Saturday 16 May.
Lots of kids and girls in desperate situations.
Saturday was kids club day. Arriving at the house “Shine” rents in Oitão Preto (it actually used to be the house of one of the boys in our discipleship group, which was a bit surreal because I remember sitting in that very house talking to his grandmother and aunt). We put out chairs in the different rooms and then the many volunteers who faithfully come on Saturdays trickled in. After a time of prayer the children were already coming and a time of joint worship was the first item on the agenda. After the worship the children were divided into groups according to age and went to their designated rooms. I just hung around and kind of got an overall picture. Juliana and I ended up having a long chat with one of the teenagers who was sent out from her group for not behaving the way she should. It was good to chat to her and bring some perspective to things.
People kept coming and going and it was good to be there. At lunchtime Juliana and I went to local little supermarket and bought some ingredients with which we made an improvised maccarronada and rice. Not the best meal I’ve ever cooked, but those eating it seemed satisfied and it wasn’t too bad. In the afternoon we had the teenagers and I stayed with the group of boys, which was the group I used to lead. It’s quite amusing as the boys are really the same, only a little bit taller and 2 years older. Gustavo is still the smallest one, aged 7 now, and they still all have the same attitudes and yet it’s so amazing that in that community with so much darkness, they come to the project and we pray that what they hear will become part of who they are. A few of the boys are faithful in church, Christiano and David are two of them.
As part of the discipleship we talked about the things in the world and had the boys draw something in the world that isn’t good. This little 9-year old I hadn’t met before drew a house and a man with a gun in front of it pointing the gun at a lady with her hands raised. I asked him if he’d ever seen that himself, and he shared with me that the alley he lives in is a popular place for people running away from the police to run through, and so he’s seen a lot of police shooting after people. It makes him scared at times. The picture, he explained, was of a robber robbing a woman. It’s incredible the reality these kids live in. I know it’s not just Brazil, but it’s still breaks my heart when that is something that is normal to a 9 year old boy.
After ending the time with the boys (they had a time of playing snooker at the end which is always entertaining, especially as these boys haven’t exactly perfected their snooker skills yet, and usually the winner wins because the other one makes faults…and otherwise the game can go on forever…they have potential and with some more practise could become good snooker-players should they so desire), I gave a final hug to Marcia, one of the women in the community. I met her back in 2001 when we did worship services on the square in the community. She’d had a motorcycle accident and had (and still has) a leg which is severely scarred. She is one of the many I built a good relationship with, yet didn’t see huge changes in while I was in Fortalza. Now she is really on her way in the right direction and is part of the chocolate making group of women who make chocolates and sell them to get a bit of an income. She is still very thin and I didn’t have a chance to find out if she is involved in other things or not. But it was good to see her and reconnect with her.
Before going home, the last item on the agenda was to try to find Janaina, one of the streetgirls I think I was closest to while I worked in Fortalza. I knew she lived at the entrance to the community, but the other 5 times I’d gone to find her, she wasn’t there. This time was no different. She was no-where to be found and after looking for a bit I decided that it wasn’t meant to be. When I left she was very sick with tuberculosis and was not doing well. Since leaving someone told me that she’d died (which obviously she didn’t), but her body seems to be destroyed by the sickness. Juliana told me she has shrunk as the bones in her back have become curved and she is really little. Adriana, her sister, also seems to be living in Oitão at the moment with her most recent child… I didn’t see her either. As much as I would have loved to see the sisters, maybe God wants me to remember them the way they were when I left rather then in the state they’re in now…I don’t know, but I am ok with not finding them.
One girl I did see though was D. She’s around 18 now, and I remember how we’d celebrate her and another girl’s 12th birthdays in our open house many years ago. Now she is so broken and there is very little life left in her eyes. She’s had a baby who I think must be with some family member, and she herself continues in the life of drugs and prostitution. It was hard to see her. The toughness she had when I first knew her has increased, and I wonder if she’ll ever go back to being the joyful and feel peace. Only Jesus can restore her, but He can!
Enjoying fellowship and food.
Brazil is a land of huge contrasts and Saturday was no different. After a day in the community I went back to Andrew and Claudia’s house for a rest before getting ready to go to Spettus, one of the best Churrascerias (BBQ places) in the city. The YWAM base had invited all students and staff of the base + me (smiles) out for a meal. There were a total of 50 of us children included who met at “Spettus” for a time of relaxing, eating, and fellowshipping. I saw people I hadn’t seen yet, which was so nice, although it was hard to get to talk to everyone. I did get to sit next to Denise which was really nice. She is such a star. I highly enjoyed the scrumptious food, although I realise my stomach wasn’t designed to eat huge amounts and as always I needed to stop having eaten not as much as I would have liked to. But it was a good evening and I really enjoyed and savoured it.
