July 2009

It was nice to be home and celebrate a red-white-and-blue 4th of July! Enjoyed picnics, parades and fireworks, baseball games and family birthdays.

Getting ready for niece #14 - baby Olivia is set with her Brazil gear when she is born in October!

LAR Fun Day!
The kids were surprised and treated to a day of inflatable balloons, bull ride, popcorn and cotton candy! They had a blast!

June 2009

June has been a month of fun and travel. At Vila Andrade, we took the students to the Zoo, which was enjoyed by all. At the Lar, we ended our second semester with a Reward day, and the students were excited to pick out their prize for completing their homework and adhering to the rules. During a holiday weekend here in Brazil (there are many holidays!) I traveled with a good friend of mine to the city of Curitiba, which is quite different than Sao Paulo. We also took a train ride through the mountains and a ferry to an island off the coast. At the end of the month, I made an unexpected trip back to the States to handle my house sale, and praise the Lord, it is now sold!

Vila Andrade Zoo trip

Lar Reward Day

Trip to Curitiba

Curitiba is a unique city in Brazil, known for its urban planning, good transit system, and has the most green space of any city in the country. It was very clean and the air fresh. The train ride took us through the 'Serra do Mar', the mountain range of the sea, and to a Portuguese colonial town of Morretes. The Ilha do Mel is named for the color of the surrounding water, said to be the color of honey. The trip was an enjoyable cultural learning experience.

Botanical garden

Opera house and 'The Eye' - an Oscar Niemeyer sculpture (he designed the captital city of Brasilia)

Ilha do Mel (Island of Honey) Unfortunately cold and rainy this day.

Train ride through the Serra do Mar

In the towns of Paranagua and Morretes

Sites in Curitiba and the art fair

Video of Volunteer Day at Vila Andrade

May 2009

Happy Mother's Day - Feliz Dia das Mães

The Lar Batista held a special Mother's Day event on the Saturday before Mother's Day, and mom's were treated to music, dance and a skit by some of the students, manicures, getting their hair done and even an exercise class. The students then served the mom's lunch, followed by door-prizes. I got to meet some of the mom's of my students, which was a treat. It was a special day for all!

Below the mom's look for cards their child made and are entertained by the students.

The many uses for recycled products . . .

A local company spent one Saturday volunteering at Vila Andrade working with the children as well as in the community on some of the homes in the favela - painting, fixing windows and installing a roof and a door. The children's project consisted of making a model city using recycled products. I spent five hours one afternoon cleaning and sorting recyclables for them to use, and the kids were quite creative in using many of the items to make their cities. The company also entertained with animal characters, face painting, and cotton candy, which the children really enjoyed. The volunteers helped make a positive difference in the lives of those in Vila Andrade this day.

The finished products . . .

April 2009

Easter Celebrations

My students enjoyed searching for eggs, opening them with the story to see what was inside and learning how their object related to the Easter message, making crafts and eating sugar bunny and chick shaped sugar cookies!

Lar Batista

Vila Andrade

We don't have the space at Vila Andrade to hide the eggs, so I had the students select an egg after I told them the color in English.

New House at Lar Batista

The new home at the Lar has finally opened, which has a kitchen, dining area, family room and separate quarters for the boys and girls. The kids love their new 'home'!

Lar Field Trip to Pico Juruguá

With 90 students and 10 teachers, two buses left the Lar for the highest peak in São Paulo. Once we arrived, we got to hike some trails, then we took the bus to the top of the mountain, for a beautiful view of the city and visited with some curious monkeys. Finally, we climbed around 500 steps to the highest point where some radio towers are, to see even better. It was a little tiring, but well worth the effort!

Afterwards, we visited a small indigenous Indian community that live right outside the park of Jurugua. The children there are learning a little bit of Portuguese but mostly about their own tribe in two small classrooms. They sang and danced for us, and we also saw them making necklaces and bracelets out of beads. We were all tired by the end of day, but it was a fun and educational trip.

The Indian Village

American Visitors with One Challenge touring Vila Andrade

Pastor Marcelo shared how he got into his ministry to the poor community, and the work being done at Vila Andrade. The ladies enjoyed looking through and buying some of the craft items the women of the church make to sell.

Re-Connecting with an old friend
My friend Clayton met me at Calvary along with his girlfriend Luciane, and we had lunch afterwards and caught up on the last seven years. We were actually able to have a conversation with each other this time, as earlier he didn't know English and I didn't know Portuguese! He is teaching music to children in a poor community near Restoration Ministries.

Fun at the Beach

One of my friends family has a home at the beach. It was nice to get out of the city for a break! Do you like our "Jesus' Angels" pose?