I leave tonight. Wow. It all went so fast, and I cannot beleive that I am actually coming home now. I have been so blessed by my host families and friends these last few days, it's humbling. I don't even know what to say, what to type, what to feel. Its a mixture of everything. I will miss everyone, but I am so excited to be home! Well I arrive monday morning around 11 am if everything goes as planned. Well, I don't know what else to say excpet see you soon,
-Hope
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
9 days more
Well it’s official now, I am leaving the 24th of May to return to CO after 10 months in Brazil. After all this time, I am finally going home. It’s been so long, but it’s gone by so fast. I am so ready to be home. Don't get me wrong, I have had an amazing time here in Brazil. It has been the hardest year of my life, but one of the best ones as well. I have learned so much and have been opened to a whole new way of seeing the world and those around me. I have gone from not saying a word in Portuguese to conversing fluently with Brazilians and other exchange students 10 months later. I have struggled, been torn down, and grown back up stronger. I have been faced with many foundational questions about life and faith, and while I have learned so much, I only come out of it with more questions. This year has pushed me, stretched me, and even though I have fallen down many times, God always builds me back up stronger. It has been a year of laughter, despair, joy, hurt, learning and teaching. I have lived in Brazil, experienced the people, breathed in the culture and learned the language. Now I am ready to go back home. I am ready to start studying, start working, and start the rest of my life. This may be the end of one section of my life, but it is just the beginning of the rest. I am so excited now to go back and apply the things I have learned to the rest of my life.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
so there really is no excuse...
Yes I have been very busy...but I am also just plan lazy and don't want to write anything in my blog. I could say that I will write later because I have to get all these other things done, or that I have to study, or do something else productive, but it would all be a lie. I don't feel like tying right now, but probably once I get into it I won't beable to stop...i'll try to give at least a little up date.
As of right now, I have exactly 44 days left in Brazil. May 29th is the date of my return home. That is, if the flights look good on that day. If not, it could be a day or two earlier. I have to come home at this time because on the 1st of June I am starting a few online courses as well as a Nurse Aid Certificate course at Front Range CC. Soon after I will start at the University of Northern Colorado to earn a double major in Nursing and Dietetics. I am so, SO excited about this next part of my life! I can't wait to study and have dead lines and get credit! I know it sounds weird. But I'm the type of person that needs dead lines, goals, and then grades in the end. I work well under preasure, and I need stucture. For that reason, I know I would never be good as my own boss; I would never get anything done...Kinda like how I feel I don't get anything done here. Although that is probably just pure laziness. I go to school, but I don't take tests or do home work or anything. Sometimes I do some of the exercizes, but even then I'm not motivated to do them super well, because I know they don't count for anything. Good thing I'll have this summer to get back into the habit of studying...
I wish I could say that I am loving school and doing all the work and studying for the tests just beacuse its so interesting and I want to! I do like school a lot. And I do like learning these things. But not when it implises that I have to put efort into it too. This is one of the ways my very selfish/lazy human nature manifests itself.
All said and done, I am excited to come home and get back into my schedualed, goal setted life. However it also saddens me. Not because I am leaving Brazil, but because I will be leaving some of the best friends I have ever had. I can for sure come back and visit all the Brazilians, but I don't when or if there will ever be another time that the exchange students will all be together again. With me in CO, Morgan in Alaska, Gracia in Mexico, Verena in Germany and Sophie in France, we may never all be in the same spot at the same time together. All I know is that one day in the following years, I will go to each one of thier houses!!!! (Speaking of that, I am planning on spending summer of 2010 in Mexico living with Gracia and studying Spanish!) However, in the end, no distance can take away the love I have for these girls. They will always have a special place in my heart and I know that even if after 30 or 40 years we loose complete contact, we will always remeber all the amazing memories of our year in Brazil together.
Well I sound like I making a going away speach...I still have over a month here! I need to stop constantly thinking about it!
On another note, I just got back from an amazing trip to the south of Brazil. First we went to Iguaçu Falls which sits on the border of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Wow, it was so beautiful! There were some of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen in my life! After that, our buss full of 32 exchange students from around the world headed on to Curitiba, and after to Florionopolis. These two cities were great! Curitiba is an older city that has many preserved antique buildings. It is also very clean and has many parks streaching with feilds of grass and beautiful gardens! Florionopolis has amazing beaches! Being an island slightly off the coast, Florionopolis has 100 beaches. 100 of some of the most beautiful beaches at that! Unfortunatly, we didn't get to spend a lot of time there. But we did have enough time to each amazing freshly caught shrimp at a local resurant, practice our riding skills with our Sand Boards on the rolling dunes, chill out on the warm beaches and swim in the clean and cold waves. We then made our way to Gramado and Canela, two of the most amazing towns I have ever been too. The thing about the south of Brazil is that it doesn't even seam like Brazil at all. It is compleetly different! There are whole communities in southern Brazil populated with Germans that still speak German, have German houses, eat German food and live as if they were in Germany. Gramado, was very influenced by that German culture. From what I experienced, Gramado is a mixture of Germany and Ground Country, stired in with a twist of Brazil. Rather then being filled with tall appartment buildings, the horizon is covered with deep green forests, and bright colored sun sets. White houses borded with darm brown wood line the streets just like I remember seeing in Swizterland so many years ago. Gramado also is a town filled with rafting, rock climbing, rapelling, camping, bike riding and all other sorts of outdoor activities. And to top it all off, it gets COLD there and even has SNOW sometimes! Unfortunatly we were not there during the coldest winter month (July) so I didn't get to see snow, but at least the tempature dropped to a good 40-45 degrees at night! I albsolutly loved it there! After traveling for almost two weeks I caught a plane back to Belo Horizonte. The only hard thing about the trip was being completely surounded by worldly teenagers 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I got very pulled down and discouraged at times. Its great to be back and be able to go to church on Sunday and cell group during the week!
