Home Sweet Home

We are waiting for our baggage at LaGuardia.  It has been a long process to get home, but we're so glad to be back!! 

It was another wonderful trip and will stay with me for a long while. 

Father Potter comes up to CT in just a week.  He's preaching at St. Leo's in Stamford, Assumption in Westport, and at a parish in Shelton.  If you have a chance, go and see him .

Blessings to all as I sign off for the final time.  Thank you God for a wonderful trip, Ann for her help at the crèche, and of course to Sue, who has enough faith in my teaching and musicianship to have invited me to Remanso. 

Until we meet again, Bom Viage! 

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

I loved going out last night after the concert, but Sue and I only got 6 hours of sleep before we had to be up and in church for a 7:00 service!  Racquel and Dorinha wanted to say a special service to wish Sue, Ann, and me a safe voyage home and to thank God for our visit.  How very nice of them.  There was no way I could sleep in and miss it!

Service was lovely- no guitars, just a cappella voices. It reminded me of chant, but you know, in Portuguese.
I was emboldened after a week of immersion to offer a petition in Portuguese. I must have spoken well enough, because Racquel told me I was now Brazilan. Have to admit, that felt good!

Our goodbye parties in Brazil are always joyous occasions.  I know we have to say goodbye, but they do it with so much food, hugs, and music, one is almost too happy to be sad.  Gustavo and Edna were there, of course, along with my good friends from the adult choir and the Creche´s board of directors.  Our friends gave us parting gifts which was lovely of them.  It´s never necessary, but always appreciated.   I had brought bracelets with me thinking they would be prizes for correct answers in class.  Not having enough for all 150 of our participants, I ended up giving one bracelet to each person at our farewell celebration.  I like to think that worked out just as it should have.  

I cried hugging Gustavo, Edna, and Ana Paula goodbye.  I am pleased to say I was not a bawling mess like the end of our last visit.  We parted ways around 9:00 and hit the road for a 2 hour drive to Juaziero.  We only stopped for lunch and a quick visit to Fr. Potter´s house and then huddled into the car again to drive 11 KM to Carnaiba.  We have been here since 2:00, staying at a lovely group residence built by the Diocsese of Juaziero.  I gather its for visiting clergy and religious and is attached to a retreat center for young people discerning religious life.  It is really beautiful here.  I think my CSC friends should take a trip to Carnaiba for retreat!  

As you may know, Fr. Potter and Fr. Edmundo (McCall) are doing a lot of wonderful work to encourage the people of Brazil to embrace their faith and The Church.  Tonight, we all attended a Mass at St. Francis of Assisi church in the Interior.  This is a very poor area and until recently, there was no church in which to worship.  From my understanding, there wasn´t a Catholic or religious presence at all.  With the help of donors in The States, Fr. Potter coordinated the construction of this new church and it has brought a lot of joy to the community.  We all hope to see it grow in years to come.  

That´s all for today! I am on vocal rest, so we came home and I continued talking with my iPad.  I am looking forward to a good night´s rest and a busy day tomorrow as we enjoy Mass, lunch, and the trek HOME!

With Every Thanks and Blessing,
Jamie

Amigas Para Sempre

(I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge it... Happy Birthday to my brother, Chris! Para bens!)

What a night!

We didn't have much time to rest after our "dress rehearsal". The rehearsal actually went very well.  I love dress rehearsal  (those of you who know me from my Rippowam Drama days are probably laughing).  Mostly, I love the hustle and bustle, the uneeded stressing/freaking out.  Yes, I've come to love that about my own mindset. It prepares me to do battle against the nerves that come with live performing.  Anyway, the dress rehearsal was pretty good, though we didn't get in a second run-through.

In between rehearsal and the concert, I was busy re-typing song lyrics which were to be projected behind the audience.  We ate a quick dinner, I changed into my clothes for the concert, and we were off. 

So. Many. Kids!  

