, two older girls wrote their own speeches, and they did a great job presenting them. Here is what they said:

“My name is Eliane and I am fifteen year old. I am here today to talk to you about English classes. I think they are very important and we have enjoyed them a lot this year. Our teacher is very friendly and taught us many things. I would like to be with everybody again next year because I really love to learn. God Bless you.”

“I would like to thank you for all the classes you gave us in this year, for everybody that could understand a little more how to speak English. I would like to thank God for the special present – you. I wish you all good things. God Bless you!”

We were temporarily interrupted by a ‘lost Santa’ – he was supposed to be delivering gifts somewhere else, but ended up in our auditorium instead. The kids, of course, loved it, but the teachers were all looking at each other and asking – do you know where he came from?! He finally figured out his error and quickly apologized and slipped away . . .

everyone singing now!

group shots, with the Lar Director, Curt & Lalia below

Afternoon Christmas party

I was blessed with some really sweet notes and gifts from some of my students on the last day; I could see they put a lot of effort into writing something for me in English. Here is a sampling of what they wrote:

“On behalf of all students who do I thank for teaching English to speak and understand a little English though often do not understand some things, but I thank very much, especially God for having placed you in our lives and then having spent a bit of knowledge. I wish all the best and mostly a happy Christmas that God illuminate your steps each day. I will miss you! Kisses!” Márcia

“In the first place I want to thank God for bringing you to the Lar. Thank you for teaching me how to speak English. I like much very you.” Larissa

“I am writing to thank you for everything you have done by his students, thank you for being such a wonderful person. May God bless you always and forever. Never forget about us. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.” Vicente

Year-End Project

For our year-end project, the students made “All About Me” posters, where we put their picture, and filled in blanks about their family, favorite things to do, favorite place, one wish, and what they want to be when they grow up. Mom’s and kids enjoyed seeing them displayed at the graduation ceremonies.

Some of professions they want to be when they grow up are:

Nurse, lawyer or judge, doctor, teacher, police officer, dentist, Pastor, receptionist, secretary, cleaning lady, cook, art gallery owner, firefighter, veterinarian, fashion stylist, the best person I can be.

Some of their wishes or dreams they wrote are:

To know and maybe live in other countries, to play rock and roll music, riding in a helicopter, to sail, for my family to be happy, for my grandmother not to die, to be happy with my husband and live in a big house, to laugh-live with my dad-and talk to my uncle, for my brother to walk, to live with my mother, to have a lot of money to help the poor, to be somebody in life.

Please keep these kids in your prayers as they grow up and dream of a better future for themselves, and more importantly, that they walk with God everyday of their lives.

Christmas parties and Graduation at Vila Andrade - 2010

2010-12-04T01:02:00.001-02:00

It’s a wrap! We are all done with classes for the year at Vila Andrade, ending with a Christmas party and the graduation ceremony. I was asked a number of times if I would be continuing there and a few parents asked how they could get their students involved in English, which was encouraging. I spoke to the student and parents (in portuguese) about the value of learning a foreign language and encouraged the students to continue pursing this dream, since both the World Cup and Olympics are coming to Brazil in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and there will be many jobs available for those who can speak English.

Christmas Party Fun!

The kids made three Christmas crafts - a snowman, an angel and a tree - and decorated a Christmas cookie with frosting and goodies.

2010 Graduation

My students, including the new classes of younger students, sang the ‘Alphabet song’ and I had one girl read a book, one boy do math exercises (saying numbers in English) and three students said their favorites (color, food, subject, etc).

Pastor introducing me

singing the Alphabet song

special presentations

Certificates of participation

Group shot of all the English students

All the teachers of the extra-curricular activities at the Project, including computer training and personal development.

All the staff at the Project

November 2010

2010-11-29T00:26:00.001-02:00

While Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated here in Brazil and I had no turkey dinner or days off, November offered many things to be thankful for nonetheless. The Lar project hosted two ‘Appreciation Days’ for those who work with the orphanage and those who volunteer with the Compassion project. The kids presented music and dance routines and volunteers left feeling quite loved.