Ok, well I think I've officially written way to much...what did I say, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop after I started. Well thats it for now. I try to get in a couple more posts before I come home. I cannot wait to see everyone back home again! So soon, yet so far away!
-Hope
As of right now, I have exactly 44 days left in Brazil. May 29th is the date of my return home. That is, if the flights look good on that day. If not, it could be a day or two earlier. I have to come home at this time because on the 1st of June I am starting a few online courses as well as a Nurse Aid Certificate course at Front Range CC. Soon after I will start at the University of Northern Colorado to earn a double major in Nursing and Dietetics. I am so, SO excited about this next part of my life! I can't wait to study and have dead lines and get credit! I know it sounds weird. But I'm the type of person that needs dead lines, goals, and then grades in the end. I work well under preasure, and I need stucture. For that reason, I know I would never be good as my own boss; I would never get anything done...Kinda like how I feel I don't get anything done here. Although that is probably just pure laziness. I go to school, but I don't take tests or do home work or anything. Sometimes I do some of the exercizes, but even then I'm not motivated to do them super well, because I know they don't count for anything. Good thing I'll have this summer to get back into the habit of studying...
I wish I could say that I am loving school and doing all the work and studying for the tests just beacuse its so interesting and I want to! I do like school a lot. And I do like learning these things. But not when it implises that I have to put efort into it too. This is one of the ways my very selfish/lazy human nature manifests itself.
All said and done, I am excited to come home and get back into my schedualed, goal setted life. However it also saddens me. Not because I am leaving Brazil, but because I will be leaving some of the best friends I have ever had. I can for sure come back and visit all the Brazilians, but I don't when or if there will ever be another time that the exchange students will all be together again. With me in CO, Morgan in Alaska, Gracia in Mexico, Verena in Germany and Sophie in France, we may never all be in the same spot at the same time together. All I know is that one day in the following years, I will go to each one of thier houses!!!! (Speaking of that, I am planning on spending summer of 2010 in Mexico living with Gracia and studying Spanish!) However, in the end, no distance can take away the love I have for these girls. They will always have a special place in my heart and I know that even if after 30 or 40 years we loose complete contact, we will always remeber all the amazing memories of our year in Brazil together.
Well I sound like I making a going away speach...I still have over a month here! I need to stop constantly thinking about it!
On another note, I just got back from an amazing trip to the south of Brazil. First we went to Iguaçu Falls which sits on the border of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Wow, it was so beautiful! There were some of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen in my life! After that, our buss full of 32 exchange students from around the world headed on to Curitiba, and after to Florionopolis. These two cities were great! Curitiba is an older city that has many preserved antique buildings. It is also very clean and has many parks streaching with feilds of grass and beautiful gardens! Florionopolis has amazing beaches! Being an island slightly off the coast, Florionopolis has 100 beaches. 100 of some of the most beautiful beaches at that! Unfortunatly, we didn't get to spend a lot of time there. But we did have enough time to each amazing freshly caught shrimp at a local resurant, practice our riding skills with our Sand Boards on the rolling dunes, chill out on the warm beaches and swim in the clean and cold waves. We then made our way to Gramado and Canela, two of the most amazing towns I have ever been too. The thing about the south of Brazil is that it doesn't even seam like Brazil at all. It is compleetly different! There are whole communities in southern Brazil populated with Germans that still speak German, have German houses, eat German food and live as if they were in Germany. Gramado, was very influenced by that German culture. From what I experienced, Gramado is a mixture of Germany and Ground Country, stired in with a twist of Brazil. Rather then being filled with tall appartment buildings, the horizon is covered with deep green forests, and bright colored sun sets. White houses borded with darm brown wood line the streets just like I remember seeing in Swizterland so many years ago. Gramado also is a town filled with rafting, rock climbing, rapelling, camping, bike riding and all other sorts of outdoor activities. And to top it all off, it gets COLD there and even has SNOW sometimes! Unfortunatly we were not there during the coldest winter month (July) so I didn't get to see snow, but at least the tempature dropped to a good 40-45 degrees at night! I albsolutly loved it there! After traveling for almost two weeks I caught a plane back to Belo Horizonte. The only hard thing about the trip was being completely surounded by worldly teenagers 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I got very pulled down and discouraged at times. Its great to be back and be able to go to church on Sunday and cell group during the week!
Ok, well I think I've officially written way to much...what did I say, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop after I started. Well thats it for now. I try to get in a couple more posts before I come home. I cannot wait to see everyone back home again! So soon, yet so far away!
-Hope
Friday, March 27, 2009
I love my family!
