Before we got to travel with our kids on Saturday, we had to say goodbye to a student who many of you have heard about and been praying for, Eva. Her mother is moving her and several of her siblings to a new city in search of work. Unfortunately it had been awhile since we had even seen Eva, at this point she had stopped coming to PETI, school and English lessons. It was sad to see her go but even more sad that things left without much emotion as she has changed so drastically in the month since she left the orphanage and moved back in with her mom. All we can do is pray that this new city brings them happiness and success.
Then on Saturday afternoon we headed to Tibagi, a nearby town, with 23 of our older, well behaved students for a weekend camping trip! The place where we stayed wasn´t necessarily 5 stars but the view that surrounded us was breathtaking and the kids made it such a fun adventure! We took them to a beautiful waterfall and within minutes they were all in the freezing water splashing around and having a great time. Back at our campsite they made the most of the waste deep river nearby and also played soccer and volleyball. Then we cooked up some hotdogs for dinner and as it started to get a little darker we all sat around the campfire while some students played the guitar and everyone else sang along :) We also attempted to make some s´mores but it had a Brazilian twist with the strawberry marshmellows they sell here- they were a big hit with everyone! You would think with a full day in the sun they would all be exhausted and sleep early.. WRONG! They had all kinds of energy to dance the night away and play all kinds of hide and seek games. It took us threatening to take away their spots on the beach trip to get them to finally lay down and keep semi quiet. Needless to say we did not get a lot of sleep as it was freezing and we were sleeping on the floor of a shelter without walls so no protection from the bugs as well as we forgot the bug spray.. yikes! They were all up at the first sign of the sun to do it all again!! We spent Sunday afternoon splashing around and playing until we headed back after lunch. In general it was such an amazing vacation with kids that truely appreciated and loved each moment. It was a great chance to have some one of one time with kids, something we normally don´t get each day at the program with some many kids seeking out attention.
This week we have spent a lot of time starting to plan the upcoming beach trip that we are planning for the first weekend in December. We are trying to keep the number of kids to 50 which is looking quite impossible- my vote is for 60 even if that means a little more work but a chance for more deserving kids to come along! It is going to be a long process selecting kids, finding an affordable place with lots to do and all the other little details that need to be worked out.. but it will be worth it in the end! I got the chance this week to do some advanced English with the PBF students and then with all the students in a few rounds of BINGO with English words and then Thursday I helped out in their music class as they are learning the lyrics to ´Happy Day´- really precious to hear them try to pronounce the words!
Wednesday I discovered that I have lice- two years in a row! Unfortunately here the treatment is a little more complicated and not as advanced as the medication that you can find in the States that kills live ones and gets rid of all the eggs too. Here I have to put a shampoo in that kills the live ones then Katie has had to comb through my hair and take out all the individual eggs that are left- its a complicated process that I have to do for three straight days then hopefully I am clear. Luckily the girls have not caught it and also I caught it early before they really started to take over! Hopefully after this weekend I will be good :)
We do not have the program today as it is a holiday for the government in Imbau so that cancels PETI- this country has more holidays than any other! We spend the morning looking through the clothes Sister Rose has for Halloween costumes we can use with our kids for our upcoming party we are going to have with them next week to celebrate! Then we got to spend some time with the 3 sisters by having lunch at their house before I sent the girls on their way to another city for another capoeira event this weekend. I am looking forward to this time along to get some things done and just relax!
I had the special priviledge to talk with my family but most specifically my dad for his birthday on Wednesday- it is hard to be away from family on special days like that but I am so grateful for things like Skype that make it easier to stay in touch!
Happy Halloween weekend to everyone- enjoy all those sweets! :)
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