Meuriam cried while playing, she was so nervous!

my students

The Lar also had a special ‘inauguration day’ for the new fish pond and bunnies they have now – the kids are super excited for these new additions!

Fernanda showing off the new bunnies

me with one of the babies

At the Vila Andrade project, one of my students I have had since the beginning moved away – it was so sad! The students had a going away party for him, which was very special. He was a blessing to have in my class. He and his family will be missed!

saying good-bye!

My newer classes continue to move along, and I am thankful for how attentive they are to learning.

putting together word walls on “salutations!”

learning the letter “B”

In Children’s Church this month the kids learned about the Popsicle boy who lived in the Philippines and the verse from John 14:27. The last day we had popsicles for treats and made crafts with popsicle sticks, off course!

My good friend Ji got married this month, and I am so thankful for her friendship and I was honored to be apart of her special day.

October 2010

2010-10-28T20:50:00.001-02:00

Having fun teaching the youngest learners!

I have been enjoying giving English lessons with the youngest kids at Vila Andrade this month. They are great learners and are picking up things very quickly. Their regular teacher told me they were doing a coloring activity one afternoon and asked her what color something was, the teacher said the color (in Portuguese), and the student said, “no, in English”! I guess my color drills are having some affect! We are also learning about numbers and are starting the alphabet.

For Children’s Day this year, the Vila Andrade project invited a theatre troupe to come and present the ‘Wizard of Oz’ – which the kids just loved!

My students at the Lar Project continue to work hard.

Some of the kids from the home portion of the Lar Project. The kids are excited to be getting a rabbit and fish pond soon on site!

September 2010

2010-10-03T02:08:00.001-03:00

This September I started new classes at both the Lar and Vila Andrade projects. Even though it is close to the end of the school year here, I still had children asking for classes, so I re-arranged classes and schedules to make that happen. Now I have one group of new students two days a week at the Lar (I am testing to see how that works), and a new group at Vila Andrade one afternoon. I have also started giving mini-English lessons to the 'mini' students at Vila Andrade; I am going a different day of the week there and joining the 4-6 year old class and doing very basic teaching on colors, numbers, alphabet and their names. They seem to enjoy it and I can hear them singing the 'Hello' song after I leave the room!

The kids at Vila Andrade had a drawing contest, and the teacher from Vilabyte technical training was called in to judge. The winners got some new backpacks.

Students doing reinforcement exercises on the computer.

Chatting with some of the girls who live in Vila Andrade

The WorldVenture S. Brazil field had a retreat one weekend at Camp California, a partner ministry of ours. The director has planted over 100 banana trees here, which he turns around and sells.

Would you vote for this clown? No, really, he was a clown and was running for office in this coming election. There are sadly a number of not so qualified candidates running for office this year. Election day is October 3 for Brazil where the next president, governors, state and federal representatives and senators will be elected. Two of the four presidential candidates are women, but the front runner is very radically left with a criminal past. Much prayer is being given to the future of this great country.

July and August 2010

2010-09-01T21:08:00.000-03:00

The last two months have been quite active with a school break and some travel. July brought a trip with the Vila Andrade kids to the São Paulo Aquarium, the end of classes for the winter break, a friend’s wedding (all in one week) followed by a visit to the US for a brief rest. I enjoyed my time in the States visiting family, friends and supporters.

Above, visit to the Sao Paulo Aquarium. Below, being a bridesmaid at my friends wedding.

Home Visit to Minnesota and Montana

Above, got to meet my newest niece in person, not just on Skype! Below, my niece EJ celebrating her birthday and getting some Brazil souvenirs from her Auntie!

Visiting Glacier Park – throwing snowballs with my dad!

VBS – First Baptist Minneapolis

I was honored to be the “missionary guest” for my home church’s Vacation Bible School program, and I shared about my work in Brazil and tied my talk into the program theme, the fruit of the spirit. Being here brought back fun memories of my times helping with VBS as well as seeing how much the kids have grown, including my former First Grade Sunday School class, which are now the teens helping out at VBS. I loved seeing their enthusiasm and willingness to serve.

Back in Brazil!