Sue and I tried to organize the kids into groups and classrooms to wait until it was time to go into the auditorium for the concert.  This is a hard task no matter where you are in the world.  Unfortunately, the children and we literally do not speak the same language, so it makes organizing even more impossible.  While the kids waited, Sue passed out their scarves (more pandemonium ensued), and I kept watch for Racquel.  True to form, she got to the concert at 8:00 pm.  We started 40 minutes late.  Anticipating this, I reminded myself to keep breathing and not to get upset when we didn't start by 7:35.  

The evening was a rousing success..  The kids remembered most of their words, even without looking at the projections over the audience's head.  They smiled, sang loudly, and were pretty well behaved when they weren't singing.  I think the adults, though small in number this year, really enjoyed themselves. I love having friends in Brazil over the age of 16!! 

Unlike 2012, we had soloists!  I was very proud of the two boys who stood up and sang 'Prepare Ye' with a handful of ladies.  We also had two people dance while the full choir sang 'Asa Branca', a Brazilian folk song.  It was a wonderful addition to the program.  

At the end of the concert, we all sang Amigas Para Sempre (friends forever) and I couldn't help but get misty-eyed.  This was a short trip and I am very excited to go home on Sunday, but that doesn't eclipse how wonderful our friends in Remanso are.   By coming back this year, we have solidified the bonds made two years ago.  My fondness for this beautiful community grows with each visit.  I remember writing two years ago they taught me how to give without reservation and they have proven themselves once more.  Our visit this year was met with joy and every effort to make us feel at home.  They opened their hearts and home to us and let us work with their children and friends to make beautiful music.  Love it!

The evening wrapped up with a very long photo shoot and pizza with a small group of wonderful friends.  I think my Portuguese is improving.  I could speak a little at dinner and have people understand me! That makes me very happy. 

I may write again tomorrow as we venture to Juaziero with Padre Jose.  I'm hoping so, but if I fall asleep at the keyboard, you may get an update once we've already returned to the US.  Thank you for keeping up with our blog.  Sue, Ann, and I are grateful for your prayers and support.  If you'd like to know more about the Creche Sao Jose or St. Charles Brazilian Children, please don't hesitate to ask.  

AnaPaula and Sita dancing with the kids for Asa Branca at Dress rehearsal

Show time! The youngest choir

Viviana, AnaPaula, Ann, Mariza, Me, Sue, Racquel, and Dorinha
Ana Racquel, Luiz Eduardo, and Luiz Paolo.
Happy faces after a great evening! 

Hi Everyone,

What a great week and also a very busy one for all of us.  I know Jamie and Sue have filled you in on almost everything we have been doing; therefore, I am going to let you know the fun that I have been having with the 3, 4 and 5 year olds telling the story of the Wheels of the Bus Go Round.  These children are amazing with keeping up with the story and singing.  They are so energetic and lovable.  They have even learned English words and used them during the story telling and also the singing sessions that we did.  I have lots of pictures that I took which I will share when I return.

In addition, I received many hugs and kisses from not only the little ones but everyone else.  They sure know how to make your day.

One thing that happened that really surprised me.  Last Monday, when we woke up, it was rather chilly and very cloudy.  I thought to myself it looks and feels like rain.  I was always told that it never rains in Brazil during their winter months, which is our summer months.  Guess what it rained and really hard.  They certainly can use the rain down here at any time of the year.  It was a treat for me to see.

I have a new godchild, Thaislane Christina.  She is adorable and I have been able to see her each day that I have been here while she was in her classroom.  I also visited with her and her family.

It is hard to believe that the dress rehearsal is this afternoon for the concert that will be given tonight. Then our focus will turn to homeward bound activities.  I'm sad to leave but happy to be coming home to my family and friends.

Look forward to seeing you all soon and to personally share the experiences we all had in Remanso.

