Week 2

I included a picture of Josiah in case you're wondering how fast he's growing. Everyone here talks about how big he is. They all say it's because he's American. It's hard to believe he's 6 1/2 months old already.

Last week our first kid to arrive came on the back of his dad’s motorcycle (Motos are popular here, better on gas!). We all waited outside the gate of the base so we could walk to the gym together. He sat on the curb a while and I introduced him to a couple of our helpers. We decided we should wait until 9:30am in case anyone was late. He had arrived early, a few minutes before 9am. I was a little worried that he wasn’t talking to anyone, but became involved in registering some other kids. I noticed him get up and start walking down the road. As he walked up the hill I looked at Jon and asked him, ‘Do you think he’s going home?’. Jon just shrugged and said he hoped not. I felt a little defeated, but couldn’t focus on it too much. Next thing I knew, he was walking faster and faster and eventually started running. I told Jon he must have been scared to death!!

I decided to take the kids to the gym and Jon stayed back for any other late kids. The boy did come back, and brought with him a friend! I guess he was running because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get in if we left without him. And he came back this week, too.

We had our second Upward Clinic this past weekend. We had plans to return to the school Friday and remind the kids about it, but our English Seminar graduation was changed to Friday and it was my responsibility this semester. I was preparing all morning and ran out of time.

We split them up again in the age groups. We had one girl who was older and she did fine with the guys. We had many kids return, but a few didn’t. We had 2 new kids, though. At first I was disappointing and frustrated that I ran out of time to go to the school and remind them. However, once the clinic started we found ourselves not worrying about the kids who weren’t there, but really enjoying those that were!

Walei lives near us. He’s 11 and I see him riding his bike all the time on our street. You have to be somewhat tough around here. The kids have more responsibility than kids in the States. I’ve seen kids about 7 or 8 riding the bus by themselves. When I look at Walei I see a kid who can take care of himself. It’s not so much his stature, because he’s pretty small. It’s more the look on his face.

This Saturday we saw Walei smiling from ear to ear and having such a good time playing basketball. He’s pretty good! How cool to see him being a kid and high-fiving our son, Alex when they made a great play! We included a picture of him above.

This week we introduced the star system and gave each of them a player card with their picture and name on it. Each week they get a sticker for attendance and a star for something they exhibit excellence in: effort, defense, offense, Christ-like behavior. As I was walking the kids back down to the gate I heard them asking each other which star they received. We were ecstatic to hear them excited about earning the star. I think next week we’ll see them encouraging each other even more.

Thanks so much for your support and prayers. We are living our call to serve God’s children in Brazil and we could not continue without it. It’s been the biggest challenge of our lives and there are times we relate to II Corinthians 4:8-18 more than I ever imagined. But, it is in the very moment we see the smile on a child’s face and have the opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ Jesus that we are renewed.