Sunday 17 May.
Final day of appreciation.
Juliana and I headed off on the TopBus to Praia do Futuro mid-morning. We wanted to go to the beach and thankfully it was still sunny. We got off at the barraca Itaparyka, expecting it to be jam-packed with people enjoying a Sunday at the beach. To our pleasant surprise it wasn’t to full and we got a nice spot almost at the seafront. It was lovely to just relax and enjoy the warmth of the sunshine. I miss the beach! It was also the national day of Norway and one lad who was selling coconut water a bit further along the beach was wearing a t-shirt which was like a Norwegian flag. I didn’t get to ask him if he knew what day it was, but it was a funny thing to see and reminded me of this special day in Norway.
After an hour or so we decided to meet up with Andrew and Claudia for lunch at Nautico where they’re members. Lunch was very nice. Nautico is an old-fashioned leisure club type place, and in one section of the eating area a group of old people were dancing and it was quite surreal.
After lunch we went down to the pool area and I had a nice swim in the Olympic size swimming pool filled with saltwater. That was strange, but I got used to it. As they started to close up at 3pm we packed up our stuff and decided to have ice cream before leaving. Claudia, Juliana and I went over to the window which has direct access from Nautico to the 50 sabores place on Beira Mar and got our ice creams just in time to get stuck in a downpour of rain. No wonder the ice cream was a tad watery (smiles).
Back at the flat it was lovely to sit down with a cup of tea and relax a bit before heading off to church. I really wanted to go to Videria, the church I used to go to when I lived in Fortaleza, and Juliana kindly agreed to go with me. We strolled down to Avenida Beira Mar where we got Grande Circular 2. Costing only 1 R$ on Sundays it was quite packed. The bus drove and drove and drove…went via Terminal Papicu before continuing. A 20 minute drive took almost an hour, but at least we got there. After crossing Av. Washington Soares we got to Videira a bit late. The worship was already going and it was so great to walk in and just feel the presence of God. The church was packed. I found a spot along the wall at the back, thinking maybe, just maybe a seat would somehow get freed up, but that was optimistic. I and probably another 40 people (which is a total guess as I am very bad at estimating numbers) spent the service standing and I was glad I had low shoes as it would have been an even greater challenge to stand for hours in high heels). The service was very nice and it was cool that part of the sermon was about intimacy with Jesus quoting some of my favourite scriptures on that and prayers we pray at IHOP-KC every day. It confirmed to me that although I love Fortaleza, that I am in the right place.
To end the evening Juliana and I went to pizza hut with some friends of hers before they dropped us back at Andrew and Claudia’s flat. I was grateful to not have to take the bus back and it was so nice to get to know some new people among all the people I already knew.
I packed up my stuff ready for an early start on Monday morning, and still didn’t quite realise that this was it. It was strange to suddenly be leaving again.
Monday 18 May 2009
Goodbye Fortaleza.
Andrew and wee Jessica took me to the airport and Juliana came too. It was raining as we drove there, and I was grateful that at least I’d had mostly sunny days during my two weeks there. As we got closer to the airport I saw they’d changed the signs thanking the tourists for coming. No longer being a small white sign saying “good trip. come back again”, they now had larger then life sized cut-outs of people; on the right side a guy with a surf board and the left a woman and they were basically giving final greetings to whoever is travelling towards the airport. It made me smile.
Neide was at the airport to meet us, which was very nice. I missed seeing more of her, but at least I got to catch up with her a bit. I checked in and we went up to the eating area where we got café com leite and pão de queijo. A final Brazilian meal for me.
Time went quickly and suddenly it was time to go. I hugged them all and went through the security check. There were no tears, mostly because I think it hadn’t really sunk in that I was leaving, but also because I know I’ll be back again, if only to visit. Time will show. My flight was fine. It was quite empty so I actually had a whole row of seats to myself, which was lovely. At Atlanta I had just enough time to walk off the one plane and board the next without stress.
Arriving in Kansas City my housemate Melissa came to pick me up. The weather was nice and warm and it seems like summer has finally arrived to this place. We went for a coffee at Barnes and Nobles on the Plaza on our way home and had a good chat catching up. It was such an amazing time in Brazil, yet I feel so at peace and know that this is where I’m meant to be at this time, and that is a good confirmation to have.
Lots of kids and girls in desperate situations.
