Second Update! :)

Recently I've seen a lot of Facebook updates about the heat waves and lack of rain in the states. Well, it's still on the opposite end of that here….This week we received TONS of rain and cold fronts. My make shift rain boots (a nice, white pair of snow boots :)) have never been so handy. The hill we live on is about a half a mile from the nearest road and it's  not paved. Needless to say, I'm very thankful for the boots! 

Although it's a muddy trek, we still went to our new project at Irval de Cima this week. Since it is still vacation time for the kids (they're not obligated to show up) we didn't want to start anything serious but wanted to use the time to get to know them better. We planned and played Minute to Win It games, which is a television game show that gives contestants one minute to complete silly and weird tasks to win money.Our students had to use a straw to suck a peanut and transfer it to another table, complete difficult puzzles, keep balloons in the air just with their breath, and move a cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands! We all had such a great time watch and participating in the silliness. :) Vacation ends next Monday and I'm very excited to be on a normal schedule and  start our teaching. Lee Ann will start teaching photography with the older students. One of the organizers of the PETI in Reserva (another town close by) had the idea to create a calendar of the culture and landscape of Irval de Cima. She wants students to take the pictures, so we can create and sell the calendar as a fundraiser for PETI. While Lee Ann is busy with that, Matt and I plan on teaching the other students sports and gym games. Until he gets more of the language (which he's doing great at) I'll be coordinating activities which he can help with or things that we can do together. I, also, hope to be starting capoeira, dance, and math as soon as we get a good feel for the students and teachers. :)

When not planning for work or scrubbing mud off everything I own, I've been spending a lot of time with a woman down the street, Ines. We know her because her son works at the government office across front eh PETI in Imbau. She is a very kind and welcoming person, who despite her losses in life, continues to give to the community. This week she taught me how to crochet, which I've always wanted to learn since my grammy taught me how to knit. I am currently working on a small turtle, which will become a doorstop! I love learning new things and spending time with Ines!

Since all of the schools have been on vacation, the university bus that will be taking me to capoeira class has not been running. But starting next week I'll be back on track with practicing capoeira on bi-weekly basis. Lee Ann, Matt, our teacher Klecius, and I will be taking a trip to Campo Largo in two weekends to participate in an international capoeira festival, put on by my friend who's a capoeira master.

I pray that the bit of rain the states received this week refreshed the ground and your spirits. We continue to pray for all of you and your intentions! God bless.

Chegamos! (We´ve arrived!)

It may seem like no surprise to some, but I'm back in Brasil again! After 35 hours of car rides, planes, and multiple bus rides Lee Ann, my boyfriend, Matt, and I made it to Imbau, Brasil. Once we arrived, we only had one week to spend with Katie and Sarah Zimmerman, but we took advantage of every minute. Lots of friendships and memories were created before we had to send them home to the states.



Lee Ann and I are living in a small, concrete home close to the place where we work, called Peti. Thankfully, the Lord provided a very nice place for Matt to live right across the street!. We share our home with a wide variety of insects, a horse who lives next door (he hangs out within a few feet of my window), and a lot of mold BUT we are doing our best to make it a nice home. :) All of our neighbors are super welcoming and helpful and many speak a decent amount of English!



The Peti program that we have been working with the last 4 years has been doing very well. We have come to realize that the program has developed more than we had ever hoped and has good teachers that continue to help it grow. That being said, we started working with another Peti about 30 minutes away, which has about 80 regular students who are even more poor than the ones in Imbau. This new place is in a very small neighborhood called Irva de Cima. The students there are on vacation right now, so we plan to visit them every Tuesday and Wednesday to get to know them. We've been dancing, playing all sorts of games, and doing anything we can to gain their attention, trust, and respect. I am very excited to start teaching and working with them in a few weeks when vacation is over.



Once their break is over, our plan is to teach at Irva de Cima three times a week and spend the other two with our old students in Imbau and getting to know people in the community better. I'm excited and anxious to start all of these new adventures, but very thankful that I have Matt and Lee Ann always at my side.



Matt has being doing very well at practicing and learning Portuguese. The Brasilians and I are very impressed about how much he has already picked up by listening and studying on his own. I am so thankful that he is here with me. :)



Sister Rose and the other nuns are doing very well, continuing with all of their awesome work. They are as sweet and helpful as always. We plan on visiting them on a regular basis, even though sometimes it's a bit difficult to find a bus to take us to Telemaco.



I miss all of you in the states and hope you are well. We always keep you in our daily prayers. Have a great week!



Megan