Classes started up again in August with review lessons (thankfully not too much forgotten) and my birthday party. The kids enjoyed the mini play dough in their treat bags which was brought down by the team in March. I am still working on issues regarding class attendance and scheduling at Vila Andrade, and would appreciate your prayers for wisdom on how best to go forward. The goal is to finish strong at both project sites.

My co-workers at the Lar threw me a surprise party after work for my birthday! Very sweet!

Above, the directors of the Lar, and below, some of my friendly co-workers.

Vila Andrade birthday fun

June 2010

2010-06-24T16:30:00.018-03:00

June brought World Cup fever and visitors from a Christian school in the US to Brazil. The Lar Project had a talent show, which showcased some of the talented kids here. Both projects are wrapping up for the winter break, and classes will restart again in August.

Visitors from New York Christian School presented music, skits, and testimonies, plus spent time with my English students.

One of the Lar students presenting karate during the talent show.

Celebrating World Cup madness, on the street with students at Vila Andrade and with students at the Lar.

May 2010

2010-05-22T18:00:00.021-03:00

May brought Mother's Day activities with card making and music programs. The students who participate in the music project through the Morumbi church gave a special concert for their mom's, which was really neat. My students at Vila Andrade made cards for their mom's, and the Lar had their annual Mother's Day program, but I missed it because I was sick that weekend - I was sad!

Special concert for mom's

Lar students learning greetings with puppets and word walls

I enjoyed some cultural outings with two of my best friends here this month - a tour of downtown Sao Paulo and a visit to the theatre for the musical "The King and I" (in portuguese, of course, but I understood most of it!). It was my first visit to both places, which was fun.

April

2010-04-29T19:59:00.020-03:00

This blog is brought to you by the letter "M"! This month I introduced phonics into my curriculam, and we had lessons focused on things that started with the letter "M" as well as reading. I also did a math day, to not only reinforce mathematics but to help the students learn how to say numbers better in English (because numbers are difficult for me in portuguese!)

Lar students looking up words that start with "M" in the dictionaries.

Students reading the new books we just received from the missions team from Colorado Springs.

Doing some math exercises.

The new text books I have this year included games CD's, which reinforce the lesson just learned. Here, students at the Lar are trying them out for the first time.

This month included our first semester Rewards Day, and these young ladies were sitting pretty waiting for their prizes!

Children's Church

I taught in Children's church this month, and we were studying about Mary Slessor, a missionary to Nigeria in the late 1800's. The children learned to trust in God, even when they are afraid, just like Mary did with the fierce natives. Here are some drawings they did of times they are afraid (first pic shows a girl yelling for dad because there is a barata - a cockroach - in her room!)

Guest Speaking at Seminary

Some of my WorldVenture colleagues teach at a local seminary, and myself and two others from Vila Andrade were invited to speak one night about evangelizing through wholistic/social outreach programs like what takes place at Vila Andrade. One of the guest speakers didn't make it, but Pastor Marcelo made up for that by taking most of the speaking time, and I had a little time at the end to talk about my ministry work and how I got into missions. The students were very receptive and had some great questions afterwards.

WorldVenture Field Get-together

The S. Brazil field had a chili lunch one Saturday afternoon, and we had a nice time of fellowship, catching up and relaxing together.

Easter

2010-04-14T19:09:00.014-03:00

Easter was a busy but fun time giving the Easter story and parties at each site, plus working in children's church on Easter Sunday. My students enjoyed the annual egg hunt for the 'Resurrection Eggs' and learning about what is inside, reading an Easter story, and making crafts. Of course the sugar cookies and treat bags are always a hit. But most importantly, they learned "He is Risen!"

Lar Project

Vila Andrade Project

Children's Church Easter Party

One of the other teachers prepares real confetti eggs for the kids to crack on each others heads and see the confetti come out. They had fun, and we only had one child who cried!

Celebrating Easter dinner with a few friends!

March brought US Visitors

2010-04-01T20:41:00.072-03:00

March has been a very busy month with classes in full swing and hosting visitors from the US. The beginning of the month brought a visit from my area director in the States, Dave Korb, who was visiting Restoration Ministries along with his daughter, Rachel; his daughter presented a workshop on ADD to parents, teachers and staff of that ministry. We spent a day at a nearby craft village, had lunch and they got a super-quick tour of Vila Andrade on the way home.