Wow its been a long time since I've written...There has just been so much going on! Well I had a wonderful birthday! My family came to visit me and it was one of the best times ever!!!!!!! My mom got here a little early (11th) then my dad and sister Nicole arrived (13th) then Judd and Luke (15th). The afternoon of the 15th I had a big party with all my friends and host families etc. It was a birthday party but the main point of it was for my family to meet all the important people in my life here in Brazil. Well, the party was AMAZING!!!! These people here in Brazil have become very special to me and it was great being able to celebrate with them and my family at the same time! Monday the 16th I showed the fam around my city, Belo Horizonte, a little, and that night we left by buss to travel to Rio de Janeiro! It was an all night trip on a doule decker buss! It was great other then it was freezing cold cuz the AC was blasting so strong! But we finally arrived in Rio and everything was fine. We stayed at a hostle close to Leblen beach which ended up working out great! We sat on the beach and pumeled by huge waves; we went with a tour to visit "The Redemer Christ" (now third on the list of the 7 wonders of the world) and "The Sugar Loaf"; and zoomed up the top of the Rocinha on speedy motorcycles and walked all the way back down. The Rocinha is the largest "Favela" (meaning slum or ghetto) in all of Latin America with a population of almost 200,000 people. It was a very humbling experience for me and my family. There is so much I could say about that Tour...maybe next time I will have time. Well we came back from Rio and had a couple parties here in Belo and then my family all went home on the 22nd. It was one of the bes family vacations I have ever had! It was interesting trying to translate everything for them. At times I would start talking in portuguese with my family and in English with the Brasilians. Luckly many of the Brasilians know english, at least to an extent, so comunication wasn't to durrasticlly hindered. Well this last week I have just been going to school which has been great. The sunday morning I am off agian to travel to the South of Brazil. I am going to Iguçu Falls and varios cities in the south. I will be gone until April 10th, so I probably won't post again until then. Well time for me to get going,
until next time!
-Hope
until next time!
-Hope
Monday, March 9, 2009
Offically an Adult!
Wow! I am officially 18 years old now! As of March 9th 2009, I have become a legal Adult. haha, I don't feel any different at all! Just want to thank you all so much for your prayers, cards, and investments into my life especially since I have been here in Brazil. You are such a blessing to me. I wouldn't have gotten this far in my exchange if it wasn't for your encouragement and the grace of God! Thank you all so much, God bless!
-Hope
-Hope
Saturday, March 7, 2009
They're almost here!!!!!!!!
I am so excited! My birthday is almost here and my family is almost here! Monday March 9th I turn 18 years old and the next Sunday March 15th I am having a birthday party with my whole real family from CO here!!!!!!!! I am so excited! :-D
Well, things are starting to go really well here. I am getting good at the language! (The only time when its still a little hard to understand is when I go out one night with my friends to a loud restaurant and we are trying to talk but everyone around us is talking too! Its hard to understand Portuguese in that setting....) After 7 months, I feel like I am finally LIVING in Brazil. I am getting really involved in a church and an awesome "young singles" type group from the church. It really has been an amazing blessing. The people are so welcoming and really want to talk to me and know what I think etc. It is also great just to be with and converse with people that have the same christian base as me! Its amazing, I can now see how important Church and christian fellowship is in the life of Christians. Well, its late, and I need to sleep! Until next time, I will for sure up-date about my birthday and my family visit! Thanks everyone for your prayers, God is truly answering a lot right now! He is good!
-Hope
Well, things are starting to go really well here. I am getting good at the language! (The only time when its still a little hard to understand is when I go out one night with my friends to a loud restaurant and we are trying to talk but everyone around us is talking too! Its hard to understand Portuguese in that setting....) After 7 months, I feel like I am finally LIVING in Brazil. I am getting really involved in a church and an awesome "young singles" type group from the church. It really has been an amazing blessing. The people are so welcoming and really want to talk to me and know what I think etc. It is also great just to be with and converse with people that have the same christian base as me! Its amazing, I can now see how important Church and christian fellowship is in the life of Christians. Well, its late, and I need to sleep! Until next time, I will for sure up-date about my birthday and my family visit! Thanks everyone for your prayers, God is truly answering a lot right now! He is good!
-Hope
Saturday, February 28, 2009
7 months
Wow, today is my 7 months mark! That is so crazy! Well, last Friday I went to Gracia's families farm a couple hours outside of Belo Horizonte. It was me, Gracia, and Verena and Gracia's family. We stayed there until Wednesday celebrating Carnaval! Normally, Carnaval is a big party all weekend long with people stuffed into streets dancing and singing and drinking, (lots of drinking). Instead of celebrating Carnaval that way, I went to a farm with two of my best friends! It was amazing! We rode horses and went walking early in the morning (during the day it got to a good 90-95 degrees so it wasn't that fun to do things outside during the afternoon. We stayed in the shade for the most part, or inside the house, which also wasn't air-conditioned, ya ok, so it always was hot!) it was absolutely gorgeous! I milked a cow for the first time and helped the workers pick up the large wooden fence polls so they could start planting Cane. There was TONS of bugs, spiders, bees, and whatever you can thing of really, but it was an AMAZING time! Well now I am back in Belo Horizonte, celebrating my 7 months by changing houses. My next family lives close to where I live right now, so that’s good. I don't have to more to the other side of the city again! I am excited, I think it will be a good change. Well lastly, but not least, I am super super excited because my 18th birthday is coming up and also my whole family is coming to visit me here in 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!! YYAYA! I’m super super excited to see them! And then I have less then three months until I am back in CO. Wow, how fast the time goes! Well I need to finish up packing my things, so until next time,
-Hope
-Hope
Friday, February 20, 2009
Quicky
Hey everyone! Here is a quick update,
Wow, God is so good. I have been desperately needing christian fellowship. I don't even know how to describe how bad I was needing it. Well last Saturday night I went to church, one that I had be to once before, with my Brazilian friend that I met in CO last summer. Church was great, its so uplifting just to worship with other Christians around me. I am starting to understand better the importance of corporate worship in the lives of Christians. Well after church I went out with some other people I met there. They are so great; really welcoming and interested about who I am and CO and all that! Well, they invited me to their "Cell Group" which meets on Wednesday nights. This last wed. I went. It was such an answer to prayer! It was a group of about ten 18-23 year old. They talked about how starting in March, the church is beginning a project called "40 days of community". The purpose is to get the all the Cell Groups to unite and work together serving the community around them. Not only have I been wanting to get involved in some kind of community service, but also the people in this cell group really want me to participate with them! Wow, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel like i have so much more hope, joy, excitement for my last three months here! Thank you JESUS!
