Our Last Week(s) in Brazil

We made it back to the United States, safe and sound! What a crazy ride the last few weeks have been. But first, a recap of our last week(s) in Salvador, Brazil.

A very good Brazilian friend of ours named Bruno got us in touch with an American woman named Susan who started a “museum” for children, and she invited us and the kids for a free and private visit. Brother Joao da Immaculada helped set up transportation (2 big vans) and a wonderful woman in our community talked to all the parents of the kids and collected permissions slips. We loaded 2 brothers from the Community of St John, 2 Brazilian volunteers, us both, and 26 kids, into the two vans. 

The kids were so excited to be going on a “field trip!” They all waved good bye to the favela, the market, and local shops as we drove off, and they sang and chanted the entire way, barely able to contain their excitement. When we arrived at the “Museu for the Children,” we all gathered in a room to meet Susan who explained the rules and to hear what was in store for us that day. Everything there was kid-sized. 

There were fossils for the kids to explore under a magnifying glass, science experiments, a bubble room, a life-like market with cash registers, typewriters and telephones to play with, dolls, dinosaurs, basically a child’s heaven. And that was just the inside! Outside, was a wide open (but safely enclosed) space with GRASS (something that is rarely seen in our city) jungle gyms, swings, a water sofa, a turtle habitat, and a huge tree that the kids were allowed to climb. The kids would have been happy enough just to run around in the open space doing cartwheels and playing tag! 

Bruno and his wife made the kids hot dogs, juice, and fruit, and we all ate together in the “tree house.” They were eager to eat quickly so they could continue playing! Finally, it was time to wrap up our day and head back to our favela. The kids (of course) did not want to leave. They kept asking us when they could return. We are so grateful for Bruno and Marcella for getting us in touch with Susan, and for her generosity in opening up her museum to us. It was definitely a day the kids will remember forever!

A few days later, we were had a catechism day at the convent and invited all the kids in our community. We expected to get maybe 25 kids to come, and asked for everyone to gather at one of the entrances to the favela, and we would walk to the convent with them. We quickly realized that we had underestimated the outcome of our event, as there were a little less than 60 KIDS who showed up! 

With the help of some priests and volunteers, we walked all the kids to the convent, which was about a half a mile away. We got them all settled in the chapel and Fr. Patrick said Mass, and walked us through each part, carefully and simply explaining the significance. 

After Mass, we fed them lunch, then separated the kids into age groups, and had a rotation of different activities. Since we weren’t expecting that many kids, we had to do some improvising, so a soccer game was quickly started for the older kids. We had music and prizes and the kids just had a great time. 

After the games, we gathered them together for a snack, and our friend/volunteer, Gabriel, surprised us with a beautiful slide show of our time in Brazil. A few days prior, the kids from our classes sneakily drew us a picture and they combined them to make a huge collage that they surprised us with as well. Then we got hugs from EVERY kid. We could not stop crying! I definitely will remember that moment for the rest of my life. When all the tears were dried up, we walked them back home.

The next day, we invited everyone from the chapel in the favela to our home so we could say goodbye. Everyone brought something to share, and we ended up with a huge feast! There was food, music, dancing, and more tears! When we started in our mission we had 10-12 kids who knew us and when we left there were over 60 that knew us. How good God has been to our little mission. And now the Community of St. John is keeping it going.

People from the US often ask us if we were ever scared living in a favela, but to be honest, it’s such a family-like community, and we definitely felt accepted as one of their own. Even the drug dealers (who usually kept to them selves) started saying hello and striking up conversations with us. We miss everyone so much already, but we feel at peace being back in the States and knowing we will visit someday.

As we left Salvador, we made a stop in Rio to unwind and reflect on our past year. It was a year of joy, learning, patience, growing, heartache, laughter, and falling more in love with each other and our creator. 

We are aware that we have not updated you on our lives here yet. We have some exciting things to tell all of you about, but we need a little more time before we unveil God’s plan for us. Stay posted.