Goiania

The morning following the last meeting in Mimoso, we all packed our stuff and left early in the morning en route to Brasilia. The students and chaperons had a late evening flight to Sao Paulo and then back the US. Flavio had an early evening flight and I would spend the night in Brasilia then I would go to my new location the following morning. We spent most of the day just exploring Brasilia then we said our good-byes and went our separate ways. I'll be living in Brasilia in a few weeks so in future blogs I will describe my experience there.

The following morning I was put on a bus and sent to Goiania my new location. The bus ride was only a 2 1/2 hours not too bad, but I shocked at the state of the main bus station in the country's capital. It was no better than a bus station you would find in small town. The roof was leaking, it was dirty, smelly and the bathroom facilities were horrible. The bus station in Goiania was, however, the complete opposite. It is located in a big shopping mall, so everything is clean and in good condition.

The new assignment did not take out of the state of Goias. Goiania is the capital. Besides moving from a small town to a large city with close to two million people, I have also had a big change in my living situation. I went from living in a house filled with other people to a hotel room. I am trying not to complain but I must say I do miss the company. There were many perks and downside to living in the hotel. One of the perks was the gym and wi-fi but the downside was basically eating the same food everyday and not having facilities for cooking and washing. One strange thing about this hotel was the fact that it doesn't have not even one microwave oven in the whole hotel! One night I wanted to pop some microwave popcorn, but I could not because there was no microwave in the hotel. That was a big disappointment.

So my hotel was located downtown in the heart of the city. When I looked out my window all I saw were skyscrapers for what seems like miles. I must say I was surprised to see so many tall buildings. None of the major cities in Brazil, which I know are not a lot, had so many high rises. Most of the high rises appeared to be apartment buildings. There were very few houses and the ones I saw or visited were usually town houses. I must say though that I really missed seeing mountains and beautiful scenery out of my window.

For the first few days, I was feeling very suffocated and trapped in my room because it was raining a lot and all I could see outside of my window were skyscrapers, and grey sky. But a few days later, I was taken to a park in the center of the city. This park was a hidden oasis in the heart of the bustling city. Even though, Goiania is very industrial, I have noticed that there are several small parks spread all over the city. That, I believe is really cool. The park I was taken to was a little far from my hotel so I can't go there often. However, after exploring around my hotel I found two parks close by. The parks were on either side of one of the major highways but they were joined by overhead bridge.

I loved the way the city has designed the parks in Goiania. When you are in them, it feels like you have left the city. Each of the parks I have visited have many trees that provides a lot of shade. The trees were very tall and somewhat acted as a canopy so you can't really see what is surrounding the park. One the largest park in the city has walking trails that appears to take you into the heart of a forest and on these trails there were signs identifying the different types of wildlife you could see. You can see various animals such as monkeys and typical Brazilian birds. There also several man made lakes and ponds with fishes and turtles. There are usually people feeding the animals.

Walking about the streets of Goiania is like walking in a Latin American New York City. For those who have been to New York City you know you don't need to visit a store to find most things you need, whether it is food, cloth, shoes, fake designer purses and sunglasses or sometimes small appliances. Well, it was the same thing here. You could find any and everything you need on the streets. I was amazed at the different things you could find. One thing I noticed was a seemingly high number of people selling bootleg dvds. On many street corners you would see 3/4 persons selling bootleg dvds.

Another highlight of Goiania is the weekend flea markets. On Saturday night and all day Sunday there are various flea markets called Ferias all over the city. There are usually two types of flea markets, clothes and food. I had the opportunity to two of the most famous ones one weekend. The Feria Hippie or the Hippie Fair and the Feria da Lua or Moon Fair. These were huge and there were a lot of people. There were some many stalls and so many things to choose from and buy. There were some good prices too. Even though Goiania is a large city one thing that I noticed that really impressed me was the fact that there was not much crime. So many people are always worried about my safety here in Brazil, but I must say that so far I feel pretty safe in the places I have been in. In general, most Brazilians see Rio and Sao Paulo as the dangerous cities, while most other cities are considered to be pretty safe.

