It rained for three days straight last week. Straight. Day and night, didn't stop (well, ok, it stopped for about 20 minutes one afternoon, but I was in the chapel and didn't see it). Padre Arnaud (French, speaks a little English and so is always wanting to practice with me, very funny padre) asked me in his British accent where I had hidden the sun. I wish I knew! One day Rafaela was grounded and it was the best sort of day to be grounded because no one wanted to go outside. We all wanted to be grounded so that we didn't have to go outside! The road to the Fazenda was impassable on Friday and so no one could leave, which meant the kids couldn't go to school. We spent the whole day cleaning and studying. When the sun came out Saturday morning it was a shiny new world. And with the sun came Luis Antonio, our friend from the Passagem. He arrived late Saturday morning singing his felicidade song and brought us a kitchen sponge.
Oh, a funny thing I forgot to tell you about Rafaela's birthday dinner: I set the table with a tablecloth, embroidered cloth napkins and napkin rings (VERY fancy!). The kids asked what the napkins were. When I told them they were napkins they didn't believe me because they've only ever seen paper napkins, and even those are not an everyday item. They couldn't believe that people would use something so fancy to wipe their hands and mouths. And then I told them that I was going to wash them after we used them and to them that sounded like way too much work. (I have to agree!) They were really impressed when I folded one into a little crown. Diego was so excited he put it on his head and exclaimed, "look at me! I'm a bishop!!" LOL! Oh and the napkin rings were even more baffling! They never did fully understand the purpose of those, but they were fun to play with during dinner. I don't think I've ever had so much fun with napkins :) (Thanks Mom & Dad for sending them!!)
So I told you before that I am doing some of the "men's work" in the Fazenda. Well, some days I feel like I have to re-invent the wheel. The suffrage wheel that is. Maybe it's because I'm American or maybe because I'm used to taking care of myself, but I don't understand why people doubt that I know how to use a screwdriver. I don't want to have to prove myself; I just want to fix things when they are broken. And oh how I miss Ace Hardware! Last week our kitchen drain pipe broke in pieces. It's just PVC and had rotted out. So I disconnected it and thought, "no big deal. I can have this fixed in 7 minutes or less."...three days later we were finally able to use our kitchen sink again. We didn't have the right parts here, and then one guy stopped at the hardware store but wasn't sure exactly what I needed, and then it started to rain and no one could leave, etc. Every time I need to fix something I have to go to at least 3 different locations in the Fazenda to find the tools or hardware. I think the guys are getting sick of me borrowing their screwdrivers because a couple of them asked Padre to buy me some tools to keep in my house. Fabulous idea! Now our kitchen faucet is broken. I know what the problem is and how to fix it but of course we don't have the right parts and I can't just run to Ace. Plus trying to explain the problem in Portuguese to someone who is driving into the city and could pick up the parts isn't easy. (At least it's helping me improve my vocabulary!) So we are now on day five of a broken kitchen faucet that I could have fixed in 2 minutes! God is trying to teach me patience, I know. I just wish it wasn't so frustrating! And I hope all of you American Standard folks (current or ex) appreciate the irony that I am here fixing faucets!
Yesterday Erica, Adriano, Irma Maria Adela, and I went to Passagem for our apostolate. Erica and I went to visit a family who lives outside of the village at the end of the train tracks. I was really tired and didn’t feel like walking that far, but it had been a few weeks since we had visited them. It's amazing how just a 10 minute walk from the center of the village it seems like a completely different world. Everything is clean and lush green there. We met the family through one of their daughters (Manuela) who is in the catechism class led by Irma Miriam. One day when we were in Passagem we saw her and she was on her way home so we asked if we could go with her and meet her family. So now we’ve gone to visit them several times and yesterday when we arrived no one was home. A young girl saw us and motioned to us to “come ‘on back!” Reluctantly we made our way up the hill and further into the jungle. There were 2 more houses behind the one we know, made of mud and sticks. (Still not sure how they make that work, but it’s a typical house here.) Then we arrived at a concrete house and were greeted by 7 small children with ash crosses on their foreheads! We had to laugh out loud because here we had been a little scared to search out this house and yet we find it to be quite the holy place! They were playing baptism because their sister/cousin is getting baptized on Sunday. The house turned out to be the home of Manuela’s grandparents, so we got to meet them, her aunt and cousins, and her mom and siblings were there too. All of the children were playing so well together and we laughed, sang, and danced for about an hour. It’s really beautiful the way they have preserved their family. I don’t think that is an easy task in this poverty and culture. They sent us home with 3 bunches of bananas and two long stalks of sugar cane, and a renewed energy. Sometimes we bring life and laughter to the people we visit, and others they are the ones who feed us with the love we need <3
Sunday I'm going to stay in the Heart's Home in Simoes Filho for 2 weeks. I'm excited to go and experience a traditional Heart's Home. Irma Miriam came home Monday. She had been gone for over 2 weeks. Soooo happy to have her back. Also Monday Irma Maria Adela moved into our house. So now there are five ladies sharing one bathroom! I really want to make a showering schedule and post it on the bathroom door, but I know that's taking things too far. Plus Caroline will be gone for 6 days, I'll be gone for 2 weeks, and then in 3 weeks Irma Miriam moves to Peru, so it's all going to change over the next month.
love,
Sunny
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