Wow, God is so good. I have been desperately needing christian fellowship. I don't even know how to describe how bad I was needing it. Well last Saturday night I went to church, one that I had be to once before, with my Brazilian friend that I met in CO last summer. Church was great, its so uplifting just to worship with other Christians around me. I am starting to understand better the importance of corporate worship in the lives of Christians. Well after church I went out with some other people I met there. They are so great; really welcoming and interested about who I am and CO and all that! Well, they invited me to their "Cell Group" which meets on Wednesday nights. This last wed. I went. It was such an answer to prayer! It was a group of about ten 18-23 year old. They talked about how starting in March, the church is beginning a project called "40 days of community". The purpose is to get the all the Cell Groups to unite and work together serving the community around them. Not only have I been wanting to get involved in some kind of community service, but also the people in this cell group really want me to participate with them! Wow, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel like i have so much more hope, joy, excitement for my last three months here! Thank you JESUS!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
yummy :-)
So I just finished my first week of college! I am going to Pitagoras, a private college here in Belo Horizonte, studying nutrition for one semester before I come home. I won’t get credit for the classes I am taking here, my grades won’t count, but I am really liking just learning! I am taking Anatomy, Physiology, Composition of food, and Technical Dietetics. Physiology is hard. Its really difficult to understand because I haven’t had much chemistry or other foundational classes yet. But Anatomy is great! It is so interesting and I understand almost everything! My teachers are great too. So far at least. I have two classes per day so I get out of school at 11:10 every day. I get up at 6:30 every day grab a buss at 7:15ish to start school at 7:30.
Well this last weekend was probably one of the best weekends that I have had here so far! I went to my first host family’s house with three of the my exchange student friends Verena (Germany), Sophie (France), and Gracia (Mexico) to make a big lunch of authentic food from our home countries. We arrived there Friday evening and just hung out with everyone. We stayed up really late, of course, talking about all sorts of things. After a short night of sleep, Saturday morning I woke up at 8 am to make pancakes for everyone for breakfast! As I was cooking away, people started to wake up and drowsily make their way to the kitchen. They started making fruit salad and setting the table. 9 am, we all sat down to eat. Everyone loved the pancakes! Right afterwards we all jumped into Angela’s (my first host mom) car to run to the local super market. We had a big list of all the foods we needed to buy. We took pictures and videos while we searched and found almost everything we were looking for (chocolate chips don’t exist here…neither do tortilla chips…lame sauce…). When we got back home we didn’t stop cooking until 2 pm. It was such a great time. Everyone was cooking a specialty food from their country, talking, and having tons of fun while taking random pictures and videos of everyone. We all laughed so much! Verena and Sophie set a beautiful table with flowers and folded napkins. And then the final product! Burritos, refried beans, and guacamole (really spicy guacomole…which apparently wasn’t spicy at all for our Mexican… :-D ) from Gracia, Quiche Lorraine from Sophie, tomatoes stuffed with German black bread and cream cheese sauce from Verena, and backed potatoes and chocolate chip cookies from me (not to mention the pancakes from the morning). We sat down to a FEAST! The food was incredible! It was an amazing time to experience a little part of home but at the same time learn and taste the cultures of the other exchange students! Not to mention that it was with some of my best friends!
That night I went to church with my friend Alberto! It was truly amazing. Just worshiping with other Christians and talking and hanging out with them was an amazing experience. I have been feeling very exhausted, worn out, and unmotivated in life, and my spiritual life. Just the worship was so uplifting. I didn’t want it to stop. I didn’t realize until then how much I had missed church, worship, Christian fellowship. Afterwards I met a bunch of people and talked with them for a while. Everyone was saying how great my Portuguese was and it was a great encouragement. I guess you could say I am fluent at this point. I understand almost everything and can speak fairly well. It’s not like I speak like a Brazilian, but I am dreaming in Portuguese, thinking in Portuguese, understanding at least the main idea of everything that I listen too, and am able to hold normal conversations. Well after church I hung out with a group of the people from church and they were so great! They are so friendly and asked for my number so we can do more things together. Next Wednesday I am going to Alberto’s cell group. I am really excited. God really brought this to me at the perfect time. I am going to try to start going to church every Saturday, at least all that I can, and also to cell group, and whatever other thing that is going on with the people at church! It is just refreshing to be around like minded people! Praise the Lord! He is so good! :-D
-Hope
Well this last weekend was probably one of the best weekends that I have had here so far! I went to my first host family’s house with three of the my exchange student friends Verena (Germany), Sophie (France), and Gracia (Mexico) to make a big lunch of authentic food from our home countries. We arrived there Friday evening and just hung out with everyone. We stayed up really late, of course, talking about all sorts of things. After a short night of sleep, Saturday morning I woke up at 8 am to make pancakes for everyone for breakfast! As I was cooking away, people started to wake up and drowsily make their way to the kitchen. They started making fruit salad and setting the table. 9 am, we all sat down to eat. Everyone loved the pancakes! Right afterwards we all jumped into Angela’s (my first host mom) car to run to the local super market. We had a big list of all the foods we needed to buy. We took pictures and videos while we searched and found almost everything we were looking for (chocolate chips don’t exist here…neither do tortilla chips…lame sauce…). When we got back home we didn’t stop cooking until 2 pm. It was such a great time. Everyone was cooking a specialty food from their country, talking, and having tons of fun while taking random pictures and videos of everyone. We all laughed so much! Verena and Sophie set a beautiful table with flowers and folded napkins. And then the final product! Burritos, refried beans, and guacamole (really spicy guacomole…which apparently wasn’t spicy at all for our Mexican… :-D ) from Gracia, Quiche Lorraine from Sophie, tomatoes stuffed with German black bread and cream cheese sauce from Verena, and backed potatoes and chocolate chip cookies from me (not to mention the pancakes from the morning). We sat down to a FEAST! The food was incredible! It was an amazing time to experience a little part of home but at the same time learn and taste the cultures of the other exchange students! Not to mention that it was with some of my best friends!