With Love and Prayers,
Ann

Getting Ready

Hard to believe a full week has passed and we are preparing for the concert. Will everyone be ready? I hope so. They sounded good today but still dependent on their sheet music so we will try to project the words up on the wall for them. Good thing I'm not doing that, as techi-challenged as I am. I am having a hard enough time with trying to film it. I hope i have enough space but I'm thinking not, we'll see.
I'm really impressed with the younger kids, they really pick up the tunes and words quickly. They are also our largest group. Tomorrow is dress rehearsal first, than concert at night. Considering it's only been a week, I think they're doing really well. I also think our expectations are not as high as last time, knowing we had only half the time to prepare. As long as they try and do their best and hopefully enjoy the process, that is all we can ask. Until tomorrow......stay tuned!

T Minus One Day

Hello to All and Happy Birthday, Racquel (Or, as they say in Brazil, para bens!)

Today was a busy day. I thought I planned out lessons last night before hitting the hay, but as it turned out, I was only conscious long enough to make plans for our first class.  After getting up early, I wrote out my plans for the day- all of which involved running  the songs we know in preparation for tomorrow's concert.

My voice is not doing so hot, so I stayed home to rest and spend a few more minutes warming up while Sue and Ann visited the creche.  The 9:00 and 2:00 classes were adorable and we were even able to run Soon and Very Soon with the band.  They sound great!  Edna surprised me today with a gift- a white shirt (Our uniform for the concert) and an angel statue.  That was very sweet of her! 

Sue keeps attendance at every class and today's 2:00 group had ten extra kids in it! They've never shown up before! I'm glad word has gotten out about the classes, but I'm afraid we won't have enough bandanas for the kids tomorrow! Sue and I weren't in town long enough to buy shirts for this year's performance, so everyone is getting a bandana. Not too shabby, right? 

Phew! I am running out of things to write. Not for lack of events, I'm just growing more tired by the minute and bed is calling my name.  Let me see...

Since today is Racquel's birthday, we had a special Mass for her and a lovely party afterwards. Only in Brazil does Mass start 20 minutes late because we're waiting for the birthday girl. I couldn't believe Padres Jose and Edmundo waited!  The party was wonderful- dinner, dancing, and, inevitably, me playing with 4 year olds.  I had to keep silent for most of the evening so I wouldn't hurt my voice, but it was still a lot of fun.  I even convinced Gustavo, my other lovely godchild, to dance with me for 5 seconds! Sue got it on camera, so we have proof (or blackmail, depending on how you look at it! haha) 

That's all for now. I can't wait for tomorrow-  we're going to be exhausted, but it will be completely worth it!  

Lots of love, 
Jamie

techi problems again!

remember i told you i was having techi issues, well, looks like my picture didn't come through and the video I wanted to send wasn't accepted. Sorry folks, guess we'll have to wait until I get back. It was a really cute picture too.

capoeira

This evening we had the pleasure of visiting a Capoeira class. My sponsored child, Eugenio is in the class. It was very interesting to watch the moves, so agile and I love that they do it to the beat of musical instruments while chanting, at least I call it chanting although, technically it's not, so I am told. 



Meet my new sponsored child Rian. As you may recall from an earlier post, my sponsored child Danhilo's family has moved to another area and no longer receives services from the creche, so I will no longer be supporting him financially, but as I said before, I will always be his madriña. 
Rian has an older sibling and younger sister of 8 months. I got to meet his mother when she picked him up and took him home on the back of a bicycle.

While at the office of the creche (daycare in Portuguese), a woman came up and asked for a food basket as she had no food for her children. Now food baskets are customary for the families of sponsored children, but as it turns out this woman did not have any children in the program  but came all the way from the "interior"  which apparently is quite a distance for even if her kids qualified for the program, which I'm sure they did, it was too far to bring them. This woman looked older than her years, weathered by the elements. She told them she had 6 children, the oldest  was 8 yrs. old. The woman of St. Joseph Center, the creche, are so compassionate that they gave her a basket, for that is why they are here. To help feed and nourish the children of Remanso and if they have to extend their borders once in a while they find a way to do it. Isn't that what charity is all about. God bless these women for all they do.

Let The Children Come to Me

Boa Noite!

