It’s surreal to think that the 7 weeks that seems so long back in May has now come to a close, proving itself to be insufficient and brief considering the new Brazilian family I had to say goodbye to last night. I will miss Brazil so so much, of course for its food, beauty, and heritage, but above that, I will miss the people so much. Through my encounters with people of all demographics, backgrounds, and opinions, I have been given so many new perspectives on this life and world. I hope this new wisdom will not be forgotten by my comfortable life here in the States.
Let the many updates come! It’s been what… 2 weeks?? Stay tuned for the long-awaited speech contest, “crackland,” and Sao Paulo churches.
After the departure of the Swanton team on Tuesday, we had to crack down on preparing for the speech contest. Everything from cooking, shopping, crafting, and making giant paper cranes was squeezed in to every hour we had. Driving all over Brasilia with Fumiko taught me life-long lessons again about bargain shopping and somehow dragging your two kids along with you everywhere while doing it. As crazy of a week as it was, apparently it gets worse before Japanese camp and graduation, so I came at the right chaotic season. It was sad to share my last devotion and supervise my last game (never have I ever – never fails), but I’m confident that the seeds I sowed will be watered and nourished well by Fumiko, Yuri, and Hiroko.
From the right, Hiroko, Fumiko, and Yuri.
The big day on Sunday came after a shaky practice on Saturday. About 200 some showed up, not quite the aspired 300, but we were satisfied. It all went so so so well! Us teachers were sure that someone would completely wipe out and forget their entire speech seeing that that was the pattern in practices, but not one person forgot anything! It was cool to see all of or critiquing and drilling paid off big time. In between speech categories, we had the dance team from Paraiso Alliance in Sao Paulo perform, Okinawa drum squad, the old lady dance (again), and much more. I of course was put in charge of the rock-paper-scissors game. Toshi gave a brief Gospel message too. The whole thing ended up being 3.5 hours long, which was painful, but we couldn’t stop smiling at the end. After a sigh of relief, it was hard to believe that the event I had been working towards for my whole internship was now over…
Aline
Akemi - Speaking on her family and aspiration to get accepted into military school.
Paulo - Speaking on his interest in Okinawa drums.
Race to see which team could fold a giant paper crane first.
The dance team from Paraiso Alliance Church in Sao Paulo
Street Dance
A shout out to STORM's It's Not Us Drama team - I present to you the Model/Muscle Man skit Brazilian mime style! I couldn't contain myself...
Janken - Rock/Paper/Scissors game
Like so...
Rikyu Kokumatsuri Taiko
Giving out butt loads of presents and medals. To all the higher level students, we gave Japanese/Portuguese Bibles and Yuri is going to start a Bible study with the students on Sunday nights. Praise God! Be praying for that please!
Pastor Akira (Paraiso) asked me yesterday what I enjoyed the most during my internship. I would definitely have to say being called “Hana-Sensei.” At the Alliance Japanese School, it is evident how many seeds are being sown in these kids lives. Of all the Japanese schools in Brasilia, ours is known to be the most fun and light-hearted. Although the quality may not be the best, that is not what we are after. Thank you to the Nucleo Bandereinte Alliance Church for the life-changing experience that I will never forget and continue to pray for.
My Brasilia Family:
I invited my students for some interviews, games, and activities to get to know them all better, outside of the classroom!
Oh the many tears shed at the airport.. from the left Yuri, Miwa, me, Fumiko, Hiroko, Pastor Toshi, and Akira.
Marcos and Michelle!
Tuesday after the speech contest, I was off to Sao Paulo again, very very sad. Not only was it sad to leave the people, I had to pay R$100 ($50) for my 14kg over-weight suitcase. I think I bought one too many hammocks this trip… In Sao Paulo, I was put under the care of Lauro Uezono and his family. Yoko is his sweet wife, and they have 4 daughters, Yukari, Megumi, Chiemi, and Ayumi. When he asked me what I wanted to do, I answered “rest.’ So that is what I did, sleeping in as late as his teenage daughters did every morning. Well, not 1:00pm like Chiemi… haha.
Here are some fun non-ministry stuff I did in Sao Paulo..
Banco Real on Avenida Paulista was doing a special exhibit honoring the Japanese Immigration because of the heavy investments and contributions the Nikkeis have made in the financial realm of Brazil. In the photo, Hiroe just found her parents' information on what boat they came on, etc., a historical database on all immigrants.
The Brazilian Havaiana flip flops were inspired by the Japanese zori. If you're wearing flips at the moment, say "arigato" to their inventors.
