Semana cinco (the famous week five)

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7

Yep that's right, I have officially made it through week five, without the week five blues that are so infamous back in Cambridge. In fact the last week has been a great and really busy one, and one when I have constantly been reminded of God's grace in providing strength to go on even when I am exhausted, shy, scared and weak.

'O casamento' The Wedding

Saturday brought the long awaited wedding of Bruna (my Brazilian Mum's sister) and Gabriel (my Brazilian Dad's cousin!) Beforehand I was feeling really tired and worried about how I would survive the all night party and make it through to sunrise, however in the end I really enjoyed the wedding and was so busy enjoying the food and providing entertainment with my very English dancing attempts that I barely noticed the hours go by. It was really interesting to see not only my first Brazilian wedding but also my first Catholic wedding and meet more members of the huge extended family here. The key thing to Brazilian weddings seems to be the entering, not only of the bride and a few bridesmaids but of lots of "padrinhos" (couples who are sort of godparents of the wedding). They enter one couple at a time and in the end the entrance part of the wedding was definitely longer than the ceremony itself! Then people threw rice over the newly married couple before we all headed off to the reception, in an absolutely stunningly decorated hall (with an incredible selection of food and an amazing cake!)

Me with baby Marina at the wedding
(the daughter of a Brazilian Cousin!)

Sandra, Me and Clara outside the church 

My Brazilian parents entering the wedding as 'padrinhos'

Church on Sunday was good, despite being pretty tired, - in the teenagers group we did various dramas based on a few proverbs about the contrast between using our words t to build up and love and be like a "fountain of life" as opposed to words said without thinking that can cause so much harm. It was great to see the teenagers coming up with some of their own dramas to reflect this and to get to know them a bit better. 

Sandra, me and Clara with singer Kleber Lucas and wearing our
 fetching 'Happy 32nd Birthday Arco-íris' T-shirts!

My Brazilian family here own a supermarket chain called Arco-Íris (Rainbow) and Monday brought the annual 'festa' (party) to celebrate Dia dos comerciantes (Day of people working in commerce!) This was a huge event to which thousands of workers were invited to enjoy food, games, music and dancing. In classic Brazilian style it was a really noisy celebratory atmosphere during which I seemed to be constantly being handed the Brazilian equivalent of Mini-Milk ice creams, which is always a good thing! The main act of the day was a performance by Brazilian Christian Singer Kleber Lucas, which was amazing. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzlnPqQNOXI) 

Visiting a different project and bus achievements!

The last few days have brought lots of bus travelling. I'm starting to get the hang of it and have survived the milestone of getting the wrong bus and making my way back on course! The best bus experience of the week was when on a typically crowded bus I was clinging on for dear life and contemplating how Brazilians manage to stay standing up with the erratic driving, when a man whips out a guitar and starts to play. He then (while somehow staying upright as the bus lurches round a corner) started to sing worship songs in the loudest voice ever and hardly anyone on the bus even batted an eyelid! I love Brazil. 

Erica and Diana with their lovely Children's Bible

This bus experience was on the way to my first time visiting Porta Larga (the community where I'm working) on my own. I visited a couple of families, firstly helping Diana (13) and Erica (12) to practise their reading with their beautiful Children's Bible and some other books. I then sat at the side of the road reading with 9-year-old João-Vítor, who I had been shocked to hear doesn't get any education at all at the moment because no one registered him at school. While we were reading, more and more children kept appearing out of the house where he lives and I soon had about 8 children gathered around to read the story!

Then on Wednesday I went to visit a children's project linked to a different church in a favela in a part of the city called Barra de Jangada, just down the coast. The project runs each morning with 37 children, teaching the Bible, reading, writing, art, sport and singing and it was great to visit it and meet some of the children. I'm hopefully going to start helping there 1 or 2 mornings a week, from this Monday coming, which is really exciting.
Wednesay afternoon brought a party at church to celebrate Children's Day which was a couple of weeks ago. This was put on by the Women's Fellowship at church and included egg and spoon races, hot dogs, an amazing cake and the children's favourite game - Praia e Mar (which you might know as either Ships and Lifeboats or Port and Starboard!) It was a really fun afternoon and everyone went home very happy with their party bags and balloons.

