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| This is the part where Larry comes out and...
no. this is the part where you can be a part of things.
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS! or NEW YEARS PRESENTS! or something like that...
The Living Stones program is making jewelry.
Rachel has learned to crochet. and how to spell the word crochet. I figured if i couldn't do it, i couldn't ask the girls to do it. they are already great crochet-ers, so they do a much better job.
we are doing two basic projects: necklaces (long strands of crochet and Acai--only found in the Amazon--beads) and poptab bracelets crocheted (sp?) together. you can see basic pictures, but every piece is very individual, as the girls. different color combinations and so on. They are amazing creative.
The poptab bracelet is on the table. here is a better picture:
we have multicolored, green, purple, blue...
The necklaces' can be wrapped around for a bracelet or anklet as well. We have black or brown chord crochet, with beads--all different colors, or just one color.
The girls love to sit in a circle and make jewelry. Every day i come they ask "can we make some more?"
So please write me at amobrasil99@hotmail.com if you would like to support Living Stones and purchase some jewelry. I can buy things like coconut or wood bracelets or....anything else...if you write me soon before i leave (in two+ weeks!) i have some room for Brasilian handwoven blankets and hammocks as well. I will be bringing back oddles, but if you want something specific, we can design it for you now. and if you don't live in Indy, i can mail it to you. There are no set prices...just generosity.
thank you!
now go eat your turkey leftovers. and lotsa whip cream on your pumpkin pie.
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| No Thanksgiving day in Brasil. why not? please don't ask me that. because there were no pilgrims landing on Brasilian shores in 1620. mostly just depraved Portuguese gold seekers who killed the men and raped the women. not very pretty.
But we had thanksgiving at Jeff and Lindsay's apartment, and it was wonderful perfect.
The day started off perfect and went well from there. i got up and then walked to the hammock and fell back asleep. we didn't have the Living Stones project Thursday morning because of a great answer to prayer.
Some of the workers for the government program, PETI, have treated Patricia and Cacau with distain. They said that Patricia and Cacau were stuck up, and trying to make them look bad. the truth is, Patricia and Cacau did make them look bad--because many of the other workers were not working...and so it made the selfless sacrifice of the ladies stand out even more. But last Friday, the workers came and apologized to Patricia and Cacau. they said that they had been watching, and saw how everything they did was to serve and help the kids, and that they were genuine. They even went a step further and asked for Patricia and Cacau to help them plan the PETI program outline for next year--for the whole town of Paudalho!
At the same time (i love how God works these things), Heather (Tele's wife) and I worked on putting onto paper an outline of Living Stone's objectives, methodologies, values...and so on. all that stuff. Monday i showed the plan to Patricia and Cacau, who loved and embraced it. We spent the day translating it into Portuguese, and then on Thursday, that is the plan that was presented to the rest of PETI, the government social program. They loved it, including the Character and Biblical values we presented. And that is the outline plan for next year's program for the whole town of Paudalho. that was a God thing. yeah.
so i slept in and then saw that we had a bunch of old yucky black bananas (banana's are super cheap here. normally about 5 cents or less. but if you go inland, you can get 100 bananas for 50 cents. needless to say, we eat a lot of bananas). I did what my mom would do. i made banana bread. but i didn't have a recipe. and i always forget that i have never done this before. but my new cooking rule is this: if it doesn taste good enough to lick out the bowl, then it won't taste good after it is baked, so you should keep adding ingredients until it tastes good. it worked.
In the afternoon we had Living Stones and the girls and i worked on our Jewelry project (pictures to come in PART 3) and then i went to Carpina to Jeff and Lindsay apartment where i was greeted by yummy smells. yummy American thanksgivng smells. like Turkey (whoop, i am a veggie-tarian) and stuffing. Family sent Lindsay the box stuffing kind. the really yummy kind. and pumpkin pie.
and mashed potatoes and gravy and veggies and yum yum yum and i did nothing but walk with Mr.Hood to get the Canjica (corn pudding) at the store. yesssssss. Mrs.Hood (left) and Mr.Hood are here in Brasil teaching English this semester. They are wonderful and so encouraging. I love to sit in on Mrs.Hood's classes, because she never yells, and all of the kids listen perfectly. i have a long way to go in becoming a teacher like that. Emily (middle) has her work visa and is heading up the English department at the school. She does a fantastic job. Lindsay (right) teaches the lil kids and is the sweetest one of all of us. I didn't get Jeff's (Lindsay's husband) picture, or Roberto and Karine, who came later. That makes up our "American" group here in Brasil.