The many, many, many products of Brazil by Japanese companies.
;-)
Oh art museums, how I love thee. MASP (Museo de Arte do Sao Paulo)
I can say I've seen the Brazilian ocean now!
My fourth and last Churrscaria.... I was forced to finally attempt the chicken heart...
The result: not so good.
Now for the ministry I did in Sao Paulo:
I LOVED the churches in Sao Paulo. Saturday night was the youth group/college/career group at Paraiso Alliance and Pastor Akira asked me to speak there. Paraiso is a very interesting church. The congregation, for some reason, is almost all made up of 20/30-something year olds, therefore, many young Christians whose parents are not saved. Therefore, the church is very fun, young, and cooool. The church consists of 4 pastors - Pastor Akira, Jurandir, Takashi, and Joseph - but all bi-vocational - as in they have their own professional jobs and work part-time as Pastors on top of that. The fruits of their hard, busy labor is so so evident there. It was so unbelievably easy to get to know the people of the church since we had so much to relate with and I was so touched by how welcoming and interested they were in my presence there.
I decided to speak on life's disasters and what to do when they hit, considering the demographics of the group. I started out with a fun "natural disaster" game involving a lot of running and screaming.
Hitting up Job, Joseph, and the parable of the house built on the rock. If you've been reading my blog, you may notice a theme in the spiritual lessons I've been learning - the beauty of struggle. My fear for this generation of young Christians is that they will believe what Christian culture tends to teach about how when you're good with God, life is good and perfect - no disaster or struggle. Well hey, I've been reading the Bible for a long time now, and it's FULL of disaster and God's sovereignty through it all. In the parable of the house on the rock, no where in the passage does it say that the storm never hit the house on the rock. It's our foundation and our reaction that matters most in those times of disaster.... that's that in a nutshell... It looked like the message was pretty well accepted, getting a lot of reaction and heart-to-hearts afterwards... yey!
Hellloooo Rudge Ramos Alliance (this would be the Grandma/Grandpa church ;-)
McCafe after church Sunday night with Paraiso
One last item that has really laid upon my heart another burden to bring back... Monday Lauro and Hiroe took me to CENA, a rehab center in the heart of Sao Paulo for drug addicts, alcoholics, homeless, gays, transexuals, you name it. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures for legal reasons, and part of me didn't want to for how horrified I was at times. We were given a tour of their building and I was so impressed by the developement of this place! They have everything from dental/medical equipment, showers, counselors, and soccer camps. We sat in Pastor Joao's office as he told us story after story of God's grace and provision in CENA. He also told us about the filthy things that go on right outside their doors... He told me of an apartment own the road designated specifically and only for prostitutes. When he offered to walk me there to see the husbands of these prostitutes waiting outside for their wives to get off work, I couldn't help but to burst into tears. I so badly needed to see that, but my heart ached so hard to imagine it.
We didn't get the chance to go the the apartment, but instead, we were taken down the street to "crackland." Imagine approaching a road with a crowd of about 200 kids, adults, and elderly, sitting on the curb openly smoking cocaine or stumbling toward their dealer, compulsively, for hours and hours. The smell was unbearable, but over the smell, I sensed this nasty chill of the devil's presence there binding these people... I've never so intently stared at the blank faces of people who desperately lit their pipes. Some people were literally crawling on the ground searching for any small piece of crack to fix up with. The crazy things is that the police station is right down the road, but the police force of Sao Paulo is so corrupt, that most of the cops use too... The only enforcement they would do was every 15 minutes, they'd drive down the road with the lights on and the crowd would simply hide their pipes in their coats, as if nothing was going on. The cops know, but choose to do nothing. How does that line up?
For about 30 minutes, I watched two evangelists talk to Renaudo. Here are his words, "I used to be a Christian, but I got into this. I want to get out and become a Christian again, but I'm just going to fall right back into this. Besides, God would never forgive me for what I do." This is the common thought of all those people in crackland. Renaudo said he would come to CENA for help. Please pray that Renaudo would actually come and believe in miracles, experiencing the Lord's grace so that he may share that same grace with the rest of his friends on that street.
Here's CENA's site if you're interested:
www.missaocena.com.br
http://video.google.com/
Well this blog entry has taken me long enough to write... and I'm sure you're thinking the same thing. Just to let you know, this is not the end of my blog. I leave for Okinawa next Thursday and go right back into ministry on the following Monday. Please continue to think of me!
Tchau Brazil, Konnichiwa Japan!
1 comments:
glad to know you made it back safely, hannah. :)
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