Here we are in the middle of the week--I can't believe how quickly our visit is passing.  I've been feeling under the weather for most of the week and today I felt particularly wiped out (no need to be alarmed, I'm doing fine tonight). The last thing I felt like doing this morning was sitting in the house doing nothing, so I accompanied Sue and Ann to the creche to sing with the littlest kids.  We visited one classroom of Pre-K aged kids and there was this rambunctious little girl who stole the show. She knew everyone's name and ordered people to sing and dance with her. Adorable.  The kids loved singing with us and their smiles could make even the most depressed person smile.

While working with the orchestra yesterday, we determined they don't read modern music notation, that is to say, they learn by ear and on solfegge syllables (Think Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music).  As I was trying to be accommodating, I wrote the syllables to 'Soon and Very Soon' into the music for them to learn.  Only when I got to rehearsal this morning did it occur to me they may not use; moveable Do'.  Sure enough, in Brazil, Do is supposed to reference the same pitch, no matter what the key. Therefore, it is fixed Do. Ugh! (Yes, I go to NotreDame...) Fortunately, the music teacher here understood what I attemtped to do and taught the children as they are used to learning. In fact, the band is rehearsing now (It's 8:30PM here) and they sound good!

I was feeling really tired by 1:30, despite a very nice nap.  I teach three classes, back to back, in the afternoon and I just knew it was going to be hard to push through.  To my delight, the 2:00 kids were active, attentive, and energized.  As a teacher, I can tell you first hand its REALLY tough to teach when the people you're standing in front of want to be somewhere else.  To try and give 100% of yourself  (or whatever amount of energy you have in a day), only to be met with blank stares can take all the wind out of your sails. It was such a blessing to have these young kids give back the same amount of energy I was giving them.  I am so proud of their work ethic and their talent.   It gave me enough energy to keep working until 5:00.  My voice was more tired than my mind, but I was able to make it!!  To see a child light up when they perform gives me all the energy in the world.  That's why teachers do what they do, right?

After class, we attended Mass and watched our friend (Sue's godchild) Eugenio dance Capoiera.  I never knew singing and instruments were a part of Capoiera too!  It was really cool to watch Eugenio and other boys from our classes practice their craft.  I am so proud of them!

More work is to be done tomorrow- it's our last full day of classes until dress rehearsal on Friday!  Time sure does fly.  Please continue to keep the kids in your prayers.  They are working really hard and I think they're going to be fabulous Friday night!

Love, 
 Jamie

More cute creche kids.  Our startlet is closest to me. 

2:00 superstars!! (No, I'm not biased just because
Edna is in the group!) 

Technology fatigue

Well after Pedro fixed and returned our router last night I was able to return to trying to solve my storage issues on my iPad. It took me until one in the AM and a lot of shifting, deleting, who knows where all my pictures are right now, but I finally have enough space to take photos and videos and eventually film the concert on fri. Woohoo! I always have to learn things the hard way. As a result, today seemed like a long day as Ann and I were up singing with the children at 8am. By the time the last class was over I was pooped. Today I had the pleasure of meeting the sponsored child of a good friend of mine. Her name is Sara and she has big beautiful dark eyes. Her grandmother brought her to meet me at the daycare, she is her caretaker. The look on Sara's face and in her eyes spoke to me of her need for more love. I've seen the look on others as well, so starved for affection, many living with aunts, grandmothers while their mother looks for work.
I also got to meet 3 adorable young boys in the daycare center for the preschoolers. As my godchild Danhilo no longer receives services, I decided to sponsor another child and asked them to tell me who has the most need. These 3 young boys were presented to me as all in need, so you can pick one. aHHH! Don't make me choose and not in front of them, I wish I could sponsor all of them, but I can't.
Ann began a storytime with the children in the pre-school center and that seems to be going well. I think the kids really enjoy it! We later were invited to speak on the radio for a short interview-asked why did we come to Remanso? We spoke of our mission, the power of music, the building of confidence, but really when you look into the eyes of these young children you say how could we not come?

The Results are... In?

Greetings to all!