Mr.Hood and our pretty table. before munch time.
After a full tummy and sitting around and sharing about God's great gifts and working in our lives, i went to college (FALUB) where we had a school fair this week. Each class picked a theme and then had a tent to present it. My class was "English: aprender brincando" (learning while playing). since i am the only English speaker, i was elected chairman and director and all...it went well. as soon as i realized that some people were going to give 110% and most everyone else was going to do nothing...and was ok with that...it went well.
We had a "show," dressing up like clowns and singing "head, shoulders, knees, toes" and "Hokey Pokey" over and over and over, a table with games to learn colors (candyland), numbers (sorry), and parts of the body. lots of books, and a projector playing "Magic English" (a Disney learning DVD).
but their favorite part was when we translated "Thriller" and attempted to dance to it. one kid...11 years old...had the thing memorized. in English. even though he didn't know what the heck he was saying...he sang for us. Micheal is king in Brasil. they haven't accepted the fact that he died. my claim to fame is that i was born in the same state as he was. The two main questions the kids had for me "Did you know him?" and "Are you sure he is really dead?" (while i didn't personally go to the funeral...i tell them very assuridly that YES, he is and no, i didn't know him.) i didn't tell them that this was the first time i had even seen "Thriller."
this is Dona Rita. She is amazing. She turns 60 on December 9th. she is the most dedicated student i have ever seen. Seriously. she writes pages and pages...and then turns assignments into poems and reads them for the class. and she takes care of me. she makes sure i always have a group, and that i know what is going on. and normally, if i am confused, she ends up doing the work for/with me, which i know is going to spoil me silly, but it is such a nice feeling of...being taken care of.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I missed you Mommy and Daddy and Johnny and Anna and Donovan and ?????lil one yet to come.
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| Last Sunday was the second annual youth conference at the Alcance. I invited all the older girls from Living Stones, and they were excited about it, but a lot of last minute things happened, and only two ended up coming. far from being disappointed, it worked out wonderful for me and my first time attempt at being the "adult leader" for an activity.
Mercia and Morgana. i need a tan. i still look like the creme filling.
I got to see lots of old friends. it was a great time.
Prayer requests:
*new babies born in Karla's family, and in Leandra's family. Both of these families are in the very poor of the very poor group--often working in the city dump, sorting through trash. Leandra's family is one that we are very close to-all 7 children are in the program. Their mother came on Monday, almost hysterical, because the baby was due and all she had was one diaper and two pairs of gloves (they put gloves on babies here. don't ask me why. it is hotter than heck right now). We purchased more diapers and a couple of outfits for the baby from our "emergency fund" (a gift from ze US of A...thank you!!!!!) and the baby was born at home on Wednesday. If you are interested in helping out these families in any way--it would be such a blessing. Just let me know.
*Rafael Jose's little brother, only three months old, died of pneumonia this week. please pray for their family. life seems so harsh, especially for the little ones.
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| A couple more pictures that didn´t show up before...
 
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| I don´t even think i need to write anything about our trip to Word Of Life with the kids from Living Stones. just post pictures. It was great. They loved it. They are spending the next couple days, weeks, talking about it and telling all the funny stories over and over...thank you for making it possible. I am happy to report no injuries or drownings, or almost drownings (like last year when Edwardo ran and jumped in and sunk to the bottom. when pulled out, they asked "Don´t you now how to swim?" "No, but it just looked so pretty..." or Cezar, who pretended to be drowning all the way until he got mouth to mouth recitation and then got up and walked away as if nothing ever happened). I went around putting on sunscreen and then aloe for the sunburns (and managed to get burnt myself, even after applying layers of sunblock every 15 minutes) and all our helpers stood around the pool, yelling "Don´t grab them!" "Don´t go farther, you can´t swim" and so on. Kudos to the 12 wonderful people who gave their day to let 120 children have fun, and for many, the first time experience of swimming in a pool.
           
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