much needed update!

hi everyone!

wanted to share some things with you about my past week... i moved families (AGAIN!) this past sunday and was surprised at how attached i had become to andrea and carlos... they asked if i wanted to stay another week at their house and i definitely did, but i also heard bianca's voice in my head (bianca was my first host sister) saying that i should embrace every change of families to really see how brazilian families live... they're all different and all interestingly similar... so, i went on to my next family...

on sunday, i went to church for the last time at são joão batista igreja catolica in the salgado filho neighborhood, took a bus to downtown afterwards and walked around mercado central for a bit, had a sanduiche from a street vendor (which was soooo good!) and then hopped on a bus back home to start packing for the move... i reveled at how my things seem to be multiplying and no longer fit in the one suitcase i brought... i cleaned my room, made my bed, took a shower and waited for andrea and carlos to get back from picking up andrea's mom from the other side of town... they arrived at the house and we had a quick lunch, then off we went to the other side of town to nazarè where my new family lives...

carlos, andrea, andrea's mom and i drove from the southwest-ish side of town to the east side of town and met at a metro station, estacão são gabriel, where regiane (pronounced 'heh-jee-ah-knee') and her dad picked me up... as we waited, andrea and carlos gave me a gift, a worship cd from a concert here in belo... they are such great young people, i started to tear up... then, as it was time for me to move my things and go with regiane, a big tear rolled down my cheek... i remember that feeling as i hugged bianca and her family goodbye and moved to andrea and carlos' house... i didn't think it would be this hard becoming part of a family and then leaving after a couple of weeks... but it is.

we drove away and when we arrived to the arevalo family's house, i was so thankful that i took bianca's advice and have been taking every experience as it comes... just walking in the house i was comforted by the familiar picture of the sacred heart of Jesus hanging in the family's dining room, a missalette (spelling?) on the coffee table and a crucifix hanging on the wall... regiane's mom, gloria, made me something to eat and we got to talk a little bit that first night, even though it was pretty late... i learned that their family is very involved in their church, the parroquía santa maria de nazaré (the parish of our lady of nazareth) e communidade nossa senhora de lourdes (community of our lady of lourdes). five communities in the neighborhood make up a parish and they are very involved in both. the mom and the dad are both leaders in the church, the mom attends various prayer groups throughout the week with other women, has another group much like the guadalupanas back home in west texas, the youngest daughter, aline, studies at a catholic university here and is a catechist at the church as well, and regiane is a catechist, too, and uses her communications degree to help produce a radio show that her priest hosts every week for the young people in the city... i could not have been more blessed to come to this family at this time!

they asked me if i go to church and i explained to them about what i'm doing in the fall at ust, and they asked if i had already been to Mass that day... i told them i went but i would love to get to know their church, too... regiane took me to church and i met the priest--who was hilarious! he's a young-er priest, probably in his 30's, but i was blown away by his personality and the way he gave his sermon... he may be young, but he runs a tight ship at his parish and is likeable... regiane suggested i visit with him about my discernment and what i'm doing in the fall, so we made a time for me to visit in the near future... great first day!

moving to the east side of town has had its ups and downs... i am physically closer to the creche so the good thing is that it takes only about 45 minutes to get from my house to the creche... the bad thing is that there is no direct route to get from my house to the bus stop that takes me to the bottom of the hill so i can walk to the creche, so now, i take 3--yes THREE--modes of transportation each way to get to and from the creche... in the morning i catch a neighborhood yellow bus to the metro station, i ride the metro and get off at another station where i catch another bus to the bottom of the hill... all in all, it's about RS$ 12 per day, a couple of bucks over what i had been spending... definitely cutting into my bottom line. :( but, i get to sleep a littler later, which is great, and the buses are never as packed as the ones i used to take through downtown to catch my second bus! score!

ooh, also, a couple of days ago i was talking with aline about vocations and what i'm doing when i go back to school, and she suggested i talk to some family friends of theirs who are missionaries in são pãolo... so...

são pãolo bound for my vacation!? yes, please! i actually have been in communication with maryknoll missionaries about visiting their community while i'm here in south america and seeing what they do from day to day... i have just over a week near the end of july and then another week right before i return to the states, so i'm trying to get these things organized... sadly, i won't be able to go with bianca and her family to campo grande because their ferias happen to fall on weeks where we don't have off... i guess it was a blessing in disguise, too, because i only have a certain amount of funds to get from belo to wherever it is i'm going... são pãolo is definitely more cost effective than flying to cochambamba, bolivia where i thought i might need to fly to in order to visit MKLM's missionary training facility... i heard back from the MKLM missionary in SP and she's trying to work out accomodations and visits between the lay missionaries, the sisters and the priest in their community... please pray that everything works out and that i'm able to visit with them while i'm here... :)

other things over the past week: watched a brazil win with regiane and her friends, went to a zouk lesson at the dance school of one of the NAC instructors, went to a luan santana concert (!), went to a street fair at their parish in preparation for festa juninha, learned how to dance the quadrilha (square dance) with the kids at the creche, and watched the last brasil game for a loss :( with some coworkers. going to get my haircut today, it's been long overdue... hope it turns out well! lol

honestly, brasil has just been awesome for me, a great internship experience, with great people and even greater host families, wonderful kids at the creche, delicious DELICIOUS food, amazing climate, great music, things just could not get any better... or can they?! :)

miss you all, thank you for your continued prayers and support... i am hoping to break with culture and spend my vacation time here doing more than working on my tan... please keep praying for a worthwhile experience for me and my fellow bip's.

to my good friend victoria, the now mrs. rodriguez: congratulations on your wedding, i'm sure you made a beautiful bride! you and frank are in my prayers today and always...

much love, miss you all... safe travels to yall for your summer vacations...

peace and love,
crystal