i was not happy with the way the project at ONG was worked out between my program coordinator and the ONG coordinator, the wild goose chase and wrong addresses just to get there, the expense to get to and from nova lima or the time spent on busses... but, after getting everything off of my chest to our program coordinator via email (patty, you are a saint for dealing with as much stuff as you do from all directions!), i just stepped back for a second and thought about the kids...
on tuesday i let everything get to me and it bothered me all day... but i know that it was unfair of me to be upset/angry/frustrated with the adults who coordinated the program and let that affect my mood at the camp all day, the kids had nothing to do with it... as a group, the BIP's decided we needed to talk to the coordinator of the ONG camp to try to resolve some of the issues we were having, unfortunately, most of the problems were issues that the coordinator couldn't resolve on the spot... he explained his side of the story, and said he understood if we didn't want to come back the next day, but that he would be severely short-staffed and there wouldn't be adequate supervision for all the kids... so, the next day, two of us returned to the camp out of guilt... lol.
on wednesday i went back to camp and tried to put everything behind me and move on with life for the rest of the week, and surprisingly, me and my kids had a great day! i think my good day actually started in the morning when i spotted a group of mounted police at praca sete, and i had to stop and take a pic! [diego always rolls his eyes when i get all touristy on him, lol]
BH Mounted Police
today, thursday, we had a small talent show of sorts near the end of the day where each of the groups got to sing, dance or do some acrobatics and my little kids and i sang some american songs... we did our group chant again--"we are the diamonds, mighty, mighty diamonds, everywhere we go people want to know, who we are, so we tell them..."-- and then sang "the wheels on the bus"... it was hilariously cute! my kids are the 4-6 year olds, so singing in a group is about as much as they could handle off the cuff... we tried teaching them to sway while singing the song and it was a disaster! kids falling all over each other, they went down like dominoes! haha
here's the diamonds getting ready for "lights, camera, action!"
here we are singing "the wheels on the bus"... trust me, it's more difficult than it seems!
while the other groups performed their stunts, acrobatics, sang songs and danced, my kids were mesmerized... sooo funny!
the kids watching one of the other groups perform
i decided to snap a few pics while we were waiting for the next group performance...
me with a couple of my munchkins, iago (in the cap) and lui
tomorrow (friday) is the last day of ONG camp... what started out as a disaster has actually turned out pretty good... guess i just had to get past myself and my circumstances and remember that it's for the kids... lesson learned!
this weekend i'm going to an archdiocesan ordination Mass with my host mom... she is very involved in her church here in nazaré and she invited me weeks ago to go with her... i am interested to see how different things like ordination Masses are here in brasil versus the u.s., i expect it to be both different and the same, just like normal sunday Mass... the ordination is actually going to be in a town nearby, so we will be boarding a bus at 7 a.m. on saturday to get there for the 9 a.m. Mass... the scenery and mountain-top church is supposed to have gorgeous scenery, so hopefully i'll have some time to snap some pics!
saturday night i'm supposed to bake chocolate chip cookies with my host sisters and make some cosmopolitans (they are also obsessed with SATC, as am i!!!)... should be tons of fun as most things are here... then, i'm off to são pãolo on sunday morning!
i got an email today from heidi, the maryknoll lay missionary who arranged my visit to sp... part of my visit will include going with her and the MKLM community priest to their prison ministry and celebrating Mass with the inmates... i'm nervous and excited all at the same time... i know brasilian prisons are different from u.s. prisons, but i've never visited one in the states, so i have no idea what to expect... i can imagine that any prison is isolating, depressing and lacking hope... hopefully, celebrating Mass with the inmates will remind them that they, too, are loved.
i have a feeling the week in sp will be life changing for me, compounding on this incredible summer... please pray for me as i travel to são pãolo this coming week... and i'm also changing families again, somewhere in there... hopefully bianca's family still wants me, the dates have changed and i have no idea when i'm actually supposed to move! eek!
after i return to belo on the 3rd of august, i'll spend a few days nearby hopefully traveling to ouro preto with my family to see the historical monuments there in the city before returning to belo and flying out for a week in rio de janiero... i bought my ticket on tuesday and can't wait to visit the cristo redentor monument... there's also a great metropolitan cathedral that looks just breathtaking from what i have seen so far... as i mentioned before, i'm trying to coordinate a couple of days with another lay missionary community to see what their work is like in rio...
can't believe my summer in brasil is winding down... it's just a few short weeks til i'm back in the states and starting school at university of st. thomas... wow. God is good!!!
peace and love to all!
~crystal
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