My classes are up and running at both ministry sites. I have twice the number of students that I did last year at the Lar, which is a good problem to have. I've lost some students at Vila Andrade, due in part to the schedule change, I believe. I was able to get new books for each site, and the students have already been using their homework folders and new dictionaries I was able to find really cheap here! I have also started giving classes to the directors and some of the staff at the Lar.

First sticker for homework completion!

Vila Andrade - using our new books!

I did my first hosting 'gig' of a short-term team from the States, which, though a lot of work, was well worth it as this group was such a blessing and encouragement to me personally. The eight-member team of high school seniors through adults was from Woodmen Valley Chapel in Colorado Springs, and they had a special ministry to women and teenage girls here. One of the women, a school counselor, presented a number of workshops to teen girls on their identity in Christ, inner beauty and purity issues. Two of the teen girls taught ballet workshops at the Morumbi church and they presented an interpretive dance at a number of venues. One couple was with the 'Jesus' film ministry, and a number of showings of the film was presented as well as the 'Magdalena' film during a Women's Tea at Vila Andrade. The group attended the Vila Andrade church Sunday evening, and gave a testimony and the message during the service. The team also visited Lar Batista and my English classes at both sites, Paca, and another 'Compassion' sponsored project in the area.

Colorado team (they didn't need their coats when they got here!)

Visit to Burle Marx Park on their first day

Girls Dance Workshop at Morumbi Church: The US girls taught interpretive dance to the Brazilians, and the Brazilians taught the US girls a little Samba - they all had a blast!

Tour of Vila Andrade to invite people to see the Jesus film that evening; it was the first time I had gone all the way down into the favela and I met a number of my students along the way. The kids loved joining us as we walked around and helped hand out invitations. We ended up having close to 100 people, mostly children, attend the showing of the film that evening.

our little street evangelist Mateus

Sunday evening service at the Vila Andrade church included a presentation of the team, a testimony by one of the team members who grew up with an alcoholic mother and lost a brother to alcoholism; we learned later that there was a man in attendance who was dealing with alcoholism and are praying her message had an effect on him. Another team member gave a message on Heaven.

The Women's Tea was a big event, which included a special message on being "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" based on Psalm 139, which tied into the Magdalena film, a dance and music presentation. There were close to 70 women from the community, including mom's of the students at the Project Semear, in attendance. Afterwards, the women from the church presented the team with roses and gift bags of items they had made and prayed for them.

The team toured the Lar project site, and my English students were all waiting anxiously for them. We did our 'Days of the Week' and 'Alphabet' songs, and one group recited John 3:16 in English (with a little help!). The Colorado team was such a blessing in bringing a 'plane-load' of arts and craft supplies and books for me to use with my students and we used some of the items to make cards with foamies, which the kids loved.

reciting John 3:16

The team also joined my English classes at Vila Andrade one day, helping students with lessons, doing a question and answer session with another group, and listening to my best student read a book about Noah that she had been preparing for a month. She did great - I was so proud of her! They were also taught the "I am a C-h-r-i-s-t-i-a-n" song, which they liked learning.

February - Slowly getting back into the routine

2010-02-24T17:04:00.015-03:00

February marks the end of the holiday's and start up of new activities for the year. Schools are back in session, and both Projects ran light schedules as the kids came trickling back in. I spent time doing lesson planning, cleaning and organizing rooms, and review lessons with the few kids that I had classes with. I had a little test and game to review the days and months, then I prepared calendars (in English) for them to color which had the 10 Commandments plus two from Luke 10:27. I have a Portuguese-English Bible, so I had the students read the verses in the Bible, and explained the meaning of each commandment as we went through the calendar. Some of my students didn't know a lot about the commandments, but I had boy at the Lar who knew them plus quoted Luke by heart - which was encouraging! They were excited to take their calendars home and put them up.

