This weekend was a beautiful example of the results of the effort we have put into really having and maintaining relationships with people in the community. Megan has been learning crochet from a woman who lives nearby and I am looking to start some fun, simple things as well so Friday we spent all night there with her and her family and then again on Sunday we went back for lunch and stayed all the way until we went to church on Sunday night. After Mass and the youth group we help with, we visited our neighbor's house and enjoyed some cake that they had made for us! Saturday we had English lessons with our selected students in Telemaco Borba and then we participated in another youth group of a smaller chapel in town. They had a special group come from out of town to sing and speak with them. Everything was more aimed at high schoolers but it was nice to show our support of the work they do. From there we headed to a festajulhinho at APAE, the local school for special needs kids. It was a costume party with traditional country attire and Matt was able to dance the quadrilla for the first time! In general, our whole weekend was focused on the community we live in and the people who we have grown so close to in a few short weeks. I am so grateful for the relationships we are continuing to build here!

The new kids at PETI have their own band- impressive!

Some other exciting news- on Sunday in church the priest mentioned that they had 5 spots available still for a group traveling to Aparecida de Norte, another city in Brazil near Rio de Janiero in which Our Lady appeared many years ago. It is a city with a lot of cultural and religious background and is a big tourist spot for many people, somewhere I have been wanting to travel to. They were struggling to fill those spots so they agreed that if someone could fill 3 spots, they would give that person the other 2 spots for free.. we were so quick to jump on that one! After mass we talked to padre and the 3 of us are officially traveling with them at the end of September, the best part being that we have decided to take two of our students to fill those free spots since they would never be able to travel on their own! Padre is happy to have the spots filled and we are thrilled to have the opportunity and the chance to take along kids who will truly appreciate the city and would otherwise probably not be able to go.. everyone wins! 

Our old PETI kids still studying English on Saturdays

Once a week now Matt and I have found a new form of exercise to keep us moving! Our friend from the gym, Bubbles, teaches poor kids how to play basketball during the week and then on Wednesday nights they have open court in which anyone is welcome to come for some pick up games. Originally it was just going to be Matt but I decided to join in as the only female player. We have a lot of fun as the games are not super competitive and all the people are very friendly and welcoming! I have continued with Muay Thai at the gym twice a week and still find it to be really enjoyable. Megan has been doing capoeira the other 2 nights a week and starting this week we chose two boys from the PETI in Erval to train with her and the others at the gym in Telemaco! Our teacher is so nice and has offered to let them participate in the class once a week for free.. he has a real passion for letting sports be an outlet for kids that are dealing with tough situations at home. The two boys, Rifael and Fernando, will take a bus together from Erval every Thursday and arrive in Imbau to meet us at 6PM then we will all take the 6:30 bus to Telemaco. They then have class from 7 until 8. They will be able to shower at the gym and grab something to eat and get some homework done before we leave to go home at 10:45. They will then spend the night at our house and will take the bus back with us in the morning- it works out perfectly!! We chose Rifael specially because he recently moved here and the documents that allow him to go to school did not come along so he missed the opportunity to start school this year, he has to wait until next year unfortunately. Right now he comes to PETI in the morning and then stays in the streets all afternoon with nothing to do and no one in his house so this is a chance for him to get away and do something! 

The two boys doing capoeira for the first time