That night I went to church with my friend Alberto! It was truly amazing. Just worshiping with other Christians and talking and hanging out with them was an amazing experience. I have been feeling very exhausted, worn out, and unmotivated in life, and my spiritual life. Just the worship was so uplifting. I didn’t want it to stop. I didn’t realize until then how much I had missed church, worship, Christian fellowship. Afterwards I met a bunch of people and talked with them for a while. Everyone was saying how great my Portuguese was and it was a great encouragement. I guess you could say I am fluent at this point. I understand almost everything and can speak fairly well. It’s not like I speak like a Brazilian, but I am dreaming in Portuguese, thinking in Portuguese, understanding at least the main idea of everything that I listen too, and am able to hold normal conversations. Well after church I hung out with a group of the people from church and they were so great! They are so friendly and asked for my number so we can do more things together. Next Wednesday I am going to Alberto’s cell group. I am really excited. God really brought this to me at the perfect time. I am going to try to start going to church every Saturday, at least all that I can, and also to cell group, and whatever other thing that is going on with the people at church! It is just refreshing to be around like minded people! Praise the Lord! He is so good! :-D
-Hope
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
North East Trip January 2009
Wow. I don’t even know where to start. The last month has been so full of so much!!! I left January 5th with 40 other exchange students from all over the world to travel by buss up the beautiful north east coast of Brasil. It was amazing. I could write a book telling about all the places we went to, all the things we did and all the places we saw. But I don’t want to bore you with lots of random details.
We started our trip with a 8 hour bus ride to Rio de Janeiro. Our time there consisted of visiting “O Cristo Redentor”, the statue of Crist over looking the city; “Pão de Açúcar”, a mountain that looks like a loaf of bread; “Praia Copacabana”, the most famous beach in Rio; and more. Rio is a very beautiful city geographically but it is also full of slums and poverty. We took a tour through a Favela (slum) called the Rocinha. It is the largest Favela in Brasil. It contains over 150,000 people. A couple days later we watched a movie showing the drug violence in the Favelas in Rio de Janeiro. It is really scary and sad at the same time. As we entered the Rocinha we had to open our windows of the tour bus. Later I found out that we did that people the drug traffickers are looking at every person, every car that enters to Favela. To enter with shut windows can be very dangerous. The drug traffickers have to make sure you aren’t the police entering. Yes, there is police in the Favelas, but they do nothing. There are many different levels of police in Brasil. This kind has the lowest salary from the government so they make deals with the drug dealers not do anything to them if the traffickers will pay the police. Its really a sad and corrupt place. This tour and movie that we watched really made an impression on many people. Its hard to see the how hard, violent, and dangerous the reality of so many people in Brasil is.
After Rio we cruised our way up the coast visiting some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my life! We went to one beach the I especially loved. It was located close to a city called Itacaré. Our hotel was outside the city and situated literally on the beach. There were a couple small houses next to us and that was it. The beach was almost empty, with flat glistening sands, and clean water. At night time the water reseeded a good 50 feet. The moon shimmered on the glass like sand and softly rolling waves. A cool wind skidded over the water and swept through the palm trees. It was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen or experienced. We would stay out on the beach until 1 or 2 am. Most of the students would all hang out together playing truth or dare or something like that. I liked to just go off on my own walk down the beach and use that time to pray or sing. It was a great time just to spend with God. It had been really hard during the trip to get some good time with God. This was actually one of the hardest parts of the trip for me. At times I felt very alone, very secluded. I had no Christian fellowship, I was surrounded by tons of worldliness all the time. I felt very alone and very pulled down many times. On top of that I barely had any time to spend in the Word or to journal. It was an exhausting time. But those couple nights on that beach really was a blessing. I could walk and talk out loud to God. I used to do that back home when I sat in the hot tub but here in Brasil, I barely have the opportunity to do that. I love talking to God out loud, like He was a person walking on the beach next to me. I poured out my struggles, my hurts, my weaknesses, my gratefulness, my awe. It was an amazing time.
As time went on, I started to feel a little less and less secluded. There was always a point of loneliness I felt because of the spiritual barrier, but I started to become better friends with lots of the girls there and even had a great conversation about Jesus with one girl who believes a lot of the same things that I believe. We became really close over the this trip and I am so excited to be able to hang out with her more and have more conversations with her!
Well when we arrived in Recife, I had the opportunity to visit a little girl named Jenyffer Vitoria. She is 6 years old and lives in a Favela in Recife. She is my compassion sponsor child. I have sponsored her since this last summer and was so excited when I heard our trip was passing through the city that she lives in! It was a very short visit, but an amazing one too. Around 7 pm 3 people from the Compassion Project picked me and Tiago (one of the group leaders) up to go to meet Vitoria at her house. In the car they showed me pictures of the project and told me all about it. It is based in a Baptist church where they help out over 270 children. Three times a week these children meet at the church to play games, learn how to read, get Biblical training, participate in theater and music, receive two full meals, and so much more! It really is an amazing project. I arrived at Vitoria’s house and her whole family was there. Her house was for sure small, but it wasn’t as bad as many of the other people who live in that community. Vitoria has asthma so she was coughing a lot and not feeling that great, but she was so sweet! She was very shy and nervous I could tell. I only got to stay for about 45 minutes but those short minutes that a world of difference. It was so amazing. She is so real to me now. Vitoria used to be a picture on a piece of paper. But now she is a little girl, someone who I actually know and who is so precious and who is gaining so much through this amazing organization Compassion. It even made a huge impact in Tiago, he was very impressed with the whole thing.