LAR Project

Vila Andrade

VBS Wrap-up Presentation

While we finished the lessons for the Cosmic City VBS in January, the kids spent the next two weeks practicing the songs and creating murals to make a presentation during the service on February 14. Groups of children spoke about what they learned each week as well as said the memory verses. I made a Powerpoint presentation with pictures from the five weeks, which the kids (and adults) enjoyed seeing.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

The rain has lessened some, now it only rains every other day! I happened to catch a rainbow outside my window one afternoon - the first one I've seen in Brazil!

January 2010

2010-01-31T15:52:00.021-02:00

Greetings from soggy Sao Paulo! The month of January was filled with rain, a continuing trend since November. Sao Paulo has received rain almost every day this month, which in turn has caused major flooding as the rain comes down too fast for the sewers to keep up, and sadly trash not being disposed of properly also clogs the paths where the rain needs to drain. On one day alone, there were 54 places in the city that were flooded. Roads are impassable, houses are flooded, and worse, the rain has caused mudslides, mostly in the poorer slum areas. People that barely had anything in the first place are now left with nothing. There have been close to 80 deaths since December due to flooding and mudslides. Thankfully the two neighborhoods I work in have not seen major damage, just small amounts of water in homes. Since I wasn't travelling much for work (as schools are closed this month) I wasn't affected by being in transit, though ironically I was out of water in my apartment one day, but other people were without water even longer.

This month I spent each Sunday working in Junior Church, where we held a Vacation Bible School during the entire service for the kids ages 4 - 9. This is the first year Calvary has done this, and everyone had a blast! The VBS theme was "Cosmic City", and the kids learned how awesome God is.

Each week the 'space voyagers' blasted off to "Theatre of the Galaxies" where they learned about God's creation, how God provided for the Israelites in the desert, how Jesus healed a lame man and how he walked on water, and best of all, how Jesus died and rose again! They also got to make cool things at the "SuperNova Craft Center", learn science experiments at "Wonder U Lab" and my favorite, play fun games at "Asteroid Alley" (I was the Games Director). The other two tour directors and I are tired, but it was well worth the effort. Our only concern is the kids might not want to return to the regular Jr Church programming next month!

I had a special visit from Pastor Eby of the Brazilian Church of Hope in Minneapolis, who was in Sao Paulo on a 10 hour layover, and arranged to meet me at a Starbucks of all places! We had a good visit, and I also got to meet another couple who had worked at Restoration Ministries, and are now interested in doing other work in the interior of Brazil. It was fun to catch up and hear how things are going at the growing church in Minneapolis as well as to share in person about my minstries here.

Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in São Paulo

2010-01-17T21:13:00.016-02:00

I celebrated the holiday's with friends this year here in Brazil, with invitations and celebrations coming together at the last minute. Christmas eve included a beautiful candlelight service at church, followed by friends coming over to my apartment later in the evening to bring in Christmas and watch fireworks being shot off in the neighborhood. Christmas day was a lovely event at the home of my Pastor with his family and other church family, great food, singing Christmas carols and playing games. What a blessing they were to me, as I was rather sad at being away from family this year. They made me feel apart of their family!

New Year's Eve was spent reading aloud the book of Revelation at church, which is a yearly custom. Later I went to a friends for barbeque and more fireworks! Happy 2010!

Christmas Eve at my apartment

Christmas Day

Ringing in the New Year!

Year-end Student Photos - Merry CHRISTmas!

2009-12-23T22:18:00.015-02:00

Merry Christmas! Feliz Natal!

Christmas is a time for celebrating Jesus and remembering that friends and family are part of His greatest blessings. Thanking Him for you, your prayers, support and interest in this ministry work in Brazil. We wish you a joyful Christmas!

Vila Andrade

LAR Batista

Ceremonies for Certificates of Completion

2009-12-23T18:24:00.031-02:00

This year I had two 'formal' ceremonies to hand out certificates to students for participating in English class this year. At Vila Andrade, this happened during a Sunday evening church service, and many parents of mine and the art class came. The students each entered as their name was called, followed by a time of singing and message by the Pastor. Then the art teacher spoke and had one of his students talk about class, and I followed with a Powerpoint presentation of this year's English students, which they all liked, and then called on six of my students to come and tell why they wanted to learn English. Some answers were, "wanting to travel to the US" or to "help when I grow up with a job" to "wanting to be a pediatrician." Two of my students recited a Bible passage and a poem in English, which was great.