Saturday was kids club day. Arriving at the house “Shine” rents in Oitão Preto (it actually used to be the house of one of the boys in our discipleship group, which was a bit surreal because I remember sitting in that very house talking to his grandmother and aunt). We put out chairs in the different rooms and then the many volunteers who faithfully come on Saturdays trickled in. After a time of prayer the children were already coming and a time of joint worship was the first item on the agenda. After the worship the children were divided into groups according to age and went to their designated rooms. I just hung around and kind of got an overall picture. Juliana and I ended up having a long chat with one of the teenagers who was sent out from her group for not behaving the way she should. It was good to chat to her and bring some perspective to things.
People kept coming and going and it was good to be there. At lunchtime Juliana and I went to local little supermarket and bought some ingredients with which we made an improvised maccarronada and rice. Not the best meal I’ve ever cooked, but those eating it seemed satisfied and it wasn’t too bad. In the afternoon we had the teenagers and I stayed with the group of boys, which was the group I used to lead. It’s quite amusing as the boys are really the same, only a little bit taller and 2 years older. Gustavo is still the smallest one, aged 7 now, and they still all have the same attitudes and yet it’s so amazing that in that community with so much darkness, they come to the project and we pray that what they hear will become part of who they are. A few of the boys are faithful in church, Christiano and David are two of them.
As part of the discipleship we talked about the things in the world and had the boys draw something in the world that isn’t good. This little 9-year old I hadn’t met before drew a house and a man with a gun in front of it pointing the gun at a lady with her hands raised. I asked him if he’d ever seen that himself, and he shared with me that the alley he lives in is a popular place for people running away from the police to run through, and so he’s seen a lot of police shooting after people. It makes him scared at times. The picture, he explained, was of a robber robbing a woman. It’s incredible the reality these kids live in. I know it’s not just Brazil, but it’s still breaks my heart when that is something that is normal to a 9 year old boy.
After ending the time with the boys (they had a time of playing snooker at the end which is always entertaining, especially as these boys haven’t exactly perfected their snooker skills yet, and usually the winner wins because the other one makes faults…and otherwise the game can go on forever…they have potential and with some more practise could become good snooker-players should they so desire), I gave a final hug to Marcia, one of the women in the community. I met her back in 2001 when we did worship services on the square in the community. She’d had a motorcycle accident and had (and still has) a leg which is severely scarred. She is one of the many I built a good relationship with, yet didn’t see huge changes in while I was in Fortalza. Now she is really on her way in the right direction and is part of the chocolate making group of women who make chocolates and sell them to get a bit of an income. She is still very thin and I didn’t have a chance to find out if she is involved in other things or not. But it was good to see her and reconnect with her.
Before going home, the last item on the agenda was to try to find Janaina, one of the streetgirls I think I was closest to while I worked in Fortalza. I knew she lived at the entrance to the community, but the other 5 times I’d gone to find her, she wasn’t there. This time was no different. She was no-where to be found and after looking for a bit I decided that it wasn’t meant to be. When I left she was very sick with tuberculosis and was not doing well. Since leaving someone told me that she’d died (which obviously she didn’t), but her body seems to be destroyed by the sickness. Juliana told me she has shrunk as the bones in her back have become curved and she is really little. Adriana, her sister, also seems to be living in Oitão at the moment with her most recent child… I didn’t see her either. As much as I would have loved to see the sisters, maybe God wants me to remember them the way they were when I left rather then in the state they’re in now…I don’t know, but I am ok with not finding them.
One girl I did see though was D. She’s around 18 now, and I remember how we’d celebrate her and another girl’s 12th birthdays in our open house many years ago. Now she is so broken and there is very little life left in her eyes. She’s had a baby who I think must be with some family member, and she herself continues in the life of drugs and prostitution. It was hard to see her. The toughness she had when I first knew her has increased, and I wonder if she’ll ever go back to being the joyful and feel peace. Only Jesus can restore her, but He can!
Enjoying fellowship and food.
Brazil is a land of huge contrasts and Saturday was no different. After a day in the community I went back to Andrew and Claudia’s house for a rest before getting ready to go to Spettus, one of the best Churrascerias (BBQ places) in the city. The YWAM base had invited all students and staff of the base + me (smiles) out for a meal. There were a total of 50 of us children included who met at “Spettus” for a time of relaxing, eating, and fellowshipping. I saw people I hadn’t seen yet, which was so nice, although it was hard to get to talk to everyone. I did get to sit next to Denise which was really nice. She is such a star. I highly enjoyed the scrumptious food, although I realise my stomach wasn’t designed to eat huge amounts and as always I needed to stop having eaten not as much as I would have liked to. But it was a good evening and I really enjoyed and savoured it.