After a couple of weeks break due to a Reading Week and bank holidays my theology classes have started again and I'm really enjoying them. They're really interesting and the other students are lovely, always willing to be my dictionary when I don't understand crucial words and make me laugh at myself when I have the inevitable awkward 'gringa' (foreigner) moments! I've also been spending lots of time with my Brazilian family recently which has been fantastic, this often seems to feature them laughing at me hiding behind a cushion due to some scary film/video of a cesarean (yep that's genuinely a thing here) or laughing at my Portuguese fails/dancing attempts/general awkward moments! Last night we had a great moment of hysterics at about half midnight after a mammoth photo sorting out evening, when I walked into the kitchen to find Bruce the dog with cream cheese all over his face. Standard.

Just when I thought it wasn't possible to attend a more random collection of Brazilian events this month, I have been proved wrong. This Saturday I've somehow said yes to a Motorbike rally in a city called Campina Grande to the North-west of Recife, with Sandra and Boê, my Brazilian parents! Awkwardly don't know a thing about bikes, however one of my classmates tonight gave me the helpful advice of just saying "boa maquina" (good machine) to anyone I meet, so hopefully that will see me through! I'm excited to see a different city and spend some more time with the family and their friends. Also you may be glad to hear that we will be travelling by car, not bike!

Sorry this is a really long post, it's been a week with lots of news! If you are still reading now I'm very impressed. I hope that things are going well with you and that the UK is loving Prince George's christening.
Miss you all lots,
Flor xxxxxxxxxxxx (I got my favourite name yet this week - one of my classmates has taken to calling me Flor-Sorriso (which basically translates as Smiley Flo!)

Builders, brides and babies.

Hi everyone!

Sorry that it's been ages since my last blog, I hope most of you got my prayer letter in that gap (if anyone didn't get it and would like to, either message me on facebook or email me at feb36@cam.ac.uk). So the last couple of weeks have been really busy and full of a pretty varied collection of events, including a hen party, cat-sitting, trips to a builders merchants, a meeting with the potential next Brazilian president and a night in a maternity hospital,  (one of the pastor's wives had little baby Lara very prematurely - she's in intensive care but they're both doing well). It's been quite a surreal few days really!

Things are going well and I think I'm understanding more and more Portuguese, although phone conversations are still highly awkward and impossible to understand! I've also had lots of other 'awkward gringa' moments - such as having several dinners (as it seemed rude to confess I'd already eaten!), thinking I was going for an evening walk on the beach and later realising I'd said yes to abdominal curls in the beach-side exercise park and the most embarrassing one of all, that some of you will have read about in my prayer letter, when I managed to sit on a feijoada (Brazilian bean stew) on the beach in front of lots of Clara's friends! You'll be glad to hear I'm being smooth as ever here in Brazil!

 So the library sessions have been going well over the past couple of weeks. A particular highlight has been seeing the children enjoying acting out some Bible stories and remembering what we looked at the week before. In this photo Judith is helping them act out Solomon and the two mothers (1 Kings 3:16-28!)

One exciting story and example of God providing in amazing ways from the last few weeks is about Erica, the girl in the centre of this photograph. Lots of the children from Porta Larga (community I'm working with) have 'madrinhas' (godmothers) thanks to Judith matching up ladies from the church with a child. Two weeks ago Erica, who is 12, showed an interest in playing volleyball. Normally a child from Porta Larga would have no opportunity to play a sport like volleyball, however Erica's godmother just happens to be the headteacher of a private school (where I have my theology lessons two evenings a week) and she has agreed to let Erica join the volleyball club there. We took her to the shopping centre to buy her first ever pair of trainers and she had her first session last week, which she really enjoyed. It's also inspired me, as I think about being in a different culture and with lots of new people, to see Erica step into this club full of girls who all know each other and live such a different lifestyle to her and yet throw herself completely into the challenge.


These couple of photos are from a trip to the Builders' Merchant yesterday to buy material for a new bathroom that is being built for one of the families in Porta Larga. Adrian and Judith managed to raise the money for this project when they were back in the UK and it is well underway now. It's been really great seeing it progress and the children are so excited and keen to help!