Goodbye Mimoso

So I just finished one of the most amazing experiences of my life. For the longest time, I have wanted to go on a mission trip and God worked it out that I was able to be a part of one and to work with an awesome group of young people. The last night of the evangelistic meetings was also our last full day in Mimoso. It was a day full of activity but it was also a bitter sweet day for all us. For the past three and half weeks we all worked together and living together in a small living space as a family and in a matter of hours we would be going our separate ways. The students and the chaperons back to the US, me to Goiania and Flavio back to Sao Paulo.

Since it was a Sabbath, we went to church and as a group was in charge of the entire program. Sabbath was awesome, Elani, Gareth and I had our last Children Sabbath School Class and in Divine Hour we had the kids sing some of the English songs they had learnt for the church. They were so cute and the church loved it. After church we had a potluck at our home. Potluck was awesome. We were at first a little apprehensive about the food because not many of the members of the church were vegetarian much less vegan and most of the people in the group were vegan. To our surprise, most of the food was vegetarian and there was more than enough food options for the vegans in the group. Even more surprising was the number of people show came to the potluck. The Mimoso Church is small with around 25/30 members. I think all the members were there. It was so awesome to interact with the church members in a more relaxed atmosphere.

As a group we wanted to show our appreciation to the church members who had been so friendly and kind. They welcomed us with open arms. We decided make them a cd of us singing some hymns and choruses we always sang in church. The church members were always asking us to sing songs in English so we figured it would great gift and that they would have something to remember us and they could also learn some English songs too. To be honest the singing was not so great but I also go by the philosophy that it was the thought that counted. We really didn't have much time to practice to perfect the cd but it was a gift given with a lot of love on our part.

We gave out the cds at the potluck and the church members were so happy to get them. Many people wanted cds for other family members and friends. After we gave our gift, one of the largest families of the church also gave each of us a gift. Each of us received an embroidered face towel. The males had their names embroidered in the towel while the females had embroided flowers of different colors. The towels looked like they were professionally made and it showed that a lot of work went into each of the towels. It was such a nice gift. I really appreciated the thoughtfulness of the family. The potluck also gave us an opportunity to take pictures and to exchange contact information.

We ended the Sabbath with a baptismal service, after which had the last evangelistic program for adults and children. It was a bitter sweet moment for me with the children program. I know sometimes the children were difficult and sometimes didn't listen but I had gotten accostomed to seeing them each night and the hugs they give us each night. It was also difficult for us to tell the children that it was the last night and that me might never see each other again. We also had closing session for both programs in the church. The pastor of the church called all the members of the group on the platform and thanked us on behalf of the church. He then gave each of us a pair of Havaianas with the colors of the Brazilian flag. Havaianas are Brazilian flip flops. Everyone in Brazil owns at least one pair.

After we received our gifts, another member of the church came to the podium to also tell us thanks for the work we had done. When she started talking, she started crying and that openned what appeared to be a flood gate for tears in the church. After the service when we were saying our goodbyes, half of the church was crying, both adults and children. The reaction to us leaving was so unexpected. It made me stop and really think about what we had done in the last three and 1/2 weeks. I did not realize that the group had had such an impact on the church and the community.

I was and am so grateful to God for this opportunity to bring some joy and happiness, though for a short time to this church and community. I thought to myself, "Who am I, that God would allow me to be a part of this project?" God could have chosen anyone. I know for sure I am one of the least qualified because my Portuguese skills are poor. God however had a reason and I am grateful. Here, I was to influence the lives of the people in the community but in the process I was also touched by the people I was working with and for. The other members of the groups are dedicated and God-fearing people and it was a pleasure working with them and getting to know them. The people of the community were so open and willing to give, share, accept us and love us. The three and half weeks had been a time of personal and spiritual growth and I will forever be changed.

Working as a Translator

So I have started my new role as Portuguese/English translator. What an experience! To say I started the new position petrified would be an understatement. As most of you probably know, I never studied Portuguese before coming to Brazil. When I came here, I didn't even have a dictionary. I still don't have a dictionary, I borrowed one from someone for this new project. So just imagine every night I have to get up in front of a group of children and translate the nightly meetings. Fortunately, I have a script for each night so I have time to translate the script before hand.

