Free Time

Megan has been traveling a lot lately for capoeira events, generally being gone from Wednesday until Sunday or Monday which has given me a lot of alone time. At first I was not sure what I would do with all this time by myself but it has ended up being the best thing for me! I have kept myself busy by being very productive with my classes, traveling with the kids, attending extra Masses, go to Reconciliation, and spend a lot of quality time with friends here I have not gotten to see as much this year. I have found this time to be really important for me actually.

This past week I had the chance to travel with our students from Imbau, who I have not gotten to see as much this year, to the nearby, bigger city of Ponta Grossa. The participated in something they call ´the games´which is really just some friendly competition between different PETI programs in the state. There is a PETI in almost every city yet sadly only 3 came. It was 3 days of physical activity for 10 hours a day in the blazing hot sun. We took about 40 kids and they played everything from soccer to ping pong to volleyball... any American would have gotten a kick out of watching these kids attempt basketball; not a natural sport for them! :) The kids loved the friendly competition and makes friends with the other kids from different cities but at the same time, it was exhausting. We had several injuries and by the end of day 3, just about all of them were dead. I found it really draining just to sit in the sun and watch them so I can only imagine how they felt by the end. That being said, it was such a fun trip and I had an amazing time! I think I loved it even more because I have seen them so little this year and it was nice to see that our relationship is still strong and my love for them grew so much more! I will forever cherish that time I had with all of them!

We are now planning for another trip with the Erval kids this upcoming weekend. If you remember from last year, we took the Imbau kids on an overnight camping trip to a place with a beautiful waterfall and lots of open space to play- we are taking the older Erval kids to the same place on Friday. We have been really busy running around, organizing everything for the 20 kids we are taking; this is a little more complicated in a town in the middle of nowhere with very few contacts or connections but it is coming together nicely! We are really excited but I think they are even more so!

We have our monthly store for the kids to spend their money they earn through participation and good behavior at PETI and this last one, a sleepover at our house was a big purchase! We had 3 different groups of 4 girls buy this night by putting their money together and last night we had the first group! We took the four girls to Telemaco with us for the night and two of them did the Muay Thai class with me. For some reason, my teacher decided to make it a very difficult class with complex moves that were really tough for the girls. Regardless, they had a great time and loved the chance to try something new! Then after we all headed to a pizza place in town to stuff ourselves with the amazing pizza here in Brazil, finishing with a chocolate and strawberry pizza. I think the girls took at least 100 pictures to capture the night. We all had such a great time! 2 more groups of this to go before we come home in around 3 weeks!

Sending lots of love to my sister Maria in Denver!!! She made the big move to the new city just last week and I am sure it has not been the easiest adjustment far away from the family but hopefully she knows the strong support she has from all of us and that we all have so much faith in her! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that you found it easy to find so many things to be grateful for.. I know I sure did! Enjoy the colder weather, I can´t wait for it as I am burning badly in this intense sun! My love to everyone!

Unexpected Vacation

This new work place of ours, Erval de Cima, has given us a couple challenges in the last few weeks. This already impoverished city struggled when almost three weeks ago they ran out of water. They have a pump that provides water to a majority of the homes and a piece broke and for a reason that I still don't understand it took them almost a full three weeks to get this piece and fix the pump. It was hard for us to go three weeks without work but it was even harder for the people; as they got desperate they made their way to nearby rivers to wash clothes and take showers. Without water they were unable to cook so PETI was out and we were given a mini vacation in which somehow we found a way to get ourselves busy and accomplish other things. It was just this past Friday that we finally returned to work and got to see the kids again- it was a happy reunion!

