Come Again Some Other Day....

6/24/09
Hello to all, Live from Brasil!!
Another rainy day here for us in Maracanau. Teaching time was great though! It was about how we make excuses for our sins. So we started playing hangman with the kids, and the we spelled the last word very wrong. (Jesus, same in english and portuguese) I belived i spelled it JASESU or something along those lines, and, of course, the kids thought we were just arrongant Americans who dont know how to spell! They started yelling at me to change it and yelled out the right letters. Eventually i got it down to JASUS and they were all shouting "Nao A, E! E!" It couldnt have gone any better! Finally, after pretending we didnt notice it, saying thats how its supposed to be spelled, and flat out covering it up so no one could see it, Mateous grabbed the marker out of my hand and changed the letter himself! That's when we explained to them that we knew we spelled it wrong and told them that thats what we do with our sin sometimes. We cover it up, say its not that bad, and dont listen to others when they try and correct us. Then we took them over to the playground (remember, it's a giant sandbox) and had them find a place by themselves. Then they wrote a sin that they had commited in the sand, prayed to God to forgive them for it, and finally erased it from the sand, just like Christ erased it from their hearts. it was really cool.
After the lesson, we played dodgeball again, on accout of the rain, and my team actually won some games! It was great! (even though Lania nailed me in the head with the ball)
When it was time for them to go to school, we went back home, but Sula was still in the process of cleaning the house so Erika made the executive decision that everyone needed to stay out of the house until lunch. So Carlyn and Amanda (Bill's daughter) grabbed their suits and headed to the pool. I wasnt feeling the wetness so i decided against getting my suit on and took a seat by the pool. So i'm chillin' there for a while talking with James and Patrick and trying to teach them a little "double talk" when i see Bill walk out. Red alert!! So i thought to myself "i better get away from the pool!" Then I, being my intuative self, moved a good 8 to 10 yards away from the pool, under the pavilion. Im safe now, right? WRONG! Bill, seemingly nonthreatening, walked passed me to "lay his towel down" Psshha, just kidding! It one swift motion Bill wrapped his towel around me as a restraint and lifted me right out of my chair! (that man is stronger than he looks!) Long story short, i ended up in a body of water against my will for the third time this summer...
After our pool escapade, it was finally time for lunch; rice and beans instead of beans and rice this time. ; D Once lunch was over i got to take a short nap, but woke up before Carlyn and Laura, so i decided to journal in the living room/kitchen. Soon James and Sula were in there too and we did our best to have conversations accross the language barrier. it was fun though!
After that, it being Wednesday and all, we headed into the city. During the drive over there, i was asked to entertain the passengers with my Aladdin memorizations skills and they enjoyed the show! they all think im a weirdo now, but they enjoyed the show. Bill and Erika dropped us Americans off and our translator Laisa's house where we hung out for about half an hour playing "Im going on a trip.." After that, the six of us all went to the mall for some dinner at the food court. I had a fabulouse kalzone and washed it down with nothing other than a Guarana! (the best pop in all of Brasil, possibly all the world..) The ride back to Grupo CEO felt extra long with six of us in a tiny car, but we managed and eventually pulled in the garage at around 730. For some reason, all of us were dead tired. Even tired enough to skip out on late night smoothie time! Laura, Carlyn, and I were all fast asleep by 8. It was quite a day, and of course, another blessing in Brasil.

Until next time,
Jo