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
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