Christmas Stockings

So I have to brag on my class a little bit. They did a great job making these little stockings. The art teacher at the project gave me the idea and the materials and I thought that my kids did a wonderful job, especially considering the fact that for many of them it was their first time sewing. I had to laugh when one of my boys was absolutely shocked that not everyone in the class knew how to sew. Way to go David! I am loving each one of my students more and more, and growing to appreciate all of their little personalities. Our first sewing class was a success and they absolutely loved it!!! My favorite stocking was Yuri's as he was the most practical and sewed several stitches at the end about 2 inches long to make up for lost time. It was adorable.

Pumpkin Pie

Okay, so I have never been much of a pumpkin pie "fan" persay, but this year, I was loving it. After my longest stretch ever out of the states, I was really missing home. As I was trying to figure out what to do for Thanksgiving to help me feel a bit more at home, I decided to make a pumpkin pie. On Thanksgiving day we were going to a fellowship lunch for the staff at the Project. I figured that they might like to try a traditional Thanksgiving dessert and I knew that we would want to have something familiar on Thanksgiving. I had so much fun! I did everything from cooking the pumpkin and blending it

and then making the pie crust/filling to making toasted pumpkin seeds, which turned out great too. By far the best part was when I tasted the filling. It was such a taste of home. It took me pretty much all day, but it was so worth it. So, here is to the familiar, and to all the traditions that we grew up with. This year God used pumpkin pie to give me a taste of home even when we couldn't be there for Thanksgiving and I am so thankful.

Happy Birthday Projeto Crescer

Projeto Crescer celebrated its' 6th birthday a few weeks ago. We had a big party at the Project and enough chocolate cake for 80 people! Danilo and Vitor gave the party a big "thumbs up"!

Our New Home

Thanks to the Lord's graciousness, and alot of help from our new friends, Jane and I are finally getting settled into our new apartment. We did alot of searching and finally found the perfect place. Our friends from the church have been such a huge help and such a blessing. They donated all kinds of kitchen stuff, a couch, bed, desk, kitchen cabinets...they even pitched in and bought us a new stove!! As you can see, the kitchen is coming along nicely and is now sufficiently equipped for Jane to bake some of her famous cookies. I know...lucky me!! Our sofa is the only furniture we have in our living room right now...unless you count my still-packed suitcases as "furniture". Perhaps my favorite thing about our new place is the view. The picture at top shows the lagoon that sits right behind our place, and in the distance is the sun setting over Rio de Janeiro. It's even more breath taking at night when the city is all lit up.

The Maracaná Experience

I got my first true taste of Brasilian futebol a few weeks ago in the most famous soccer stadium in all Brasil: Maracaná. Located in Rio, Maracaná has hosted it's share of historical soccer matches. The stadium has been recently renovated and seats approximately 80,000 people. This particular match was between Fluminense and Corinthians. I went with Pastor Beto, director of Projeto Crescer, and his son Mateus. Pastor Beto is a die hard Fluminense fan.

Futebol Anyone?

Finally. After nearly 2 months of shopping for the best deals, purchasing equipment, and arranging transportation, we have officially started the Physical Education program at Projeto Crescer. Last week was our first week to start transporting the kids to a local sports club. We have been playing a lot of futebol (soccer)...hard to beleive I know. I had planned on teaching the kids all kinds of games and other sports, but I learned very quickly that if it's not soccer, they're not interested. So, I'm having to readjust some things, but that's OK. We're all learning from one another and I think the kids are having a great time. It's a great opportunity to get the kids out of the favela for a little while and give them a chance to play in a safe place away from the drugs and violence. Even if I never get a chance to teach them how to set a volleyball, it's already been worth it.