All in all, it was an amazing trip. Yes, there were some hard lonely times, but I came out of it with some great friends. I’ve been learning, through my time in Brasil and especially this trip, that Christianity isn’t as black and white as it seams. Being in situations like this has forced me to consider and ask question about what I really believe. When I was surrounded by Christians all the time the answers seamed obvious. But through this experience, I have been brought back to basic questions of the faith. I have to know what I believe and why I believe it. I have been growing a lot, but also coming out of it with more and more questions. Yes there are some black and white parts to Christianity, but it certainly isn’t all that way. Christianity is hard when put into practice in the real world. I will continue to do my best to search the scriptures for answers and seek counsel from trustworthy people, but I also will rest in the fact that I am human and will never understand everything. It’s a good thing He is God and not me…
Please continue to pray for strength and wisdom and that I would grow deeper and deeper in love with God as these last 4 months go by. Yes I have been here for 6 months already! I cannot believe it…I think I will be here for about 4 more. I would also appreciate prayer as I am entering University Monday the 9th. I have no idea what to expect yet, I will find out classes and everything on Thursday. Thanks for your prayers and please leave a comment,
:-)
-Hope
We started our trip with a 8 hour bus ride to Rio de Janeiro. Our time there consisted of visiting “O Cristo Redentor”, the statue of Crist over looking the city; “Pão de Açúcar”, a mountain that looks like a loaf of bread; “Praia Copacabana”, the most famous beach in Rio; and more. Rio is a very beautiful city geographically but it is also full of slums and poverty. We took a tour through a Favela (slum) called the Rocinha. It is the largest Favela in Brasil. It contains over 150,000 people. A couple days later we watched a movie showing the drug violence in the Favelas in Rio de Janeiro. It is really scary and sad at the same time. As we entered the Rocinha we had to open our windows of the tour bus. Later I found out that we did that people the drug traffickers are looking at every person, every car that enters to Favela. To enter with shut windows can be very dangerous. The drug traffickers have to make sure you aren’t the police entering. Yes, there is police in the Favelas, but they do nothing. There are many different levels of police in Brasil. This kind has the lowest salary from the government so they make deals with the drug dealers not do anything to them if the traffickers will pay the police. Its really a sad and corrupt place. This tour and movie that we watched really made an impression on many people. Its hard to see the how hard, violent, and dangerous the reality of so many people in Brasil is.
After Rio we cruised our way up the coast visiting some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen in my life! We went to one beach the I especially loved. It was located close to a city called Itacaré. Our hotel was outside the city and situated literally on the beach. There were a couple small houses next to us and that was it. The beach was almost empty, with flat glistening sands, and clean water. At night time the water reseeded a good 50 feet. The moon shimmered on the glass like sand and softly rolling waves. A cool wind skidded over the water and swept through the palm trees. It was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen or experienced. We would stay out on the beach until 1 or 2 am. Most of the students would all hang out together playing truth or dare or something like that. I liked to just go off on my own walk down the beach and use that time to pray or sing. It was a great time just to spend with God. It had been really hard during the trip to get some good time with God. This was actually one of the hardest parts of the trip for me. At times I felt very alone, very secluded. I had no Christian fellowship, I was surrounded by tons of worldliness all the time. I felt very alone and very pulled down many times. On top of that I barely had any time to spend in the Word or to journal. It was an exhausting time. But those couple nights on that beach really was a blessing. I could walk and talk out loud to God. I used to do that back home when I sat in the hot tub but here in Brasil, I barely have the opportunity to do that. I love talking to God out loud, like He was a person walking on the beach next to me. I poured out my struggles, my hurts, my weaknesses, my gratefulness, my awe. It was an amazing time.
As time went on, I started to feel a little less and less secluded. There was always a point of loneliness I felt because of the spiritual barrier, but I started to become better friends with lots of the girls there and even had a great conversation about Jesus with one girl who believes a lot of the same things that I believe. We became really close over the this trip and I am so excited to be able to hang out with her more and have more conversations with her!
Well when we arrived in Recife, I had the opportunity to visit a little girl named Jenyffer Vitoria. She is 6 years old and lives in a Favela in Recife. She is my compassion sponsor child. I have sponsored her since this last summer and was so excited when I heard our trip was passing through the city that she lives in! It was a very short visit, but an amazing one too. Around 7 pm 3 people from the Compassion Project picked me and Tiago (one of the group leaders) up to go to meet Vitoria at her house. In the car they showed me pictures of the project and told me all about it. It is based in a Baptist church where they help out over 270 children. Three times a week these children meet at the church to play games, learn how to read, get Biblical training, participate in theater and music, receive two full meals, and so much more! It really is an amazing project. I arrived at Vitoria’s house and her whole family was there. Her house was for sure small, but it wasn’t as bad as many of the other people who live in that community. Vitoria has asthma so she was coughing a lot and not feeling that great, but she was so sweet! She was very shy and nervous I could tell. I only got to stay for about 45 minutes but those short minutes that a world of difference. It was so amazing. She is so real to me now. Vitoria used to be a picture on a piece of paper. But now she is a little girl, someone who I actually know and who is so precious and who is gaining so much through this amazing organization Compassion. It even made a huge impact in Tiago, he was very impressed with the whole thing.