Sunday 17 May.
Final day of appreciation.
Juliana and I headed off on the TopBus to Praia do Futuro mid-morning. We wanted to go to the beach and thankfully it was still sunny. We got off at the barraca Itaparyka, expecting it to be jam-packed with people enjoying a Sunday at the beach. To our pleasant surprise it wasn’t to full and we got a nice spot almost at the seafront. It was lovely to just relax and enjoy the warmth of the sunshine. I miss the beach! It was also the national day of Norway and one lad who was selling coconut water a bit further along the beach was wearing a t-shirt which was like a Norwegian flag. I didn’t get to ask him if he knew what day it was, but it was a funny thing to see and reminded me of this special day in Norway.
After an hour or so we decided to meet up with Andrew and Claudia for lunch at Nautico where they’re members. Lunch was very nice. Nautico is an old-fashioned leisure club type place, and in one section of the eating area a group of old people were dancing and it was quite surreal.
After lunch we went down to the pool area and I had a nice swim in the Olympic size swimming pool filled with saltwater. That was strange, but I got used to it. As they started to close up at 3pm we packed up our stuff and decided to have ice cream before leaving. Claudia, Juliana and I went over to the window which has direct access from Nautico to the 50 sabores place on Beira Mar and got our ice creams just in time to get stuck in a downpour of rain. No wonder the ice cream was a tad watery (smiles).
Back at the flat it was lovely to sit down with a cup of tea and relax a bit before heading off to church. I really wanted to go to Videria, the church I used to go to when I lived in Fortaleza, and Juliana kindly agreed to go with me. We strolled down to Avenida Beira Mar where we got Grande Circular 2. Costing only 1 R$ on Sundays it was quite packed. The bus drove and drove and drove…went via Terminal Papicu before continuing. A 20 minute drive took almost an hour, but at least we got there. After crossing Av. Washington Soares we got to Videira a bit late. The worship was already going and it was so great to walk in and just feel the presence of God. The church was packed. I found a spot along the wall at the back, thinking maybe, just maybe a seat would somehow get freed up, but that was optimistic. I and probably another 40 people (which is a total guess as I am very bad at estimating numbers) spent the service standing and I was glad I had low shoes as it would have been an even greater challenge to stand for hours in high heels). The service was very nice and it was cool that part of the sermon was about intimacy with Jesus quoting some of my favourite scriptures on that and prayers we pray at IHOP-KC every day. It confirmed to me that although I love Fortaleza, that I am in the right place.
To end the evening Juliana and I went to pizza hut with some friends of hers before they dropped us back at Andrew and Claudia’s flat. I was grateful to not have to take the bus back and it was so nice to get to know some new people among all the people I already knew.
I packed up my stuff ready for an early start on Monday morning, and still didn’t quite realise that this was it. It was strange to suddenly be leaving again.
Monday 18 May 2009
Goodbye Fortaleza.
Andrew and wee Jessica took me to the airport and Juliana came too. It was raining as we drove there, and I was grateful that at least I’d had mostly sunny days during my two weeks there. As we got closer to the airport I saw they’d changed the signs thanking the tourists for coming. No longer being a small white sign saying “good trip. come back again”, they now had larger then life sized cut-outs of people; on the right side a guy with a surf board and the left a woman and they were basically giving final greetings to whoever is travelling towards the airport. It made me smile.
Neide was at the airport to meet us, which was very nice. I missed seeing more of her, but at least I got to catch up with her a bit. I checked in and we went up to the eating area where we got café com leite and pão de queijo. A final Brazilian meal for me.
Time went quickly and suddenly it was time to go. I hugged them all and went through the security check. There were no tears, mostly because I think it hadn’t really sunk in that I was leaving, but also because I know I’ll be back again, if only to visit. Time will show. My flight was fine. It was quite empty so I actually had a whole row of seats to myself, which was lovely. At Atlanta I had just enough time to walk off the one plane and board the next without stress.
Arriving in Kansas City my housemate Melissa came to pick me up. The weather was nice and warm and it seems like summer has finally arrived to this place. We went for a coffee at Barnes and Nobles on the Plaza on our way home and had a good chat catching up. It was such an amazing time in Brazil, yet I feel so at peace and know that this is where I’m meant to be at this time, and that is a good confirmation to have.
That concludes the Fortaleza report for this time. I am excited to be back and to see what God is doing and going to do in the weeks and months ahead.