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post it RAINED!! I've never heard of it raining in Brazil in July.  Even our friends said it was a rare occurrance.  The cooler weather was a welcome change. I only remembered it today, as the students and I sat in the creche auditorium feeling very warm.  I think the heat may have affected all of us, but I wasn't too sure the kids were understanding a lot of the lesson.  More than that, I'm not sure I made it very enjoyable for them.  Despite the language barrier, they were all so engaged yesterday--did the cooler weather really have a more positive effect on their energy? Perhaps. I tried to keep mine up all day, which is why I am dog tired tonight.  

I will say our middle/high school boys really showed their stuff today!  In order to pique the kids' interest, we are moving to a lot of our songs. The boys (who were all sitting in the front row!) showed wonderful coordination and even seemed to enjoy the small amount of dancing we did.  Love it! All the students in the middle/high school group are picking up the English.  

Soon and Very Soon is finished! Each class has sung through the entire piece! I am really proud of them for picking it up so quickly.  I hate to say it, but we may be abandoning Ubi caritas this trip.  We have two days left until our final rehearsal and I don't want everyone to stress about not knowing the Latin.  It seems English is easier for them to learn.  Who'd have thought so!?

After our last class, we went to the local radio station to be interviewed. How cool is that? One of the young men conducting the interview is the director of music for Our Lady of the Rosary parish (Nossa Senhora de Rosario) here in town.  He sang with us on our last trip. I wish he were singing again, but he has no time. Not surprising, when you run the music program of the largest church in town!  They asked us questions about why we're visiting and what we hope the kids will gain from our visit.  Sue, Ann, and I had the opportunity to answer a question. It was very nice of them to show such interest in our visit.  I was also asked to sing. After a full day of teaching, I'm not sure I was in good voice, but they seemed to enjoy my rendition of Soon and Very Soon.  

Off to plan for tomorrow and then get to bed early.  Until tomorrow!

Jamie

Back to 'School'

It has been quite a long day.  I resumed my role as teacher and we started rehearsing for the concert on Friday.  The morning got off to a slower start than I anticipated:  Ann, Sue, and I sang with the kids in the creche from 8:00-8:30.  They were adorable. Tired, but adorable.   After a quick breakfast, it was back to the creche at 9:00 for our first class.  We had 16 very cute kids who were bright and eager to talk about the music we brought.  It was a great time and they learned very quickly!

I don't know what it is about my luck with Brazilian instrumentalists, but we had a communication error. The orchestra was supposed to be here at 10:00 to rehearse and their director hadn't informed them of the meeting time.  Rather than rehearse, we got to spend an hour planning the layout and logistics of the concert with Marve, the music director. It turned out to be a productive meeting!

Siesta started at 11:00 and lasted until 2:00. I love South America.... haha.  We had lunch with Padre Edimundo which was delicious. It was great to spend time with him, as always.  I made sure to get in a nap before our large class at 2:00. Turns out that was a good idea!  We had 52 kids show up!! They also took to the English lyrics quite easily and had a great time singing.  I recognized a lot of faces from 2012, which made me feel great! It seems Sue's vision is coming to fruition and I'm so glad to be a part of it.  

By 5:00, we had 4 classes, 1 siesta, and I drank 2 liters of water.  Everyone did such a great job and my adult group sounds fabulous!  I brought some Latin chant to sing this go 'round, thinking the similarities between Latin and Portuguese would make it easier to learn. Turns out I was wrong!  The close relation of the two languages seems to make native Portuguese speakers more confused...they pronounce things differently!  Lesson learned, perhaps? Probably not..it just means we have more work to do tomorrow!

Mariza and Racquel stayed to have dinner with us tonight. We had a wonderful time attempting to speak to one another, I always get a kick out of it.  My Portuguese is better than our last visit, but it's no where near conversational.  I also got to go grocery shopping with the ladies this evening, and that was pretty cool.  The stores are very close together here and we ran into a lot of students and adults I know.  For a city of 40,000 that's not bad!

Sue and I are trying to understand the enigma that is technology in order to free up space on her iPad to take video of the concert.  We've spent a lot of time tonight trying to save files in various locations to no avail.  Is there a patron saint of technology?  