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Clara, Sandra and me at the Hen party last night

The last week I have been doing lots with my Brazilian family, which has been so lovely. They have lots of bbqs (which are incredible!) and I'm starting to meet the huge extended family. Last night it was Sandra's (my Brazilian Mum's) sister's Hen party so we went to a pub (or 'pubby' as it is in a Brazilian accent!) It seems to be the fashion in Recife to have British-style pubs where the cocktails are named after English cities and there is a picture of the Queen on the wall! I turned up straight from my theology class (think I was the only member of the hen party who arrived with a Bible!) and was shattered but it was a really fun evening (see photo of me with my Brazilian Mum and sister). The wedding is tomorrow so everyone is busy getting ready for it - apparently it goes on all night so praying I feel a bit less tired by tomorrow and that I somehow manage to function in Portuguese through to the morning. Just had a power nap and a crunchie from my English chocolate supplies (!) so feeling a bit more with it!!

Another person who deserves a mention on my blog is Rafa (see photo) who has basically been a legend at inviting me to things and to meet his friends (even when I never understand anything on the phone!) This photo was taken after we'd been out for chocolate cake (it makes me so happy that Brazilian cakes are great!) and then got soaked by the Brazilian equivalent of what seemed to be April showers, and ended up sheltering in a hotel doorway.

The teenagers group on Sunday nights has been going well, we've been looking at James 3 and the power of the tongue, thinking about how big an effect the things we say can have. It's been amazing to see the teenagers really listening and thinking about what they say and it's been a real challenge to me too. Last week I ran the group with a different Rafa (who was great with the teenagers) and we did a little drama about lying, which I think they enjoyed!

I hope things are going well with you, miss you all lots and glad to see that England qualified to come out here for the World Cup! Keep me updated with how you are/what I can be praying for you,
Flo xxxxx

Praias, primavera and puddings

Some photos of the beach gradually being made outside my window!

So October has arrived, along with a brand new beach out of the window! The beach had gradually disappeared over the years so, in order to protect the Recife coastline (and it's many many high rise buildings), they are building a brand new one, with a big boat that pumps sand from out at sea through a really long pipe. It was quite surreal going to bed one night with just a tiny bit of beach out the window and then waking up the next morning to a huge expanse of sand.

My second week here has gone well and I think I'm starting to feel a little bit less shy. It's been another week of meeting lots of people and gradually learning lots of names (and lots of new words in Portuguese)! I think I'm understanding a bit more although have had lots of awkward conversations, particularly on the phone- the most awkward one being when I didn't understand anything so just kept saying "they are not here sorry," repeatedly, only to find out that the poor person was actually ringing to talk to me! Complete fail.

On Saturday I spent the day on the beach looking after 5 children from Porta Larga (the community I'm working with). Staying at Adrian and Judith's (the couple I'm helping) and then spending the day on the beach was their reward for getting 100 points over the weeks at Judith's library sessions - they get points for coming and for managing to concentrate on silent reading for 15 minutes! It was really fun spending the day playing with them, splashing around in the sea on airbeds and doing lots of burying in the sand.  It was really hot and I felt very English huddling under a parasol putting on loads of suntan lotion, then doing the undignified "chase the umbrella run" as it took off along the beach (and awkwardly nearly took out a blind man).

On Saturday evening I went to a meeting of the mocidade (young people) from church. I turned up absolutely shattered from the beach, a little bit sandy and considerably less dressed up (in my beach clothes) than everyone else. But I was so glad I went as it was great to meet lots of people my age and it was a really fun evening. There were lots of worship songs mixed with bits of teaching outlining the Gospel and at the end there was even Lemon Meringue Pie (which made me very happy!)

Me with some of the girls from church on Saturday night

Church was really good on Sunday. In the evening there was an all age service with a great sermon, which I understood (woohoo!) because it was in easier language for the children and had accompanying pictures on the screen! Everyone is being so welcoming to me and it was really good to catch up with the family I stayed with last summer.

In other news I seem to have done something right with the Ladies Group at church. I keep getting invited to their meetings - last week's was Spring themed (yes it's spring here in September - which blew my mind a little bit!) so seeing as my name here means flower I was introduced (and had a big flower put in my hair!) They are all lovely and on Thursday they have an all day meeting which I've been invited too as well!

Other achievements of the week have been getting a bus on my own for the first time, somehow managing to write some kind of essay (albeit a pretty awful one!) in Portuguese on the role of spiritual gifts today, starting to work out the best kind of Brazilian chocolate and surviving the first onset of mosquito bites!

Hope it's been a good work with you. It's been so nice to skype some of you and for those of you starting a new term this week I hope it goes really well.

Lots of love xxxxxxx