All in all, it was an amazing trip. Yes, there were some hard lonely times, but I came out of it with some great friends. I’ve been learning, through my time in Brasil and especially this trip, that Christianity isn’t as black and white as it seams. Being in situations like this has forced me to consider and ask question about what I really believe. When I was surrounded by Christians all the time the answers seamed obvious. But through this experience, I have been brought back to basic questions of the faith. I have to know what I believe and why I believe it. I have been growing a lot, but also coming out of it with more and more questions. Yes there are some black and white parts to Christianity, but it certainly isn’t all that way. Christianity is hard when put into practice in the real world. I will continue to do my best to search the scriptures for answers and seek counsel from trustworthy people, but I also will rest in the fact that I am human and will never understand everything. It’s a good thing He is God and not me…
Please continue to pray for strength and wisdom and that I would grow deeper and deeper in love with God as these last 4 months go by. Yes I have been here for 6 months already! I cannot believe it…I think I will be here for about 4 more. I would also appreciate prayer as I am entering University Monday the 9th. I have no idea what to expect yet, I will find out classes and everything on Thursday. Thanks for your prayers and please leave a comment,
:-)
-Hope
Saturday, January 24, 2009
I will update soon!!!
So my trip up the North East coast of Brasil has been great. I have TONS to write about and barely any time on the internet, so I will write when I return to Belo Horizonte. I have not forgotten about my blog, just haven´t had time to update it. You can expect another post sometime in the beginning of Feb!!! thanks!
-Hope
-Hope
Thursday, January 1, 2009
2009
The very first words I spoke in 2009 were in Portuguese. The very first thoughts I thought in 2009 were in Portuguese. The very first dream I dreamt in 2009 was in Portuguese (at least half Portuguese, and the other half English). That may not sound like much to you, but to me it’s something incredible special. Something that I honestly cannot explain. To think of how much I have grown, learned, and experienced in this last year astonishes me! God has taught me so much, He has broken me down at times, but always builds me back stronger. The reason I am who I am today, the reason I have grown so much in this last year, is all because of God. I have been blessed in SO many ways, I cannot get over it. And all I can do is respond with gratefulness to Jesus Christ, my everything.
Well, I spent Christmas here in Brasil. It was different, for sure. I’m not sure if it was to different from America as a whole. It wasn’t quite as commercialized. There were lights, and some music, and commercials etc., but not quite to the extent that we have in America. It was however like America in that it was all just about getting presents. Yes it is about family as well, just in a different way. Sometimes I feel like its more of a fake family time, but maybe its just a cultural difference. Here, family time is having a big party with everyone. Its by getting dressed up, using the right manners and etiquette, always having a smile on. It’s a big thing. Back home we wake up Christmas morning, with bad breath, messed-up hair, PJs, no make-up, and huge smiles showing our gratefulness that we can all just be together hanging out, no matter what we look or smell like. To me, it just seamed less intimate, less like real family. But as I write this, I am starting to see that it may not be that Brazilian families love each other any less, but rather they way they display it is simple different, because of culture. Brasil is about appearance, looking your best all the time while America is about being casual. I am realizing that the way Brazilians live, celebrate, love, and have family time is not necessarily worse, or better, just different. And yes, I may prefer my snow covered, bad-breathed Christmas’s, but that is merely a matter of opinion. I did enjoy Christmas here, and they do have some different traditions, its just not the same as home. One thing that I missed a ton was that there was no aspect of Jesus at all. It was all about presents and Santa Claus. I really miss the Christmas emphasis, the part about Jesus. And really it shouldn’t be a “part” about Him. He is the Reason. I missed that, a lot.
Well, the way they celebrate here is by having a huge family get together on the night of the 24th; opening presents, hanging out, playing games etc. Then at 12:00 am that night, they have a huge dinner as a passing into Christmas. It is very different, because here people celebrate mainly on the 24th at night instead of the 25th. For my family we went to my host mom’s side of the family for the 24th. Everyone was there: grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. We celebrated well into the night and came back home around 3 am. The next day, the 25th, we had a huge “lunch” at my house for my host dad’s side of the family. This “lunch” lasted from about 2 pm until 10 pm. It was good, but a little long and I was for sure missing home. Thankfully, I was able to skype in with my family as they had Christmas back home! That was great. Ya it was a hard time, I did miss home a ton, but I also enjoyed my time here. The hardest for me was one night after Christmas when everyone was over at my house in CO. The Sealys, the Newells, the Jones, the Mathews, the Goulds, and of course my whole family and the fiancés of my two oldest siblings were there! Tons of my very best friends were there, people who I miss so much and wanted to see so bad! And they were having a waltz/swing dancing night. Probably one of my most favorite things to do! I got to skype in and talk with people and watch for a long time, and that was great, but at the same time hard. Because it was evident, very evident that I was not there. After I hung up I laid in my bed, totally alone, and cried a little. After a few minutes I thought to myself, ‘you know what, I am here in Brasil. And I cannot change that right now. I cannot be home tonight. I cannot change my circumstances, but I most certainly can change my attitude. I can most certainly look on the bright side and just be thankful for the ability to see them and to talk to them at all!’ God really gave me a peace and a gratefulness that was such a blessing to me. The next day, I was surprised with a box from my family! My mom had put a bunch of little gifts inside. My brother Judd and his fiancé Nicole also wrote me the best cards in the world! It put such a big smile on my face and really gave me a great start of the day. It was truly a blessing and a “God thing” that it arrived the day after Christmas. I really needed that.