Having another translator in the group was definitely a plus, since we each had strengths in different languages. Flavio, the other translator, really helped me with my pronunciation and I helped him to little too. The first few nights were very rough on me and as well as on my audience. My Portuguese, which should be more correctly called Port-anol (Spanish and Portuguese), was heavily influenced by Spanish. Most of the time, even though I was saying the right word, I used a Spanish pronunciation. I felt sorry for the children because they had to endure me butchering their language night after night. It was so funny that some nights the kids actually helped me with some of the words as I was struggling to pronounce. Sometimes, if I was incorrectly pronouncing a word they would say the right pronunciation for me. That was very helpful. But, on the positive side, I think my Port-anol also helped the kids, because at the end of the meetings they would have learned several words in Spanish.

There were two student presenters, Elani and Gareth, for the children meetings. They alternated nights. Each night we had anywhere between 20 to 40+ children ranging in ages from 5 to 12 years. We usually started with song service and we taught the children songs in English and we the presenters learned Portuguese songs the children usually sang. The children loved learning and singing the English songs, especially those with actions. It was so cute and amusing to hear them trying to say the words in English. After song service, we had a short message related to a Bible story. The messages were always accompanied with power point, the visual aid definitely helped to keep the children attention and helped them to better understand what I was trying to say. After the Bible story we had a question and answer time to see if the children remembered what they had heard. At the end of each night, we had the nightly craft, based on the message. This is usually the highlight of the night for the children because, they had an opportunity to make different things and be creative.


I really enjoyed working with the children more than I had thought. At first, I was not too sure of how I would fair with the children because I never saw myself as someone who can reach kids, but God helped me and taught me many important lessons each night. Some nights the children were very difficult and were not much paying attention but I learned to do my best and just leave the rest in God's hands. I learned to be patient. These were His children and He would reach them. Sometimes it was so amazing how the children who gave the most problems during the meetings were sometimes the most affectionate. At the end of the meeting they always give us hugs. I could really see Jesus in these kids.


I also helped to translate the weekly church services. Flavio, the other translator and I, had an agreement for translating the church services. We would translate to our native language for the church service. Unfortunately for Flavio, most of the services were done in English because the group did most of the services so he had more translating to do than I did. I can't say I was sad about that because of obvious reasons. But it was always easier to your native language so it wasn't too bad for him. He was a good sport though and plus he was really good at translating. The group and I were glad to have him as the other translator. He was a really awesome guy.

One cool thing, I like about being translator was going on visits with Mr. Clark. During the meetings, people would ask to have a pastoral visit them. Mr. Clark, as chaperon and the evangelist, did the visits for the group and because he did not speak Portuguese one of the translators always had to go with him. It was really awesome to connect with these persons. There was a difference between a person at church and the same person in the comfort of his/her home. They were more relaxed and more open. I was really moved by some the experiences of these people and to see that were so happy, in spite of their circumstances. It made me take a real look at my life and realize how blessed and fortunate I am. I also enjoyed talking to the people and praying with them. I was so grateful for having these experiences. Who would have thought I would have gotten to have these experiences.

I really liked being a translator. I never really understood how important this job was. I am actually speaking for me someone I am like their mouth. Also as translators it was cool to be on both sides of the fence. We were actually bridges between the two cultures. Somethings it was difficult because someone always wanted you to translate for them and it was only two of us and over fifty people wanted us to translating for us. But I had fun and I enjoyed the whole experience. To the right is a picture of me with the other translator.

Mimoso

I am on my new assignment which is very exciting. My new assignment involves working on a mission project with a several students from the US. Prior to beginning this assignment the only information I had was that I would be working somewhere in the state of Goias and I am suppose be helping with translation and working with the group on the project. When my boss mentioned that I would be translating, I was somewhat uneasy with the situation. I understand Portuguese fairly well and I am able to communicate but I don't trust myself to be a translator. I explained my preoccupations to my boss and he assured me that he would get someone to translate at the church where the students would be preaching. I would just help them in the day-to-day communication.