Lots of love to you at home.  Thank you so much for your prayers and keeping up with the blog.  Please feel free to share the address with others who may like to know of our journey!

Boa Noite,

Jamie

Cute creche Kids! 

Edna's wearing the ND shirt I bought her!

First adult class. They sound good!

Settling In

It's been a wild weekend and I think I'm finally recovering from all the travel. Never taken so many naps. I was exhausted! And getting totally frustrated with techi issues, between ipads, computers, wifi, uggh, but I am enjoying seeing all our old friends again. Feels like we never left. And in our house where we are staying are signs "Welcome Home" "Feel at Home" and we do. The people are so warm and inviting, how could you not. We have been busy organizing and getting ready for classes to begin tomorrow, visiting all of our sponsored children and enjoying everyone's hospitality. I was able to visit both of my sponsored children, Danhilo, who is now 15 and gotten so tall I barely recognized him, but I could tell by his eyes and smile it was him. Unfortunately his family has moved out of town and he is no longer able to receive services through St. Joseph Center. His mother told me he still has the blanket I gave him when I first met him 7 yrs. ago. Knowing that and to look at him, I know that he may no longer benefit financially from the Center, but I will always be his madrina in one form or another.
I also got to visit Eugenio, my other child and his family. So happy to see him happy. I understand he danced capeoira for the bishop when he visited and I am hoping I get to see some too.
So many have come up to us remembering our stay 2 yrs. ago, but especially inspiring to know, as Jamie mentioned earlier, one of the adults told us she was inspired by her time with us and went on to take over and develop a beautiful children's choir. That to me is the perfect example of planting seed in fertile ground and watching i t flourish. When Jamie and I came down before we regretted not having made some plans to allow our work to continue, but little did we know, the seed took hold and something beautiful grew. We only hope that we will be as fortunate this time around.
Stay tuned! 
sue

Happy Feast

Boa Noite-

The Feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, Mary's parents, is a big event here in Remanso.  The community here celebrates for the entire weekend and tonight we attended Mass and a procession at Padre Mundo's church.  We were at this church in 2012 also.  

As with everything in Brazil, the Mass didn't start on time because we were waiting for the procession to get back to the church.  We could tell how close they were by the increasing volume of the fireworks.  It was a beautiful procession.  Little girls were dressed as angels, and men carried icons of Our Lady's parents on a bed of flowers.  I have never seen anything like it.  

By the time we reached the middle of Mass, I was frustrated I hadn't been recording the music the choir was singing.  All of it was beautiful and easy to sing.  I'm pretty sure they sang at more times during the Mass than we do in the US, but it was hard to tell given the language barrier.   I did know when to say the Creed and Our Father, though! We had Mass outside because the church couldn't fit all the people from the procession.  It was a beautiful night to be outside, despite the ants biting our feet!  There were little girls sitting in front of us who kept asking questions.  They were persistent, but cute!  Dorinha finally had to tell them we don't understand Portuguese.  By the end of the Mass, they were quick to give hugs and tell us their names.  One of them gave me a flag she carried in the procession. I think her name is Bettania, and she is adorable.  

The night ended with great pizza and Skol!  It was a lot of fun to go out with Mariza, Dorinha, and Racquel.  I have missed them so much since our last visit.  

one little, two little, three little angels...

Sts. Anna and Joachim

More tomorrow. Love to all!!

Jamie

So Much Dancing!

Today, we visited with our sponsor children.  Pedro picked us up and each of us, Sue, Ann, and I, got to spend some time at the home of one godchild.  We saw Gustavo first and I got to hear all about his desire to go to the US.  His main reason for visiting? Disney World.  

Sue's godchild Danilo was out on his bike looking for us by the time we arrived at his place. What a sweet thing to do.  She brought him a few presents and got to speak with his mother about their new home away from Remanso. Danilo has grown so much since the last time Sue and I visited.  I could tell he was very grateful to Sue for visiting and for being his sponsor.

