new host family...

after two and a half glorious weeks with the sabarense family in pampulha, i moved to my new host family's apartment yesterday... it was tough to say goodbye to my 3 sisters, my little brother, bia's friend laise and the greatest host mom ever, but i was encouraged by bianca that it is a good experience to see how other brazilian families live... this time i'm staying with a young married couple!

after about 45 minutes in the car, carlos, andrea and i had driven clear across town from the northeast part of belo to the salgado filho neighborhood in the far southwest... it's not really near anything, at least a 20-30 minute bus ride to a mall, the main city square, or the metro, and this morning i found out that it's over an hour and 15 minutes commute to the creche! yikes!

both andrea and carlos are in their late 20's so it's been fun to talk with them to see how things are for them here in brazil as they are around my age... their apartment is also a 3-bedroom flat like the sabarense family, but with just the two of them, there's plenty of space... i have my own room and closet, there is a computer room/study, and their room... we all share one bathroom, and the living room and dining room are in the same space... the kitchen is rather small, but i get the feeling that they don't cook much at home since it's just the two of them... andrea also said that she's still practicing on keeping house, although they have been married for nearly 4 years! she's so cute! lol

andrea was kind enough to take time this morning to go with me from the 'supplementar' bus which drives around the local neighborhood and through the metro... we left the house this morning at 6:15 a.m. to catch a bus to the metro, take the metro to another bus stop where sylvia picked me up... again i got to the creche well before i needed to be there... this morning i was there at 7:45 a.m... it was a long night on sunday trying to figure out which buses i could take and at what times to get me to the creche... anyway, both andrea (my host sister) and sylvia are concerned for my safety, and i totally get it, but i learned today that there is one bus that i can catch from the house to downtown, and another bus i can take directly from downtown to the foot of the hill that the creche sits upon... um, hell-o! i'm totally going to do that in the morning, it's supposed to save me an hour of time... so i won't have to leave the house until 7:15 tomorrow! woohoo!

today at the creche was a lot of fun... the kids are so cute, they come up and hug us and kiss us on the cheek saying "bom dia!" which means 'good morning!' and also giving us handshakes or high-fives... they are so excited to see us and keep asking if we'll be back tomorrow... i've tried explaining that we'll be here until august, but they still seem to be incredulous that we'd stick around that long... i wonder if they've had other people show up a few times and then abandon the creche? made me think about the promises i make to people and organizations, people who count on my help and who need my help, and the times that i haven't followed through with my word... that one kind of took the wind out of me this morning...

lots of conviction happening here, trying to keep up in my journal though i admit that i'm not journaling as much as i would like to... but, i hope to post some of my reflections soon...

i've been thinking a lot about my personal journey and path that my life has taken, looking back and thinking about the different parts of my life where i've been the driver and at other times when i've been the passenger... i don't know if you're anything like me, but it's been hard for me to yield control over my life to God... i usually have my hand in everything, usually more than i can handle, because i need to have a say-so in things... slowly i started loosening the reigns of control i had over some things in my life, loosening my grip on things i have been clinging to for years, and only recently has God blessed me with peace of mind and forgiveness about some things... this program has been much more than a study abroad experience, or a volunteer opportunity, or a mission trip, it's kind of been a time for me to realize that the best times of my life have been when God has been the driver in my life... i can look back over my late-teens and early 20's and see countless decisions that i made, taking the steering wheel and trying to find my own way, and things didn't go so well... but all of the hard lessons have brought me to this point, in a new country thousands of miles from home, surrounded by people who have opened up their home to a stranger from texas, to realize that God is, was, and always will be.

thank you for your continued prayers for me and for my time here in brazil... please also remember to pray for my kids here at the creche and their families... there is nothing as powerful as prayer...

peace and love,
crystal :)