I left Campo Grande and made my way to Brasilia but still with no more information. I arrived to Brasilia and after I got my bags, I searched the crowd for my name and I didn't find anyone holding a sign with my name. I had no other option but to sit and wait. After I waited 15 minutes, this guy asked me if I was Grace-Ann and he told me he was there to pick me up. I was curious to know where I would be going. He told me, he was taking me to the Union, where my boss works. He had no more information to offer me.


When I arrived at the Union, I was given some more information. I was told I was going to a town called Mimoso which was 2 hours away. I was going to meet the group I would be working with at 6pm at the airport. I still did not know anything about the size of the group, what the project entailed or my living situation. I returned to the airport at 6pm and as we were waiting for the group who was flying in from Manuas the capital of the Amazons, I met the other translator of the group, Flavio.

The group finally arrived and consisted of five high school students and two adult chaperons. One thing really got my attention during the introductions. I was introduced to the group as the translator who would be translating the children program of the evangelist series. I was expected to stand up in church and speak my broken Portuguese to a group of kids so that they would understand. Yikes! At that moment fear began to build up in me. I am already very self conscious of my Portuguese in regular day to day conversation. So speaking in front of an audience was beyond petrifying. I thought to myself, "The next three weeks are going to be very long."

We loaded our luggage in the bus that was waiting for us and we made our way to dinner. After dinner we had a 2 hour drive from Brasilia to Mimosa. We, 5 students, 2 chaperons and 2 translators would be staying in a three bedroom home in the town. When we arrived to the house ,we were greeted by a thong of people. It seemed like all the members of the church, we would be working with, were there to meet us. They were so excited to see us. They gave us hugs and kisses. The welcome was so warm and sincere. I felt so loved. The house we were staying in was a really nice house. It is apparently one of the best houses in the town. The house had a pool, which was empty, a sauna. and very large court yard. The members of the church had helped to furnish the house for us before we arrived. It was so homey. It felt good to be in living in a house, since I lived in almost everywhere except a house, since I have been in Brazil.

The first order of business when we entered the house was the sleeping situation. The house had only 3 bedrooms and there were 9 of us. Obviously, the rooms were to be divided by gender. We had 4 females and 5 males. The 4 females shared the master bedroom while the 5 males divided themselves between the remaining two rooms. Our room had two beds. One queen size bed and a twin bed. It was obviously short one bed. That meant, one person, namely me, had to sleep on the floor with two extra mattresses, that were provided. There were obvious benefit to having the master bedroom, we had the air conditioning unit in the house and our own bathroom. The air conditioning came in handy during the day when it was very hot.

The first few days in Mimoso was very calm and relaxing. We got an opportunity to explore the little town and learn more about each other, before we got down to work. Everybody in the group immediately clicked. It was amazing how well we all got along considering our ages. The students were seniors in high school and were either 17/18 years old. The translators were in their twenties. One chaperon was i n his thirties and the other chaperon was 69 and had more energy and spunk than the rest of us. She put the rest of us to shame.


As we acquainted ourselves with each other, I was able to put a face to a voice I had heard several times. I am an avid listener of www.audioverse.org, which is a website which has sermons to help strengthen young adults in their walk with Christ. It just so happened that I had listened to and enjoyed several of the sermons of Chester Clark, one of the chaperons, a few weeks before the project. So it was really good to meet him.


During these days, we also helped the church get ready for the meetings, which would be starting in a few days. There would be two sets of meetings each night, an adult meeting and a children meeting. The adult meetings would be held in the church while the site for the children meeting was only decided a few days before we had arrived. The church had recently acquired a piece of land beside the church so we had to help to make a temporary building for the children meetings.

During these days, I also fell in love with this little town and the people. It is really an awesome experience to live in a small town. Being new to the town, people were curious about us. When we would walk down the streets several person would talk with us and practice their English with us. It was pretty cool. One of the main things that grew my attention to the town was the fact that town is in a valley and is surrounded by many mountains and hills. Also near the house was a mountain/hill which allowed you to over look the entire town. On our first Sabbath together, we opened the Sabbath on that hill. I was so amazing to watch the sunset and as we ushered in Sabbath. There is just something awesome for me to spend any portion of the Sabbath in nature. I feel like I am closer to God and like I am getting a little glimpse in to the Creation Week. God is just amazing!