In between visits, we attended a rehearsal for Sila's children's choir.  This is the group I wrote of yesterday.  They are a vibrant, happy group of kids.  I was thrilled to hear them singing confidently and in multiple voices!!  One young man named Felipe is blind.  He plays the conga and sings with the most beautiful voice. When we asked if he would come sing with us next week, Felipe was all too excited to say yes, and began clapping his hands!  The rest of our visit was filled with picture taking, me answering questions about my personal life ( Are you a mother? Where do you live? Do you have Facebook?) and cake. Yes, cake. We celebrated all the July birthdays today.  I am so glad this group of children is going to sing with us, but that makes our afternoon groups quite large.  I am already trying to plan on whether or not we need to split up and teach them in smaller groups. Either way, it will be a lot of fun to have them join us.

Our last visit was to see Ann's newest godchild, Thaislane.  She is 4 years old and lives in a very modest house with her grandmother, aunt, and cousins.  Thaislane's mother was visiting this weekend from Sao Paulo, where she is currently looking for work.  The front of the house we visited had a dirt floor and modest furniture.  Thaislane's grandmother seemed very embarrassed she did not have more to offer us than Coke and began to cry.  She explained she really feels for her daughter, who can't find work, and feels as though she takes on the role of father, mother, grandmother, and grandfather.  The burden must catch up with her a lot.  To me, Thaislane's grandmother proved to be a strong woman, wanting what's best for her family.  I hope Thaislane's mother can find work and they can have more stability at home. This is why sponsorship can do so much good for a family.  With each sponsorship, the family receives a basket of food every month and the child has a place in the Creche (Day care), where they go to school, get fed and washed, and have a safe environment.  Hopefully, it can put a parent or grandparent's mind at ease (somewhat, at least).  

After our visits, Racquel took us out to lunch and purchased lots of Skol, her favorite beer and mine!  After a long siesta (and yet another book), we headed out to Nonna's Pizzaria for dinner and dancing.  This was a ladies night and we were celebrating a former principal from Remanso who had gone away for a while to fight her battle with cancer.  Her friends gave speeches in her honor and gave her a beautiful boquet of roses.  All the celebrating and dancing we did tonight reminded me this is a community with so much joy.  They thank God for everything they have and do not hesitate to make foreigners like Sue, Ann, and me feel at home. It was a lovely party.  

After all that dancing, we are pooped and ready for bed.  
Bom Noite, all, and thanks for keeping up with us!

Love,
 Jamie 

It is great to be back in remanso

Hi everyone,

I am so happy to be back in Remanso, Brazil to see all my old friends and now to meet new ones.  I have a new Goddaughter, (sponsee) named Thaislane Christina.  She is absolutely beautiful.  I was able to meet her family today and spend some time with them.  I will be seeing her next week during her school day to share a story with her and her classmates.

I look forward to be of assistance to Jamie Caporizo and Sue Cavanaugh with the program they are planning for the children here in Remanso.

More to come!!!

Meet the Students

Bom Noite

Today, we got an early start so Dedilha could prepare a fabulous breakfast.  We had eggs, coffee, and tons of bread with meat and cheese. My kind of breakfast! I have missed her cooking-it certainly surpasses mine!

At 10, Sue, Ann, and I went across the street to the creche to see the students' performance.  This was our first day treat and it was marvelous!  The kids were dressed in costumes, some with face paint.  Each class presented a dance they did earlier in the year for the feast of St. John (June 25).  After their performance, they embraced each of us- I love hugs!  Edna danced in the oldest group of girls- I was beaming with pride because of her grace and confidence. What a kid! 

Today was also our chance to introduce ourselves to those who didn't sing 2 years ago.  We had a meeting at 2:00 for anyone who'd be interested to sing with us.  A boy named Jose was there in the front row wearing his concert t-shirt from our last visit.  It was very encouraging.  I sang for them and told them how excited we were to return.  Sue presented our mission more eloquently: we are here to show the kids they have something to give. They all have natural abilities that are to be celebrated and used to bring themselves and their community ALLEGRIA (joy).  