 

We were lucky enough to still pull off our first trip with the kids during this break. We planned a trip to a nearby city, Telemaco Borba, where we have lived in past years. It was our plan to bring the littler kids to the bigger city just so they could experience the environment of a new city that had more to offer. However, almost a month ago when we were running around between bus companies trying to figure out the cheapest option for our trips, we met a man who lived many years in the States and who actually grew up near Erval de Cima. He heard us talking with the people at the bus station and decided to wait and talk with us afterwards to practice his English. His name is Leo, and he has ended up being a HUGE help to us with planning for this trip. I don't know if I have ever met a Brazilian so willing and wanting to help others the way he does. It was him who found us the cheapest bus for our trips and it was him who turned our small half day trip into a full day trip that the kids loved. Our trip was this past Tuesday and we took 29 kids from the ages of five to twelve. We picked the kids up at 8:30 in the morning and it took us one hour to arrive at a club in Telemaco called Alvarada. (This was an aspect that only happened because of Leo; he is a member here and he told the owners about our project and they allowed us to come in for free!!!) We lathered the kids up with sunscreen and they spent the next two hours playing in the pools. There was a baby pool where many of the younger kids stayed and splashed around and there was also another pool with a small water slide. The majority of the kids do not know how to swim so me and Megan had to stay in the water and always stay on guard. It was such a fun afternoon seeing these kids run around in their underwear, as many didn't have a bathing suit, and just have the biggest smiles on their faces the whole time. We basically had to drag them out of the water to eat lunch but they sure did have an appetite. After lunch they had some time to play on the playground before the bus came back to get us and we went to the 'zoo' that they have in Telemaco. The teachers were super organized and they had their individual groups; the kids were great about staying together and not once was I worried about losing a kid. We spent a good half hour walking around the zoo looking at all the animals they had- the teachers I think got more excited than the kids! :) We then went to ride the cable car which scared a few kids but everyone got on the same one and everyone had a great time as we passed over the river. It was a quick 2 minute ride and we rewarded the kids after with 2 ice cream cones each! After a long day in the sun with lots of excitement and food, these kids passed out on the bus ride home. It was such a fun day and so much of it we owe to our friend Leo; God put Him into our lives and he has already blessed us such much with all the help he has given us!

 

Last Monday was my 21st birthday, an age that is not as special here in Brazil but Megan did a great job making sure it was an extra special birthday! The weekend before we traveled to Maringa, a nearby city that we travel to every year, to celebrate. I think Megan told literally every person we met that it was my birthday weekend which led to some interesting costumes and experiences! We had a great time together and really enjoyed meeting new people and also getting to hang out with some friends that we have in the city. We came home on Sunday and discovered that they were without water at PETI still so Megan and I woke up early on Monday, my birthday, and spent the day walking house to house with another teacher to get permission from the parents for their children to go on the trip the next day. It is a good thing the town is so small and we were able to get to everyone's house before taking the next bus home. I was then able to open the package my family had sent me and inside was a birthday in a box- I had balloons, cake, icing, candles, etc. We quickly made the cake and enjoyed a little piece of heaven :) Then that evening after my Muay Thai class we went to a restaurant and enjoyed the bottle of champagne that my parents had sent and we drank out of beautifully hand made wine glasses that each of my siblings had decorated for me :) It was amazing birthday that continued even late into the week as on Friday when we went back to work they planned a special surprise party for me. I had no idea it was coming but one of the teachers had made a giant cake in the shape of two hearts and all the kids had made cards and posters for me.. it was such a special surprise! The only thing missing to make my birthday perfect was my family!

 

Me drinking my champagne from my personalized wine glass

 

 

I am so glad that PETI is back in session and that we are able to get back into a normal schedule. This unplanned 'vacation' that we got threw us off a bit but we are ready to jump back into things and continue our classes with the kids. Our time is quickly winding down as it is almost the middle of November now. Please continue to pray for all the kids we work with and we will remember to keep all of you in our daily prayers as well, especially Katie who is normally in Brazil with us but this year is back home planning her wedding :) I am so happy for her and Bryan! May God continue to bless the beautiful couple. Sending our love to everyone back in the United States!