Pearly Whites

When we first arrived at the Project, one of the health issues we wanted to address was the fact that all the kids toothbrushes were mixed together in a tupperware container...and they didn't have toothbrush covers!!! Yuck!!! I don't even want to know what kinds of bacteria were being passed around in that thing! Resolution? A little grandmotherly intervention. Toothbrush covers are hard to come by down here, and when you do can find them they aren't cheap. My Grandmother took it upon herself to nip this problem in the bud by making a trip to one of the greatest establishments known to mankind...WALMART! At least I think that's where she went. Anyway, a special delivery of toothbrush covers arrived a few weeks ago. We now have one less major health crisis in the world today. Way to go Mama Billie!! Your next mission...global warming.

My Wonderful Husband!!!

Besides the fact that God has given me a wonderful family, and lots of new family in Christ here in Brasil, I have the best husband ever. We got the key to our apartment last friday, after quite some time waiting,filling out paperwork, etc. Jude has been such a blessing to me through all of this. He has been painting the place and putting up showerheads and putting on toilet seats, whatever needs to be done so that we can move in on Friday. (Side note: For those of you wondering, toilet seats and shower heads???.... Here in Brasil, when you move out of a place, you take with you EVERYTHING that you can and more.... toilet seats, shower heads, toilet paper roll holders, etc. Praise God we got a place where the people didn't take the light fixtures or we would have had wires just hanging out of the ceiling, which would be totally normal!) He started teaching PE class this week at the project and he has still managed to almost get everything painted and ready for us to move in, not to mention being really patient and doing everything he possible can to take good care of me. I am praising God for my husband and thought he could use a little on-line bragging for all that he has been working on. We will post pictures and write more when we can!!! We might be offline for a little while until we get the internet and phone hooked up at our place, which quite possibly could take a while. Later, later, Jane

Wedding Shower?

Our church family held a "shower of presents" for us Monday night and we received all kinds of new household items to go into the new apartment that we are still looking for. We have been so blessed to be a part of this body of believers.

Missions Conference

Jane and I attended a missions conference a couple of weeks ago. It was a great opportunity to see what the Lord is doing not only in the Rio area, but throughout Brasil as well.

Hugs and Rides

Hugs and piggy-back rides are popular requests. We give out as many as we can! At top is Jane with Natalia. Below, Karolayne is attempting to squeeze my brains out through my ears.

Meet the Kids

The boy at the top is Thiago. He was enrolled at the Project when we were here in 2004. Below is Danhilo. The "horns" speak volumes as to what his personality is like.

Meet the Kids

Meet Yuri . This is David. Patricia and Natalia

Meet the Kids

At top is Daniel and Danhilo. Below are girls from the morning session having breakfast.

Meet The Staff

These are some of the folks we will be working alongside of at the Project.

Fortaleza Santa Cruz

Jane and I took a tour of the city with our friends Claudio and Sabrina and we visited Fortaleza Santa Cruz. This fort was constructed in the 1500's and was utilized to guard the entrance of Guanabara Bay which seperates Niteroi from Rio de Janeiro. This last picture was taken from Parque da Cidade (City Park) in Niteroi. The city situated in the distance is Rio.

Country Fest

The church held a Country Fest last Saturday. Fortunately, no one here knows who Billy Ray Cyrus is!

Endings & Beginnings

Our time in Bauru ended with a weekend trip to the largest city in Brasil....São Paulo. Our host dad from Bauru (Gôdo) drove us to São Paulo and we spent a couple of days seeing the sites before taking a bus to Niterói. These are some photos from our time in São Paulo and our first week in Niterói at Projeto Crescer.

This is Avenida Paulista, perhaps the most famous street in all of Brasil. Most of the nation´s largest banking institutions are headquartered on this avenue. One could consider this the Wall Street of Brasil.

This is the view from the top of our hotel in São Paulo. The funny thing is that it looks exactly like this no matter what direction you look. There are buildings everywhere. I guess that shouldn´t be a surprise in a city that inhabits about 16 million people.

Catedral da Sé is located in downtown São Paulo.

This is the inside of one of the four classrooms at the Project.

These are two of the boys that spend half of there day at the Project.

This is the only open area the kids presently have for outdoor recreation.

There is still work to be done. Their are hopes to construct additional classrooms.