Ann is very excited to be working with the littlest of students in the creche, reading and singing songs with them while Sue and I are working on the music for our concert.  

At the end of our presentation, a woman who sang with us in '12 (we'll call her Sili- Sue and I can't recall her name, but we know it's close!) got up and explained how glad she was we had come back.  Apparently, there was a small singing group run here in Remanso by a sister who has recently passed away.  This former student of ours took the group over and now teaches a very successful choir with over 30 members.  I was blown away by Sili's experience and the fact she could link it to our efforts.  More than that, I am deeply touched.  You see, this is exactly what I hoped would happen.  Our friends in Remanso have drive and alot of heart.  Once they saw what kinds of things they could do with music programs, they took it upon themselves to build up what we all 'began'.  I'm smiling just recounting this to you at home.  Music is such a gift. 

Sue, Ana Paula, and I planned more after the presentation and class signups. Thank God for the two of them- I am never good at organizing our classes!  We had 55 people sign up today and we anticipate another 30 from Sili's group (we go to visit them tomorrow and hear them perform!).  

We worked until dinner time (a simple meal of soup and salad- pao y queija is a staple of course!) and now it's time to relax.  Apparently we have a busy Saturday ahead of us.  Until then, enjoy some of the sights from today's performances!

Love,
 Jamie

Kids from the Creche perform a traditional
Brazilian dance.

A strong finish! Edna and her friends from the public school.
(She is 3rd from the left, leaning). 

We Have Arrived

Bom Noite!

Sue, Ann, and I had a LONG day of traveling, but we arrived in Petrolina around 3 o clock and met up with Father Joe!  Both he and Ana's husband Wellington met us at the airport.  The ride to Remanso took 1 1\2 hours, but it felt three times as long.  I was so anxious to see all of our dear friends.  Once we arrived, familiar faces greeted us outside the creche and the guest house.  I practically lept out of a moving car to hug everyone, my godchildren Gustavo and Edna included! They have grown so much in two years and it felt so good to hug them again.
We were welcomed once again with a beautiful handmade sign.  To be shown so much love after a two year absence is so special. I feel like we never left!  

Our friends prepared a mini concert for us with some of the students we had two years ago.  Gustavo joined them and played the violin- I felt very proud.  The rest of the evening we had dinner, listened to our friends play music, and caught up on each other's lives.  I am sad to report I am no better at Portuguese than when I left in 2012.  Hopefully, I can pick up more of the language this year.  

Thank you for following along with us this week! More to come!

Love,
 Jamie

Our Welcome sign! Ann is special and has her last name printed.

Sue and me tasting real Pao y queija for the first time in two years!

Getting Ready

Boa Tarde-

I can't believe it's been two years since Sue and I were in Brazil.   I am thrilled for the opportunity to return and very eager to see all of our dear friends.  This year, our friend Ann is joining us. Ann traveled to Brazil some time ago, and I am so glad she's coming back with us!   

The suitcase is (almost) packed, the music is (almost) organized, and my camera battery is charging!

This year's theme is Prepare the Way of the Lord!  Before Sue and I left for home in 2012, I picked the theme based on my fabulous experience of MD-ing Godspell.  No one will be dressed as clowns for our final concert in Remanso, but I hope we can sing the song!  The idea behind this theme is to explore how music leads us to prayer.  How it inspires us and perhaps sustains our prayer life.  Thank goodness we have our friend and translator, Ana Paula, with us again! There's no way I could hold conversations in class on my own!  I do hope the music we teach and sing, sacred and secular, chant and modern alike, will inspire prayer in this community.   

Return visitors to our Brazil blog will remember both Sue and I posted independently each day.  I also made sure to post pictures so everyone at home can see some of the faces and places we mention in the blog.  You can look forward to all that and more, as I hope to be able to post some videos.  No promises, but technology's come a long way in 48 months!  

Thanks again for all of your support as we make our way back to Remanso.  

Muito Amor,
 Jamie