At the Lar site, certificates were handed out on the last day of classes during each of the morning and afternoon sessions for English, hairdressing, baking, and art classes. I again had a Powerpoint presentation and for both here and Vila Andrade, I gave a speech in Portuguese, which was my first time doing such a thing. My Portuguese teacher helped me greatly, which I very much appreciated!

Vila Andrade

The kids dressed up quite a bit here - boys with ties and girls in beautiful dresses - what a sight!

LAR Batista

Students getting their certificates.

Parties, Presents, Ice Cream, Singing and a Ballet - oh my!

2009-12-22T17:06:00.031-02:00

This December has been busy with lots of activities. I had Christmas parties for my students at each site; I presented the Christmas story and we made Christmas crafts and ate Christmas cookies. The kids also received gifts from their sponsors, got treated to ice cream, had a dinner for families, sang for staff at Morumbi, and presented 'The Nutcracker' ballet - the first major production in three years, and it was beautiful.

LAR Batista

Presents! The kids got to pick their gift from a pile of toys (who wouldn't like to do that?!) but we did have to convince the twins below to pick two different toys rather than the same one!

Vila Andrade

Christmas activities

Cantata -The kids sang Christmas songs for the staff at Morumbi church and handed out homemade wreaths.

Ice Cream!

The Nutcracker Ballet - presented by students from both the Lar and Vila Andrade

Special Times with friends and colleagues

2009-12-22T15:53:00.012-02:00

I went with a group of teacher friends to a nearby beach one weekend, and it was lovely to relax, enjoy a time of fellowship and enjoy God's beautiful creation.

My good friend Anja got engaged this month, and they had a special blessing service at his church, followed by an engagement party after. In Brazilian fashion, the engagement wasn't a surprise, her boyfriend planned the date and told her 'they were getting engaged on Dec 5'! I didn't think there was any fun in that - but he did at least get down on one knee and propose during the service, which is not a Brazilian custom apparently! I also got to visit with his family one evening, and they were so warm and welcoming - what a blessing!

The WorldVenture field Christmas party was held one Saturday with barbeque and lots of goodies. This year, again, I made a lot of cookies for a lot parties, as well as to give out as gifts to my co-workers at the Lar and Vila Andrade. They always appreciate and ask for my recipes, because making Christmas cookies isn't really done here. I enjoy baking, although it is difficult to roll out sugar cookie dough when it is 90 degrees out! (I know, I'm not getting any sympathy from anyone in a blizzard zone!)

Videos of Students 'speaking or singing' in English

2009-12-22T14:22:00.006-02:00

Here are some my students at the LAR singing the days of the week, the alphabet and my best student reading aloud from the text book.

Here are two second-year students from Vila Andrade. Douglas is reciting Psalm 118:24, "This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." Mayara is reciting a poem, "God, make my life a little light within the world to glow - a tiny flame that burns bright wherever I may go." They also recited these at the graduation ceremony.

November 2009

2009-11-24T21:05:00.024-02:00

LAR Costume Party

The Lar Project had a Costume party and dance for the students, and each class had a theme, such as the Flintstones, or other cartoon characters. I came in a Brazil T-shirt and said I was a "Brazilian" but the other teachers didn't go for that - so they 'made' me wear a Minnie Mouse costume, because she was American!

Area Directors visit Vila Andrade

The WorldVenture area directors, Jim & Corinne Thorp, came for a visit to Vila Andrade, and they had a good conversation with the Project Director, Marissa (shown below), as well as getting to see the daily routine and sitting in on an English class. Of course the kids loved having their pictures taken too!

Children's Church

This month I taught about missionary John Payton. Below is an opening exercise about the 'Land of No Elbows' - the kids had to figure out how to eat without elbows. The point was to serve each other the food, and learning that God wants us to show love by helping others.