New Years, on the other hand, was probably the best New Years that I have ever had! I went to a big sports club called Minas Tenis Clube. My friend Morgan came with me and my whole host mom’s side of the family. We arrived pretty early, about 8 pm, so that we could get a table. It was pretty slow at first. We just walked around looking for things to do. There wasn’t much going on and not many people had gotten there yet. Well, around 10ish a band started playing some music. To my surprise and extreme excitement, they were playing swing music and all the best oldies! Morgan and I ran to the dance floor screaming and broke out the best swing dancing moves that we knew. We danced until almost mid-night to groovy swing music, slick songs from “Greece”, and electric 90’s dance songs. It was so incredibly fun! Right before mid-night we ran back to the table where everyone was waiting for the countdown. Soon after we got back to the table, the thousands of people present roared the loudest countdown I have ever heard! Seis, cinco, quatro, tres, dois, um, FELIZ ANO NOVO!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing. That’s when Morgan said, (in Portuguese) “Hope, do you realize that the first words we said in 2009 were in Portuguese!?” Wow what an amazing end to an amazing year. A year full of struggle, growth, hurt, love, and most importantly a really, really great God!
Well, I spent Christmas here in Brasil. It was different, for sure. I’m not sure if it was to different from America as a whole. It wasn’t quite as commercialized. There were lights, and some music, and commercials etc., but not quite to the extent that we have in America. It was however like America in that it was all just about getting presents. Yes it is about family as well, just in a different way. Sometimes I feel like its more of a fake family time, but maybe its just a cultural difference. Here, family time is having a big party with everyone. Its by getting dressed up, using the right manners and etiquette, always having a smile on. It’s a big thing. Back home we wake up Christmas morning, with bad breath, messed-up hair, PJs, no make-up, and huge smiles showing our gratefulness that we can all just be together hanging out, no matter what we look or smell like. To me, it just seamed less intimate, less like real family. But as I write this, I am starting to see that it may not be that Brazilian families love each other any less, but rather they way they display it is simple different, because of culture. Brasil is about appearance, looking your best all the time while America is about being casual. I am realizing that the way Brazilians live, celebrate, love, and have family time is not necessarily worse, or better, just different. And yes, I may prefer my snow covered, bad-breathed Christmas’s, but that is merely a matter of opinion. I did enjoy Christmas here, and they do have some different traditions, its just not the same as home. One thing that I missed a ton was that there was no aspect of Jesus at all. It was all about presents and Santa Claus. I really miss the Christmas emphasis, the part about Jesus. And really it shouldn’t be a “part” about Him. He is the Reason. I missed that, a lot.
Well, the way they celebrate here is by having a huge family get together on the night of the 24th; opening presents, hanging out, playing games etc. Then at 12:00 am that night, they have a huge dinner as a passing into Christmas. It is very different, because here people celebrate mainly on the 24th at night instead of the 25th. For my family we went to my host mom’s side of the family for the 24th. Everyone was there: grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. We celebrated well into the night and came back home around 3 am. The next day, the 25th, we had a huge “lunch” at my house for my host dad’s side of the family. This “lunch” lasted from about 2 pm until 10 pm. It was good, but a little long and I was for sure missing home. Thankfully, I was able to skype in with my family as they had Christmas back home! That was great. Ya it was a hard time, I did miss home a ton, but I also enjoyed my time here. The hardest for me was one night after Christmas when everyone was over at my house in CO. The Sealys, the Newells, the Jones, the Mathews, the Goulds, and of course my whole family and the fiancés of my two oldest siblings were there! Tons of my very best friends were there, people who I miss so much and wanted to see so bad! And they were having a waltz/swing dancing night. Probably one of my most favorite things to do! I got to skype in and talk with people and watch for a long time, and that was great, but at the same time hard. Because it was evident, very evident that I was not there. After I hung up I laid in my bed, totally alone, and cried a little. After a few minutes I thought to myself, ‘you know what, I am here in Brasil. And I cannot change that right now. I cannot be home tonight. I cannot change my circumstances, but I most certainly can change my attitude. I can most certainly look on the bright side and just be thankful for the ability to see them and to talk to them at all!’ God really gave me a peace and a gratefulness that was such a blessing to me. The next day, I was surprised with a box from my family! My mom had put a bunch of little gifts inside. My brother Judd and his fiancé Nicole also wrote me the best cards in the world! It put such a big smile on my face and really gave me a great start of the day. It was truly a blessing and a “God thing” that it arrived the day after Christmas. I really needed that.
New Years, on the other hand, was probably the best New Years that I have ever had! I went to a big sports club called Minas Tenis Clube. My friend Morgan came with me and my whole host mom’s side of the family. We arrived pretty early, about 8 pm, so that we could get a table. It was pretty slow at first. We just walked around looking for things to do. There wasn’t much going on and not many people had gotten there yet. Well, around 10ish a band started playing some music. To my surprise and extreme excitement, they were playing swing music and all the best oldies! Morgan and I ran to the dance floor screaming and broke out the best swing dancing moves that we knew. We danced until almost mid-night to groovy swing music, slick songs from “Greece”, and electric 90’s dance songs. It was so incredibly fun! Right before mid-night we ran back to the table where everyone was waiting for the countdown. Soon after we got back to the table, the thousands of people present roared the loudest countdown I have ever heard! Seis, cinco, quatro, tres, dois, um, FELIZ ANO NOVO!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing. That’s when Morgan said, (in Portuguese) “Hope, do you realize that the first words we said in 2009 were in Portuguese!?” Wow what an amazing end to an amazing year. A year full of struggle, growth, hurt, love, and most importantly a really, really great God!
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