Small Group

My small group is halfway through the Truth Project and we enjoy lively discussions and being challenged each week. Our Pastor's wife celebrated her birthday this month, so we had cake for her.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Wishing you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving day!

October 2009 - hit the two year mark!

2009-10-30T17:37:00.043-02:00

"Everyone who calls on the name of the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." (Romans 10:13-15)

Two years!
I've hit the two year mark here in Brazil, and continue to be blessed by God's goodness in allowing me this faith journey and ministering in the poorer communities here in Sao Paulo. The verse above was the theme for the mission conference at my church here this month and is a great commission reminder - How can they hear unless someone is sent? I took a photo of my feet with some of 'my girls' and pray that maybe someday, one of them will hear the call to take the good news to others - even if it is in their own neigborhood.

LAR Reward Day

My students enjoyed their third semester rewards this month, and as they earned more stars, they earned a bigger prize!

Celebrating Children's Day

The kids enjoyed food, fun and frolicking on a slippery, bouncy soccer field to commemorate Children's Day, a day to honor children here in Brazil.

LAR Staff Retreat

The director and staff spent a day at a lovely ranch outside Sao Paulo for a time of training, spiritual refreshment, and fellowship with each other. We also received a special thank-you treat for Teacher's Day.

Classroom Activities

Below, students at the Lar are learning about places around town, and going 'shopping' at each one and using math to learn numbers and equations in English. The students at Vila Andrade are learning about the farm and making farm animal figures.

Street scene at Vila Andrade
Here are a few shots of the street where the church and project are located. Two pictures are after a heavy rainstorm when the street flooded, which is what typically happens as there are no storm drains here so the water has no where to go (but the kids like to play in it!).

AMIS Dinner

The Morumbi Association for Social Intergration, which sponsors the projects at Vila Andrade, hosted a dinner and information session for donors and workers this month. Below are photos with fellow WorldVenture missionaries and mentors Ken & Arlene Flurry, who came with me to learn more about the projects, and with co-worker Andre' Moreira, Project Coordinator for Social Responsibility at Vila Andrade.

Who won the 2016 Olympics? Oh yes - Brazil!

The whole country is quite excited to be hosting the Olympics in 2016. It will be interesting to see how Rio gets ready for them, as well as dealing with the gang violence it is known for, which erupted quite severely a few weeks ago. Below, famous faces of Brazil: President Lula and world-famous soccer player Pele, celebrating Rio winning.

September 2009

2009-09-23T19:10:00.023-03:00

LAR Orphanage

September activities at the Lar included another 'fun' day as well as a worship service to thank God for the opening of the new house for the on-site children. The new directors (who are actually the old directors that returned) wanted to give thanks to all who had been praying for them and for their being able to come back and continue their work here.

Directors of the Lar, Pastor Neidimar and wife Maura, and a dance routine at the worship service

My students worked on some special projects for extra-credit

Churchtime at Calvary

I have started teaching in Jr. Churchtime at my church here and it's been fun getting to know the kids a little better as well as being understood when I speak in English! We have a lesson, memory verse and craft time each week.

Vila Andrade

Vila Andrade has had a group of 4 - 5 year olds starting the project with them, and they are real cute!

I had a visitor from my home church in the States here in Sao Paulo on business, and got a chance to give him a quick tour of Vila Andrade.

Weekend fun
I've been blessed with great friends that I can hang out with after church for a time of fun and fellowship. Below is a visit to a local park, and a visit to the bowling alley with a girl from Vila Andrade for her birthday.

August 2009

2009-08-23T19:01:00.029-03:00

Birthday Fun!

Both project sites have started back up in full-swing, and what better way to start than with a party! I brought homemade cupcakes for my students to celebrate my August birthday, and we played pin-the-candle-on-the-birthday-cake, made a cross mosaic craft, and had fun with puzzles.

Vila Andrade

Lar Batista

Puzzle Time

I brought puzzles with words in English from the States for my students to use, and they really enjoyed them!

Vila Andrade

Lar Batista

Celebrating my birthday with friends

Having cake with fellow-August birthday girls from PACA and lunch out with my friend Anya. This is the first birthday I have ever worn a sweater - it was cold that day!